7th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1c.

Grade 7 texts quantitatively range between 550L–1520L for the year. Most texts that fall outside of the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band have qualitative measures that make them appropriately complex for the grade. The relationship of the quantitative and qualitative analyses to the associated reader task is not appropriately complex. Students often make graphic organizers to track the reading skill of focus, and their post-reading use of these charts varies. While some Extend Understanding tasks serve as associated reader tasks, these tasks are optional and may not occur during core instruction. Extend Understanding task options often do not connect to the graphic organizer students create at the start of their reading. Although materials include text complexity information for quantitative and qualitative measures, the documentation does not include a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level.

Core/Anchor texts do not have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to documented quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. Documentation does not include a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Anchor/Core texts do not have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task.

  • In Unit 2, Learning Values, students focus on fiction. Of the thirteen selections read in this unit, nine fall below the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band and two fall within the stretch band. The other two remaining texts do not have a Lexile level. Students read the short story, “Amigo Brothers” by Piri Thomas (890L). This Directed Reading text, which falls below the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band, serves as the anchor text for the unit and has a Reading Level of Moderate. Vocabulary is identified as a Difficulty Consideration and vivid description is listed as an Ease Factor. “To determine the overall message of the story,” students use a drawing conclusions log to “keep track of the characters’ motivations and actions as well as the key points in the plot.” Students use this log during the Informative Writing Extend Understanding option when writing a “four-paragraph informative essay that maintains the meaning and logical order of the selection;” however, this associated reader task is based on teacher selection and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, students focus on poetry. Of the fifteen selections read in this unit, thirteen do not have a Lexile level. One Informational Text Connection piece falls significantly above the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band, while the other falls slightly below the stretch band. The anchor text for this unit is the lyric poem, “Under the Apple Tree,” by Diana Rivera (NP). Students read this selection along with an Informational Text Connection piece, an excerpt from the essay, “The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan (1520L), a text that is significantly above the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band. The Reading Level for “Under the Apple Tree,” a Directed Reading text, is listed as Moderate with personification identified as a Difficulty Consideration and imagery listed as an Ease Factor. The Reading Level for “The Botany of Desire” is listed as Moderate; materials do not identify Difficulty Considerations or Ease Factors. Students use a chart to identify and analyze the effects of different levels of meaning created by the author’s use of images, metaphors, similes, and sound devices. Students demonstrate their understanding of poetic elements during the Creative Writing option in the Extend Understanding section. Materials direct students to “[w]rite a lyric poem describing a secret hideaway that you have or can imagine. Your poem does not have to rhyme, but it should contain poetic elements, such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, imagery, and figures of speech.” This associated reader task is based on teacher selection and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 8, Seeking Wisdom, students focus on poetry. Of the eighteen selections read in this unit, ten are below the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band, five are within it, and one is above the stretch band. The remaining two selections do not have a Lexile level. As the anchor text for the unit, students read “Tsali of the Cherokees,” an oral history by Norah Roper, as told to Alice Lee Marriott (820L). This text is paired with an Informational Text Connection selection, “Moving West: A Native American Perspective,” a magazine article by Christine Graf (930L). Both selections fall below the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band. The Reading Level for Marriott’s Directed Reading text is listed as Moderate with vocabulary identified as a Difficulty Consideration and sympathetic narrator and plot listed as Ease Factors. The Reading Level for Graf’s work is listed as Easy; materials do not identify Difficulty Considerations or Ease Factors. Students use a two-column chart to “identify the author’s purpose for recording and retelling this story.” After reading, students use their chart to assist them with thesis formation and support their literary analysis of Tsali’s character during the Informative Writing Extend Understanding option. This associated reader task is based on teacher selection and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

• Anchor/Core texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by an accurate text complexity analysis; however, the text complexity analysis does not include a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level.

  • The Text Overview page for each selection includes the following text complexity information: the gradual release of responsibility stage (i.e., Guided Reading: Close Reading Model, Directed Reading, Independent Reading), Reading Level and Lexile level, Difficulty Considerations, and Ease Factors. Materials do not explain the educational purpose of the text and the reason for its placement in the grade level.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1d.

While series of texts are largely at a variety of complexity levels, the complexity of anchor texts and supporting texts students read does not provide an opportunity for students’ literacy skills to grow across the year. Text overviews often include Use Reading Skills and Analyze Literature tasks that outline an area of focus and task students with creating a chart to analyze or evaluate the area of focus; however, students rarely use the chart they make to complete an associated reader task after reading the text. Extend Understanding tasks, while optional, often do not provide students with opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the focus area. When provided, associated reader tasks do not increase in complexity over the course of the year. While the program’s gradual release of responsibility reading model “emphasizes scaffolded instruction,” students often do not receive support as texts become more complex. Because the Lexile levels of text selections increase within most units, students receive the most support during Guided Reading at the beginning of the unit, when Lexile levels typically fall below the Lexile Stretch Band, and the least support during Independent Reading at the end of the unit, when Lexile levels are typically at the high end or above the Lexile Stretch Band.

Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band to support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• The complexity of anchor texts students read does not provide an opportunity for students’ literacy skills to increase across the year, encompassing an entire year’s worth of growth. 

  • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, texts range from 660L–1360L. During the Guided Reading: Close Reading Model section of the unit, students read “After Twenty Years” by O. Henry (810L) and analyze its plot. The quantitative measure places this text below the Grades 6– 8 Lexile Stretch Band. The Reading Level for this text is listed as Moderate, with vocabulary and irony identified as Difficulty Considerations, and plot twist identified as an Ease Factor. Guidance in the Analyze Literature section of the Text Overview page includes: “As you read ‘After Twenty Years,’ identify the conflict and make predictions about how the conflict will be resolved based on the text structure. While reading, ask yourself questions such as: Is there a strong central conflict? What do I think will happen to the characters at the end?” After reading, students “[u]se a plot diagram to identify the exposition, climax, and resolution” of the text, when responding to an Analyze Literature prompt. The associated reader task does not address its correlated standard: “Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).” Materials do not provide opportunities for students to address plot in the four Extend Understanding task options.

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, texts have a quantitative measure of NP because this unit focuses on drama. The one exception is an Informational Text Connection article with a Lexile level of 1160. During the Directed Reading section of the unit, students read the anchor text, A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley by Israel Horovitz (NP), and analyze the plot. The Reading Level for this text is listed as Challenging, with vocabulary and setting identified as Difficulty Considerations; and familiar, interesting story listed as an Ease Factor. The Analyze Literature section of the text overview page includes the following guidance: “As you read A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley, think about how these plot elements work together to create an interesting and suspenseful story.” During the post-reading Analyze Literature prompt, students are asked to create a plot diagram for the play, “noting the part or parts of the plot that appear in each scene. For each plot part you identify, write the scene number on your diagram; in addition, include a brief description of the action that occurred during that part of the plot. Add to the plot diagram as you read Act 2.” During the Collaborative Learning option in the Extend Understanding section, students work in small groups to “discuss why the story of A Christmas Carol has remained so popular for so many years.” Guidance directs students to “[c]onsider the main themes, the traits and flaws of the characters, and the conflicts that drive the characters and the plot.”

• As texts become more complex, some scaffolds and/or materials are provided in the Teacher Edition (i.e., spending more time on texts, more questions, repeated readings).

  • The front matter of the Teacher Edition explains the program’s gradual release of responsibility reading model: “Guided Reading at the beginning of the unit (Grades 6–10) provides the framework for the teacher to guide students through the reading process. Close Reading Models walk students through the selections and demonstrate how to analyze literature and apply reading skills and strategies to each genre.” Next, the gradual release reading model transitions students to Directed Reading. During this stage, “the teacher begins to transfer responsibility to the students. Students are directed through explicit pre- and post-reading instruction, but during-reading support is reduced to encourage students to practice reading skills and monitor comprehension on their own.” The reading model concludes with Independent Reading. This stage “advances the total release of responsibility from the teacher to the students, who can now apply the skills and knowledge required to read increasingly more difficult selections on their own.”

  • In Unit 4, Responding to Nature, students read the historical essay, “The Face of the Deep is Frozen,” by Jennifer Armstrong (1150L), along with the Literature Connection piece, “Fire and Ice,” a lyric poem by Robert Frost (NP).  during Directed Reading. The historical essay falls at the high end of the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band. This Directed Reading text has a Reading Level of Challenging, with concepts and vocabulary listed as Difficulty Considerations and gripping content listed as an Ease Factor. The Reading Level for Frost’s poem is listed as Moderate. Materials do not identify Difficulty Considerations or Ease Factors. Prior to reading the paired selection, students complete a cloze sentence activity during which they “[t]ry to determine the meaning of each [Preview Vocabulary] word using the context clues in the sentences.” With no additional explanation or guidance, it is unclear how the pre-reading activity provides instruction or supports students with accessing the text. The Preview Vocabulary terms are also defined on the Text Overview page and in the footnotes of the text. The Build Background section of the Text Overview page includes historical context information and the Teacher Wrap in the Teacher Edition includes a Geography Connection note, as well as a History Connection note on Antarctica to support students with accessing the text.  

  • In Unit 6, Searching Beneath the Surface, students read the anchor text, “Name Giveaway,” a lyric poem by Phil George (NP), along with the Primary Source Connection piece, an excerpt from the memoir, An Indian Boy’s Story by Ah-nen-la-de-ni (1510L). The memoir excerpt falls significantly above the Grades 6–8 Lexile Stretch Band. Materials identify the Reading Level of the Directed Reading anchor text as Easy with topic identified as a Difficulty Consideration and vocabulary listed as an Ease Factor. The Reading Level for the memoir excerpt is listed as Moderate. Materials do not identify Difficulty Considerations or Ease Factors. The Use Reading Skills inset explains the definition of a couplet and directs students to use “a two-column chart to note the idea or emotion expressed in each couplet.” Students also respond to one Analyze Literature prompt addressing lyric poetry. When reading the excerpt from An Indian Boy’s Story, the Teacher Wrap in the Teacher Edition includes a Cultural Connection note on lacrosse. Students respond to Analyze Literature prompts and questions addressing characterization. After reading both selections, students respond to an Analyze Literature prompt addressing lyric poetry.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1g.

Materials provide frequent speaking and listening opportunities for students, with some opportunities for teacher modeling of academic vocabulary and syntax; however, materials lack evidence of speaking and listening protocols. The activities engage students in the entire year’s scope of instructional materials ,such as Speaking and Listening, within the extended learning activities of Collaborative Learning, Critical Literacy, Lifelong Learning and Media Literacy. Throughout the year, students engage in a wide variety of speaking and listening tasks, such as Critical Thinking Discussions during reading and Extend Understanding options after reading. Extend Understanding tasks are optional and include Collaborative Learning, Critical Literacy, Lifelong Learning, and Media Literacy opportunities in which students may engage in small group discussions, paired discussions, and debates that are assessed using provided rubrics. At the end of each unit, students may participate in a Speaking and Listening Workshop. Although these workshops include directions for each step of the speaking and listening task, as well as a rubric to assess Content, Delivery and Presentation, and listening skills, the workshops do not include protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills.

