The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 fully meet the expectations for reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards. The Common Core State Standards recommend that there be a 50-50 balance between informational and literary texts in Grades K-2. The Journeys literacy materials for Grade 2 are divided into anchor texts, read-alouds, and paired selections. Though the read-alouds are more heavily weighted toward literary selections, the balance is achieved by working across all three categories. It is also important to note that many of the literary selections support the topics covered by informational texts. This balance is represented in the list below:

• Anchor texts- 13 informational texts to 17 literary texts.
• Paired selections- 19 informational to 11 literary texts
• Read-alouds- 16 informational to 14 literary texts
• Total: 48 informational to 42 literary texts

In Grade 2, the standards call for students to be reading fables and folktales from diverse cultures. The standards also call for students to be reading different versions of the same story. The materials provide fables/folktales by authors who represent other cultures (Chinese, Ancient Greece, Native American, Mexican) as well as traditional and universal tales such as “Stone Soup” (Unit 6) and “The Lion and the Mouse” (Unit 5). There are not many opportunities for students to compare different versions of the same story such as in Unit 6, students read a Chinese folktale titled “Yeh-Shen” and compare it to a modern version of “Cinderella”. However, it is important to mention that the materials provide paired selections based on the same topic in each lesson for students to compare. The materials also reflect a distribution of genres by including realistic fiction, fantasy, poetry/song, fables/folktales/fairy tales, reader's theater, plays and biographies. The titles below represent a sample of genres reflected in the materials.

• Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant (realistic fiction)
• “A Swallow and a Spider” retold by Sheila Higginson (readers’ theater/fable)
• “How Chipmunk Got His Stripes” by Joseph and James Bruchac (folktale)
• “Schools around the World” by Margaret C. Hall (informational text)
• Helen Keller” by Jane Sutcliffe (biography)
• The Trouble with Signs by Bebe Jaffe (play)
• “Share the Adventure” by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack (poetry)
• “Half-Chicken” by Alma Flor Ada (folktale)
• “The Goat in the Rug” by Charles L Blood and Martin Link (narrative nonfiction)
• “Two of Everything” by Lily Toy Hong (folktale)

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations that shared reading texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. (There are limited read-aloud texts in Grade 2) For the quantitative measure of complexity, the recommended range for the grade 2-3 band is 450L to 790. The majority of texts used in the materials falls within this range. Several texts that fall above or below the Grade 2 range are used to support student learning or build knowledge around the current topic of study.

Grade 2 materials shift from the expectation of read-alouds to an emphasis on shared and independent reading. The anchor and paired texts begin at readability levels that are more accessible to readers and increase throughout the year. Most Lexile or A.R levels for these tests are provided by the publisher. The teacher materials also provide a “Why This Text?” section that explains why the selected text is useful for reader’s learning and task performance. Teacher materials also outline planned scaffolding to ensure that these texts are accessible for students. For guided reading materials and the vocabulary readers, the quantitative information according to leveled readers is also provided. In Unit 1, guided readers begin at level H-M (280-680L) and move to levels M to O (560-760L) by the end of Unit 6. The vocabulary readers for independent reading also range from a score of 480L to 670L. Anchor texts begin at a low readability level (240L) of the second to third grade Lexile band and advance to higher end of the range (700L). Paired reading passages for shared reading range from 460L to 710L.

Anchor texts and paired readings are also reviewed through a qualitative analysis based on criteria as outlined in Appendix A in the CCSS: purpose/levels of meaning, text structures, language features, and knowledge demands. Like the quantitative progression, the texts used at the beginning of Unit 1, fell into the lowest level of qualitative complexity, but by Unit 6 the texts scored middle to high on each of the categories of the qualitative complexity analysis.

The evidence listed below exemplifies the quantitative and qualitative complexity across the year.

