12th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 9 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.

Grade 12 anchor texts place emphasis on poetry and essays. Supporting texts within each unit provide a broad range of genres relating to the essential question for each unit. Study of anchor texts provides a common basis for study within a unit. Student interest, once piqued, can be supported with choice of suggested texts for selected study.

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

• Excerpts from Beowulf (epic poem) Scandinavian Tradition
• Beowulf (graphic novel) by Gareth Hinds
• “Prologue” from The Canterbury Tales (poem) by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Macbeth (drama) by William Shakespeare
• “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “Holy Sonnet 10” by John Donne
• excerpts from Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
• “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” and “The Prelude” by William Wordsworth
• “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats
• “Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
• excerpts from Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
• “Back to My Own Country” (essay) by Andrea Levy
• “Shooting an Elephant” (essay) by George Orwell

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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:

Units 1 and 2: Beowulf & The Canterbury Tales

• Students read Beowulf in Unit One and "The Prologue" from The Canterbury Tales in Unit Two. Students engage with these texts in Whole-class Learning as they are complex, iconic, canonical works of poetry but do not have quantitative Lexile measures. Though occurring in two separate units both texts have similarities that support the criteria for indicator 1c. Qualitatively, both texts have similar knowledge demands: “Students may need additional context about Anglo-Saxon [culture]...Background knowledge of the Middle Ages and the idea of a pilgrimage will help with context.” Beowulf relates to the Essential Question (EQ), “What makes a hero?” And the justification for the text in relation to the EQ is reinforced, “Beowulf, one of the oldest surviving literary works in Old English, makes a strong connection to the [EQ]. The poem provides examples of the characteristics exhibited by great mythic heroes: strength, courage, loyalty, honor, and leadership.”

• Also, the student analysis of "The Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales is reinforced by the following: “The Prologue from The Canterbury Tales connects to the Essential Question, “How do people come to have different views of society?” The descriptions of the pilgrims provide an insightful overview of the structure of medieval British society from nobility.” The student-associated task for "The Prologue" of The Canterbury Tales requires students to compose an explanatory essay that requires students to directly relate back to their analysis of Beowulf in Unit 1.

Unit 4: “Araby”

• Students read the short story, “Araby,” by James Joyce during Small Group Learning. Quantitatively, this text has a Lexile level of 940, with a text length of 2,335 words. While the complexity measure of this selected text is slightly below recommended reading level, the fact that the text is read in a small group increases the demand on students’ comprehension abilities. The publisher indicates the value of the text based on qualitative measures and the connection to the Essential Question, “Why are both vision and disillusion necessary?” For example, the short story “provides a clear-cut connection to the Essential Question...The narrator’s belief that he can win the girl’s affection with a gift drives his behavior, but it turns out to be a disillusion, a disappointment that he finally realizes at the story’s end.” The Student Performance Task based on this text is a response to a writing prompt: “Complete the following sentence about a speaker, narrator, or character from this unit: _____’s world changed forever when…”

Unit 6: from The Buried Giant

• During Independent Learning, students read the novel excerpt by Kazuo Ishiguro, from The Buried Giant. The quantitative measure for this text is 1266 Lexile level, with a text length of 2,672 words. Though this text falls above the recommended 12th grade reading level, materials provide supports and meaningful connections that students can make with the text. This text directly addresses the Performance Based Assessment that students are required to complete, which is an informative essay that questions “[I]n what ways is home both a place and a state of mind?” The text reinforces this connection: “Despite the harsh living conditions that the writer describes, the characters in [the text] seem to have a home and relationship.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 12 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: Forging a Hero

Whole-group Learning text: Beowulf

• Lexile: NP
• Length: 6,804
• Qualitative Analysis:
  • Knowledge Demands: 4/5
  • Structure: 4/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 5/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 4/5
• Performance Task: "Write a brief argumentative essay in which you address this question: Which counts more--taking a stand or winning?"

Independent Learning text: “The New Psychology of Leadership” by Reicher, Platow, and Haslam

• Lexile: 1360
• Word Count: 3,059
• Qualitative Analysis:
  • Knowledge Demands: 4/5
  • Structure: 3/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 4/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 4/5
• Text Questions:
  • Hypothesize: How do historical circumstances change whether people believe in contingency based on the “inborn talents” model of leadership?
  • Interpret: Why do people care more about whether their leader fits the group than about “leadership traits?”
  • Compare and Contrast: How is the “inborn talents” model similar to and different from the “new pictures?"
  • Hypothesize: Consider what would happen to a leader whose followers no longer identified with him or her. What might the leader do to remain in power?

Unit Performance Based Assessment:

• Write an argument in which you offer a response to this question: Which contributes more to heroism--sacrifice or success?

