2nd Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1f.

The materials provide teachers with explicit instructional routines, and systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read newly taught grade-level phonics patterns. 

Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of all grade level phonics standards. For example:

• Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.

  • In Unit 2, Week 6, Session 1, the teacher uses the Sound-Spelling and Articulation Cards and the Blend Sounds Routine to model and write the word cap on the board. The teacher explains that the vowel is closed by a consonant, and its sound is usually short and adds an -e to make the word cape. The teacher reads the word and explains when it has a final e pattern, the e is silent, but it changes the first vowel’s sound to a long sound. The teacher repeats the routine to model with the words: tap, gave, tape, and identifies each vowel sound as long or short.

  • In Unit 5, Week 25, Session 1, the teacher displays the Sound-Spelling and Articulation Cards for short e, says the short e sound, and students repeat the sound. The teacher introduces short e spelled ea using the word bread. The teacher reminds students that the vowel team ea can also make the long a or long e sound, The teacher repeats the routine to model with the words: breath, health, meant, dread, read, lead, sweat, spread, and identifies each vowel sound as long or short.

• Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.

  • In Unit 2, Week 9, Session 1, the teacher displays the Sound-Spelling and Articulation Cards for long a. The teacher says the image name and explains that the long /a/ can be spelled in different ways. The teacher models the concept using the words train and day.

  • In Unit 3, Week 12, Session 1, the teacher displays the Sound-Spelling and Articulation Cards for the long o and explains that when the letter oa are together, they usually appear at the beginning of a word and together they make the long vowel o sound. The teacher models the concept using oa words.

• Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.

  • In Unit 3, Week 12, Session 2, the teacher explains that every syllable has only one vowel sound; however, many vowel sounds are spelled with vowel teams such as oa, ai, ay, ea, ee, ei and ie. The teacher models using the word remain by underlining the e and the vowel team ai. The teacher then demonstrates how to divide the word remain into syllables re/main, and decodes the the words.

  • In Unit 4, Week 21, Session 2, the teacher reminds students that every syllable has one vowel sound. The teacher then writes the word pound on the board and underlines the vowel team. The teacher reminds students they already know that ou is a vowel team and that it must stay in the same syllable. The teacher then models decoding the words compound, poison, and surround and students read the words.

• Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.

  • In Unit 3, Week 13, Session 2, the teacher introduces the lesson on prefixes re- and pre-. The teacher writes the word read and explains that read is a base word or a word to which parts can be added to make new words. The teacher adds the prefix re- to read, reads it aloud, and tells the students that re- is a word part called a prefix. The teacher models with  the words: reuse, prepay, retie, recheck and has students identify each prefix and tells them how to say it. 

  • In Unit 4, Week 18, Session 3, the teacher introduces the lesson on the suffixes -ful- and  -less. The teacher writes the word rest and explains that rest is a base word or a word to which parts can be added to make new words. The teacher adds the suffix -ful and tells the students that -ful is a suffix and reads the word restful. The teacher models with the words: helpful, helpless, peaceful.

• Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.

  • In Unit 3, Week 11, Session 1, the teacher displays the Sound-Spelling and Articulation Cards for long i. The teacher models connecting sounds to spelling and tells students that long i can be spelled in different ways and explains that the long i sound can be spelled with a y as in the word try or it can be spelled with igh as in the word light. The teacher points out that y usually appears at the end of words and igh usually appears in the middle of the word.

  • In Unit 5, Week 24, Session 2, the teacher displays the Sound-Spelling and Articulation Cards for the vowel /ŏ/spelled  aw, and au. The teacher models connecting sounds to spelling and tells students that /ŏ/ can be spelled in different ways. The teacher writes the word draw and tells the students that /ŏ/  is spelled aw in this word. The teacher then blends the letters in the word saw. The teacher writes the word sauce and notes that au also makes the /ŏ/ sound. 

