12th Grade - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a. 

The materials are organized around a cohesive topic(s)/theme(s) that build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. The materials include six units, each focusing on a topic related to the Essential Question, which can be found in the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter. Each section has a guiding question that builds to an answer for the unit Essential Question; texts are tied to these questions through a unifying theme. Students complete readings during Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, and Independent Learning. A variety of texts are provided with varying levels of complexity to build students’ knowledge and ability to navigate complex text independently and proficiently by the end of the year. Each text builds knowledge in either the topic, literary skill, or historical time period the text represents. Historical, biographical, cultural, or textual references are included to build and support student comprehension of the anchor texts. The Teacher’s Edition notes several areas of support for background knowledge and scaffolding support in vocabulary and knowledge acquisition, close reading annotations, and discussions. Texts are followed by a set of questions and activities divided into consistent sections: Before Reading includes Concept Vocabulary and First Read Strategies; After Reading includes Comprehension Check, Research, Close Read the Text, Analyze the Text, Analyze Craft and Structure, Concept Vocabulary, and Author’s Style. 

Texts are connected by a grade-appropriate cohesive topic/theme/line of inquiry. Texts build knowledge and the ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter, the materials consistently share how students engage with text around each unit topic. A Launch Text “introduces a perspective on the unit topic.” During Whole-Class Learning, teachers are directed to “lead the shared reading experience providing modeling and support, as students begin exploring perspectives on the unit topic.” The next step is for students to “encounter diverse perspectives on the unit topic, working in collaborative teams.” Finally, during Independent Learning, students choose “a text to explore an aspect of the unit topic and share their learning with the class.”

• In Unit 2, Reflecting on Society: Argument, Satire, and Reform, the Essential Question is “How do people come to have different views of society?” and students read multiple texts that connect to the topic, such as a Launch Text, “Standing Up to Absolute Power” (author not cited), “The Prologue” from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, from “The Worms of the Earth Against the Lions” by Barbara W. Tuchman, and “Shakespeare’s Sister” by Virginia Woolf.

• In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past, Shakespeare Extended Study, the Essential Question is “How do our attitudes toward the past and future shape our actions?” and students read multiple texts that connect to the topic, such as a poetry collection, including “Sonnet 12,” “Sonnet 60,” and “Sonnet 73” by William Shakespeare; from “The Naked Babe and the Cloak of Manliness” by Cleanth Brooks; and Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, the Essential Question is “What does it mean to call a place home?” and students read multiple texts that connect to the topic, such as a Launch Text, “Home Away From Home” (author not cited); a Whole-Class Learning text, “Back to My Own Country: An Essay” by Andrea Levy; a Small-Group Learning text, “History of Jamaica” by Encyclopedia Britannica; and, an Independent Learning text, “My Old Home” by Lu Hsun.

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b. 

The materials include high-quality questions and tasks in which students analyze key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts. The materials are organized in a consistent pattern across all units with multiple after-reading activities. The First-Read Guide requires students to note what they notice, annotate the text, connect ideas with other selections, and respond by writing a brief summary. The Close-Read Guide provides students with reminders to revisit sections and annotate what they notice. The Close-Read Guide includes the Analyze the Text and Analyze Craft and Structure sections in which they analyze key ideas and details as well as consider the author’s choices of patterns, structure, and techniques. All of the activities require students to revisit the text and use specific text evidence in their answers. In the Teacher’s Edition, the sample answers also include the depth of knowledge levels for questions; most are at DOK 2 or 3. For some texts, the questions lead to the subsequent Writing or Speaking and Listening activities. These questions also build toward the various Performance Tasks embedded after Whole-Class Learning, Small-Group Learning, and at the end of the unit. Students keep an evidence log and notebook throughout each unit to record responses and help them prepare for the culminating tasks. 

For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Forging a Hero: Warriors and Leaders, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, and analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama. In Analyze for Meaning, students annotate the text. The Teacher’s Edition provides teacher guidance: “Guide students to consider what these details might tell them. Ask what the reader can infer about the significance of the words ‘final’ and ‘last’ with respect to the coming battle, and accept student responses…Help students to formulate conclusions about the importance of these details. Ask why the author might have included these details…Remind students when they close read to analyze meaning, they look at the words the writer has chosen, and they question how these words convey meaning.” As students complete a Close Read, they annotate lines of the text and answer questions, such as “How do these contrasting details help the reader better understand Beowulf’s dilemma?”

• In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past: Shakespeare Extended Study, Small-Group Learning, students read from “The Naked Babe and the Cloak of Manliness” by Cleanth Brooks and the excerpt from “Macbeth” by Frank Kermode. Students analyze key ideas and details, determining two or more central ideas of a text and analyzing their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex analysis. Students complete a chart to analyze the arguments that both authors make, including the central ideas and supporting events. Students answer questions in their notebooks, including: “1. Do you find Brooks’s support for his central idea convincing? Why or why not? 2. (a) In your own words, explain Kermode’s idea that the language of Macbeth is rich in a ‘peculiar ambiguous, doubling manner.’ (b) Do you find his support for this idea convincing? Explain.”

