8th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2a. 

Materials include texts that are organized by a genre and a theme. Although texts are organized by genre and theme, it is unclear how the texts build students’ knowledge of the theme. Each unit begins with a unit opener that “introduces the genre and connects students to the literature,” includes a “thought-provoking quote [that] gives insight into literature,” features “fine art and photographs [that] connect with the unit theme,” and introduces “essential questions related to the unit theme [that] generate interest and set the stage for learning.” The opening pages of each unit provide an introduction to the unit’s genre of focus. Most text selections also include a Mirrors & Windows theme. Students make text-to-self connections to this sub-theme when responding to Mirrors & Windows questions at the start and conclusion of texts read. It is unclear how the Mirrors & Windows theme connects to the unit theme and builds students’ knowledge.  

Texts are not organized around a cohesive topic/theme to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Texts are connected by a grade-appropriate cohesive topic/theme/line of inquiry. Texts miss opportunities to build knowledge, vocabulary, and the ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year.

  • In Unit 2, Differing Perspectives, students continue their exploration of the fiction genre from the previous unit. While exploring the theme, “Differing Perspectives,” students investigate this essential question: “How do our dreams and ambitions help shape self-discovery?” As students read the unit text selections, they “think of how [their] own perspective is shaped by [their] experiences.” The short story, “Men on the Moon” by Simon Ortiz, serves as the anchor text for this unit. Students also explore other fiction selections such as “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Sweet Potato Pie” by Eugenia Collier, “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, “The Medicine Bag” by Virginia Driving and Hawk Sneve, and “Lose Now, Pay Later” by Carol Farley. Materials do not revisit the unit theme or essential question during the Introduction to the unit genre, embedded Close Reading questions, and Extend Understanding tasks. As a result, it is unclear how students build knowledge of the theme.

  • In Unit 3, Looking Back, students delve into the nonfiction genre as they explore the theme, “Looking Back” and attempt to answer the essential question, ”What influences our perspective more: upbringing or experience?” As students read the various autobiographies and essays throughout the unit, they “relate the insights [the texts] offer to [their] own recollections.” Theodora Kroeber’s biography, Ishi in Two Worlds serves as the anchor text for this unit. Students also read nonfiction selections such as “Mrs. Flowers” from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, “Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time” by Paul Rogat Loeb, “Proclamation of the Indians of Alcatraz” (author not cited), an excerpt from “Our Struggle is Against All Forms of Racism” by Nelson Mandela, and an excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley. Materials do not revisit the unit theme or essential question during the Introduction to the unit genre, embedded Close Reading questions, and Extend Understanding tasks. As a result, it is unclear how students build knowledge of the theme.

  • In Unit 5, Living with Words, students begin their exploration of poetry and the theme, “Living with Words” as they contemplate the essential question, “What do words mean to you?” Framing for the unit directs students to “enjoy the texture of the language as well as the poem’s meaning,” as they read the poetry selections throughout the unit. The lyric poem, “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, serves as the anchor text for this unit. Students also read poems such as “Dreams” by Langston Hughes, “The Naming of Cats” by T. S. Eliot, “If I can stop one Heart from breaking” by Emily Dickinson, “I Ask My Mother to Sing” by Li-Young Lee, and “your little voice Over the wires came leaping” by E. E. Cummings. Materials do not revisit the unit theme or essential question during the Introduction to the unit genre, embedded Close Reading questions, and Extend Understanding tasks. As a result, it is unclear how students build knowledge of the theme.

  • In Unit 8, Recalling Heroes, students explore the folk literature genre, while pondering the theme, “Recalling Heroes” and answering the essential question, “Who are your heroes?” Guidance directs students to “note what each tale reveals about the culture that created it,” as they read the unit text selections. The anchor text for this unit is the tall tale, “Paul Bunyan of the North Woods” by Carl Sandburg. Students also read other folk literature selections such as “Legend of the Feathered Serpent” by Antonio Hernández Madrigal, “Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon” retold by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (author not cited), “John Henry Blues” by Anonymous, “Gatored Community” by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson, and “Frog” by Vivian Vande Velde. Materials do not revisit the unit theme or essential question during the Introduction to the unit genre, embedded Close Reading questions, and Extend Understanding tasks. As a result, it is unclear how students build knowledge of the theme.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2b. 

Materials support and require students to analyze key ideas, details, craft and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts; however, lessons do not always include a coherently sequenced series of high-quality questions that lead to a final task. Questions and tasks are often embedded in the following before-, during-, and after-reading sections: Setting Purpose, Reading Skills, Finding Meaning, Making Judgments, and Making Connections. Tasks often occur in the optional Extend Understanding. As a result, these tasks may not occur during core instruction and there is no guarantee all students will have an opportunity to engage with these questions. Tasks sometimes miss opportunities to meet the full requirements of their associated standard.

Materials sometimes require students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high-quality questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details and craft and structure (according to grade-level standards). 

  • The materials sometimes contain coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address key ideas and details. 