Unit 1: Lesson 1

Guided Reading Leveled Readers: Level H to M, 280L to 600L

Vocabulary Reader: 480L

Anchor Text: “Henry and Mudge” by Cynthia Rylant

• Readability Level: 240L

• Qualitative analysis: low range of complexity

Paired Selection: “All in the Family” by Katherine Macklin

• Readability level: 530L
• Qualitative analysis: low to middle level of complexity

Unit 3: Lesson 13

Guided Reading Leveled Readers: Level J to N, 480 to 600L

Vocabulary Reader: Level I, 320L

Anchor text: “School around the World” by Margaret C. Hall

• Readability level: 610L

• Qualitative analysis: middle range complexity

Paired Selection: “An American School” no author listed

• Readability level: 630L

• Qualitative analysis: middle range complexity

Unit 6: Lesson 28

Guided Reading Leveled Readers: Level M to O, 560L to 760L

Vocabulary Reader: Level M, 670L

Anchor Text: “Yeh-Shen” by Gina Sabella

• Readability level: 630L
• Qualitative analysis: middle range of complexity

Paired Selection: “Cinderella” by Sheila Sweeny Higginson

• Readability level: 580L
• Qualitative analysis: middle to high range complexity

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for Indicator 1e-- anchor texts (including read-aloud texts in K-2) and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis. Texts are identified as having an appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.

Each lesson series is preceded by a “Prepare for Complex Text” page in the Teacher Edition that offers quantitative and qualitative information for anchor texts and paired selections. Anchor texts and paired selections are scored for readability by a Lexile measure as well as a guided reading level. For accompanying guided reading materials and the vocabulary readers, the quantitative information according to leveled readers or DRA scores is provided.

The teacher materials also provide a “Why This Text?” section that explains why the selected text is relevant for the reader’s learning. Teacher materials also select key features and academic language focus for the anchor texts and paired selections that adhere to the qualitative or quantitative complexities in the text and offer suggestions for reader support and tasks. The bottom row of the “Prepare for Complex Text” page provides reader and task considerations that offers a generic statement about teacher judgement and directs teachers to a section in the Teacher Edition for guidance on breaking down anchor texts.

Texts for read-alouds and shared reading are also reviewed with a qualitative analysis based on criteria as outlined in Appendix A in the CCSS: purpose/levels of meaning, text structures, language features, and knowledge demands. Below is an example from the “Prepare for Complex Text” page.

Unit 3: “Talk about Smart Animals” by Donald Logan

Genre: Informational Text

Why This Text?

• Children will regularly encounter informational text in textbooks and on the internet. This text will expand children’s knowledge of animals and their unique behaviors.

Key Learning Objectives:

• Learn about some things animals can be trained to do
• Gain information from headings

Quantitative Measures: 540L/ Level K

Qualitative Measures: Low-Mid Complexity

• Purpose/Level of Meaning:
  • Density and Complexity: 25% of the texts have a single topic that is clearly explained. .
• Text Structures:
  • Organization: 25% of the texts have a simple structure with headings that introduce a each subtopic.
• Language Features:
  • Sentence Structure: 25% of the text contain some complex sentences.
• Knowledge Demands
  • Subject Matter Knowledge/Prior Knowledge: 75% of the texts contain some specialized content.

Reader/Task Considerations:

• Determine using the professional judgement of the teacher. This varies by individual reader, type of text, and purpose and complexity of particular texts. See Reader and Task Considerations for some suggestions for Anchor Text support.

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet the expectations for providing opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading over the course of the school year. There are many opportunities for students to practice with different texts in and out of the topics being studied at the time. The core materials contain read-alouds, anchor texts, and paired reading selections. Supporting materials include guided readers, vocabulary readers, student textbooks, blend-it books, close readers, readers’ notebooks, decodable readers, trade books, high-frequency word cards, and biliteracy resources in Spanish which offer students access to multiple texts daily for shared, guided, and independent reading. Materials also provide a Common Core ELA Exemplar Text Resource that provide teachers close reading support, pacing, and tasks for texts found in the K-1 CCSS Exemplar texts. These are texts offered beyond the curriculum for extended shared or independent reading practice.

Each lesson series follows a general format in which students engage in reading, re-reading, or engaging with multiple texts each day. The typical lesson series for all 30 lessons features multiple texts and resources centered around the current topic. Guided and vocabulary readers are also used throughout the entire lesson series. The Audio Hub in Teacher Resources provides audio versions of the big books and texts in the student books.

