11th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality, worthy of especially careful reading, and consider a range of student interests.

The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria as the vast majority of anchor texts are widely read works that have been in the public eye for a length of time. The texts vary from seminal works to enduring classics that are worthy of especially careful reading. Additionally, the scope of texts—considering both theme and format—address a range of student interests. All of the anchor texts have been previously published and represent various cultures and histories. A few of the more modern anchor texts are of reputable publications. The qualities of the text, whether classic or modern, provide opportunity to study the careful and intentional use of language, impact on audience, purpose in the wider world, and development of ideas such that they are both timely and timeless.

Examples of publishable and worthy texts that meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to:

• The Declaration of Independence (foundational document) by Thomas Jefferson
• Preamble to the Constitution: Bill of Rights (foundational document) by Gouverneur Morris and James Madison
• “Speech in the Convention” (speech) by Benjamin Franklin
• From the preface to the 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass (essay) by Walt Whitman
• From “Song of Myself” (poem) by Walt Whitman
• “American” (poem) by Walt Whitman
• "The Soul selects her own Society” (poem) by Emily Dickinson
• From “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July” (speech) by Frederick Douglass
• “Second Inaugural Address” (speech) by Abraham Lincoln
• Excerpt from Life on the Mississippi (memoir) by Mark Twain
• "A White Heron” (short story) by Sarah Orne Jewett
• The Crucible (drama) by Arthur Miller
• “Everyday Use” (short story) by Alice walker
• “Everything Stuck to Him” (short story) by Raymond Carver
• “The Leap” (short story) by Louise Erdrich

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.

Many units employ a tiered level of text presentation, ranging from high, middle, and low Lexile measures. Texts are accompanied by a qualitative analysis based on knowledge demands, structure, language, and levels of meaning/purpose. Most texts are selected according to the connection of complexity and instructional purpose and tasks associated with whole- or small-group learning and independent learning. For example, though it may seem that students read texts at a high Lexile level at the beginning of the year, the complexities of texts generally align to the instructional purpose. More complex texts are used for whole-group instruction and less complex texts are for small-group or independent learning tasks. Materials offer support for text complexity through sections such as “Making Meaning” and vocabulary acquisition. All texts are accompanied by performance tasks that consist of essay writing or speaking and listening tasks aligned to the purpose of the text.

Examples of the appropriate level of text complexity that meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to:

Unit 1: The Declaration of Independence

• In this unit, students are required to read and deconstruct U.S. foundational documents, such as The Declaration of Independence. Quantitatively, the Lexile measure is 1390, with a text length of 1,322 words. The Lexile level is above the recommended range of 940 to 1210; however, students are completing this analysis via Whole-class Learning. Student engagement with the complex text is supported based on in-depth analysis, leveled work through the “Making Meaning” section, as well as vocabulary acquisition through “Language Development” and “Effective Expression.” The text helps students answer the Essential Question (EQ): “What is the meaning of freedom?” The document explains reasons that the American colonists sought political freedom and asserts their right to personal freedoms including, "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." After reading and deconstructing the text and others, students complete an argumentative essay on this prompt: “Which statement do you find most compelling for Americans today: the Preamble to the Constitution or the first sentence of paragraph three of the Declaration of Independence?”

Unit 3: “The Story of an Hour”

• In Small-group Learning, students are required to read "The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin. The Lexile measure for this specific short story falls at 960, with the text length being 1,007 words. While the text is considered on the “low end” of the recommended Lexile range, students are required to read this at the small-group reading level. The qualitative analysis in the materials describes the text as “a sequential short story with plot elements that are explained. Paragraphs are short, which makes structure easier to follow.” To increase complexity, students are presented with difficult concepts to overcome as a group: “The reader must infer meaning on multiple levels beyond the plot itself (author’s commentary on love, marriage, and independence of women); story has irony in both plot and message.” Students are required to complete a speaking and listening performance task by holding a panel discussion based on all of the texts read during Small-group Learning.