• In Unit 4, Seeing Things New: Visionaries and Skeptics, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. In Analyze the Text, students answer questions labeled with the analysis skill and use text evidence:  

  • “Make inferences: What can you infer about Gulliver’s relationship with the Lilliputians, based on the way he walks around their city?

  • Cause and Effect: Based on what Reldresal says about Gulliver’s size, why does the emperor seek Gulliver’s aid against Blefuscu? 

  • Connect: What is Swift suggesting about political disputes through the reasons for the conflict between the Big-endians and the Little-endians?

  • Historical Perspectives: Fearing that the author would be charged with treason, the original publisher of Gulliver’s Travels censored the novel. Why would the novel have been so controversial in the early 1700s? 

  • Essential Question: Why are both vision and disillusion necessary? What have you learned about vision and disillusion by reading this excerpt from Gulliver’s Travels?”

• In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell. In Analyze the Text, students examine the author’s main ideas and how it develops over the course of the narrative essay. Students answer multiple questions: “Orwell describes several ways in which the Burmese disrespect him. Does he blame them for treating him this way? Explain. How does Orwell feel about the British Empire and imperialism? How do Orwell’s feelings about the Empire affect his feelings about himself as a police officer?” 

For most texts, students analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, Reflecting on Society: Argument, Satire, and Reform, Small-Group Learning, students read “Shakespeare’s Sister” by Virginia Woolf. In Analyze Craft and Structure, students review the interaction and development of ideas in an argument essay and learn that the essay is a thought experiment that starts with the author asking, “What if?” In small groups, students “fill in details about how William Shakespeare’s life, as described by Woolf, differed from that of his imaginary sister. Then, state Woolf’s conclusion, inferring her position from the details she presents.” The Teacher’s Edition reminds teachers to discuss with students the advantages of using this what-if format, such as using imaginative narrative, logical reasoning, and creative techniques. The supplementary resource, Analyze Craft and Structure: Interaction and Development of Ideas, is available.

• In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past: Shakespeare Extended Study, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “Sonnet 12,” “Sonnet 60,” and “Sonnet 73” by William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 32” by Mary Wroth, and “Sonnet 75” by Edmund Spenser. In Analyze Craft and Structure, students analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning and its aesthetic impact: “Each of these poems is a sonnet, a fourteen-line lyric poem with a single theme. Most traditional sonnets are written in rhymed iambic pentameter—five groups of two syllables, each with the accent on the second syllable. There are two main types of sonnets: English, or Shakespearean, and Italian, or Petrarchan. The sonnets in this collection are Shakespearean. However, Sonnet 75 by Edmund Spenser represents a Spenserian sonnet, a variation on the English sonnet.” Students analyze how the structure of a sonnet they have read from the collection helps to develop the theme: “Consider how each quatrain explores a different aspect of the theme and how the octuplet offers a surprising comment.” Students also choose another sonnet from the collection and in their notebooks, they “analyze how the poet uses the sonnet structure to develop the theme.”

• In Unit 5, Discovering the Self: Individual, Nature, and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read “The Most Forgetful Man in the World” by Joshua Foe. In Analyze Craft and Structure, students determine the author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective. Students complete a chart analyzing how the author fulfills various purposes for writing the text and answer questions in their notebooks, such as “1. (a) What is Foer’s general purpose for writing this text? (b) What is his specific purpose? Explain. Technical writing techniques can include definition, simile, and metaphor.” The Teacher’s Edition includes guidance: “These informative texts are primarily composed of literal language for the sake of clarity and directness. However, figures of speech, especially comparisons, effectively gain the reader’s attention. They can also develop images in the mind of the reader, which is important for comprehension.” Students complete a chart identifying the author’s use of these techniques and how they help the author to “convey complex technical ideas to a general audience.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c. 

The materials include multiple opportunities for students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts and across multiple texts. The tasks are sequenced in a way that is appropriate for the grade level and include text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks. The materials provide related questions as students comprehend and analyze texts and complete culminating tasks. Most sets of questions and tasks require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across the unit to build knowledge around a topic/theme and the essential question. In some instances, the materials pair two or more texts, and students practice the same skills across all texts. Multiple texts connect to the essential question in preparation for the end-of-unit assessment. In this assessment, students synthesize ideas based on various text-dependent prompts that align with grade-level standards. 

Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Forging a Hero: Warriors and Leaders, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, and from Beowulf by Gareth Hinds. In Writing to Sources, students analyze multiple interpretations of the text to evaluate the interpretation in the graphic novel version and answer the following prompt: “Write a critical evaluation of the excerpt from the graphic novel Beowulf. In your essay, make a claim about the graphic novel as a storytelling medium. As you craft your claim, consider these questions: How effective is the graphic novel excerpt as an adaptation of ‘The Last Battle?’ What are the strengths and weaknesses of the graphic novel medium? To support your claim, cite evidence from both the graphic novel and the epic poem. Include at least one counterclaim and present an argument in response to it.”  

