10th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 10 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:

• "Fall of the House of Usher” (short story) by Edgar Allan Poe
• “House Taken Over” (short story) by Julio Cortazar
• Excerpt from How to Tell If You Are Reading a Gothic Novel - In Pictures (informational graphic) by Adam Frost and Zhenia Vasiliev
• Excerpt from The “Four Freedoms” Speech (speech) by Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “Inaugural Address” (speech) by John F. Kennedy
• “Inaugural Address” (video) by John F. Kennedy
• The Tempest, Acts I - V (drama) by William Shakespeare
• “En El Jardin de los Espejos Quebrados, Caliban Catches a Glimpse of His Reflection” (poetry) by Virgil Suárez
• “Literature and Culture: Oedipus the King” (historical context - Ancient Greece)
• Oedipus Rex, Parts I and II (drama) by Sophocles

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 2: “The Metamorphosis”

• During Whole-class Learning, students read “The Metamorphosis,” a short story by Franz Kafka, which acts as the anchor text for the unit. Quantitatively, the Lexile level is 1310, with a word count of 21,912. Materials support students to make meaning and personal connections through the Essential Question (EQ) and the sections created to push students to comprehension: “Making Meaning,” “Language Development,” and “Effective Expression.” The short story is paired with a BBC film that aids in comprehension by providing video and audio. The EQ (Do people need to belong?) proves a strong relation with the associated task via qualitative analysis: “In this story, Gregor’s inability to belong in his altered state ruins his life. It also seriously hurts his family, who must care for him.” This analysis provided in the instructor’s text directly relates the EQ to the associated student task, while providing a strongly backed, qualitative analysis.

Unit 4: “The Golden Touch”

• Students read the short story, “The Golden Touch” by Nathaniel Hawthorne in small groups. Because the Lexile measure for this story is 1130 and the text is 5,862 words, the text is quite accessible for small groups' learning based on quantitative measures. Qualitatively speaking, the instructor’s edition states that based on “Knowledge Demands” that “[T]he selection is a retelling of the myth of King Midas. The character’s situation and feelings are clearly explained.”

Unit 5: “The Sun Parlor”

• Quantitatively, the reflective essay, “The Sun Parlor” falls on the lower end of the recommended Lexile range. However, students are required to complete this text within the construct of Independent Learning; considering students are required to read this text independent of assistance, students are to complete a “First Read,” and then “Close Read the Text.” So while the Lexile measure may be slightly lower and less challenging, qualitatively, students are presented with challenging concepts based on the Essential Question, “What motivates us to forgive?” The materials describe the tasks as an “adult reflection on mistaken values; students need to be open to the fact that people change over time.”

Unit 6: Excerpt from From Blindness

• During Independent Learning, students read the novel excerpt from Blindness by José Saramago. As an outlier this text is well above the recommended Lexile range with a Lexile level 1600 and a text length of 5,502 words. Materials discuss the qualitative features that support student understanding of the text complexity: “The structure of the narrative is fairly clear and straightforward, with no exceptions to the chronology.” The text very strongly relates to the Essential Question: “What does it mean to see?” The man’s blindness occurs unexpectedly in a public place. His condition becomes more mysterious as the reader learns that there is no apparent physical cause. The reader is left to wonder if the blindness is a psychological condition or some unknown disease.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 10 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: Inside the Nightmare

Whole-group Learning text: “Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe

• Lexile: 1410
• Length: 7,162
• Qualitative Analysis:
  • Knowledge Demands: 4/5
  • Structure: 2/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 4/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 4/5
• Performance Task: "Use your knowledge of these texts and your own experience or observations to write an explanatory essay that answers this question: How and when does imagination overcome reason?"

Independent Learning text: Sleep Paralysis

• Lexile: 1090
• Word count: 449
• Qualitative Analysis:
  • Knowledge Demands: 3/5
  • Structure: 3/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 2/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 2/5
• Text Questions:
  • Connect: What information about a symptom of sleep paralysis might link causes of stories of alien abduction in recent years?
  • Hypothesize: Why do you think people in “ages past” had stories of being harassed by demons rather than reporting that they had been abducted by aliens?
  • Compare and Contrast: In what way does the author say Lori Ball’s condition is similar to and different from other people’s sleep paralysis?

Unit Performance-based Assessment:

• Write an explanatory essay on the following topic: In what ways does transformation play a role in stories meant to scare us?