For example, a week of instruction may include:

Day 1: Blend-it book, word cards, read-aloud text decodable reader, reader’s notebook

Day 2: Anchor text, decodable reader, student textbook, word cards, reader’s notebook

Day 3: Paired selection, decodable reader, cold read, student textbook

Day 4: Reread anchor text, decodable reader, student textbook, word cards, reader’s notebook

Day 5: Close reader, reader’s notebook, student textbook, word cards

Each lesson also includes interactive literacy visuals and projectables to aid in literacy development. While maintaining a close balance between informational and literary texts, the materials also provide students a range of genres such as illustrative texts, narratives, realistic fiction, fantasy, poetry/song, fables/folktales, fairy tales, reader’s theater, and biographies. Texts are organized by topics such as food, plants, animals, adventure, travel, family events, life events, space, seasons, weather, pets, music, school, biographies, and sports. Students are also exposed to multicultural characters and texts.

Materials provide suggestions for teachers that give attention to oral reading skills and offer ways for teachers explicitly teach foundational skills. Differentiation options are provided which includes extra reading materials, audio recordings, and fluency practice.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations of questions, tasks, and assignments being text-based and 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).Students are asked text-based questions throughout the daily lessons. These questions are included in the teacher read-aloud, anchor text, and the paired selection read.

The following are examples of text-based questions:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 1, students are asked, “What have you learned about Henry?”
• In Unit 2, Lesson 9, students are asked, “What a character thinks, says, and does tells us a lot about what the character is like. How do Bear’s actions show you what he is like?”
• In Unit 3, Lesson 13, students are asked, “Using what you learned on page 444, why might some children wear warmer clothes than children in another part of the world?”
• In Unit 4, Lesson 19, students are asked, “What does the signmaker do when people thank him? What does this tell you about the signmaker?”
• In Unit 5, Lesson 25, students are asked, “How does the author let readers know the different parts of a flower? What must happen FIRST before a seed can begin to grow? What sometimes happens when birds eat berries?”
• In Unit 6, Lesson 28, students are asked, “So far, what do you know about how Yeh-Shen is different from her sister? How does Yeh-Shen respond to not being able to make friends? How does Yeh-Shen feel when she first finds out about her stepmother cooking the fish?

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation of materials, including a mix of on-demand and process writing and short, focused projects incorporating digital resources where necessary. The Common Core standards for Grade 2 call for students to write opinion, informative/explanatory, and narrative pieces in which they are able to introduce, support, and close their topic but using multiple details and transition or signal words. Each weekly lesson provides students the opportunity to meet these standards by moving from shared writing to guided writing and culminating with an independent writing task. Students perform tasks such as responses to literature, drawing and writing about the topic, literacy centers, a writer’s handbook, and a reader’s notebook. Lessons provide Teach/Model sections for students to engage with the teacher in learning or reviewing the writing process before working independently or with a group. Students also use their Reader’s Notebook and Writer’s Handbook frequently to complete lesson-aligned and text-based writing tasks. Rubrics for the major writing tasks are included as well.

The Writer’s Handbook provides instructional materials to teach the writing process and traits and structured response sheets for students. The Teacher’s Guide for the Writer’s Handbook also offers instructional support and strategies that follow the I Do/We Do/You Do/Evaluate pattern. The lessons typically end with students sharing their work with a peer or the class for the evaluation portion which is equivalent to a revision/editing process. Most writing lessons have a Focus Trait included as well. The handbook also provides information for students on using the computer and performing research. In addition to the handbook, lessons are accompanied by projectables that offer further models/examples and texts for student writing.

Lessons are also accompanied by a digital platform called myWriteSmart in which students can play game-like writing activities and answer prompts provided or constructed by the teacher. The writing is published to the teacher’s dashboard to be reviewed/scored.

The following are examples of the writing expectations to build independence across the units.

Unit 1 focuses on narrative writing in the form of crafting true story sentences, descriptive sentences, friendly letters,and true stories. Students complete the unit by writing to this prompt: “Write a paragraph about something that happened to you at school.” Teachers model the difference between true and fictional narrative writing as well as model the writing process from prewriting to drafting, revising and publishing. The Focus Traits are elaboration, development, and organization.

Unit 2 focuses on informative writing in which students focus heavily on building quality informational paragraphs by studying the parts of a paragraph and following the full writing process from prewriting to revision and publishing. One lesson series also focuses on instruction writing. The Focus Traits for this unit are purpose and elaboration. Students practice writing topic sentences and supporting them with details to work toward the culminating performance task of writing instructions to a task they perform often according to the model provided by the teacher. This task takes two weeks to complete and follows the full writing process.

