11th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

While there are targeted questions and series of questions for students that promote students’ ability to draw conclusions and cite textual evidence, determine theme, and analyze point of view, they do not promote students' building knowledge of the content and texts. There are few questions that support students in analyzing author’s language and word choice. The questions that do focus on language and structure do not support students to analyze its effect on the text.

In some selections, there is attention paid to vocabulary as well as content, craft, and style. For example, in Unit 1, Within the Meeting the Standards text, students are presented with different levels of activities. Students read the poem, “Huswifery,” by Edward Taylor and complete the activity: Analyze Literature: Poetry Analysis. Teachers are instructed to “use this chart, in combination with the results of the Formative Survey from the Assessment supplemental guide, to identify activities that are appropriate for [said] students.” The Analyze Literature: Poetry Analysis of “Huswifery” includes questions, such as the following:

• “In literature, a conceit is an extended comparison of two extremely dissimilar things. Could the figure of speech in ‘Huswifery’ be considered a conceit? Explain.

• To what extent does the speaker accept responsibility for his behavior as opposed to giving all responsibility to God? Explain, giving examples from the poem.

• In your opinion, would this poem have been an appropriate addition to The New England Primer? Explain.”

There are numerous questions within this assignment that support students in making meaning and building understanding of the poem and topic within the poem, encourage students to draw conclusions, articulate evidence-based opinions, and, overall, develop analysis skills.

In Unit 2, students read “The Devil and Tom Walker,” a short story by Washington Irving. In After Reading Reason with Text, question 1b asks students to find meaning to understand: “When the devil says he has a ‘prior claim’ on the woodland what does he mean?” Question 4b asks students to evaluate by making judgements: “Irving calls Tom’s wife a ‘female scold.’ Evaluate the role she plays in the story.” The informative writing task asks students to “Briefly research the story of Faust, in the play mentioned in the Build Background section. Then in a comparison-and-contrast essay, discuss how ‘The Devil and Tom Walker’ is similar to and different from the play. Include examples from the play and the story to support your comparison.”

In other selections, the teacher may need to support students with extended work to assure they have opportunities to grow vocabulary and knowledge since the questions and sequences ask students to engage at a surface level as opposed to a deeper level. For example, in Unit 4, students read, “How to Tell a Story” by Mark Twain and answer the following review questions: “List three types of funny stories Twain describes. What is the basis of American art according to Twain?” The Text to Text Connection has students “make two columns on a sheet of paper, list the characteristics of the humorous story. In the other column, list the characteristics of the comic story and witty story. What are the differences between the two?”

In Unit 7, students read Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. Once complete, they read an excerpt from “Why I Wrote The Crucible,” by Arthur Miller. Within the Review Questions section at the close of “Why I Wrote The Crucible,” students are presented with questions. The teacher may need to provide extensions to assure students have a fully rich close-reading experience to understand the craft and style beyond a surface level that the following questions employ:

• “Approximately how much time had passed between the production of the stage version of The Crucible and the film version? Identify the “biting irony” of the movie being made by a Hollywood Studio.

• What does Miller mean when he asserts that ‘fear doesn’t travel well’? Analyze the reason why The Crucible still has meaning for people even decades after the McCarthy Era.

• Identify what Miller states is the main threat to a totalitarian or theocratic regime. Explain why this play seems popular in places where political turmoil is present.”

In Unit 8, students read “On The Rockpile” by James Baldwin. After Reading, Reason with Text, question 3b asks students to analyze and take apart the question, “Identify the more serious family problem that Roy’s accident reveals.” Question 5b asks students to create and bring ideas together when answering the question, “Propose what the two objects symbolize. Why does Elizabeth ask John to pick up one of the items?” These questions do provide some access to reading the text closely; however, they do not provide deeper knowledge building nor academic vocabulary practice.