Lessons provide teachers with systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade-level phonics pattern. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 5, Session 1, the teacher uses the Encode Words Routine which includes Word Building Cards, Connect Sounds to Spellings Routine, and Dictation to build and read words with ending blends -st and -sk. The teacher writes the word nest, reads it aloud, and underlines the -st. The teacher tells students that in consonant blends, each letter makes its own sound, and the sounds are said closely together. The teacher explains that the word nest, the -st makes a /ssst/ sound. The teacher points to the letters, and students say the blend with the teacher. The teacher repeats the process with the -sk blend in the word desk, brisk, disk. The teacher models saying a word slowly and recording a letter for each sound then dictates and reads the words ask, must, best, scrub.

• In Unit 3, Week 12, Session 1, the teacher uses the Encode Words Routine which includes Word Building Cards, Connect Sounds to Spellings Routine, and Dictation to build and read words with Long o: o,oa. The teacher tells children that /ō/, long o, can have different spellings and writes the word road and reads it aloud. The teacher underlines oa and explains that oa is a vowel team that can stand for /Ō/. The teacher repeats with go, explaining that o by itself can also stand for /Ō/. The teacher models saying a word slowly and recording a letter for each sound then dictates and reads the words cold, soak, float, and the sentence Can you find the boat in the stream?

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1g.

The materials provide students with opportunities to decode phonetically spelled words. Phonics lessons are designed to provide students with frequent opportunities to read words of newly taught grade-level phonics skills and to review previously learned grade-level phonics skills through word lists and student workbook pages. Materials contain a variety of methods to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade level phonics.

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode (phonemes, onset and rime, and/or syllables) phonetically spelled words. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 7, Session 1, students decode the following words: face, rice, spice, dance, cent, place, fence, mice. 

• In Unit 3, Week 11, Session 1, students chorally read each syllable and then read the whole word. Words include try-ing= trying: high-light= highlight; dry-ing=drying: flash-light=flashlight, and mid-night=midnight.

• In Unit 6, Week 27, Session 3, students use the final e syllable pattern, as well as the prefixes and suffixes they have learned, to decode words with three or more syllables. Students chorally read the words completing, extremely, hopelessness, exploded, and supposing.

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read complete words by saying the entire word as a unit using newly taught phonics skills. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 15, Session 1, students practice the newly taught r-Controlled Vowel: ar and use the Blend Sounds routine to blend and say  the words ark, farm, march, yard, bar, bark. Students practice reading the following multisyllabic words with r-controlled vowel ar: junkyard, postcard, marching, started, recharge. Students also practice word level reading fluency by reading the -ar words for automaticity.

• In Unit 4, Week 20, Session 2, students learn the new sound ou, /ou/ and use the Blend Sounds routine to practice reading the words pouch, hound, mount, snout, bounce, couch, mouse, trout. Students practice reading diphthong ou words on page 79 and in the connected text “What is an Island?”.

Materials contain opportunities for students to review previously learned grade-level phonics. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 14, Session 1, students read the following words, which contain a mix of the newly-taught wr and kn sounds and previously-taught sound-spellings: write, wrap, wreck, wrote, wrench, know, knee, knight, knob, knife, wrap, wrist, knot, knives, knit, use.

• In Unit 5, Week 24, Session 4, students read ten-word pairs, such as hood/haunt, and decide whether the underlined sounds are the same. Word pairs contain newly-taught variant vowels and previously taught vowel teams. 

Materials contain a variety of methods to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade-level phonics. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 11, Session 3, students use a variety of activities to review long i spellings y and igh. Students add, change, delete, and repeat sounds to build sigh, sight, might, light, fight, fright which contain a mix of the newly-taught long i sound-spellings. Students add motions by pointing to the long i sound and repeat the sound several times. Students read the Magnetic Reader, “A Leafy Place,” which includes words with y and igh.

• In Unit 5, Week 24, Session 4, the students use a variety of activities to review variant vowels aw and au. Students use the Spelling Sound and Articulation Cards as tools to decode words and then use the Blend Words Routine to practice decoding additional words with the au and aw spelling. Students read the Magnetic Reader, “A Good Morning,” and write words with aw and au from the text, such as dawn and shawl, to practice reading target-skill words with automaticity.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1h.

