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Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability: Into Reading | ELA
ELA K-2
The instructional materials Into Reading, Grades K through 2, meet the expectations of alignment and usability. Texts included in the program are high quality and engaging, as well as appropriately rigorous and organized to support knowledge building. The materials include questions, tasks, lessons, and practice that support students' development of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and beginning to think critically. Materials include foundations for students to study topics and develop research habits, as well as practice different types of speaking and writing about different topics. Implementation and usability supports for teachers to assure students meet grade level goals meet the criteria of Gateway 3.
Kindergarten
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
1st Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
2nd Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
ELA 3-5
The instructional materials Into Reading, Grades 3 through 6, meet the expectations of alignment and usability. Texts included in the program are high quality and engaging, as well as appropriately rigorous and organized to support knowledge building. The materials include questions, tasks, lessons, and practice that support students' development of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and beginning to think critically. Materials include foundations for students to study topics and develop research habits, as well as practice different types of speaking and writing about different topics. Implementation and usability supports for teachers to assure students meet grade level goals meet the criteria of Gateway 3.
3rd Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
4th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
5th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
ELA 6-8
The instructional materials Into Reading, Grades 3 through 6, meet the expectations of alignment and usability. Texts included in the program are high quality and engaging, as well as appropriately rigorous and organized to support knowledge building. The materials include questions, tasks, lessons, and practice that support students' development of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and beginning to think critically. Materials include foundations for students to study topics and develop research habits, as well as practice different types of speaking and writing about different topics. Implementation and usability supports for teachers to assure students meet grade level goals meet the criteria of Gateway 3.
6th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
Report for 5th Grade
Alignment Summary
The instructional materials for Grade 5 meet the expectations of alignment and usability. The materials include appropriately rigorous, high quality texts that are engaging. These texts are the focus of students' reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language practice. Students have opportunities to learn and practice different types of writing and speaking. The materials are organized to support knowledge building of topics, and to build and apply new vocabulary. Implementation and usability supports for teachers to assure students meet grade level goals meet the criteria of Gateway 3.
5th Grade
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Usability (Gateway 3)
Overview of Gateway 1
Text Quality & Complexity
The Into Reading materials for Grade 5 provide appropriate, increasingly complex, high-quality texts that reflect the distribution of text types/genres required by the standards at each grade level. The texts provide a range and volume of reading to support student growth and grade-level achievement.
Materials engage students with text-dependent and text-specific questions, tasks, and assignments that build to culminating tasks that include writing, speaking, or a combination thereof. The program provides protocols that support students as they engage in frequent, evidence-based discussions that are designed to model the use of academic vocabulary and syntax while encouraging students to adopt these practices in their own discussions. Although there are multiple frames and many opportunities to practice speaking and listening, the materials inconsistently support the use of texts. Students may be able to engage without fully comprehending the materials.
Students write for both process and on-demand assignments and tasks that meet the requirements of the standards. The materials provide opportunities for students to analyze texts, support and defend claims, and to provide clear information about a topic through frequent evidence-based writing tasks. Materials provide explicit instruction in and application of grammar and conventions skills in increasingly sophisticated contexts.
Materials support strong foundational skills acquisition through explicit instruction, practice, and assessment in phonics and word recognition, and word analysis skills in connected texts and tasks. Students are provided with frequent opportunities for fluency practice, however assessment and guidance for support is only provided for students who fall below grade level expectations—not for students reading at or above grade level.
Criterion 1.1: Text Quality & Complexity
The Into Reading materials for Grade 5 provide high-quality texts worthy of careful reading and reflect the distribution of text types/genres required by the standards at each grade level, providing a mix of informational and literary texts throughout the year. Texts are appropriately complex to help students build their knowledge and vocabulary and grow in complexity over the course of the year, allowing students to engage at increasingly more sophisticated skill levels. A text complexity analysis, including information regarding the texts’ qualitative and quantitative levels as well as information on the treatment of the text within the lessons is provided. The texts provide a range and volume of reading to support student growth and grade-level achievement.
Indicator 1A
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests. Text sets in each module are rich in academic language and help build understanding toward a topic. Texts are engaging, contain strong academic vocabulary, and when applicable, include vivid illustrations.
Specific examples of texts that are of publishable quality in Grade 5 include:
- Module 1, students read Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)Adventures in Flight by Pablo Bernasconi, a published diary from Captain Manuel J. Arsenio and his record of his many failed attempts of creating a flying machine.
- In Module 2, students read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, a well-known children’s story that has been read for over 100 years. It is about an orphaned girl and the secrets she finds in her uncle’s house.
- In Module 4, students read A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 by Barbara Greenwood, published text that uses a blend of fiction and nonfiction as it chronicles the lives of the Robertson family.
- In Module 5, students read Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, which contains powerful illustrations that provide visuals for some of the reasons that led to the plight of the parrots. It won the Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature. The text includes multiple themes, academic vocabulary, and words with multiple meanings. The students will learn to recognize problem/solution and cause-and-effect text structures as they explore the plight of Puerto Rico’s parrots.
- In Module 8, students read Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, a New York Times bestseller, Newbery Honor Book, and winner of the National Book Award. This text was inspired by the author’s childhood experience as a refugee, fleeing Vietnam and moving to Alabama. It introduces students to poetry, different cultures, themes within a text, figurative language, and imagery.
- In Module 9, students read The Secret Keepers by well-known author Trenton Lee Stewart, the 2017 winner of the ALSC Notable Children's Book award. This text allows students to analyze literary elements and the effects of tone and mood on the text.
- In Module 10, students read Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman. The text has multiple purposes and mixes poetry with informational text that contain academic language. Students learn about nature in the winter. The author has won many awards for other poetry books.
Indicator 1B
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.
Texts throughout Grade 5 include a mix of informational and literary texts. Informational and literary texts are found throughout every module. Many of the literary texts are longer texts, while the informational texts include shorter articles. Genres include autobiographies, biographies, fantasy, mysteries, realistic fiction, poetry, science fiction, videos, plays, and narrative nonfiction.. While the text types across modules vary, the modules typically focus on either literature or informative texts and are centered around a theme or topic.
The following are examples of literature found within the instructional materials:
- Module 1: Captain Arsenio by Pablo Bernasconi: science fiction fantasy.
- Module 2: Airborn by Kenneth Oppel: fantasy adventure story. Other literary texts in this module include: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Miracle of Spring by Helen Hanna, and The Poem That Will Not End by Joan Bransfield Graham.
- Module 4: A Pioneer Sampler by Barbara Greenwood: historical fiction.
- Module 5: Living Green by Doreen Beauregard: play. Another literary text in this module is The Good Garden by Katie Smith Milway.
- Module 6: Play, Louis, Play! by Muriel Harris Weinstein: fictionalized biography.
- Module 8: Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai: poetry. Other literary texts in this module include: From Scratch by Susie Castellano and Elisa’s Diary by Doris Luisa Oronoz.
- Module 9: Mr. Linden’s Library by Walter Dean Myers: mystery. Additional texts in this module include: The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart and The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.
- Module 10: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate: fictional story.
The following are examples of informational texts found within the instructional materials:
- Module 1: The Inventor’s Secret by Suzanne Slade and Jennifer Black Reinhardt: narrative nonfiction. In this module students also read the following: Girls Think of Everything by Catherine Thimmesh, Wheelchair Sports: Hang Glider to Wheeler-Dealer by Simon Shapiro, “Winds of Hope” by Katy Duffield: magazine article, and “Government Must Fund Inventors” (author not cited).
- Module 2: “From Mouth to Page” and “Many Ways to Tell a Story” (authors not cited).
- Module 3: Green City by Allan Drummond: argumentative text. Other informational texts in this module include: Eruption! Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives by Elizabeth Rusch, Quaking Earth, Racing Waves by Rachel Young, and Hurricanes: The Science Behind Killer Storms by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn.
- Module 4: Along the Santa Fe Trail by Marion Russell: an informational text. Additional informational texts in this module include: “Houses of Dirt” (author not cited), “Why Go West?” (author not cited), and Explore the Wild West! by Anita Yasuda.
- Module 5: Potatoes on Rooftops by Hadley Dyer: persuasive text. Additional informational texts in this module include: The Elephant Keeper by Margriet Ruurs & Pedro Covo, Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, and Tech-Trash Tragedy by Liam O’Donnell.
- Module 6: Rita Moreno by Juan Felipe Herrera: biography. Other informational texts in this module include: “Let’s Get Creative” (author not cited), and Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Through the Gates and Beyond by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan.
- Module 7: SpaceShipOne by Matthew Stinemetze: autobiography. Additional informational texts that students read in this module include: Into the Unknown: Above and Below by Stewart Ross, Great Discoveries and Amazing Adventures: The Stories of Hidden Marvels and Lost Treasures by Claire Llewellyn, and The Mighty Mars Rovers by Elizabeth Rusch.
- Module 8: “Moving to a New Country: A Survival Guide” (author not cited): informational guide.
- Module 9: Finding Bigfoot: Everything you Need to Know by Martha Brockenbrough: informational text. Another informational text in this module is “Why People Love Mysteries” (author not cited).
- Module 10: Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman: informational poems. Other informational texts in this module include: “Why We Watch Animals” (author unknown), Willie B.: A Story of Hope by Nancy Roe Pimm and Can We Be Friends? by Ellen R. Braaf.
Indicator 1C
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. The majority of the texts fall within the stretch Lexile band of 740-1010. Some of the texts are slightly above the quantitative measures appropriate for Grade 5; however, the reader and task and qualitative measures make them appropriate for Grade 5 students.
Some specific examples of texts that students read with the appropriate level of complexity include:
- In Module 1, Week 3, students read Captain Arsenio by Pablo Bernasconi, which has a Lexile of 900 and is considered slightly complex based on the consistent point of view and the use of clear and direct language. The text helps students recognize characteristics of science fantasy, make inferences, and analyze the relationships among characters.
- In Module 2, Week 1, students read Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, which has a Lexile of 820 and is considered moderately complex based on the journal entry format that uses flashbacks and a stream of consciousness.
- In Module 3, Week 3, students read Hurricanes: The Science Behind Killer Storms by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn, which has a Lexile of 920 and is considered moderately complex as the text uses science terminology and incorporated science concepts.
- In Module 4, Week 3, students read A Pioneer Sampler: The Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840 by Barbara Greenwood, which has a Lexile of 860 and is considered moderately complex. The text contains a sophisticated theme and a somewhat unfamiliar experience for students.
- In Module 5, Week 3 students read Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, which has a Lexile of 850 and is considered moderately complex. The text contains multiple themes and unfamiliar words. Students learn to recognize problem and solution and cause-and-effect structures.
- In Module 6, Week 2 students read Play, Louis, Play! by Muriel Harris Weinstein, which has a Lexile of 860 and is considered moderately complex. This biography has implied meaning and an unusual point of view.
- In Module 7, Week 2, students read SpaceShipOne by Matthew Stinemetze as told to Naomi Wallace, which has a Lexile of 950 and is considered moderately complex. The text contains simple graphics that are supplementary to understanding the text. Students apply their knowledge of autobiographies, identify how a first-person point of view gives readers a more complete picture of a topic, and analyze the author’s descriptions and word choice.
- In Module 8, Week 1, students read A Movie in My Pillow by Jorge Argueta, which has a Lexile of 840 and is considered moderately complex. The text contains poetic structures that require some amount of cultural knowledge. Students use the text to analyze the poet’s words and how the poem’s structure can help them determine the overall meaning.
- In Module 9, Week 3 students read The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart, which has a Lexile of 720 (slightly below the stretch band) and is considered moderately complex. The text includes natural dialogue, but it also has complex and varied sentence structure. Students analyze literary elements and how tone and mood contribute to the theme of the text.
- In Module 10, Week 1, students read “Why we Watch Animals” (author not cited), which has a Lexile of 990. The text has several central ideas and text structures.
Some texts that are above the quantitative measure appropriate for Grade 5, but are still appropriate for use in instruction due to the qualitative analysis and/or reader and task include:
- In Module 1, Week 2, students read Winds of Hope by Katy Duffield, which has a Lexile of 1020 and is considered moderately complex. This rating is based on the scientific terms used and the inclusion of multiple text structures. The tasks, however, are ones that students are familiar with such as monitoring comprehension and identifying cause-and-effect relationships.
- In Module 3, Week 2 students read Quaking Earth, Racing Waves by Rachel Young, which has a Lexile of 1060 and is considered moderately complex. This rating is based on the use of complex pronouns, science terminology, and the scientific processes; however, because this is in a text set, students are building background knowledge before reading this text, making it more accessible.
- In Module 4, Week 2, students read The Celestials’ Railroad by Bruce Watson, which has a Lexile of 1020 and is considered moderately complex. The text contains a sophisticated theme and has more than one text structure. Students apply their understanding of genre and main idea and details that support the main idea.
- In Module 5, Week 1, students read Potatoes on the Rooftops by Hadley Dyer, which has a Lexile of 1020 and is considered moderately complex. The text contains more than one text structure and includes graphics that provide information not in the text. Students analyze details to find evidence that supports the author’s claim, explain the use of rhetorical devices, and ask and answer questions to gain information.
- In Module 6, Week 2, students read Rita Moreno by Juan Felipe Herrera, which has a Lexile of 1020 and is considered moderately complex. The text focuses on a single topic and requires some cultural knowledge. Students learn how to visualize and create pictures in their minds in order to understand the details and events of someone’s life.
- In Module 7, Week 1, students read Into the Unknown: Above and Below by Stewart Ross, which has a Lexile of 1040 and is considered complex. It includes complex science concepts and graphics with information not found in the text; however, it is appropriate because students practice previously taught skills such as analyzing the characteristics of informational texts and identifying details that support the author’s central idea.
- In Module 8, Week 3, students read Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, which has a Lexile of 1020 and is qualitatively complex. The text has poetic structures that require an increased amount of cultural and literary knowledge. Students analyze how the poet’s words and the poem’s structure help them determine the overall theme.
- In Module 9, Week 1, students read “Why People Love Mysteries” (author not cited), which has a Lexile of 1070 and is considered moderately complex due to the sophisticated ideas and unfamiliar words. Students apply their knowledge of informational text features and main inferences about details that support the author’s central idea.
- In Module 10, Week 1, students read Willie B.: A Story of Hope by Nancy Roe Pimm, which has a Lexile of 1020 and is qualitatively complex. The text contains a sophisticated theme and multiple levels of meaning. Students analyze literary elements and how the author’s word choices help them determine the theme.
Indicator 1D
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band.) Both the texts and the tasks associated with the texts increase in complexity over the course of the year. At the beginning of each module, the Developing Knowledge and Skills section in the Teacher’s Guide shares the skills that students will work on, which helps outline the increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. For example, throughout the year, students are taught how to use metacognitive skills. In the beginning of the year, students learn how to reread and summarize. Then in the middle of the year, students are taught how to synthesize. At the end of the year, students focus on making inferences and presenting their own ideas with text support.
Texts increase in complexity throughout the year. In the beginning of the year, myBooks in Grade 5 are considered 80% slightly complex and 20% moderately complex. At the end of the year, 0% of the texts are considered slightly complex, 25% are considered moderately complex, and 75% are very complex. The Lexile ranges in the beginning of the year are from 710-1020, while at the end of the year, the Lexile ranges from 990-1040.
Skills also increase in complexity throughout the year to promote independence. Examples of this include:
Throughout the year, students focus on using evidence from the text to complete a variety of discussion and writing prompts. For example, in Module 3, after reading Hurricanes: The Science Behind Killer Storms by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein, students complete a weather report, taking on the perspective of a meteorologist and using information from the text to tell readers what they can expect from a Category 2 storm. Then in Module 9, students read Mr. Linden’s Library by Walter Dean Myers and use evidence from the text to write a letter to the character, Carol, explaining why Mr. Linden warned her not to begin reading the book. Students write the letter from Mr. Linden’s point of view and are instructed to imagine that it will be left inside the book in question for Carol to read.
- Analyzing the author's purpose and choice of language is also taught throughout the year. In Module 7, students complete a close read of Into the Unknown: Above and Below by Stewart Ross, and then students are asked how the author organizes or structures ideas in paragraphs 5 and 6. In Module 11, students read Phillis’s Big Test by Catherine Clinton, and students are asked how the narrator’s point of view affects the way the reader experiences the text and its main topic.