In Unit 9, students read two poems,”Though We May Feel Alone” and “Dream,” and an essay, “My Mother’s Blue Bowl,” all written by Alice Walker. Once students read the texts, they complete the After Reading, Refer to Text and Reason with Text section. For example, question 5a in the Refer to Text section asks, “In ‘My Mother’s Blue Bowl,’ how did Walker feel as a child about her family’s first house on the farm, both inside and outside?” Also, 5b in the Reason with Text section asks, “Explain how Walker’s mother taught her children the value of having beauty and creativity despite being poor.” These questions provide some opportunity for students to engage with the text; however, the teacher will need to supplement the questions and tasks to assure students analyze the craft, structure, and vocabulary beyond a surface read.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

In the curriculum, students are presented with text-dependent and text-specific questions; however, the questions do not require students to build knowledge across the text. S Included are some text-dependent questions for each selection in the form of During Reading questions and After Reading questions. The During Reading questions require only a surface amount of knowledge to complete. The After Reading questions are broken into Refer to Text and Reason with Text questions. The Refer to Text questions require surface knowledge of the text. The Reason with the Text questions are designed to increase in complexity from understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating; however, these questions comprise a small percentage of the questions and tasks that students are required to address.

Most questions and tasks do not require that students refer to the text, and it is unclear how the questions work to build knowledge across an individual text. Each unit includes two texts that are paired with the intention of teaching literary elements across texts. The individual paired texts have text-dependent questions at the end, but there is only one question that asks the students to compare the texts, and the question does not promote a deep analysis of the texts. There are other text-to-text connections established in the units, but the questions about these connections do not require an analysis of the integration of ideas.

The Mirrors & Windows questions are mainly text-to-student questions, where students are not required to read the text in order to be able to respond. The Annotated Teacher’s Edition presents verbal questions within the outside band as students are reading, but students are not practicing questions independently or in groups. The Exceeding the Standards and Meeting the Standards supplemental resources offer additional, yet limited, activities within the unit to compare a set of texts. Various texts within the units have student writing, speaking, and researching tasks for evidence of students’ need to perform analysis of texts to complete quality cumulative assignments and tasks.

In Unit 1, Origins of the American Tradition to 1800, students read and compare two texts: an excerpt from The General History of Virginia by John Smith and an excerpt from Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford. At the end of the second text, students are asked these comparison questions: “What points of view does each writer use? What effect does the writer's choice have on the telling of the story? Consider which story seems more real or compelling.”

In Unit 2, New England Renaissance 1800-1850, students read the story, “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving. At the end of the selection, students are asked text-dependent questions. In order to Refer to the Text, students are asked, “Identify the marks on the trees to which the devil points. What will happen to the trees?” To further “Reason with the text, students are asked “When the devil says he has a ‘prior claim’ on the woodland, what does he mean?”

In Unit 3, Slavery and The Civil War, students read the anchor text, “from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave, Written by Himself,” an autobiography by Frederick Douglass and Literature Connection, “Frederick Douglass,” a poem by Robert Hayden.

• The Text to Text Connection section asks: “Identify the lines in the poem that refer to the autobiography of Frederick Douglass. Explain what Douglass did to advance the cause of freedom for slaves. How does Hayden say he will be remembered for his efforts? Is that an appropriate tribute? Why or why not?”

• The Extend the Text, Writing Options, Lifelong Learning, Create a Dialogue section asks: “Write a conversation between Frederick Douglass and Robert Hayden (see page 281), in which they discuss laws that have been passed to advance the legal rights of African Americans.”

In Unit 4, Expanding Frontiers, students read, “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” a short story by Mark Twain and Primary Source Connection, “How to Tell a Story,” an essay by Mark Twain.

• The Text to Text Connection section asks students to “Make two columns on a sheet of paper. In one column, list the characteristics of the humorous story. In the other column, list the characteristics of the comic story and witty story. What are the differences between the two? In 'The Notorious Jumping Frog,' how does Twain portray Simon Wheeler as the ideal humorous storyteller?”

• In the Extend the Text, Writing Options: Collaborative Learning, Prepare an Oral Interpretation section, students are asked to select an excerpt from a piece of fiction by Twain and prepare an oral interpretation of it. Draw inferences from the details to decide what tone, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, language conventions, facial expressions, and gestures you will employ to communicate the characters, theme, and other literary elements? Get tips from “How to Tell a Story" (pages 387 - 389). "Pretending to be Twain, present your work to a classmate. Be sure to make eye contact with your audience as you present.”

