Kindergarten - Gateway 3

The Kindergarten instructional materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing that span a school year. The materials include a Curriculum Plan and a Curriculum Map containing four content-based modules, each with three units that are designed for eight to nine weeks of instruction. Module 1 provides six weeks of instruction to allow for the development of classroom routines and procedures.

The materials utilize three hours of instruction per day. Module Lessons provide one hour of content-based literacy instruction built around close read-alouds of complex text, explicit focus on the listening and speaking standards, daily goal setting and reflection, and a culminating performance task. Lab lessons, also part of the content-based literacy block, contain one hour of instruction to deepen and enhance learning and foster student independence by giving students an opportunity to explore, engineer, create, and imagine. Labs also contain two weeks of Flex Days if additional time is needed to best meet student needs. The Reading Foundations Skills block provides a third hour of instruction with five components including independent reading, additional work with complex text, reading and speaking fluency, writing practice, and word study and vocabulary.

All modules are designed around the Four T’s framework (topic, task, targets, and text). Compelling topics are chosen that bring the content to life. Learning targets are centered around ELA standards. On-demand tasks are scaffolded to support the culminating performance task. Each of four Modules contains three units with lessons spanning 1-2 weeks. Each unit contains A Key Understanding, A Focus Question, Supporting Language and Engagement, and a Culminating Task. Each Lesson includes an Opening (5 Minutes), Work Time (45 Minutes), Closing and Assessment (5 Minutes).

An Additional Language and Literacy Block (ALL Block) operates parallel to the three units of the Module and has five components, including independent reading, additional work with complex text, reading and speaking fluency, writing practice, and word study and vocabulary. Two hours per day of content-based literacy includes one hour for module lessons and one hour for Labs, plus one hour of structured phonics.

The instructional materials for Kindergarten 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 Curriculum Plan and Curriculum Map consists of three hours of instruction per day. Module and Lab Lessons contain two hours of content-based instruction. A separate Reading Foundations Skills block provides a third hour of instruction. There are four content-based modules, containing a total of twelve Units, which account for approximately 32-36 weeks of instruction.

The Kindergarten Lab lessons complement the Module lessons and are designed for six weeks of instruction within the eight to nine week module, giving teachers flexibility in meeting the needs of all students. This flex time may be utilized to reteach skills and concepts, solidify routines and structures, support ELL students, and/or provide time to confirm understanding of the module topic. The one hour Lab lesson is intentionally designed to allow more time for students to increase their content knowledge and literacy skills and to build student independence.

Each module contains a culminating performance task that allows students to synthesize their content learning. Each module contains three assessments, one per unit, that scaffold to the culminating task. The reading assessment is based on ELA standards, the writing assessment is based on K-5 writing rubrics, and the speaking and listening assessment is based on checklists.

The instructional materials for Kindergarten 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 student materials offer students opportunities to demonstrate thinking and learning through a variety of tasks such as Guiding Question Response Sheets, Module Reflection Response sheets, Journals, Notebooks, Note-Catchers, Graphic Organizers, and Anchor charts. Students demonstrate knowledge of content through writing. The student materials for each module are clearly labeled and provide clear directions for each instructional activity. Examples include:

• Anchor charts are used to describe procedures and protocols such as Sharing Our Work. In Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, students complete a two-column chart describing a character’s feelings and words that describe those feelings.
• Lessons contain several response sheets with guiding questions and students respond to the question.
• In Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 8, students interview a classmate about toy preference. Students circle the preferred toy and answer the question, “How do you play with your preferred classroom toy?”
• In Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 13, students complete a reflection of the information learned by answering the questions, “One thing I learned about toys” and “One thing I learned about playing with others.”
• In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 2, students complete a Meteorologist Notebook by completing facts about weather such as temperature, moisture, clouds and rainbows.
• In Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 6, students record the weather each day for nine days. Students journal the type of clothing worn for specific types of weather and record the temperature.
• In Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 2, students use their Research Notebook to observe an item (plant, person, animal, toy), record their observations in a small box that is provided, and then construct a sentence about whether the item is living or non-living citing reasons within the context of a sentence frame.
• In Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 1, students use a Note-catcher page to draw, label, and write one way the classroom community could enjoy a tree.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for including publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks and assessment items. Alignment to the Common Core State Standards is documented throughout the materials. The materials are comprehensive and include the teaching and assessing of all strands of the CCSS. The learning targets for each lesson are designed with the CCSS as a primary source of guidance. Module lessons were developed using a framework called the Four T’s (topics, tasks, targets, texts). In the context of the Four T’s framework, “targets” refers to the ELA Standards.