Indicator 1E
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level. In the Teacher's Edition, the Preview Lesson Texts section outlines the text or texts for the week and includes the text complexity analysis. This section includes a “Why this text” explanation and the key learning objectives for the lessons with the text.
- In Module 1, Week 2, students read Wheelchair Sports: Hang Glider to Wheeler-Dealer by Simon Shapiro, which has a Lexile of 930 and is considered slightly complex. Text complexity is based on the reader needing to understand wheelchair technology, although it is presented in a simple and straightforward way. The text was chosen for students to use reading strategies to monitor comprehension, recognize the central idea and supporting evidence, and identify organizational patterns.
- In Module 5, Week 3, students read Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, which has a Lexile of 850 and is considered moderately complex. The text contains multiple themes and some unfamiliar words. Students learn to recognize problem and solution and cause-and-effect structures.
- In Module 8, Week 2, students read Elisa's Diary by Doris Luisa Oronoz, which has a Lexile of 800 and is considered moderately complex. The text contains somewhat complex story concepts and an unfamiliar experience for students. Students apply their understanding of realistic fiction by examining the story of a girl who has recently immigrated and struggles to adjust to the United States.
- In Module 10, Week 3, students read Writer Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman, which is considered a complex text, with a Lexile of 1150. The text has multiple purposes, including mixing poetry with explanations containing academic language and analyzing how an author uses both poetry and informational text to write about nature.
Indicator 1F
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a broad range of text types and disciplines, as well as, a volume of reading to achieve grade-level reading proficiency.
Throughout the Grade 5 materials, students have opportunities to read daily across a volume of texts during various instructional segments including Whole Class Shared Reading, Build Knowledge and Language, Reading Workshop, and Writing Workshop. In addition to anchor texts, students engage in a range and volume of texts during Reading and Writing Workshops. A variety of fiction and nonfiction genres are covered across the years with a culminating genre study at the end of the year. Due to the range and volume of texts that students engage with daily, the anchor and supporting texts help students achieve grade-level reading proficiency.
Genres include:
- Module 1: informational text, narrative nonfiction, magazine article, science fantasy
- Module 2: informational text, fantasy, play, poetry
- Module 3: informational text, friendly letter, narrative nonfiction, informational video
- Module 4: educational video, informational text, historical fiction
- Module 5: informational video, informational text, persuasive text, play, realistic fiction
- Module 6: informational text, biography, fictionalized biography
- Module 7: informational text, mini-biography, autobiography, narrative nonfiction
- Module 8: informational text, poetry, realistic fiction
- Module 9: informational video, informational text, mystery
- Module 10: informational text, narrative nonfiction, informational video, poetry
- Module 11: informational text, narrative nonfiction, persuasive
- Module 12: realistic fiction, play, mystery
Reading Workshop includes the following components:
- Guided Reading: The teacher works with students at their instructional reading level using the Rigby Leveled Library.
- Skill and Strategy Lessons: The teacher works with small groups to reinforce reading skills and strategies. Lessons are connected to the daily whole-group mini lesson or based on student need.
- Independent Literacy Activities: While the teacher works with small groups, students work independently and engage in various activities such as:
- Reader’s Theater-- Students read together as a group and act out the text.
- Independent Reading Center-- Students read and complete a reading log. Later in the year, students can also write a book review of the book or have a discussion about their individual text.
- Digital Listening Center-- Students complete a listening log and include the listening skill(s) they used, as well as, summarize what they heard.
In addition, throughout the year, students hear twelve focal texts during Writing Workshop that serve as mentor texts. These books are chosen because they provide strong examples of responses to module prompts. Students can also read these books independently during choice time.
Criterion 1.2: Alignment to the Standards with Tasks and Questions Grounded in Evidence
The Into Reading materials for Grade 5 engage students with text-dependent and text-specific questions, tasks, and assignments that build to a culminating task that includes writing, speaking, or a combination thereof. The program provides protocols that support students as they engage in frequent, evidence-based discussions that are designed to model the use of academic vocabulary and syntax while encouraging students to adopt these practices in their own discussions. Although there are multiple frames and many opportunities to practice speaking and listening, the materials inconsistently support the use of texts. Students may be able to engage without fully comprehending the materials.
Students write for both process and on-demand assignments and tasks that meet the requirements of the standards for the types of writing in which students should engage. The materials provide opportunities for students to analyze texts, support and defend claims, and to provide clear information about a topic through frequent evidence-based writing tasks. Materials provide explicit instruction in and application of grammar and conventions skills in increasingly sophisticated contexts.
Indicator 1G
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).
Throughout the instructional materials, students engage directly with the text to answer text-dependent and text-specific questions. Students respond to these questions orally, in writing, and through tasks and assignments. Text-dependent questions are found throughout the program including in the Teaching Pal's Read for Understanding notes and the Targeted Close Read notes. At times, students are asked to answer questions while reading, and at other times, students are told to reread specific sections in order to answer a question. Materials also include graphic organizers to assist students in close reads of their text when they cite evidence for specific questions or tasks that they complete.
Specific examples of text-dependent questions include:
- In Module 1, Lesson 7, after reading the informational text, Winds of Hope by Katy Duffield, students discuss the details in the text that show the effects of the drought on William and his family. After reviewing pages 40-41, they also discuss how William finds the parts he needs to build windmills.
- In Module 2, Lesson 5, after reading the fantasy, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, students discuss Matt's discovery about the creatures when he observes Benjamin Malloy's drawings.
- In Module 3, Lesson 14, after reading the text, Hurricanes: The Science Behind Killer Storms by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein, after rereading pages 220-222, students discuss the conditions that need to be present in order for a hurricane to form.
- In Module 4, Lesson 3, after reading the informational text, Explore the Wild West! by Anita Yasuda, students write a how-to-guide for westward-bound pioneers that includes evidence from the text and a summary of the important central ideas.
- In Module 5, Lesson 11, after reading the informational text Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, students engage in a discussion about the steps scientists took to help the parrots once people realized they were endangered. They also discuss the kinds of challenges the scientists faced when trying to prevent parrots from becoming extinct.
In Module 6, Lesson 6, after reading the biography, Rita Moreno: from Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes by Juan Felipe Herrera, students engage in a discussion about how details show that being a performer was always important to Rita Moreno (after reviewing pages 36-37), and the reason Rita Moreno decided to work in children’s shows during the 1970s (after rereading pages 103-105).
- In Module 7, Lesson 7, students read the story, Great Discoveries and Amazing Adventures by Claire Llewellyn. After rereading pages 100-102, students discuss why Machu Picchu is described as a hidden city. After rereading pages 103-105, they discuss some of the challenges faced by the artists who created the pictures in the Lascaux caves.
- In Module 8, Lesson 7, students discuss the conflicts Priya faces after moving to the United States from India and how she responds after reading the story From Scratch by Susie Castellano.
- In Module 9, Lesson 5, students engage in a discussion after reading Mr. Linden’s Library by Walter Dean Myers. They discuss Mr. Linden's beliefs about “Tales from a Dark Sea” and Mr. Linden's feelings about Carol reading the book.
- In Module 10, Lesson 4, after reading Willie B.: A Story of Hope by Nancy Roe Pimm, students respond in writing to questions about page 317, including words they would use to describe the author’s tone toward Willie and his new situation.
- In Module 11, Lesson 8, after rereading Phillis’ Big Test by Catherine Clinton, students are asked what Phillis shows she learned in paragraph 26.
- In Module 12, Lesson 12, after rereading paragraphs 46-47 of Mr. Linden's Library by Walter Dean Myers, students are asked about Carol's explanations of why the book's page might have been changed and about Carol’s attitude towards mysteries.
Indicator 1H
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for having sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks that build to a culminating task that integrates skills (may be writing, speaking, or a combination).
At the end of each module, students are given a performance task that requires them to integrate the module texts and skills learned throughout the three weeks. Each task requires students to integrate writing, speaking, reading, and/or listening skills. Students often reflect on the Essential Question that is posed at the beginning of the module in order to complete the task. While all performance tasks are writing tasks, students must incorporate evidence from module texts. The skills required for each performance task include questions and tasks from both Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop lessons.
Specific examples of performance tasks throughout the curriculum includes the integration of skills learned throughout the week.
Specific examples of culminating tasks throughout the program include:
- In Module 1, after thinking about the Essential Question, “What kinds of circumstances push people to create new inventions?”, students imagine that the class is putting together a collection of personal narratives for the performance task. Each student writes a personal narrative about a time when they found a creative way to solve a problem.
- In Module 2, after reading the texts, students reflect on the Essential Question, “How does genre affect the way a story is told?” Students then imagine that the school library is having a writing contest, and they need to write a short story for the contest. Students integrate information they learned throughout the module, including writing a narrative, using dialogue, gathering information from a variety of sources, and demonstrating an understanding of story structure.
- In Module 3, after reading all the texts in the module, students are asked the Essential Question, “How can learning about natural disasters make us safer?” Students reflect on the status of their school or community on readiness for a natural disaster. Students then select one natural disaster they learned about in the module and write an editorial for the school paper, stating actions they think need to happen to ensure that the community stays safe.
- In Module 4, after reading all the texts in the module, students are asked, “What character traits were needed in the people who settled the West?” Students imagine that a history magazine has invited them to submit articles. They must choose one feature or part of the pioneer experience, such as daily life or the journey west, to highlight in their article. Students must include supporting ideas with facts, definitions, and quotes from the texts in the module.
- In Module 5, students reflect on the question, “How can caring for Earth and its living things improve life now and in the future?” Students then choose one idea for helping the environment in their community and write an opinion piece explaining their idea and why it would help the environment. Students must use evidence from module texts.
- In Module 6, students reflect on the Essential Question, “How do different art forms impact people in different ways?” Students then imagine that the school is having an arts festival and choose an artist to feature at this festival from one of the texts. They write a biographical sketch of the person’s life and work. Skills incorporated from the module include gathering information from a variety of sources, following the writing process, and writing a biographical sketch.
- In Module 7, students write an informational article to explain the science behind one of the discoveries they learned about in the module, using evidence from the texts in the module.
- In Module 8, after reading all of the module texts, students think about how people adjust after moving to a new home and write a narrative poem to share on a pretend poetry podcast. In the poem, students should tell a real or made up story about the events, experiences, and/or feelings involved in moving to a new place, using evidence from the module texts.
- In Module 9, students think about the mysteries in the module and qualities that made them believable. Then students write a speech to persuade classmates that the mystery could be real or fake. They state their opinion and support it with reasons and text evidence.
- In Module 10, students pretend that a local zoo or aquarium has invited students to write about what people can learn from animals for an online newsletter. Students use evidence from the module texts and video to write an informational essay for the newsletter.
Indicator 1I
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the requirement that materials provide frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.
Throughout the program, there are frequent opportunities for evidence-based discussions and protocols for teachers to use to implement these discussions. Examples include: Turn and Talk, Think-Pair-Share, Collaborative Discussions, and Solo Chair. Collaborative Discussions are found throughout the program, and the teacher is directed to display and review the "How to have a Discussion" Anchor Chart before each discussion. Rubrics are also provided in the Teacher’s Guide for Collaborative Discussions. In Modules 11 and 12, students participate in Genre Studies, and additional protocols and activity suggestions are provided for Genre Book Study Clubs.
In the Guiding Principles and Strategies guide, the publisher provides information on ways teachers can encourage conversations and discussions, including appropriate social communication such as introductions, shaking hands, eye contact, volume, and initiating conversations. Best practices for Collaborative Discussions are also included in this section and include:
- Introduce: The teacher explicitly teaches speaking and listening skills by having volunteers model a discussion, and then students practice with partners. The modeling includes asking clarifying questions, adding on to the conversation, and politely disagreeing with partners.
- Practice: The teacher provides opportunities for students to practice using their listening and speaking skills. Prompts for practice are found throughout the program, and the teacher should emphasize the use of formal language when speaking with a group.
- Routine: The program includes discussion routines such as Think-Pair-Share and Turn and Talk, that should be used regularly and are denoted throughout the lessons
- Model: The teacher should model and encourage the use of appropriate eye contact, body position, and active listening.
- Cultural sensitivity: The teacher should support the knowledge of social norms in a variety of cultures.
The Routine for Think-Pair-Share is outlined in the Guiding Principles and Strategies guide. Routines for Solo Chair and Turn and Talk are also found in the program, but finding explicit times that suggest to use Turn and Talk are limited in Grade 5. The Routine for Think-Pair-Share is:
- Think: Students are asked an open-ended question and are given several seconds to formulate their response.
- Pair: Students each take a turn to share while the other partner listens.
- Share: Students who have been previously identified to share with the whole class do so, and then additional volunteers can share.
Solo Chair is used when students present writing to the class, often about the text, or at the end of a module as part of the Wrap-Up. The routine is:
- The student presents using a special chair. The teacher provides sentence starters such as “Today I will talk about...”
- The other students listen to their classmates. The teacher reviews the expectations for active listening, and one or two classmates give feedback for the presenter. Sentence starters for feedback include, “I Liked...” or “My favorite part was...”
Specific examples of where the program includes the use of the routines and protocols within individual lessons include:
- In Module 1, Lesson 8, after reading the Wheelchair Sports by Simon Shapiro, students participate in an Engage and Respond. Students use the Collaborate Discussion routine and answer questions such as, “What led Marilyn Hamilton to invent a new kind of wheelchair?” and “What special features make sports wheelchairs better for athletes than traditional wheelchairs?
- In Module 5, Lesson 3, after reading Potatoes on Rooftops by Hadley Dyer, students participate in a Wrap-Up, where they explain to a peer how they applied their knowledge to the lesson's task. Teachers have options in how they want students to share including Solo Chair, Think-Pair-Share, or Anchor Chart. In Solo Chair, one student is selected to speak to the class, explaining what he or she learned from the reading. In Think-Pair-Share, students share their thinking with a partner and then a few partnerships share with the class. For Anchor Chart, students add sticky notes about their independent book to the text structure Anchor Chart and then share what they added and why.
- In Module 10, Lesson 12, students meet with a partner to engage in a Think-Pair-Share to discuss how they applied the idea of theme during their independent reading.
- In Module 11, Lesson 8, after independently reading their narrative nonfiction book, small groups of students discuss questions about their genre. Groups discuss what they read and how the author provides text clues that signal the theme of the text.
Indicator 1J
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the criteria that materials support students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.
Students practice listening comprehension with teacher read-alouds, and students practice Collaborative Discussions during the Engage and Respond portion of the daily mini lesson. The program includes a Weekly Overview that outlines the speaking and listening standards that will be targeted throughout each lesson. Although there are multiple frames and many opportunities to practice speaking and listening, the materials inconsistently support the use of texts. Students may be able to engage without fully comprehending the materials. Specific examples of times that students engage in speaking and listening about what they are reading and researching include:
- In Module 1, Lesson 15, after reading Captain Arsenio: Inventions and (Mis)adventures in Flight by Pablo Bernasconi, students engage in a Collaborative Discussion by answering questions such as, “What does the author seem to think of him?” and “What details might make readers think Captain Arsenio was a real person?”
- In Module 2, Lesson 14, students discuss the meaning of different verses from the poem, “The Poem That Will Not End” by Joan Bransfield Graham. Students discuss the meaning, as well as any figurative language they identify within a specific verse. The teacher monitors groups and reminds them of the rules of discussion if needed.
- In Module 3, Lesson 8, after reading Quaking Earth, Racing Waves by Rachel Young, students participate in a Wrap-Up where they reflect on their learning of how to summarize and explain to peers how they applied their knowledge to the tasks of the lesson. In the Think-Pair-Share option for this activity, pairs share in groups of two, and then a few of the pairs share out with the whole class.
- In Module 4, Lesson 4, after reading Explore the Wild West! by Anita Yasuda, students engage in a Collaborative Discussion to discuss, “What kind of hardships did people experience as they traveled West?” and “What reasons did people have for moving to the West?”
- In Module 5, Lesson 8, after reading The Good Garden by Katie Smith Milway, students participate in a Wrap-Up where they apply their knowledge of synthesizing a text during independent work time. Students share in either Solo Chair or during a Think-Pair-Share.
- In Module 6, Lesson 7, after reading Play, Louis, Play! by Muriel Harris Weinstein, students engage in a Collaborative Discussion where they answer questions such as, “What words and descriptions on these pages reveal the biography's narrator?” and “What in the text helps you understand what made Louis such a successful musician?”
