6th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 partially meet the expectations of indicator 1a. Although many texts are excerpts, a good number of the literary texts are published texts which provide opportunities for students to engage in especially careful reading. Some texts are on topics of interest to Grade 6 students, and include rich, captivating language. Most of the informational texts were written for the series and are not works published outside the program. Many of them are brief, and lacking in content-area vocabulary and well-crafted language.

The anchor texts for Grade 6 include texts created by award-winning authors and illustrators, including Andrew Clements, Robert Byrd, Lynne Rae Perkins, and Lois Lowry, and cover topics of interest to Grade 6 students in a variety of genres, including poetry, realistic fiction, biography, and historical fiction. Some examples of quality texts include but are not limited to:

• Unit 1, Lesson 1, The School Story by Andrew Clements - This excerpt is relatable for students since the setting is a school. The excerpt contains a lot of engaging and conversational dialogue.
• Unit 2, Lesson 6, The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter - This excerpt is relatable to readers, because it is about playing a sport and being good friends. The text has vibrant verbs such as “growled,” “lingered,” and “descended."
• Unit 3, Lesson 11, The Great Fire by Jim Murphy - This informational excerpt contains descriptive wording such as “gusting wildly,” “fiercely intense,” and “soggy marshland.” The text is well-crafted and suspenseful.
• Unit 4, Lesson 16,The Real Vikings: Craftsmen, Traders, and Fearsome Raiders by Melvin Berger and Gilda Berger - This excerpt is an engaging topic for Grade 6 students. The text contains illustrations and photographs to show Viking examples to students. The text contains Tier 3 vocabulary such as “Hedeby,” “wattle-and-daub huts,” and “merils.”
• Unit 5, Lesson 23, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry - This excerpt is engaging because readers meet the main character in the middle of disagreement with another character. The author uses well-crafted language such as “exasperated,” “glistened,” and “irritated snorts.”

While there are a variety of topics and a range of student interests addressed throughout the year, many of the texts created for the series lack engaging text for Grade 6 students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Unit 3, Lesson 11, Fire Friend or Enemy? by Gerardo Benavides is a short text about fire. There are large photos and text features on the first and third pages, but the piece does not contain much text for students to read about fire.
• Unit 4, Lesson 17, Ancient China Visual Arts (no author cited) is a short informational text about different Chinese dynasties. The text does not go into enough detail to interest students. For example, the text states that burial sites and buildings are excavated, but few details are given on the excavations.
• Unit 6, Lesson 30, “Storm Chasers” (no author cited) is a short informational text that has an engaging start, but the rest of the text lacks engaging language, description, and photos that connect with the Lesson. For example, on page 68, there is a picture of an opened car door, yet the question from the teacher has nothing to do with a car door.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 partially meet the expectations for text dependent questions, tasks, and assignments requiring students to engage directly with the text and to draw on textual evidence to support what is explicit as well as valid inferences. Though there are text dependent questions to accompany each anchor and supporting text, students are seldom asked to draw their own conclusions or inferences. Inferences are often given with students having to find evidence to support the already stated inference. The text dependent questions provided are not adequate to support students mastering of this skill.

Students are asked text-dependent questions throughout the daily lessons. These questions are included in the Teacher Read Aloud, Read the Anchor Text, Guided Retelling, Dig Deeper second read of the anchor text, Your Turn discussion, Independent Reading Reader’s Guide, Connect to the Topic, Compare Texts, and Small Group Instruction. Answering text-dependent questions is modeled throughout instruction.

Examples of text-dependent questions found throughout the units:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 4, students are asked, “How do you think Martin feels about Mrs. DeSalvio? What evidence from the text supports your answer? Martin is a bit afraid of Mrs. DeSalvio. I can tell because he edges away from her on the bench.”
• In Unit 2, Lesson 10, students are asked, “How does the information in these two paragraphs contribute to the ideas in the text? It shows the Haidas’ continuing connections to nature and their traditional way of life.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson 25, students are asked, “How has Dr. Sneed’s attitude about sharing his top-secret project changed throughout the play? Support your answer with evidence. At first, he says it’s impossible to tell Dr. aWatkins and Dr. Garcia about his project, and then he is embarrassed when Same shoes up. But at the end, he shows he doesn’t care what they think when he shrugs and smiles.”