    • In Unit 3, Looking Back, students read “Epiphany: The Third Gift” by Lucha Corpi. The teacher asks students “what they think the main theme of this selection is” and models a response. Although there are several questions that address setting, there are no additional questions that address theme. As a result, students do not analyze the theme’s development over the course of the text. 

    • In Unit 7, Meeting Dangers, students focus on dialogue while reading The Dying Detective by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dramatized by Michael and Mollie Hardwick. Students respond to questions, such as “[H]ow might Home’s assessment serve to further the plot, rather than just function as an insult?”, “What information is revealed by this dialogue?”, “What questions does this dialogue raise in readers’ minds that heighten suspense?”, and “Why do you think Doyle included this dialogue in the story?” After reading, students ``[c]onsider the personalities of each character, the information contained in dialogue, and the stage directions” to determine the essential elements each character contributed to the text. 

  • The materials sometimes contain coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address craft and structure. 

    • In Unit 1, Finding Ourselves, students read a paired selection containing Ray Bradbury’s short story, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” and an excerpt from Shelby Foote’s article, “Echoes of Shiloh.” The teacher directs students to “note the difference between each author’s methods of describing the volume of men involved in the battle,” when examining a portion of Foote’s piece. Students respond to the Text to Text Connection question: “Both Ray Bradbury’s story and Shelby Foote’s article deal with the Battle of Shiloh. How does each writer use sensory details to describe the scene?” While the prompt provides students with the opportunity to analyze each author’s craft, the prompt does not provide students with the opportunity to compare and contrast the structure of the two texts and “analyze how the differing structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.”

    • In Unit 6, Reaching Out, students read May Swenson’s lyric poem,“Southbound on the Freeway.” Students analyze speaker and voice, responding to questions, such as “What do you learn about the speaker’s traits and perspective, or viewpoint?” and “What do these [sensory] details help you understand about the speaker of the poem?” Both Writing Options in the Extend Understand section address these literary elements. Students may “[w]rite a short story from the perspective of the poem’s speaker during the Narrative Writing option or “[w]rite a brief literary response” to the text during the Informative Writing option. For the brief literary response, students must state their opinion of the effect of the poem and explain “what literary elements or devices contribute to the effect” using examples from the text. The Extend Understanding section contains four optional activities from which teachers may choose. As a result, this activity may not occur during core instruction. 

• By the end of the year, at times, these components (language, word choice, key ideas, details, structure, craft) are embedded in students’ work rather than taught directly. 

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students read “Obi-Wan Kenobi: Jedi Knight” from Star Wars Episode 1: The Visual Dictionary by Dr. David West Reynolds. In the Writing Skills section, students review a provided list of movie review features and “write a review about a Star Wars film or other science fiction movie they’ve seen.” The review includes information such as the title, director and/or stars, the reviewer’s opinion, a summary of the movie, details about the characters, setting, and plot, examples from the movie that support the reviewer’s opinion, and a conclusion that sums up the main points and provides a memorable impression of the movie. This activity does not fully align to the standard listed in the Correlations to Common Core State Standards: “Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the Bible, including describing how the material is rendered new.” Writing Skills activities are embedded within the Close Read section of the lesson plan as an option from which teachers may select. As a result, this activity may not occur during core instruction.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2c. 

Materials include text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks that address key ideas and details, as well as craft and structure, within informational texts. While materials embed the integration of knowledge and ideas in students’ work, tasks often occur during the Extend Understanding section which contains four activity options from which the teacher may choose. As a result, there is no guarantee that all students will complete these tasks during core instruction. Materials include opportunities for students to develop ideas and analyze both within single texts and across multiple texts. Students respond to text-specific and text-dependent questions during and after reading. However, series of questions are not always coherently sequenced, leading to the culminating task, and culminating tasks do not always fully address the associated standard.

Materials require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts as well as across multiple texts; however, there are missed opportunities for coherently sequenced, high-quality text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas.

  • In Unit 3, Looking Back, students read “Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time,” an argumentative essay by Paul Rogat Loeb. During a Reading Skills mini lesson, students work in pairs using the following strategies “to identify the main idea of each section in the essay:” “Note key details.” and “Determine which details are important and which are less important.” Students also have an opportunity to “summarize Loeb’s view about social activism,” when responding to a Close Read question. During the Informative Writing Extend Understanding option, students choose a section of the text, use their “summary chart to decide what the main idea of the section is,” and “create a list of all the supporting details in the section.” Students must identify which details are “the most essential and effective,” “indicate whether each detail is a fact or an opinion and explain how this impacts their effectiveness.” The Extend Understanding section contains four optional activities from which teachers may choose. As a result, this activity may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students read a paired selection containing “Indian Cattle,” an informational text by Eugene Rachlis, and “Counting Coup on a Wounded Buffalo,” a memoir by Chief Plenty-Coups. Guidance on the Preview the Selection page for “Indian Cattle” directs students to “try to determine what the author’s purpose was in writing this selection;” however, materials do not include questions that address the author's purpose in either text contained in the paired selection. After reading “Counting Coup on a Wounded Buffalo,” students “[examine] elements such as the tone, word choice, and the main idea and supporting details” to determine the author’s purpose of “Indian Cattle” and “[u]se a web to organize the information.” Although students determine the author’s point of view, they do not “analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.”  