- In Module 7, Lesson 15, students participate in a Wrap-Up activity where they discuss what they learned about exploration and curiosity. Then they discuss if any of the selections that they read changed their thinking about people who explore Earth.
- In Module 8, Lesson 1, students read the short article Moving to a New Country: A Survival Guide (author not cited) and then discuss how people adapt to new experiences and make a new place a home.
- In Module 9, Lesson 5, students participate in a discussion of the Essential Questions: "What makes something mysterious?" and "What makes people want to solve mysteries?" Students answer these questions in small groups where every member has a specific role.
- In Module 10, Lesson 4, after spending three weeks researching animals in small groups, students present their information while the other students listen attentively and take notes.
- In Module 11, Lesson 7, during the Wrap-Up section, students recall the characteristics of narrative nonfiction using the Solo Chair or Think-Pair-Share discussion routine.
- In Module 12, Lesson 8, after completing an independent reading of a play, small groups of students discuss answers to questions such as, “What do you think is the theme of this play?” and “Why do you think the author chose to use the play genre to teach this lesson or present this theme?”
Indicator 1K
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g., multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate. Throughout the year, students have opportunities to engage in on-demand writing, often in response to reading, and process writing, that includes research projects.
Process writing is found within Writing Workshop where students build writing independence through interactive writing and process-based lessons. For each module, students complete a process writing piece that focuses on a different type of writing. Anchor Charts and graphic organizers are supplied in each module. In the Genre Studies in Modules 11 and 12, students engage in a week-long writing task that is aligned to the genre. Specific examples of process writing include:
- In Module 1 of the Writing Workshop, students work on an expository essay over the course of 15 lessons. Students write about the inventor's hard work in making the idea for an invention a reality. Students use the mentor text, Girls Think of Everything by Catherine Thimmesh, to help with this process. Over the course of three weeks, students experience the writing process. They brainstorm, draft, revise, edit and publish. Students share their writing in small groups on the final day.
- In Module 5 of the Writing Workshop, students work on an argumentative editorial piece about an environmental issue in which they feel strongly. After planning, students draft using the elements of persuasive writing. Then for revision, students focus on sentence structure and word choice. Students then proofread and publish.
- In Module 6 of the Writing Workshop, students work on a personal narrative about a memory from their life. Students plan and draft and then revise by peer revising. They focus on integrating peer feedback, elaborating on ideas, and reviewing sentence type. Students share their published piece in small groups.
- In Module 7, students write an instructional article as the module's performance task. To plan, students are given a checklist to use when writing their article. Then students are given a flow chart to draft their article that has space for the introduction, key ideas, and conclusion. Students then work with a partner or small group to revise and edit their drafts by using a rubric with guiding questions. Students then publish their article.
- In Module 9, the performance task is to write a persuasive speech about one of the mysteries they read in the module. During the planning phase, students are given a chart to map out their topic, opinion, and three supporting pieces of evidence. Then students draft, revise, and edit before publishing.
Students write daily, often in response to the texts they read. Examples of on-demand writing found throughout each module include:
- In Module 1, Lesson 7, students write a news article about William and his windmill after reading Winds of Hope by Katy Duffield.
- In Module 2, Lesson 5, students write a journal entry from the perspective of one of the two characters, Kate and Matt, from Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. Students share their sightings and feelings.
- In Module 4, Lesson 2, students write a How-to Guide for westward-bound pioneers after reading Explore the Wild West! by Anita Yasuda.
- In Module 6, Lesson 13, students write a scene describing what might have happened during Phillis’ test, after reading the biography, Phillis’s Big Test by Catherine Clinton.
- In Module 7, Lesson 12, students write a safety checklist for Mars rover drivers. Students must include text evidence and critical vocabulary to support their ideas.
- In Module 8, Lesson 5, students write a poem about a topic of their choice after reading several poems in A Move in my Pillow by Jorge Argueta.
- In Module 9, Lesson 3, students list details from the story Mr. Linden’s Library by Walter Dean Myers that show the character traits of Carol and Mr. Linden.
Indicator 1L
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.
There are frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply what they have learned about narrative, opinion, and informational writing. Each module includes writing lessons about the texts that they read. In addition, students are taught about the three genres in Writing Workshop, where they engage in longer pieces over the course of three weeks.
Narrative writing prompts are found in myBook, after students read a text, as well as in Writing Workshop Modules 2, 6, 9, 11, and 12. Some examples of narrative writing include:
- In Module 2, Lesson 5, after reading the text, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, students write a journal entry from the perspective of the two characters. The journal entry narrates what happened and how they felt when they looked for the mysterious flying creatures.
- In Module 4, Lesson 12, after reading A Pioneer Sampler by Barbara Greenwood, students write a journal entry describing their experience on the day they saved the hay, using Willy's voice.
- In Module 9, Writing Workshop, students write an imaginative story where they develop a character whose personality and actions are responsible for driving the plot.
- In Module 9, Lesson 5, students write a letter, after reading Mr. Linden’s Library by Walter Dean Myers, where they imagine that they are Mr. Linden, and they notice Carol’s interest in the book when she visits the library. The letter is addressed to Carol, and they explain why they want her to not begin reading the book. They offer her some advice now that she has become captured by the story.
- In Module 11, Writing Workshop, students write a fictional story based on a person, place, or community of people that they know well and use their own life and memories as an inspiration. Before writing, students learn about the narrative structure and the elements of a story’s plot. As they revise, students learn to elaborate by adding details.
- In Module 12, Writing Workshop, students write a narrative poem.
Informational writing is found in myBook, as well as in Writing Workshop Modules 1, 4, and 7. Some examples of informational writing include:
- In Writing Workshop Module 1, students write an expository essay about an inventor's hard work to make the idea for an invention a reality.
- In Module 1, Lesson 7, after reading Winds of Hope by Katy Duffield, students write a news article about William and his windmill.
- In Module 3, Lesson 5, after reading Eruption! Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives by Elizabeth Rusch, students write a news report about a volcano.
- In Module 3, as the basis of their Inquiry and Research Project for the module, students write a disaster preparedness pamphlet.
- In Module 4, Writing Workshop, students write a letter to a historical society or museum. In the letter, students request specific information about details of traveling out west back in the 1850s.
- In Module 4, Lesson 2, after reading Explore the Wild West! by Anita Yasuda, students write a how-to-guide for westward-bound pioneers. Students must include three paragraphs and a conclusion that summarizes the important central ideas.
- In Module 5, Week 4, after reading The Good Garden by Katie Smith Milway, students pretend to be Maria Luz and write a letter from her point of view to a friend in another town about the major events that happened while her father was away. This must be based on text evidence.
- In Module 7, Lesson 13, after reading The Mighty Mars Rover by Elizabeth Rusch, students pretend they are going to train the new rover drivers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and they need to write a safety checklist using evidence from the text.
Opinion writing is found in myBook, as well as in Writing Workshop Modules 3, 5, and 10. Some examples of opinion writing include:
- In Module 3, Writing Workshop, students write a persuasive essay stating what they would do if a natural disaster destroyed their town. Students should argue whether they would stay or evacuate.
- In Module 5, Writing Workshop, students write an editorial for their local newspaper about an environmental issue about which they feel strongly.
- In Module 6, Lesson 2, after reading Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Though the Gates and Beyond by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, students write an editorial arguing for or against “The Gates.”
- In Module 9, Lesson 7, students write a video review after watching “The Loch Ness Monster.”
- In Module 10, Writing Workshop, students write a persuasive letter to their local newspaper about an organization that cares for animals. In the letter, students explain why people should support the organization with money or time.
Indicator 1M
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that material include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate for the grade level.
Evidence-based writing opportunities are varied and include taking notes, writing as a response to a myBook selection, responding to questions about the Writing Workshop mentor text, and completing the Genre Study printables. Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with various text sources. Specific examples of opportunities for evidence-based writing found throughout each module include:
- In Module 3, Lesson 14, after reading Hurricanes: The Science Behind Killer Storms by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein, students write a weather report to inform viewers the effects they can expect a Category 2 storm to cause. The report must explain safety measures to take.
- In Module 4, Lesson 9, after reading a magazine article, The Celestials' Railroad by Bruce Watson, students complete a writing task in which they are asked to write a persuasive pitch for a television show about the Chinese workers and the challenges they faced. Students must provide at least two reasons and evidence from the text to support each reason.
- In Module 5, Lesson 4, after reading Potatoes on Rooftops by Hadley Dyer, students write an advertising script to persuade people to participate in a community garden. Students must provide a clear opinion and give reasons and text evidence to support their opinion.
- In Module 6, Lesson 4, after reading Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Through the Gates and Beyond by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, students write an editorial arguing for or against "The Gates". Students must use evidence from the text to support their opinion.
- In Module 7, Lesson 5, after reading Into the Unknown: Above and Below by Stewart Ross, students write a news script using one of the explorations from the text as their focus. The script must include facts and details from the text to describe the exploration, its dangers, and the discoveries it uncovered.
- In Module 8, Lesson 10, after reading Elisa’s Diary by Doris Luisa Oronoz, students write a few paragraphs in which they compare and contrast a myth told within the story to familiar myths and folktales. Guiding questions to support students with this writing task include, “What do these stories have in common?’ and “What cultures are they from?”
- In Module 10, Lesson 8, after reading Can We Be Friends? by Ellen R. Braaf, students use details and examples from the text to answer questions such as, “What are some of the ways animals seem to benefit from forming relationships with each other?” and “Do you agree or disagree with the idea that animals can truly friends?”
- In Module 11, Lesson 8, after rereading Phillis’s Big Test by Catherine Clinton, students complete a printable on the topic of theme and answer questions such as, “What does this text clue tell you about the characters in this narrative nonfiction text?” and “Why do you think the author included this text clue?”
- In Module 12, Lesson 13, after rereading Mr. Linden’s Library by Walter Dean Myers, students answer questions such as, “From whose point of view is this mystery being told?” and “Are there multiple points of view?” in writing.
Indicator 1N
The materials reviewed for Grade 5 Into Reading meet the criteria that materials include explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.
All grammar and conventions standards for Grade 5 are addressed over the course of the year. Grammar and conventions lessons are primarily found during Writing Workshop in Grammar mini lessons. The lessons follow a Gradual Release of Responsibility format: I do, We do, You do. The teacher models and provides examples, students practice with teacher support, students practice with a worksheet, and students are prompted to return to their writing pieces to identify and edit for the given grammar or convention concept. Materials provide teachers with sentence examples for practice during lessons. Students have opportunities to practice taught grammar and conventions skills in context during whole group instruction with Display and Engage projectable sentence prompts that students and teachers work on together. Grammar printables provide students with an opportunity to practice in context the skills they are working towards mastering. Students consistently apply their new knowledge of grammar and conventions concepts to pieces of their own writing.
Materials include explicit instruction of grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. For example:
Students have opportunities to explain the function of conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections in general and their function in particular sentences.
- In Module 3, Week 2, page W302, the teacher reminds students that using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions to connect short sentences can help make their writing flow more smoothly. The teacher tells students that when they revise they need to look for run-on sentences in their writing and connect them. The teacher reminds students that both types of conjunctions can be used to eliminate run-on sentences by forming compound or complex sentences. Students complete a printable grammar sheet for practice with conjunctions. Students look for opportunities to use conjunctions to form compound or complex sentences as they revise their paragraphs.
- In Module 4, Lesson 3, page W315, the teacher uses Display and Engage: Grammar 6.1.3a and tells students that "interjections are words or phrases that show emotion.” Students complete Display and Engage: Grammar 6.1.3b with the teacher, then identify the function of the interjections in sentences. Students complete Printable: Grammar 6.1.3, and then they edit a writing draft using dialogue and interjections correctly.
- In Module 6, Lesson 4.4.1, page W293, the teacher explains and gives examples for how prepositions can be used in sentences. Students then complete an activity to “identify the preposition in each sentence and tell whether the preposition shows time, direction, location or detail.” For example, in the sentence, The dog ran to the basement students identify that the preposition is to, and it shows direction.
Students have opportunities to form and use the perfect (e.g., I had walked; I have walked; I will have walked) verb tenses.
- In Module 8, Lesson 1, page W268, the teacher explains perfect tenses with Display and Engage: Grammar 3.5.1a and models identifying the present perfect tense using think aloud in the sentence provided, She has seen many bears. Students change main verbs to present perfect tense by adding have or has. Students complete Printable: Grammar 3.5.1 and edit a writing draft using perfect tense verbs correctly.
- In Module 8, Lesson 3, page W270, the teacher tells students that helping verbs and main verbs form the future perfect tense. The teacher models identifying future perfect tense using a think aloud in the sentence, We will have gathered many berries. Students change verb phrases in sentences to future perfect tense and complete Printable: Grammar 3.5.3. Students edit a writing draft using future perfect tenses correctly.
Students have opportunities to use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions.
- In Module 2, Week 3, page W250, the teacher explains that verb tenses can help convey time, sequence, condition, and states. The teacher models identifying whether the verb tense conveys time, sequence, state, or condition in the sentence: The boys searched the woods near the baseball field for the missing ball. Following guided practice and collaborative practice with verb tense, students complete a printable grammar sheet for practice with verb tenses and edit a writing draft using the correct verb tenses.
- In Module 4, Lesson 3.2.2, page W254, the teacher explains and models how to use the future verb tense. Students practice identifying the verbs and tenses used in sentences such as, Dixie finished her homework already, but I will finish mine tonight.
- In Module 4, Week 3, page W255, the teacher tells students that it is important to use verb tenses consistently when communicating the order of actions or events. The teacher models identifying consistent tense: Next week, I will write my history report. Then school will close for summer vacation. The teacher asks students to correct the verb tense error in the second part of the following sentence: Roberto will read the book, then he wrote his report. Students complete a printable grammar sheet for practice with verb tenses and edit a writing draft using consistent verb tenses.
Students have opportunities to recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense.
- In Module 4, Lesson 3.2.3, page W255, the teacher is instructed “tell students that it is important to use verb tenses consistently when communicating the order of actions or events. Inappropriate shifts in verb tense or aspect should be corrected to avoid confusion.” Students complete a grammar printable sheet. This is practice identifying and correcting verbs that are in the incorrect tense.
- In Module 7, Week 3, page W265, the teacher explains that students should remember to use verb tenses consistently. She reminds them that in order for sentences to be correct, the verb must be in the same tense as the verb phrase. The teacher models ensuring the verb and the verb phrase the same tense: She is going to like where I am taking her. The teacher explains that is going is in the present tense; therefore, am taking also must be in the present tense. The teacher displays singular and plural subjects, and students identify the present and past forms of be and have for each subject. Students complete Printable: Grammar 3.4.3 for practice with consistent verb tenses and edit a writing draft using consistent verb tenses.
Students have opportunities to use correlative conjunctions (e.g., either/or, neither/nor).
- In Module 3, Week 3, page W215, the teacher tells students that some conjunctions are always used in pairs and are called correlative conjunctions. They correlate two similar words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence. The teacher tells students that correlative conjunctions include: either/or, neither/nor, both/and, whether/or, and not only/but also. The teacher models identifying correlative conjunctions in the example sentence: Neither the crew nor the rescuers knew what to do. Students write three sentences using correlative conjunctions and explain the function of the correlative conjunctions in each sentence. Students complete a printable grammar sheet for practice with correlative conjunctions and edit a writing draft to include sentences using correlative conjunctions.
Students have opportunities to use punctuation to separate items in a series.
- In Module 5, Lesson 7.1.4, page W326, the teacher reviews with students how to use semicolons and commas in sentences. The teacher shows students the different ways commas and semicolons can be used. For example, one way to use a comma is as follows: “Separate items in a series or list: We need eggs, milk, and bread.” Students complete a grammar printable to practice rewriting sentences with correct punctuation, e.g., The library will be closed on Monday April 2 Monday May 28 and Wednesday July 4.
- In Module 9, Lesson 12, page W330, the teacher reviews commas and is prompted “tell students that commas should also be used to separate nouns in a series.” In the teacher Think Aloud, the teacher asks if there are three or more nouns in a list, is a comma needed to separate them. Students identify where commas belong in a sentence and edit a writing draft using commas correctly.
Students have opportunities to use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence.
