4th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria 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.

Throughout the units, teachers are provided with series of questions and tasks requiring analysis of all aspects of the text, including key details, language, structure, and craft. Units allow for extensive time with one text, and the discussion questions, writing tasks, and Target Tasks build in depth and complexity from the beginning of the unit to the end. The expectation is eventually that students know to use evidence from the text to support their responses. This expectation increases with each unit, building toward independence throughout the year when students are required to complete extensive writing assignments, using the text as evidence and/or as a mentor text for their own writing. Students are pointed to figurative language and word choice, asked to consider decisions made by the authors in crafting and structuring their work, and asked to consider questions around theme and characterization.

In Literature and Science and Social Studies, students analyze language. Examples include:

• In Literature, Unit 1, Lesson 2, after reading Shiloh by Phyllis Reynold Naylor, students answer: "The author uses the description 'like a propeller' to describe Shiloh's tail. What type of figurative language is this? What does it show about Shiloh? Why does the author use this description instead of just telling us how Shiloh was feeling?"
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 2, Lesson 3, after reading Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began by Lucille Recht Penner the students answer the following key question: "The author states, 'The Stamp Act of 1765 was the last straw!' What does the phrase 'the last straw'mean as used in this sentence?"
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 3, Lesson 18, after reading Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes by Juan Felipe Herrara and Dennis Chavez, student answer the following questions: "Explain the significance of the following statement: Under harsh criticism Chavez pushed for his ideals: ‘Either we are all free or we all fail.' Closely read the following sentence from the text: 'At a time when being a Mexican or Hispanic was regarded with contempt by fellow lawmakers, Charvez devoted his energy to the service of his country, state, and party, with little regard to the decision and discourtesy his ethnicity evoked.' What is the significance of this statement?"

Students analyze key ideas in Literature and Science and Social Studies. Examples include:

• In Literature, Unit 3, Lesson 13, after reading Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, students answer the following Target Task writing prompt: "In what ways does having a learning disability impact the way Ally sees herself? How does it impact the way others see her? Use specific details from the text to support your answer."
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 3, Lesson 12, after reading Election! A Kid’s Guide to Picking Our President by Dan Gutman students are asked: "What are the main differences between the Democratic and Republican Parties? What evidence does the author give to support the idea that 'all of these people may be Patriotic Americans who love their country, but they have different opinions about the way the government should be run?'”
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 5, Lesson 6, after reading the texts Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson, Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington, and If you Lived when there was Slavery in America by Anne Kamma, students are asked the following Target Task questions: "How and why are people or groups in a society treated differently based on race? Is it fair? Use examples from Heart and Soul, If you Lived when there was Slavery in America, and Up from Slavery to support your answer."

Analyzing details is another type of analysis students are asked to complete in Literature and Science and Social Studies. Examples include:

• In Literature, Unit 1, Lesson 2, after reading Shiloh by Phyllis Reynold Naylor, students are asked: "What evidence does the author include to show how Marty feels about animals? What evidence does the author include to show how Shiloh is feeling and why? Describe how Shiloh changes over the course of the chapter. What causes the change?"
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 2, Lesson 1, after reading Liberty! How the Revolutionary War began by Lucille Recht, key questions include: "Why did people leave England? Did the King influence people's decisions to leave? Explain why. Explain the significance of the Liberty Tree. How does the illustration help a reader better understand the importance of the Liberty Tree? Why did the author title the section 'Help!'? Who needed help?"
• In Literature, Unit 7, Lesson 7, after reading Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis students are asked: "Describe what happens at the mission. What can we learn about Bud from his actions? What can we learn about the time period from the actions of others? Why? What evidence does the author include to show the importance of Bud's relationship with Miss Hill? Why?"

Students analyze craft in Literature and Grade 4 Social Studies and Science. Examples include:

• In Literature, Unit 2, Lesson 5, after reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, the key questions include: "Explain the significance of the statement: 'Her resentment seemed to darken with the fading moon.' Why does the description reveal about ma?"
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 2, Lesson 12, after reading Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Target Task writing prompt is: "How does Ted Rand use illustrations to help a reader better understand the events of Paul Revere’s ride as told by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?"
• In Literature, Unit 3, Lesson 1, teachers are told for the book The Wild Book by Margaret Engle for writing Target Task/close reading to make sure to emphasize the following author's craft moves/details from each poem: "The poems are full of feelings and emotion. Some of the later poems become more like short narrative stories, so it's important to analyze the feeling and word choice deeply in these poems. It is also important to analyze and think about the title of each poem and the significance/power it has." Questions include: "How does the author use the structure of poetry and word choice to show the narrator's feelings about word blindness?"