The materials provide explicit, systematic instruction to support students with decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence. Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode words in a sentence, including Connected Text passages, Student Workbook passages, and Word Level Reading Fluency activities.

Materials provide explicit, systematic practice for decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 14, Session 2, students read the Connected Text passage “A Grassland Trip,” which contains 14 sentences. The teacher calls attention to words with the target sound spellings wr and kn and the week’s Super Words. The teacher models decoding the first sentence. Students read the text in unison as the teacher circulates and provides feedback as needed. 

• In Unit 5, Week 14, Session 4, students read the Connected Text passage “Make a Story Quilt,” which contains 21 sentences. The teacher calls attention to words with the target sound spellings ou and y, and the week’s Super Words. The teacher models decoding the first sentence. Students read the text in unison as the teacher circulates and provides feedback as needed. 

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode words in a sentence. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 4, Session 4, students practice reading the decodable words that include s blends found in the Connected Text passage, “What a Mess!”. Students practice reading the decodable passage in unison with the teacher and then with their partners.   

• In Unit 4, Week 25, Session 2, students practice decoding words in sentences in the Connected Text passage, “The Story in a Quilt.” The passage contains 57 sentences.

• In Unit 6, Week 26, Session 3, students practice decoding words in sentences in the Connected Text passage, “Landforms.” The passage contains 58 sentences.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1i.

The materials contain teacher-level instruction and modeling for building, manipulating, spelling, and encoding words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns of phonics utilizing Word Build Cards. In addition, the materials provide students with frequent opportunities to build, manipulate, spell, and encode words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns phonics through the use of Word Building Cards and Student Workbook practice pages. 

The materials contain teacher-level instruction/modeling for building/manipulating/spelling and encoding words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns of phonics. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Session 4, the teacher uses the Connect Sounds to Spellings Routine and says, “Think about the first sound. Which letter stands for that sound?” The teacher models writing the letters for each sound in the word. The teacher dictates the words pen, got, hug, bell and the sentence, The pup sat in the red box. Students write them on page 17 of their Student Workbook.

• In Unit 4, Week 19, Session 2, the teacher uses Word Building Cards to build the word there. Students read the word, then the teacher changes one card at a time to build the words stare and flare. The teacher uses the Connect Sounds to Spellings Routine and says, “Think about the first sound. Which letter stands for that sound? Write the letter. Keep going for each sound in the word.” The teacher uses the routine to model blending the words below, bare, care, flare, dare, hare, square, scare, where. The teacher dictates the words rare, where, glare, spear and the sentence, The answer is there on the board. Students write the dictation words and sentence on page 63 of their Student Workbook.      

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to build/manipulate/spell and encode words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns phonics. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 5, Session 2, students use the Blends Sounds Routine and Word Building Cards to build the following words in sequence: fast, brick, fest, brisk, fist, disk mist desk. Students connect sounds to spellings and write the words and sentences dictated by the teacher: best, ask, risk, trust; Doing dishes is a task on his list. Partners check one another’s spelling for accuracy and then practice saying and spelling the words. 

• In Unit 2, Week 8, Session 4, students use Word Building Cards to build the following words in sequence, changing letters to form new words: scram, scrub, shrub, shrug, age, rage, page, cage. Students use the Blend Sounds Routine to connect sounds to spellings and write the words and sentences dictated by the teacher: scrape, thrill, shred, judge, The shrimp swam by us. Partners check one another’s spelling for accuracy and then practice saying and spelling the words.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1j. (mid K-Grade 2)

The materials include explicit, systematic teacher modeling that demonstrates the use of phonics to encode sounds to letters and words in writing tasks through the use of the Spell It Routine and Connect Sounds to Spelling Routine. Lessons provide students with frequent activities and tasks to promote the application of phonics as they encode words in sentences or in phrases based on common and newly taught phonics patterns through the use of dictated sentences and activities in the Student Workbook.