Unit 3 focuses on opinion writing, but at a much higher skill demand than Grade 1. Students begin with writing a persuasive letter, then move to writing opinion and persuasive paragraphs distinguishing between the two. The culminating writing task is a persuasive essay, which is the students’ first exposure to essay writing. Students view models and identify the purpose of paragraphs and how each builds on the other. Student essays are in response to this prompt: “Write an essay to persuade the children at your school to help with a community project.” Focus Traits for this unit are purpose, organization, and elaboration.

Unit 4 returns to narrative writing in which students write fictional narrative paragraphs and then work on friendly letters before culminating with a fictional story. Students identify what elements make a great story and a descriptive paragraph and practice those elements in their own writing. With a focus on a beginning, middle, and an end, students spend the last two weeks of the unit crafting a fictional story for this prompt: “Write a story about a character who does something important or brave.” Like other grades, students can publish their work digitally or through myWriteSmart. Focus Traits for Unit 4 are elaboration, development, and organization.

Unit 5 moves back to informative writing, but this time students will learn the different organizational patterns such as problem-solution and compare-contrast. After crafting several informational paragraphs, students will spend two weeks writing a research report. After practicing using details, students brainstorm topics with a K-W-L chart to begin research and work daily in building their informational essay. Teachers begin helping students recognize how to write in their own words and not use direct information from other texts. After peer reviews, students publish a final draft. The Focus Trait for the lessons are elaboration and evidence.

Unit 6 returns to opinion writing as students craft story-response poems, opinion paragraphs, story responses, and finally, a response essay. Students share the responsibility of writing a book report using graphic organizers and supporting reasons. Students also view and write opinion paragraphs that respond with opposing viewpoints. This prepares students for their final essay response to this text-based prompt: “Write an essay about whether you think having a pot that made two of everything was good for the Haktaks.” The Focus Traits for Unit 6 are elaboration, organization, and evidence.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for Indicator 1l because materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing (year long) that reflect the distribution required by the standards. The Common Core standards for Grade 2 call for students to write opinion, informative/explanatory, and narrative pieces in which they are able to introduce, support, and close their topic but using multiple details and transition or signal words. Each lesson consists of a daily writing component with a process of shared, guided, and independent practice in a mode of writing. Students begin the year practicing how to write paragraphs, but, by the end of the year, they are expected to compose a full essay. The distribution of the types of weekly writing tasks are fairly balanced with two units (10 lessons) per type of writing: narrative, informative, and opinion. Rubrics for all three types of writing tasks are included as well.

The majority of the weekly writing tasks are not text dependent; however, they are connected to the topics studied in the read-alouds and big books. The shared and guided practice tasks are generally more text-dependent as students engage with what they are reading. For example, after reading about schools around the world and people who helped their community, students write an essay to persuade the children at their school to help with a community project.

The Common Core Writing Handbook contains 60 additional writing mini lessons for teachers to use. Note: this is a supplemental resource and is not part of the Teacher Edition’s weekly planning. There are 20 mini lessons of each type of writing.

The following are examples of the writing expectations to build independence across the units.

Unit 1 (narrative writing) Students write true story sentences, descriptive sentences, friendly letters,and true stories with a focus on the difference between true and fictional narrative writing.

Unit 2 (informative writing) Students build informational paragraphs by studying the parts of a quality paragraph. Students also work through the entire writing process to write instructions for a task they perform often.

Unit 3 (opinion writing) Students write a persuasive letter, opinion, and persuasive paragraphs, and a persuasive essay through teacher modeling and extended practice.

Unit 4 (narrative writing) Students write fictional narrative paragraphs, friendly letters, and a fictional story focusing on creating a beginning, middle, and end.

Unit 5 (informative writing) Students learn and practice different organizational patterns such as problem-solution and compare-contrast. They write informational paragraphs then a research report.

Unit 6 (opinion writing) Students craft story-response poems, a book report, opinion paragraphs, story responses, and finally, a text-based response essay.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet expectations for 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 the context. Each unit has a daily direct instruction lesson specifically titled “Grammar.” Each week focuses on specific grammar skills and conventions as well as language features such as figurative language. The lessons meet the requirements of the language standards for Grade 2 as well as reviewing some Grade 1 standards (e.g., types of sentences, nouns, singular and plural nouns).