In Literature and Science and Social Studies, students analyze text structure. Examples include:

• In Literature, Unit 1, Lesson 4, after reading Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, the following writing prompt is provided: "Read the quotation from the end of chapter 3. 'I'm so mad I can't see. I know I should shut my mouth, but it goes on talking. His name's Shiloh,' I say.' Explain the significance of this quotation and what it shows about Marty."
• In Science and Social Studies, Unit 1, Lesson 11, after reading Earthquakes by Seymour Simon, key questions include: "Why does Seymour Simon start page 13 with the question, 'Why do most earthquakes in the In United States occur in California?' How does he answer the question?"
• In Literature, Unit 4, Lesson 4, after reading the Greek myth, "Pandora's Box" by Paul Perro, key questions include: "What structural elements of poetry are present in the poem? How is the poem different than verse? What does the author mean by the lines 'if there was hope,/Then no matter what else happened, /The human race could cope'? What parts of the story of Pandora are emphasized in the poem? Why?"

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria 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.

The instructional materials reviewed meet the expectations for materials containing 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. In most units, students have multiple opportunities to analyze across texts. Although not all units have multiple texts, students do have opportunities to analyze within those specific texts when they are the focus of the unit. Every lesson has a set of carefully sequenced key questions that increase in complexity both within the lesson and throughout the unit. Questions ask students to look into the text and consider why authors use specific text features, phrasing, and character/plot decisions. Sometimes the same questions are repeated in successive lessons for multiple texts over several days, leading to a more complex or comparison question across all of the texts once they have been read. Target tasks also include discussion and writing prompts that ask students to dive a bit deeper on more summative ideas.

In Literature, students analyze both individual texts and across multiple texts, such as:

• In Unit 1, students read Shiloh. In Lesson 22, students explain how Marty’s beliefs, ethics, and values influence his decisions throughout the story to save Shiloh.
• In Unit 2, Lesson 31, students compare and contrast the beginning of Minli’s quest from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon with the beginning of the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
• In Unit 3, Lesson 2, students identify and make connections between The Wild Book and “The Facts about Dyslexia." In Lesson 16, students use all of the texts to explain how having a learning disability impacts the way people see themselves and the way others see them.
• In Unit 4, the focus of the unit is comparing and contrasting Greek myths. In Lesson 4, students read a poem called “Pandora’s Box” and watch a video called “Myth of Pandora's Box” and are asked what connections can be made between the original story, the story told in first-person point of view, the poem, and the video. In Lesson 19, students pick a theme or topic and analyze how it is treated in each of the myths from the unit.
• In Unit 5, Lesson 22, students analyze Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, theyexplain how Joey changed and what he learned about himself.
• In Unit 6, Lesson 34, students compare and contrast the development of theme in Bud, Not Buddy with other novels from the course. This is a culmination for the entire course.

The Science and Social Studies units require students to integrate knowledge and ideas across individual and multiple texts. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, students learn about Earth. Students are asked similar questions in Lesson 15 and Lesson 21. In Lesson 15, students write an essay that describes how earthquakes happen, why they are dangerous, and potential solutions for minimizing damage. In Lesson 21, students write an essay that describes why volcanoes are dangerous, what causes them to erupt, and why so many people choose to live near a volcano despite the dangers.
• In Unit 2, Lesson 9, students answer questions about Loyalists and Patriots and the writing prompt asks students to compare and contrast the beliefs of the Loyalists and the Patriots. In Lesson 15, students use all of the texts to discuss the unit-essential questions.
• In Unit 3, students answer similar questions, but with different texts in Lesson 19 and 23. In Lesson 19, students explain who and what inspired Shirley Chisholm to get involved in politics and fight for change, and in Lesson 23, students answer the same question but about Barack Obama.
• In Unit 4, students learn about energy and are asked questions such as why does the author use text features to help a reader better understand the Glen Canyon Dam (Lesson 5) and why does the author include the diagram on page 11 (Lesson 15). In Lesson 19, students analyze what they have read by describing what the world’s energy future will look like if renewable sources of energy are not found.
• In Unit 5, students are asked many questions about the choices of the author. For example, in Lesson 3, students explain how the author uses descriptive details and illustrations to help the reader understand slavery, while in Lesson 9, students explain the evidence the author includes to explain a statement about Harriet Tubman.
• In Unit 6, students learn about the structures of plants and animals. Students analyze the choices of the author, such as in Lesson 7, the students explain why the author starts the text with a question and the reasons the author gives to support the idea that the size of an animal’s brain compared to its body says a lot about an animal's ability to learn.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