Materials include explicit, systematic teacher-level instruction of teacher modeling that demonstrates the use of phonics to encode sounds to letters and words in writing tasks. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 8, Session 3, the teacher uses the Spell It Routine and says the words is and throne. The teacher models thinking about the sounds in the word throne and connects sounds to spellings. The teacher dictates the words scrape, thrill, shred, and judge and the sentence The shrimp swam by us. Students connect sounds to spellings and write the words in their Student Workbook.

• In Unit 5, Week 23, Session 2, the teacher uses the Spell It Routine and says the word moose. The teacher models thinking about the sounds in the word moose and connects sounds to spellings. The teacher dictates the words soon, troop, cool, youth, room, scoop, group, loop. Students connect sounds to spellings and write the words in their Student Workbook.

Lessons provide students with frequent activities and tasks to promote application of phonics as they encode words in sentences or in phrases based on common and newly taught phonics patterns. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 14, Session 1, students use the Connect Sounds to Spelling and the Spell it Routine to build and read words with silent letters. The students encode the words kneel, wrist, knob, and mute and the sentence, Wrap me in the warm blanket mom knitted. 

• In Unit 4, Week 16, Session 4, students use the Connect Sounds to Spelling and the Spell it Routine to build and read  r-controlled vowel /ûr/ words. Students encode the words birth, herd, after sharp and the sentence Where is her new pet bird?

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1k.

The materials include systematic and explicit lessons. Materials include frequent opportunities for the teacher to model the spelling and reading of high-frequency words in isolation in sessions 1 and 2, with a review in sessions 3 and 4. Materials include a sufficient quantity of grade-appropriate high-frequency words for students to make reading progress, with students learning 130 high-frequency words in the year. Students practice identifying and reading high-frequency words in isolation and in context each week, reviewing words from the previous week as well.

Materials include systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words. For example:

• Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

  • The Grade 2 Instructional Routines outline the process for introducing high-frequency words, which includes seeing and saying the word, spelling the word, and writing the word. The materials indicate that the routine focuses on helping students identify known sound-spellings in the words before learning unknown spellings.

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Session 1, the teacher introduces the words that and you along with the irregularly spelled words do, the, to using The teacher uses the Super Words Routine. Students see and say the word, repeat the word, listen to the word in context, spell the word, write the word, and apply learning on the Super Words practice page.

  • In Unit 5, Week 24, Session 1, the teacher displays the Super Word Cards another, friends, together, usually. The teacher uses the Super Words Routine. Students see and say the word, repeat the word, listen to the word in context, spell the word, write the word, and apply learning on the Super Words practice page.

Materials include frequent opportunities for the teacher to model the spelling and reading of high-frequency words in isolation. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Session 1, the teacher displays the Super Word Cards for the high-frequency words. The teacher uses the Super Word Routine to model seeing and saying the word, spelling the word, and writing the word. The teacher models the reading and spelling of the irregularly spelled words her, of, see, their, they, what in isolation.

• In Unit 3, Week 15, Session 1, the teacher displays the Super Word Cards for the high-frequency words more, now, only, and our. The teacher models reading the word and asks students to repeat the word, then reads the context sentence on the back of the card. Students say the letters in the word, and the teacher reviews any applicable known sound-spellings. 

Students practice identifying and reading high-frequency words in isolation. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, Session 3, students identify and read the Super Words are and from. Students read the words to build automaticity through speed drill practice.

• In Unit 6, Week 27, Session 3, students identify and read the current week and previous week’s Super Word Cards color, during, early, hours, become, ever, questions, and today. Students engage in a speed drill, flashing each card to read the words, gradually increasing speed. 

Materials include a sufficient quantity of grade-appropriate high-frequency words for students to make reading progress. For example:

• The Grade 2 Scope and Sequence indicates that high-frequency word instruction begins in Unit 1, Week 1. In Weeks 1–5, the teacher introduces five to six new high-frequency words per week, and four per week in Weeks 6–30. 