• By the end of the year, integrating knowledge and ideas is embedded in students’ work (via tasks and/or culminating tasks).

  • In Unit 3, Looking Back, students read a paired selection containing the biography Ishi in Two Worlds by Theodora Kroeber. and the newspaper article “Yana People to Receive Ishi’s Brain” by Robert Fri. While reading Ishi in Two Worlds, students respond to Close Read questions that address setting, description, and author’s perspective. Students also respond to text-specific questions and make inferences about select passages of the text. Materials do not include any types of questions for “Yana People to Receive Ishi’s Brain.” After reading both texts, students respond to the following Text to Text Connection prompt: “Compare the attitudes revealed in the Kroeber biography with those expressed in ‘Yana People to Receive Ishi’s Brain.’ What do you think of the policy described in the article and the way the Smithsonian Institution abided by the policy?” The Media Literacy Extend Understanding option includes the following prompt: 'Compare and contrast the perspectives of the authors of Ishi in Two Worlds'' and ‘Yana People to Receive Ishi’s Brain.’ Discuss the social and political attitudes toward Native Americans in 1911 (when Ishi was discovered), in 1961 (when the biography was published), and in 1999 (when the newspaper article was published). How do you think these attitudes may have affected the perspectives of the two authors?” The Extend Understanding section contains four optional activities from which teachers may choose. As a result, this activity may not occur during core instruction.    

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students read a scientific chart, “Scale of Geologic Time” (author not cited). Guidance directs students to “be aware of how [the text] uses visual elements to present information.” During reading, students respond to the following Analyze Literature question: “Why do you think the illustration below appears there?” Materials include an embedded Media Literacy Skills: Evaluate Media lesson, during which students “create a large bulletin board copy of the chart” and work in pairs “to find out more about the information appearing in each square of the chart.” Students “write their information on index cards and place them in the matching squares on the bulletin board.” Afterwards, students “compare and evaluate the pros and cons of the original versus the expanded chart.” Although students examine the pros and cons of both charts, they do not “evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.”  

• Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts.

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students read a paired selection containing “Murder and More Mushroom Mayhem,” an informational text by Elio Schaechter and “Too Soon a Woman,” a short story by Dorothy M. Johnson. The Set Purpose section of the Preview the Selections page includes the following student guidance: “Skim the informational and short story selections to identify the author’s purpose for each selection. Note how each author accomplishes his or her purpose. As you read, take notes comparing the different characteristics, structures, and features of each genre. How does the author’s approach to accomplishing his or her purpose differ between an informational text and a short story?” Students also “use a chart like the one below to record sensory details” in both texts. While reading “Murder and More Mushroom Mayhem,” students examine a portion of the text and discuss whether the description of the chicken mushroom that Schaechter provides is concrete or abstract. While reading “Too Soon a Woman,” students respond to various Analyze Literature questions addressing elements such as description, characterization, and conflict. After reading both selections, students use textual evidence to support their responses to the following Compare Literature questions: “1. What words and phrases does Schaechter use to describe his imaginary chicken mushroom? 2. What words and phrases does Johnson use to describe Mary’s mushroom? 3. Which mushroom, Schaechter’s chicken mushroom or Mary’s mushroom, would you rather try? Why do you feel this way?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2d. 

Materials include smaller tasks in the Extend Understanding sections at the end of each text, paired selection, and text set. Although these tasks allow students to demonstrate their understanding of texts, these tasks often do not integrate literacy skills and the enactment of these tasks is contingent upon teacher selection and may not occur during core instruction, as a result. Materials include text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks; however, these questions and tasks are not coherently sequenced, and they do not provide the teacher with usable information on whether students are on track to successfully complete the End-of-Unit Culminating Tasks.

Culminating tasks require students to demonstrate their knowledge through integrated literacy skills; however, it is unclear how tasks relate to the unit’s topic/theme. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Culminating tasks are evident and varied across the year and they are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, listening) at the appropriate grade level, and comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening).

  • In Unit 1, Finding Ourselves, during the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop, students read and respond to a short story they have read. Students’ instructions state that the response must include: “an introduction that grabs the reader’s attention and sets up my thesis statement, a clear organizational pattern, textual evidence (paraphrased and quoted) that supports my main ideas, an awareness of my audience and an appropriate tone, [and] a conclusion that restates my thesis in a new way.”  This task integrates reading and writing. 

  • In Unit 5, Living with Words, students write a compare-and-contrast essay “in which [they] identify similarities and differences between two or more things, people, places, or ideas” during the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop. The essay must include an attention-grabbing introduction, “a thesis statement that expresses [the student’s] overall point; a clear, logical, and effective pattern of organization;” transition words and phrases that signal comparisons and contrasts; and “a closing that summarizes [the] main points and restates [the] thesis.” Once students decide on a topic, they must conduct research to “get accurate information and identify the best details to compare and contrast.” This task integrates reading and writing.  