Units in both Literature and Science and Social Studies have final projects that require students to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic. For the culminating projects, all units have questions and tasks throughout the unit to prepare the students for the final project. Sometimes the same writing task is given multiple times leading to the end of the unit. All of the questions and tasks support the integration of skills and knowledge by the end of the unit and provide students practice opportunities with a gradual building of expectations. The mini tasks embedded throughout the unit prepare the students for the final task, both by providing multiple opportunities for the same writing prompt with increasing expectations, and addressing the genre and daily series of of text-dependent questions. There are reading, writing, and discussion (speaking and listening) elements throughout the unit.

The questions and tasks in Science and Social Studies support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills. Examples include:

• In Unit 2, students learn about the American Revolution, and, for the culminating project, students either research a famous hero of the American Revolution or write an informational children’s book about the American Revolution and the events that led up to the Revolution. Some of the tasks that lead students to successfully complete this project and integrate knowledge and skills include, in Lesson 8, students explain the role spies played in the Revolution and, in Lesson 20, students analyze the role of black heroes in the American Revolution.
• In Unit 3, students create a proposal to share with the president describing how the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act should be revised by synthesizing information from the entire unit.
• In Unit 4, students debate using the key questions and then students complete a project to decide which energy sources they would recommend their community to increase or decrease in use and why. Students create a presentation, which requires integration of skills.
• In Unit 5, students research, write, and present on an additional person or event. On the first day, the students research the topic of their choice, on the next day or two, students brainstorm and begin drafting, and on the final few days, students create presentations to teach what they learned and present their findings with the class.
• In Unit 6, students complete a research project that relates to plants and animals which helps to deepen the understanding of the content of the unit.

The questions and tasks in Literature support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, students write the next chapter of Shiloh using what they know about Marty and Shiloh. Students have to integrate the knowledge of the characters they gained throughout the close reading of the text as well as integrating the writing skills they practice in the unit.
• In Unit 3, there are options for a culminating task. One is a writing exercise that relies on the integration of information gained through the close reading of texts in the unit and the other involves speaking and listening and the integration of information gained through the reading of texts in the unit.
• In Unit 4, students create an additional version of Hercules using the genre structures and points of view learned in the unit. Throughout the unit, students practice rewriting these Greek Myths by writing them from another point of view. For example, in Lesson 13, students rewrite “Arachne” from another character's point of view, and, in Lesson 18, students rewrite “Echo and Narcissus” from another point of view.
• In Unit 5, students write the next chapter of Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key using what they know about Joey, combined with what they know about how Jack Gantos writes. This task requires students to demonstrate knowledge gained from the reading of texts and discussions in the unit into a writing task.
• In Unit 6, students compare and contrast the development of theme in Bud, Not Buddy with other novels from the course. This requires students to integrate knowledge and skills across the entire course.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria 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.

Materials support students’ increasing writing skills over the course of the school year. Writing demands in each unit increase. Materials also include spiraling lessons and differentiating for individual student needs. The Unit Summary and Teacher Intellectual Prep sections explain that over time, there is an increase in depth and expectations for student writing. Each unit summary specifies the writing focus of the unit and the expectations for students. Each Unit Overview also specifies expectations for student achievement and the focus for Areas of Correction. The units at the beginning of the year focus on quality sentences and paragraph writing, and they gradually build throughout the year toward proficiency with essays. The use of evidence also evolves from students using direct quotations to citing evidence to paraphrasing evidence. Support materials are included in the program to help teachers plan when to deliver a mini lesson and how to decide which correct area to provide. There is also a Writing Instruction Q & A that includes detailed information on how writing instruction is organized and distributed throughout the year and a rationale for why it is taught this way. This document explains that there are many short, targeted writing days that provide students practice and fluency with a specific writing genre. Teachers gather feedback and data on students’ understanding so the teacher can provide focus correction areas.