Materials provide frequent opportunities for speaking and listening; however, speaking and listening opportunities do not include protocols. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials do not provide varied protocols to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials.

  • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, students read the short story, “After Twenty Years” by O. Henry.  After reading, students may participate in a Collaborative Learning or a Critical Literacy Extend Understanding task. During the Collaborative Learning option, students collaborate in small groups to investigate police work. During the Critical Literacy option, students “[w]ork with a partner to role-play a reporter interviewing the character ‘Silky’ Bob.” There is no evidence of a specific protocol used to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills during either task. 

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, students read the lyric poem, “Unfolding Bud,” by Naoshi Koriyama, paired with the lyric poem, “How to Eat a Poem” by Eve Merriam. During the Critical Literacy Extend Understanding option, students hold a panel discussion “to discuss the effectiveness of these two poems’ use of metaphor.” There is no evidence of a specific protocol used to support students’ developing speaking and listening skills.

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, students give and actively listen to persuasive presentations during the End-of-Unit Speaking & Listening Workshop. The Workshop includes directions to guide students through each step of the project: Planning a Narrative, Evaluating a Narrative Presentation, and Delivering a Narrative Presentation. Although materials include directions for students to complete this Workshop, there is no evidence of protocols for students to conduct the speaking and listening task and develop their speaking and listening skills.

• Teacher guidance includes modeling of academic vocabulary and syntax during speaking and listening opportunities.

  • In Unit 3, Experiencing the World, students read an excerpt from “Off the Court” by Arthur Ashe. During reading, the teacher notes “that all writing reflects its author’s perspective, or viewpoint” and that taking word choice into account can help students analyze this. The teacher models how to identify passages that reflect Ashe’s perspective: “In describing how he met Dr. Johnson, Ashe uses the first person, but chooses words that express only how he saw the event as a boy—at the time, he didn’t know why Johnson was there. This creates the sense that the adults in Ashe’s life made decisions that shaped his future.” The teacher then challenges students to identify other passages that reflect Ashe’s perspective.

  • In Unit 5, Expressing Yourself, students read the lyric poem, “Gold” by Pat Mora. The teacher models how to infer the main idea: “The image of golden sunlight evokes warmth and comfort, feelings I associate with home.” Students then respond to the following question: “What does the third stanza suggest about this poem’s main idea?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1h.

Speaking and listening opportunities include teacher guidance for facilitating activities; however, materials do not include teacher guidance for monitoring student discussions. Occasionally, speaking and listening guidance includes possible questions the teacher may model for students; however, materials do not include instructional support, such as prompts or sentence starters, to serve as entry points for students who may have difficulty starting or engaging in conversations.

Materials include ample speaking and listening opportunities. Teaching Notes often require students to generate questions to ask the author. Students also engage in discussions as they perform close reads of texts and respond to Analyze Literature prompts. Where appropriate, texts also include Speaking & Listening Skills activities for students to complete during close reads; however, the Close Read section may not occur during core instruction, as it is listed as one of many options from which the teacher may choose to enact. At the launch of each lesson, materials frame the Mirrors & Windows question that students will discuss at the end of each text. Each text also includes opportunities for students to make text-to-self connections as they reflect on and discuss Make Connections questions. Paired selections include a Text to Text Connection prompt for students to discuss. At times, the Extend Understanding section includes speaking and listening task options; however, because implementing these activities is left to teacher choice, these activities may not occur during core instruction. While materials also include a Speaking & Listening Workshop at the end of each unit, these workshops are not part of core instruction.

Materials support students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities); however, materials lack relevant follow-up questions and support. Because there is no core instructional path, students may not have access to all of the opportunities provided in the materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Speaking and listening instruction includes some facilitation, monitoring, and instructional support for teachers.

  • In Unit 2, Learning Values, students read “Amigo Brothers” by Piri Thomas. The teacher separates the class into six groups and breaks the fight scene of the text into six parts. The teacher assigns each group a section of the text and students prepare dramatic readings of the scene. The teacher has “students practice reading with emotion, varying volume and pace, emphasizing certain words and phrases, and using appropriate gestures and facial expressions.” After practicing, student groups present their scenes in order of appearance in the text. Materials do not include teacher guidance on monitoring student discussions or instructional support for students who may be having difficulty starting or engaging in conversations. Additionally, this Speaking & Listening Skills activity may not occur during core instruction, as it is a supplemental activity embedded within the Close Read portion of the materials. 

  • In Unit 4, Responding to Nature, the teacher “set[s] up a round-robin process so that students can practice reading and responding to [‘Fire and Ice’ by Robert Frost] with several different classmates.” While working in pairs, one student reads the poem aloud and the other student comments on the poem’s meaning. Afterwards, students repeat this process, as one member from each pair moves to the group immediately to the right. Materials do not include teacher guidance on monitoring student discussions or instructional support for students who may be having difficulty starting or engaging in conversations. Additionally, this Speaking & Listening Skills activity may not occur during core instruction, as it is a supplemental activity embedded within the Close Read portion of the materials.

  • In Unit 6, Searching Beyond the Surface, as teachers Launch the Unit, they instruct small groups to experiment with concrete and abstract concepts by generating questions that relate to the unit theme. Teachers model concrete and abstract concepts by asking questions such as:  “What does the red rose mean as a symbol? and “What does it mean to have someone change your name for you?” Materials do not include teacher guidance on monitoring student discussions or instructional support for students who may be having difficulty starting or engaging in conversations.