- In Module 4, Lesson 6.1.3, page W315, the teacher tells students that interjections are words or phrases that show emotion. The teacher tells students that when these words occur in dialogue, they usually appear at the beginning of a sentence and are followed either by an exclamation point or a comma. The teacher explains that writers split dialogue into two parts, and both parts begin and end with quotation marks. Unless the second part of the sentence begins with a proper noun, the first word is not capitalized. The teacher mentions that in between the two parts of a split quotation, the writer usually tells who is speaking, what the speaker is doing, or how she is speaking. The teacher shows an example of an interjection that forms the first part of the split quotation. The teacher completes the activity on Display and Engage: Grammar 6.1.3.b with students. Students return to the projectable and identify the function of each interjection. Students complete Printable Grammar: 6.1.3 for practice with interjections and dialogue. Students edit a writing draft using interjections and dialogue correctly.
- In Module 5, Lesson 7.1.2 the teacher explains and models how to use commas with introductory elements. The class practices identifying and correctly punctuating sentences with introductory elements on Display and Engage: Grammar 7.1.2b. The teacher is prompted "List common introductory words and phrases on the board. Have students take turns using each one in an original sentence. Write their sentences on the board and work together to punctuate them correctly.”
Students have opportunities to use a comma to set off the words yes and no (e.g., yes, thank you), to set off a tag question from the rest of the sentence (e.g., It’s true, isn’t it?), and to indicate direct address (e.g., Is that you, Steve?).
- In Module 5, Lesson 7.1.3, page W325, the teacher explains that commas are used to set off names or nouns that indicate direct address, as well as short questions inserted at the end of sentences. The teacher models how to identify and correctly punctuate direct address and tag questions. The example used is as follows: Leo, I enjoyed that history unit, didn’t you? The teacher completes items 1-6 on Display and Engage: Grammar 7.1.3b with students. The teacher reads the following sentences to the class: Please read page 10 aloud, Joe. Make sure you speak loudly, won’t you? The teacher calls on volunteers to write their sentences on the board. Students complete Printable Grammar: 7.1.3 for practice with commas. Students edit a writing draft using the correct forms of direct address and tag questions.
Students have opportunities to use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works.
- In Module 7, Week 2, page W318, the teacher explains that writing titles requires following some special rules and that titles of books, movies, plays, and newspapers belong in italics. When students write by hand, they should underline these titles, which is the proofreading mark that indicates italics. The teacher explains that italics are sometimes used in writing to emphasize certain words. The teacher reminds students that not all words in italics will be titles. Students practice identifying type that is printed in italics. Students then write two sentences containing book titles. The students complete Printable Grammar: 6.2.1 to practice formatting titles. Students edit a writing draft using italics in titles correctly.
- In Module 7, Lesson 13, page W114, the teacher explains the importance of giving credit to sources in a report both in a text and a bibliography. The teacher uses Think Aloud to show how to format titles of online articles, encyclopedias, magazines, and books. For example, online articles, encyclopedias, and magazines titles are placed in quotation marks, and the title of a book is underlined. Students use Writer’s Notebook page 7.14 to assist them as they create a bibliography for their research reports.
Students have opportunities to spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
- In Module 4, Lesson 1, page T228, the teacher explains the VCV syllable division pattern that is used in the week’s spelling words. As a class, students work together to sort the words into the categories of words that begin with a long vowel syllable like “item” and words that begin with a short vowel syllable like “exact.” The teacher is instructed “have students practice handwriting or keyboarding by writing or typing the spelling words.”
- In Module 5, Lesson 3, page W260, the teacher, “points out that students can use a dictionary to find the past tense of irregular verbs.” Students use dictionaries to find the past tense of several verbs.
- In Module 6, Lesson 11, page T344, the teacher introduces the week’s spelling words, reading each word and discussing its meaning. The teacher points out that this week’s words are from languages other than English, so students may see unfamiliar sound-spelling. The teacher tells students they should look up the word’s pronunciation in a dictionary and learn to say the words by breaking them into syllables to help them spell. Students work together to sort words based on the number of syllables. The teacher models sorting words by number of syllables. Students sort word cards with teacher support to identify the number of syllables. Students practice writing or typing the spelling words.
Students have opportunities to expand, combine, and reduce sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.
- In Module 6, Lesson 11, page W96, the teacher reviews single and compound sentences. The teacher writes an excerpt from a personal narrative on the board. The class reads the passage and discusses how the sentences vary. The teacher points out that a simple sentence can be short or long. Students say which sentences are simple (S), compound (C), or other (O) and label the sentences in the paragraph. The teacher models combining sentences into compound sentences. Students use the coding method (S, C, or O) used in the personal narrative example to focus on coding, identifying, and revising types of sentences. Students share their original and revised sentences and discuss how coding for sentence variety turns a random revision process into a systematic approach.
- In Module 11, Lesson 8, page W173, the teacher tells students “Remember that the process of adding details is called elaboration. When you elaborate, you show the reader, rather than tell the reader about something.” The teacher then models and explains how sentences can be elaborated. When students practice elaborating in their own work, the teacher is instructed “Tell students that using the letters D.I.D.D. can help them remember ways they can add elaboration: D = description; I = illustration; D = detail; D = dialogue.”
Students have opportunities to compare and contrast the varieties of English (e.g., dialects, registers) used in stories, dramas, or poems.
- In Module 4, Lesson 14, page T366, the teacher shares Anchor Chart 31: Varieties of English with students. The chart contains information about formal language, informal language, and dialect. The materials expand on dialect. “Dialect includes the specific sayings and pronunciations from a particular culture or region. Writers use dialect in stories to develop their characters.”
- In Module 7, Lesson 5, page T78, the teacher discusses the differences between formal and informal language, reminding students that both have different functions. The teacher models examples of formal and informal English, and students identify which is formal and informal. Students skim pages of Into the Unknown: Above and Below for examples of formal and informal language. Students work in pairs to select one informal and one formal example to rewrite, making the formal to informal and the informal to formal. Students share their work. Students work with a partner to search online and in print for at least two examples of formal and informal language used in news stories. Pairs present their examples, and the class identifies which is formal and informal and why.
Criterion 1.3: Tasks and Questions: Foundational Skills Development
Materials support strong foundational skills acquisition through explicit instruction, practice, and assessment in phonics and word recognition, and word analysis skills in connected texts and tasks. Students are provided with frequent opportunities for fluency practice, however assessment and guidance for support is only provided for students who fall below grade level expectations—not for students reading at or above grade level.
Indicator 1O
The materials reviewed for Grade 5 Into Reading meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks address grade-level CCSS for foundational skills by providing explicit instruction and assessment in phonics and word recognition that demonstrate a research-based progression.
Explicit instruction is provided to address all phonics and word recognition standards. Lessons include opportunities for teacher modeling along with student practice and application of skills through the use of the Know It, Show It pages. Decoding skills lessons over the course of the year include explicit instruction, review, and practice in morphology, vocabulary, and word recognition. Weekly Generative Vocabulary lessons focus on determining new or unknown words and word parts through Greek and Latin roots and affixes. Materials include weekly lessons that build in complexity to review and/or provide instruction in phonics. Phonics and word recognition skills are also taught in a logical progression that increases in complexity across the school year.
Materials contain explicit instruction of irregularly spelled words, syllabication patterns, and word recognition consistently over the course of the year. For example:
Students have opportunities to use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context.
- Materials include decoding lessons twice a week throughout all modules, for example:
- Module 1, Lesson 1, Decoding: Short Vowels
- Module 1, Lesson 3, Decoding: Short Vowels
- Module 3, Lesson 11, Decoding: VCCV Syllable Division Pattern
- Module 3, Lesson 13, Decoding: VCCV Syllable Division Pattern
- Module 9, Lesson 1, Decoding: Prefixes com-, con-, pre-, pro-
- Module 9, Lesson 3, Decoding Prefixes com-, con-, pre-, pro-
- Module 10, Lesson 6, Decoding: Suffixes -ion, -ation
- Module 10, Lesson 8, Decoding: Suffixes -ion, -ation
- Module 12, Lesson 11, Decoding: Multisyllabic Words
- Module 12, Lesson 13, Decoding: Multisyllabic Words
- In Module 3, Lesson 11, page T152, students learn about the VCCV syllable pattern. The teacher models how to break words such as: enter, blossom, practice, and command apart. Students practice blending and reading words with the VCCV pattern such as: fungus, concern, cluster, and progress. The teacher is provided with questions to use during the activity, such as, “How many syllables do these words have? What is similar or different about where the syllables divide?” Students practice with a Know It, Show It page.
- In Module 11, Lesson 13, page T58, the teacher reminds students that knowing how to pronounce and recognize suffixes is a strategy to decode words. The teacher displays a chart with suffixes -ness, -ing, -less, and -able, reading the suffixes and words and then identifies the root word and how both meaning and spelling changes. The teacher models decoding creaseless by finding the suffix -less and breaking the word into syllables various ways until it sounds correct. Students quiz their partners identifying the root words and suffixes in words. Students complete a Know It, Show It page in partners or in groups.
Multiple assessment opportunities are provided over the course of the year to inform instructional adjustments of phonics and word recognition to help students make progress toward mastery. For example:
- Progress Monitoring Assessments are provided and include specific instructions for administering the assessments. Materials provide a chart that lists beginning, middle, and end of year benchmarks for words correct per minute. For example, the end of the year range for Grade 5 is 136-156 WCPM. After administering the assessment, teachers are instructed “Analyze a student’s errors and self-corrections in each section to identify problem areas and a starting point for reteaching, review and extra practice. For improving rate, provide texts at a student’s independent reading level for repeated or coached readings.”
- The Intervention Assessments Manual provides teachers with charts for helping students who struggle with the Screening Assessment. For example, on page T41 in the manual, teachers are provided with a chart for “IF ‘Below Goal’ on Screening Assessment, THEN.” For example, under Identify Student Needs, the teacher is instructed to “Administer prior grades’ Screening Assessments, beginning with the immediately prior grade’s Screening Assessments: Oral Reading Fluency. Follow prior grade’s Recommendations in Detail as needed.”
- Weekly Assessments are provided to assess students on grammar skills, comprehension skills, and vocabulary skills taught throughout the week. For example, in Module 2, Week 3, Weekly Assessment suffix- ful is assessed.
- Module Assessments are provided at the end of each module to assess major reading and writing skills addressed in the module. For example, Module 1 Assessment, question 2, instructs students to “Read the sentences from paragraph 11. ‘I’ll provide my life story some other time,” said the maple. ‘We don’t have time for my autobiography.’” Think about the Greek prefix auto- and the Greek root bio. What is the meaning of autobiography above?” Students then select their answer from four choices.
Materials contain explicit instruction of word solving strategies (graphophonic and syntactic) to decode unfamiliar words. For example:
- In Module 1, Lesson 1, page T36, students decode words with short vowel sounds. The teacher writes and reads the word flop with emphasis on the vowel sound. The teacher explains that this type of syllable is a closed syllable, and closed syllables have short vowel sounds. The teacher displays and reads words underlining the vowels or vowel teams that make the short vowel sound, such as the digraph ea in bread. The teacher displays a chart of words with short vowel sounds a, e, i, o, and u, reads the words underlining the vowel, and guides students to read words. Students pairs read words on Display and Engage: 1.1 aloud, quizzing each other on short vowel pronunciations. Students complete Know It, Show It page 4 in partners or small groups. Students share strategies they use to decode words with short vowel sounds.
- In Module 5, Lesson 8, page T116, the teacher reviews how to recognize root words and use the suffix to decode the word. The teacher models with the words considered and programming.
Indicator 1P
The materials reviewed for Grade 5 Into Reading meet the criteria for materials, lessons, and questions that provide instruction in and practice of word analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.
Shared reading lessons provide an opportunity for teachers to provide instruction and practice for students in reading connected texts. Leveled Readers used with Take and Teach lessons, Readers' Theater, and Blend-It Books provide opportunities for students to practice and apply word analysis skills in connected texts as well. Additionally, fluency passages read as part of weekly fluency lessons provide opportunities for students to apply word analysis skills in connected text. Assessments are provided to monitor student application and progress with word analysis.
Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis skills in connected texts and tasks. For example:
- In Module 2, Lesson 6, page T289, students read Printable: Fluency 2.6 while applying the lesson's fluency skill to a reading passage, students are also exposed to words that exemplify the week's decoding skills such as outstanding, boisterous, and announcement. This supports the /ou/,/o/, and /oi/ decoding lessons for the week. Students read the passage as a Choral Read with the teacher, then read it aloud again with partners. There is a Decoding Fluency Connection section in fluency lessons that advises teachers to “use the passage to monitor whether students can accurately and fluently read these grade-level words.”
Materials include word analysis assessment to monitor student learning of word analysis skills. For example:
- Assessments included in the materials address word analysis skills. For example:
- Leveled Reader Quizzes provide teachers the opportunity to monitor student learning of word analysis skills.
- Guided Reading Benchmark Assessments provide teachers the opportunity to monitor student learning of word analysis skills by measuring oral reading.
- The Screening Assessment includes oral reading to monitor students word analysis skills.
- Progress Monitoring Assessments include oral reading to monitor students’ word analysis skills.
- Guided Reading Benchmark Assessments are available for Rigby Leveled Readers. Each leveled reader has a Reading Accuracy record or a detailed Oral Reading record to determine a student’s instructional level. It also allows teachers to monitor comprehension, retelling, as well as reading accuracy, so that teachers can track difficulties with word analysis skills.
Indicator 1Q
The materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the criteria that instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and achieve reading fluency in oral and silent reading, that is, to read on-level prose and poetry with accuracy, rate appropriate to the text, and expression.
Students have multiple opportunities throughout the school year to observe the teacher modeling fluent reading, including accuracy, expression, and rate; however, students have limited opportunities to practice fluently reading poetry. Fluency instruction is included in weekly lessons and follows an I do, We do, You do format that allows students to observe the teacher model fluent reading, practice fluent reading with teacher support, and independently read texts fluently. Students are provided opportunities to engage in Partner Reading, Choral Reading, Echo Reading, and Repeated Reading during weekly fluency lessons. Students have multiple opportunities over the course of the year to demonstrate sufficient accuracy and fluency in oral reading and silent reading during Small-Group Instruction with Rigby Leveled Readers guided reading groups or independent reading during Independent Application. Students have opportunities to practice fluency using Readers' Theater which contains a Student Reading Self-Evaluation Form. Assessment opportunities are provided to monitor student progress and make adjustments as needed to guide students toward mastery of fluency in Guided Reading Benchmark Assessments, Progress Monitoring, and informal evaluations during lessons through teacher observations. All students are given an Oral Reading Fluency Test at the beginning of the year, and students who struggle are given ongoing progress monitoring fluency assessments; however, explicit instructions for how often teachers should be assessing students who are at or above grade level are not evident in the materials. Welcome to the Module section suggests that teachers give running records or other assessments periodically. Benchmark Books can be used to assess accuracy but do not prompt teachers to calculate a WCPM range to guide the teacher in determining appropriate rate.
Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate sufficient accuracy and fluency in oral and silent reading. For example:
Students have opportunities to read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
- In Module 3, Lesson 1, page T39, the teacher is prompted “Remind students that good readers use several techniques when they read aloud with expression. They change their tone, volume, and rate to reflect the text. Good readers also pay attention to punctuation, especially question marks and exclamation points, to guide their expression.” The teacher models reading with and without expression to highlight this skill. Students practice Echo Reading and Partner Reading the same passage.
- In Module 5, Lesson 1, page T39, the teacher reminds students what phrasing is and that good readers phrase appropriately when reading to improve their understanding of the text. The teacher demonstrates reading with and without appropriate phrasing, discussing the difference. Students reread the passage with the teacher using the Choral Reading routine. Students work in pairs or small groups to reread the passage with appropriate phrasing using the Partner Reading routine.
- In Module 11, Lesson 1, page T13, the teacher is instructed “Explain that good readers work hard to improve their accuracy. They also monitor their reading and correct mistakes they make, such as mispronouncing words. Point out that if a part of the text does not make sense, students should pause, use context to confirm their word recognition, and then self-correct.” The teacher models reading a passage, using self-correction along the way. Afterwards, students Choral Read and Partner Read the same passage.