  • In Unit 7, Meeting Dangers, during the End-of-Unit Speaking & Listening Workshop, students deliver and actively listen to a persuasive presentation designed to convince or change people’s minds about an issue. During this culminating task, students outline their argument, using specific evidence from reliable sources to support their opinions, and conduct research to gather “statistics, expert opinions, anecdotes, examples, and other supporting details.”  This task integrates reading, writing, and speaking and listening. 

• Earlier text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks are not coherently sequenced and will not give the teacher usable information about the student's readiness (or whether they are “on track”) to complete culminating tasks.

  • In Unit 1, Finding Ourselves, students read “The Treasure of Lemon Brown'' by Walter Dean Myers. During the Informative Writing Extend Understanding option directions state that  students write and share an essay “in which you compare and contrast the experiences and attitudes of [Lemon Brown and Greg’s father.]” After reading “Checkouts'' by Cynthia Rylant and “Oranges'' by Gary Soto, students ``[c]ompare and contrast the motivations of the speaker in ‘Oranges’ and the main character in ‘Checkouts’ in a short essay.” Students must include a thesis statement that explains their main idea and use specific examples from both texts. At the end of the unit, students read “Raymond’s Run” by Toni Cade Bambara. During the Informative Writing option in the Analyze and Extend section, students describe the tone of the text in a short essay using evidence and details from the text to support their claim. These tasks are not coherently sequenced. It is unclear how these tasks provide the teacher with usable information about the student's readiness to complete the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop, in which students write a response to a self-selected short story.

  • In Unit 5, Living with Words, after reading “The Naming of Cats'' by T. S. Eliot, students compare literary forms during the Media Literacy option in the Extend Understanding section. After finding a recording of the music from CATS, students ``[l]isten to various songs, including ‘The Naming of Cats.’' Students identify their favorite songs, as well as how the songs relate to the themes in the text, before discussing the music in a small group. Students also read “The New Colossus'' by Emma Lazarus. Students ``[l]ocate another sonnet and compare and contrast the two,” during the Media Literacy Extend the Text option. At the end of the unit, students read “your little voice over the wires came leaping” by E. E. Cummings. During the Media Literacy option in the Analyze and Extend section, students find another poem by Cummings and compare it to this one. These tasks are not coherently sequenced. It is unclear how these tasks provide the teacher with usable information about the student's readiness to complete the end-of-unit Writing Workshop, in which students write a compare-and-contrast essay. 

  • In Unit 7, Meeting Dangers, students read The Dying Detective by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dramatized by Michael and Mollie Hardwick. During the embedded Speaking & Listening Skills: Dramatic Performance mini lesson, the teacher may select a group of students to perform the play for the class or “have three different groups perform one scene each.” After reading Act 1 of The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, work in small groups to “practice and perform a scene from [the Act].”  While reading “Sorry, Right Number” by Stephen King, students use their research on contemporary horror writers to present oral reports. These tasks are not coherently sequenced. It is unclear how these tasks provide the teacher with usable information about the student's readiness to complete the End-of-Unit Speaking & Listening Workshop, in which students deliver and actively listen to a persuasive presentation.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2e. 

Each unit includes a Writing Workshop that focuses on a specific writing mode and includes numerous supports for both teachers and students, including, but not limited to: guidance during each step of the writing process, checklists, models, and rubrics. During the Writing Workshop, materials explain what students should do during each step of the writing process but rarely provide explicit instruction on the writing mode of focus. Writing Workshop tasks do not connect to the unit theme and are stand-alone in nature with some tasks requiring students to use evidence from sources. Students complete the same Writing Workshop tasks in Grades 6, 7, and 8. Materials include practice opportunities in the Writing Skills section embedded within the End-of-Unit Test Practice Workshop. During this Workshop, students practice timed writing responses and revision and editing skills. As with the Writing Workshops, Test Practice Workshop activities span various genres but are not connected to the unit text selections. The optional Writing and Grammar ancillary may be used to supplant writing instruction and includes lessons for every unit, including a Writing Scope and Sequence that outlines the In-Text Writing Workshops for the school year, the writing mode of focus, and the writing assignment. Materials also include a Writing Rubrics ancillary that contains rubrics for each writing mode. Materials lack teacher guidance on enacting ancillary and optional writing lessons and tasks. 

Materials include a year-long plan for students to achieve grade-level writing proficiency by the end of the school year; however, cohesion is lacking. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Materials include limited writing instruction that aligns to the standards for the grade level and sometimes supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year.

  • While there is an evident structure to the writing aspect of the program, including frequent opportunities for students to write in various modes and for various purposes, supports, and tools for monitoring student writing development, the structure lacks cohesion. Materials include the following Writing Workshops— four informative, one argumentative, one descriptive, two narrative—resulting in an uneven distribution of explicit instruction on the writing modes required by the standards. Test Practice Workshops do not include explicit instruction and their mode of focus differs from that of the Writing Workshops. It is unclear how writing instruction and tasks build upon each other to promote growth in students’ skills over the course of the unit and across the year.

