The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that texts are organized around topics and/or themes to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.

All units provide students and teachers with a unit goal, which is located within the “Unit at-a-glance” box. All texts are centered around each unit goal, as students must complete Extension tasks, Culminating Writing tasks, Cold Read tasks, and various other formative assessments. The topics include, but are not limited to intelligence, conservation, and the interaction of humans and animals.

• In "Sugar" Unit, the unit goal is, “Students read literary and informational texts to understand the impact that sugar production and trade had on the economic and social course of world history. Students express their understanding by exploring conflicting information about sugar through research, determining text credibility, and comparing and contrasting texts to make informed claims.” Throughout the unit, students read fiction and nonfiction texts that relate to this goal, such as information about sugarcane farming and how its production changed the world, poems about sugarcane, and an image of cane cutting. The Culminating Writing task and Extension tasks refer back to the anchor text of the unit, Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science.
• In “Conservation” Unit, the unit goal is, “Students read various informational and literary texts about the beauty of the natural world and the duty of mankind to leave resources for future generations. Students understand and express their understanding of how the various authors use language, devices, and connections between ideas to motivate others to take up the conservation cause.” Throughout the unit, students read fiction and nonfiction texts that relate to this goal, such as information about Theodore Roosevelt, John James Audubon, and John Muir as conservationists and stories like “Requiem for a Nest” and “Birdfoot’s Grampa.” The Culminating Writing task and Extension tasks refer back to the anchor text of the unit, “Conservation as a National Duty.”
• In the "Call of the Wild" Unit, the unit goal is, “Students read literary and informational texts about human interaction with animals and nature. They understand how authors portray animals to serve a purpose and make a comment about human interaction with animals. Students then explore scientific and personal accounts of animal cognition to express their understanding of Jack London’s portrayal of Buck and his interaction with humans in The Call of the Wild.” Throughout the unit, students read fiction and nonfiction texts that relate to this goal, such as information about the intelligence of animals and the ways of nature, and stories like “To Build a Fire.” The Culminating Writing Tast and Extension tasks refer back to the anchor text of the unit, The Call of the Wild.

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

Students independently and as a whole group complete questions and tasks that require analysis of individual texts. Students complete multiple reads of texts with scaffolds, such as read aloud, partner reading, and independent reading. Students answer questions and/or complete tasks that move from a literal understanding of the text to deep analysis within the texts or multiple texts. This scaffolded progression occurs across units, sections, lessons, and assessments.

In the "Flowers for Algernon" Unit, Lesson 22, students complete a Cold Read practice with the text, “Flowers for Algernon.” Students are given 25 minutes to reread a section from the text and answer the following multiple-choice questions:

• Part A: Which of the following sentences describes the response and the reason for the people at the restaurant’s reaction to the dishwasher breaking the dishes?
• Part A: What do the words vacant and vacuous mean as used in the passage?
• Part A: Charlie feels ashamed in the scene at the restaurant. What does this moment reveal about Charlie?
• Part A: What is the main claim Charlie makes in the report from May 20?

In the "Sugar" Unit,  Lesson 38, students complete a Cold Read task. Students have 25 minutes to complete three questions and 15 minutes to view a video and answer two questions. The article comes from “200 Years of Progress in the Louisiana Sugar Industry: A Brief History” by Dr. Charley Richard. Questions include:

• What is the main idea of the “200 Years of Progress in the Louisiana Sugar Industry: A Brief History?”
• Which statement from the passage best supports the answer to Part A?
• How does paragraph 6 of the passage refine the idea of the growth in the sugarcane industry?

In the “Tell-Tale Heart” Unit,  Lesson 14. students begin reading “The Ransom of Red Chief,” and they define words in context and analyze how words, phrases, and details reveal aspects of a character. Students listen to the first fourteen paragraphs of the story and mark the words, phrases, and/or sentences that reveal information about the narrator, his partner, Ebenezer Dorset, and Ebenezer’s son (the kid or “Red Chief”). Students complete a close reading of two sentences and then answer these questions: "From where is the story being told? How many narrators are there? How much does the narrator know? How reliable is the narrator? What is the narrator’s orientation?"

In the “Conservation” Unit, Lesson 6, students practice point of view and meaning in “Requiem for a Nest.” Students read the poem and make a prediction: “Consider the title and make a prediction about what the poem is about.” Students are then paired based on similar language abilities and are required to complete the following questions:

• Paraphrase: Put the poem into your own words. Make sure you tell what is happening at the beginning, middle, and end. Tell what is really happening, not what the poet is figuratively saying.
• Connotation: Look at the poem beyond the actual events. Look for figurative language, imagery, etc.
• Attitude (Tone): What is the speaker’s tone? Is there more than one attitude or tone in different parts of the poem?
• Shifts: Are there any changes in the speaker or attitude? Look for keywords, time change, punctuation.
• Title: Look at the title again. Why is the title important to the poem?
• Theme: What is the theme about? What is the poet saying about the subject? What message is the poet trying to send?

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

Students have frequent opportunities to think about, discuss, and write about multiple texts within the daily lesson structure and as part of culminating activities and assessments. Students are often asked to reflect on texts as they relate to one another and revisit their understanding of texts after they have experienced new selections. Cold Read tasks, Culminating Writing tasks, and Extension tasks often include writing prompts that ask students to synthesize understanding across texts.