Writing instruction supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year, building students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at Grade 4 by the end of the year. Literature examples include:

• In Unit 1, students learn the procedures for writing about reading. This unit lays the foundation for writing claims, paragraphs, and including text specific vocabulary in writing.
• In Unit 2, students learn how to write strong, focused paragraphs, using different paragraph structures, depending on the question or claim. This builds onto the work done in Unit 1 by challenging the students to make a correct claim that shows a deep understanding of the text and refers to more than one text-based detail to support the claim. Students also begin to learn how to sort information into multiple paragraphs, using transition words to link ideas within and across paragraphs. In this unit, they focus on writing narrative-sequence through journal entries.
• In Unit 3, students transition from writing paragraphs to focused essays. The instruction focuses on the claim and the conclusion as a restatement of the main ideas from the essay.
• In Unit 4, students continue to work on literary analysis essays, but the mini-lessons are planned based on data and the needs of the students. The lessons spiral skills from previous units. In this narrative writing unit, the focus is using an organizational structure that matches the demands of the prompt. In the second half of this unit, the students use a graphic novel as a mentor text.
• In Unit 5, the instruction builds on previous narrative and literary analysis instruction. The teacher is expected to spiral skills based on the class and individual student need.
• In Unit 6, no new instruction is provided, but rather the teacher uses data from previous assessments and class work to identify three or four high-leverage focus correction areas to review as a whole class and in small groups.

Examples of how writing progresses throughout the year in Science and Social Studies include:

• In Unit 1, the focus is on establishing routines and expectations for a strong writing-about-reading culture. In addition, the focus is writing strong literary analysis or informational essays. This unit serves as the foundation for this type of writing for the reminder of the year.
• In Unit 2, students build on the work in Unit 1. The students begin to think about what evidence is the best evidence and then how the evidence would best be explained. Students begin learning how to sort information into multiple paragraphs, using transition words, but the main focus of this unit is on paragraphs.
• In Unit 3, students begin the transition from writing strong paragraphs to writing longer essays. They learn how to unpack a question and write a multi-paragraph essay. They also begin learning how to use evidence from multiple sources and how to reference more than one text.
• In Unit 5, the teacher is expected to use data to provide differentiated and targeted support for students who are not yet scoring a "3" on all of the rows of the rubric.
• In Unit 6, the focus of this unit is on ensuring that scholars have mastered all previously taught literary analysis focus correct areas.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria 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.

Materials provide research projects through Social Studies and Science units that provide research opportunities and analyze materials using multiple texts and materials. In some units there is one large project, and in others there are multiple smaller ones. Sometimes these projects are through hands-on learning lab experiences. Students are given opportunity to analyze topics through varied sources and experiences. The rigor of these projects build throughout the year and by the end of the year projects are more independent and require deeper levels of research and analysis. All research projects are located in Science and Social Studies units.

Below are examples of research projects that encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials in the Science and Social Studies units:

• In Unit 2, there are two options for research projects. One is for students to research a hero of the American Revolution and create an informational children’s book that describes his or her influence during the American Revolution. A second option is to write an informational children’s book about the American Revolution and the events that led up to the Revolution.
• In Unit 4, students analyze multiple texts and source materials to create a presentation that convinces community leaders why one form of energy is better than others. Students can research their targeted renewable energy source with both texts and computers.
• In Unit 5, students research, write, and present on an additional person or event. They can choose to research one of the key figures in the fight to free slaves, one of the artist of the Harlem Renaissance, a historic African American sports star, or inventions and discoveries made by African Americans.
• In Unit 6, students research and participate in an end of unit project in order to deepen their understanding of the content in the unit. The teacher has the opportunity to choose the project and options include developing a model of a plant or animal, constructing how the animal or plant uses both internal and external structures, and then presenting the information back to the class.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria 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.

The Text Consumption Guidance document provides the rationale for independent reading and explains that during independent reading, students gain independence by reading a text on their own that requires them to use all of the strategies learned in class. During independent reading, students actively annotate and make meaning of the text with limited support from the teacher or peers. The materials suggest that independent reading can be used at the end of the lesson as independent practice, on days when the majority of the text is accessible and/or there are features of the text students need to practice accessing independently, or at the beginning of the lesson to allow time for independent analysis before a close-read or a discussion.

In the Approach to Independent Reading Document provided it states, "students in grades 3-5 have an additional 45-60 minute independent reading block, as well as independent reading assigned daily for homework." The document also includes tables to give suggestions of how to accomplish independent reading during the school day, gradually increasing so that students can sustain independent reading for 6o minutes by the end of the school year. The document explains how a teacher should set up their classroom library and provides an independent reading weekly planning template with samples.

Teachers are also provided with grade-level aligned suggested independent reading lists for both literary and informational texts. There is guidance and protocols for hosting book clubs, book talks, and book reviews. A reading log is provided to keep track of the texts read. Sample prompts and log entries are provided. Protocol is provided for student/teacher conferences based on the reading logs.