Unit 6: Finding a Home

Whole-class Learning text: “Back to My Own Country: An Essay” by Andrea Levy

• Lexile: 900
• Word count: 3,954
• Qualitative Analysis
  • Knowledge Demands: 3/5
  • Structure: 3/5
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity: 2/5
  • Levels of Meaning and Purpose: 3/5
• Performance Task: "Think about how Andrea Levy and George Orwell both define and wrestle with their relationships to Britain. Conduct research to write an informative essay in response to this question: How did British colonialism complicate the idea of home?"

Independent Learning Text: excerpt from The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

• Lexile: 1266
• Word count: 2,672
• 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: Based on the description in the text, when is the action of the novel taking place? Is it the distant past, the immediate past, or the future?
  • Identify: Why are the people not especially astonished by the ogres?
  • Explain: What seems to be bothering Axl the night he rises from bed and goes to sit outside?
  • Critique: Are the author’s descriptions of the setting effective? Do they provide a clever idea about when and where the action is taking place?

Unit 6 Performance-based Assessment

• Write an informative essay in which you explain different perspectives on the concept of home. In your essay, explore this question: In what ways is home both a place and a state of mind?

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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: from Beowulf (epic poem)

• Insight: Most of the events described in Beowulf had been part of the Anglo-Saxon poetic storytelling tradition for centuries before the poem was written down. Many of the characters in the poem--notably members of the royal Swedish and Danish families--are historical people. Despite being written in Old English, Beowulf has its roots in Scandinavian culture.
• Instructional Standards: RL.10, RL.3, RL.5, RL.1, L.3a, L.4.b, L.4c, W.2, W.5, SL.2, SL.5
• Quantitative Measures:
  • Lexile: NP
  • Text Length: 6,804 words
• Qualitative Measures:
  • Knowledge Demands (4 out of 5): Selection provides some historical background information, but students may need additional context about Anglo-Saxon history. Selection contain several biblical references.
  • Structure (4 out of 5): The selection is an epic poem told in third person prose. The plot is simple but the narrator uses flashbacks to explain some historical aspects.
  • Language Conventionality and Clarity (5 out of 5): Selection contains formal language, figurative language, including metaphorical descriptions (kennings, i.e, ring giver = king), alliterative language.
  • Levels of Meaning/Purpose (4 out of 5): Multiple levels of meaning; complex ideas developed through use of symbolism.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 12 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: Forging a Hero

Anchor Text: Beowulf (epic poem)

Supporting Texts

• “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (poetry) by Alfred Lord Tennyson
• “The Song of the Mud” (poetry) by Mary Borden
• Queen Elizabeth I’s speech before the troops at Tilbury
• “The New Psychology of Leadership” (science journal)

Unit 3: Facing the Future, Confronting the Past

Anchor Text: MacBeth

Supporting Texts

• Excerpt from a graphic novel of Macbeth
• Excerpt from Oedipus Rex (play)
• “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
• “Man’s Short Life and Foolish Ambition” (poetry) by Margaret Cavendish
• “What’s Your Time Perspective?” (scientific article) by Jane Collingwood

Unit 4: Seeing Things New

Anchor Texts

• Poetry by John Donne
• An excerpt from Gulliver’s Travels (satirical prose) by Jonathan Swift

Supporting Text

• Silent film adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels
• Cover art from a variety of covers of the Gulliver’s Travels
• “To His Coy Mistress” (poetry) by Andrew Marvell
• “The Explosion” (poetry) by Philip Larkin.

Unit 6: Finding a Home

Anchors Texts:

• “Back to My Own Country” (essays) by Andrea Levy
• “Shooting an Elephant” (essays) by George Orwell.

Supporting Texts:

• “History of Jamaica” from the Encyclopaedia Britannica website
• Various poetry including poems by Rudyard Kipling
• An essay by Isabel Allende

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 read multiple poems and an informational article regarding heroes of wartime, based on the Essential Question, “What makes a hero?” Students then complete a Performance-based Assessment regarding the prompt, “What heroic traits does the traditional war hero exhibit?” In groups, students will create a slideshow that must reference “specific details from the texts to support [their] claims.”

• In Unit 2, students read three news articles, “Occupy LSX May Be Gone, but the Movement Won’t Be Forgotten,” “Today’s Pygmy Protesters Are No Heirs To Martin Luther King,” and “Inequality and the Crisis: Still Pre-Occupied.” Using the texts, students are given a series of questions to answer and tasks to complete under Comprehension Check.
  • “What two movements in other countries does Fraser cite as inspirations for Occupy LSX?”
  • “In 'Inequality and the Crisis: Still Pre-Occupied,' who does the author cite as sources that supported Haldane’s statements?”
  • “Confirm your understanding of the texts by writing a two- or three-sentence summary of each one.”