• In “The Tell-Tale Heart” Unit, Lessons 42-43, students complete a Cold Read task where they respond to questions and demonstrate their knowledge through a task. Questions are: “What is the meaning of the word 'wonderment' as it is used in paragraph 2? Which sentence from the story best supports the answer to Part A? How does the difference in point of view between Professor Hugo in “Zoo” and the reader create irony?” The task is: “According to 'Zoo' and 'The Blind Men and the Elephant,' what role does perspective or point of view play in understanding a situation? Write an extended response that analyzes how this idea is developed through characters, setting, and plot in both the story and the poem. Cite evidence from both texts to support your response.”
• In the “Flowers for Algernon” Unit, Lessons 6-8, students read and analyze the informational article, “What’s in an Inkblot? Some Say, Not Much” by Erica Goode. In Lesson 9, students use the knowledge they gained from reading the article and “Flowers for Algernon” to make a claim about Charlie’s suitability for the experiment.
• In the “Conservation” Unit, Lesson 1, students read, summarize, and make inferences about the short story, “Autumntime” by A. Lentini. In Lessons 2-3, they read and analyze “Conservation as a National Duty” by Theodore Roosevelt. In Lesson 4, students explain in a written response how “Autumntime” represents the claims in Roosevelt's speech, citing evidence from the text.
• In the "Call of the Wild" Unit, in Lessons 37-41, as part of the Extension task, students synthesize the knowledge they gained from reading several selections: excerpts from “Do Animals Think and Reflect?” from The Ways of Nature by John Burroughs, “How Smart are Animals” from PBS, “Animal Minds” by Virginia Morrell, and the portrayal of Buck in The Call of the Wild. After reading, they write an argumentative essay in response to the question, “Given Jack London's characterization of Buck in the novel and your understanding of animal cognition, should he be considered a ‘nature faker’? Why or why not?”

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

The materials contain lessons and tasks that build to culminating activities. Each unit has an established goal that is described for the teacher in the introduction to the unit and to the students in the first lesson of the unit. The students are also informed in the opening of the first lesson how they will eventually demonstrate that they met the goals of the unit, which is their successful completion of the culminating tasks. Each unit contains three culminating tasks: a Culminating Writing task, an Extension task which is either narrative or research in nature, and a Cold Read task. For each of the culminating tasks, the materials provide student directions, rubrics, and exemplars.

• In the “Conservation” Unit, the unit goal is “Students read various informational and literary texts about the beauty of the natural world and the duty of mankind to leave resources for future generations. Students understand and express their understanding of how the various authors use language, devices, and connections between ideas to motivate others to take up the conservation cause.” At the conclusion of the “Conservation” Unit, students complete an Extension task where they “work collaboratively to research a modern conservation group (e.g., the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the National Park Service) that uses research and exploration to conserve wildlife.” They are instructed to follow these steps: "Write an expository, research-based essay in which you explain how the group’s values and goals support the conservation movement of today. Explain what impact that organization has had on wildlife conservation and support your ideas using credible and relevant evidence. Properly cite and quote sources, avoiding plagiarism. After researching, each group will deliver a multimedia presentation about the goals of your organization and the importance of your work in our community today.”
• In the “Tell-Tale Heart” Unit, the unit goal is “Students read literary and informational texts to understand the role of the narrator and point of view. Students also understand how the narrative voice of a text can blur the line between fact and fiction. Students express their understanding through writing in different points of view and examining motives and bias in various media.” For the Cold Read task, students read a new selection: “Zoo” by Edward Hoch. They answer a series of multiple choice questions, followed by a writing section where they respond to the prompt: “According to ‘Zoo’ and ‘The Blind Men and the Elephant,’ what role does perspective or point of view play in understanding a situation? Write an extended response that analyzes how this idea is developed through characters, setting, and plot in both the story and the poem. Cite evidence from both texts to support your response.”
• In the "Call of the Wild" Unit, the unit goal is “Students read literary and informational texts about human interaction with animals and nature. They understand how authors portray animals to serve a purpose and make a comment about human interaction with animals. Students then explore scientific and personal accounts of animal cognition to express their understanding of Jack London’s portrayal of Buck and his interaction with humans in The Call of the Wild.” For the Culminating Writing task, students write a literary analysis in response to the question, “What central idea or theme about humans’ treatment of animals does The Call of the Wild convey?” In order to answer this question, they are instructed to “Select key incidents from the novel in which Buck interacts with his various owners. Describe Buck’s point of view about the incident and his owners’ traits. Examine the outcome of each incident and how each owner’s treatment and Buck’s point of view impacted the outcome. Determine a central idea or theme of The Call of the Wild based on London’s depiction of Buck’s relationship with his many owners and the outcomes of their various interactions.”
• In the "Flowers for Algernon" Unit, the unit goal is “Students read literary and informational texts about knowledge and intelligence to show what happens when humans manipulate the minds of others and how our understanding of intelligence has evolved over time. Students express their understanding of these ideas by exploring how authors draw on traditional stories and develop characters and themes to teach us about ourselves and others.” In the Extension task, students write an informative essay to explain how the understanding of intelligence has changed over time. In order to do complete the task, students have to participate in a discussion and research the history of the work on intelligence. Some possible places for the students to research are listed.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.