  • While materials offer a number of writing opportunities, explicit writing instruction is largely absent. During the End-of-Unit Writing Workshops, students spend three regular schedule days or one and a half block schedule days transitioning through the writing process as they complete a process writing task on a specific mode of focus. Writing Workshop tasks include:

    • Unit 1—Informative Writing: Responding to a Short Story

    • Unit 2—Narrative Writing: Writing a Short Story

    • Unit 3—Informative Writing: Cause-and-Effect Essay

    • Unit 4—Descriptive Writing: Descriptive Essay

    • Unit 5—Informative Writing: Compare-and-Contrast Essay

    • Unit 6—Narrative Writing: Personal Narrative

    • Unit 7—Argumentative Writing: Argumentative Essay

    • Unit 8—Informative Writing: Research Paper

• Instructional materials include a variety of well-designed guidance, protocols, models, and support for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development; however, materials lack teacher guidance on the use of ancillary and optional writing supports.

  • In Unit 2, Differing Perspectives, students write a short story that is centered around a theme during the Writing Workshop. Materials include What Great Writers Do sidebars throughout the Workshop. The Teacher Wrap in the Teacher Edition references one of these sidebars and includes the following guidance: “Point out to students that an arresting first sentence will grab a reader’s attention.” The sidebar includes a quote from “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka which teachers may use as a “famous example.” 

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students write a descriptive essay during the Writing Workshop. The Workshop includes a Writing Rubric that outlines the elements the descriptive essay should include. As students move through each step of the writing process, the Workshop includes models to support their work. The Prewrite stage has an illustration of a sample brainstorming list and an example of a cluster chart that students can use when brainstorming possible sub-ideas. The Draft stage contains a T-chart outlining chronological order and spatial order to support students with organizing their ideas. The Revise stage includes a Revising Checklist, along with an annotated draft of a descriptive essay. The Edit and Proofread stage contains samples of the focus areas, Description, and Comparatives and Superlatives. Materials also include an annotated Student Model.  

  • In Unit 7, Meeting Dangers, students construct an argumentative essay in the Writing Workshop. Before the writing process begins, students examine a Writing Rubric that tells them what the criteria the essay should include, such as “an introductory paragraph that sets up my issue and states my thesis.” The Writing and Grammar ancillary includes additional in-depth writing rubrics that the teacher may have students use.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2f. 

While materials provide frequent opportunities for short research tasks connected to the texts students read, materials do not include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. The embedded Research Skills insets include research skills practice opportunities but rarely include explicit instruction of research skills. Some research skills repeat across grade levels and often do not align to grade-level standards. Where appropriate, research tasks include resources to develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic. Most short research projects occur during Extend Understanding tasks. These tasks are optional and may not occur during core instruction. Students have one opportunity in each grade level to conduct a long research project—during the Unit 8 Writing Workshop. During this end-of-grade level task, materials include directions to guide students through each step of the research writing process but provide limited explicit instruction of standards-aligned research skills.

Materials do not 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. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Research projects are not sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. 

  • While there are frequent opportunities for students to complete informal research tasks, materials lack explicit, standards-aligned research skills instruction. While the Teacher Edition includes embedded Research Skills insets throughout each unit, explicit instruction is lacking and the progression of skills often repeats across each grade level and does not align to grade-level standards, as a result. During most Research Skills sections, students practice a research skill but do not receive explicit instruction on the research skill. The progression of research skills and activities is as follows:

    • Unit 1: evaluate Internet sources, keyword searches on the Internet

    • Unit 2: allusions, topics for research 

    • Unit 3: note card preparation

    • Unit 4: primary and secondary sources

    • Unit 5: questions and methods

    • Unit 6: no evidence found

    • Unit 7: balance, multiple sources, graphic organizers 

    • Unit 8: library research, create the front page of a Native American newspaper, scientific research, research report (Writing Workshop) 

  • During the one in-depth research project per grade level, students complete research tasks as outlined in the standards but receive limited explicit instruction when doing so. While the research-focused Writing Workshop provides detailed process steps to complete the task, the Workshop rarely includes explicit instruction or scaffolding during each step of the research writing process.

• Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic via provided resources. 

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students read the essay, “Chac” by Alan Rabinowitz.  Students may complete a Media Literacy task in which they research ancient and present-day Mayan culture. Materials provide questions to guide students’ research. This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher can choose and, as a result,may not occur during core instruction.  

  • In Unit 6, Reaching Out, students read the humorous poem, “The Choice” by Dorothy Parker. Students research the life of Dorothy Parker and write a paragraph explaining how an aspect of her life influenced the poem. The Program Resource section prompts the teacher to use the Extension Activities  resource to support completing this project. Materials include a graphic organizer which students use to analyze the poem and questions that students respond to as they conduct research using reference books. This Lifelong Learning task is one of four Extend Understanding options from which the teacher can choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

• Materials provide many opportunities for students to synthesize and analyze content tied to the texts under study as a part of the research process. 

