9th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading.

The materials meet the criteria as many of the anchor texts are previously published and widely read works of literature, including selections from the Common Core Exemplars. Both the authors and content of the texts represent a variety of cultures and cross-curricular connections that address a range of student interests appropriate for 9th grade students.

Examples of publishable and worthy texts include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, the anchor text is “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer. This text is a cross-curricular link to Social Studies, includes Spanish vocabulary, and addresses the topics of racism, prejudice, and coming of age.

• In Unit 2, students read “Only Daughter” by award-winning Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros. This text includes Spanish vocabulary along with cultural connections and relatable content.

• In Unit 3, the anchor text is “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall. This thought-provoking text is a cross-curricular link to Social Studies and has a link to music. It has rich language and addresses topics of racism and activism.

• In Unit 4, the anchor text is The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. This is a grade-level appropriate text with relatable themes.

• In Unit 5, students read the legend, “The Mosquito” retold by George F. Schultz. This text has cultural connections to Vietnam and relatable themes.

• In Unit 6, students read “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. This high-interest, dystopian text has cross-curricular connections to science.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis.

The majority of texts are at the appropriate quantitative level. Within the series, quantitative texts levels range from 650L-1450L, with some texts above and below the current grade level Lexile and stretch bands. Texts that are above or below grade level quantitative bands have qualitative features and/or tasks that bring them to the appropriate grade level. Along with Lexiles, each text is labeled as moderate, easy, or advanced. Texts are scaffolded with Units 1-5 as Guided, Directed, and Independent Reading, and Unit 6 is centered on Independent Reading. Supports are provided in the additional resource materials, particularly the Meeting the Standards Resource Guide that has guided reading activities with graphic organizers, vocabulary development, and practice quizzes. The Program Planning Guide contains lesson plans that provide student tasks and multiple reading strategies to support student learning.

Examples of texts that have the appropriate level of complexity for Grade 9 include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, students read “Close Encounter of the Human Kind” by Abraham Verghese, Lexile 1040. This text is appropriate for this grade level. While reading, students will encounter empathy, drawing conclusions, and critical thinking. A difficulty consideration could be complex vocabulary.

• In Unit 4, students read “Romeo and Juliet over the Centuries” by Dorothy May, Lexile 1240. This text is appropriate for this grade level because students practice skills finding the main idea, using academic vocabulary, character analysis, and making text connections.

Examples of texts that are above the quantitative measure, but are at the appropriate level for Grade 9 based on qualitative analysis and associated tasks include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, students read “Birmingham Bomb Kills 4 Negro Girls in Church” by Claude Sitton, Lexile 1150L. This text is appropriate for this grade level due to the irony, compare and contrast media coverage, historical reference, and research.

Example of text that are below the quantitative measure, but are at the appropriate level for Grade 9 based on qualitative analysis and associated tasks include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students read “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes, Lexile 600. In this Close Reading model, students determine important details and analyze questions. While the Lexile is below what is appropriate for 9th grade, this text is appropriate due to its content.

• In Unit 6, students read “Blue Highways: A Journey into America” by William Least-Heat Moon, Lexile 680. This text is written as a travelogue. Students are tasked with making inferences, finding irony, asking grade-level questions, clarifying and summarizing the text, along with using context clues, which make it appropriate for grade 9.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ literacy skills (understanding and comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade level skills (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels).

The materials contain six units over the course of the school year. Students encounter a wide variety of texts with a range of length and difficulty throughout each unit and throughout the year. Students read and analyze these texts through a gradual release of responsibility model - beginning with guided reading, moving to directed reading, and ending in independent reading. In the early sections of each Unit, the teacher supports the students with before, during, and after reading questions. These supports are identified for ease of teacher use, and they are designed to lessen over the course of the school year. Unit 6 is an Independent Reading unit, designed to allow students to apply the literacy skills that they have developed over the course of the preceding five units. At this stage in the year, students have the routines for questioning themselves about the text in place, so the selections have minimal Refer and Reason questions at the end. There are Differentiated Instructions for students who require continued support. Each unit’s Scope & Sequence Guide lists which reading skills students will work on in each text. The end of unit writing tasks are independent of one another and do not appear to increase in difficulty or complexity.