The Resource Library for each unit includes a “Vocabulary Guide” that includes words and phrases to teach, words and phrases to define, and two whole-class instructional strategies for teaching vocabulary: semantic mapping and word displays. Each unit contains a text complexity and vocabulary analysis document. The vocabulary analysis portion provides a list of vocabulary words and where they appear in the anchor text. The words are categorized by whether they can or can not be determined in context and whether they demand less or more teaching time. “Section Supports” outline a protocol for explicitly teaching vocabulary and provide specific “Vocabulary Tasks” and “Mentor Sentence Language Tasks.” Within the lesson plan structure, the “Let’s Work With Words!” section focuses on the development of vocabulary and language through explicit instruction and formative practice.

• In the “Vocabulary Guide,” teachers examine their vocabulary instruction across the year and throughout all lessons and units. Suggestions are given to teachers to speed up vocabulary growth for all students, including, but not limited to “reading aloud texts that are written at a level above the students’ independent reading levels, or prompting students to read a series of texts on the same topic.”
• In the "Christmas Carol" Unit, “Section Supports” provide additional support for teachers including “Protocols for Explicitly Teaching Vocabulary.” In these section, teachers are given steps to explicitly teach the word “conclusions.” The steps include teacher presentation, definition, explanation, connections, and application.
• In the Sugar" Unit, Lesson 15, students complete a “Let’s Work With Words!” section within the lesson. Students are presented with the word “indulgence,” and given a sentence stem: “The word ‘indulgence’ means…” Students are placed in pairs, and this section of the lesson ends with a whole classroom discussion: “Conclude the discussion by asking pairs to complete one of the following sentence stems to help explain how they determined the meaning of ‘indulgence.’ ‘Another way to say ‘indulgence' is…’ ‘I made meaning of the word/phrase by looking at other words and/or phrases in the sentence, such as...’ ‘I looked at...’ ‘I noticed that...’”
• In the “Conservation” Unit, Lesson 6, students complete a TP-CASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude/tone, shifts, title, and theme) handout. Specifically, students practice identifying connotation (C): “Direct students to highlight the words or phrases from the poem that stick out to them using the following key: Yellow highlighter for words or phrases with a positive connotation; blue highlighter for words or phrases with a negative connotation.” Students are then instructed to “take a look at the words you highlighted and let me share what I highlighted with you.” Then, students must write the two sets of words on the C: Connotations portion of the TP-CASTT organizer. Students should be sure to separate the positive and negative connotations on the handout.”
• In the "Call of the Wild" Unit, Lesson 3, students complete a “Let’s Work With Words!” section. Students read an excerpt from the anchor text and focus on the word, “metamorphosed”: “What does the word 'metamorphosed' mean? Why is this word choice significant?” Students complete these questions with a partner. The teacher is provided with the following instructions: “After 4 minutes, engage the class in a brief discussion to refine their definitions until you reach an accurate definition. Prompt students to share the context clues that helped them refine their definition. As needed, give the definition to students for each word...Have students write the word and definition in their vocabulary chart. If time permits, they can complete the row of the chart or do so for homework. Engage students in a whole-class discussion about the significance of the word ‘metamorphosed.’ If needed, use the prompting questions below to spark discussion and support student understanding.”

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

Writing is used across lesson plans and assessments as a learning tool and as a way for students to express their understanding. Lesson plans are scaffolded so that students develop their understanding of texts thoroughly before having to write thoughtfully about them. Within lessons, students complete smaller writing tasks such as taking notes, filling in graphic organizers, and writing quick responses to guiding questions before they are asked to complete more demanding writing tasks for more complex selections at the end of the unit. Classroom discussion is used as a regular tool to prepare students for writing assignments, and more in-depth writing assignments are broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks to prepare students for writing the rough draft. Students learn the components of good writing on a smaller scale through language tasks that focus on sentence-level meaning and writing structures. Each unit concludes in a multi-draft Culminating Writing task that synthesizes the students’ understanding of the texts. Additionally, Extension tasks are included for either narrative or research-based writing.

For example:

• In the "Flowers for Algernon" Unit, Lesson 4, students engage in a class discussion to analyze the myths of Prometheus and Pandora then express their understanding of the lesson by writing a paragraph in response to the questions: “What is a theme of ‘The Story of Prometheus’? How do Prometheus’ and Jupiter’s actions develop a theme of the text?”
• In the “Tell-Tale Heart” Unit, Lesson 23, students evaluate the reliability of the narrator of “Tell-Tale Heart.” They discuss the question “How would “The Tell-Tale Heart” change if the story were told from another point of view?” Students then write a response to the same question in their Reading Logs to show their understanding of the lesson.
• In the "Sugar" Unit, Lesson 26-29, students write a multi-draft essay in Culminating Writing task in response to the prompt: “What is the author’s perspective or purpose for writing Sugar Changed the World and how do they respond to conflicting viewpoints?” They are instructed to "Write an essay that explains how the authors convey their perspective or purpose in writing Sugar Changed the World, including how they respond to conflicting viewpoints."
• In the "Call of the Wild" Unit, Lessons 32-36, students complete a Culminating Writing task where they write a multi-draft literary analysis in response to the question, “What central idea or theme about humans’ treatment of animals does The Call of the Wild convey? Select key incidents from the novel in which Buck interacts with his various owners. Describe Buck’s point of view about the incident and his owners’ traits. Examine the outcome of each incident and how each owner’s treatment and Buck’s point of view impacted the outcome. Determine a central idea or theme of The Call of the Wild based on London’s depiction of Buck’s relationship with his many owners and the outcomes of their various interactions."

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

Students engage in lessons and activities where they gather information from sources for the purposes of research and to supplemental understanding of texts. They draw evidence from literary and informational selections to discuss the texts and support claims they make about the texts. Students also complete larger research projects at the end of units that require them to obtain information from multiple credible sources and synthesize that information to convey their understanding of a topic or task.