Unit 5: “What Are You So Afraid Of?”

• Through Independent Learning, students are required to read the essay, “What Are You So Afraid Of?” by Akiko Busch published by The New York Times. Quantitatively, the Lexile measure is 1280, with a total of 759 words. While the Lexile level is slightly higher than that of the recommended range it is also much shorter than most other passages throughout the textbook. To support their understanding of the text, students complete a “Making Meaning” section and analyze for “Effective Expression.” Materials state that students also will benefit from the “personal, [non]scientific or quantitative, approach to the origins of fear.” And, the text directly relates to the Essential Question, “How do we respond when challenged by fear?” by stating that “people often are fearful of things that are not real dangers. People’s fears instead are based on genetic-predisposition to things that were dangerous during our evolution.” During Independent Learning students compose an argumentative essay that ties in at least three texts read by the student and present a speech based on said argument.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band.)

Within the grade 11 textbook, materials support students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year, and series of texts are at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band. Within all units in the textbook, students are supported in their increasing literacy demands by engaging in reading and writing tasks in whole and small groups as well as independently during which they typically have a choice of texts. Students read, write, and discuss for a purpose, which is generally supported by the unit Essential Question, selected texts, performance tasks, and Performance-based Assessments. Within each unit, texts vary across a wide range of text complexities, based on quantitative and qualitative measures. To increase students’ literacy skills, the earlier texts tend to be at a higher complexity measure; but these are utilized in whole-group instruction with less complex tasks. By the end of the year, more texts fall at the lower end of the recommended Lexile range; however, students engage in these texts in Small-group and Independent Learning with the expectation that they carry more individual responsibility for reading and writing tasks.

Examples that materials support students’ increasing literacy skills across the year to meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to the following examples:

Unit 1: Writing Freedom

Whole-group Learning text: the Declaration of Independence

• Lexile: 1390
• Length: 1,322
• Qualitative Analysis:
  • Knowledge Demands: 4/5
  • Structure: 3/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 5/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 3/5
• Performance Task: "Write a brief argumentative essay in which you address the following question: Which statement do you find most compelling for Americans today: the Preamble to the Constitution or the first sentence of paragraph three of the Declaration of Independence?"

Independent Learning text: from the Iroquois Constitution

• Lexile: 1510
• Word count: 907
• Qualitative Analysis:
  • Knowledge Demands: 4/5
  • Structure: 3/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 4/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 4/5
• Text Questions:
  • Infer: What does the council meeting opening ceremony suggest about the Iroquois people?
  • Summarize: What qualities and conduct are required of council lords by the Iroquois Constitution?
  • Connect: Do you think it would be a good idea to apply those requirements to modern government? Why or why not?
  • Evaluate: Do you support the ideas presented in the Iroquois Constitution? Why or why not?

Unit Performance Based Assessment:

• Write an argumentative essay in which you respond to this question: What are the most effective tools for establishing and preserving freedom?

Unit 6: Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales

Whole-class Learning text: “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker

• Lexile: 980
• Word count:4,146
• Qualitative Analysis
  • Knowledge Demands: 4/5
  • Structure: 4/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 4/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 5/5
• Performance Task: "Write a fictional narrative addressing this question: How do stressful situations often reveal the best and worst in people?"

Independent Learning Text: “The Tale-Tell Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe

• Lexile: 1070
• Word count: 392
• Qualitative Analysis
  • Knowledge Demands: 2/5
  • Structure: 2/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 2/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 2/5
• Text Questions
  • Make Inferences: What does the narrator say in the first paragraph that might lead the reader to think he is insane?
  • Make Inferences: Why was the narrator especially nice to the old man during the last week?
  • Assess: Do you think that being especially nice to the old man accomplished what the narrator wanted? Why or why not?
  • Analyze: How did the narrator’s overconfidence lead to his downfall?
  • Evaluate: Do you think the narrator is insane? Why or why not?