Alignment information can be found in the Curriculum Plan, Curriculum Map, and individual modules through the Expeditionary Learning website. For example, standards are noted for each lesson in the Purpose and Alignment to Standards. Also found in each lesson are Standards-Based Learning Targets which are written in student-friendly language.

The Assessment Overview for each module describes the Module Performance Task, each Unit Assessment, and the Assessment Checklists. These descriptions also document the standards addressed by these tasks and assessment items. The Assessment Checklists are designed to help track students’ progress toward a variety of standards over the course of this module. These formative assessment opportunities are noted throughout the module lessons.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher Guide 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.

Suggestions on how to present the content are contained in the Week at a Glance in each Overview, including Lessons, CCSS, Agenda, Daily Learning Targets, Ongoing Assessments, Anchor Charts, and Protocols. There are Teaching Notes for each unit that provide guidance on how to present the content.

The Language Arts materials include a Teacher Guide for each Module and state on page vii, “The curriculum is intended to act as a professional development resource for users.” The beginning of each lesson contains Teaching Notes that provide information about the purpose of the lesson and alignment to standards. These notes support lesson preparation along with making informed adjustments to best meet the needs of students. There is an Overview that lists the Big Idea, Guiding Questions Standards, Instructional Focus, Culminating Tasks, and Assessments that are addressed within each Module. The Overview contains an agenda listing each Lesson component which includes the following: opening (10 minutes), work time (35 minutes), and closing and assessment (10 minutes).

The Meeting Students’ Needs section in each Module provides additional considerations for students who may require further supports or extended learning opportunities. Strategies presented in the Universal Design for Learning section provide suggested tools and scaffolded support for all learners.

Teacher guidance for the use of technology is provided for each lesson in the Technology and Multimedia section, which gives recommendations on how to extend student learning into digital experiences. Other examples include:

• The 4 T’s table in the Module and Unit Overview unpack how each Module engages students in compelling topics, texts, and tasks, working towards mastering the specific standard or target.
• The At a Glance summaries, marked by a calendar icon, give the gist of a Module, a Unit, or the Assessment structure before beginning teaching on a new topic.
• The Teaching Notes at the beginning of the lessons provide scaffolds for teaching and professional development. Teaching Notes are intentionally highly scaffolded to support lesson preparation and empower teachers in making informed decisions and adapt the curriculum to students within a classroom.
• Meeting Students’ Needs provides additional adaptations for students who may require extensions or supports to reach the rigor of the grade level lesson. There are specific supports for English Language Learners and for different learning modalities from the Universal Design for Learning framework.
• The Universal Design for Learning framework emphasizes differentiation. Tools and scaffolding support all learners, and teachers have flexibility in the manner in which they present information, ask students to respond, and engage with students.
• A complete set of classroom protocols, including all of the protocols used in lessons, are available in the Classroom Protocols pack on Curriculum.ELeducation.org. The book, Management in the Active Classroom, is a rich resource for protocols and classroom management strategies, available on ELeducation.org.
• Instructional videos showing the curriculum at work in real classrooms can be accessed at Curriculum.ELeducation.org.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher Guide 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.

Each Module includes a Teacher Guide with detailed explanations for each instructional task, its purpose, and alignment to the standards. In addition, the Your Curriculum Companion is designed to provide guidance on the delivery of the Language Arts Curriculum and serve as a resource to build professional knowledge in the areas of standards and research-based best practices. The guidance document, Implementing the K-2 Labs, is intended to help teachers understand the why, what, and how of the K-2 Labs. Other examples include:

• In the Your Curriculum Companion, on pages 141-145, teachers are provided Module lesson planning task cards. Each task card has guiding questions and provides specific information to teachers to help build their knowledge in order to plan for each part of the Module.
• Chapter 5, section 5A of the Your Curriculum Companion provides teachers with guidance on text complexity. Teachers are given information on what makes a text complex, how to determine text complexity, and the rationale behind the importance of text complexity (pages 260-262).
• Chapter 6 of the Your Curriculum Companion provides teachers with information on writing. Specifically, evidence-based writing, the writing cycle, and strengthening student writing. It provides charts that correlate the reading and writing CCSS standards, student examples, and evidence-based instructional strategies.
• Each chapter in the Your Curriculum Companion provides a frequently asked questions section, which builds teacher knowledge by providing information on the standards, how the program addresses the standards, and best practices for implementation.It includes notes that give adult-level explanations and examples.
• The Engaging Students with Protocols section of Chapter 3 in Your Curriculum Companion states that “[p]rotocols are an important feature of our curriculum because they are one of the best ways we know to engage students in discussion, inquiry, critical thinking, and sophisticated communication. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher Guide that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

The Your Curriculum Companion serves as a guide in combining content area standards and CCSS language to create a target with the goal of meeting and contextualizing the standard. Each lesson contains a learning topic that addresses priority content standards and targets that combine the content with ELA/literacy standards.

The Module Overview clearly connects the learning for the day to the intended CCSS. Standards are explicitly taught and, as students move through the program, standards cycle back through allowing for review and solidification of concepts. The curriculum provides direct standards correlation at the beginning of each Module in the Skills Block Teacher Guide for quick reference as teaching begins.

• The Teacher Guide for each Module lesson contains a Teaching Notes section that provides the purpose of the lesson and standards alignment and explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum. For example, in the Grade K, Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 7, “Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: In this lesson, students continue to cultivate their curiosity and build their knowledge of the components that make weather. This lesson invites students to ask and answer questions about details and unknown words in the text regarding wind as they seek to clarify their understanding, connect with prior knowledge, and wonder about the components that make weather (RI.K.1, RI.K.2, and RI.K.4).”
• On page 9 of the Your Curriculum Companion, it states “We believe the standards invite us to build in our students critical skills for life--for career success and civic contribution. What is important is not just what the standards say, but how they are used.” On pages 25-27, it explains how the curriculum addresses each CCSS shift in the aspect of reading, writing, language, and speaking/listening. The Your Curriculum Companion provides more specific details in pages 29-35 by explaining how the backwards design approach to the curriculum connects to each CCSS shift.
• In the Module Overview in the Teacher Guide for each Unit, all standards covered in the entire Module are listed, separated into Reading-Literature, Reading-Informational Text, Foundational Skills, Speaking and Listening, Language, and Writing. It further provides information regarding which standards are assessed per unit, the instructional focus for each unit, and the assessments and performance tasks for each unit. An explanation is provided for the emphasis on reading, writing, language, speaking, and listening standards.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies.

Materials identify the five elements of literacy instruction most critical for addressing literacy: vocabulary, knowledge building, syntax, fluency, and decoding. Research surrounding these five elements influenced the design of the curriculum. The Skills Block Teacher Guide, provides an in-depth year-at-a-glance or scope and sequence document teachers utilize to ensure students have multiple exposures to content to gain a deeper understanding. This guide clearly explains the connections between learning and the CCSS Reading Foundation Standards and provides the research that informed the creation of the curriculum.

The Skills Block Teacher Guide includes an assessment overview and a specific Module overview. The Cycle at a Glance component found in the Skills Block Teacher Guide, provides research-based resources for the teacher to access while planning throughout the year. It also encourages teachers to utilize specific videos created by EL Curriculum of modeled teaching strategies and instruction.

The Your Curriculum Companion provides an in-depth rationale for the delivery method of the entire program, in addition to the research-based strategies that have been chosen to deliver the content. Such as:

• Chapter 1B of Your Curriculum Companion explains how research impacted the design of the curriculum. On page 19, Your Curriculum Companion provides an analysis of the research on the literacy achievement gap and, on page 20, uses charts to explain what is already known about the literacy achievement gap and how the EL curriculum addresses it. The Your Curriculum Companion continues to provide this for the research behind knowledge building, syntax, fluency, and decoding making the connection to the EL curriculum. It provides information regarding the five elements of literacy instruction most critical for addressing the literacy achievement gap: vocabulary, knowledge-building, syntax, fluency, and decoding. This is based on the presentation by David Liben, Student Achievement Partners, July 2015.
• Page 27 of Your Curriculum Companion states that the design of the curriculum uses the guiding principles of backward design, which required curriculum designers to consider three questions: “1. At end of a sequence of instruction, what will students know and be able to do? 2. What will proficiency look and sound like? 3. How will we know when students are proficient?”
• Pages 83-85 of Your Curriculum Companion explain how the parts of the ALL Block promote proficiency and growth in students. In these explanations, research is cited to support the curriculum, such as the following explanation: “Research tells us that readers in intermediate grades benefit from a more contextualized approach to teaching phonics and word recognition” (pg. 85).
• The “Research Behind EL Education Language Arts Curriculum and Professional Services Guide” provides a “high level summary of the research that informed the Language Arts curriculum design (e.g., content-based literacy, phonics, supports for ELLs) and our professional development (e.g., focus on leadership, coaching, common implementation challenges).”
• The “Language Dives in the K-5 Language Arts Curriculum” Overview contains an explanation of the language dive and the research behind this instructional technique. The guide “describes what a language dive is, criteria for a good language dive sentence, when students do language dives, what the benefits of language dives are, and the principles and research base that underlie language dives.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.

The materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress. The curriculum offers numerous opportunities for assessment of student learning and emphasizes formative assessment, daily learning targets and checking for understanding techniques, and opportunities for formal assessments and performance tasks.

The Reading Foundational skills block contains benchmark assessments, cycle assessments, and daily assessments. Benchmark Assessments include letter name and sound identification, phonological awareness, spelling, decoding, and fluency. These are given at the beginning of the year to form differentiated small groups and are reused during the middle and end of year to provide targeted instruction. Cycle assessments are given once per cycle beginning in Module 4 and are tied to module targets. Snapshot Assessments are given daily and provide a quick check on mastery of daily learning targets.

The Content-Based Literacy Instruction contains Formative Assessments: assessment checklists, text-dependent questions, and writing routines. Checklists are provided for reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language skills. In Kindergarten, text-dependent questions are answered orally. Throughout the module, students write in research notebooks, journals, note-catchers, and graphic organizers which can be used for teachers to gather evidence.

The Content-Based Literacy Instruction also contains Summative Assessments: end of unit assessments and on-demand writing. End of Unit Assessments may include written responses, completed graphic organizers, or selected responses. On-Demand Writing tasks are at the end of each unit found in the module and address the module’s anchor writing standard. In Kindergarten, students write with support.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

Assessment materials clearly denote which standards are being emphasized. The Assessment Overview in the Teacher Supporting Materials and the Assessment Overview in the Teacher Guide contain the standards addressed within each unit. These documents allow the educator to see how assessments and standards build on one another throughout the curriculum. In the Supporting Materials document, educators are provided with checklists and specific unit assessments that have clearly matched standards.

Kindergarten assessment materials clearly denote which standards are being emphasized. The standards are clearly labeled in the Assessment Overview of each Module. Standards are clearly labeled in the daily lessons and are also found on the performance-based assessments for each unit. For each Module, the standards formally assessed are indicated with a check mark on a chart containing all ELA standards. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Teacher Guide, Grade K, Module 2, pg 16, it is clearly noted which standards are being emphasized for each assessment. For example, for the final performance task, it states, “In this performance task, students write an imaginary narrative about a character’s experience with the weather, using The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats as a mentor text. Students’ narratives reflect how the weather affects the choices the character makes about what to wear and what to do. Students use group notes, puppets, and oral planning as scaffolding to illustrate and write their stories. They also revise, edit, and practice reading their original narratives in preparation for sharing them with families and friends during the end of module celebration: a Weather Expo. This task addresses CCSS ELA W.K.3, W.K.5, L.K.1a, L.K.2a, L.K.2c, L.K.2d, and L.K.6.”
• The end of unit assessments specifically note the standards that are addressed. For example, students complete the Module 3, Unit 2 end-unit assessment, which “centers on CCSS ELA W.K.2, W.K.7, and W.K.” In this assessment, they “write an informational booklet stating researched facts about different animals that get food from trees. Students use the individual notes created during the research process to inform their writing with researched facts. Over the course of three lessons, students complete their booklet with a focus statement and three detail statements about different animals that get food from trees.”
• In Module 1, End of Unit 3 Assessment: Speaking and Listening: Interviewing a Classmate about a Favorite Classroom Toy, p. 283 in the Teacher Guide, assesses the following standards: W.K.8 and SL.K.3.
• In Module 2, the Kindergarten Create Lab Checklist for Create Lab: I can create detailed weather landscapes and cityscapes, assesses the following standards: SL.K.1a, SL.K.4, L.K.1d, L.K.1f.
• In Module 4, Unit 2, the End of Unit 2 Assessment: Reading about an Author’s Point and Writing Opinions, assesses the following standards: RI.K.8, W.K.1, L.K.1e, L.K.2a, and L.K.2b.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.