For example:

• In the "Sugar" Unit, Lesson 5, students participate in a lesson to “analyze how the authors’ make connections among individuals, ideas, and events in history.” This skill is necessary to conduct research and is needed for the research task later in the unit: “Students write an argumentative, research-based essay that (1) makes a claim about the role of sugar, (2) argues what impact that role of sugar had on the world, and (3) defends the claim using evidence.”
• In the "Flowers for Algernon" Unit, Lessons 36-41, Extension task, students research how the understanding of intelligence has changed over time. Students are provided with a list of possible resources and are required to present at least two different theories of intelligence and explain why each theory is or is not widely accepted today.
• In the “Tell-Tale Heart” Unit, Lessons 34-41, Extension task, students create a multimedia presentation on an issue that they researched to illustrates how others try to influence perspective in order to shape what people believe to be true.
• In the “Conservation” Unit, Lessons 33-39, students work in small groups to research a modern conservation group that uses research and exploration to conserve wildlife. They write a research-based expository essay about how the group’s values and goals support the conservation movement. Then students create a multimedia presentation about the goals of the chosen organization and the impact of its work.

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

Students have frequent opportunities to engage in independent reading through scaffolded lessons and self-selected materials. Students read portions of the anchor text independently after the teacher reads the text to them and after students read in pairs. Students also reread selections independently after having listened to them or read them in pairs. Students are held accountable through the use of reading logs, discussion, formative, and summative assessments. For Cold Read tasks, students read selections independently and complete multiple choice questions and writing tasks to show their understanding. Each unit comes with a “Family Resource” document with a suggested book list to deepen students’ knowledge of the topic being studied. It also provides suggestions for how parents can plan and encourage independent reading activities at home. For the independent reading project, the teacher materials include a letter to parents that outlines and encourages student accountability.

• In “The Tell-Tale Heart” Unit, Lesson 2, students are introduced to their independent reading for the unit. Students choose form Monster by Walter Dean Myers or Nothing but the Truth by Avi. They are given a reading log and are encouraged to create an independent reading schedule. In Lessons 27 and 28, they prepare and conduct a literature circle discussion based on their independent reading.
• In the "Flowers for Algernon" Unit, Lesson 11, students read Progress Reports 4-8 of “Flowers for Algernon” and analyze Charlie’s character and the author’s use of irony to develop meaning. Students continue reading to learn more about Charlie before and after the surgery. Students are directed to “read Progress Reports 5-8 independently and continue adding to their before/after surgery chart while they read.”
• In the "Sugar" Unit, Lesson 10, students continue reading Part Two of “Sugar Changed the World” and annotate the text to identify the main ideas. Students also close read the text and use a graphic organizer to record the central idea and analyze the relationship between the central idea and supporting ideas in the text. On Card 11 (Homework) students read Part Two of "Sugar Changed the World" (pages 63-70).
• In the "Call of the Wild" Unit, Lessons 22 and 23, students complete a practice Cold Read task where they independently read an excerpt from Chapter 5 of Call of the Wild and answer questions to determine their understanding of the text.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.

The materials contain five Guidebooks or units of study, including “Flowers for Algernon,” "Sugar," “Tell-Tale Heart,” “Conservation,” and “Call of the Wild.” These units are designed around a collection of texts that support a common idea. Each unit is divided into sections that contain lessons. Lessons follow a predictable backward design model and have a suggested pacing of 50 minutes per lesson and also includes a plan for 90 minute block classes. There is a Roadmap document provided for teachers to complete and share with students that helps teachers and students understand the purposeful layout of the lessons. Each lesson launches with a “Let’s Review!” section, so students can reflect on what they learned leading up to that lesson, and a “Let’s Prepare!” section so they know the learning outcomes of the lesson, what materials they will need for the lesson, and how they will demonstrate their understanding at the end of the lesson. After teachers launch the lesson, they guide students through a series of tasks that build their understanding of the targeted skills. These tasks are focused on reading (“Let’s Read!”), vocabulary and language (“Let’s Work with Words!”), speaking and listening (“Let’s Discuss!”), and writing (“Let’s Practice!). Each lesson concludes with a “Let’s Express Our Understanding!” section which is a formative assessment of what the students learned during the lesson. Finally, the “Let’s Close!” section at the end of the lesson reminds the students what they accomplished during the lesson.

• 
  In the "Flowers of Algernon" Unit, Lesson 25, the teacher launches the lesson by reminding students that they recently finished reading "Flowers for Algernon.” The teacher then shares the activities for the lesson: "Determine a theme of 'Flowers for Algernon' and analyze how the theme is developed through the characters, structure, and plot. The teacher also points out what materials the students will need for the lesson. The students then perform a series of tasks which include reading, speaking, listening and writing skills.
• In the “Conservation” Unit, Lesson 1, the teacher launches the lesson by giving an overview of the unit: “We will read literary and informational texts about the beauty of the natural world and the duty of mankind to leave resources for future generations. We will evaluate how the various authors use language, devices, and connections between ideas to motivate others to take up the conservation cause.” The teacher then shares the unit assessments the students will complete. Next, the teacher lists the activities for the lesson: "Read and summarize the short story 'Autumntime' by A. Lentini, and participate in a class discussion to determine the story’s theme. The teacher also points out what materials the students will need for the lesson. The students then perform a series of tasks which include reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
• In the "Sugar" Unit, the teacher is given suggested pacing for each part of a lesson. For example, in Lesson 1 the suggested pacing for the “Let’s Prepare!” section is two minutes. Later the students participate in a jigsaw activity that has twenty minutes as the suggested time. The end of the lesson has a three minute suggested time for students to summarize the reading from the lesson. 
• In the “Tell Tale Heart” Unit, Lessons 27-28,  students participate in two lessons in order to prepare for literature circles:
• Lesson 27: Students analyze different aspects of their independent reading novel in preparation for a literature circles discussion.
• Lesson 28: Students participate in a collaborative discussion of their independent reading novel. They also gather evidence from their independent reading novels for a Socratic seminar about how the unit texts comment on the unit focus questions.
• In the Call of the Wild Unit, there are 43 lessons and five quizzes designed in a sequential order.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that the teacher and student can reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.  