• The Grade 2 Teacher Guide, Scope and Sequence, states that 130 high-frequency words are included in Grade 2 instruction.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1l.

The materials provide frequent opportunities through the use of connected text and the student workbook for students to read grade-level high-frequency words in a sentence and write them in tasks designed to promote automaticity. Materials also use Super Word Cards to provide repeated, explicit instruction on how to use student-friendly reference materials and resources and read high-frequency words.

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read grade-level high-frequency words in a sentence.  For example:

• In Unit 4, Week 19, Session 2, students use the Super Word Routine and read the connected text, “Seven Big Lands”, which contains sentences that include the week’s high-frequency words: answer, full, little, and pull. 

• In Unit 5, Week 24, Session 2, students use the Super Word Routine and read four sentences that contain the week’s Super Words: another, friends, together, and usually. 

Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to write grade-level high-frequency words in tasks (such as sentences) in order to promote automaticity in writing grade-appropriate high-frequency words. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 7, Session 4, students use the Super Word Routine and a word bank containing the week’s Super Words, come, large, once, and some, to complete four sentences that tell part of a story. Students write an ending to the story using at least one Super Word. 

• In Unit 3, Week 15, Session 1, students use the Super Word routine to build sentences by choosing the correct Super Word from a word bank to complete four sentences. The word bank contains the week’s newly-taught Super Words: more, now, only, and our. 

Materials provide repeated, explicit instruction on how to use student-friendly reference materials and resources and reading high-frequency words (e.g., word cards, word lists, word ladders, student dictionaries).  For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, Session 4, the teacher displays the Super Word Card for students to use as a reference tool for self-checking. Students use Super Word Cards to build words and then confirm or self-correct spellings of irregularly spelled words.

• Every Session throughout each unit  includes high-frequency word instruction through the Super Words Routine. The routine includes See and Say, Spell and Write, isolated practice, Student Workbook practice, and connected texts with the Super Words bolded. Students use the connected texts as a resource for the review of high-frequency words.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1m.

The materials provide frequent, explicit instruction of word analysis and decoding strategies, through the use of teacher scripts, teacher modeling, and student practice. Materials include frequent opportunities for explicit instruction of word solving strategies to decode unfamiliar words. Materials contain varied and frequent opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies in decodable text and in student workbook pages through words in isolation and sentences.

Materials contain frequent explicit instruction of word analysis strategies (e.g. phoneme/grapheme recognition, syllabication, morpheme analysis). For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, Session 1, the teacher explains that every syllable has one vowel sound. The teacher writes the word men, and students read the word. The teacher labels the letters in men with CVC and explains that in a closed syllable, consonants close in a vowel, and the vowel sound is usually short. The teacher writes the word napkin and models dividing the word into syllables and identifying the closed syllable pattern and short vowel sound of each syllable. The teacher models blending the syllables to read the word. Students practice with the words upset, kitten, and jacket. 

• In Unit 6, Week 29, Session 4, the teacher reviews that when a suffix is added to a word the meaning changes and that the suffix -ion means “The act or process of.”  The teacher models identifying the base word of the following multisyllabic words: celebration, invention, rotation, and division.

Materials contain frequent explicit instruction of word solving strategies to decode unfamiliar words. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 7, Session 2, students prepare to read the connected text, “Art for Grace.” The teacher calls attention to words that contain soft c and writes and displays the words place, traces, and price from the text so that students can practice reading the words with automaticity. The teacher models decoding the first sentence of the text. Students then read the text in unison. 

• In Unit 4, Week 19, Session 2, Word Analysis, Suffixes: -y, -ly, students decode multisyllabic words that end with the suffix -y or -ly by looking for and decoding the base word first.

Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 14, Session 2, students read the following word pairs: under/undo, disk, disagree, unfold/unit, upset/untied, distrust/dishes, disobey/discuss. Students circle the word that has a prefix and write the word on the line. 