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, while reading Act II of A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley by Israel Horovitz, students “work in pairs to improvise a conversation between two characters.”  The teacher encourages students to “be creative and think beyond the action of the play so that they are not simply reworking existing play dialogue.” The teacher provides students with four listening skills to apply during their improvisation work. Materials do not include teacher guidance on monitoring student discussions or instructional support for students who may be having difficulty starting or engaging in conversations. Additionally, this Speaking & Listening Skills activity may not occur during core instruction, as it is a supplemental activity embedded within the Close Read portion of the materials.

• Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading through varied speaking and listening opportunities.

  • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, students examine characterization during a close read of “The Inn of Lost Time” by Lensey Namioka. The teacher asks students to describe how Namioka conveys Zenta’s and Matsuzo’s character traits and models a possible response. 

  • In Unit 4, Responding to Nature, students read a historical essay, “ The Face of the Deep is Frozen,” by Jennifer Armstrong. As students Close Read, teachers instruct students to Make Connections. Teachers “Invite students to think of a time when they were worried about something that might happen in nature, such as a bad storm that might knock out electric power or a rainstorm when they were camping.” Teachers ask students a series of questions, “How did they prepare themselves? How did the event turn out.?” before having them share their experiences in small groups.”

  • In Unit 6, Searching Beneath the Surface, students read  the lyric poem ,“Loo Wit,” by Wendy Rose.  After reading, students write a literary analysis of the author’s use of personification.  In pairs, they exchange their responses and discuss their reactions. 

  • In Unit 8, Seeking Wisdom, students read “The Secret Name of Ra,” an Egyptian myth retold by Geraldine Harris and explore the theme of trickery. After reading the text, students discuss their responses to the following Mirrors & Windows prompt: “Think of a time you tricked someone in order to get something you wanted very badly. How did you justify your actions to yourself or others? Is there ever a time when it is acceptable to trick others?”  

• Speaking and listening work requires students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources.

  • In Unit 3, students read a paired selection containing an excerpt from the autobiography ``Off the Court'', and the editorial “A Black Athlete Looks at Education”, both by Arthur Ashe. During the Critical Literacy activity in the Extend Understanding section, students consider the racial and social barriers that many famous minority athletes have broken and research information on one or two male or female minority athletes using a set of self-generated questions they would like to ask the athlete(s). Students “[r]eport [their] findings in a question-and-answer format and post [their] work on the class bulletin board.”  The Extend Understanding section of the materials includes options from which the teacher selects; as a result, all students may not engage in this activity.

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, students read “Father William” by Lewis Carroll. After reading, students work with a partner to “list examples of hyperbole” in the text. Students answer the questions: “What purpose does hyperbole serve in this poem? And How does hyperbole contribute to the tone?” Then, students share their list and answers with another group.

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, students read a paired selection containing St.Crispin’s Day Speech, a dramatic monologue from the play Henry V by William Shakespeare, and “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” a narrative poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. During the Lifelong Learning Extend Understanding activity, students ``[u]use the library to research the plot, characters, and notable scenes from Henry V'' to learn more about the play and understand the context of St.Crispin’s Day Speech.” Students present their findings as an oral report. The Extend Understanding section of the materials includes options from which the teacher selects; as a result, all students may not engage in this activity.

The materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1i.

Materials include on-demand writing tasks during differentiated reading lessons, extension lessons, and writing skills. On-demand writing opportunities also occur in the Extend Understanding section at the end of each text or paired selection. The Extend Understanding section includes two writing options—a creative option and/or an informative, descriptive, or argumentative option. Although the Program Planning Guide includes lesson plans for each text, materials state that  the teacher must “[identify] the resources that are best suited to your particular situation.” The Lesson Plan directs teachers to “[c]hoose from the following materials” or “[c]hoose from the following resources.” As a result, there is no explicit core instructional path. Materials embed additional writing practice in the margins of the Teach the Model section of texts within each unit and there is also a wealth of ancillary materials, such as Writing and Grammar and Language Arts Handbook, to support core writing instruction. Materials utilize digital resources, such as an eBook and eReaders, where appropriate. 

Materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing that covers a year’s worth of instruction; however, since there is no explicit core path, students may not have access to every opportunity provided in the materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Materials include on-demand writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction.

  • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, students read the short story, “The Portrait,”  by Tomas Rivera. In the Extend Understanding section at the end of the text, students “[w]rite a news report for a local radio station about the incidents described in the story.” Directions for the prompt remind students to begin their news report with “an attention-grabbing first line” and “to answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why and how” during their report. Students present their work to the class. Although this writing opportunity occurs at the end of the text selection, the activity may not occur during core instruction, as it is one of four activities from which the teacher may choose.  

  • In Unit 4, Responding to Nature, students participate in an on-demand timed writing assessment in the Test Practice Workshop at the end of the unit. Students write a descriptive essay using descriptive and sensory language, as well as analogies describing the negative effects humans have on nature. The Assess section of the Lesson Plan does not list the Test Practice Workshop as an option for this text; as a result, this activity may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, students read “A Defenseless Creature” by Neil Simon. While reading, students create a chart and record the key details of the story. After reading, students use their chart to write a summary of the text

• Materials include process writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. Opportunities for students to revise and edit are provided.