• In Unit 2, Reflecting on Society: Argument, Satire, and Reform, Whole-Class Learning, students view “The Prologue From the Canterbury Tales: The Remix” by Patience Agbabi and analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem, evaluating how each version interprets the source text: “You have read the Prologue from the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and viewed an adaptation of that work by poet and performer Patience Agbabi. Now, deepen your understanding of both works by analyzing and comparing them in writing.” Students write an argumentative essay relating to one of the following conclusions: “1. Great literature should be reinterpreted and reimagined for new generations. 2. Great literature is diminished when it is changed to suit modern tastes.” As students read and analyze the texts, they analyze similarities and differences between a segment of Agabaie’s remix and a segment of the Prologue that corresponds. The materials provide a chart for students to record their observations. Students respond to questions in their notebooks, such as “What does Agbabie’s remix say or suggest about Chaucer’s work? How? Do you agree with Agbabi that The Canterbury Tales is an ‘unfinished business?’ Explain.” During the Close Review and analysis of the media, students answer questions such as, “How do you think Chaucer would react to Agbabi’s ‘remix’ if he were in the audience? Explain. How do people come to have different views of society? How is Agbabie’s view of society different than Chaucer’s? How is it the same?”

• In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell. During reading, students complete Close Read activities: “Annotate: In paragraph 1, mark words Orwell uses to describe the way Burmese people feel about Europeans. Question: What does Orwell’s word choice reveal about the situation and setting? Conclude: Why do you think Orwell chooses to begin the essay with this information?” Later in the text, the Close Read states: “In paragraph 7, mark adjectives that Orwell uses to describe his mission. How do these adjectives reflect the way Orwell seems to feel about his role? Why does Orwell seem to lack firm conviction regarding any action he might take?”

Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past: Shakespeare Extended Study, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act V by William Shakespeare and listen to audio performances of The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act V, Scene I by L.A. Theatre Works and The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act V, Scene I by LibriVox. In the Writing to Compare Assignment, students write an essay to answer the following prompt: “Write a compare-and-contrast essay in which you analyze the interpretations of Act V, Scene I, of Macbeth, presented in the two audio performances.” Students discuss two items: “elements of the text that are stressed or muted in each version” and “ways in which each version affects the listener’s experience of the text.” The materials ask students to “Support [their] ideas with references to the audio versions and the original text. [Their] references may take the form of quotations, descriptions, or paraphrases.”

• In Unit 4, Seeing Things New: Visionaries and Skeptics, Whole-Class Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “Holy Sonnet 10” by John Donne, and students demonstrate knowledge of these works, which later inspired other early-American poets, including how texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics. Both works connect to the essential question for the unit: “Why are both vision and disillusion necessary?” As students analyze the text, they answer questions in their notebooks, such as, “How does the purpose of ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’ differ from that of ‘Holy Sonnet 10?’ Donne’s poetry is again admired by scholars after having fallen out of favor earlier. What elements in Donne’s poetry may have sparked a renewed interest in his work? Why are both vision and disillusion necessary? What have you learned about vision and disillusion from reading these poems?” After analyzing the two poems, students choose two poems to compare: “The work of Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor—two early American poets—shares certain qualities, notably the use of conceits and paradoxes, with that of John Donne and other English metaphysical poets. Choose a poem by either Bradstreet or Taylor, and compare it with a poem by John Donne from this collection.”

• In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, Small-Group Learning, students read an excerpt from “A History of the English Church and People'' by Bede, translated by Leo Sherley-Price, and an excerpt from “History of Jamaica” by Encyclopaedia Britannica. Both texts connect to the essential question of the unit: “What does it mean to call a place home?” Students integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem. The materials ask students to “Deepen [their] understanding of the historical writing by comparing and contrasting the texts and expressing [their] ideas in writing.” As students consider how Bede’s history of English and the “History of Jamaica'' are similar and different, the task asks students to focus their analysis on the differences using the following questions: “What accounts for them? What do they reveal about the writers’—or the readers’—values and worldviews? What do they say about the era in which each text was produced?” Students answer questions in their notebooks, including “What do the texts’ differences suggest about their eras and audiences? What kinds of information or reading experiences might a member of each audience expect? What underlying values or worldviews are suggested by your answer to question 1?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d. 