  • In Unit 1, Finding Ourselves, students read “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” by Ray Bradbury, along with “Echoes of Shiloh” by Shelby Foote. After reading, students use search engines to perform electronic searches “to locate further information about the Battle of Shiloh” and evaluate the sources they find. Students “create a list of the most reliable and the least reliable” and then give a description of their evaluation process. This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher can choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction. 

  • In Unit 2, Differing Perspectives, students read the short story, “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry. As part of a Research Skills task, students use print references or the Internet to research the allusions to famous people and events found in the story and present their findings to the class. This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher can choose, and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students read the short story, “Too Soon a Woman” by Dorothy M. Johnson. During a Research Skills task, the teacher points out that Johnson uses both primary and secondary sources in researching her Western fiction. After the teacher explains primary and secondary sources using the text, students “identify which of the following materials related to the Oregon Trail would be primary sources and which would be secondary sources.”

  • In Unit 6, Reaching Out, students read the lyric poem “Ode to My Socks” by Pablo Neruda. During the Media Literacy Extend Understanding task, students use library or Internet sources to find another Pablo Neruda poem and compare and contrast it to “Ode to My Socks.” This task is one of four post-reading options from which the teacher can choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 8, Recalling Heroes, students read the Zuni myth, “Coyote Steals the Sun and Moon” by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz. Students conduct research to learn more about the Zuni. Students must “[i]nclude information from multiple sources, such as the Internet, library texts, or encyclopedias.” Then students ``create a brief oral or visual presentation to share your findings. Include images or other graphics if possible.” This Lifelong Learning Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher can choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.. 

• Students are provided with opportunities for both “short” and “long” projects across the course of a year and grade bands. 

  • In Unit 2, Differing Perspectives, students read the short story “Moon” by Chaim Potok paired with the informational text “The Story of Iqbal Masih” by David L. Parker. During a Research Skills activity, students work in groups to brainstorm questions about events they can research that occurred in the late 1990s when the story was written. It is unclear when students conduct research using the questions they brainstormed. 

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students read the informational text “Indian Cattle” by Eugene Rachis.  It is paired with the memoir “Counting Coup on a Wounded Buffalo.” Students complete a lifelong learning task in which they use internet and library resources to “research the decline of the American buffalo.”  Students create note cards, gather visual aids, and present their findings to the class. 

  • In Unit 6, Reaching Out, students read the narrative poem, “Birdfoot’s Grampa” by Joseph Bruchac, paired with the lyric poem, “The Time We Climbed Snake Mountain” by Leslie Marmon Silko. After reading both selections, students research information about current environmental practices to support a debate on the topic. This Critical Literacy Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher can choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction. 

  • In Unit 8, Recalling Heroes, during the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop, students write a research report that supports “a thesis or answers a question.”  Guidance directs students to take notes using note cards as they research their topics and “organize them in a way that clearly supports my thesis.” The research report must include “information gathered from multiple sources as well as [students’] ideas and explanation, and sources must be accurately documented.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2g. 

Instruction, practice, and assessments are based on teacher selection from a list of options. As a result, there is no true core instructional path. The Lesson Plan for each text includes the following sections: Before Reading, During Reading, After Reading. Within each section, teachers select or choose activities from a list of core and ancillary resources. Most ancillary resources, such as Unit & Selection Resources, do not provide explicit instruction nor do they identify correlated standards for the provided content. Some questions and tasks align to grade-level standards while others do not align or do not meet the full intent of the standards. Because assessments do not identify the standards addressed, it is unclear if the majority of assessment items align to grade-level standards. Although the Correlation to Common Core State Standards document lists page numbers covering the standards in each strand, without a true core instructional path and because the majority of questions and tasks do not align to grade-level standards, there is no guarantee that materials repeatedly address grade-level standards within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standards.

Materials do not spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Over the course of each unit, some instruction is aligned to grade-level standards.

  • In the Digital Teacher Edition, the Grade 8 Correlation to Common Core State Standards document lists page numbers for each standard in Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Text, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language; however, the page numbers listed do not always contain opportunities for explicit instruction or address the correlated standard. 

    • For example, the Correlation to Common Core State Standards document states in the EMC Pages That Cover the Standards column for RI.9 Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation. This page contains the following Text to Text Connection question: “Both ‘Indian Cattle’ and ‘Counting Coup on a Wounded Buffalo’ give information about the Plains Indians’ buffalo-hunting rituals and rules. However, unlike ‘Indian Cattle,’ ‘Counting Coup on a Wounded Buffalo’ is written from the first-person point of view. What do you learn from the first-hand perspective that you did not learn in ‘Indian Cattle’?” Students do not receive explicit instruction on the correlated standard and the question to which students respond does not address the full intent of the standard.       

• Over the course of each unit, some questions and tasks are aligned to grade-level standards. 