Materials provide teachers with guidance for administering assessments, ways to scaffold assessments, areas of focus, connections to learning building towards the assessment, and suggestions for lessons in the future. Each assessment is broken down into sections to help support teacher understanding. The first section is titled “Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards.” The curriculum refers to assessments as an additional lesson, so in this section it explains which standards the assessment aligns to, the purpose behind the assessment, and information about tracking progress. The second section is titled “How it builds on previous work.” In this section, the curriculum explains how the unit and lessons have build upon each other in order to bring students to this place of learning. The third section is titled “Areas where students might need additional support.” This section anticipates barriers that students may face and offers suggestions to teachers on how to move students past the barriers. The fourth section is titled “Assessment guidance.” In this section, the assessment is broken down for teachers, typically by standard and explains how the assessment addresses each standard. There is also additional information regarding feedback for students. The last section is titled “Down the Road.” In this section the curriculum explains how the knowledge students have now will be used as they move forward in the curriculum.

In Your Curriculum Companion, pgs. 396-397, there are examples of student work and how they should be graded using the rubric found in the Teacher Guide. Further guidance is provided on the following:

• Choosing evidence for analysis, pg. 401
• Organizing the evidence, pg. 403
• Identifying the patterns and trends that can inform instruction, pg. 403
• Creating an action plan based on the data (next steps), pg. 404

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

Materials include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress. There are informal checklists to help collect evidence of progress as teachers observe students working. Progress monitoring formative assessments are integrated within every module by using mid and end unit assessments, performance tasks, ongoing assessment suggestions within each lesson, scaffolded instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Your Curriculum Companion, on pgs. 393-395, there is an overview of how the curriculum supports ongoing progress monitoring. For example, on pg. 393 a description of how each lesson within the module includes formative assessments that align with the learning targets.
• In the Your Curriculum Companion on pg. 394, it describes the use of informal checklists. The informal checklist is a tool that provides teachers with a way of tracking student progress while making observations. In Kindergarten, informal checklists include reading fluency, writing process, collaborative discussions, presentation of knowledge and ideas, and speaking and listening comprehension.
• The curriculum uses text-dependent questions as an ongoing progress monitoring tool. This takes place by having students answer the questions independently while reading additional text.
• Writing routines are built with ongoing formative assessments. The curriculum uses exit tickets, note-catchers, and graphic organizers to assess student learning.
• On pg. 394 in Your Curriculum Companion, it states that writing routines are repeated and appear frequently throughout the modules. Exit tickets, note-catchers, and graphic organizers are repeated multiple times in a unit.
• In Your Curriculum Companion, p. 395, there is an explanation on Tracking Progress Forms. It states, “students review their assessments for evidence of mastery of standards and add sticky notes to their work to point to this evidence. After students track their progress, the teacher then reviews and adds to the form.”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.

In the Module Blocks in each lesson, there is a section called Universal Design for Learning. It is divided into three different parts: Multiple Means of Representation (MMR), Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE), and Multiple Means of Engagement (MME). The Teacher Guide for each module anticipates areas where students might need additional support and provides a section geared toward supporting English Language Learners that includes various scaffolds and levels of support recommendations. Each lesson includes a section on Universal Design for Learning, an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences that promotes the use of flexible learning environments in order to accommodate individual learning differences.

The Skills Block is a one hour block consisting of 15-20 minutes of whole group instruction and 40-45 minutes of differentiated small group instruction.This systematic instruction for all students followed by differentiated small group instruction, eliminates the need for additional interventions for struggling readers. The Skills Block is structured, so that students that are the furthest behind will meet with the teacher daily to receive additional explicit instruction. Guidance for more advanced students can be found in the Teacher’s Notes, Meeting Students’ Needs sections of the Skills Block.