In the beginning of the year, the students are establishing routines for reading the selections in each unit. They are guided through the process of building background knowledge about a text, setting a purpose for reading, and taking note of reading skills that will benefit them when they start reading the text. They are also guided through the process of using reading strategies and making connections while reading. Lastly, they are guided through the process of remembering details about the text and interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating the text after they have read it. By the end of the year, students are provided practice to comprehend, and examine texts independently through established routines for thinking about the text before reading it, asking self-generated questions of the text while reading it, and answering provided questions that ask them to refer to the text and reason with the text after reading it. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, students read “The Ravine,” a short story by Graham Salisbury. Students independently answer the following Refer and Reason question: “Compare and contrast Vinny with his friends. What type of characters are the friends? With which of the characters would you most likely be friends? Why?”

• In Unit 2, students read “It’s Not Talent; It’s Just Work,” by Annie Dillard. The reading skill identified in the Scope & Sequence is Author’s Purpose and Compare and Contrast. Also in this section, students read “An ‘A’ in Failure,” by Twyla Tharp where Main Idea and Compare and Contrast are listed as Reading Skills addressed.

• In Unit 3, students read two lyric poems, “The Secret” by Denise Levertov and “Poetry” by Pablo Neruda. These two poems are used to Compare Texts with a Compare and Contrast lesson using a Venn Diagram. In the Independent Reading section, students read “The Past” by Ha Jin and “Theme For English B” by Langston Hughes. Both have Compare and Contrast identified as the Reading Skill addressed in the lessons.

• In Unit 4, two selections in the Directed Reading section address Compare and Contrast. Students read The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Act II and Act IV by William Shakespeare and “Pass it On,” Folk Literature. Students use a Compare and Contrast chart to outline their answers to questions. In the Independent Reading section, students read “The Mosquito” by George F. Schultz and continue to develop their skills in Comparing and Contrasting.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.

The texts that are present within the materials are quantitatively supported by a Lexile level and qualitatively supported by purpose and rationale; this is provided for every unit and found within The Scope and Sequence Guide located in the Annotated Teacher’s Edition. Each selection in the Teacher’s Edition also has a Preview the Model or Selection section that has notes on text complexity, difficulty considerations, and ease factor. In every Before Reading section, teachers are presented with objectives that students should master by the end of the text selection and a Launch the Lesson section that gears students toward questions that reflect the theme(s) and issues present within the text selection. Although Grade 9, Unit 3 is dedicated to poetry, poems often do not provide Lexile levels; therefore, the texts are rated as Easy, Moderate, and Challenging to make up for the absence of Lexiles. All of the texts chosen are connected and appropriate for Grade 9, while allowing for differentiation and flexibility for students and teachers.

Examples of instructional and text notes found in Grade 9 materials include the following:

• In Unit 3, students read “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, identified as an anchor text. Since Unit 3 is comprised of poetry, Lexile levels are not available; however, each poem is identified as Easy or Moderate in terms of difficulty. Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham” is identified as Moderate. Within the Annotated Teacher Edition, difficulty considerations are also listed for teachers as well as ease factors. The qualitative analysis consists of Build Background, Analyze Literature: Context and Setting, Set Purpose, Meet the Author, and Use Reading Skills. All of these elements within the Before Reading section identify the rationale for educational purpose that connect to the standards: cause and effect, context and setting, and irony of situation. The rationale for educational purposes is also extended in Launch the Lesson section: “If possible, show part of Spike Lee’s 4 Little Girls, a documentary about the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, to provide more context. Alternatively, you may want students to complete the collaborative learning and Media Literacy activities on page 377 before reading the section.”

• In Unit 4, students independently read The Devil and Daniel Webster, a one-act play by Stephen Vincent Benet. The Preview the Selection provides teachers with the Text Complexity; Independent Reading; Reading Level: Challenging, Lexile NP. Difficulty Considerations: Exaggerated, unlikely events; dialectic, vocabulary. Ease Factor: few characters. Launch the Lesson instructs teachers to “Ask students to recall court cases they have seen on television or in movies. Ask them to describe the trials, specifically the tactics used by the lawyers. Explain that there will be a trial in the play they're about to read and that the lawyer will have to be creative and persuasive to win his case.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.