Materials support reading of prose with attention to rate, accuracy, and expression, as well as, direction for students to apply reading skills when productive struggle is necessary. Students’ opportunities to read poetry are minimal in the materials. For example:
Students have opportunities to read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
- In Module 2, Lesson 1, T229, the teacher explains expression is when “they change their tone, volume, and rate to reflect the text.” The teacher tells students good readers look to punctuation like question marks and exclamation points to guide their expression. The students follow along as the teacher reads a paragraph in a monotone voice, then rereads modeling reading with expression. Students then read the passage aloud with the teacher using the Echo Reading routine. Students then read the passage aloud again in pairs or small groups using Partner Reading.
- In Module 10, Lesson 11, page T337, after reading and discussing the poetry collection Winter Bees, students “pair up and choose a poem from Winter Bees to practice reading aloud fluently. Remind students to use line breaks and any punctuation in the poems as cues for when to pause, and to slow down as needed in order to pronounce difficult words.” The teacher instructs students to work on their accuracy and expression when reading.
Materials support students’ development of reading fluency (e.g., self-correction of word recognition and/or for understanding, focus on rereading) over the course of the year (to get to the end of the grade-level band). For example:
Students have opportunities to use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
- In Module 1, Lesson 6, page T99, the teacher reviews what it means to read accurately, how it helps with understanding, and how readers should monitor what they are reading and self-correct if needed. The teacher models reading with accuracy, using self-correction techniques as needed. Students read the passage with the teacher using the Choral Reading routine. Students work in groups or pairs to reread the passage with accuracy and monitoring using the Partner Reading routine.
- In Module 4, Lesson 6, page T 289, the teacher reminds students reading with accuracy means pronouncing words correctly, and if the text does not make sense to pause, use context clues, and self-correct. Students follow along as the teacher reads aloud the first sentence mispronouncing merchants and pauses to use decoding skills and context to read correctly. The teacher rereads the sentence correctly and fluently. Students read the passage aloud with the teacher using the Choral Reading routine, and then read the passage aloud again in pairs or small groups using the Partner Reading routine.
- In Module 5, Lesson 11, page T146, the teacher uses Anchor Chart 2: Monitor and Clarify to teach students strategies they can use if they are struggling to understand what they are reading. Some of these strategies include, “Decode it again. Look for context clues. Replace it with another word. Look it up in a dictionary or glossary.” Students then practice these strategies with the text Parrots Over Puerto Rico.
Assessment materials that provide teachers and students with information about students’ current fluency skills and provide teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery of fluency are provided for students needing intervention; however, the materials do not include guidance for assessing fluency for students reading at or above grade-level expectations. For example:
- Assessment tools provided with the materials include components to assess fluency. For example:
- The Screening Assessment addresses Oral Reading Fluency. Teachers are directed to use Oral Reading Fluency Assessments to individually assess a student’s oral reading skills, specifically fluency, accuracy, and rate. The results of the Screening Assessment and other observations will help the teacher determine whether students would benefit from intervention instruction or require additional diagnostic testing.
- Progress Monitoring Assessments administered biweekly to assess Oral Reading Fluency are used to follow up with students receiving intervention instruction.
- Guided Reading Benchmark Assessments are given three times a year or as needed to assess all students’ accuracy but do not provide guidance for teachers to determine a WCPM score. Examples are provided on page 1 of the Benchmark Evaluation Guide that state teachers use these assessments to “assess whether a student is ready to move into another Into Reading guided reading level.” Teachers may “assess whether a student has been placed in a level that is too difficult,” or “provide a Formal Assessment for a grading period.”
- In Module 7, Welcome to the Module, page T9, the Guided Reading Groups box includes a bullet point that advises teachers to “Assess students periodically, using running records or other diagnostic assessments to determine each student’s guided reading level.”
Overview of Gateway 2
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
Texts are organized around topics to build to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Questions and tasks throughout the program engage students in the analysis of content and ideas within and across texts, including sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.
Culminating tasks in the materials require students to reflect on the knowledge gained from the module, however these tasks do not consistently require the use of the texts and vocabulary from the unit to complete them.
The materials provide consistent opportunities for students to learn and use key academic vocabulary across and within texts to better understand the content. The program also includes a comprehensive plan for writing instruction across the year to support students in achieving grade-level proficiency. Students also engage in inquiry and research projects in each module of the program, providing the opportunity to solve a problem, answer a question, or share information about the topic under study.
Gateway 2
v1.0
Criterion 2.1: Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
Texts are organized around topics to build to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Questions and tasks throughout the program engage students in the analysis of content and ideas within and across texts, including sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.
Culminating tasks in the materials require students to reflect on the knowledge gained from the module, however these tasks do not consistently require the use of the texts and vocabulary from the unit to complete them.
The materials provide consistent opportunities for students to learn and use key academic vocabulary across and within texts to better understand the content. The program also includes a comprehensive plan for writing instruction across the year to support students in achieving grade-level proficiency. Students also engage in inquiry and research projects in each module of the program, providing the opportunity to solve a problem, answer a question, or share information about the topic under study.
Indicator 2A
The materials reviewed for Grade 5 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.
Each module has a topic that is stated by the name of the module and clearly outlined in the section titled “Building Knowledge Networks.” Within each module, students interact with anchor texts, supporting texts, daily tasks, and writing tasks designed to grow the students’ understanding of the unit’s topic.
Examples include:
- In Module 1, students read texts on the topic of inventions. Texts include: Winds of Hope by Katy Duffield, The Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford by Suzanne Slade and Jennifer Black Reinhardt, and Captain Arsenio: Inventors and (Mis)Adventures in Flight by Pablo Bernasconi.
- In Module 3, students read texts on the topic of natural disasters. Texts in this module include: Quaking Earth, Racing Waves by Rachel Young, and Eruption! Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives by Elizabeth Rusch.
- In Module 4, students read about the Wild West and the character traits needed in people who settled in the West. Texts in this module include: Explore the Wild West! by Anita Yasuda, The Celestials' Railroad by Bruce Watson, and A Pioneer Sampler by Barbara Greenwood.
- In Module 7, students read about the topic of curiosity in exploration and learn about important discoveries. Texts in this module include: Into the Unknown: Above and Below by Stewart Ross, Great Discoveries and Amazing Adventures by Claire Llewellyn, and The Mighty Mars Rovers by Elizabeth Rusch.
- In Module 10, students read all about what we can learn by observing animals. Students learn about the characteristics and abilities of animals. Texts in this module include: Can We Be Friends? by Ellen R. Braaf, Willie B.: A Story of Hope by Nancy Roe Pimm, and Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman.
Indicator 2B
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 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.
Throughout Modules 1-10, students interact with the text to answer questions during Targeted Close Reads, Reads for Understanding, Collaborative Discussion, independent work using graphic organizers, and responses to questions in writing that include finding evidence in the text. In Modules 11-12, students complete Genre Studies, where they are asked to further analyze previously read texts.
Specific examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks about language include:
- In Module 3, Lesson 9, students read Quaking Earth, Racing Waves by Rachel Young. They are asked, "What vivid verbs does the author use to help readers visualize the way Earth’s plates move?"
- In Module 12, Lesson 3, after rereading the first two pages of Elisa’s Diary by Doris Luisa Oronoz, students are asked, "How does the author use sensory words and descriptions in paragraph 2 to set up a contrast?" Then students are asked, "How does the author use descriptive language to create different moods at the end of paragraph 3?"
Specific examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks about key ideas include:
- In Module 1, Lesson 7, after reading Winds of Hope by Katy Duffield, students are asked: "What challenges does William face during the drought?" and "How does William react to the challenge?"
- In Module 4, Lesson 2, after reading Explore the Wild West! by Anita Yasuda, students are asked: "What is the central or main idea of the text?" and "What evidence supports your answer?"
Specific examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks about details include:
- In Module 4, Lesson , in a close reading of Explore the Wild West! by Anita Yasuda, students are asked to find evidence of details supporting the central idea that the westward journey was difficult.
- In Module 9, Lesson 4, after reading Mr. Linden’s Library by Walter Dean Myers, students are asked to analyze how Carol’s discussion with Mr. Linden fits together with other events, as well as, how Carol tries to ask Mr. Linden about the mysterious book. Students then have to describe how Mr. Linden reacts and explain how the events add to the story’s conflict.
Specific examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks about craft include:
- In Module 3, Lesson 9, students read Quaking Earth, Racing Waves by Rachel Young and are asked: "What comparison does the author use to help readers understand that the lithosphere is very thin?" and "How does the author explain how slowly Earth’s plates move?"
- In Module 5, Lesson 2, after reading Potatoes on Rooftops: Farming in the City by Hadley Dyer, students are asked: "What images does the author first ask the reader to imagine?", "How does the author use exaggeration to appeal to the readers’ emotions?", and "How does the A Taste of Freedom sidebar affect readers’ feelings?"
- In Module 11, Lesson 14, after reading an independent persuasive text, students are asked to detail some examples of the author’s craft techniques that they found. Then students are asked: "What is the author’s purpose for writing the text?" and "How do the techniques support the purpose?"
Specific examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks about structure include:
- In Module 1, Lesson 7, during a close read of Winds of Hope by Katy Duffield, students are asked, "How does knowing the text’s structure help you understand the main ideas on page 39?"
- In Module 7, Lesson 3, after reading Into the Unknown: Above and Below by Stewart Ross, students are asked: "How does the author organize the ideas in paragraphs 5 and 6?" and "Why does the author use that structure?" Students then underline signal words and phrases that helped them identify the structure.
- In Module 11, Lesson 11, after rereading the section “A Hurricane’s Life Cycle” from Hurricanes: The Science Behind Killer Storms by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn, students are asked the following questions: "What text structure does the author use?" and "How do you know?"
Indicator 2C
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 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.
In each module, students are given a Knowledge Map, where they work with the teacher to create a concept map about the topic of study. After each text, students return to the Knowledge Map and add information to help them build knowledge and answer the Essential Question.
Examples of text-dependent questions that help students analyze knowledge and ideas include:
- In Module 1, Lessons 8-10 students read Wheelchair Sports: Hang Glider to Wheeler Dealer by Simon Shapiro. Then they answer questions such as: “What led Marilyn Hamilton to invent a new kind of wheelchair?", "In what way was Dr. Guttmann’s idea for helping his patients different from what had been done in the past?”, and “What special features make sports wheelchairs better for athletes than traditional wheelchairs?”
- In Module 7, students learn about exploration and important discovery. In Lessons 11-14, students read The Mighty Mars Rovers by Elizabeth Rusch. Then they are asked questions such as: “What do the scientists and engineers at Mission Control do as they wait for Spirit to land?", "How does the team react when Spirit’s signal comes through?”, and “Why is Opportunity's discovery of salts exciting for Steve and his team?”
- In Module 9, Lessons 8-10, students read Finding Bigfoot: Everything You Need to Know by Martha Brockenbrough and are asked a series of questions to build knowledge. Some of these questions include: “Which details offer convincing evidence about Bigfoot?", "Which details are less convincing?”, “What does the author believe about Bigfoot?", and "How do you know?”
Students are also asked to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across multiple texts. Some examples include:
- In Module 3, Lesson 15, students are required to synthesize their learning of natural disasters. Students begin the lesson by discussing questions such as: “What new things did you learn in this module?", "Have these selections changed your thinking about natural disasters?”, and “What else would you like to learn about natural disasters?” Then students work in small groups to reflect on Eruption! Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives by Elizabeth Rusch and Hurricanes: The Science Behind Killer Storms by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein. Students analyze the points of view and perspectives offered in each text, focusing on similarities and differences between them.
- In Module 5, Lesson 2, students listen to the teacher read “Tech-Trash Tragedy” by Liam O'Donnell. Then the teacher requires the students to synthesize knowledge from a video, this text, and another text in order to build knowledge. Students are asked what they learned about Earth and the environment that they did not know before reading the text. Then students are asked, “How is the information in the video about how people can help keep the environment clean, the text about natural preferences, and the information in ‘Tech-Trash Tragedy’ the same and different?”
- In Module 8, Lesson 2, the teacher reads aloud the article “Liberty Enlightening the World” (author not cited) and then students analyze this text, another text, and a video to build knowledge. Students begin by discussing information that they know about moving to a new home that they did not know before reading the text. In addition, students discuss, the similarities and differences amongst the video about moving to a new town, the text about moving to a new country, and the article.
Indicator 2D
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 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).
Throughout the Grade 5 materials, students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic by completing a culminating task through integrated skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. At the end of each module, students are tasked with completing a performance task that utilizes the texts, skills, and strategies from the module. This performance task requires students to apply their learning to a writing prompt. These tasks require students to reflect on information they learned in the module, including the knowledge they gained, and it requires them to use the module texts and vocabulary as well. Students are also given the opportunity to share their culminating task, requiring additional speaking and listening skills.
Some specific examples of culminating tasks that require students to demonstrate their knowledge through integrated skills include:
- In Module 3, students learn about natural disasters and how being informed about natural disasters makes us safer. At the end of the module, students take the new information learned about the topic from the module texts and reflect on the school's or community's preparedness for a natural disaster. Students select one natural disaster and write an editorial about what they think the community should do to prepare. Students are required to draw on evidence from the module's text and video. Students are required to use reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in order to successfully complete this culminating task.
- In Module 4, students learn about the character traits needed for people who settled the West. At the end of the module, the teacher guides students to think about Western pioneers before selecting a part of the pioneer experience to feature in an article. The student may write about the character traits one would need to settle the West and how to overcome challenges. This requires students to integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills from the module to demonstrate their knowledge of the topic.
- In Module 6, students learn about different artists and reflect on how different art forms impact people in different ways. Students think about the information they learned throughout the module about artists and their art form from the texts and then select an artist to write about for a pretend school arts festival. Students complete a biographical sketch of the person’s life and work, which requires students to integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills from the module.
- In Module 7, students learn about exploration and write an instructional article to explain the science behind one of the discoveries in the module. Students must use evidence from the text to support their ideas. This culminating task requires students to integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening to demonstrate their knowledge of scientific exploration and discovery.
- In Module 10, students learn about animal behavior. Students then take the information they learned through reading, speaking, and listening to write an essay about what humans can learn from animals. Students must use evidence from the texts and videos in the module. Throughout the module, students complete a Knowledge Map that lists different types of human and animal behavior which helps them complete the culminating task.
Indicator 2E
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.
Throughout the Grade 5 materials, students learn vocabulary that is found within the module texts as well as strategies to determine the meaning of unknown words not explicitly taught. Direct word instruction includes students learning both general academic and domain-specific words using consistent routines and Vocabulary Cards. Instruction focuses on word pronunciation, word meaning, and context. Students also learn word-learning strategies that include Vocabulary Strategy and Generative Vocabulary lessons. These lessons are designed to help students see the connections between words, deepen their understanding, and provide students with tools that will help them unlock the meaning of unknown words. In the Genre Study Modules (11 & 12), there is no direct vocabulary instruction; however, a list of instructional vocabulary words and definitions are included at the beginning of the week in the Teacher's Guide. The guide states to encourage students to use these words in their speaking and writing during the week.
Students engage with a vocabulary routine to learn academic vocabulary words prior to reading a module text. Teachers read aloud each word, and the students repeat it. Then students read and discuss each word’s student-friendly definition. Then the teacher points out the Vocabulary Card's example of the word's use in a sentence, and students suggest other examples. In Step 2 of this routine, students discuss questions and prompts using the vocabulary words. In Step 3, students work independently to complete activities and prompts on Vocabulary Cards. Students Turn and Talk with a partner to discuss the words. Some specific examples include:
- In Module 1, Lesson 2, students read The Inventor’s Secret: What Thomas Edison Told Henry Ford by Suzanne Slade and learn the words locomotives, chugged, gadgets, phonograph, sputtered, flop, incandescent, and cylinder. Students are asked questions such as: “If a vehicle chugged along, how did it move?” and “If someone says their plan turned out to be a flop, how do you think they feel about it?”
- In Module 4, Lesson 6, students learn the words celestial, complaint, and employed from the text The Celestials' Railroad by Bruce Watson. After learning the words, students discuss the words when asked questions such as: “What type of celestial bodies can you see from Earth?” and “What is your biggest complaint when you eat at a restaurant?”
- In Module 6, Lesson 6, students learn the words exposure, willful, and stereotypical from the text Rita Moreno by Juan Felipe Herrera. Students learn the words and discuss the words by answering questions such as: “Would you like to be famous and have a lot of public exposure?” and “Do you consider yourself a willful person?”