Embedded within the lessons as teachers move from the Reconstruct to the Practice section of the lesson, teachers are given instruction on the type of support to provide. For example, in Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 6, teachers are given the following information: “Tell students to pretend they are making a doll themselves and to think about how they would use their imagination, just like Gertie, to make different parts of the doll. Display and read aloud the sentence frame.” Different sentence frames are available depending on the level of support needed by students. For heavier support, teachers are instructed to complete the practice as a shared group activity, provide an illustrated word bank, and consider sketching the doll to make the practice more concrete.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten 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 Teacher Guide for each module provides a section supporting English Language Learners that includes various scaffolds and levels of support recommendations, which often include allowing students to grapple with complex texts and tasks before providing necessary adjustments based on targeted observation. There are Eight High-Leverage Approaches to Supporting English Language Learners in the Supporting English Language Learners section of Modules. The Supporting English Language Learners section in the Unit Overview tells where support practices like Language Dives and Conversation Cues are placed in each unit. Protocols for Conversation Clues and Language Dives are scaffolded for English Language Learners and students who may need additional support in that specific skill to meet or exceed the grade-level standard. In lessons, the Supporting English Language Learners sections are found at the start of the lesson and are embedded throughout in the Meeting Students’ Needs section of the daily lesson plan and provide differentiated levels of support for students with different levels of language proficiency needed for that day’s work.

The Meeting Students Needs section provides additional adaptations for students who may require extensions or support to reach the rigor of the grade level lessons. There are specific supports provided for ELL students.

The Supporting English Language Learners section can be found at the start of the lesson and includes differentiated levels of support for students with different levels of language proficiency needed for that day’s work.

Language Dives provide students with strategies to analyze, understand, and use the language. During a Language Dive, teachers and students slow down the reading of a text to deeply analyze the meaning, purpose, and structure of a specific part of the text. The Language Dive supports ELL students to acquire language and deconstruct complex text (Your Curriculum Companion pages 99-100).

Conversation Cues engage ELL students and their peers in thoughtful and academically focused discussions based on questions asked by the teacher. The Goal for ELL students during these conversations is to be understood, listen carefully and seek understanding, deepen their thinking, and think of ways to extend the conversation (Your Curriculum Companion pages 100-101).

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

The curriculum provides collaborative structures that are used consistently throughout the module lessons. The curriculum also encourages educators to teach total participation techniques to increase student engagement and opportunities to respond during whole group discussions. Additionally the materials provide opportunities for teachers to use both homogeneous and heterogeneous grouping strategies. Students participate in partner and small group Think/Pair/Share, Whole Class Discussion, Small Group Discussion, Read Alouds, Shared Reading, Independent Reading, and Language Dives for both informational and literary texts. Teachers are encouraged to use information gained from the ongoing assessments in the lessons to help determine where students need additional supports or extensions during small groups. In the Modules, a variety of grouping strategies are encouraged where students work in pairs or triads and are strategically paired in advance to create productive and supportive work time. In the Labs, student groupings are dependent on activities that are differentiated based on student need. Examples of groupings include, but are not limited to:

• Think-Pair-Share: promotes productive and equitable conversations, giving all students the opportunity to share and consider the views of others. For example, in Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6, there is a Think-Pair-Share activity facilitated by the teacher and then followed up with questions to prompt further discussion or sentence frames for those who need them. Teachers ask, “What do you see happening in your picture? Which commitment is shown?”
• Back to Back and Face to Face: designed to give students the opportunity to hear several different perspectives on a topic and/or to engage in critical thinking about a topic.
• Pinky Partners: designed as a fun way for students to find a partner to engage in conversation.

An Approaches to Flexible Grouping in the K-5 Curriculum chart is included. This chart explains all the grouping strategies for each component of the curriculum. For the module lessons, teachers are given suggestions to group students based on similar needs. Ongoing assessments throughout the module lessons are used to make grouping decisions about who should be grouped together. In the ALL Block, students are grouped in either below grade level, on grade level, above grade level, or English Language Learner groups. These groups are formed for a two week period using the data from the module lessons. Students then rotate through the activities and are provided the necessary scaffolds or enrichment depending on the group (Your Curriculum Companion page 113).