• In Unit 4, Week 20, Sessions 1, students practice and apply word analysis strategies for the diphthong ow, as they read the Magnetic Reader decodable text, “Interesting Islands.” 

• In Unit 6, Week 26, Session 3, the teacher reminds students to notice syllable patterns, prefixes, and suffixes as this will help them to read word words with three or more syllables. Students work with open syllable patterns and practice with the following words: focusing, secretly, silently, bonuses, and openly.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1o. (Grades 1-2)

The materials include frequent, systematic opportunities for explicit instruction in fluency along with opportunities for students to hear fluent reading of grade-level. Materials include a variety of resources for explicit instruction in fluency, such as decodable Connect Text and Magnetic Readers. Each session includes an opportunity to read connected text, and the lesson plans for Sessions 2 and 4 of each week include targeted fluency instruction for the second read of the text. Additionally, each week of instruction includes Magnetic Reader lessons, which also include instruction in fluency Fix-Up Strategies and routine modeling of fluent reading. Units 1–6 include instruction in accuracy, prosody, and rate. 

Materials include frequent opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements using grade-level text. For example:

• Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

  • In Unit 5, Week 24, Session 2, the teacher guides students during a second read of the Connected Text, “A Good Morning.” The teacher tells students that they can use what they know about spelling patterns, syllable patterns, and word parts to read with accuracy. The teacher models reading the first paragraph of the text, self-correcting an error, and engages students in successive readings of the text.

  • In Unit 6, Week 26, Session 2, the teacher guides students during a second read of the Connected Text, “Stone Arches.” The teacher tells students that fluent readers read aloud with expression and change their voice to help show the feeling of a text. The teacher models reading the first paragraph of the text with accuracy and expression, emphasizing the phrases big red rocks and shaped like arches. Students engage in successive readings of the text.

Materials provide opportunities for students to hear fluent reading of grade-level. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 4, Session 1, the teacher reads aloud the first page of the Magnetic Reader “King of the Frogs” as students follow along. In Session 2, the teacher reads a portion of the same text aloud fluently, then reads page 3 of the text in a flat tone. 

• In Unit 4, Week 16, Session 1, the teacher reads aloud the first page of the Magnetic Reader “The Big Trip” as students follow along. 

Materials include a variety of resources for explicit instruction in fluency. For example:

• The Program Implementation Instructional Resources lists Fluency Fix-Up Strategies. The materials include a Fix-Up Strategies guide that outlines eight instructional routines to use as needed. Four of these strategies focus on accuracy, including Confirm and Correct Word Recognition, Read Out Loud, Read More Slowly, and Reread. Three strategies focus on prosody, including Expression, Phrasing, and Intonation. One strategy focuses on Rate/Pacing. The guide includes teacher scripts, a visual cue card for students, and instructions for more practice. The Scope and Sequence materials indicate that fluency strategies are included in every week of instruction. Units 1–6 include instruction in accuracy, prosody, and rate. Explicit instruction in fluency strategies is embedded in Connected Text exercises and Magnetic Reader lessons.  

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1p.

The materials offer daily opportunities for instruction and supported practice to gain oral reading fluency over the course of the year. The Connected Text passages and the Magnetic Reader for each week include student practice of fluency skills through repeated readings. The materials include opportunities for echo reading, unison reading, partner reading, and independent reading. In these practice opportunities, the materials instruct teachers to monitor for fluent reading and offer feedback and support strategies for students to gain oral reading fluency.

Varied, frequent opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to gain oral reading fluency. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 4, Session 4, the teacher guides students through two readings of the Connected Text, “What a Mess!” The first read focuses on accuracy, and the second read focuses on expression. 

• In Unit 4, Week 17, Session 2, students read the text, “Tory’s Report,” and the teacher circulates providing feedback on fluency as students read the text in unison. 

• In Unit 5, Week 25, Sessions 1–4, within the Magnetic Reader, students read the text, “Story in a Quilt,” over four sessions. Over the course of the four sessions, students read the text twice, and the teacher provides instruction, modeling, and corrective guidance on reading with accuracy and appropriate pacing. 