All information regarding pacing and content can be found within the “What’s in the Curriculum?” Guidebook and “How do I prepare to teach guidebooks?” Guidebook. Also, instructors are presented further pacing overviews through the “Assessment Overview” in every unit. This allows instructors to see the backwards design implemented in every unit. Each lesson equates to roughly fifty minutes, and a full academic year contains four units; however, there are five units included, depending on individual instructor pacing. The units are as follows:  Flowers for Algernon, Sugar, Tell Tale Heart, Conservation, Call of the Wild.

• In “What’s in the Curriculum?” Guidebook, "Suggested Pacing" provides the following information regarding “how long a slide might take; however, this is a suggestion, not a mandate. The pacing for each lesson totals no more than 50 minutes, but teachers will likely find they need to spend more time on some lessons depending on the needs of their students. Thus, teachers can adjust the lesson timing as needed given their school schedule and students’ needs. When adjusting the pacing, consider the ratio of time. Pacing is a meaningful signal about where the focus of a lesson is--the biggest chunk of time often signals the most important part of the lesson and where teachers should think first about what scaffolding needs to be in place to ensure productive struggle. A full academic year includes four Guidebook units.”
• In the “How do I prepare to teach Guidebooks?” Guidebook, the following design is indicated: “The units use a backwards design model, which means the lessons and sections build students’ knowledge and skill in preparation for the unit assessments. The unit assessments are aligned to end-of-year expectations and grade-level standards.” The Guidebook gives the following two examples: 1). “In a section, students might read the same text multiple times across several lessons or students might read several texts to extract evidence and ideas to complete a task, such as writing an essay, delivering a formal presentation, or engaging in a Socratic seminar.” 2). “In a lesson, students engage with one or more unit texts to build the knowledge and skills they will need for the unit assessments.”
• In the "Flowers for Algernon" Unit, “Assessment Overview,” students complete the following major tasks: Daily Formative Assessments, Section Quizzes, Culminating Writing task, Extension task, Cold Read task.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.).  

Each lesson ends with “Let’s Express Our Understanding!” which is a formative assessment that allows students and teachers to monitor learning progressions. Digital quizzes at the end of sections provide progress check-ins and practice for standardized testing. Unit assessments gauge the students’ ability to apply what they are learning over the course of the unit by reading, understanding, and expressing their knowledge of a complex grade-level text. In the lesson plan structure, activities are scaffolded and structured so students have ample opportunities to practice skills. There are clear step-by-step directions and explanations for both teachers and students for every phase of the teaching and learning process. Supplemental materials are provided for each lesson and are well-labeled and organized. Each lesson also references the standards addressed and the goal.  

In all Units, clear directions and explanations are included in each lesson design.  Each lesson starts with “Let’s Review!” and “Let’s Prepare!” and ends with an assessment of student learning through “Let’s Express Our Understanding!” and “Let’s Close!” Each lesson includes at least one or more tasks focused on reading (“Let’s Read!”), vocabulary and language (“Let’s Work With Words!”), speaking and listening (“Let’s Discuss!”), or writing (“Let’s Practice!”).  In the “Let’s Close”, the students are provided a summary of the lesson they just completed.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.

In every unit, instructors are presented with a scope and sequence that indicates all CCSS standards for ELA: reading literature (RL), reading informational (RI), writing (W), speaking & listening (SL), and language (L). When viewing individual lessons, standards appear under the title of the lesson. When accessing lessons, the standards still appear in list format at the top of the lesson above the slides; however, when instructors hover over the standard, a detailed description from CCSS is provided.

• In each unit, a Scope and Sequence document is included which identifies which Common Core Standards are addressed in each section of the unit. For example, in the "Call of the Wild" Unit,  the literature standards covered in Section 1 are RL 8.1, RL 8.2, RL 8.3, RL 8.4,RL 8.10. There are no informational standards covered as the students are reading only literature.  
• For each Cold Read task, the answer key provides the CCSS for each questions. For example, in the “Conservation”  Unit, the first question of the Cold Read task measures mastery of CCSS: RI.8.1, RI.8.4, RI.8.10.  
• In each lesson, the standards addressed in that particular lesson are listed on each page of the Lesson Plan.  For example, in the “Tell-Tale Heart” Unit, Lesson 14 covers these standards RL.8.1, RL.8.10, RL.8.3, SL.8.1a, SL.8.1b, SL.8.1c, SL.8.1d, SL.8.3, SL.8.4, W.8.9b   A task within this lesson incorporates standard RL 8.1: “With your partner, read paragraphs 15-29. Then write and complete these sentence stems: We never feel worried for the kid because . . . We never feel worried for the kid, but . . .We never feel worried for the kid, so..."  A task that incorporates the standard SL 8.1a is as follows: “Direct students, in their reading log, to complete the sentence stems in writing: The word ‘imp’ means…. The word ‘dote’ means….  After 2-3 minutes, ask several students to share how they determined the meaning of the words, using one of the following stems.  Another way to say ‘imp’ or ‘dote’ is…. I made meaning of the word by looking at other words/phrases in the sentence, such as…. I looked at….  noticed that….”
• In the "Sugar" Unit,  there are Section quizzes with the standards listed for each question in the Teacher’s Notes. For example, the Section 1 quiz, Question 1 measures Standards RL.8.2, “What is the theme of the poem?’