• In Unit 4, students read an excerpt from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Under Concept Vocabulary, students answer a series of questions where they must use the text to employ context clues to understand the meanings of the highlighted vocabulary words. One question asks, “In what does use of the concept vocabulary enable Swift to create the setting and context of his story?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 12 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 2, the Performance Task is an explanatory essay that asks students to answer the following prompt after having read The Canterbury Tales, specifically "The Prologue:" “How does Chaucer find humor in the difference between the ideal and the real in the characters that populate The Canterbury Tales?” Students are then required to specifically focus upon the sections of the Prologue that “deal with the Doctor, the Monk, and one other social type.” Students are supported throughout the lesson by suggestions of how to begin the brief explanatory essay: “One way to begin your essay would be with a direct reference to Chaucer’s text.” This example, on page 50, acts as one of many lessons built within Unit Two that help build students up to the culminating task of writing a major explanatory essay that acts as the Performance-based Assessment below:
  • Explanatory Essay: On page seventy-five, students are responsible for composing a larger, overarching essay answering the question, “What factors lead people to criticize their society rather than simply accept it?” The above Performance Task, paired with the Essential Question, "How do people come to have different views of society?" provide students with adequate support in their attempts to answer this question/prompt that pushes students back to the text, “in which [students] select three examples from literary and social history; in the actual construction of the essay assignment, students must reference a third example of someone that 'wrote or was mentioned in a text from this unit.'”

• In Unit 5, the Performance-based Assessment is to write a personal narrative in which students take examples from the unit’s readings to answer the following question: “What types of experiences allow us to discover who we really are?” The second part of that assessment is for students to employ speaking and listening skills where they use the essay as a foundation for a two-minute elevator introduction. To prepare for this Performance-based Assessment students do the following:
  • Whole-class Learning: Students read two poems and excerpts from the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley where nature or world events lead to a shifting sense of one’s self. Their task is to write a personal narrative answering, “How does the world around us contribute to our sense of self?” The instructional material takes students through the writing process, highlighting elements of a personal narrative, and the use of conventions.
  • Small-group Learning: Student groups compare the unit’s readings, including novel excerpts, poems, an excerpt from a science journalism text, and a radio broadcast. Students create and deliver a narrative based on one of the characters of the text they have read.
  • 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 a personal narrative answering the question, “What types of experiences allow us to discover who we really are?” 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 12 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 12 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 1, students are required to complete a “Launch Activity.” This launch activity requires students to draft a focus statement based on the following question: “Which character traits do I admire in my personal heroes?” The focus statements that students create will be designed on sticky notes, wherein students must record one adjective to help complete the statement. The whole class will then review the sticky notes together where students must “[w]ork together to reduce the number of notes by identifying and eliminating those that are synonyms or represent the same basic ideas.” Students must then “vote on the words.” This activity prompts students to “discuss whether the three words that receive the most votes create a strong statement. If not, vote again.” The directions reinforce that failure is an option and relates back to the launch text, “A World of Heroes.”

• In Unit 3, Literary Criticism, materials provide a tip for group discussion. “When discussing literary criticism, be sure to distinguish between the critic’s analysis and the original text the critic is discussing.”

• In Unit 4, Seeing Things Now, the following is one of the Unit Introduction Activities: In the “Discuss It” section, students are prompted with the question, “How is it possible for a favorite book to transform you?” Additionally, protocols are in place for students, instructing them to “write [their] response before sharing.”

• In Unit 5, students are assigned to read “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode to the West Wind” by poets Shelley and Keats. In Language Development, under Convention and Style, students are tasked with identifying symbolism. They are then given a chart where they must gather details that suggest symbolic meaning in both poems.

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 1, for the Performance-based Assessment preparation, students are directed to evaluate evidence and make a plan to supplement if insufficient. One option is to “do some research.”

• In Unit 2, “Reflecting on Society,” during the Independent Learning time, students utilize the text excerpt from The Rape of the Lock, to complete a “Making Meaning: Effective Expression” task through these steps:
  • Prepare to Share: Students are expected to share what they have learned with their peers. They are prompted with the question, “How do people come to have different views of society?”
  • Learn from Your Classmates: Teachers are prompted to encourage students to “take particular note of how their classmates’ chosen selections align with their current position on the Performance-based Assessment question.”
  • Author's Perspective: Teachers are provided with information about how to “support students as they learn and develop the skills of participating in small-group discussions,” specifically focusing on active listening and learning.
• In Unit 6, students are asked to present a panel discussion for the “Performance Task: Speaking and Listening Focus.” Students are directed to work with their groups “to hold an informative panel discussion on this question: What makes a place important enough to write about?” Students are then required to capture their “discussion on video to share with others.” This Performance Task is twofold: students are participating in discussion to present and evaluate and to further discuss. Students organize their discussion based on close analysis of three texts, They are instructed to “choose three texts from this section and analyze how each writer conveys a strong sense of place. What key characteristics of each place do the writers communicate?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 write a compare and contrast essay examining the character of Beowulf to a modern hero. While this first culminating assignment suggests an on-demand essay, the journaling includes reflection on various aspects of the essay.