Unit 6: Blindness and Sight

Whole-class Learning text: Oedipus the King Part 1 by Sophocles

• Lexile: NP
• Word count: 7,288
• Qualitative Analysis
  • Knowledge Demands: 4/5
  • Structure: 3/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 3/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 4/5
• Performance Task: "Using information you have gathered through reading and your own life experiences, consider the differences between how people see themselves and how they are perceived by others. Wire a nonfiction narrative about a time when one person’s self-perception was unclear or incomplete, but someone saw him or her clearly. Tell a true story that suggests an answer to the following question: Can we see ourselves as clearly as others see us?"

Independent Learning Text: from Blindness by Jose Saramago

• Lexile: 1600
• Word count: 5,502
• Qualitative Analysis
  • Knowledge Demands: 2/5
  • Structure: 2/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 4/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 3/5
• Text Questions
  • Analyze Cause and Effect: What effect does the lack of quotation marks to delineate dialogue have on the reader?
  • Assess: Why do you think the author chose to write the story in this manner?
  • Interpret: When the man is waiting for his wife in the lobby, what does he do over and over? Why does he feel the need to do this?
  • Connect: After the man is returned from home, he ends up falling asleep and into a dream. At the end of the story he dreams again. What is the significance of these dreams?
  • Speculate: What do you think might have happened to the man to cause him to suddenly go blind? Explain.

Unit 6 Performance-based Assessment

• Write a nonfiction narrative in which you tell a true story related to the following question: Is there a difference between seeing and knowing.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 10 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 10 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: Inside the Nightmare

Anchor texts:

• “Fall of the House of Usher” (short story) by Edgar Allan Poe
• “House Taken Over” (short story) by Julio Cortazar
• Excerpt from How to Tell If You Are Reading a Gothic Novel - In Pictures (informational graphic) by Adam Frost and Zhenia Vasiliev

Supporting Texts:

• “Where is Here?” (short story) by Joyce Carol Oates
• Section from The Dream Collector (photo gallery) by Arthur Tress
• “Why Do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?” (Interview) by Allegra Ringo

Unit 3: Extending Freedom’s Reach

Anchor texts:

• Excerpt from "The Four Freedoms” (speech) by Franklin D. Roosevelt
• “Inaugural Address” (speech) by John F. Kennedy
• “Inaugural Address” (video) by John F. Kennedy

Supporting Texts:

• Speech at the United Nations (speech) by Malala Yousafzai
• Diane Sawyer Interview with Malala Yousafzai (interview) by ABC News
• “Caged Bird” (poem) by Maya Angelou

Unit 5: Virtue and Vengeance

Anchor texts:

• The Tempest, Acts I - V (drama) by William Shakespeare
• “En El Jardin de los Espejos Quebrados, Caliban Catches a Glimpse of His Reflection” (poetry) by Virgil Suárez

Supporting Texts:

• “They are hostile nations” (poetry) by Margaret Atwood
• “Let South Africa Show the World How to Forgive” (speech) by Desmond Tutu

Unit 6: Blindness and Sight

Anchor texts:

• “Literature and Culture: Oedipus the King” (historical context - Ancient Greece)
• Oedipus Rex, Parts I and II (drama) by Sophocles

Supporting Texts:

• “View from the Empire State Building” (letter) by Helen Keller
• “The Country of the Blind” (short story) by H.G. Wells
• “The Neglected Senses” from For the Benefit of Those Who See (memoir) by Rosemary Mahoney

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 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, the Performance Writing Task focus asks student to compose an explanatory essay that answers the question, “How and when does imagination overcome reason?” This addresses the Essential Question, “What is the allure of fear?” The instructions move students to further “support [their] ideas with references to the selections in Whole-class Learning, as well an an anecdote--or brief narrative--from [their] own experience.”

• In Unit 2, after reading “The Metamorphosis,” students are introduced to Modernism. To further analyze the short story, students are asked the following questions:
  • “In what way is the story of “The Metamorphosis” fantastical?”
  • “In what ways could Kafka’s story be said to be ambiguous?”
  • “Is Gregor Samsa alienated? Explain.”
  • “In what sense could the story be said to be like a dream?”

• In Unit 6, after reading Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Part II, students analyze the drama by using the text to answer the following questions: “What facts does Oedipus gain by questioning the old shepherd? Why might this scene be the climax, or point of highest tension, in the tragedy? Explain.” The directions require that they “[c]ite textual evidence to support your answers."