The materials include multi-faceted culminating tasks that require students to show their knowledge and understanding of a topic through integrated literacy skills. Each unit across the grade level includes an essential question connecting to a topic/theme. The units include Whole-Class Learning and Small-Group Learning opportunities. Students build knowledge of the topic/theme under study by reading various texts, completing writing tasks, and engaging in speaking and listening with peers. The Whole-Class Learning Performance Task, Small-Group Learning Performance Task, and Performance-Based Assessments in each unit provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate comprehension and knowledge of the topic/theme through various means addressing several different standards. The Whole-Group Learning Performance Tasks assess writing, and the Small-Group Learning Performance Tasks assess speaking and listening skills. Throughout the unit, shorter culminating tasks following each reading also provide practice opportunities for multiple skills. Teachers can provide feedback to support students with mastery by the end of the unit. The Teacher Resources includes an Assessment section that provides online and PDF versions of selection tests, extension selection tests, unit tests, extension unit tests, and beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year tests. Each exam includes multiple choice and short answer questions testing various standards.

Culminating tasks are evident and varied across the year and they are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, listening) at the appropriate grade level, and comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Teacher’s Edition, each Introduction for the unit includes information about the Unit Goals, including goals for Reading, Writing, Research, Language, and Speaking and Listening. The Teacher’s Edition states, “These unit goals were backward designed from the Performance-Based Assessment at the end of the unit and the Whole-Class and Small Group Performance Tasks. Students will practice and become proficient in many more standards over the course of this unit.”

• In Unit 2, Reflecting on Society: Argument, Satire, and Reform, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an explanatory essay after reading three selections, connecting to the essential question: “How do people come to have different views of society?” The Teacher’s Edition includes guidance: “Explain to students that after they have finished reading the selections, they will write an explanatory essay about the ways that our views of society can be shaped by tensions between our ideals and reality. To help them prepare, encourage students to think about the topic as they progress through the selections and as they participate in the Whole-Class Learning experience.” When students engage in the writing task, they use their knowledge from their reading to consider the relationship between social ideals and realities as they write an explanatory essay around the question: “How does Chaucer find humor in the difference between the ideal and the real in the characters that populate The Canterbury Tales?” The task addresses reading, writing, language, and speaking and listening standards.

• In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past: Shakespeare Extended Study, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students present an argument. After reading a series of sonnets and literary criticism, students take a position answering the question, “Should literature of the past be rewritten in present-day language for today’s readers?” In a small group, students analyze the texts and reach a consensus on a yes or no answer to the question. Then each group member focuses on one sonnet to gather evidence and present it to the class. Group members decide on the order of their presentation before practicing, using the checklist to evaluate themselves. After practicing, students can revise before presenting to the class. The task addresses reading and speaking and listening standards.

• In Unit 4, Seeing Things New: Visionaries and Skeptics, Whole-Class Learning, students view a clip from Gulliver’s Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants by Georges Méliès. In the Performance Task, students write a reflective narrative based on the prompt: “When do we need a new vision of things?” The task addresses reading and writing standards.

• In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, Performance-Based Assessment, students respond to a related prompt, “In what ways is home both a place and a state of mind?,” that connects to the Essential Question of the entire unit: “What does it mean to call a place home?” Students complete an Evidence Log throughout the unit when reading selections to prepare for the Performance-Based Assessment, which is completed independently. The Teacher’s Edition does provide the following guidance: “Prior to beginning the Assessment, have students think about the essays that they reviewed in class and how they were retrospective in nature. Point out that reviewing the past allows writers to gain a new and enlightened view of these experiences of home. Remind students that people also gain a new perception of past events through subsequent experience and detachment.” Students can refer to their previous work throughout the unit, including the Evidence Log and Word Network, as they write an informative essay. The task addresses writing standards and speaking and listening standards.

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2f. 

The materials include research and writing activities and projects that are sequenced and encourage students to develop knowledge and understand different aspects of a topic. Materials provide opportunities for students to complete research activities tied to topics as a part of the research process to build mastery of the grade-level standards. The language of the standards is present in the student materials and often referenced in the directions for assignments to allow students to make connections to their learning. Research is integrated throughout the curriculum in regular short research activities associated with specific texts. Students synthesize multiple texts and source materials to gain knowledge and understanding of the topic. Regular features in the after-reading activities are Research to Clarify and Research to Explore tasks that allow students to practice research skills related to the texts or topic. The final Performance Task in most units requires that students use knowledge from the selections and their research to answer the prompt. The Reflection task in each unit addresses student research goals and understanding. Materials support teachers in employing projects, including a research toolkit. Guidance is available in the Teacher’s Edition, connecting with the topics and suggesting ways to assist students during the research process. Additional resources are available for teachers in the Research and Writing Center, including mini-lessons and a research PowerPoint. 

Research projects are sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 1, Forging a Hero: Warriors and Leaders, Small-Group Learning, students read “How Did Harry Patch Become an Unlikely WWI Hero?” by BBC iWonder and complete a Writing to Sources task in which they create a critical analysis of the site. During the research, student instructions state: “Use print and online sources and summarize what you have learned in a research overview, listing three to five main conclusions with supporting references. Assess the strengths and limitations of each source you chose.” The materials also remind students to “use advanced search techniques to locate the targeted information.” These include Quotation Marks, “Or” Search, and Asterisk Search.