Unit 6 Performance-based Assessment

• Write a short story in which you introduce and develop a protagonist and set up a problem or conflict the character must face. Use the third-person point of view. Before you write, think about your answer to this question: How does a fictional character or characters respond to life-changing news?

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 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.

In the teacher edition, a planning section is provided for the anchor texts and series of connected texts. The planning sections include a summary of the text, insight into why the text was chosen, connection to Essential Question, connection to performance tasks, an outline of lesson resources, and a text complexity rubric. The text complexity rubric includes quantitative measures and qualitative measures. Quantitative measures include Lexile score and word count. Qualitative measures are scored and discussed by category: knowledge demands, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and levels of meaning/purpose.

The following is an example of a text complexity analysis and rationale like those that accompany all the texts in the materials:

Unit 1: PLANNING: “Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe

• Insight: Reading “The Fall of the House of Usher” will expose students to some of the classic elements of the Gothic tale: dreary weather, a depressing and oppressive setting, a mysterious illness, and a doppelganger. These elements work together to create a nightmarish confusion.
• Instructional Standards: RL.10, RL.5, RL.1, L.1, L.1.b, L.5, L.5.b
• Quantitative Measures:
  • Lexile: 1410
  • Text Length: 7,162 words
• Qualitative Measures:
  • Knowledge Demands (4 out of 5): Life experience demands: Explores complex, sophisticated themes of mental illness and death that are not clearly explained and may be difficult for many readers
  • Structure (2 out of 5): First person narrator, told mainly in straightforward fashion.
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity (4 out of 5): Long and ornate sentence structure. Many above-level vocabulary words. Contains figurative language and complex descriptions.
  • Levels of Meaning/Purpose (4 out of 5): Multiple levels of meaning and symbolism may be difficult to grasp. Concepts and meanings are not clearly explained.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 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 for Grade 11 include anchor and supporting texts that provide students with multiple opportunities to engage with a wide range and volume of readings in achieving grade-level reading proficiency. The six units of study are thematically designed with multiple texts that assist students with answering the unit’s essential question. Across the year, students are exposed to texts in a variety of print and digital media. Each unit begins with anchor texts as the focus of whole-class learning, followed by selected texts for small-group learning, and independent learning choices of text. Volume of reading is achieved through the variety of texts genres and lengths presented and the pace at which students are expected to complete each unit. The cumulative total of texts assigned varies by unit but offers a voluminous amount of reading.

Examples of the range and volume of reading that meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to:

Unit 1: Writing Freedom

Anchor Texts (seminal documents):

• The Declaration of Independence
• US Constitution
• Benjamin Franklin’s speech in the Convention

Supporting Texts:

• Gettysburg Address
• Letter to John Adams from his wife
• The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation, a speech by Thurgood Marshall: Reflections on the Bicentennial of the United States, “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury, The Iroquois Constitution (a political document), and others.

Unit 2: The Individual and Society

Anchor texts

• Various essays and poetry by Walt Whitman
• A selection of poems by Emily Dickinson

Supporting texts

• “Young Goodman Brown” (short story) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Literary criticism by Galway Kinnell
• Philosophical writings by Thoreau and Emerson

Unit 3: Power, Protest, and Change

Anchor texts

• “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” (speech) by Frederick Douglass
• Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” (speech)

Supporting texts

• Cartoons and photographs from Lincoln’s era
• “Ain’t I a Woman?” (speech) Sojourner Truth
• “Giving Women the Vote” (podcast) Sandra Sleight-Brennan’s
• “The Story of an Hour” (short story) by Kate Chopin
• Brown v Board of Education: Opinion of the Court (legal document)

Unit 5: Facing Our Fears

Anchor text: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Supporting texts

• Video interview with George Takei
• Various poetry
• magazine article

Unit 6: Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales

Anchor texts

• “Everyday Use” (short story) by Alice Walker
• “Everything Stuck to Him” (short story) by Raymond Carver
• “The Leap” (short story) by Louise Erdrich

Supporting texts

• “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (short story) by Ambrose Bierce
• “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” (short story) by Katherine Anne Porter

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text; this may include work with mentor texts as well).