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that materials contain a teacher’s edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials.

The materials provide detailed lesson plans for every step of the instructional process. The lessons are designed as slideshows, and as the students view each slide (“card”), the Teacher’s Edition lists detailed directions for explaining the content of the card and the instruction that goes along with it. Along with directions (“Teaching Notes”), the materials list “student look-fors,” “supports for differentiation,” “guiding questions and prompts,” and “additional notes.” The “Teaching Notes” also include links to numerous instructional strategies that can be used in the lesson. In the additional resources section for each unit, teachers have access to “Let’s Set the Context Videos" that can be used “for students who need extra support with the content and texts in advance of the unit.”

• In the “Sugar” unit, Lesson 3, Card 4, the teaching notes list these directions for the teacher: “Locate directions for accessing the text and painting.
• Determine a method for getting students access to the digital texts based on your individual situation. For example, students may go to a computer lab to access the text, or if you have 1-to-1 technology or a laptop cart, have students access the text in the classroom. Another option is to project the text and read it aloud as students follow along.
• Access a blank and completed OPTIC handout.
• Distribute copies of the handout.
• Ask students to locate their analyzing theme handout.
• This lesson uses OPTIC. Access the strategy one-pager to learn more about OPTIC.”
• In the “Conservation” Unit, Lesson 6, Card 8, the “Teaching Notes” list these directions: “Tell students, ‘Let’s take a look at the words you highlighted and let me share what I highlighted with you.' Instruct students to write the two sets of words on the C: Connotations portion of the TP-CASTT organizer. Students should be sure to separate the positive and negative connotations on the handout."
• In the “What’s in the Curriculum?” Guidebook, “Support is central to the design of LearnZillion Guidebooks. Each LearnZillion Guidebooks unit comes with approximately 40 classroom-ready daily lessons. Because the lessons include everything you need to teach, teachers can focus on adjusting the lesson supports so all students meet the lesson and unit assessment goals, instead of spending time creating whole-class lessons to teach. Each lesson follows a common structure, which creates consistency across all grades and lessons. This helps both students and teachers stay on track.”
• In the "Sugar" Unit, there are three additional videos that teacher can watch or assign to support struggling student. These videos are found in the “Section Resource” in the “Let's Set the Context Videos.” “These instructional videos are for students who need extra support with the content and texts in advance of the unit. Assign one or more videos to those selected students to watch on their own on any device.”
• In the “Flowers for Algernon” Unit, Lesson 29, students participate in a Socratic Seminar/Fishbowl Discussion. The detailed steps and resources needed are included in the lesson, and also found in the “Resource Library.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that materials contain a teacher’s edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.

Instructors are presented with a large body of supporting materials to improve knowledge of the subject including all “Understanding the Curriculum” Guidebook supports. “Teaching Notes” accompany every lesson included within the unit, including prompting, explanations, and tips. Within the “Teaching Notes,” teachers are provided with how-to guides, research, examples for certain reading /discussion strategies. Each lesson includes student exemplar responses, especially for larger, writing projects so that instructors understand the task and the level at which students should perform.