  • In Unit 5, Discovering the Self: Individual, Nature, and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “Apostrophe to the Ocean” by George Gordon and Lord Byron. In the Research practice task, students create a report based on the following prompt: “Conduct a historical investigative research report that relates historical events of the period to the three poems you have read.” Student instructions state: “Gather information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources. Authoritative sources are those that are widely acknowledged for their accuracy and reliability. They provide well-written and error-free content, and they openly cite their own sources. If they present ideas on which opinions differ, they say so. As you research, make sure to collect the information you will need to cite sources correctly using a standard format.”

  • In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write to the prompt: “Write an informative essay in response to this question: How did British colonialism complicate the idea of home?” Students conduct research that includes print and electronic sources, assuring they are reliable. It is suggested that they use resources that end in .gov or .edu and, when possible, “use primary sources-firsthand or original accounts, such as diaries, journals, or newspaper articles.” Students track source information with a system such as note cards so they can create a citation page.

Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic via provided resources. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Teacher Resources, a Plagiarism Checker is provided for teachers to access via Safe Assign, which offers guidance for implementation, including Video Tutorials: “SafeAssign is effective as both a deterrent and an educational tool. Use SafeAssign to review assignment submissions for originality and create opportunities to help students identify how to properly attribute sources rather than paraphrase.” The tool will assist educators when assigning research projects and connects to W.12.8 when students avoid plagiarism.

• The materials offer Research Minilessons and a Writing and Research Center with a Research Writing PowerPoint Presentation that introduces research writing and provides prewriting tips to assist students in formulating a research question and making a Research Plan, such as “Once you have written your major research question, you are ready to make a research plan. As part of your plan, you will create a timeline for finishing your report. You also will find and evaluate sources of information.” The PowerPoint Presentation includes guidance relating to how to organize a research report and revise and edit the draft. A grammar mini-lesson follows, and student instructions for publishing the piece state: “When you’ve finished your final draft, publish it. Use this chart to identify a way to publish your informational research report for the appropriate audience.” The Teacher’s Edition: End Matter, Tool Kit: Research includes detailed guidance for Conducting Research, Reviewing Research Findings, and Incorporating Research Into Writing.

• In Unit 1, Forging a Hero: Warriors and Leaders, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars” by Richard Lovelace and “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Teachers facilitate the Comprehension Check, and guidance is available to assist students during Research to Clarify and Research to Explore, such as “If groups struggle to narrow these broad topics, you may want to suggest one of these narrower topics: the Ottoman Empire, Nicholas I of Russia, Napoleon III, or Omar Pasha.”

• In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past: Shakespeare Extended Study, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act I by William Shakespeare. In the Teacher’s Edition, teacher instructions state: “Suggest that students research the paintings of Henry Fuseli, Alexander Johnston, John Wootton, or John Singer Sargent.” 

• In Unit 5, Discovering the Self: Individual, Nature, and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. In the Speaking and Listening activity, students research the range of adaptations of Frankenstein. Students pick three to focus on in their presentation; one must be a film or television version. The presentation must include a summary of the adaptation and a comparison to Shelly’s version in terms of characters, plot, and format. The Teacher’s Edition suggests teachers use the ancillary resource Speaking and Listening: Research Presentation to support students. 

Materials provide many opportunities for students to synthesize and analyze content tied to the texts under study as a part of the research process. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 1, Forging a Hero: Warriors and Leaders, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel. In the Research activity, students answer a Research to Clarify question: “Choose at least one unfamiliar detail from the text. Briefly research that detail. In what way does the information you learned shed light on an aspect of the epic.” They also create a question about something from the text they want to learn more about under Research to Explore. 

  • In Unit 2, Reflecting on Society: Argument, Satire, and Reform, Small-Group Learning, students read “Passenger Manifest for the MV Empire Windrush” and conduct research to clarify unfamiliar details from the text and explore ideas generated from reading the document. In addition, in the Effective Expression section, students “create a profile of a typical passenger on the famous 1948 voyage of the Empire Windrush from Kingston, Jamaica, to London, England.” Students work independently and use research sources, such as “Sources of information provided in unit selections, author biographies, background notes, and footnotes.” They synthesize the information and create their profiles.

  • In Unit 5, Discovering the Self: Individual, Nature, and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection including “Apostrophe to the Ocean” by George Gordon and Lord Byron, “The World Is Too Much With Us” by William Wordsworth, and “London, 1802” by William Wordsworth, and students conduct a historical investigative research report. The research report relates “historical events of the period to the three poems you have read.” Students can choose from three options for the research project, such as “Plan and write a report that analyzes Wordsworth’s profound disappointment with French revolutionary politics, as explored in ‘London, 1802.’” Students gather information from both print and digital sources for the project. 

• Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 1, Forging a Hero: Warriors and Leaders, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, and from Beowulf by Gareth Hinds, and students complete a Writing to Compare task. Students write a critical evaluation of the excerpt from the graphic novel, considering these questions: “How effective is the graphic novel excerpt as an adaptation of ‘The Last Battle’? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the graphic novel medium?” Students apply grades 11-12 Reading standards to literature: “Identify segments of the epic poem and the graphic novel that correspond with each other. Decide how the segments are similar and different.” Students take notes using a chart.

  • “In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past: Shakespeare Extended Study, Performance-Based Assessment, Part 1, students write an argument to answer the question, “What is the relationship of human beings to time? In this argument, you will use examples and evidence from the diverse texts in the unit to justify a claim that you make. State your assertions with specific evidence from several of the texts.” 

  • In Unit 5, Discovering the Self: Individual, Nature, and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “Apostrophe to the Ocean” by George Gordon and Lord Byron. In the Research activity, student instructions state: “Conduct a historical investigative research report that relates historical events of the period to the three poems you have read.” Each poem has further directions for the research report. Students use authoritative literary sources and collect the necessary information for their citations while doing the research. The Teacher’s Edition suggests that students look at examples of the different types of report structures and work together to generate research questions. It also suggests providing students with the ancillary resource Research: Historical Investigation Research Report. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2g.

The materials spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments. Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions, tasks, and assessments are aligned to grade-level standards; however, not all instruction is aligned to grade-level standards with opportunities for explicit instruction. By the end of the academic year, standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard. Most speaking and listening standards and most writing standards are covered in the Frontmatter of the Teacher’s Edition, but the student tasks do not always adequately address the full intent of the standard.

Over the course of each unit, the majority of instruction is aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In each unit, the Unit at a Glance section lists the standards for each student activity in one of three columns: Analyze Craft and Structure, Conventions/Author’s Style, and Composition/Research/Speaking and Listening. Page numbers are not listed next to these entries, though the Teacher’s Edition: End Matter PDF includes an Index of Skills where page numbers are provided. In the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter PDF, the materials provide the Correlation to myPerspectives® English Language Arts document with page numbers: “The following correlation shows points at which focused standards instruction is provided in the Student Edition. The Teacher’s Edition provides further opportunity to address standards through Personalize for Learning notes and additional resources available only in the Teacher’s Edition.” The materials do not always provide explicit instruction on the grade-level standards. 

• In Unit 1, Forging a Hero: Warriors and Leaders, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Beowulf by Gareth Hinds. In the Writing to Compare activity, in the drafting section, students learn about structuring an argument, such as creating claims and reasons, supporting the reasons with examples, acknowledging and responding to the counterclaims, and strengthening the argument with rhetoric. This instruction aligns with W.11-12.1, W.11-12.1.b, and W.11-12.1.c. After instruction, students write their first draft. 

• In Unit 4, Seeing Things New: Visionaries and Skeptics, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift and address the standard RL.11-12.1: “Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.” The Correlation document states: “Students will address this standard in Analyze the Text features which appear with every literature selection.” Students answer Analyze the Text questions, such as “Make Inferences: What can you infer about Gulliver’s relationship with the Lilliputians, based on the way he walks around their city?” The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance for formative assessment as students analyze the text, including but not limited to: “If students fail to cite evidence, then remind them to support their ideas with specific information from the text. If students struggle to infer meaning, then discuss how to make an inference and illustrate with examples.” There are seven instances across the school year when the students have an opportunity to address the standard, and teachers can engage in explicit instruction.

• In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell and “Back to My Own Country: An Essay” by Andrea Levy and write a comparison-and-contrast essay. Students review, revise, and edit during the writing process. The student materials include the following instructions: “After you fine-tune the content of your essay, carefully edit for grammatical accuracy, and then proofread to eliminate errors in spelling and mechanics.” Explicit instruction of the grade-level grammar and usage standards is limited.

Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions and tasks are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In each unit, a Whole-Class Learning Performance Task with a writing focus and a Small-Group Learning Performance Task with a speaking and listening focus are included consistently across the school year, and shorter tasks follow the reading of text selections. The questions throughout the Whole-Class Learning and Small-Group Learning connect to the Essential Question of each unit and help prepare students to complete the performance tasks.

• In Unit 2, Reflecting on Society: Argument, Satire, and Reform, Whole-Class Learning, Performance Task, students write an explanatory essay aligning with standard W.11-12.2: “Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.” Student instructions state: “The Whole-Class readings come from a time in British history when tensions between ideals and reality shaped views of society. After reading, you will write an explanatory essay on a social conflict in which ideals and reality conflict.”

• In Unit 4, Seeing Things New: Visionaries and Skeptics, Small-Group Learning, Performance Task, students present a reflective narrative, aligning with standard SL.11-12.4: “Present information, findings, and supporting evidence conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can following the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.” Student instructions state: “The Small-Group readings feature people writing about having grand visions and losing them. After reading, your group will plan and deliver a reflective narrative about the ways in which our visions of the world can help us grow or hold us back.”