  • In Unit 2, Learning Values, students complete a narrative writing workshop to compose a short story. Students follow the five-step writing process which includes prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and proofreading their short stories to publish and present their work. Students may exchange their work with peers or they may use the provided Revising Checklist as a guide when evaluating the dialogue and point of view in their short story. Students continue this focus, as they edit their work to ensure they have maintained a consistent point of view and punctuated dialogue correctly. Once students proofread their work for mechanical errors, they present and publish a final draft of their short story to the class. 

  • In Unit 3, Experiencing the World, students complete a Writing Workshop where they write a cause-and-effect essay. Students transition through each step of the writing process. During Steps three and four, students revise and edit their essay. Students review their own writing, identifying strengths and weaknesses, before exchanging papers with a peer to discuss ways to improve their work. Students then edit their work, focusing on avoiding wordiness and checking their usage of commonly confused words, such as “their, there, they’re, and excepted and accepted.” Students find and fix punctuation, grammar, capitalization, and spelling errors before publishing and presenting their final draft. 

  • In Unit 6, Searching Beneath the Surface, students write a personal narrative during the Writing Workshop at the end of the unit. After choosing a topic and gathering details, students determine their purpose for writing. During the Draft phase, students select an organizational pattern for their narrative, focus on writing good first lines to grab readers’ attention, and add details, examples, or transitions to improve their writing. Students use a Revising Checklist to self-evaluate their work and also exchange their draft with a peer for feedback. During the Edit and Proofread stage, students focus on figurative language, apostrophe usage, and quality control. Students publish and present their final draft to the class. 

• Materials include digital resources where appropriate. 

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, students have the option to use an eBook as they read through the texts. Within the eBook is an option to complete on-demand writing responses within the eWorkbooks. 

  • In Unit 6, Encountering Nature, students read “in Just,” a lyric poem by  E.E.Cummings. Students engage in digital resources within the passport tools found in the audio and media libraries in the Multiplatform Student ebook. Students use a  digital interactive graphic organizer during reading to monitor comprehension.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1j.

Materials provide some opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply different writing modes during on-demand, and longer process writing tasks across the school year. End-of-Unit Writing Workshops are the sole source of explicit argumentative, informative, and narrative writing instruction and process writing tasks. Materials include writing practice opportunities during the embedded Writing Skills lessons found within each unit; however, these lessons are a part of the Close Read lesson, one of the activities from which teachers may select. As a result, these lessons may not occur during core instruction. Materials include some on-demand writing opportunities during select after-reading Analyze Literature and Extend Understanding tasks; however, there are four Extend Understanding tasks from which the teacher may choose. As a result, writing tasks may not occur during core instruction. Although Test Practice Workshops also serve as on-demand writing opportunities, these Workshops are not a part of core instruction.

Materials provide some opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:  

• Materials provide some opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes/types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. 

  • 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.

    • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, students learn how to respond to a short story during the End-of-Unit informative Writing Workshop. Explicit instruction supports students by ensuring their essays include a “compelling introduction,” a “clear organization pattern,” “textual evidence” that supports the main ideas, “varied sentences,” and a “conclusion that sums up” the response. Materials provide three more opportunities for students to learn, practice, and apply informative writing—when crafting a cause-and-effect essay during the Unit 3 Writing Workshop, when writing a compare-and-contrast essay during the Unit 5 Writing Workshop, and when writing a research report during the Unit 8 Writing Workshop. 

    • In Unit 2, Learning Values, students learn how to write a short story during the narrative Writing Workshop at the end of the unit. During the Prewrite stage, students choose their topic using the who, when, where, what, and how method and “concentrate on the details of the characters, setting, and plot.” Students use chronological order to organize their narratives and pay close attention to the tone of their writing. When evaluating their drafts, students use a Revising Checklist, examining elements such as well-developed characters, a descriptive setting, a logically organized story, natural and effective dialogue, and a consistent point of view. As students transition to the Edit and Proofread stage, they focus on maintaining a consistent point of view and punctuating dialogue. Students submit a clean version of their final draft during the Publish and Present stage. Materials provide one more opportunity for students to learn, practice, and apply narrative writing—when composing a personal narrative during the Unit 6 Writing Workshop. 

    • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, students learn how to write an argumentative essay during the End-of-Unit argumentative Writing Workshop. Explicit instruction includes “[reinforcing] the point that gathering information will help students anticipate counterarguments,” as the teacher supports students with choosing their topic and determining their thesis statement. Students learn about three types of organizational patterns, as well as how to address counterarguments. Students use a provided Revising Checklist to evaluate their drafts, ensuring their work has an introduction that captures the reader’s attention, a thesis that presents their argument, a clear organizational pattern, and evidence to support their thesis. Students focus on parallel structure and comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs as they edit and proofread their work. Students submit their final draft to the teacher. Although materials do not provide any other opportunities for students to learn and apply argumentative writing, students do have opportunities to practice argumentative writing during optional activities, such as on-demand Extend Understanding writing tasks and End-of-Unit Test Practice Workshops.   

• Different genres/modes/types of writing are distributed throughout the school year; however, there is no core instructional path. Writing opportunities may not occur during core instruction. 

  • Students have opportunities to engage in argumentative writing. 

    • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, students read “A Day’s Wait,” a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Afterwards, students may “[w]rite an editorial for your local newspaper stating why all schools and industries in the United States should use metric measurements instead of the measurement system currently used in the United States.” This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

    • In Unit 4, Responding to Nature, after reading an entry from The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley, students write a one- or two-paragraph book review about the text, citing the text’s purpose, naming its strengths and weaknesses, and stating whether or not the bookstore should carry it. This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction. 

    • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, after reading Act 1 of A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley, a drama by Israel Horovitz, students write a review of the act in which they “[provide] a brief summary of the story and characters,” use evidence from the play to “evaluate the setting, characterization, mood, dialogue, and stage directions,” and give their opinion of the play, “telling why you think the drama club should or should not put on this play for the school.”  This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction. 

• Students have opportunities to engage in informative/explanatory writing. 

  • In Unit 2, Learning Values, after reading “The Scholarship Jacket,” a short story by Marta Salinas, students create a theme map, and materials state to use this map  “to draft an informative paragraph in which you explain the story’s theme.” Students use textual evidence to support their explanation. This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction..

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, students read two poems, “Song” by Robert Browning, and “The Gardener” (LXXXV) by Rabindranath Tagore, and write an informative essay during the Test Practice Workshop. The assignment directions are as follows: “Write an informative essay in which you compare and contrast the poems. Use transitions that signal the organization of your essay. Include evidence from the poems to support your thesis.” This timed writing task is optional and may not occur during core instruction. 

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, students read a paired selection containing St. Crispin's Day Speech, a dramatic monologue by William Shakespeare, and “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” a narrative poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Afterwards, students use examples from both texts to write an informative paragraph in which they compare and contrast the speakers of both texts, “[discussing] similarities and differences in the speakers’ tone and purposes.” This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result,may not occur during core instruction.

•  Students have opportunities to engage in narrative writing. 

  • In Unit 2, Learning Values, students read “Hollywood and the Pits,” a short story by Cherylene Lee. After reading, students imagine they are creating a time capsule and think about the objects they would include. Students then are asked to “[w]rite a journal entry in which you describe these things and your reasons for including them.” This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, after reading “Blackberry Eating,” a lyric poem by Galway Kinnell, students are asked to  “think of a pleasurable experience you have had in nature” and “create a list of all of the most important details from this experience.” Students are directed to use this list to “write a narrative essay that describes your experience.” This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 8, Seeking Wisdom, students read “Persephone and Demeter,” a Greek myth retold by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire. Afterwards, students imagine that they are a storyteller and “[w]rite a retelling of the myth using modern characterizations, language, and imagery.” Students also “[a]dd dialogue to develop the characters” and recite their completed myth to the class. This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

• Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports).

  • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, students read the short story, “The Inn of Lost Time,” by Lensey Namioka. To practice using sensory details, students “write a letter of complaint to the hotel’s management describing the bad experience and requesting a refund.” Students must use “sensory details to make the description vivid and realistic.” This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 8, Seeking Wisdom, students read the Greek myth, “Persephone and Demeter,” retold by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire. Students take on the role of Demeter and “write a short persuasive speech to deliver to Zeus.” Students must begin their argument with a statement of position and include “three or more reasons supporting that position.” This Extend Understanding task is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1k. 

Materials provide practice and application opportunities for evidence-based writing but lack explicit evidence-based writing instruction with the exception of some Writing Workshop tasks. The Making Meaning, Analyze Literature, and After Reading sections provide students with some opportunities to carefully analyze closely read texts. Materials include End-of-Unit Writing Workshops and Test Practice pieces that sometimes require students to support their analyses and defend their claims, but these opportunities do not occur consistently. Throughout daily material, students do not engage in evidence-based writing. Students work on activities such as sensory descriptions or continuity in point-of-view, but these exercises do not require students to cite evidence from texts they read nor are they required core instructional activities. Students may complete a timed writing task, during which they read a short selection and then write in response to a prompt that requires them to utilize evidence from the text. While materials provide opportunities such as timed writing tasks and Test Practice Workshops, these are not required activities within the curriculum as noted in the Program Planning Guide: “To help you meet the diverse needs of your students, the Mirrors & Windows program offers a wealth of materials-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.” The Lesson Plan directs teachers to “[c]hoose from the following materials” or “[c]hoose from the following resources.” As a result, there is no explicit core instructional path.

Materials include opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information; however, since there is no core instructional path, students may not have access to all of the opportunities provided in the materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide limited opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence.

  • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, during the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop, students learn how to write a response to literature. As students respond to a short story, they gather details using a cluster chart, decide their thesis by asking themselves questions, and emphasize their strongest points by organizing them by order of importance. Teacher guidance lists cause and effect, chronological, and compare and contrast as other organizational options for student consideration; however, materials do not provide explicit instruction on how to use these options during the writing task.  

  • In Unit 2, Learning Values, students work on determining the author’s perspective during the Reading Skills section of Gary Soto’s short story ,“Seventh Grade.” Materials do not include explicit instruction on this skill and the lesson plan lists the Close Read portion of the lesson as a resource from which teachers may select during reading. The teacher points out that students “can use what characters say, do, and think in a story to figure out the author’s perspective, or viewpoint, on different subjects.” Guidance encourages students to create a column for each of the four main characters so students can record “(1) What he/she says, (2) what he/she does, and (3) what he/she thinks.” Students use the notes from their charts to “infer Soto’s perspective on subjects such as school, adolescence, friendship, and boy-girl relationships.”  

  • In Unit 3, Experiencing the World, students learn how to write a cause-and-effect essay during the end-of-unit Writing Workshop. During the Prewrite stage, students gather “details, facts, and examples that will illustrate [their] cause-and-effect relationship” after narrowing down their topic of interest. Materials include a model cause-and-effect chart to support students’ work. During the Draft phase, students learn various ways to organize their essays and create a plan for drafting their essay using their cause-and-effect chart. As students revise their work, materials include a review activity on facts, details, and examples. Students use a Revising Checklist to evaluate whether the relationship between causes and effects is explained and supported. While this Workshop includes practice, it does not include explicit instruction on standards-aligned, evidence-based writing. 