Examples of text-dependent questions found that illustrate how inferences are often given with students having to find evidence to support the already stated inference include, but are not limited to the following examples:

• In Unit 3, Lesson 12, students are asked, “Why is Matt 'best suited' for the job of attempting the rescue? What text evidences supports this? Matt says that he knows the captain chose him for the job because he weighs less than any other crewman, and weight will be a factor in the rescue. He is also the only crew member who isn't afraid of hanging out the bottom of an airship. He also feels that the captain trusts him to do a good job.”
• In Unit 4, Lesson 18, students are asked, “Why is the paragraph that tells about Talus guarding the entrance important to the story? If Theseus has to get past Talus in order to enter the island, he is going to have to get past Talus if he wants to escape the island.”
• In Unit 6, students are asked, “What text clues show what “keen observational skills” are? Justin says he needs Tia to be his eyes. Tia is saying she is good at studying things to figure them out. Students are also asked How does this phrase help you understand the story? It shows why Justin wants Tia to come to the farm: not just to help her with her science project, but because he thinks she can figure out what’s going on.”

Examples of text-dependent tasks and assignments found throughout the units:

• In Unit 1, Lesson 3, students are asked to use a graphic organizer to keep track of the sequence of events of the text “The Making of a Book.”
• In Unit 3, Lesson 11, students write a paragraph to describe how the author introduces Sullivan after reading “The Great Fire” using evidence from the text.
• In Unit 6, Lesson 26, students design a poster after reading “Space Trash” to advertise about a conference being held to discuss the issue of space trash.

There are also “Text to Self” and “Text to World” questions that are not always text-dependent but relate to the theme or topic of the text being read such as in Unit 1, Lesson 5 when students are asked to draw a picture and write a story about a food they do not like after reading “The Myers Family.” Students also research careers that use artistic talents.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 partially meet the criteria for providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax. Opportunities and protocols for discussion are provided but are often not evidence-based and do not encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax. There is not a year-long approach available to developing skills over the course of they year. There is minimal teacher direction given to support teachers in conducting evidence-based discussions that model the use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

There are both evidence-based and non evidence-based discussions and modeling throughout materials. The anchor texts and supporting texts provide text-based questions and sample answers for discussion, but do not give protocols or directions for conducting the discussions.

Examples of evidence-based discussions and modeling include but are not limited to the following. Note the questions do not come with comprehensive support /protocols for the teacher to build students' skills through these discussion activities.

Unit 1, Lesson 3, Your Turn, Classroom Conversation

• Students are directed to, “Continue your discussion of ‘The Making of a Book’ by explaining your answers to these questions: Based on the selection, why do you think people save and collect old books? It takes people, machines, and time to make books. How has the computer affected the book-publishing process? In what ways must people collaborate or work together, to make a book?”

Unit 2, Lesson 10, Compare Texts, Text to Text

• Teachers are directed to, “Have students write a list of details for each text that shows how the author tells about Native American traditions and culture. Ask students to note similarities and differences between the texts based on their lists of evidence.”

Unit 4, Lesson 10, Think Aloud

• The teacher models discussion by stating, “ I want to know more about how a myth is different from other stories. From the illustrations, I know that myths have characters and settings that are not realistic. I’ll read this myth to look for ways the characters differ from realistic fiction.”

Unit 6, Lesson 26, Speaking and Listening

• Teachers are directed to, “ Have each student read aloud his or her folktale to the group. Then have the group hold a discussion in which students make connections between ‘How the Milky Way Came to Be’ and the different folktales they shared. Tell them to compare and contrast the folktales and the cultures from with they came. Display and discuss the Tips for Listening.”

Examples of discussions and modeling that are not evidence-based and do not encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax include but are not limited to:

Unit 1, Lesson 1, Talk About It

• Students are directed to discuss, “What do you know about publishing a book? What would you like to know about this form of expression? Share your ideas with your classmates. Listen carefully to what others say and support their ideas with your own. What did you learn from others?”

Unit 3, Lesson 14, Think-Pair-Share

• Students are directed to, “Think about a time when you helped someone. Where were you? Whom did you help? How did you help? Share your story with a partner. Then, discuss how your stories are alike and different.”

Unit 5, Lesson 24, Compare Text, Text to Self

• Teacher are directed to, “Ask students the following questions to help them brainstorm ideas: What are some times when you received help? Who helped you? How did receiving help make you feel better? Take notes on the board during the discussion and then have students choose one memory to write about. Suggest that they use a Word Web to gather specific details about their memory to use in their paragraph.”

Unit 6, Lesson 28, Speaking and Listening

• Students participate in a debate about a problem in nature. Students choose a problem, brainstorm solutions, divide into two teams, and debate. The information from the debate comes solely from students' prior knowledge.