Each day, explicit grammar instruction takes place, and students practice the skill in context with the texts/writing types used in class as well as complete tasks in the Reader’s Notebook and Writer’s Handbook. There are also supporting materials labeled Projectables that teachers can click on right from the digital Teacher Edition that provide examples, images, and tasks to practice the grammar lesson. Most of the grammar lessons extend across several days and may be reviewed in later units. Materials also focus heavily on revising sample and peer writing drafts that incorporate conventions and language skills they are learning.

The following grammar and convention topics covered in each unit:

• Unit 1: Complete sentences (subjects/predicates); alphabetical order, using a glossary; sentence types (commands, statements, and questions); multiple meaning words; nouns (singular//plural); punctuation; words ending with -ed and -ing
  • Lesson 2, students practice using commas in the greetings and closings of letters during narrative writing.
  • Lesson 5, students are told to use a dictionary to check and correct spelling mistakes.
• Unit 2: Plurals (irregular and ending with -es); prefix r-e/un-); proper nouns; homophones; action verbs; subjects; compound words; verbs ending with -s/-es (subject/verb agreement); synonyms; past and future tense; suffix -er/-est
  • Lesson 6, students are taught collective nouns.
  • Lesson 6, students are taught irregular plural nouns.
  • Lesson 10, students practice putting apostrophes into words to form contractions.
• Unit 3: Simple/compound sentences; building interesting compound sentences, prefix pre-/-mis-; idioms; quotation marks; using a dictionary; suffix -ly; capitalization (days/months/holidays); abbreviations (months/days); root words
  • Lesson 11, students are taught compound sentences.
  • Lesson 14, students are taught proper nouns such as months of the year and holidays.
• Unit 4: Pronouns (subjective/objective); homographs; subjects/verbs; antonyms; be verbs (past/present); suffix -ly; commas (dates/places/series); word choice (shades of meaning); prefix over-
  • Lesson 16, students are taught reflexive pronouns.
• Unit 5: Adjectives (look/taste/smell/numbers); dictionary usage; adjectives with -er/-est; idioms; irregular verbs (have/do/run/hide/sit/tell/give/go/see); punctuation; antonyms
  • Lesson 23, students are taught irregular verbs.
  • Lesson 23, students practice writing words with suffixes.
• Unit 6: Contractions (with pronouns/using not); multiple meaning words; adverbs (how/when); word choice; identifying adjectives vs. adverbs; possessive nouns/pronouns; antonyms; root words
  • Lesson 27, students are taught adverbs.

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet the expectations materials, questions, and tasks provide explicit instruction for and regular practice to address the acquisition of print concepts, including alphabetic knowledge, directionality, and function (K-1), structures and features of text (1-2).

In the instructional materials contain frequent opportunities to identify text structures. For example:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 1, during the second read of Henry and Mudge, students work with the teacher to complete a graphic organizer about sequence of events “Remind them that clue words in the story such as first, next, then, and least can help them follow the sequence of events.”
• In Unit 1, Lesson 3, students learn about text structure during Language Detective. “Remind children that texts are organized into parts.” Students practice using for example in a new sentence.
• In Unit 1, Lesson 4, students learn cause and effect. The lesson includes teaching students about because, so, since. Students complete a cause and effect chart for Diary of a Spider.
• In Unit 2, Lesson 8 during the second read of Super Storms, students are taught about cause and effect. “Tell children that sometimes one event leads to another. One event can make or cause another event to happen.”
• In Unit 3, Lesson 13, during the second read of Schools Around the World, taught about main idea and details. “Point out that informational text has topics, main ideas, and supporting details.”
• In Unit 4, Lesson 16, during the second read of Mr. Tanen’s Tie Trouble, students learn about how stories are structured. “Remind children that the plot is the story’s events. Most plots will involve a problem that the characters must solve.” Students complete a story map.
• In Unit 5, Lesson 23, during the second read of The Goat in the Rug, students describe the sequence of events that Geraldine (character in the story) has explained thus far.
• In Unit 6, Lesson 26, during the second read of The Mysterious Tadpole, students complete a graphic organizer for story structure. “Then have them use the words and pictures to retell the plot, focusing on the problem and solution in the story.”