- In Module 7, Lesson 2, students learn the words vast, mariners, cosmic, ascend, forged, and principle from the text Into the Unknown: Above and Below by Stewart Ross. Students discuss these words by answering questions such as: “Could glass by forged?” and “What kinds of vehicles might ascend?”
In addition to learning specific words that are found in the texts, students learn about generative vocabulary and other vocabulary strategies to apply to unknown words. The routine for these lessons is a three-step process. In Step 1, the teacher introduces the word part or strategy. In Step 2, students engage in guided practice by determining the meaning of other words using the taught skill or word part. In Step 3, students apply the skill by completing an independent practice. For example, students write sentences using the words and share sentences with their partners. At times, students also review previous word parts. Specific examples include:
- In Module 2, Lesson 10, students participate in a Generative Vocabulary lesson about the prefixes: re-, pre-, post-, and fore-. Students also review prefixes: non-, un-, dis- and suffixes: -y, -ly, and -ily. Students discuss how base words change when these prefixes and suffixes are applied to them.
- In Module 3, Lesson 12, students participate in a Vocabulary Strategy lesson for synonyms and antonyms. Students work in pairs in Step 3 to record pairs of synonyms and antonyms and choose pairs to use in sentences.
- In Module 5, Lesson 10, students participate in a Generative Vocabulary lesson for Latin roots dict and spect. After learning the meaning of the roots, students are given the words spectacle, reinspect, and dictionary and determine the meaning of the words based on the roots.
- In Module 8, Lesson 10, students engage in a Generative Vocabulary lesson on Latin roots, scrib/script and the prefix, semi-. Students then discuss the following words: semiweekly, semicolon, manuscript, and inscribe.
- In Module 9, Lesson 12, students engage in a Vocabulary Strategy lesson to review homophones and homographs. Students search for various homophones and homographs in the dictionary, share definitions, and create a sentence for each word.
- In Module 10, Lesson 7, students participate in a Vocabulary Strategy lesson on antonyms and synonyms. Students use the academic vocabulary from National Geographic: Dolphin Parenting and work in pairs to use a thesaurus to find antonyms and synonyms for the words.
Indicator 2F
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 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.
Students have many opportunities to write during literacy instruction. Following each main text in their myBook, students respond to their reading through a writing about the reading task. For each of these tasks, students are provided with planning space, a graphic organizer, and reminders to use text evidence. These writing tasks include a variety of text types. In addition, at the end of each module, students complete a performance-based writing task based on the module’s Essential Question. Many of these prompts ask students to synthesize at least two texts in the module. Students use graphic organizers to plan, draft their writing, edit, and revise before finishing the assignment. Finally, in Writing Workshop, students are explicitly taught the writing process for narrative, informational, and opinion writing. Each of these modules include explicit modeling and instruction for each stage of the writing process. Each module is tied to a focal text, and students write daily and receive regular conferencing with teachers and peers to improve their writing. For most modules, the students focus on a particular writing mode and explore it through all aspects of writing instruction, which further helps students achieve grade-level proficiency in writing.
Specific examples of writing instruction prompts in myBook include:
- In Module 2, Lesson 5, after reading the text, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, students write a journal entry from the perspective of the characters Kate and Matt. Students apply their understanding of the text to write a journal entry that tells what happens when they go to look for the flying creatures in the story.
- In Module 3, Lesson 14, after reading Hurricanes: The Science Behind Killer Storms by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein, students complete a weather report to inform viewers of the effects they can expect a Category 2 storm to cause.
- In Module 5, Lesson 4, students write an advertising script to persuade people to participate in a community garden. Students must provide a clear opinion and give reasons and text evidence to support the opinion.
- In Module 7, Lesson 5, after reading Into the Unknown: Above and Below by Stewart Ross, students write a news script about one of the explorations of Auguste and Jacques Piccard.
- In Module 8, Lesson 5, students write a poem about a topic of their choice. They need to include two sensory details from A Movie in My Pillow by Jorge Argueta.
- In Module 10, Lesson 9, after reading Can We Be Friends? by Ellen R. Braaf, students write a social media post to share their opinion about animal friendships with the scientist in the story. In the post, students compare details from the article with their own observations about animal behavior.
Performance tasks require students to apply what they have learned about the writing process in order to demonstrate their understanding of the Essential Questions and key knowledge and skills in each module. Some examples of performance tasks that provide instruction in writing include:
- In Module 1, students write a personal narrative about a time they found a creative way to solve a problem. Students draw on the earlier module experience of writing a personal account from Week 1, where they wrote a two-paragraph personal account telling about a challenge they faced and the actions taken to overcome it.
- In Module 4, students write an article about a feature or part of the pioneer experience, such as daily life, the journey west, or overcoming challenges. The task integrates skills throughout the module, including writing a journal entry, gathering information from a variety of sources, and presenting information with a clear sequence.
- In Module 6, students write a biographical sketch of an artist they read about in the module. Students must provide an introduction to the artist and the art form that he or she is known. Students work with a partner to revise and evaluate their writing. Guiding questions are provided such as: “Did I include strong evidence, such as facts, examples, and quotations?” and “Did I use precise language and vocabulary related to the art form?”
- In Module 7, students write an article to explain the science behind one of the discoveries they learned about in the module. Students include text evidence and vocabulary from the module, and students complete a planning sheet to list their topic, main idea, and three supporting details.
- In Module 10, students write an informational essay for an online newsletter on the topic of what people can learn from animals. In Writing Workshop, students engage in lessons that focus on process-based writing to generate ideas, organize drafts, revise, edit, publish, and share. Students learn about the characteristics of narrative, informational, and opinion writing and work on one piece of writing throughout all three weeks of a module. Specific examples of writing instruction and prompts in Writing Workshop include:
- In Module 1, students write an expository text about an inventor from the module and how they worked hard to make the idea for an invention a reality. Students are taught the elements of an expository essay and must include the vocabulary words investment, professional, and ingenuity.
- In Module 3, students write a persuasive essay about what they would do if a natural disaster destroyed their town and if they would evacuate. Students follow the structure of a persuasive essay, which includes introducing the issue and the author’s position in paragraph 1, three argument paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph.
- In Module 6, students write a personal narrative that tells the story of a memory from their life.
- In Module 8, students produce a lyric poem, using the text Love That Dog by Sharon Creech as a mentor text. Students participate in the writing process and focus on figurative language, poetic techniques, and descriptive language.
- In Module 10, students write a persuasive letter to the local newspaper about an organization that cares for animals, giving reasons why people should support the organization with money and time.
During the Genre Study Modules (Modules 11-12) in the Genre Study Teacher's Guide, students work on a week-long writing assignment in the genre they are reading about. Examples include:
- In Module 11, Lessons 11-15, students write and present a personal letter or magazine advertisement after studying the characteristics of persuasive texts.
- In Module 12, Lessons 6-10, students study the characteristics of plays and write and present a scene from a television show or an act from a musical.
Indicator 2G
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 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.
Each module in Grade 5 contains an Inquiry and Research Project. These projects require students to work for an extended period of time to solve a problem, answer a question, or share information. Inquiry and Research Projects align to the big idea in the module, and students are encouraged to draw from the texts read during the module. Each Inquiry and Research Project follows three steps, with each step taking place during a different week of the module. During Week 1, the project is launched. Students collaborate to generate research questions and develop a research plan. Students also research source materials available including books, magazines, videos, and online sources. During Week 2, students write and create their project. Students draft and revise their work, and a variety of materials are provided to complete the project, including art supplies and digital materials. During Week 3, students present and reflect. Students practice their presentations, share their final products with an audience, assess their work, and celebrate. In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Resource section, teachers are provided with guidance for best practices to facilitate Inquiry and Research Projects. Some of these best practices include selecting an outside audience for Week 3, allowing time for revision, and modeling how to find and record information.
Specific examples of research projects found throughout the year include, but are not limited to:
- In Module 1, students work in groups to think of an invention that solves a problem. Students analyze successful older inventions and updated newer inventions to gain an understanding of how, through time, inventions have been revised and changed. In Week 2, students create a business plan by identifying the invention's purpose, its target customers, and the effort and supplies needed to create it. In Week 3, students share and then reflect on information they learned from completing the project.
- In Module 2, students work in groups to create a proposal for a film adaptation of one of the texts from the myBook. In Week 1, students work in groups to discuss familiar film adaptations and compare them to the original books. Students create an idea board with their proposed film adaptation. In Week 2, students brainstorm a cast of actors/actresses and draft a movie proposal based on their research. Students also create a poster to advertise the film. In Week 3, students present to an audience.
- In Module 3, students create a safety pamphlet to help people deal with natural disasters. In Week 1, students work in groups to research a type of natural disaster, actions to take when a natural disaster strikes, and ways to protect themselves. In Week 2, students draft the pamphlet and create a visual to enhance the written portion of the pamphlet. In Week 3, students reflect on information they learned after presenting to an audience.
- In Module 4, students create a travel brochure about the Old West in order to encourage people of that period to migrate West. Students research before identifying positives for migrating West and drafting their brochure.
- In Module 5, students create an environmental Public Service Announcement. In Week 1, students research information about living a “green” lifestyle and ways to improve the environment. Students must use research evidence to support their claims and prepare a script to present to the class.
- In Module 6, students research the ways in which people create and share different art forms. Students write a biography about a favorite artist and create and share a piece of art in the chosen artist’s style. In Week 1, students research, and in Week 2, students draft a biography and integrate visuals to help the audience better understand the artist. In Week 3, students present to an audience.
- In Module 7, students read a variety of texts to research three favorite explorers and write biographies about their lives and achievements. In Week 1, students discuss the explorers featured in the modules and research their achievements. They also share the effects on the world because of their explorations. In Week 2, students draft biographies and lists of achievements before revising, editing, and creating visuals for their presentations, which take place in Week 3.
- In Module 8, students read and research to create a culture map and poster about a country of their choice. Students begin by working in groups before creating their own poster to feature their chosen country.
- In Module 9, students read and research a variety of texts to create a welcome packet for new employees at a detective agency. In Week 1, students research the steps a detective takes when trying to solve a mystery. In Week 2, students choose a mystery from the module for the focus of their project, draft a paragraph that gives background information about the mystery and how it was solved, and the steps for conducting research to include in the packet.
- In Module 10, students work together to create a two-page spread about an animal for a science magazine. They must include information about the animal’s most notable characteristics, the animal's diet and ways it obtains food, and interesting facts about the animal.
Indicator 2H
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 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.
In the Guiding Principles and Strategies resource section, there is an area called Supporting Reading Independence. In this section, teachers are provided with resources and strategies to help students become independent and enthusiastic readers both in the classroom and at home. There is also information regarding organization of a classroom reading center, including procedures for students to self-select books, set individual reading goals, and construct responses to reading. In addition, the Family and Community section provides information on independent reading. Students complete independent reading during literacy centers while the teacher is meeting with small groups of students. Students self-select books and record progress on a reading log. There is information on how to promote independent reading at home and ways to keep track of texts students read. In Modules 11 and 12, students read independently in the genre focus for the book.
Some of the specific suggestions that the program provides for independent reading in the classroom include:
- Organizing the classroom reading center, introducing new books in the library throughout the year, and creating a diverse library that reflects the diversity of the classroom. The reading center should be designed in a way that students read independently and also discuss books with peers. Reading logs, reading nonfiction printables, and pencils and markers should also be found in the reading center.
- Teaching students to self-select books by modeling choosing books and having students conduct short book talks to recommend books to their classmates.
- Teaching students to set goals and respond to reading by gradually increasing the amount of time that students read throughout the year, encouraging students to set a goal for how much reading they will do, and having students create a response journal to document their independent reading books.
- During literacy centers, students can self-select or continue reading an independent reading book, keep track of progress by using a reading log, and utilize the independent reading printables (one each for fiction and nonfiction) to keep track of key ideas. The reading log includes title, genre, date, time spent, pages read, as well as, a summary or answer to a discussion question.
Some of the specific suggestions that the program provides for independent reading at home include:
- Demonstrating to families how to be a fluent reader and how to interact with children while reading aloud to them. It is encouraged that this happens once a week and that parents also listen to children read to them. The teacher should also provide book ideas and coach parents on how to consider children’s interests when selecting a text.
- Encouraging families to dedicate time at least once per week to read with their children, sending home a reading log so students can record time spent reading outside of the classroom, and providing strategies for text selection, such as reading a page and seeing if they read five or more words incorrectly and choosing a different book.
- Sharing a summer reading list with suggestions of titles across a variety of genres for students to read independently and with their families. The teacher should also send home a list of questions families should ask students before, during, and after reading.
- Suggesting that families participate in a book club or other book events that will spark students’ interest in topics.
Overview of Gateway 3
Usability
Materials are well-designed, employ effective lesson structure and pacing, include copious review and practice resources. The Teacher Edition useful information, ample notations, guidance for implementation, and support for digital components. Full explanations and examples are provided with professional learning support for more advanced literary concepts.
The role of the ELA/literacy standards in the context of the program are clearly outlined along with an explanation of the approaches of the program, including research-based strategies.
The materials also provide strategies for stakeholder communications to strengthen relationships with families and the community.
Regular, systematic opportunities for assessment are located throughout the materials. The materials align included assessments to the standards, however individual assessment questions are not labeled with an alignment. Ample guidance is provided for interpreting assessment data for application to instruction.
Independent reading based on student choice along with accountability measures are included in the program.
The program supports teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of all learners, including support for students for whom English is a new language, students with disabilities, and students performing above grade-level.
The digital materials can be accessed across all platforms and most devices, though do not appear to be optimized for use on a mobile device. The platform offers a variety of digital support pieces for teachers and students, including opportunities for teachers to customize locally and personalize learning for students, navigation support may be needed to help teachers implement these digital components effectively. Some opportunities for digital collaboration is provided.
Criterion 3.1: Use & Design
The materials are well-designed, employ effective lesson structure and pacing, include copious review and practice resources (including clear directions/labeling and explanations for students), and are designed in such a way that they are not distracting or chaotic.
However, while each assessment is labeled with a standards alignment, an alignment is not provided for individual questions.
Indicator 3A
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.
The Grade 5 materials are divided into twelve modules, with each module taking place over three weeks. The Guiding Principles and Strategies Resource and Teacher's Guide provide extensive information about all components of the module and specific details for each lesson component. Suggested time frames and ranges for each component of a lesson are provided. The materials have multiple lesson parts that are required daily, though the provided time frames will help schools find time for each part of the lesson. Time is built into the schedule each day for whole class instruction, small group instruction, independent practice, collaborative group work, and reflection.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Resource provides information to support effective lesson structure and pacing:
- Whole Class Instruction should be 75-120 minutes per day. It should include 10-15 minutes per day of knowledge building and vocabulary instruction, 20-30 minutes of Reading Workshop, 15-30 minutes of foundational skills and/or communication, and 30-45 minutes of Writing Workshop.
- Small Group instruction should be 45-60 minutes per day and include independent practice, collaborative work, and teacher-led small group instruction.
Each week, the Teacher's Guide also provides a Week at a Glance, which highlights the components of each lesson and the suggested daily times. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, it is suggested that the teacher uses 10-15 minutes to build knowledge and vocabulary, 60-85 minutes for Reading Workshop, 15-30 minutes for foundational skills, 15-30 minutes for communication, and 30-45 minutes of Writing Workshop.
Indicator 3B
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the criteria that the teacher and student can reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.
The Grade 5 materials are arranged into twelve, three-week modules for a total of 180 days of instruction. Flexibility within a typical school year including disruptions due to state testing, holidays, snow days, field trips, and other school and district commitments is not built into the materials. The Guiding Principles and Strategies book emphasizes the importance of introducing and practicing routines and procedures in the beginning of the year; however this is not built into the flow of the materials.