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, during the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop, students learn how to write a compare and contrast essay, during which they compare two things from nature after reading two translations of “haiku'' by Matsuo Bash-o, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. During the Prewrite stage, students learn how to choose their topic. Guidance focuses on choosing “two subjects that are similar enough to make a fair comparison” while also being mindful to “choose subjects that are different enough to make an interesting comparison.” Materials use the analogies ``Apples and oranges'' and “Peas in a pod?” to illustrate how students should choose their topic. The Strategy section of this writing task requires students to “[p]resent evidence for this point by organizing details about my two subjects that clearly show how they are alike and different.” While this Workshop includes practice, it does not include explicit instruction on standards-aligned, evidence-based writing.

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, students complete a practice activity on summarizing during the Writing Skills section of “A Defenseless Creature” by Neil Simon, based on a story by Anton Chekhov. Materials do not include explicit instruction on writing summaries and the lesson plan lists the Close Read portion of the lesson as a resource from which teachers may select during reading. The teacher points out traits of good summaries, such as how a good summary “tells the main ideas and events of a story in much shorter form than the original and in different words” and “does not contain minor details or ideas that are unrelated to the outcome of the plot.” Students then create an outline or fill out a chart to track key events of the text as they read. Materials include a model chart. Students use their notes to write a summary. 

• Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with texts and sources to provide supporting evidence.

  • In Unit 3, Experiencing the World, students read “Writings by Queen Elizabeth I” from Queen Elizabeth’s speech to her last Parliament . In the Analyze Literature: Biography section, students determine “the biographer’s overall opinion of Elizabeth. Do you think he admires her? What evidence from the story supports your answer?” Students then create a web and record words and phrases that indicate whether or not Meltzer admires Elizabeth. Students also create a separate list to record facts from the text that contradict the biographer’s opinion. 

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, students read a paired selection, the dramatic monologue, St. Crispin's Day Speech, by William Shakespeare and the narrative poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Students write an informative paragraph comparing and contrasting the speakers of the two texts. Students must provide evidence from the text to support their responses. Students continue to apply this evidence-based writing skill during the end-of-unit Writing Workshop, during which students write an argumentative essay that requires the use of “evidence, such as reasons, facts, and examples.” 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1l.

Materials include limited explicit instruction of grade-level grammar and usage. Materials miss opportunities to address many standards or address standards that are included in a subsequent grade level. There are limited opportunities for students to apply grammar and usage standards in context, such as student writing. Practice opportunities are oftentimes absent in the grade under review, but are sometimes provided in subsequent grades.

Materials include limited explicit instruction of the grade-level grammar and usage standards, with opportunities for authentic application in context. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Students have opportunities to explain the function of phrases and clauses in general and their function in specific sentences.

  • In Unit 2, Learning Values, students receive instruction on independent and dependent clauses during a Grammar & Style lesson. Students also learn how to identify adverbial and adjectival clauses. Students practice sentences identifying independent and dependent clauses. Although students receive explicit instruction, there is not an opportunity for application of the skill in context. Grammar & Style lessons are listed as an option from which teachers select in the Teach the Workshop(s) section of the Lesson Plan. As a result, this lesson may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 3, Experiencing the World, students read an excerpt from the memoir, An American Childhood by Annie Dillard. Students receive explicit instruction on prepositional and participial phrases. Students practice the skill by identifying the phrase in sentences within the text and describing the type of phrase. Students apply this skill during the Writing Workshop, as they use signal words and phrases, including some prepositional words and phrases, while writing a cause-and-effect essay. 

• Students have opportunities to choose among simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal differing relationships among ideas.

  • In Unit 6, Searching Beneath the Surface, during the Grammar & Style lesson, students receive instruction on simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. After learning the definitions of each, students edit a set of sentences by rewriting each sentence, adding an independent or dependent clause, and classifying the sentence by type. Although students receive explicit instruction, there is not an opportunity for application of the skill in context. Grammar & Style lessons are listed as an option from which teachers select in the Teach the Workshop(s) section of the Lesson Plan. As a result, this lesson may not occur during core instruction.

• Students have opportunities to place phrases and clauses within a sentence, recognizing and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers. 

  • In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, students read the drama, A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley, by Israel Horovitz. Students receive explicit instruction on misplaced modifiers during a mini-lesson. Students practice the skill by identifying and correcting misplaced modifiers in sentences. 

• Students have opportunities to use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g, It was a fascinating, enjoyable movie but not He wore an old [,] green shirt). 

  • No evidence found

• Students have opportunities to spell correctly. 

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, students compose a compare-and-contrast essay during the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop. In the Edit and Proofread stage, students “correct errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.” 

• Students have opportunities to choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy. 

  • In Unit 3, Experiencing the World, students craft a cause-and-effect essay during the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop. During the Revise stage, students read a paragraph of their essay aloud while their partner offers feedback on wordy and repetitive sentence structures. Afterwards, students revise their sentences to make them more concise. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 1m.