The materials provide a consistent format for students to engage with text-dependent questions and/or tasks. Questions, tasks, and assignments are evident in each of the unit’s three sections: Whole-class Learning, Small-group Learning, and Independent Learning. Within the units, each module begins with a First Read guide which provides general text-dependent questions. The module also includes, Comprehension Checks, Close Reads, and Analyze sections that provide more text-specific questions. Each unit is designed in this manner to provide a scaffold-approach to text-dependent and text-specific questioning. Students are required to provide support from the text in most of the work they complete within the unit.

Examples of questions, tasks, and assignments that meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students view four political cartoons under the title, “The American Revolution: Visual Propaganda.” Each image is numbered and credited to an author. Under “Analyze Media,” students are asked to answer the following questions as they are directed to “[c]ite textual evidence to support your answers.”
  • “In image 1, what does the snake represent? How does that meeting shed light on the meeting of image 4?”
  • “From the colonial point of view, how do images 2 and 3 have similar slant?”

• In Unit 2, students deliver a group speech that “uses evidence from the texts in Small-group Learning” based on the following prompt: “When is it difficult to march to the beat of a 'different drummer' and stand on your own as an individual? What are the risks and rewards of nonconformity?” Based on this prompt, students are also encouraged to use evidence from their “own experiences and observations;" this incites valid inferencing. The directions further require students to specifically draw upon Emerson and Thoreau’s ideas regarding nonconformity and to “use precise language and quotations to support [said] ideas.”

• In Unit 3, students work in groups to “hold an informative panel discussion” that addresses these two questions: “What were the goals of these reformers?” and “Why did they want to achieve those goals?” To reinforce utilizing evidence from the text, students are instructed, “There are six texts in the chart...[H]ave each member choose one text as his or her area of expertise...Use the chart headings to formulate key ideas about your text.” Throughout, students are consistently required to utilize the text, based on the questions, to formulate educated claims and ideas.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials containing sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent and text-specific questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding.

The materials for Grade 11 contain text-dependent questions and tasks that build to a culminating task integrating a combination of writing skills with speaking and listening skills. Each unit is thematically organized to answer an Essential Questions throughout the distribution of texts and assignments in Whole-class Learning, Small-group Learning, and Independent Learning.

The text-dependent and text-specific questions are incorporated in activities that culminate in a performance-based writing assessment, backward mapped from all unit activities. These culminating writing tasks are different genres of writing such as argument essay, informative essay, explanatory essay, and nonfiction narrative. Examples of culminating tasks include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students have a Performance Task (Speaking & Listening) that requires them to respond to the following prompt: “Do narratives provide strong evidence to support arguments about American freedoms?” Students are then required to “use examples from the texts in this section to support [their] positions.” This specific lesson builds students’ understanding(s) of the purpose of narratives, considering this lesson is dependent upon a very heavily text-dependent prompt.

• In Unit 3, students are assigned a Panel Discussion asking them to work in groups to “hold an informative panel discussion” that addresses these two questions: “What were the goals of these reformers?” and “Why did they want to achieve those goals?” To reinforce utilizing evidence from the text students are instructed, “There are six texts in the chart...have each member choose one text as his or her area of expertise...Use the chart headings to formulate key ideas about your text.” Throughout, students are consistently required to utilize the text, based on the questions, to formulate educated claims and ideas.