The materials are organized into six units. Units 1-5 are arranged by genre, such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and folk literature; Unit 6 covers a variety of genres under the blanket of Independent Reading. Within each unit, students are exposed to a volume of reading in the particular genre under study, with reading that is varied in length. There is a range of Lexile levels from easy to moderate to challenging within the curriculum. Taken as a whole, the grade-level materials cover a wide variety of texts in various genres and of various lengths. Following the gradual release of responsibility model, each unit begins with a Close Reading Model which exposes students to the before, during, and after reading process. The Close Reading Model is followed by Guided Reading Selections that help guide students further through the before, during, and after reading process. As students become more independent, they move from Guided Reading to Directed Reading to Independent Reading exercises.

During the course of Unit 1: Fiction, students read multiple texts, each with a suggested pacing of one to three days. Students read short stories, poems, a newspaper article, and a how-to writing, all varying in length. Unit 1 begins with a close reading of “Thank You Ma’am,” a short story by Langston Hughes, followed by three guided reading texts. The Directed Reading section includes the anchor text, “American History,” a short story by Judith Ortiz Cofer. The Independent Reading section includes texts such as “Rules of the Game,” a short story by Amy Tan.

During the course of Unit 3: Poetry, students read multiple texts, most of which are poems. Each text has a suggested pacing guide of one to two days. Students read the Anchor Text, “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall. Overall, students read poems - including sonnets, haiku, narrative poems, concrete poems - two articles, a myth, and one how-to writing. Unit 3 begins with a poem by Ishmael Reed, “Beware: Do Not Read This Poem,” which is read as a Close Reading Model.

During the course of Unit 6: Independent Reading, the genre of readings include poems, journal, essay, memoir, travelogue, and short story intended to provide texts with themes to which students can make connections. Each text has a suggested pacing guide of one to two days. All of the texts in this unit are Independent Readings and most are written by well-known authors, such as Robert Frost, Ana Quindlen, and Joyce Carol Oates. The first text, selected for the topic of Journey, is an Independent Reading excerpt from “Song of the Open Road,” a poem by Walt Whitman. This short, six stanza section of the poem is used for an optional writing prompt: “Using evidence from the text, identify a theme Whitman experses. Then continue the theme in another stanza as the speaker continues his or her journey down the road.” The last two texts in this unit are “Designing the Future" by Anne Underwood, an interview with a Lexile level of 990, and “The Star” by H.G. Wells and Brad Teare, a graphic story with an easy independent reading level.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols to engage students in speaking and listening activities and discussions (small group, peer-to-peer, whole class) which encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

The materials provide opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions. There are opportunities for classroom discussion throughout the materials.The Program Planning Guide provides several evaluation forms for communication, such as: Communicating in a Pair Group (Self-Evaluation), Communicating in a Pair Group (Peer-Evaluation), Communicating in a Small Group, and Communicating in a Large Group. The Exceeding the Standards resource for speaking and listening includes rubrics for individual presentations. The Speaking & Listening rubric found in the Workshops gives explicit instruction on how students should share thoughts.

In Unit 1, within the Annotated Teacher Edition, students complete a Speaking and Listening Workshop where they must deliver a narrative presentation. Step five out of six steps has students practice their speaking skills with a friend before the narrative presentation and instructs students to do the following: "Choose your words and structure your sentences so that your audience can follow the story. Use appropriate intonation; this is, vary the pitch and tone of your voice, depending on the mood you want to set. Decide which parts of the story to stress, and find the best way of doing that, for example, by pausing or by raising your voice. Record your story and play it back. Are you speaking too fast? Too softly? Is the story missing anything?” Step six has students present the narrative: “Finally, present your narrative to the class, using facial expressions and gestures to bring the story to life. Try to tell the story without the aid of any notes. Remember, it’s not the exact words that your story that matter--it’s the way you tell it.”

Teachers are also instructed to “Divide students into pairs and have each partner read aloud the other partner’s story. The partner who is listening should close his or her eyes and visualize the story as it is read. Encourage students to use a variety of gestures and inflections as they practice their stories.” Within this example, students are also presented with a speaking and listening rubric that lists the following criteria that students will be scored on “Content” and “Delivery and Presentation”; this rubric is listed within the Annotated Teacher’s Edition:

• Content: Clear chronology--beginning, middle, and end; strong opening and closing sentences; vivid description; and simple vocabulary and sentence structure

• Delivery and Presentation: Appropriate volume, pace, and enunciation; effective tone, intonation, and stress; and effective nonverbal expression

Within the Exceeding the Standards resource, the Speaking and Listening section outlines the following contents:

• Unit 1: Deliver a Narrative Presentation

• Unit 2: Deliver a Persuasive Speech

• Unit 3: Present a Poem

• Unit 4: Present a Dramatic Scene

• Unit 5: Gathering Information from an Interview

• Unit 6: Give a Descriptive Writing Presentation

In Unit 2, Nonfiction, students are asked to debate the pesticide issue, " DDT is now banned in all major countries. However, there is increasing debate about allowing pesticides to be used in developing nations struggling with malaria and West Nile Virus. With a partner or a. in a. small group, research how developing nations might benefit from the immediate effects of a. pesticide. Be sure to document your sources. Develop an argument that either supports or opposes the use of. DDT in these nations and debate a team with an opposing view.

In Unit 5, Folk Literature, students analyze author's approach, " With a partner or small group, research the duties of the inspectors-generals of imperial Russia and analyze the author's approach to the subject. What criticism might Chekhov have been expressing in this play? Present your findings and analysis as a panel discussion."

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. grade-appropriate revision and editing) and short, focused projects.

The materials provide ample opportunities for students to practice a mix of both on-demand and process writing. At the end of every reading selection, students are presented with an After Reading section that includes an Extended Text section. Within this section, students are presented with two on-demand writing options. At the close of every unit, students are presented with a Writing Workshop opportunity, which is a process writing where students prewrite, draft, and revise over time. Students are given both examples and steps to follow to ensure success. There are focused projects that incorporate digital resources where appropriate, as explained in the Introduction to Media Text and Visual Media resource.

Examples of on-demand and process writing that meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to, the following:

In Unit 1 of the Annotated Teacher Edition, students read “ Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird,” a short story by Toni Cade Bambara. In the Extend the Text, Writing Options section, students are given an on-demand creative writing task to write a character description: “In a few short paragraphs, write a character description that illustrates pride. Focus on the character trait. It may be helpful to brainstorm how pride is demonstrated by organizing your thoughts in a graphic organizer similar to the one below.” Students create a multi-circle tiered graphic organizer that has “Pride” at the top, “Actions” to the left in a circle, and “Interactions” to the right, attached to each bigger circle are two smaller circles for additional notes.

In the Unit 2 Writing Workshop, students are given the opportunity for process writing with the following argumentative essay prompts:

• Persuasive words have power: Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech, Nelson Mandela’s “Glory and Hope” speech, and Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring all inspired important changes in society. Each author stated his or her opinion and provided convincing reasonable evidence to support it. They felt passionately about the truth of their position. Their words have had a lasting effect.

• Expressing an informed opinion is an attempt to win an audience, to convince people to agree with or understand your argument or point of view. You encounter persuasive language every day. Advertisers persuade you to make a purchase; newspaper editorials persuade you to consider an opinion on an issue. Persuasion combines passion with logic and reasoning to influence the minds and sometimes change the lives of others.

• For this assignment, choose a topic you believe in and care about. Prewrite, draft, and revise an informed argumentative essay that expresses your opinion of this important topic.

At the end of Unit 3, there is a test practice workshop where students complete a piece of timed, on-demand writing: “Read the following quotation from Oscar Wilde, and then consider the assignment. Allow 30 minutes to write your response to the prompt. ‘Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.’ Assignment: Do you agree that color can affect your mood or express certain properties or emotions? Write an essay in which you support your response by discussing one or more examples from your personal experience, your observations, your reading, or your knowledge of popular culture, the arts, science and technology, or current events.”

In Unit 5, students read “The Story of Daedalus and Icarus,” from The Metamorphoses, an epic poem by Ovid, translated by Rolfe Humphries. In the After Reading section, students have an opportunity to practice the Extend the Text section, which focuses on two on-demand writing options:

• Creative Writing: Create a three-paragraph myth that explains the origin of something in the world around you. You might describe the origin of a natural object or a technological innovation, such as television or computers. If you wish, include supernatural elements such as the gods who intervene in the process.

• Informative Writing: In the library or from the Internet, choose a myth that is not in this textbook. Write a one-page literary analysis explaining the moral, or lesson about life, that this tale offers. Use details from the story to support your conclusion. If you need help in selecting a myth to analyze, ask your teacher or librarian to assist you.

In Unit 6, students read an excerpt from “Song of the Open Road,” a poem by Walt Whitman. Once students complete the reading, students are provided two on-demand writing options:

• Using evidence from the text, identify a theme Whitman expresses. Then continue the theme in another stanza as the speaker continues his or her journey down the road.