• In the “Understanding the Curriculum” Guidebook, instructors see the following supports: “What’s in the curriculum?” “How are the materials designed for the classroom?” “How do the materials support all learners?” “How do I prepare to teach Guidebooks?” and “How do I customize the curriculum to meet my districts unique needs?” All Guidebooks include teaching strategies and research-based approaches on how to deliver content to students. Instructors are also presented with a “Unit at-a-glance” per every unit, and within this section of the unit, instructors are presented with the following supports: Unit goal, scope and sequence, assessment overview, text access, and text complexity and vocabulary analysis.
• In each individual lesson, “Teaching Notes are formatted in a bullet point list. For example, in the “Conservation” Unit, Lesson 26, the “Teaching Notes” for slide four state, “Conduct a whole-class discussion of student’s first reactions and observations. Ask, ‘What do you notice about the painting?’ Ask, ‘What thoughts/questions first enter your mind as you view the painting?’ Ask, ‘What appears to be the subject or main focus of the painting?’ Ask, ‘Look very closely at all that is going on in the painting. What do you make of the perspective of the painting?’”
• In the "Sugar" Unit, Lesson 11, on Slide 4, in the “Teaching Notes,” teachers are given supplemental information on each instructional strategy presented: Accountable Talk and Reading Log. The strategies are hyperlinked to an explanation, implementation steps, research to support each strategy and other supplemental information such as videos to show the strategy being used in a classroom. This information would be helpful if teachers are not familiar with the strategies being used.
• In each lesson, there are tabs above the presentation: “Lesson plan,” “Additional materials,” and “About this lesson.” In the “Additional materials” tab, instructors are often presented with complete, exemplar student examples so that instructors are able to evaluate student performance as students complete assignments. This is even referenced in the “Teaching Notes” to the right hand side of the presentation within the “Conservation” Unit, Lesson 26: “Throughout the lesson, compare students’ responses and work to the student look-fors to determine the students who need additional support with reading, understanding, or expressing their understanding of complex, grade-level texts. During this lesson or before the next lesson, support those students individually or in a small group using the Additional Supports for Diverse Learners.”
• In the "Flowers for Algernon" Unit, Lesson 5, on the right side each card, “Teaching Notes” are included with directions for teaching the lesson, a suggested pacing guide, supports for diverse students, and students look-fors. There are even scripted questions and statements that the teacher may follow: "Ask: What event led or prompted the author to write this article? Allow students to respond quickly. Then say: I’m going to read the first part of this text aloud. As I read, I want you to think about the debate over the Rorschach and other projective tests. What is the claim of each side of the debate? Read aloud the first section of the text (paragraphs 1-18; from the beginning until 'A History of Controversy') as students follow along."
• In the “Tell Tale Heart” Unit, Lesson 15, on the right side of the card, “Teaching Notes” are included with directions for teaching the lesson, a suggested pacing guide, supports for diverse students, and students look-fors. There are even scripted questions and statements that the teacher may follow: "Say: 'Ain’t it awful, Sam? Do you think anybody will pay out money to get a little imp like that back home?’ ‘Sure,’ said I. ‘A rowdy kid like that is just the kind that parents dote on.’ Then direct students, in their reading log, to complete the sentence stems in writing: The word ‘imp’ means…. and The word ‘dote’ means….”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectation that materials contain a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

The materials state that “The goal for the LearnZillion Guidebook units is to ensure that all students read, understand, and express their understanding of complex, grade-level texts…[and] for all instruction to meet the standards in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language.” The materials provide extensive supports for teachers in the “Understanding LearnZillion Guidebooks” section. These support materials include “What is in the curriculum?” which details the unit and lesson designs; "How are the materials designed for the classroom?” which outlines the instructional framework, including approaches to whole-class instruction, small-group instruction, and independent reading; “How do the materials support all learners?” which offers guiding principles for diverse learners and identifies supports for reading, writing and language, and speaking and listening for all students during whole-class instruction and small group instruction; “How do I prepare to teach Guidebooks?” which provides step-by-step instructions, a roadmap template for instruction, and a resource library; and “How do I customize the curriculum to meet my district’s unique needs?” which explains how to modify the content of the materials to suit one’s needs.

The Scope and Sequence document for each unit lists each of the Common Core State Standards for the appropriate grade span and indicates each section that each of the standards is included. Each lesson includes a list of standards. The standards are listed by code, but the teacher can hover his/her cursor over each code to reveal the wording of the entire standard.

• In the “Unit Design” section, the materials state: “In a section, students might read the same text multiple times across several lessons or students might read several texts to extract evidence and ideas to complete a task, such as writing an essay, delivering a formal presentation, or engaging in a Socratic seminar. In a lesson, students engage with one or more unit texts to build the knowledge and skills they will need for the unit assessments.”
• The “English Language Arts Framework” states that “Students engage in assigned WriteAlong lessons to address teacher identified skill gaps or misconceptions in their writing. These student managed video lessons allow teachers to differentiate across a class with a diversity of needs all at the same time. Students complete and hand in the associated Student Practice Sheet so teachers can gauge mastery easily with the answer key.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that materials contain explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.

In the “Understanding the Curriculum” section, instructors are have  the following Guidebook supports: “What’s in the curriculum?”, “How are the materials designed for the classroom?”, “How do the materials support all learners?”, “How do I prepare to teach Guidebooks?”, and “How do I customize the curriculum to meet my districts unique needs?” All of these resources include explicit explanations of the instructional approaches of the program. The research-based strategies included in the curriculum are listed and cited throughout the program. All units within the program utilize a backwards design approach and teach to CCSS. Explanations include research-based strategies of whole class, small group, and independent reading. Also, supplemental texts and anchor texts are provided with “Text Access” that includes a Reading Guide paired with works cited and a “Text Complexity and Vocabulary Analysis” per anchor text. Within the Teaching Notes of each lesson, research-based instructional strategies are included in which they are hyperlinked for easy access for the teacher with explanations, implementation steps, research, and videos of the strategy being used.

• At the end of “What’s in the curriculum?” section, a list of writing and reading resources are made available to represent how this Guidebook was created to support the strategies listed within the Guidebook. For example, one of the reading resources is as follows: “Beers, K., & Probst, R. (2012). Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading. Heinemann.”
• In the “What’s in the Curriculum” section, “Unit Design” section, the rereading strategy is explained in the following statement: “In a section, students might read the same text multiple times across several lessons or students might read several texts to extract evidence and ideas to complete a task, such as writing an essay, delivering a formal presentation, or engaging in a Socratic seminar.”
• In the “How do the materials support all learners?” section, research supports that all learners must “regularly engage with rich, authentic grade-appropriate complex texts. Instructional supports should not supplant or compromise rigor or content.”
• In the "Sugar" Unit, Lesson 11, Slide 4, Teaching Notes, teachers are given supplemental information on each instructional strategy presented: Accountable Talk and Reading Log. The strategies are hyperlinked to an explanation, implementation steps, research to support each strategy and other supplemental information such as videos to show the strategy being used in a classroom. This information would be helpful if teachers are not familiar with the strategies being used.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.