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 10 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, the Performance Writing Task focus asks students to compose an explanatory essay that answers, “How and when does imagination overcome reason?” This addresses the Essential Question, “What is the allure of fear?” The instructions move students to further “support [their] ideas with references to the selections in Whole-class Learning, as well as an anecdote--or brief narrative--from [their] own experience.”

• In Unit 5, the Performance-based Assessment is to write an argument essay and informal speech in which students answer the question, “Can justice and forgiveness go hand in hand?” To prepare for this Performance-based Assessment students do the following:
  • Whole-class Learning: Students read William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and then go through the writing process, highlighting elements of an argument and the peer review process, to write their own argument Performance Task that explores and defends the topic of virtue and vengeance.
  • Small-group Learning: Students join with their groups to review the unit’s readings (about nations and individuals who have struggled with forgiveness) as the foundation for creating and planning a talk show segment that addresses the question, “Does forgiveness first require an apology?”
  • Independent Learning: Students review their Evidence Log to see if they have enough evidence to write an argument answering the question, “Can justice and forgiveness go hand in hand? 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 10 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 10 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 3, during whole-class instruction, students are required to analyze the performance of Part II of the play Oedipus; before discussion, students are to collect references and details as evidence via a Notes Collection Rubric. Students then construct critiques regarding the performance and then share and discuss: “Exchange critiques with a partner and discuss similarities and differences in your points of view. Then, consider how well you each met the criteria for the assignment.” The materials within this section provide opportunities for heavily-influenced, evidence-based discussions in a peer-to-peer setting during whole-class instruction.

• In Unit 4, students read the “The Necklace” as one of the anchor texts. Under Language Development, students are given concept vocabulary which are highlighted in the short story. Students must respond to two questions that require them to look at the syntax within the piece: “How does the concept vocabulary sharpen the reader’s understanding of Mathilde Loisel’s character?” and “What other words in the selection connect to this concept?”

• Unit 5, Let South Africa Show the World How to Forgive: As with grade 9, students are provided vocabulary words highlighted and defined in the text. They are then presented with brief explanations of prefix and suffix strategies and directed to explain how these strategies helped them make meaning of the words selected.

• In Unit 6, Blindness and Sight, students practice small-group learning strategies. The materials outline the strategies and actions that are suggested for working in groups. These protocols support students as they have evidence-based discussions. For example, students are asked to come to class “prepared for group work,” “make eye contact to signal” their listening, “use text evidence,” “build off ideas from others,” and “invite others who have not yet spoken to join.” These prompts provide students with the directions necessary to initiate and sustain evidence-based discussions.

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 2, Outsiders and Outcasts, during the “Speaking and Listening Focus” of the Small-group Learning Performance Task, students follow this process:
  • Deliver a Multimedia Presentation: Students are provided with supports to deliver a multimedia presentation as a group. Students will be producing a presentation that includes text, graphics, and sound.
  • Plan With Your Group: Students are encouraged to “look for evidence in all readings to support their positions.” Additionally, students are prompted to “brainstorm what types of imagery best illustrate the idea of being different or being the same.”
  • Rehearse With Your Group: Student are prompted to “revisit the content of the presentation” to edit, if necessary. Also, the teacher is prompted to “remind students of the danger of speaking too fast when giving a presentation.”
  • Present and Evaluate: Teachers are provided with reflection questions that will support students as they listen to their peers and evaluate their presentations.

• In Unit 4, The Thrill of the Chase, directions for group discussion include, “Be an active listener. As members of your group share key passages and explain their choices, give them your full attention. Ask questions, such as “Could you say more about that?” or “What sentence or paragraph in the text led you to that conclusion?”

• In Unit 5, students plan a Talk Show in which they answer the question “Does forgiveness first require an apology?” This Small-group Learning task requires that each student take a role as a member of the talk show.

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 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.

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

• In Unit 2, students review previously conceived notions based on evidence from the texts and compare to their opinions. Students then write a formal argumentative essay, which stands as the Performance-based Assessment. The essay response question is: “Should people in life-or-death situations be held accountable for their actions?”

• In Unit 3, students read “The Metamorphosis.” The following assignment requires that the students use their reading to complete a writing task: "In a movie pitch, a writer tries to convince a movie studio to make a particular film. Write a pitch in which you argue that 'The Metamorphosis' should be made into a major Hollywood film."

