5th Grade - Gateway 3

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.).

The Student Interactive book provides clear directions and explanations with a visual design and structure that is student-friendly and easy to navigate. Each unit has its own section that digitally opens into a Unit Introduction, complete with an Essential Question and links to the Unit Introduction Activities and Independent Reading. After the Unit Introduction, each week has a drop down menu that links to the Reading Workshop, Reading-Writing Bridge, and Writing Workshop. Each section is clearly labeled and often accompanied by a graphic or photograph. The Student Interactive includes a digital notebook that allows students to preview vocabulary, check for understanding, note taking, and more. The Teacher's Edition effectively models the thinking and process for many lessons, which students then practice and reflect on/review with peers. There are also Quick Checks that provide additional review or practice for students who need it and extension for those who have demonstrated the skill. Directions in the Student Interactive are easy to understand and clearly labeled for understanding. However, some response boxes in the consumable worksheets are not large enough to provide adequate space for students to respond.

• The Student Interactive states, “As you read, mark places where the setting or plot changes. Then, use what you marked to analyze the author’s choices in the text. Go back to the Close Read notes and highlight evidence that shows the setting influences the story. Use your highlighted evidence to complete the chart.”
• In Unit 3, Week 2, students continue their work with poetry. There is a reference aid for hyperbole and pun included in the Read Like a Writer section of the Student Interactive. This reference aid provides a model text excerpt with the hyperbole and pun highlighted and labeled, as well as a brief explanation and analysis of the model. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessments.

The materials include publisher alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessments. The Getting Started guide includes a Planning Resources section that breaks down the Common Core Correlation for the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy. The Planning Resources section contains a two column document that lists the standard and aligns the standard by page numbers with where it is taught in the Teacher's Edition, as well as Student Interactive. In addition to this resource, each lesson in the Teacher's Edition states the objective of the lesson, along with the standard to which it aligns. The Student Interactive also provides a learning goal with each lesson, written as "I can" statements that match the standards. The materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by assessments, as well. 

• The objective of a lesson in the Teacher's Edition states, “Recognize and analyze literary elements within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical and diverse texts in literature.”
• For Weekly Assessments, there are also, “Weekly Standards Practice PowerPoint® Presentations: Grades 2-5. Project these as exit tickets to immediately assess students’ understanding. Multiple-choice practice for: • Academic Vocabulary • Word Study • Language and Conventions.”
• Under Teacher Resources, there is a CCSS Correlations. This is a chart providing the CCSS and what lessons they can be found in within the program. “English Language Arts and Reading: Grade 5. READING: LITERATURE Key Ideas and Details. RL.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. SI*: Unit 1, Week 3, 111 / TE**: Unit 1, Week 3, T192–T193 *SI = Student Interactive **TE = Teacher's Edition”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher's Edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.

The teacher materials include guidance on establishing protocols, detailed information on presenting materials to students, and annotations on what to do if students need further assistance in understanding material.

The Program Overview for each unit provides the teacher with the outline in the resources, their purpose, and guides in using them. In addition, for each lesson within the unit, there are guides on how to implement the lesson and provide support to the students, as well as additional resources. In the Getting Started section, each grade level provides additional resources to support both the teacher and student.

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Reading Workshop, Listening Comprehension, the teacher is provided guidance for introducing text: “Tell students you are going to read aloud an informational text. Have students listen as you read ‘The Manatees’ Future is Looking Brighter.’ Explain that students should listen actively, paying careful attention to facts and details about the subject. Prompt them to ask questions to clarify information and follow agreed-upon discussion rules.”
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Reading Workshop, Shared Read, Generate Questions: the teacher is provided guidance in reading text with students: “Have students can paragraphs 7-9. Remind them to ask questions as they read about why characters make certain choices. Have them highlight details about Westley’s motivation.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.