• In Unit 5, Discovering the Self: Individual, Nature, and Society, Whole-Class Learning, students read from Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. In the Concept Vocabulary activity, students answer the following questions: “

  • Under what conditions might a person despair? 

  • Explain the difference between two dogs—one that is malicious and one that is not. 

  • What is something you might find in the refrigerator that you would call odious? 

  • Name a character in a story, movie, television show, or video game that you would describe as hideous. 

  • When might you experience a sense of dread about an upcoming event? 

  • When watching your team play an important game, what kind of event would bring on a sense of consternation?” 

The questions address standards L.11-12.4.c and L.11-12.4.d. 

Over the course of each unit, the majority of assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In each unit, a Performance-Based Assessment is included, and the unit activities are backward-designed to the Performance-Based Assessment. The materials offer Selection Tests, Extension Selections Tests, Unit Tests, Beginning-, Middle-, and End-of-Year Tests, Next Generation Practice Tests, Next Generation Performance Tasks, and Customizable Test Prep Banks. In the online Teacher’s Materials under Assessment, there is an Interpretation Guide for each Unit Test and an Answer Key for each Selection Test, which indicates the standard that is assessed for each question. All questions on all tests are aligned to one or more standards.  

• In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past: Shakespeare Extended Study, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act I by William Shakespeare. On the selection test, four questions align with RL.11-12.2, and nine questions align with RL.11-12.3. 

• In Unit 4: Grit and Grandeur, Performance-Based Assessment, students write a reflective narrative that addresses standard W.11-12.10: “Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.” Students answer the question: “When can the way we look at things lead to growth–and when can it hold us back?” The prompt connects to the Essential Question of the unit: “Why are both vision and disillusion necessary?” 

• In Unit 6, Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Tales, Assessments, Unit 6 Test, students complete a Selected and Short Response, analyzing craft and structure. Students answer questions such as the following: “Briefly explain how situational irony is created in this dramatic monologue. Include quotations to support your statements.”

By the end of the academic year, the majority of standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In each unit, the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter PDF is available. The Standards Correlation document provides the Standard in the first column, and where those standards appear in the Print and Interactive Editions in the second column with corresponding page numbers. At times, the materials address standards multiple times across a school year to ensure students can reach mastery. For example, the standard W.11-12.1 is addressed in the following texts and tasks: “from Beowulf/from Beowulf (graphic novel), 60; The Prologue From The Canterbury Tales, 158; The Prologue From The Canterbury Tales/The Prologue From The Canterbury Tales: The Remix, 164; Shakespeare’s Sister, 197; The Tragedy of Macbeth, 295, 352; Gulliver’s Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants/Cover Art, 458; To His Coy Mistress/To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time/Youth’s the Season Made for Joys, 489; The Most Forgetful Man in the World/When Memories Never Fade, the Past Can Poison the Present, 663; Whole-Class Performance Task: Unit 1, 62; Unit 3, 360; Performance-Based Assessment: Unit 1, 108, Unit 3, 408.” However, there are instances when specific standards appear rarely or are not addressed fully to ensure sufficient opportunities to practice and reach mastery by the end of the year. For example, the research standard W.11-12.8 is addressed in the following texts and tasks: “How Did Harry Patch Become an Unlikely WWI Hero?, 99; Apostrophe to the Ocean/The World Is Too Much With Us/ London,1802, 635; Whole-Class Performance Task: Unit 2, 168; Unit 6, 720. Standard RI 11-12.6 is addressed in limited ways: On Seeing England for the First Time/XXIII from Midsummer, 214; The Most Forgetful Man in the World, 656; Back to My Own Country, An Essay, 700, 702; Shooting an Elephant, 714.”

• In Unit 2, Reflecting on Society: Argument, Satire, and Reform, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Prologue from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by Nevill Coghill, and address the standard RL.11-12.5: “Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.” Students consider Chaucer’s use of the heroic couplet and complete the task: “Explain how Chaucer used these techniques to create his style and make his poetry fluid, memorable, and clear.” The Standards Correlation document lists nineteen opportunities to address the standard across the grade level with a variety of texts.

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2h. 