• In Unit 4, the Small-group Learning Task asks students to read The Thrill of the Chase. Following the reading, students write a paragraph to explain the steps to take to find Forrest Fenn’s treasure. Students are directed to use sentence variety when writing after analyzing sentence variety in the text; it is used as a mentor text in this context.

• In Unit 4, during the Independent Learning section, students write an informative essay explaining how to decide what we want vs what we need and what can result from an imbalance between want and need. Students are directed to use evidence from sources across the unit and from the on-demand assignments leading to this culminating task.

• In Unit 6, the Independent Learning activity asks students to review their Evidence Log to recheck their answer to the following question: “Is there a difference between seeing and knowing?” After independently reading an excerpt from the novel Blindness, students are asked if what they read added or changed what they thought about seeing and knowing. This short, focused writing task serves as prewriting for their Performance-based Assessment where students will write a nonfiction narrative that retells a true story answering the same question from their Evidence Log.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 meet 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 10 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 explanatory essay on the following: “In what ways does transformation play a role in stories meant to scare us?”

• In Unit 2, students write an argumentative essay in which they defend a claim about the universal reality of being an outsider.

• In Unit 4, students write an informative essay in which they examine a topic and convey concepts, information, and ideas as related to a particular question.

• In Unit 5, students write an analysis for two poems: “They Are Hostile Nations,” by Margaret Atwood, and “Under a Certain LIttle Star,” by Wislawa Szymborska.

• In Unit 6, students address the prompt, “Write a nonfiction narrative in which you tell a true story related to the following question: Is there a difference between seeing and knowing?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 10 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 2, after reading On Seeing England for the First Time, students conduct research to learn about either the history of British rule in Antigua or the Brixon riots of April 1981. The culminating task for this unit asks students to write and present a scene in which characters based on unit texts respond to the question: “Which aspects of English society would you change? Which would you keep?” Students must synthesize information from text analysis as well as evidence from their own research.

• In Unit 3, after reading an excerpt from Freedom of the Press Report 2015, students are asked to research more about the press in their Small-group Learning. The purpose of this work is to support the creation of an infographic presentation. Students are assigned to research the issue of freedom of the press in at least two countries.

• In Unit 4, students synthesize information from a variety of sources including texts within the unit, their own personal experience, and the experiences of others shared in media to write an evidence-based essay about how and when imagination overcomes reason.

• In Unit 5, after reading William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, students are asked to write a literary criticism of the drama. To achieve this, they are given smaller assignments that will lead to completion of an analysis of the entire work. One assignment reads as follows: “In this assignment, you will write a few paragraphs of literary criticism that analyze the ending of The Tempest. Consider one of these two issues in your analysis: Explain the effect on the play’s happy ending of Prospero giving up his powers or of Prospero forgiving Antonio while reminding him of his treachery.”

• In Unit 6, after reading, Oedipus the King, Part I, students research the places named in the text. In Part II, students research various ways artists have portrayed Oedipus over the centuries.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 10 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 2: “Outsiders and Outcasts," Anchor Text: “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, translated by Ian Johnston (short story): The Teacher’s Edition notes that in the text “[t]he story uses complex language with archaic or unfamiliar syntax...many complex sentences with multiple clauses, figurative language, and above-level vocabulary.” To address this complexity, students engage in Whole-class Learning to read the text and complete four grammar and conventions/language practices: “Concept Vocabulary,” “Word Study,” “Word Network,” and “Conventions.” For example, in “Word Study,” students are practicing identifying, analyzing, and creating examples of connotation and denotation in the following tasks: “Name synonyms for three of the concept vocabulary words, and tell whether or not their connotations differ in degree of intensity.” and “For each of the three concept words you choose, write three sentences. In the first, use the concept word itself. In the second, use a synonym that has a lower degree of intensity. In the third, use a synonym that has a higher degree of intensity.”

• Unit 5: “Virtue and Vengeance,” Anchor Text: The Tempest by William Shakespeare (play/drama): During Whole-class Reading over the course of five acts, students experience a number of grammar and conventions/language practices: “Concept Vocabulary,” “Word Study,” “Word Network,” “Conventions,” and “Author’s Style.” An example task asks students to focus specifically on “Author’s Style” and word choice that as tools for character development. Students complete the following: “Briefly describe the type of diction each character uses in these passages.” and “Write two brief passages about the same topic. In one passage, use diction that Caliban might use. In the other, use diction that Ariel might use.” (Student Edition page 115).