  • Questions often focus on comprehension strategies, such as Make Connections, Ask Questions, Draw Conclusions, and Visualize. These comprehension strategies do not align to grade-level standards. Some Extend Understanding tasks align to grade-level standards, while others either do not align or do not meet the full requirements of the standards. Because post-reading questions and tasks do not have correlated standards identified, it is not always clear which question or task addresses the standard listed on the Correlation to Common Core State Standards document.

    • In Unit 1, Finding Ourselves, students read “A Mother in Mannville,” a short story by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. After reading, students use a cluster chart to track the sensory details “the narrator use[s] to help readers ‘see,’ ‘hear,’ and ‘feel’ elements in the setting.” Students then use their cluster chart to respond to complete the Informative Writing task in the Extend Understanding section: “Using your cluster chart, write a brief essay in which you explain how the setting influenced the story’s plot and resolution. Deliver your essay to an audience of classmates. State your main idea in your thesis, and support your thesis with details and examples from the story.” While this task combines writing with a speaking and listening opportunity, it does not address the full intent of the standard: “Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.” 

• Over the course of each unit, it is unclear whether the majority of assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. 

  • Materials do not identify assessed standards on Selection Quizzes, Lesson Tests, Unit Exams, or Formative Surveys. As a result, it is unclear whether the majority of assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. 

• By the end of the academic year, standards are not repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard.

  • Because the page numbers listed on the Correlation to Common Core State Standards document for each standard in Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Text, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language are not always the standard addressed and because the majority of questions and tasks do not align to grade-level standards, materials do not consistently provide students with multiple opportunities to address standards within and across units to ensure mastery. It is also unclear which items address the correlated standard, because standards are not identified at the question or task level.  

    • The Correlation to Common Core State Standards document lists pages  for RL.7:Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors. On page 311, students read an Internet article by Dr. David West Reynolds, “Industrial Light & Magic, Part 1: History,” and respond to an Analyze Literature: Author’s Purpose prompt in which they “compare and contrast the purposes” of the article and an entry from a visual dictionary also authored by Dr. David West Reynolds. Students also discuss “how the organization of the article on Industrial Light & Magic supports the purpose of the article.” On page 313, students respond to the following Text to Text Connection question: “In the article, Dr. Reynolds says that the goal of Industrial Light & Magic is ‘...to make the impossible, quite simply, come true.’ Given what you learned in the visual dictionary entry, would you say that goal was accomplished? How do special effects add to the moviegoer’s experience? Support your response with textual evidence.”  On page 322, students “select visuals to enhance a presentation and critically evaluate the effectiveness of your speech,” during the end-of-unit Speaking & Listening Workshop. These questions and tasks do not address the correlated standard.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2h. 

The Visual Planning Guide for each unit includes suggested pacing for each text, but there is no suggested timeline for the pacing of units nor for the curriculum as a whole over the course of the year. The suggested pacing for texts does not take into account the extension opportunities or end-of-unit Speaking & Listening, Writing, or Test Practice Workshops. While materials provide a large variety of optional tasks, the amount of material cannot reasonably be completed within the suggested amount of time and is not viable for a school year. Similarly, as teachers use the editable lesson plan templates in the Program Planning Guide Editable Lesson Plans resource, materials do not provide direction as to what the suggested optional tasks are, which should be used in conjunction with one another, or the pacing for the tasks. Although these resources are provided, the curriculum lacks clear directives to explain how to incorporate core instruction, found in the Teacher’s Edition, and ancillary resources. Furthermore, the curriculum fails to provide teacher guidance on when and how to incorporate reteaching and remediation within the provided pacing suggestions. The Program Planning Guide includes the Mirrors & Windows College & Career Readiness Curriculum Guide Level III (Grade 8), an alternative implementation schedule that focuses on selections and workshops necessary for students to “master critical skills that appear on state and national assessments.”

Materials do not regularly and systematically balance time and resources required for following the suggested implementation, as well as information for alternative implementations that maintain alignment and intent of the standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Suggested implementation schedules and alternative implementation schedules do not consistently align to core learning and objectives. 

  • In Unit 1, Finding Ourselves, students read the short story, “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. The text is an independent reading selection that does not include the scaffolds present in Guided Reading and Directed Reading selections; however, materials include teacher guidance for whole class instruction of this text. The Scope and Sequence Guide outlines the lesson components, including the Reading Skill: make predictions, the Literary Element: character, and the Mirrors & Windows theme: intelligence. Objectives include “read with developing fluency” and “read silently with comprehension for a sustained period of time.” Standards addressed during this lesson include RL.1, RL.3, RL.10, and SL.1. During reading, students largely respond to Analyze Literature questions addressing character, and a host of Use Reading Skills questions addressing strategies, such as ask questions, clarify, make predictions, make inferences, summarize, After reading, students respond to the Mirrors & Windows prompt addressing intelligence and three Text-Dependent Questions. Students may also complete two post-reading tasks: a Creative Writing option and a Critical Literacy option. Both options align to the standards addressed in this text.