• In the Reading Assessment, Question 8, Constructed Response, students are asked: “What makes ‘The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’ and ‘How to Tell a Story’ humorous? What literary devices add to the humor of the selections? Identify these devices, and explain how Twain uses them to create humor. Support your opinions with quotations from the selection.”

In Unit 4, Expanding Frontiers, students read “The Destructive Male” a speech by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Women's Right to Suffrage” a speech by Susan B. Anthony, and “Letter to Elizabeth Cady Stanton” by Susan B. Anthony.

• In the Text to Text Connection, students are given the following questions: “Susan B. Anthony was single-minded in her pursuit of getting women the right to vote, but she died fourteen years before that goal was achieved. How does she determine success or failure in this cause? What gives her satisfaction and hope?”

• In the Compare Literature: Argument and Rhetoric section, students are asked, “What argument is each speaker making? Identify each argument as inductive or deductive. Analyze the different ways each speaker supports her conclusions. Whose approach is more effective in achieving its aim? Explain your answer. If you had been in the audience when Anthony or Stanton gave her speech, would you have been persuaded by her rhetoric? Would you have agreed or disagreed with each woman's argument? Support your answer.”

In Unit 5, Early Twentieth Century, in the Annotated Teacher’s Edition, the Scope and Sequence lists information for each text in the unit including Literary Element and Theme. There is no essential question for the Unit. The first selections in Unit 5 are from well-known novels; before reading, in the Teach the Form, Close Reading the Novel, Identify the Point of View section, teachers are guided, “As you lead a discussion on the selections from Hemingway and Fitzgerald, ask students to identify the narrator of each work. Who is telling the story? What is the narrator's relationship to other characters? Is the narrator’s perspective or point of view limited in any way? Is the narrator reliable?"

• The first text in Part One is from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Before students read, the Mirrors and Window question is “ask students to consider whether people around them would have an easy or difficult time knowing them well?” After reading, the Mirror & Window question is “The narrator said that Gatsby looked at them in a way that 'understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood.' Do you feel that people around you know you well? Do you want people to know you well?” After reading there is a Refer to Text and a Reason with the Text section with 5 questions for students to answer: “Identify the time and place the novel is set? What details convey the setting? Why is setting important to the story? Who is the narrator? What is his relation to Gatsby?”

• The second text in Part One is from The Sun Also Rises, a novel by Ernest Hemingway. Before students read, the Mirrors and Window question is “ask students to consider their feelings about watching the sport.” After reading, the Mirrors and Window question is “The narrator says it was not nice to watch if you cared anything about the person who was doing it. Would want to watch a bullfight? Why do some people enjoy watching violent events or movies?” The Analyze Literature section asks students, “why the crowd did not want the bullfight to ever be finished? In what ways do the fans’ desires conflict with the matadors?”

In Unit 6, Depression and the World, the Annotated Teacher’s Edition, Scope and Sequence lists information for each text in the unit including Literary Element and Theme. There is no essential question for the Unit. The first selections in Unit 6 are “Let Us Praise Famous Men,” a literary nonfiction and Anchor Text from James Agee. The second is from The Grapes of Wrath, a novel by John Steinbeck. Before students read the selection from The Grapes of Wrath, the Mirrors and Window question is “Ask students to consider whether they have ever been skeptical that something could be as desirable as something is advertised?” After reading, the Mirrors and Window question is “Describe a time when you were suspicious of something that sounded unbelievably good. How did it turn out?” The Analyze Literature section, Characterization, asks students, “What might be the reason Ma says she is scared of things so nice?”