• In Unit 4, the Performance-based Assessment is to write an explanatory essay in which students use examples from the texts in the unit and their own lives to answer the following question: “What makes certain places live on in our memory?” The second part of that assessment is for students employ Speaking and Listening skills where they use the essay as a foundation for a three-to-five minute oral presentation. To prepare for this Performance-based Assessment students do the following:
  • Whole-class Learning: Students read an excerpt from a memoir and two short stories where the setting is essential to understanding the text. Their task is to write an explanatory essay answering “How do American authors use regional details to make the events and themes of the narrative come alive for the reader?” The instructional material takes them through the writing process, highlighting elements of an explanatory essay and writing with research.
  • Small-group Learning: Students groups compare the unit’s readings to a quote by Barry Lopez in “A Literature of a Place.” He writes, “It is my belief that a human imagination is shaped early by the architectures it encounters at an early age.” Students are to create and deliver an oral presentation that explains their understanding of the sense of place demonstrated in each studied text.
  • Independent Learning: Students review their Evidence Log and their Quick Write from the beginning of the unit to see if they have enough evidence to support a strong thesis for an explanatory essay answering the question, “What makes certain places live on in our memory?" If not, they have to make a plan to do more research, talk to classmates, reread a selection, and/or ask an expert.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole-class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

The materials for Grade 11 provide frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax. Each unit is organized to answer an Essential Question (EQ) as each text is read and dissected. All speaking and listening assignments are performance-based for language development and require students to directly reference the text so that all students participate in accountable academic talk. Within each of the learning modules, Whole-class Learning, Small-group Learning, and Independent Learning, students are given materials with assignments and tasks to expand skills in academic vocabulary and syntax. During their reading, students see key words highlighted and defined. In ensuing sections, students demonstrate a variety of strategies for learning and using academic vocabulary. Many individual tasks and lessons encourage and prompt peer-to-peer discussions. There are instructions for teachers that include questions to lead whole class discussions.

Examples of opportunities and protocols include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, The Individual and Society, during Whole-class Learning, the materials outline the strategies and actions that are suggested. These protocols support students as they have evidence-based discussions. For example, students are asked to listen actively and “record brief notes on main ideas and points of confusion,” clarify by asking questions and “ask follow up questions as needed,” “share [their] ideas and answer questions,” and “build on the ideas of others.” These prompts provide students with the directions necessary to initiate and sustain evidence-based discussions.

• In Unit 4, Grit and Grandeur, teachers are provided with rationale for the launch text. The materials state that the purpose of the launch text is to provide opportunities for discussion about “grit and grandeur.” Additionally, students are prompted to “note that the author uses the words first and second in the beginning of sentences describing key decisions” and then to “discuss the details that the author suggests could help make these key decisions”.

• In Unit 5, students are assigned to read “The Crucible.” In the Whole-class Learning, under Language Development, the term realism is introduced to students as a way to define Miller’s work. Students are tasked under Author’s Style to, “[r]eview the opening scene of Act IV. Identify and describe one example of each dramatic element presented in realistic way.”

• In the Unit 6 construct of Independent Learning, students first complete a “first read” and then a “close read” of the text. Students are then required to share out their independent learning, which is based solely on the the text, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe: “What do stories reveal about the human condition?” This guiding question will push students to “continue to grow by sharing what [was] learned with others.” Students are required to “share [out] ideas about the text” that was explored first, independently, but then “jot down ideas that [students] learn from [others].”

The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and evidence as each unit is designed with several intentional, clearly labeled and supported speaking and listening activities, prompts, and presentations. In each unit, the Small-group Learning texts and tasks provide relevant follow-up questions and supports that direct students to speak with and listen to their peers. The Small-group Learning sections also provide a speaking- and listening-focused Performance Task. Additionally, speaking and listening is supported through Performance-based Assessments within each unit.

Examples of student opportunities for speaking and listening include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, students are required to work with a partner to identify “two passages from the excerpt that convey different tones” within a whole-class learning environment. Students are specifically referencing the passage excerpt from What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? by Frederick Douglass. Specific supports that students are given consist of examples of what students might come across in their deconstruction of the text; specifically, students are instructed to “look [together] for examples of passages in which Douglass emphasizes each of these ideas.” The supports consist of five bullet-pointed list items that peer-to-peer analysts must identify as the pair works together to identify two passages that convey different tones. Students must discuss with one another to achieve mastery in the standard and indicator. Relevant follow-up support includes an evaluation of the examples.