  • In Unit 4, Expanding Horizons, students read the anchor text, “A Tale of Two Rocks” by Valerie Jablow. The Scope and Sequence Guide outlines the lesson components, including the Reading Skill: analyze main idea and supporting details, the Literary Element: informational text, and the Mirrors & Windows theme: science and beliefs. The text overview page sets a purpose for reading that focuses on using strategies such as context clues, vocabulary definitions, and footnotes to define unfamiliar terms and “make predictions regarding what ‘tale’ the two rocks suggested to the scientists; defines the term informational text, and provides a sample main idea map to gather details from the story. Objectives include, but are not limited to, “use reading skills such as analyzing the main idea and supporting details” and “describe the literary accomplishments of Valerie Jablow and explain why an author might choose a specific literary form.” The lesson plan is separated into Before Reading (Preview and Motivate), During Reading (Teach the Selection and Differentiate Instruction), and After Reading (Review, Teach the Workshops, and Extend and Assess) sections. Before reading, students read through the Text Overview page and respond to a Mirrors & Windows discussion prompt. During reading, students respond to four Use Reading Skills questions on analyzing main idea and supporting details and one Analyze Literature question on informational text. After reading, students respond to six Text-Dependent Questions and an Analyze Literature: Informational Text prompt in which they create a K-W-L chart “to analyze the information in ‘A Tale of Two Rocks’ and “write a brief analysis of the article.” While most of the four Extend Understanding task options connect to the text, the task options do not address the core learning objectives. 

• Suggested implementation schedules cannot be reasonably completed in the time allotted.

  • The Program Planning Guide notes the overabundance of material: “To help you meet the diverse needs of your students, the Mirrors & Windows program offers a wealth of material—much more than you can teach in one school year. As a result, one challenge you will face is identifying the resources that are best suited to your particular situation.” 

  • As an alternative to the Scope and Sequence Guide provided in each unit, materials include the Mirrors & Windows College & Career Readiness Curriculum Guide Level III (Grade 8): “The selections and workshops listed here represent the core course of study students need to master critical skills that appear on state and national assessments. To ensure standards coverage, students who are having difficulty may concentrate on only these selections and workshops. Students on and above grade level may read more selections.” When utilizing this abridged course of study, the teacher must still select which instructional activities to enact during each Program Planning Guide lesson plan.

  • The Program Planning Guide contains lesson plans for each text selection and the three End-of-Unit Workshops. Text selection lesson plans include the following sections: Before Reading, During Reading, and After Reading. In the Before Reading: Preview and Motivate section, teachers “[c]hoose from the following materials to preview the selection and motivate your students.” The During Reading section contains two sub-sections, Teach the Selection(s) and Differentiate Instruction. Teachers choose from a list of resources to teach the selection and consider “alternative teaching options to differentiate instruction.” The After Reading section contains two to three subsections: Review and Extend, Teach the Workshop(s), and Assess. Teachers select activities from a list of options and resources to extend learning and teach the Workshop included, where applicable. Teachers do not select from a list of options during the Assess subsection. The lesson plan does not provide guidance on how many minutes each option should take or how long the lesson should last. Pacing guidance is limited to the number of regular schedule or block schedule days the lesson should take. 

• Optional tasks distract from core learning. 

  • In Unit 5, Living with Words, students read and compare the lyric poem, “Legacies” by Nikki Giovanni to the lyric poem, “I Ask My Mother to Sing” by Li-Young Lee. During the Narrative Writing option, students “[w]rite a short personal narrative about a family member who has had an impact on your life.” During the Lifelong Learning: Research option, students “[u]se an encyclopedia or the Internet to locate information on one of the places mentioned in Li-Young Lee’s poem” and “give a brief informative speech about the location.” These tasks do not align to the Compare Literature: Diction and Tone focus for this paired selection.  

  • In Unit 8, Recalling Heroes, students read “Blackbeard’s Last Fight” by Richard Walser. The lesson plan for this text includes six additional After Reading task options, ranging from Selection Quizzes to group discussion questions to vocabulary and spelling practice exercises. The optional tasks focus on a multitude of items, such as homophones and homonyms, characterization, and textual evidence. Due to the limited teacher guidance on selecting activities, the volume of optional tasks distract from core learning.

• Some optional tasks are meaningful and enhance core instruction.

  •  In Unit 6, Reaching Out, students read “Southbound on the Freeway” by May Swenson. After reading, optional Extend Understanding tasks include writing a short story from the same perspective as the original poem, writing a literary response on how literary elements contribute to the effect of the poem, researching stars, and holding a debate with classmates about extraterrestrials. While the Narrative Writing and Informative Writing Extend Understanding task options connect to the text and align to grade-level standards, the Lifelong Learning: Research a Star and Critical Literacy: Debate task options do not.

  • In Unit 7, Meeting Dangers, students read the drama The Diary of Anne Frank Act I by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.  Students have the option to complete two extension activities: a Collaborative Learning task in which they draw a diagram of the set or construct a diorama of how they visualize the stage, or a Critical Literacy task in which they work with a small group to perform a scene from Act I. Although these Extend Understanding task options connect to the text, they do not align to the core learning objectives, and the Collaborative Learning option does not align to grade-level standards.