Materials contain opportunities for students to participate in repeated readings of a grade-level text to practice oral reading fluency. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 6, Session 2, students repeatedly read the decodable, Connected Text, “Land and Grass Art,” to build oral reading fluency and accuracy.  

• In Unit 3, Week 11, Sessions 2–4, within the Magnetic Reader,  students repeatedly read the grade-level decodable text, “In the Woodland,” to practice oral reading fluency accuracy and pacing.

Materials include guidance and feedback suggestions to the teacher for supporting students’ gains in oral reading fluency. For example: 

• In Unit 4, Week 19, Session 2, students read the Connected Text, “Seven Big Lands” in unison while the teacher listens for intonation. The Check asks teachers whether students are able to read the text with appropriate intonation and inflection. If not, the materials indicate the teacher should model using a hand gesture to match the inflection in their voice as they read aloud. Students repeat the gestures as they read aloud from the text.  

• In Unit 5, Week 23, Session 4, students read the Connected Text, “In a Blue Spruce.” The Check prompts the teacher with feedback suggested designed to encourage students to read with expression.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1q.

The materials provide frequent teacher guidance in confirming or self-correcting errors. Lesson plans for Connected Text passages and Magnetic Readers include explicit instruction and modeling as well as guided practice with confirmation and self-correcting errors, using both letter sounds and context to confirm and/or self-correct. Materials also include frequent opportunities for students to read text with purpose and understanding. Each unit features a unit theme to which the unit texts connect. The teacher opens and closes each unit with a discussion of the theme that includes explicit sentence frames for supporting discussion. Lesson plans for the weekly Magnetic Readers instruct the teacher to guide students to set a purpose for reading and include comprehension questions. 

Materials provide explicit lessons for the teacher in confirming and self-correcting errors in fluency. For example:

• Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

  • In Unit 1, Week 3, Session 4, the teacher models the Fix-Up Strategy Confirm and Correct Word Recognition. The teacher tells students that when they get stuck on a word, they should stop, sound out each part of the word and blend the sounds together, then ask themselves if it sounds like a real word and check whether they used the Sound Spelling and Articulation Cards to confirm the sound(s) of the letter(s). The teacher tells students to next read the sentence again and make sure the word makes sense in the sentence. The teacher guides students to apply the strategy as they reread the Connected Text, “Math on the Path.”

  • In Unit 6, Week 30, Session 2, in the Practice and Apply section of the Magnetic Reader, “Joan’s Rocks,” the teacher uses the Pacing Fix-Up Strategy to model self-correcting on page 3 of the story. The teacher then rereads the story using a more natural pace to show students.

Materials provide opportunities for students to practice using confirmation or self-correction of errors. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 7, Session 2, students read pages 1–7 of the Magnetic Reader, “The Art Contest.” The teacher reminds students to use the Pacing/Fix Up strategy and think about the story’s meaning as they read and self-correct errors as needed. 

• In Unit 3, Week 15, Session 4, students use the Pacing/Fix Up strategy as they read “Time To Eat” and practice error self-correction.

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to read on-level texts (Grades 1–2) for purpose and understanding. For example:

• Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

  • In Unit 1, Week 5, Session 4, students reread the Magnetic Reader, “Thank You!” on their own and make self-to-text connections.

  • In Unit 4, Week 15, Sessions 1–4, students read the Magnetic Reader,  “In the Rainforest” over a series of four sessions. In the first session, the teacher guides students to set a purpose for reading and gives examples of finding out about the layers of the rainforest. In Sessions 2 and 3, the teacher asks 1–2 comprehension questions after the students read the text. In Session 4, the teacher prompts students to make connections between the story and themselves and the story and the Unit 4 theme, “It’s on the Map!”

  • In Unit 5, Tell Me About It, Unit Wrap-Up, the teacher reminds students of the texts they read in the unit and the unit words. The teacher tells students they can use the words to talk about the texts they read.