The materials have opportunities for students to learn text features. For example:

• In Unit 2, Lesson 6 during the second read of Animals Building Homes, use a graphic organizer to select text and graphic features from pages 202 and 203. Students also learn about boldface print. In the small group options for Differentiate Comprehension, there are lessons about text and graphic features.
• In Unit 3, Lesson 12, the target skill is text and graphic features. Students document in a chart the text or graphic feature, the page number, and the purpose. In the Reteaching Options, there is a lesson on text and graphic features.
• In Unit 4, Lesson 19, the target skill is text and graphic features. Students learn that pictures are a kind of graphic feature. “As you read The Signmaker’s Assistant, look carefully at the signs in the pictures. They can help you figure out what is happening in the story.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson 25, the target skill is text and graphic features. Students learn that labels are an example of a text feature. Students document in a chart the text or graphic feature, the page number, and the purpose.

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet the expectations that instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and gain decoding automaticity and sight-based recognition of high frequency words. This includes reading fluency in oral reading beginning in mid Grade 1 and through Grade 2.

Irregularly spelled words and high-frequency words are addressed in Words to Know or Opening Routines. For example:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 3, the Words to Know (sing, do, they, find, funny, no) are high-frequency words from Kindergarten. Students pronounce the word, learn the word in context, and practice the word using the Vocabulary in Context Cards.
• In Unit 2, Lesson 9, Day 2 of the Opening Routines, the teacher points to a High-Frequency Word Card with draw and states: “Say the word. Spell the word. Write the word. Check the word.” The teacher practices this routine with five other high-frequency words. Students play the Stomping Game to practice the words.
• In Unit 3, Lesson 12, Day 1 of the Opening Routines, the teacher points to the Words to Know on the Focus Wall and reviews the high-frequency words: been, brown, know, never, off, own, very. The teacher uses Instructional Routine 10 and the High-Frequency Cards.
• In Unit 4, Lesson 16, there are 8 Words to Know (high-frequency words): think, bring, before, light, because, carry, show, around. Students pronounce the word, learn the word in context, and practice the word using the Vocabulary in Context Cards.
• In Unit 5, Lesson 25, Day 5 of the Opening Routines, the teacher points to a High-Frequency Card: myself, buy, city, family, party, please, school, seven, country, soil, kinds, earth, almost, ready, covers, warms. Students say the word, spell the word, write the word, or check the word. Students play Find the Letter Game.
• In Unit 6, Lesson 27, Day 3 of the Opening Routines, the teacher points to a High-Frequency Card for the following words: happy, always, different, enough, high, near, once, stories. Students say the word, spell the word, write the word, or check the word. Students play Word-O to practice the words.

The materials contain opportunities for Grade 2 students to gain oral reading fluency.

• In Unit 1, Lesson 5, fluency instruction is about accuracy: self-correct. During the reading of the decodable reader, the teacher models fluency and self-correction. “Have children follow along as you read page 111 aloud, skipping the word can. Tell children if something doesn’t make sense while you are reading, stop and reread to find the mistake. Lead children in reading the page chorally with fluency and accuracy.” There are directions for students to reread the decodable reader three or four times and to practice reading words correctly. Also in Unit 1, Lesson 5, students practice reading words from Projectable 5.5. Then students read aloud Gus Takes the Train?
• In Unit 3, Lesson 14, fluency instruction is about expression. During the reading of the decodable reader, the teacher models fluency and expression. “Have children follow along as you read page 90 aloud, using expression to show how interesting the facts are. Remind children that they can change their voices to go up or down to express different feelings about what they are reading. Lead children in reading the page chorally with fluency and with appropriate expression.” There are directions for students to reread the decodable reader three or four times and to practice reading accurately at an appropriate rate and with expression. Also in Unit 3, Lesson 14, students practice reading words from Projectable 14.5. Then students read The Big Race.
• In Unit 5, Lesson 25, fluency instruction is about the use of punctuation. During the reading of the decodable reader, the teacher models fluency and the use of punctuation. “Read aloud page 131 as children follow along. Point out how you stopped briefly when you came to the end mark in each sentence. Lead children in reading the page chorally with fluency, paying attention to end marks.” There are directions for students to reread the decodable reader, Down on the Farm, three or four times and to practice accurately at an appropriate rate and with expression.
• In Unit 6, Lesson 28, fluency instruction is about phrasing. During the reading of the decodable reader, the teacher models fluency and phrasing. “Read aloud page 67 as children follow along. Point out that you read groups of words together, pausing when you come to a comma or end of a sentence. Lead children in reading the page chorally with fluency and proper phrasing.” There are directions for students to reread the decodable reader, Sally Jane and Beth Ann, three or four times and to practice accurately at an appropriate rate and with expression.