• In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, the “Speaking and Listening Focus” of the Small-group Learning Performance Task requires students to:
  • Present a Narrative: Students will be producing a presentation that includes text, graphics, and sound.
  • Plan With Your Group: Students are encouraged to look “for examples of stream of consciousness.” Additionally, teachers are provided with instruction and techniques on how students should “be prepared to field questions confidently and to defend their positions without being defensive.”
  • Rehearse With Your Group: Student are prompted to “provide constructive feedback to group members.” Also, the teacher is prompted to “remind groups that being familiar with their lines will improve their presentation”.
  • Present and Evaluate: Teachers are provided with reflection questions that will support students as they listen to their peers and evaluate their presentations.

The materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing as there is a variety of opportunities for on-demand and process writing throughout each unit in a variety of styles, formats, and lengths. Each unit contains several Performance Tasks that can be found at the end of each learning module (Whole-class Learning, Small-group Learning, and Independent Learning). The materials provide short and long on-demand writing assignments that prepare students for process writing projects.

Brief, on-demand writing assignments occur in relation to a single text or pair of texts and often lead to synthesis across assignments. Examples of on-demand assignments include evidence logs for information collection and journal logs for student reflection. Process writing in this series requires analysis and response to multiple texts and often occurs at the end of a unit as the Performance Task. Process writing assignments also support a presentation of the materials within the written assignment.

• In Unit 1, students compose an argumentative essay based on the following prompt: “Which statement do you find most compelling for Americans today: the Preamble to the Constitution or the first sentence in paragraph three of the Declaration of Independence?” This writing task requires students to reference very specific sections of the text to support their claim.

• In Unit 4, one of the Performance Tasks incorporates a Writing Focus. Students answer the following prompt: Write a five-paragraph explanatory essay in which you address this question: How do American authors use regional details to make the events and themes of a narrative come to life for readers?

• In Unit 5, students read an excerpt from Farewell to Manzanar and watch an interview with George Takei. Students are then required to choose one of three prompts listed and compose a compare-and-contrast essay. This on-demand writing task is facilitated through prewriting strategies in group discussion where students must record ideas during the group discussion based on an evidence organizer. Students are then led through a “Drafting” and “Review, Revise, and Edit” section that reinforces their ability to construct a solid response based on evidence from the text.

• In Unit 5, The culminating assessment for the unit is to write an argument responding to the question, "Is fear always a harmful emotion?" Students are prompted to review the argument writing rubric before beginning the assignment. They are also prompted to use the academic words introduced at the beginning of the unit and highlighted throughout the reading, and are prepared throughout the unit in brief writing assignments to better understand the concepts.

• In Unit 6, the Small-group Learning asks students to read “A Brief History of the Short Story.” They are tasked with conducting research and creating a research report within their groups. The student edition provides them with a chart to jot down their findings. This focused project serves as research for students to complete the Performance-based Assessment where they have to write a short story.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing (year long) that reflect the distribution required by the standards which may include “blended” styles.

The materials for Grade 11 provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards as each unit focuses on a different writing style and provides lesson-by-lesson support for teachers and students as they build towards a Performance-based Assessment. Within each unit, all writing tasks are directly related to the text and/or essential questions for the units. In addition to low-stakes, informal writing opportunities, students are provided with writing tasks through the Performance-based Assessments that are varied throughout the units and reflect the distribution required by the standards. Students engage in writing explanatory, nonfiction narrative, informative, and argumentative pieces across all units as demonstrated in the evidence below.

Examples of different writing types addressed to meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students write an argument to respond to this question: “What are the most effective tools for establishing and preserving freedom?”

• In Unit 2, students write a personal narrative about a significant incident that helped the student recognize individual uniqueness.

• In Unit 3, students write an informative essay in which you explore this question: “What motivates people to struggle for change?”

• In Unit 4, students write a brief analysis for six images of American fine art. Each image consists of a blurb regarding the date and title as well as a short summary on the piece and author.

• In Unit 6, students write a fictional narrative that answers the following question: “How do stressful situations often reveal the best and worst in people?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for research-based and evidence-based writing to support analysis, argument, synthesis and/or evaluation of information, supports, claims.