In Unit 7, students read Act I of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. At the close of Act I, students are presented with the following Mirrors & Windows question: “Afraid that his reputation and ministry will be ruined, Reverend Parris insists that no one mention anything about witchcraft in the village. Think of a modern-day example of a cover-up. In today’s world, is it possible to prevent the truth from being revealed?” Students then read an excerpt from Arthur Miller’s essay “Why I Wrote The Crucible: An Artist’s Answer to Politics.” Students are then presented three review questions, one of which is as follows: “Approximately how much time had passed between the production of the stage version of The Crucible and the film version? Identify the ‘biting irony’ of the movie being made by a Hollywood studio.” Students are then presented with an After Reading section. Within this section, students are presented with Refer to Text questions and Reason with Text questions. Questions are tiered in the following order: “Understand: Find meaning, Apply: Use information, Analyze: Take things apart, Evaluate: Make judgments, and Create: Bring ideas together.” An example of a Reason with Text question is as follows: “3b. What mixed emotions does John have on seeing Abigail again? Support your answer with examples.”

In Unit 8, students read John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address. At the close of the text, students are presented with the following Mirrors & Windows question: “John F. Kennedy delivered his Inaugural Address in January 1961. Are the issues he spoke about still relevant today?” Students are then presented with an After Reading section. Within this section, students are presented with Refer to Text questions and Reason with Text questions. Questions are tiered in the following order: “Understand: Find meaning, Apply: Use information, Analyze: Take things apart, Evaluate: Make judgments, and Create: Bring ideas together.” An example of a Refer to Text question is as follows: “5a. According to Kennedy, what should citizens ask of their nation?”

In Unit 9, students read an excerpt from Tim Hamilton’s graphic novel, which is an adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. Students are presented with the following Mirrors & Windows question: “ In the introduction to Hamilton’s adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury encourages readers to name the one book they would save from the firemen. He also encourages them to be able to defend their choice as a ‘valuable asset’ for the future. What book would you choose? Why?”

• Considering this text is identified as an Independent Reading task, students are only presented with Refer and Reason questions and two writing options. The Refer and Reason questions are as follows:

  • Faber tells Montag that books are important for three reasons. What are they?

  • Literary critics have described the tone of Bradbury’s writing in Fahrenheit 451 as oppressive, pessimistic, and menacing. How well does Hamilton’s artwork capture that tone? Evaluate his use of color, line, shadow, and texture.

  • In the futuristic world of the novel, people are consumed with cars, games, and technology. Faber questions whether they have “time to think.” With what activities and devices do people today seem consumed? How might Bradbury’s fictional world be similar to the real world of today?

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, consistent approach for students to regularly interact with word relationships and build academic vocabulary/language in context.

Materials include vocabulary over the course of a school year, but there is no cohesive plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Vocabulary is repeated in contexts, as seen in the Vocabulary and Spelling lessons which are integrated with two of the literature selections in each unit. These lessons incorporate vocabulary words from the preceding selection to provide context and repetition for students to increase their understanding and vocabulary knowledge. However, academic vocabulary is not repeated sufficiently across units throughout the course of the year.

The Teacher’s Edition has key terms with definitions, but there is little to no representation of academic vocabulary. When the academic vocabulary is mentioned within a unit or along with a reading, they are not repeated sufficiently through the unit or throughout the course of the year.

A Language Arts Handbook is provided as a student resource at the back of the text which includes Vocabulary and Spelling, and teachers can direct students to these resources.

The Meeting the Standards Unit Resources do include cumulative vocabulary lists and the Teacher’s Edition provides a Building Vocabulary which includes an overview of all unit vocabulary words, academic vocabulary, and key terms. The Master word lists cover vocabulary from Common Core Tier One, Tier Two, and Tier Three words. Academic words included and addressed in the Vocabulary Practice Lessons that follow do not appear in other Vocabulary Lessons within the grade level and do not appear within the assessment practice or Writing Workshop within the same unit. Additionally, the Exceeding the Standards resource includes a vocabulary and spelling section that contains lessons and practice on word parts and word origins, borrowed words and informal language, testing vocabulary and choosing words, and working with academic vocabulary.

In Unit 1, Annotated Teacher’s Edition, Part 1, Native American Traditions, Words in Use, Academic Vocabulary section, words listed are “distinct, diversity, nomadic, consistent, reverence, transmitted, autocracies, exclusive.” Key Terms listed are “myth, legend, oral literature.” These words are defined and discussed to increase students’ vocabulary knowledge.