Interactive Listening and Speaking Lessons are also provided. These lessons are not consistently connected to texts. Sentence starters are provided for English Language Learners.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 partially meet expectations for supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and evidence.

Protocols and routines for speaking and listening are presented in the Interactive Lessons. These lessons include rules for a good discussion, speaking constructively, listening and responding, giving a presentation, and using media in a presentation. These protocols are not located in the Student Edition.

Students practice listening comprehension during the weekly read aloud. Students are asked follow-up questions during the read aloud. Students read and respond to questions during the reading of the anchor texts and supporting text in whole class discussion and partner talk.

Each lesson includes teacher think alouds and a Speaking and Listening lesson on day five. The Speaking and Listening lessons do not always connect to the text or texts being read, do not always support what students are reading and researching, and do not always include relevant follow-up questions. There is limited instruction to support students in mastering these presentation skills. For example:

• In Unit 3, Lesson 14, Day 5, students are asked to participate in a debate. Students are directed to select a two-sided issue to debate based on the text or its overall themes, such as whether Coach Tree is only coaching for the money. Students are divided into two groups and assigned a side in the debate.
• In Unit 5, Lesson 18, Day 5, students are told that they will create, write, and tell their own pourquoi tales, describing how and why an everyday object came to be. Students will choose a common object that can be displayed during tehir presentation. Students are told they can use diverse formats. The Teacher Edition states, " Lead studetns in a discussion about how to present their tale in diverse formats: a written story accompanied by visuals, a concrete objec, and and audio recording of the tale. Allow time for studetns to prepare written copies of their pourqui tale for each audience member, visuals, and an audio recording of the story."

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 partially meet the expectation of materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing and short, focused projects incorporating digital resources where necessary.

Students write on demand after each anchor text during the Write to Reading. These prompts are short text-based writing prompts with little direction for the students and/or teacher. While the implementation of these writing prompts are systematic, guidance for the teacher to support students as they build skills is limited. There is little explicit instruction for the students and teachers to ensure the interrelated nature of writing assignments with reading.

• In Unit 3, Lesson 11, students are asked to respond to the prompt: “Author Jim Murphy introduces Daniel Sullivan with an anecdote. An anecdote is a short account of some event. Write a paragraph to describe how the author introduces Sullivan. What do you learn about Sullivan from this anecdote? Include text evidence that supports your response.” There is an additional support box on one page of the Teacher Edition for teachers to use during instruction to help students answer the prompt and an Interactive Lesson link is provided.

Students focus on one mode of writing across each unit. These modes include narratives, informational essays, and arguments. After each lesson, there is a writing lesson which includes a model writing. During the last two weeks of a unit, students follow the steps of the writing process through publishing. There is a limited amount of practice with the writing mode when students are working through the lessons. Within the first lessons, students do not produce written work, but rather read about writing and look at model writings. The first time students are writing independently is during the end of unit performance task. This provides limited practice of process writing.

• For example, in Unit 5: Taking Risks, the mode of writing taught is an argument writing. Students read examples of writing an opinion essay, problem-solution essay, and a persuasive letter. After the last lesson of the unit, they then prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and publish an argument essay. The performance task for the unit is to write an argument essay.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 partially meet the expectations of materials providing frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information. Most tasks are independent of the main selection texts, and they do not build over the course of the year. Performance Task writings can often be answered without the use of the texts or can not be answered with the information provided by the texts. There are some experiences that engage students in practicing argument/opinion, informative/explanatory, and narrative writing; however, the writing tasks do not increase in rigor over the course of the year.

Examples of writing that does not require students to use evidence from the text include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 5, Lesson 22, “First to Fly”, students craft an argumentative essay, which is directly aligned to the grade level standard. However, students respond to the prompt “Traffic congestion is a huge problem in today’s cities. Propose an invention that would take the place of cars. Support your solution with reasons and evidence.”
• In Unit 5, Lesson 23, “Number the Stars”, students write a letter persuading a director to film “Number the Stars.”

Additional instructional supports are needed for teachers to guide students’ understanding of developing ideas, building components of structured writing, and integrating evidence from texts and other sources. Students are asked to use text evidence, but there is little guidance to the teacher on how to teach students to use text evidence. Most questions are preceded by or followed by the prompt “Cite Text Evidence,” however, students are not instructed on how to find or cite evidence from the text. Students are provided with a writing tip that is sometimes related to the text evidence, and other times related to grammar or other writing aspects.