The materials contain a Professional Development Center with videos and white papers that contain advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. Professional Learning videos are provided to give teachers the research behind the series and enhance teaching practices. These materials are authored by the authors and researchers of the program and provide teachers with best practices. Examples include:

• In Reading there are four video offerings: “Isolated vs. Integrated Skills Instruction in Texts to Improve Comprehension,” “Organizing the Literacy Block and the Reading Workshop Part 1,” “Organizing the Literacy Block and the Reading Workshop Part 2,” and “What is Integrated Skills Instruction?” The White Papers included are “Text Complexity Systems: A Teacher’s Toolkit” and “The Reading Workshop.”
• In Vocabulary, there are two video offerings: “How to Start Teaching a Generative Vocabulary Approach” and “What is a Generative Approach to Vocabulary Instruction?” These videos are both authored by Elfrieda “Freddy” Hiebert, Ph.D.

The Professional Development Tab contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary. Categories include Assessment, Book Club, Comprehension & Assessment, Differentiation, Dual Language, Engagement, Foundational Skills, Inquiry, Reading, Small Group, and Vocabulary.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials contain an explanation of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies.

There are multiple explanations of instructional approaches in the materials. The small group guide provides explanations of how the curriculum uses small groups to meet student needs and support for teachers in how to implement the groups. In the Getting Started section, there are explanations of the instructional approaches. The Assessment Guide provides further explanations of the approaches implemented in the curriculum. A document titled Teacher's Edition Lesson Walkthrough provides an outline to what to teach, how to teach, and why. The explanations are brief in why a lesson is conducted to support student learning. Also, in Getting Started, there is a document titled ELL Support, which outlines what a teacher should do to support his/her ELL students at Emerging, Developing, Expanding, and Bridging throughout the curriculum. This is a brief overview of how a teacher can support this group(s) of students.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.

The materials contain formative assessments that are integrated into daily routines and provide informal opportunities to measure student understanding through Quick Checks, Observational Assessments, Conferring Checklists, Rubrics, and Assess Understanding sections of the lessons. Progress Check-ups are available and designed to measure student progress of the standards. Summative assessments also occur throughout the year. Students are given a baseline at the beginning of the year, which is followed up with mid-year and end-of year assessments. Unit tests to assess the standards taught in each unit in reading comprehension and writing are provided for each unit. 

The Small Group Guide lists options and the purpose for each assessment:

• Progress Check-ups: Assess skills taught that week. Monitors progress to intervene as needed.
• Weekly Standards Practice: Given at the end of a lesson as an "exit ticket" to check students’ knowledge of specific literary skills.
• Unit Tests: Assess the key skills from each week’s instruction in the unit.
• End of Year Test: Gives a summative view of a student’s progress for the year.

Through Examview, teachers can create Cold Reads, Progress Check-ups, and Unit Tests using questions from a bank or creating their own. Teachers can also choose from multiple choice, multiple response, and essays, or include all three. The program offers both English and Spanish. Additionally, teachers can monitor and track student progress within Examview.

The Assessment Guide states: “Once you have collected the data, it is time for action. Set aside some time to organize your observational notes by student. Review them and think about what they tell you about individual students. Ask yourself questions like these: Is this student making progress in this small group? Do I need to assign this student to a different group? Do I need to change the way I am instructing this student? Do I need to change the texts this student is reading?” The Guide also indicates, “...the myView Writer’s Workshop format is that it includes teacher modeling, responsive feedback, and time for reteaching. This structure encourages constant feedback, reteaching, and improvement.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

There are several forms of formative, summative, and unit assessments within the materials. The Summative Assessments Guide includes a standards correlation chart for the baseline, middle-of-year, and end-of-year assessments, as well as for all unit tests. The guide provides item analysis information for the teacher, including the item focus/skill, DOK level, and which standard it measures.