• In Unit 2, students are expected to compose a brief explanatory essay to answer the following prompt after having read excerpts of The Canterbury Tales, “How does Chaucer find humor in the difference between the ideal and the real in the characters that populate The Canterbury Tales?” Students are then required to specifically focus upon the sections of the Prologue that “deal with the Doctor, the Monk, and one other social type.”

• In Unit 4, the Whole-class Learning asks students to compare and analyze “artistic interpretations of Swift’s satire.” This assignment is based on Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and an excerpt from a silent film adaptation of the novel as well as a gallery of Gulliver’s Travels book covers. Students, within the whole-class construct, are required to complete a “Prewriting,” “Drafting,” and “Review, Revise, and Edit” section of their comparison/analysis.

• In Unit 6, the Independent Learning asks students to read different texts. Additionally, it requires that students share what they have learned with classmates from notes taken in their Evidence Log. This activity allows students to gain information from other classmates who read different works, and it gives them more resources to complete their Performance-based Assessment, in which students write an informative essay explaining different perspectives of home.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 12 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, literary criticism, narrative, 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 in which they offer a response to this question: “Which contributes more to heroism—sacrifice or success?”

• In Unit 2, students write an explanatory essay in which they select three examples from literary and social history to answer this question: “What factors lead people to criticize their society rather than simply accept it?”

• In Unit 3, students write a brief response to literature to address this question: “In what ways does Macbeth attempt to control the future and to bury the past?”

• In Unit 4, students are directed to write a reflective narrative based on personal experience and supported by evidence from at least three different texts in the unit.

• In Unit 6, students conduct research to write an informative essay in response to the following question: “How did British colonialism complicate the idea of home?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 12 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, after reading an excerpt from Beowulf, students write to sources by crafting a compare and contrast essay about Beowulf and a modern hero. Students must use quotations from the text and specific relevant examples from the modern selection.

• In Unit 2, while studying the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, students are directed to choose a related subtopic to research for a better understanding of the text. They might explore religions that preceded Christianity in Great Britain, the history of Christianity in Great Britain, corruption in the medieval English church, and more.

• In Unit 3, after reading The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act II, students are directed to write a psychological report of one of the main characters. They must use excerpts from the text to support their analysis. After reading Act V of The Tragedy of Macbeth, students listen to an audio presentation, then they formulate a research question.

• In Unit 5, after reading an excerpt from Frankenstein, students are assigned research that asks them to find and read a copy of the Declaration of Independence, then consider the similarities and differences between the ideas of the monster and the ideas of the authors of the Declaration.

• In Unit 6, in this unit entitled, "Finding a Home," students write to sources with a formal analysis. Students read selections of poems in the text and then choose others to read from the Harlem Renaissance, Robert Burns, or Sir Walter Scott. They then write to analyze the works of the poets of the era.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 12 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: “Forging a Hero,” Anchor Text: “To Lucasta, On Going to the Wars” and other poems by Richard Lovelace: After reading the poetry of Richard Lovelace, students are given instruction on coordinating conjunctions. The assignments in “Conventions and Style” are: “In each example from the poem, identify the coordinating conjunction and the words that it connects.” and “Reread lines 35-38 in “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” Identify any coordinating conjunctions, and explain how they help increase the dramatic impact of the poem.”

• Unit 3: “Facing the Future, Confronting the Past,” Anchor Text: Macbeth by William Shakespeare (play/drama): While reading Act IV of Macbeth, students are given a chart under the “Conventions and Style” section that asks them to examine the use of exclamation points in the text. For the assigned lines, they must complete the chart and give the reason for using the exclamation point.

• Unit 6: “Finding a Home,” Anchor Text: “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell (short story): After reading the short story, students are given instruction on formal and informal language under “Conventions and Style.” The activities are as follows: “Reread paragraphs 2 and 3 of “Shooting an Elephant.” Identify examples of formal and informal language.” and “Reread paragraphs 4 of “Shooting an Elephant.” Identify examples of formal and informal language. What effect does the change from formal to informal language have?”