• Work with a partner to find evidence from the text to create a character profile of the speaker. Speculate on the speaker’s life before and after setting off on the journey.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. (Writing opportunities incorporate digital resources/multimodal literacy materials where appropriate. Opportunities may include blended writing styles that reflect the distribution required by the standards.)

The materials provide students ample opportunities to engage in writing activities over the course of the year in a variety of modes, including argumentative, informative, narrative, and descriptive writing as well as research writing and writing to sources. Within these general categories, there is also a wide variety of specific writing tasks. Each of the reading selections is followed by two writing activities in two different modes, and the writing workshop at the end of each unit gives an in-depth exploration and practice of a specific mode as well. Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports). Each lesson offers a purpose for the writing, a teaching and modeling section, examples to help guide students, and independent writing time.

In Unit 1, students read “The Interlopers,” a short story by Saki. In the After Reading, Extend the Text, Writing Options section, students practice Argumentative Writing: “Write a conflict/resolution paragraph about how to bring two opposing groups together to make peace or reach a settlement. You may choose any two groups you know about, whether it be two arguing friends or two political factions. Your audience depends on the group you choose, describe the conflicts before making suggestions about how to settle the matter.”

In Unit 2, students read “from Swimming to Antarctica,” an autobiography by Lynne Cox. In the After Reading, Extend the Text, Writing Options section, students practice Descriptive Writing: “The idea of swimming a long distance in a frigid sea is truly extraordinary. Do you know of other people who took remarkable risks, perhaps even endangering their own lives? In four or five paragraphs write a descriptive essay describing an event where someone put his or her life at risk. Conclude your essay with a final paragraph reflecting on his or her motives.”

In Unit 3, after reading “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, students complete a text-extension activity where they compose a piece of creative writing: “Imagine that you meet the person who has caged the bird in ‘Sympathy’ or ‘Caged Bird.’ Write a short dialogue in which the person explains his or her reasoning, and you counter the reasoning with an argument to convince that person to free the bird. Before writing, jot down ideas about what freedom might mean for a bird.”

In Unit 5, students read “The White Snake,” a fairytale retold by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Lucy Crane. Once students have read the fairytale, they have two writing options, which are located in the After Reading section:

• Narrative Writing: Fairy tales have traditional settings, such as castles and forests, and old-fashioned characters. Prepare a modern-day retelling of "The White Snake" in a setting of your choice, such as a suburb or a big city. You can replace the old-fashioned characters with modern ones, too, if you wish. Your version can be one or two pages long.

• Argumentative Writing: In a story, flat characters remain the same from beginning to end: They don’t change at all. Write a one to two-page character analysis in which you argue whether or not the young man is a flat character. Support your opinion with details from “The White Snake.”

In Unit 6, students read Arthur C. Clarke’s short story, “History Lesson.” Once students complete the Independent Reading, they are presented with two writing options:

• Narrative Writing: Imagine the Venusians have set up an exhibit about life on the Third Planet based on the items left in the cairn. Write a museum guide to this exhibit that includes a short description of each piece including its possible function. Explain these items from a Venusian point of view.

• Informative Writing: Write a compare-and-contrast essay comparing Venusian society to today’s human society. Compare the differences in the values of each society, and any other elements that you should in the story.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support sophisticated analysis, argumentation, and synthesis.

The materials provide opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply research-based and evidence-based writing to support analyses, arguments, and synthesis. At the end of every reading selection, in the After Reading/Extend the Text section, students are presented with two on-demand writing options that prompt students to complete short, research-based writing using the texts read within the section. The writing prompts that require students to interact with the text explicitly state that the students need to cite evidence. Students experience research-based and evidence-based writing within every Writing Workshop section that occurs at the close of each unit. Many writing opportunities are focused around each student’s analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources.

In Unit 1 students read “The Cask of Amontillado,” a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. In the After the Reading, Writing Options, Extend the Text section, students use descriptive writing to respond to the following prompt: “Imagine you are a detective in charge of briefing a local police department on the events that took place in ‘The Cask of Amontillado.’ The police have asked you to analyze the victim's character based on Montresor's confession, write a one-page character analysis of Fortunato. In your analysis, examine the aspects of Fortunato's character that enabled Montresor to entrap him. Use specific examples of his words or actions to support your analysis.”