• The Assessment Guide states, “Pearson Realize allows teachers to view each student’s results of assessments taken online, and for assessments aligned to standards, they can see scores by question and by standard. Use the DATA tab of Pearson Realize to view results. Click or tap a bar in the Mastery bar chart to show details of that assessment. Choose the Item Analysis tab to see question level scores. Choose Mastery Analysis tab to see scores by standard.” 
• In Assessment Guide, Teacher Form, the Weekly Standards Practice details the “slides” to be presented to students that have formative assessments that are used as a measure of vocabulary, phonics, language and conventions. Alignment of standards is presented at bottom of each slide.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.

The materials provide sufficient guidance for teachers to interpret student performance and plan suggested follow-up activities. Other resources include Assessment Guides, Summative Guides, Professional Development videos, educational articles, and information within the Teacher's Edition. 

Within the Teacher’s Edition are Quick Checks for Assess and Differentiate, which provide data to determine small group instruction, which then includes Strategy Groups, Intervention Activity, On-Level, and Advanced lessons. These occur within every Reading Workshop.

• The Summative Assessment Guide offers follow up suggestions. For example, “You may wish to use the following guidelines to help determine how best to help improve students’ areas of need and build upon students’ areas of strength. Students who score below 60% on the Baseline Test might benefit from: • regular instruction during whole-class time • intervention activities during small-group time, more scaffolding, more practice with critical skills, and more opportunities to respond • myFocus Readers to practice word-reading skills.”
• The Assessment Guide provides a section titled “How can I use assessment and data to drive instruction?”, that explains the types of assessments in the materials, including diagnostic, formative, and summative. It further details an overview of the assessments, including Baseline, Cold Reads, Progress Check-ups Unit Tests, Middle of the Year, End of Year, and Project-Based Inquiries.
• The Assessment Guide includes a section called “What is reporting and how do I use it to inform instruction?”  It presents a table with the data collection tool, what it looks like, and how it works. The Assessment Guide includes information on Data Based Decision Making, which details four stages of data based decision making: Collect Data, Document Data, Evaluate Data, and Instruct from Data.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

The Teacher’s Edition provides routines to monitor student progress and are embedded throughout the lessons in each unit. Several formative assessments included within daily routines check for understanding using checklists, conferencing, observation, and rubrics. Progress Check-ups monitor student progress and skills being taught each week, including comprehension, vocabulary, word study, and writing. Cold Reads track student progress each week for comprehension and fluency, and Project-Based Inquiry monitors and tracks student progress through student work centered on the unit theme. A Summative Assessment Guide provides information on interpreting test results, informing instruction, and analyzing results to understand student strengths and weaknesses. The Small Group Guide provides guidance to teachers on how assessment informs instruction, collecting and using information to determine students who need additional skill support, students who have mastered skills being taught, and how to extend the learning for students who are ready to practice and apply skills being taught.

• “Circulate to discover if students can determine how the elements of a fictional story are similar to and different from the elements of an informational text.”
• “Quick Check: Notice and Assess: Can students identify the plot and setting in the story to determine the type of fiction? Decide if students struggle, revisit instruction about fiction in small group. If students show understanding, have them continue practicing strategies for reading fiction using the Independent Reading or Literacy Activities in small group.”
• “Use texts at a student’s independent reading level to practice new strategies. When those strategies become automatic, move on to more challenging and complex texts.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.

The Teacher’s Edition provides many strategies for meeting the needs of all learners, including English Language Learners, students who may require accommodations/modifications to the lessons and/or learning, as well as a multi-tiered system for students who need re-teaching, review, or enhanced instruction. Each lesson in every unit provides teachers with opportunities to assess and differentiate for the students. Teacher-led options include strategy groups, intervention activities, and quick checks that allow for differentiation where needed to ensure students are meeting the standards. 