The materials reviewed for Grade 11 include frequent opportunities for research-based and evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, arguments, synthesis and/or evaluation of information, supports, and claims. Each unit has multiple opportunities for students to practice research skills that allow them to synthesize and evaluate a wide range of materials in order to enhance the quality of their writing. In each unit, students are prompted to explore a topic to deepen their learning or answer a question to gather evidence all in preparation for a culminating assignment. Some texts are accompanied by tasks which require writing to sources. These may embed short research to enhance the evidence later used to support writing and presentations. In each writing assignment, students are directed to use information from a variety of sources, synthesizing information from reading, research, experience, and other texts.

Examples of research and evidence-based writing that meet the criteria for this indicator include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students write an argumentative essay in which they determine which is most compelling for Americans today, the Preamble to the Constitution or the first sentence of paragraph three of the Declaration of Independence. Students are directed to use specific details from the texts within the unit, other historical examples, and personal observations of society.

• In Unit 3, students write an informative essay to respond to the question “What motivates people to struggle for change?” Students use information from texts within the unit to support their response.

• In Unit 4, after reading “A White Heron” as one of the anchor texts in Whole-group Learning, students review the short story to write a critical analysis. Using support materials provided, they are instructed on the process of “breaking down a work and seeing how each of its components contributes to the whole.”

• In Unit 6, during Independent Learning, students are given the opportunity to choose from a list of texts to gain examples to assist with writing a nonfiction narrative. Students are instructed to “evaluate the strength” of their content. However, if they do not have enough information to guide them in the writing process, one suggestion is to “do research about short stories.” This would enhance their ability to write the nonfiction narrative.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria for materials including instruction of the grammar and conventions/language standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application context.

Within the Grade 11 textbook, most of the materials include instruction of the grammar and conventions/language standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application. All texts within Whole-class Learning and Small-group Learning have a section labeled “Language Development.” The subsections within Language and Development vary based on the selection and may include, but are not limited to: “Concept Vocabulary,” “Word Study,” “Word Network,” “Conventions and Style,” and “Author’s Style.” Under “Conventions and Style,” materials provide instruction and opportunities for application of grammar and conventions/language skills. The holistic approach to grammar and language instruction follows this pattern throughout the textbook.

Examples of instruction of the grammar and conventions/language standards include, but are not limited to:

• Unit 1: “Writing Freedom," Anchor Text: Benjamin Franklin’s "Speech in the Convention" (public speech): After reading the speech, students are instructed on the usage of parallelism under “Conventions and Styles.” The following activities are assigned for practice: “Underline the parallel elements in these sentences”(from the text). and “Reread paragraph two of Franklin’s speech. Identify two examples of parallelism. Explain the ideas the parallel items expressed.”

• Unit 3: “Power, Protest, and Change,” Anchor Text: Abraham Lincoln’s "Second Inaugural Address" (public speech): During Whole-class Learning, students are given a lesson on prepositional phrases under the section, “Conventions and Styles.” Students complete the following activities: “Mark the prepositional phrases in each sentence. Then label each one as an adverb phrase or an adjective phrase.” and “Reread paragraph 3 of Lincoln’s speech. Mark and then label two adjective phrases and two adverb phrases. Explain how the use of prepositional phrases contributes to Lincoln’s style and helps clarify his ideas.”

• Unit 6: “Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales,” Anchor Text: “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce (short story): After reading the short story, students are given instruction on syntax with the introduction of asyndeton - the omission of a coordinating conjunction such as and or or where one would normally be. The assigned activities follow: “Read these examples of Bierce’s use of asyndeton in ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.’ In each sentence, mark where Bierce has chosen to omit a coordinating conjunction.” and “Reread paragraph 21 of ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,’ and identify the sentence in which Bierce employs asyndeton. Then, discuss with your group how the syntax of this sentence contributes to Bierce’s stream-of-consciousness narration.”