Although the Teacher Edition outlines the program’s vocabulary components, neither the Teacher Edition nor the Program Guide outline the program’s plan for vocabulary development or provide teacher guidance to support students’ vocabulary development. At the start of each unit, materials include a Building Vocabulary list, which contains the following categories of vocabulary terms: Preview Vocabulary, Selection Words, Academic Vocabulary, and Key Terms. Words listed as Preview Vocabulary are taken from sentences within selections and are defined in the side margin or at the bottom of the pages where they appear. Words listed as Selection Words are additional words from the reading that may be challenging, but are not central to the selection. These are Tier One words that can easily be understood by using context clues. Words listed as Academic Vocabulary are words that are used in the directions about the lessons. These are Tier Two words that explain what students should focus on, help establish context, clarify meaning of literary terms, and define goals or instructional purpose. Words that are listed as Key Terms are domain-specific Tier Three words. The repetition of these words throughout the program helps to ensure student mastery. While vocabulary words repeat in contexts and across texts, materials miss opportunities to build students’ vocabulary development of Tier One and Tier Two words.

Materials include a cohesive year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials include opportunities for students to interact with key academic vocabulary words in and across texts; however, the year-long vocabulary plan lacks cohesion.

  • The Teacher Edition outlines the Integrated Literacy and Language Resources provided: “Vocabulary & Spelling: Comprehensive developmental Vocabulary and Spelling lessons build word study skills. In-depth instruction is modeled using words from the selections in each unit.” The Teacher Edition also includes specific explanations of the Vocabulary & Spelling Workshop: “Word Knowledge: Concise vocabulary and spelling lessons are integrated with two of the literature selections in each unit. The lessons incorporate vocabulary words from the preceding selection. Each lesson contains instruction, followed by practice exercises.” While materials provide explanations of the program’s vocabulary development component, materials do not include teacher guidance for enacting students’ vocabulary development.  

• Vocabulary is repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts) and across multiple texts; however, it is unclear how materials build students’ vocabulary development of Tier One and Tier Two words during core instruction.

  • In Unit 1, Meeting the Unexpected, students read the short story ,“The 11:59,” by Patricia McKissack. It is paired with the essay, “A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter,'' by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. The Narrative Writing rubric for the two post-reading Writing Options includes the Tier II word anecdote: “Does the paragraph contain an example of anecdote?” In Unit 3, Experiencing the World, students read “The Night the Bed Fell” by James Thurbur. The word anecdote occurs during a Writing Skills task: “Ask students to keep a journal for a week in which they record personal anecdotes…. At the end of the week, have them choose one anecdote and flesh it out into a brief personal essay.” Materials do not identify or define anecdote in either occurrence. 

  • In Unit 3, Experiencing the World, students read the personal essay, “Names/Nombres,” by Julia Alvarez. Materials use the Tier III vocabulary word pronoun in the Analyze Literature section of the text overview page: “Personal essays are written from the first-person point of view, using pronouns such as I and we.”  In Unit 7, Facing Challenges, a Grammar and Style Workshop uses the word pronoun when addressing infinitives: “Don’t confuse infinitives with prepositional phrases beginning with to. In a prepositional phrase, to is followed by a noun, pronoun, or article rather than a verb.” . 

• Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to high-value academic words (e.g., words that might appear in other contexts/content areas).

  • At the start of each unit, materials contain a Building Vocabulary page: “The lists below identify the Words in use, Academic Vocabulary, and Key Terms within this unit. These words are listed at the bottom of the Teacher’s Edition pages at the beginning of each lesson. Vocabulary development activities are provided in the Unit Selection Resources unit book and in the Vocabulary & Spelling resource.” Materials do not include teacher guidance on how to use the Building Vocabulary words to build students’ vocabulary development. Words from the Building Vocabulary list are not consistently addressed in the embedded Vocabulary & Spelling Workshop.

  • The Building Vocabulary page contains the following word categories: 

    • Preview Vocabulary: “words taken from the sentences within each selection. These words are defined in the side margin or at the bottom of the pages on which they appear. The ‘Preview Vocabulary’ section introduces these words in the Before Reading page preceding each selection (Tier One Words).”

    • Selection Words: “additional words from the reading that may be challenging, but are not central to the selection and are not identified in the pre reading section. These words can easily be learned using the story context, and they provide excellent practice for using content clues to find meaning without explicit instruction (Tier One Words).” 

    • Academic Vocabulary: “words that are used in the directions about the lessons. Academic vocabulary words explain to students what to focus on within the selection, help establish the story context, clarify the meaning of literary terms, and define the goals or instructional purpose (Tier Two Words).”

    • Key Terms: “commonly referred to as domain-specific words. These terms appear in the instructional material to teach the terminology that students need to acquire to understand literature. The repetition of the terms throughout the program ensures student mastery and provides a solid foundation for the continuing study of literature and language arts (Tier Three Words).” 

• Materials provide limited support for students to accelerate vocabulary learning with vocabulary in their reading, speaking, and writing tasks.

  • In Unit 2, Learning Values, students use context clues to determine the meaning of vocabulary while reading “The Smallest Dragonboy” by Anne McCaffrey. Before the story, students learn the description of a dragonrider. Then, students “determine the meaning of dragonboy” by utilizing the initial definition. Students “use descriptions and examples to figure out the meaning of…” words such as impress/impression, backwinging, and glows.

  • In Unit 5, Appreciating Life, students read “The Village Blacksmith” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. During a Writing Skills activity, students define the word alliteration and identify the word in the poem. Students then make up their own sentences using alliteration and share them aloud to the class.

  • In Unit 8, Seeking Wisdom, students learn about denotation and connotation while reading “Tsali of the Cherokees” by Alice Lee Marriott. The teacher models examples of denotation and connotation and explains that “authors may use connotations to convey a character’s attitude, to suggest motivations, and to influence the reader’s thinking.” The teacher asks students why the author chose a specific word and “How do the connotations affect your perceptions of the missionary and his motivations?”