In Unit 2, Annotated Teacher’s Edition, Vocabulary & Spelling, Greek and Latin Words, Understand the Concept sections says, “The origins of many English words can be traced to ancient Greece and numerous words used today are derived from Latin, the language of the ancient Roman. As noted earlier, the word Thanatos is based on the Greek word thanatos, meaning ‘death.’” Students apply the skill in two Exercises: “Exercise A: Identify an English word that comes from each of the following Greek or Latin words parts. For each word, also identify the part of speech. Use a dictionary to help you.” There are five Greek and five Latin words listed. There is also a Spelling Practice section: “Recognizing Greek and Latin words and word parts will not only help you determine the meanings of words but will also help you spell them correctly.”

In Unit 3, students read two anchor texts, both by Walt Whitman: an excerpt from the preface from Leaves of Grass and an excerpt from the poem “I Hear America Singing.” Students are presented with Academic Vocabulary for the two anchor texts (unconventional, organic, enlighten, regenerate, evocative, and blue-collar workers). The Preview Vocabulary (stalwart, teeming, nonchalance, disdain, audacity, prolific, picturesque, novelty, susceptibility, mason, and robust) definitions are included within the text, as students read. The student textbook also identifies where the words are located within the text.

In Unit 4, Lesson 12, Exceeding the Standards resource, students are presented with an activity on literal vs. figurative language. Students then complete the Try It Yourself section, specifically Exercise A: “Identify each of the following examples as literal or figurative language.” An example of a question within Exercise A is as follows: “1. The leaves fell onto the recently raked lawn.” Within this section students also study the definitions and concept of the following literary devices: Metaphor, simile, and personification. Exercise B pushes students to “Identify each of the following as a metaphor, simile, or personification,” and Exercise C has students explain the following metaphor: “There comes a time when we all must spread our wings and leave the nest.”

In Unit 5, students take part in a vocabulary and spelling lesson on semantic families. During the lesson they encounter these vocabulary words: carmine, cerise, and matriarch. They also review or learn these key terms: semantic family, connotation, and homophones. Once they understand the key terms, they practice their understanding of these terms by brainstorming a list of words or phrases for shades of a color and explaining how they differ.

In Unit 6, students take part in a vocabulary and spelling lesson on contractions. During the lesson, they encounter these vocabulary words: informal, formal, and academic. They also review or learn these key terms: contraction, verb phrase, possessives, and tone. Once they understand the key terms, they practice their understanding of these terms by underlining the contractions and circling the possessives in a provided sentence.

In Unit 7, Annotated Teacher's Edition, Vocabulary and Spelling, Understand the Concept section, students practice using Compound words: “In On The Road, Jack Kerouac's use of words such as countryfolk, hitchhiking, and foglight demonstrates the modern trend toward creating compound words, in which two or more words are joined to create a single meaning. Compound Nouns that are written as one word, with no space or punctuation are called closed compounds. Perhaps the most commonly used compounds are compound adjectives, such as part-time, two-lane, and follow-up.” Students practice Applying the Skill identifying compound nouns and adjectives.

In Unit 8, Meeting the Standards resource, students complete a vocabulary exercise from the reading selection, “Son,” by John Updike. Students “Build Vocabulary: Adjectives for Character and Mood; Words that describe nouns or adjectives authors use adjectives as tools to establish character and mood and fiction. Find each adjective in the story and read the sentence in which it occurs. Write a definition for the adjective. Then write a sentence explaining what the adjective adds to your understanding of a character or the mood.”

In Unit 9, Annotated Teacher's Edition, Vocabulary and Spelling, Understand the Concept section, students practice using Homophones: “One of the most confusing things about the English language is that some words sound alike but are spelled differently and have different functions and meanings. For instance, many people have trouble distinguishing between there, their, and they're and to, too, and two. These kind of words, which are called homophones, often are misused by writers who substitute one word for another.” Students Apply the skill by Identifying the Correct Homophones.