According to The Guiding Principles and Strategies resource, there is a daily schedule recommendation. The sample schedule covers almost a six hour day, but does not provide for daily social studies and science instruction. It allocates almost three hours of ELA instruction and allows for 45 minutes of math instruction. The sample schedule is meant as a guide for schools to create their own schedule. The suggested schedule includes:
- Morning Announcements: 10 minutes
- Vocabulary: 15 minutes
- Reading Workshop: 15 minutes
- Small Group Instruction: 70 minutes
- Lunch: 20 minutes
- Recess: 30 minutes
- Foundational Skills or Communication: 30 minutes
- Writing Workshop: 45 minutes
- Math: 45 minutes
- PE/Art/Music: 30 minutes
- Science or Social Studies: 30 minutes
- Wrap Up: 10 minutes
In order to complete Modules 11 and 12, all other Module lessons must be completed, because lessons in these two modules require students to revisit texts and anchor charts from Modules 1-10.
Indicator 3C
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (eg. visuals, maps, etc.)
The Grade 5 student materials provide a variety of resources to practice and review skills. The resources provide clear directions and explanations for students and are all labeled to show alignment to the specific module and week. Printables and anchor charts are easily located on the digital site by sorting in accordance with the labeled heading in the Teacher's Guide as well. Practice opportunities include the student myBook, the Notice & Note Signposts, and the Know It & Show It practice activities.
The myBook is a write-in student book that provides clear directions and explanations. Each task box is labeled with clear and concise instructions along with a defined box for completing the task. Some examples include:
- Students are given directions to annotate the text to demonstrate their thinking.
- Students are given directions to find evidence in the text to support their understanding of text structure, text features, literary elements, central idea, theme, point of view, and figurative language.
- Students are given clear directions to engage in Collaborative Discussion and respond to questions in myBook.
- Students are given directions to respond to given writing prompts.
- Critical vocabulary is listed beside the boxes where students complete writing tasks, so students can include the important vocabulary words in their writing.
Notice & Signposts are found throughout the reading of texts, which directs students to think more deeply about the texts. This provides clear guidance during the close reading of texts. Some examples of this include:
- In literary texts, students might stop and think about an ‘Aha Moment’, which is when the character reaches a realization about something that shifts his or her understanding.
- In informational texts, students might stop and think about “Number and Stats,” where students analyze the numbers, statistics, and language an author uses to provide precision or to avoid it.
The Know It & Show It book is a resource book that provides students with independent practice to apply comprehension skills that accompany the myBook texts. The activities are labeled with each skill, as well as, the module and the week that the practice aligns.
The Genre Study Printables for Modules 11 and 12 are labeled correctly to include the module and lesson number. Directions and questions are clear, and the layout is simple and easy to use. Printables include the Genre Maps, Writing in the Genre activities, and the Genre Study printables that support each genre study mini-lesson.
Indicator 3D
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the criteria that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.
There is a resource that shows an alignment to the Common Core State Standards by listing each standard and the lessons that correlate to the standards. Standard alignment is also located in the digital resource through the Planning Guide and Common Core State Standards link. Assessments are not labeled by CCSS, but the digital data reports have an option for the teacher to review the data based on the standard. In addition, on the digital platform, under Module Resources, there is a document titled “State-Specific Resources,” which provides the Weekly Overview for each module with state-aligned labeling of standards. However, specific questions and tasks in the print or digital version are not labeled by the Common Core State Standards. Instead, the publisher lists the standards and the page numbers that you can find the standards, but is not delineated by question or task.
Indicator 3E
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that the visual design (whether in print or digital) is not distracting or chaotic, but supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject.
The visual design includes clear instructions and simple designs that do not distract the students. All texts are provided within the student myBook. The materials contain many visual aids to support student learning, including anchor charts, Display and Engage content, graphic organizers, printables, and real images that accompany the text related to the content of the modules. Additionally, illustrations and clipart utilized on student workbook pages are uncomplicated and appealing to the eye. The font, margins, and spacing provided for student work is appropriate. Color coding is included in the teacher materials to facilitate quick knowledge of the type of task and procedure to use with students.
Examples of appropriate visual design in both print and digital include:
- The printed myBook design provides color, ample space for students to write, large font for headings and directions, and clear labels for vocabulary and tips for students.
- The digital version of the materials provides a table of contents drop down menu, making it easy for students to access specific parts of the myBook digitally.
- The Know It, Show It workbook is labeled with the skill at the top, the module and week at the bottom, and contains clear directions for student completion.
- Anchor charts are provided and used throughout lessons to support the skill that students practice and apply independently. Anchor charts are colorful and use headings and guiding questions.
- Focal Text, Take and Teach Printables are used along with the writing focal text. The printable includes the title of the book, clear directions with page number references, and labeling.
- In the Teaching Pal, boxes are color coded for different tasks, and teacher directions for asking students to complete a task are easily located. The text within these boxes is also visually appealing and easy to read, because it is written in bulleted format.
- Teacher materials on the digital version are not visually busy with too much text. There are icons that can be clicked on for added information about tasks, and then hidden once the task is finished to eliminate visual distraction.
- The Genre Study Printables must be printed from the digital resources. They are black and white, with no visuals or graphics. The printable for each lesson is contained to one page.
Criterion 3.2: Teacher Planning
The Teacher Edition that accompanies the materials provides useful information, ample notations, guidance for implementation, and support for digital components. Full explanations and examples are provided with professional learning support for more advanced literary concepts.
The role of the ELA/literacy standards in the context of the program are clearly outlined along with an explanation of the approaches of the program, including research-based strategies.
The materials also provide strategies for stakeholder communications to strengthen relationships with families and the community.
Indicator 3F
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher Edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.
The Grade 5 materials include a Teacher's Guide that provides a clear outline of each module, as well as, notes and suggestions on how to present content to students. The Teacher's Guide also includes the objectives of the lesson, explanations of the location of routines and descriptions, and suggested ways to present content. It also provides possible questions to ask and detailed guidance for each part of the literacy block. The Teacher's Guide also includes scaffolded instruction to address learners’ needs with suggestions and ideas on how to differentiate instruction for those students in need. Within the Teacher's Guide, there are also ideas for how to structure Reading Workshop, literacy centers, vocabulary centers, digital stations, and research-informed instructional routines to support lesson planning. Some of these instructional routines included are active viewing, active listening, vocabulary, reading for understanding, close reading, response writing. Engagement routines that are also included are as follows: Choral Reading, Partner Reading, Echo Reading, Turn-and-Talk, Think-Pair-Share, Solo Chair, and Collaborative Discussion.
The Teaching Pal features specific annotations in support of instructional routines, including reading for understanding, close reading, and Collaborative Discussion, along with text-dependent questions that are embedded within the text to support teachers with creating engaging text-dependent discussions during and after engaging in the reading of a complex text. The Teaching Pal provides notes for think alouds, tasks, and questions, which are labeled with learning objectives . Each note is also labeled with a Depth of Knowledge for that task, question, or think aloud.
The Teacher's Guide includes several sections that provide annotations and suggestions on how to present information to students. This includes:
- Module Opener: Provides an essential question, an explanation of the module focus, and a quick overview of the skills students will acquire and practice throughout the module
- Make a Difference: Provides suggestions on forming small groups in guided reading, English language development, setting reading goals, conferences, and skill strategy groups
- Building Knowledge Networks: Provides an image of the Knowledge Map students will use and how to display the Display and Engage for students throughout the module
- Developing Knowledge and Skills: Gives an overview of the knowledge and skills addressed throughout the module
- Inquiry and Research Project: Provides the learning objectives and weekly focus, providing teachers with detailed plans to guide students through completion of each project
- Notice and Note: Provides specific guidance of what to say, model or ask. There is also a chart that shows which lesson, within which text, and for which comprehension skill the Notice and Note signpost will appear
- Kicking off the Module: Provides guidance to teachers on setting goals with students and making connections with families
- Week at a Glance: Provides teachers with a Weekly Overview that provides detailed information on the instruction included for the week. Colors are assigned to each part, as well as, the use of icons and symbols.
- Literacy Centers: Provides teachers with information on the work in which students will engage, materials needed, and ways the teacher can monitor student progress. In addition, information on the use of technology and digital stations is provided and the location of printables that accompany these stations
- Daily Lesson Plan: Provides the teacher with detailed directions for the use of materials, guiding questions, learning objectives, collaborative strategies, learning mindset, English Learner Support, and Professional Learning
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook also discusses each part of the lesson plan, describes the materials for each section, and explains how to use each resource. This section also describes how to use the Weekly Ad Module Assessments and how to use the online digital tools and resources.
The materials for the Genre Study in the Teacher's Guide also provide teaching instructions and suggestions. The content is accurate, easy to understand, and helpful for educators. It provides detailed teaching instructions and suggestions.
Indicator 3G
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher Edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.
The materials include a Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, that provides specific research, rationales, and explanations, that will help teachers build knowledge of the content. The materials also include a Teaching Pal that accompanies the student myBook. The Teaching Pal provides guidance, notes, instructional practices, and strategies as students work through module texts. Teachers also have access to a digital professional learning module to support their understanding of each module. The Teacher's Edition also contains adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literary concepts.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook provides in depth information about the overview of the design of the program, the research behind the design, and guidance for each part of the module in the areas of assessment, differentiation, family connections, classroom community, teaching, and learning. Within this book, the Teaching and Learning section provides explanations to assist the teacher in developing a full understanding of the content. Explanations are provided about Building Knowledge and Language, Foundational Skills, Language and Vocabulary, Reading Worksop, and Writing Workshop. The information presented provides details about best practices to help teachers improve their knowledge of the subject. The Professional Learning Module allows teachers to navigate the learning module at their own pace. Modules are designed to provide teachers with the learning outcomes, hands-on experience, reflection, and application before teaching the module to students. The Teacher's Edition contains a Preview Lesson Texts section that explains in detailed adult level language the text complexity, connections to other curricular areas, key ideas, and language from the text or texts from the week.
Indicator 3H
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher Edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.
Teachers are provided a variety of materials that explain the role of specific ELA/Literacy standards. Supports can be found in the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, Teacher's Guide, the Teaching Pal, Assessments, and the Common Core State Standards resource.
At the beginning of each module in the Teacher's Guide, there is an overview page that lists all of the essential skills. Then, in the Weekly Overview section, the essential literary skills are listed for vocabulary, reading, communication, and writing for both whole group instruction and small group instruction. The Teaching Plan contains information for the teacher on think alouds, tasks, and questions for the texts in the myBook. Each is labeled with learning objectives and with the Depth of Knowledge. Common Core State Standards are listed for each lesson in an additional document. Assessments are also provided, and teachers are able to create a standards-based report to assess and monitor student progress in regards to specific ELA/literacy standards. Lastly, in the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, there is a section called Teaching and Learning that has specific curriculum alignment to the Common Core State Standards.
Indicator 3I
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials contain an explanation of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies.
In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, there is a clear explanation of the instructional approaches and the research behind the program and strategies. The materials also contain a Research Foundations: Evidence Base Book that specifically details the instructional approaches and research-based strategies of Into Reading. In this book, research is provided about the instructional model, technology and blended learning, differentiated and personalized learning, foundational reading skills, language and vocabulary development, fluency and comprehension, writing, speaking and listening, social-emotional learning, family and community engagement, and assessments. This book cites over 100 research references.
The program also includes Professional Learning Modules, which provides explanations of the instructional approaches. Modules are designed to provide teachers with the learning outcomes, hands-on experiences, reflection, and application.
Throughout the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, there are blue boxes, titled Professional Learning: Research Foundations, that state the research theory behind each section. The Research Foundations: Evidence Base Book contains all of the research behind the program. It describes the research and how the program delivers the research theory. The Professional Development Research Foundation provides specific research-based strategies that are included in the program. Some examples include:
- Within the Classroom Community section about establishing classroom routines, it states, “By explicitly teaching routines to students, teachers can (a) set students up for success, (b) decrease the possibility of behavior errors, and (c) reduce the amount of time spent reminding students about the routines on a daily basis” (Myers et al., 2017).
- Within the Assessment and Differentiation section about meeting the needs of accelerated learners, it states, “Teachers must observe and note the progress of students to know how to adjust instruction to keep the accelerated students engaged and motivated while providing additional support as needed” (Houghen, 2012).
- Research is provided on how students develop word knowledge by stating research from Templeton (2011) and Templeton & Bear (2011). It states, “Children’s understanding about how written words ‘work’ -- their spelling and how this spelling represents the sounds and meanings of language -- is the foundation for reading and writing. This foundation supports children’s fluency in word recognition and writing, and its construction follows a developmental path that can be described in terms of states of word knowledge.”
Indicator 3J
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials contain strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents or caregivers about the ELA/literacy program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook dedicates an entire section to family and community. In this section, they provide extensive suggestions for how teachers can strengthen the relationship with families and with the community. This section also provides information on the ways the community can be utilized to better support the knowledge and growth of the students. At the beginning of each module, there is a letter included in the printables and the Teacher's Guide that instructs teachers to connect with families at the beginning of the module by sending a letter home with students. The letter discusses the topic, explores the genre, and builds vocabulary.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook provides a Family And Community section that provides information on engaging families as learning partners, communicating with families, and communicating with all stakeholders. There are six detailed sections, including Engaging Families as Learning Partners, Communicating with Families, Learning Beyond the Classroom, Celebrating Success, Supporting Summer Learning, and Connecting with the Community. Some specific examples include:
- Engaging Families as Learning Partners by ensuring that families have access to an abundance of appropriate books during the school year and over the summer. Coaching parents and caregivers on how to consider children’s interests and allow them to select related texts. It also suggests that the teacher meets the families, provides a personal letter or postcard to students prior to the beginning of the year, and holds conferences with families to share observations about students’ development and discuss strategies for working together.
- Communicating with Families by posting family letters and other communication on a board, sharing the student’s reading, writing, and learning goals, notifying families of frequency of communication from teacher, providing translations of any communications and handouts, and making sure all stakeholders have access to online resources.
- Supporting Summer Learning by providing information on beating summer slide, providing resources on meaningful activities to do in the summer, providing summer reading lists with suggestions of titles and genres, and providing questions for families to ask before, during, and after reading.
- Connecting with the Community by planning meaningful experiences with the community beyond school, engaging in service learning projects to develop social awareness, and reaching out to families and community members to share resources or discuss their expertise.
Criterion 3.3: Assessment
Regular, systematic opportunities for assessment are located throughout the materials, including routines and guidance for consistent monitoring of student performance. The materials label the alignment of the assessments to the standards. Ample guidance is provided for teachers as they interpret assessment data and apply it for instruction.
The materials provide opportunities for independent reading based on student choice and provide supports for holding students accountable for their independent reading.
Indicator 3K
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.
Throughout the year, there are multiple opportunities to assess students in order to monitor their progress. Assessments include Daily Formative Assessments, Intervention Assessments, Guided Reading Benchmark Assessments, Weekly Assessments, and Module Assessments. The assessments are explained in detail in the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook in the Assessment and Differentiation section. Assessments are available in both the print version and digitally. When given digitally, teachers are able to use two different reports to monitor progress.
Assessments are used to monitor student progress to plan for interventions. This includes:
- Screening Assessments: Used early in the school year to obtain preliminary information about student performance, screen students for interventions, and determine groups for foundational skills instruction. An Oral Reading Fluency Assessment is also provided to assess fluency, accuracy, and rate.
- Diagnostic Assessments: Used as follow-up assessments as needed for students who scored below expectations on the Screening Assessments. Assessments include Letter-Sound Correspondence Assessments and Word Identification Assessments.
- Progress Monitoring Assessments: Used every two weeks to measure growth in foundational reading skills. The goal is to identify challenging areas for reteaching, review, and extra practice, provide checks of students’ beginning reading skills, monitor the progress of students who are in reading interventions, and help determine when students are ready to exit an intervention. These assessments take three to five minutes.
Formative Assessments are also included and provide both Weekly and Module Assessments. These measure comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and grammar skills at the end of each week and at the end of each module. There is a reading section that assesses comprehension and vocabulary and a writing section that assesses grammar and writing skills. Data reports are provided for the online versions. The assessment report provides class scores for each assessment and analyzes student proficiency data. The standards report assesses students’ progress in standards proficiency.
There is also a Benchmark Assessment Kit that is used to determine students’ guided reading levels and make instructional decisions. These assessments include both fiction and nonfiction leveled readers. Rubrics are also provided to assess students’ writing and research projects. There are rubrics for narrative writing, informational writing, poetry writing, correspondence writing, argumentative writing, Collaborative Discussions, response writing, and the Inquiry and Research Projects. The writing rubrics assess students in the areas of organization and presentation, development of ideas, and use of language and conventions. The rubric for the Inquiry and Research Project assesses students in collaboration, research and text evidence, content, and presentation.