Grade 2 students have opportunities to gain decoding automaticity especially when students read Projective resources and decodables. Students practice reading many high-frequency words, although some of the high-frequency words are repeated from previous grade levels.

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet the expectations that the materials support ongoing and frequent assessment to determine student mastery and inform meaningful differentiation of foundational skills, including a clear and specific protocol as to how students performing below standard on these assessments will be supported.

The materials contain Intervention Assessments: Screening Assessment, which assess word identification and oral reading fluency. The Administering and Scoring section provides directions to the teacher for how to conduct the Screening Assessment and helps the teacher interpret the results.

While the Diagnostic Assessment is intended more for assessing Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, the teacher can use Diagnostic Assessments. Diagnostic Assessments further assess print concepts, letter-sound fluency, and phonological awareness inventory (words in a sentence, blend syllables, segment syllables, delete syllables, recognize rhyming words, produce rhyming words, categorize rhyming words, blend onset and rime, segment onset and rime, isolate initial sound, isolate final sound, isolate medial sounds, identify phonemes, categorize phonemes, blend phonemes, segment phonemes, delete phonemes, add phonemes, substitute phonemes). Once the Diagnostic Assessments are scored, the teacher can use the results to decide if a student would benefit from additional instruction in particular foundational skills. The directions to the teacher about the additional instruction are not clear as to how to provide additional instruction. For example, after administering the Letter-Sounds Fluency, the directions state: “Students who score below this require additional in letter-sound relationships.” A chart of suggestions contains the following suggestion for students with emerging understanding: “letter-sound fluency activities, oral language activities, playing oral language activities, language experience or diction activities.” The suggestions are broad.

There are Progress-Monitoring Assessments, which should be used every two weeks. Progress-Monitoring Assessment focuses on oral reading fluency. Based on the results, a teacher could adjust instruction. The guidelines suggest: “For improving rate, provide texts at a student’s independent reading level for repeated or coached readings.”

In Recommendations for Data-Driven Instruction, the following steps are suggested: identify student needs, teacher to the need, scaffold the core, monitor progress, and if necessary, problem-solve with colleagues. For a more detailed explanation, if a teacher provides the Screening Assessment and the Grade 2 student is below the goal in Oral Reading Fluency, then administer the Diagnostic Assessment: Oral Reading Fluency (identify student needs) and administer the corresponding lessons in HMH Decoding Power, choosing from Sessions 2.1A (teach the need).

Each unit contains formative assessment of foundational skills as part of RtI, which provides suggestions for what do for students struggling, students who are on track, and students who excel. For example:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 4, the Formative Assessment box contains: “Are children able to understand and use the Word to Know? If children struggle, then use the Vocabulary in Context Card and the Struggling Readers activity, page T380. See also Intervention Lesson 4, pages S33. If children are on track, then use the Vocabulary in Context Cards and differentiate Vocabulary Reader, Along Came a Spider..., for On-Level Readers, page T380. If children excel, then differentiate Vocabulary Reader, Along Came a Spider..., page T381.”
• In Unit 3, Lesson 12, the Formative Assessment box contains corrective feedback for: “When a child mispronounces a letter-sound, highlight that letter, restate its sound, have the children repeat the sound, and then guide them to blend the word.” Further directions state: “Go to pages T176-177 for additional phonics support.” On pages T176-177, there are the small group options for Differentiate Phonics.
• In Unit 5, Lesson 22, the Formative assessment box contains corrective feedback for: “When a child mispronounces a word, point to the word and say it. Call attention to the element that was mispronounced, say the sound, and then guide children to read the word.” Further directions state: “Go to pages T184-185 for additional phonics support.” On pages T184-185, there is the small group for Differentiate Phonics.

There are multiple assessments in the materials which provide teachers with information about students’ current skills/levels in foundational skills. The materials provide teachers with instructional options to help students make progress toward master in foundational skills.