In Unit 1, students read “Destiny,” a short story by Louise Erdrich. In the After the Reading Writing Options, Extend the Text section, students use descriptive writing to respond to the following prompt: “Choose one of the characters in the story and write a two to three paragraph character description. Find text references to the characters physical appearance, as well as personality descriptions given by other characters, if applicable. Describe how the character acts in the story and offer suggestions to what his or her behavior indicate about the character.”

In Unit 2, students read “The Obligation to Endure, from Silent Spring,” an argumentative essay by Rachel Carson, and the related informational text “When it Comes to Pesticides, Birds Are Sitting Ducks.” In the After the Reading, Writing Options, Extend the Text, Creative Writing section, students respond to the following prompt: “Write a letter to a fictional chemical company expressing concern over its production of pesticides. Cite the evidence found in ‘The Obligation to Endure’ and the related article ‘When It Comes to Pesticides, Birds Are Sitting Ducks.’ Your letter should be polite yet forceful and should contain three clear elements: the reason you are writing, the evidence that supports your position, and the course of action you expect the company to take."

In Unit 3, after reading “Gifts” and “To the Oak” by Shu Ting, students complete a text extension activity where they write a critical analysis of one of the poems, requiring them to seek evidence about the text and from the text: “Imagine that you are trying to explain the meaning of one of these poems to a classmate. In two paragraphs, write a critical analysis that explains what the poem is about. Explain who the intended audience for the poem is, and what ideas you believe the speaker is trying to convey. You will need to discuss the relevant information about the poem’s cultural and historical context, as well as describe the imagery used in the poem.”

In Unit 3, after reading “Cold as Heaven” by Judith Ortiz Cofer and “Gentle Communion” by Pat Mora, students complete a text extension activity which requires them to seek evidence from the texts: “Write a compare-and-contrast paragraph of both speaker and tone in ‘Cold as Heaven’ and in ‘Gentle Communion.’ Compare what is revealed about the speaker in each poem, the tone of each poem, and the techniques the author uses to convey the tone.”

In Unit 3, after reading “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe, students complete a text extension activity which requires them to use evidence from the text: “Write a three-paragraph position statement that argues which of the stanzas in Poe’s ‘The Bells’ is the most interesting and insightful. Use examples from the selection to support your arguments.”

In Unit 4, students learn from a literary model, “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Stephen Daniel Benet. They then refer to the model to answer the following questions: "What description in Benet’s stage directions convey the overall atmosphere of the set? What specific items in Benet’s description of the set add to the comfortable atmosphere? Give three examples of how Benet’s stage directions describe the position of certain items, whether by themselves or in relation to other items on the stage?" After the above lesson, students write stage directions for a specific setting.

In Unit 5, students read “The Golden Lamb,” a folk tale by Jean Russell Larson. As students complete the folktale reading, they are asked to write an informative writing, “‘The Golden Lamb’ is similar, in some ways, to the story of King Solomon in the Old Testament. Read the story of Solomon, or find a similar told tale, and then write a three- to four-paragraph compare-and-contrast essay in which you examine the likenesses and differences between the two narratives. Be sure to discuss the values that are promoted in each story. Share your work with classmates. Use a Venn Diagram, like the one below, to assist you.”

In Unit 5, students read “Iya, the Camp-Eater,” a Native American legend by Zitkala-Sa. Once students read the legend, they respond to, “Is ‘Iya, the Camp-Eater’ a typical Native American legend? Do research in the library or on the Internet, to learn what the tale has in common with other Native American legends. Write up your findings in a brief literary research paper.”

In Unit 6, students read “Homeless,” an essay by Anna Quindlen. Once students read Quindlen’s essay, students “Write a critical analysis of ‘Homeless,’ in which you touch on some of the elements that have likely contributed to the popularity of Anna Quindlen’s writing. Consider subject matter, language, tone, and other aspects that stand out for you.”

In Unit 6, students partake in a writing workshop on informative writing in the format of a research paper. This research paper is a process writing that students would complete over an extended period of time. Students compose an “I-search” essay, which is “written on a topic of personal relevance.” The assignment detail is as follows: “Plan, write, and revise an I-search paper in which you explore--and describe the process you undergo--a talent you’d like to develop and the potential careers it could lead you to.” Students are given “Prewrite,” “Draft,” and “Revise” directions.