The program also includes Reading Surveys to gather information at the beginning and middle of the year and to gather information about reading interests, attitudes, and preferences. The surveys are used to inform instructional planning, support students with self-selected reading, and recommend books. The program also suggests that teachers keep Observation Notes and take notes during individual conferences, guided reading groups, small-group instruction, and independent reading and writing.
Indicator 3L
Indicator 3L.i
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.
Module and Weekly Assessments provide standards alignment. In the print version of the assessments, the answer key provides both the Common Core State Standards and the Depth of Knowledge for each question. In the digital version of the assessments, teachers can access the standards report, which shows students’ progress in standards proficiency.
Indicator 3L.ii
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook explains when to give each assessment and the students who need it. It also provides information on ways teachers can support students based on the results gained from the assessments. The Teacher's Guide also provides differentiation guidance for each lesson based on assessment data. This gives teachers information on how to follow-up after assessments for both reteaching and interventions.
The Differentiated Support and Intervention section of the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook provides information on guided reading groups, reading skill and strategy support groups, foundational skills support groups, and best practices for intervention support. Teachers use Formative Assessments, Progress Monitoring Assessments, and Benchmark Assessments to plan for these different groups. In the Reading Skill and Strategy Support Group, teachers reteach a skill or strategy that has not yet been mastered by a group of students. In the Foundational Skills Group, the teacher provides reinforcement of daily foundational skills lessons during either small-group or one-on-one time. For students who need reinforcement with genres or skills, there are Tabletop Mini-lessons, which provide teachers with guidance on how to address and reteach students who do not perform well on assessments.
Data reports are available after students take Weekly and Module Assessments, which provide teachers with data to analyze gaps and gains, to form groups for differentiated instruction, and to locate resources to target students’ needs. The program recommends that teachers use the data reports to determine if students have met the learning objectives for the week or module, look for patterns in students’ errors to choose concepts and skills for reteaching, and decide if students are ready to advance to the next week or module of instruction.
In addition, for the Weekly Assessments, there is information on how to interpret the data. Teachers use the scores and additional classroom information to determine whether students are ready to advance to the next module or may require reteaching of some concepts and skills. It is suggested that for struggling students, the teacher duplicates the answer key, circles the question numbers answered incorrectly for each assessment, and compare the corresponding skills indicated. The teacher can then look for patterns among errors to determine which skills need more reteaching and more practice.
Indicator 3M
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook outlines how teachers can use assessment tools to gather data and gain a more complete picture of students’ growth and instructional needs. There are opportunities to monitor progress via Formative Weekly and Module Assessments, Screeners, Progress Monitoring, and Oral Reading Fluency Assessments. Routines and guidance to help monitor progress include Portfolios, Reading Surveys, and Observation Notes.
In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, there is a map that shows the suggested timeline to plan instruction and administer assessments throughout the year. This plan includes times to administer the Intervention Assessments, the Guided Reading Benchmark Assessment Kit, Weekly Assessments, Module Assessments, and Daily Formative Assessments. The program suggests that Daily Formative Assessments are used along with selection quizzes to provide data for small group instruction. The Intervention Assessments are used at the beginning of the year. The follow-up Diagnostic Assessments are used for select students, and Progress Monitoring Assessments are used every two weeks as needed. The Guided Reading Benchmark Assessment Kit is used on an ongoing basis to assess students' reading skills.
Portfolios are set up at the beginning of the year for each student and contain:
- Formal and Informal Assessments, including the Weekly and Module Assessments, Screening and Diagnostic Assessments, Observation Notes, and Project Rubrics
- Work samples that include work from myBook, completed graphic organizers, writing samples, and photos of Inquiry and Research Projects
- Reading Surveys to show reading interests, attitudes, and preferences
- Observation Notes taken during conferences, guided reading groups, small-group instruction, and independent reading and writing
Indicator 3N
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials indicate how students are accountable for independent reading based on student choice and interest to build stamina, confidence, and motivation.
In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, there is a section titled Supporting Reading Independence. In this section, teachers are provided with resources and strategies to help students become independent and enthusiastic readers and ways to hold students accountable for independent reading. In addition, in the Family and Community section of the handbook, additional information for independent reading is provided, including ways to hold students accountable for independent reading at home. Teachers are provided with information on setting up a reading center, teaching students how to self-select books, helping students set goals, and instructing students to respond to reading.
In the classroom, the amount of time students spend reading in one sitting gradually increases. The students are taught and encouraged to set goals for the amount of reading they plan to do. A Reading Log Printable is provided for students to track their progress and to keep track of fiction or nonfiction key ideas as they read. In addition, prior to each independent reading session in the classroom, students set goals based on their reading history and their feelings at the time. Students also create a response journal to document their responses to independent reading books. Students should be encouraged to note qualities of the book that they liked and did not like and why. In the Reading Center of each classroom, students self-select books to build reading stamina, skills, and enjoyment. Books should include a variety of genres, topics, and reading levels, and students should pick books based on interest level.
To help with independent reading at home, the teacher is encouraged to send home a copy of the Reading Log Printable. It is suggested that families set up at time at least once per week to read with their children, to listen to their children read aloud to them, and to discuss the text that they are reading. Strategies for families to also support students should be sent home which include the following: “five words” so students know if a book is appropriate, and “book browse” so students pick books based on interests. Similarly, the teacher is encouraged to provide a summer reading list with suggestions of titles, as well as, questions families should ask students before, during, and after reading.
Additional support for accountability for independent reading is in the Materials to Reinforce Skills and Strategies section. This section states that daily small group lessons reinforce and extend comprehension skill and strategy instruction by guiding students to apply the skill to self-selected books for independent reading.
Criterion 3.4: Differentiation
The program supports teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of all learners, including support for students for whom English is a new language, students with disabilities, and students performing above grade-level. A variety of grouping strategies and descriptions are included throughout the program to help the teacher to make strategic choices when grouping students for instruction.
Indicator 3O
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook has a section called Assessment and Differentiation and within differentiation, there is a section about meeting the needs of special populations that outlines different populations of students and provides the teacher with several instructional focus strategies that can be used to support students with particular needs.
There are ways built into the program to meet the needs of all students, including guided reading groups, reading skill and strategy groups for students who have not yet mastered the whole-group objective, and foundational skills support to teach prerequisite foundational skills or reinforce daily foundational skills lessons. The materials also provide Tabletop Mini-lessons for students who need additional support with skills taught in the whole group. These lessons involve student-face anchor charts on stand-up charts with the teacher support on the back. It is differentiated skills instruction that can be used with any text.
In the Meeting the Needs of Special Populations section of the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, there are strategies for various types of learners. Some of these include:
- If the challenge is concept knowledge and oral language, some supports include building background knowledge, teaching academic vocabulary directly, and providing scaffolds.
- If the challenge is Dyslexia or word-reading skills, some supports include daily instruction in phonemic awareness, building automaticity of high-frequency words, and daily reading of connected texts.
- If the challenge is visual, hearing, physical, or cognitive disabilities, some supports include options for expressing understanding and ideas, provide ways for digital content to be accessible to students, and allow variations in the pace of the lesson. The materials have a section, called Using Digital Features for Accessibility, with information on how to access digital features to assist teachers and work with students who would benefit from digital materials.
- If the challenge is engagement in learning, some supports include exploring topics and texts that are suited to students’ skills and interests, providing clear and specific feedback, and promoting choice to build automaticity.
There is also a section called Supporting English Learners, which helps build teacher understanding of students’ first language and the stages of second language acquisition that can help teachers determine appropriate levels of scaffolding and targeted language support. There is also a section, called Meeting the Needs of Accelerated Learners, that provides support for students who are exceeding grade-level expectations.
Indicator 3P
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook provides information on the stages of language acquisition, how to support English Language Learners within the materials, and evidence-based strategies and practices to support students whose first language is other than English. Specific examples of this includes:
- There is an overview of the stages of acquiring the English Language. These stages are pre-production, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency.
- The materials have table-top mini lessons that introduce, review, and practice a particular language function. These lessons can be used with any text in the program and are meant to support English Language Learners.
- Evidence-based strategies are provided that can be used in any lesson. Some of the evidence-based strategies including building knowledge by showing videos on module topics, making learning visual by having images on vocabulary cards and anchor charts, and providing sentence frames for both verbal and written responses.
- In the Teacher’s Edition for each lesson, there are English Learner supports provided. Supports are broken down into light support, such as having students use instructional vocabulary to point out and discuss facts and opinions in the text, moderate support, such as having students identify facts and opinions in the text, and substantial support, such as the teacher pointing out facts and opinions in the text and having students say fact or opinion
- A Language Difference Resource Chart is included to help teachers understand the differences between students’ first language and English. This is an online resource and includes languages such as Spanish, Mandarin, and Korean.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook provides additional support for all students to help them access grade-level texts, which benefits students who are learning English as well. Information is provided on how to use data to form small groups in foundational skills, strategic interventions, small group instruction, small group weekly instruction,and other customized groups.
Indicator 3Q
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.
The materials provide extensions or more advanced opportunities for students who perform above grade level. In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, there is a section titled Meeting Accelerated Learners, which provides teachers with information and strategies to support accelerated learners. The section provides teachers with information and a description of an accelerated learner, parts of the materials that support accelerated learners, and strategies for supporting accelerated learners in the classroom and throughout the lessons. Lessons also provide extension work for students who are accelerated or finish early. The program defines accelerated learners as students whose skills are above grade level and are ready for more accelerated learning experiences, such as more challenging books, more writing opportunities, or leadership roles. Some specifics from the program include:
- Throughout the program, there are sections labeled Ready for More, which are daily opportunities in small group lessons to extend a skill or strategy.
- Guided Reading Groups and Rigby Leveled Readers provide texts that are above grade level.
- The Tabletop Mini-lessons provide support as students apply comprehension skills to higher-level texts that they read independently.
Strategies are provided for teachers to consider while planning individual lessons and the culture of the classroom. These include:
- Provide classroom libraries that represent a range of text levels.
- Provide more challenging versions of the activities instead of requiring students to just do more work.
- Use flexible groups and change groups frequently because students may be above level for one skill, but not for another skill.
- Provide opportunities for students to make their own decisions. Accelerated students should take on leadership roles and assist classmates when appropriate.
Indicator 3R
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.
The materials provide suggestions and descriptions for a variety of grouping strategies throughout the program. The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook gives an overview of how these group strategies work and the Teacher’s Edition uses labels throughout the program to show teachers when the grouping strategy should be used during the lessons. Strategies for groups include small groups, targeted skill groups, and whole class. Groups can be composed for Guided Reading, English Language Support, Skills and Strategies, or Foundational Skills. Teachers use data to form these groups and to change groups throughout the year.
In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook, there is an overview of recommendations for groupings and various strategies to use to form these groups in a section called Forming Flexible Groups. This section helps teachers make the most of small group time by using data to thoughtfully form groups that will optimize student growth. Flexible groups are formed to teach skills that a cohort of students need to learn or review. In addition, Strategic Interventions for Tier 2 and Tier 3 can be implemented using data from multiple measures. More information on these groups include:
- Guided Reading Groups are formed based on the Guiding Reading Benchmark Assessment Kit, Oral Reading Records, and Leveled Reader Quizzes. The program includes the Rigby Leveled Readers, Take and Teach Lessons, and Tabletop Mini-lessons for reading to teach these groups.
- English Language Support groups are formed based on the state English Language Development assessments. The materials include Tabletop Mini-lessons for English Language Development, English Language Support lessons, and language graphic organizers.
- Skills and Strategies groups are formed based on Daily Formative Assessments and Weekly Assessments. The materials include Tabletop Mini-lessons, reinforce skills and strategies lessons, and reading graphic organizers.
- Foundational skills groups are formed by Informal Assessments. Foundational skills lessons and foundational skills and Word Study Studio is available for these lessons.
In addition to these groups, teachers are also instructed during whole-group lessons to have students participate in Collaborative Discussions, Turn-and-Talks, Think-Pair-Shares, and Partner Reads. In addition, there are opportunities for students to Echo Read and Choral Read.
Criterion 3.5: Technology Use
The digital materials can be accessed across all platforms and most devices, though do not appear to be optimized for use on a mobile device, as some files are in formats that do not open readily on these types of devices. The materials provide a variety of digital support pieces for teachers and students, including opportunities for teachers to customize locally and personalize learning for students, navigation support may be needed to help teachers implement these digital components effectively. Some opportunities for digital collaboration is provided.
Indicator 3S
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the criteria that digital materials (either included as a supplement to a textbook or as part of a digital curriculum) are web-based, compatible with multiple internet browsers (eg. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.), “platform neutral” (ie., Windows and Apple and are not proprietary to any single platform), follow universal programming style, and allow the use of tablets and mobile devices.
The materials are available digitally and accessible through the use of a sign-in and password. The digital platform provides all of the same materials that are in available in print. The digital materials are available with multiple browsers, including Google Chrome, Firebox, and Safari and follow universal programming style. Teachers can access the program via tablets and mobile devices; however, the materials do not appear to be formatted for use on a mobile device, as the Teacher's Guide and Teaching Pal do not display all information and not all files are in formats that can be opened on a mobile device.
Indicator 3T
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials support effective use of technology to enhance student learning, drawing attention to evidence and texts as appropriate.
The materials provide different digital resources to help students engage in learning. Each module includes a Close-Read Screencast for the anchor text that is offered on the digital platform. Students have digital access to the student book, myBook. Students are able to type directly into the digital version in order to annotate and respond to questions. Students also have access to digital videos to support building knowledge around a topic. Students can also access texts from the Student Choice Library and the Rigby Leveled Library online.
Additional online resources are available to support students in their learning. One of the small group stations is a digital station where students demonstrate active listening skills or keyboarding skills. Online Assessments, as well as the Module Assessments, are also available for students on a weekly basis. This allows teachers to access data that provides specific information on student progress relating to the standards. There are also links in the Current Events tab to do research for their writing when applicable or for the Inquiry and Research Projects. Links include websites such as NewsELA, TimeforKids, and Kiddle News.
Indicator 3U
Indicator 3U.i
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that digital materials include opportunities for teachers to personalize learning for all students, using adaptive or other technological innovations.
The digital components provide multiple ways to personalize learning for all students through the use of adaptive innovations. The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook explains how materials are supported through assistive technology. The adaptive and technology innovations for personalized learning are outlined in the Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook in the section called Using Digital Features for Accessibility. In addition, the teacher can create and save plans and assign specific texts or assessments to different students.
On the digital version of the program, there are multiple accessibility features, making the learning more personalized for students. These include:
- Closed captioning for videos
- Transcripts for audio
- Contrast and color compliance
- Screen-reader compatibility
- Keyboard encoding
- Read-along audio with synchronized text highlighting
- Tools for students to highlight and take notes
When planning on the digital platform, the teacher can create plans and assign individual texts to students. The teacher can use the assignment option to assign specific texts or assessments to different students. Online resources can be filtered by instructional purpose, audience, Lexile, or guided reading level to assist with assigning appropriate resources.
Indicator 3U.ii
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria the criteria that materials can be easily customized for local use.
The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook explains the digital platform, which can easily be customized for local use. Teachers are able to customize teaching plans to align with district and state requirements, as well as, individualize resources for small groups of students as needed.
Some of the ways that materials can be customized for local use include:
- On the digital platform, there is a create button that allows teachers to customize teaching plans and assessments so they match district requirements.
- The group button allows teachers to create and manage groups of students based on classroom observations and assessment results. Teachers can then assign plans and materials to these groups of students.
- The add to plan feature assigns resources to individual students or groups of students so teachers can customize materials and plans.
Indicator 3V
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the criteria that materials include or reference technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other (e.g. websites, discussion groups, webinars, etc.)
The materials include limited opportunities for students to collaborate with each other via technology. The only option that is available is for some projects, students have a choice to use a technological option to collaborate, such as writing a blog post or creating a discussion board. These options are not required or used throughout the program on a consistent basis.
There are some opportunities for teachers to collaborate with the publisher to get additional support in the material. There is follow-up support for in-person or live online experiences where teachers can choose from a variety of topics for support. Schools can also request on-demand access to program experts to ask questions, and the publisher provides consultants for ongoing support and coaching.