•  In Strategy Groups, “Students practice, with scaffolded support, using their independent level or familiar text. Students might each have a different text to use. The students are 'trying on the strategy' to see if they understand the process or steps.”
• In On-Level Groups, “You may choose to use text that is at the students’ instructional level. The guided support of the teacher allows for the use of more complex text. All students in the group may use the same text to make sharing the reading easier.”
• In Intervention Groups, “The goal is to have all students master the grade-level expectations. When working with students who are struggling with a skill, identify the related sub-skills they have mastered and build from there. From time to time, any student in the class may need intervention. While working on the same skills as other students, you may need to adjust the amount of support and scaffolding based on needs.”
• In Enrichment/Advanced Groups, “Every learner can learn a skill at a deeper, more complex level. For example, the skill of identifying a character’s emotions can be made more complex when reading text that forces the reader to infer the emotions, rather than reading direct statements in the text. Rather than focusing on more advanced skills, help students become masters of the skills using a variety of more complex texts.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade-level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards.

Each lesson has components to assess and differentiate learning for students, with suggestions for re-teaching, reviewing, extending, and scaffolding for multi-tiers including ELL students. There are English and Spanish leveled readers. Strategy Groups and ELL guides for scaffolded instruction within the lessons present grade-level content with opportunities for reteaching, review, accommodations, modifications, and additional strategies to check for understanding, while offering targeted support where needed. Each scaffold provides suggestions for emerging/developing/expanding skills. The materials also contain a MyFocus Intervention Guide, which contains scaffolded lessons and “checkpoint assessments” for the skills being taught.

• “ELL Targeted Support, Visual Support, Read aloud the caption for each image in the infographic. Tell students to listen for the description of each adaptation.”
• “Quick Check, Notice and Assess, Can students identify key features in an informational text? Decide: If students struggle, revisit instruction about informational text in small group. If students show understanding, have them continue practicing the strategies for reading informational text using the Independent Reading Library and Literacy Activities in small group.” 
• “Use the ELL Observational Assessment Checklist to monitor student progress for this unit.”
• “Differentiated Support Option 2, Extend: If students show understanding, have them sort questions into two groups: those they think will be easy to answer and those they think will be more difficult. Ask students to develop a plan for finding answers to the questions in the second category.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.

In the Daily Plan, during Small Group Instruction, several options are available: Guided Reading, Strategy Groups, Intervention, On-Level and Advanced Activities, ELL Targeted Support, Conferring, and Fluency. The activities found in this section are geared toward both On-Level and Advanced students, with the bulk of the differentiation accounted for in the use of more complex texts with advanced readers.  

There is a page in the Small Group Guide titled, “What modifications should I make for students who need enrichment of advanced work?”  Extension Activities are available in the Resource Download Center. 

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Reading Workshop, Assess & Differentiate: Identify Realistic Fiction, On-Level and Advanced, students investigate details in “Perfect Inspiration” to determine if they are realistic. During the week, students also conduct research on the details they chose from the text. Teachers use Extension Activities, pages 82-86, in the Resource Download Center to support students’ work. 
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Reading Workshop, Assess & Differentiate: Compare Texts, On-Level and Advanced, students collect findings on different ways in which people can reach a goal and organize their findings in an effective format. The teacher talks with students about their findings and the process the students used. Teachers use Extension Activities, pages 126-130, in the Resource Download Center to support students with this task.  
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Whole Group Instruction, Quick Check, “If students show understanding, extend instruction for making text comparisons in Small Group on pages T266-T267.” 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

There are a variety of grouping strategies provided in the instructional materials. There are Teacher-Led Options, Independent/Collaborative options, Turn Talk and Share, and Whole Group opportunities. There are times for students to work with a partner and there are Small Group times. During Shared Reading time, students may read independently, in pairs, or as a whole group. 

• In Unit 1, Introduce the Unit, after introducing the Essential Question, “Encourage partners to discuss what they learned about journeys by watching the video.”  
• In Unit 2, Week 2, under Introduce the Text, the directions for the teacher state, “Students may read independently, in pairs, or whole group.”  
• In Unit 4, Week 4, in Whole Group, Formative Assessment Options, “Have students work with a partner to complete the Turn and Talk activity on page 322 of the Student Interactive.”