Each of the five units is broken into sections and lessons, and assessments are built in at each level. Each lesson ends in a formative assessment called “Let’s Express Our Understanding!”, and teachers can use the outcomes from these written tasks, handouts, or discussions to inform their instruction moving forward. Digital quizzes at the end of sections assess the knowledge that students have accumulated, and the format of the quizzes provide practice for the students on the structure of standardized tests. At the end of each unit, students complete three assessments: a Culminating Writing task, a Cold Read task, and an Extension task. For the Culminating Writing task, “students synthesize the topics, themes, and ideas of the unit into a written product such as an essay, narrative or article.” The Cold Read task requires that “students read a new text or two related to the unit topic and answer multiple-choice questions as well as respond to a writing prompt.” For the Extension task, “students extend what they have learned in the unit to make connections between their learning and their lives through a narrative or personal essay or between their learning and the world through research about a related topic.”

• In “Conservation” Unit, after Lesson 15, students take a Section 3 quiz. The quiz “assesses students’ retention of knowledge based on what was taught and read in Section three of the Guidebook unit Conservation. The quiz is designed to look backwards at the end of a section, so it is up to the teacher to give students access to the text(s) or not when administering the assessment.” Options for teachers are also left “up to the teacher to give students access to the text(s) or not when administering the assessment. Similarly, the teacher can decide whether or not students may use their filled in graphic organizers from this section.”
• In "The Call of the Wild" Unit, Lessons 42-43, students complete a Cold Read task, in which, “Students read 'Susan Butcher: Renowned Musher.' Then students answer a combination of questions.”
• In the “Flowers for Algernon” Unit, Lessons 31, students begin a Culminating Writing task in which they “continue the writing process by creating a first draft to answer the prompt: Has Charlie fundamentally changed from the beginning of 'Flowers for Algernon'? Is his life improved as a result of the surgery?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

The following assessments are included in all units: Daily formative assessments, section quizzes, culminating writing tasks, extension tasks, and cold read tasks. Within every unit, an assessment overview is included detailing and overviewing the purpose for all types of assessments, including writing rubrics with CCSS language dictating the scoring categories. Also, when clicking on the drop down menu for each section of lessons, under each individual lesson lists specifically which standards are learned and utilized. When clicking on each individual lesson, hovering over the standards offers the full CCSS description for instructors. This is standard for all lessons; however, this also occurs for lessons that include assessments--including larger assessments that span over the course of entire sections (e.g. culminating writing task, extension task, etc.).

• In the "Sugar" Unit, Section 5 quiz, every question on the quiz is connected with a particular standard. The Standard(s) are denoted in the teacher notes section on each slide. Card 3 of 8 is Question 1 and the standard that the question addresses is RI.8.4.
• In “Conservation” Unit, Lesson 24, students practice the Cold Read task in which “Students read the article ‘John James Audubon’ by Mary Stoyell Stimpson and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of the text. The standards being addressed are as follows: L.8.3, RI.8.1, RI.8.10, RI.8.2, RI.8.3, RI.8.4, RI.8.5, RI.8.6, RI.8.8.
• In the "Call of the Wild" Unit, Lesson 37 , students begin the Extension task to write an essay in response to the question: “Should Jack London be considered a nature faker?” Students will read, summarize, and identify Burroughs’ argument in “Do Animal Think and Reflect?” Standards that are addressed is as follows: RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.6, RI.8.8, SL.8.1a, SL.8.1c, SL.8.1d, W.8.10, W.8.4

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the expectation that materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

The materials provide teachers a multitude of guidance and opportunities to monitor student progress. Each unit provides daily formative assessments, as well as section quizzes, a Cold Read task, a Culminating Writing task and an Extension task. When considered as a whole unit, students are assessed in a variety of methods including, multiple choice, short answer, extended response, essay writing, and performance task. Rubrics and student exemplars are often included in the teacher and student materials. The online quizzes upload to a teacher report that can be used to monitor student progress. Daily lessons have “Look-Fors” in the “Teaching Notes” for teachers to monitor daily instruction and provide extra scaffolding if needed.

• Each lesson can be assigned to a student or many students by clicking on the “Quick Assign” button in the Learnzillion Teacher’s Guidebook. Once students have completed an assessment, the teacher can view the results. The results are color coded to indicate proficiency.
• Each unit is designed to provide formative and summative assessments, including daily formative assessments, section quizzes, Cold Read task, Culminating Writing task, and Extension task.
• In the “Flowers for Algernon” Unit, Lesson 25, Teaching Notes, the Student Look-Fors instruct the teacher to “compare students’ responses and work to the student look-fors. Determine the students who need additional support with reading, understanding, or expressing their understanding of complex, grade-level texts. During this lesson or before the next lesson, support those students individually or in a small group using the Additional Supports for Diverse Learners.
• In the "Sugar" Unit, every section ends with a type of assessment. This creates a variety of assessments for the unit’s CCSS. Sections 1, 3, 4, and 5 end with a section quiz. Sections 2, 6,7, and 8 end with a task. Sections 9 ends with a Cold Read task.
• In the “Tell-Tale Heart” Unit, Lesson 4, at the end of the lesson, students answer this question in their reading log: “Write a brief summary of Part One of 'The Allegory of the Cave'.”
• In the "Call of the Wild" Unit, an Extension task and Culminating Writing task are provided. Also an exemplar for the writing task and the 6-8 writing rubric is included.