The materials provide a suggested implementation schedule and alternative implementation schedule that aligns with core learning and objectives. The pacing for the units is reasonable and offers a systematic layout that allows multiple days for reading the texts and completing after-reading activities and a one-day Independent Learning choice text with more limited after-reading activities. Each unit is planned for 30 days in a 40-50 minute class resulting in 180 class periods of instruction but does not provide a cushion for optional activities, enrichment, or re-teaching for English Language Learners, special education students, or underperforming students. Teachers on a block schedule are guided to combine days to fit the length of their classes. The Pacing Guide appears in the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter. It consistently appears in the Unit Introduction, the Whole-Class Learning Overview, the Small-Group Learning Overview, and the Independent Learning Overview. The pacing allows students an opportunity to master content by the end of the year. The suggested implementation schedules can be completed in the time allotted; however, teacher discretion may be required to determine what materials to include considering the testing requirements of individual districts and states. Optional tasks do not distract from core learning. The optional tasks are meaningful and enhance core instruction. The Teacher’s Edition provides several options in the Hook & Inspire section to draw students into texts through visual representations, connections to ideas outside of the literature, extension activities, and Book Talk ideas. The Pacing Guide also offers suggestions when teaching with trade books, including being advised to look at the standards being taught in the unit or the texts being replaced and choose activities and tests from the trade book lesson plans which teach the same standards. Trade books align with the main topic and Essential Question. They do not distract from the primary focus of the unit and can be used in lieu of the provided texts.

Suggested implementation schedules and alternative implementation schedules align to core learning and objectives. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Teacher’s Edition Table of Contents and Frontmatter, the materials provide guidance when integrating trade books with the program. The trade books can be chosen to supplement a unit: “Form literature circles and have the students read one of the trade books throughout the course of the unit as a supplement to the selections and activities.” The trade books can be chosen to substitute for unit selections: “If you replace unit selections with a trade book, review the standards taught with those selections. Teacher Resources that provide practice with all standards are available.” The trade books can be chosen to extend independent learning: “Extend the unit by replacing independent reading selections with one of these trade books.” 

Suggested implementation schedules can be reasonably completed in the time allotted. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, Reflecting on Society: Argument, Satire, and Reform, the Teacher’s Edition provides guidance: “Each day in this pacing calendar represents a 40–50 minute class period. Teachers using block scheduling may combine days to reflect their class schedule. In addition, teachers may revise pacing to differentiate and support core instruction by integrating components and resources as students require.” The pacing calendar uses a 30-day schedule that includes one day to introduce the unit, one day to introduce Whole-Class Learning, 11 days of Whole-Class Learning, two days of Performance Task for Whole-Class Learning, one day to introduce Small-Group Learning, nine days of Small-Group Learning, one day for the Performance Task for Small-Group Learning, one day to introduce Independent Learning, one day of Independent Learning, and two days for the final Performance Task. Whole-Group learning has three texts, Small-Group Learning has four texts, and students choose one of five texts for Independent Learning. The Teacher’s Edition Frontmatter includes an implementation guide for A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The Frontmatter explains how to implement the novels in place of the entire unit, parts of the unit, or as an independent, additional unit. The same structure and guidance are used for each unit across the grade level. There are six units, and each unit covers a period of 30 instructional days, for a total of 180 days, which is the minimum requirement for an average U.S. school year.

• In Unit 4, Seeing Things New: Visionaries and Skeptics, Whole-Class Learning, students view a clip from Gulliver’s Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants by Georges Méliès and review an image gallery of covers for Gulliver’s Travels. The pacing guide gives two days for students to view the texts and complete the after-reading activities. There are seven Comprehension questions, one Research question, a Close Review for students to revisit their notes and rewatch the video or review the covers as needed, five Analyze the Media questions, a Media Vocabulary activity, and writing a critical evaluation in the Writing to Compare activity. The critical evaluation is a process writing task from prewriting to editing and submitting the final draft. 

Optional tasks do not distract from core learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, Facing the Future, Confronting the Past: Shakespeare Extended Study, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “Sonnet 12,” “Sonnet 60,” and “Sonnet 73” by William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 32” from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus by Mary Wroth, and “Sonnet 75” by Edmund Spenser. The Teacher’s Edition provides Extension Questions that can be used in lieu of the Comprehension Check, such as the following: “Mary Wroth uses a simile in the third quatrain and final couplet of Sonnet 32. What does the simile compare? What message does this simile impart about the passage of time?” The grade-level standards are listed with the questions.

• In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “The Seafarer,” translated by Burton Raffel. At the end of the poem is a Media Box with a video of a cellist playing. After watching the video, students discuss, “In what ways is the cellist’s relationship to the cello similar to or different from the sailor’s relationship to the sea in ‘The Seafarer’?”

Optional tasks are meaningful and enhance core instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 5, Discovering the Self: Individual, Nature, and Society, Small-Group Learning, students read from Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. The Teacher’s Edition provides guidance relating to adding an optional research activity: “Encourage interested students to search online for literary criticism of Mrs. Dalloway and to choose one analysis to read and discuss in their groups. Ask students to discuss whether they agree with the analysis they read and to identify important points the analysis brought up that they had not previously thought about. Finally, ask students to discuss how the author of the analysis supported his or her ideas and theories.” The optional task enhances learning and is personalized to challenge students.

• In Unit 6, Finding a Home: Nation, Exile, and Dominion, Small-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “The Widow at Windsor” by Rudyard Kipling. In the Teacher’s Edition, a Vocabulary Development box reviews how to reinforce the concept vocabulary. Students write “show you know” sentences using two partially complete sentences.