4th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics (or, for grades 6-8, topics and/or themes) to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. 

Each unit within the instructional materials begins with a topic using weekly theme-based Essential Questions to explore the topic deeper. Five texts align and support the topic of the unit, as well as multiple Book Club choices students can select. Reading Workshop texts provide another opportunity for students to participate in both Shared and Close Reading in order to complete lesson tasks and the culminating project. A variety of genres are used to explore a weekly question where students analyze, discuss, and synthesize information in order to demonstrate understanding of texts and topics. Each week students are encouraged to reflect and present evidence from multiple texts in order to demonstrate their knowledge gained from the unit tasks. As the year progresses, the complexity of the questions and tasks deepen and ongoing formative assessments allow for differentiation to ensure student proficiency as tasks become more rigorous. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, the Unit Theme is Networks and the Essential Question is “How can a place affect how we live?” Each week during the unit, different texts are used to answer weekly questions about the theme.
• In Week 1, the text is Reaching for the Moon with the weekly question, “How can visiting new places expand our understanding of our place in the world?” 
• In Week 2, the text is Rare Treasures: Mary Anning and Her Remarkable Discoveries with the weekly question, “In what ways can a place enrich our lives?”
• In Week 3, the text is “Twins in Space” with the weekly question, “What can living in outer space teach us about the human body?”
• In Week 4, the text is Life at the Top with the weekly question, “What are the advantages of living in different places?” 
• In Week 5, the text is Barbed Wire Baseball with the weekly question, “How can people influence the places where they live?”
• In Unit 3, the Unit Theme is Diversity and the Essential Question is “How can we reach new understandings through exploring diversity?” Each week during the unit, a variety of texts are used to answer weekly questions about the theme.
• In Week 1, the teext is Out of My Mind with the weekly question, “Why do people communicate in different ways?”
• In Week 2, the text is Mama's Window with the weekly question, “How do our experiences help us see the world differently?”
• In Week 3, the text is Trombone Shorty with the weekly question, “How does music bring people together?”
• In Week 4, the texts are Westlandia and “The Circuit” with the weekly question, “How do new places influence us?”
• In Week 5, the texts are from a Poetry Collection with the weekly question, “How do people with interests different from ours help us grow?"
• In Unit 5, the Unit Theme is Features and the Essential Question is “Why is it important to understand our planet?” Each week, a variety of texts are used to address weekly questions related to the theme.  
• In Week 1, the text is from Planet Earth with the weekly question, “What do we know about Earth’s features and processes?”
• In Week 2, the text is Volcanoes with the weekly question, “In what ways do volcanoes impact Earth?"
• In Week 3, the text is The Top 10 Ways You Can Reduce Waste with the weekly question, “What daily actions can help reduce pollution?”
• In Week 4, the text is The Himalayas with the weekly question is “What makes an extreme location a place to both protect and explore?”
• In Week 5, the texts are Trashing Paradise and "Bye Bye Plastic Bags on Bali" with the weekly question, “What happens to what we throw away?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.

• Throughout the materials, individual and groups of students have a variety of opportunities to build their understanding of the content in various ways within reading, reading-writing, and writing. The directions for student tasks are clear and contain language that relates to the content of the unit. In each of the units, students complete questions and tasks that require analysis of individual texts. Every text has text-dependent language support. Each unit contains Reading Workshop lessons with First Read, Close Read, and Reflect and Share sections. During all the First Reads, students identify the genre of the text and provide evidence for their decision. Students complete questions and tasks that require analysis of individual texts. Students analyze language of stories and passages; identify key ideas and details; and examine the structure of passages, pictures, and texts as they relate to the unit topic. In addition to the Reading Workshop, each unit contains a Reading/Writing Bridge in which students use their knowledge to demonstrate their understanding of texts and topics. Examples include: 
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Close Read, after reading Twins in Space, students underline the main idea. 
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Reading-Writing Bridge, students instructions state, “Comparison-and-contrast text structure shows similarities and differences between two events, ideas, people, or things. Some comparing words include also, both, and same. Contrasting words include but, however, and different.”
• In Unit 1, Week 6, Project-Based Inquiry: Inquire, students think of a place in their community that should be made a historical landmark to save or preserve for future generations and create a brochure to tell an audience about this place and convince them that it ought to be a landmark.
• In Unit 2, Week 4, Readers Workshop, when reading an excerpt from Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman, students complete multiple tasks: “What structure, rhythm and rhyme did you notice in the texts? How does Joyce Sidman’s choice of structure for the poem 'Sap Song' connect to its ideas? Analyze the relationships between creatures and plants that are discussed in the text. What do they have in common? Consider the precise language Joyce Sidman uses to describe plants, animals, and insects in the text. Use these descriptions to visualize or create mental images of what she describes. Use your highlighted text to describe what you visualized while reading the poems and prose.”
• Unit 3, Week 3, Read Like a Writer, students analyze figurative language in paragraph seven of Trombone Shorty and then discuss why the author would have used the figurative language in the text.
• In Unit 3, Week 5, Respond and Analyze, after reading three poems, students analyze how the use of language in each of the poems affect the reader.
• In Unit 4, Week 2 of the Readers Workshop, students read Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolan and complete multiple tasks: “Complete these Close Read tasks for Thunder Rose. Underline text evidence that helps you infer a theme of the story. Complete these Close Read notes in Thunder Rose that help you connect ideas within and across texts. Highlight text evidence in paragraphs 15 through 19 that helps you connect ideas to another tall tale or story you know about.”
• In Unit 5, Week 1, students read paragraphs four and five of Reaching for the Moon and highlight ideas that explain how Buzz Aldrin felt the first time he went flying.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

Reading and modeling of narrative, biography, informational, and opinion texts are included throughout the materials. Many culminating tasks rely on students’ ability to synthesize their understanding and use learned skills to present their knowledge in reading, writing, speaking, and listening tp demonstrate knowledge built from the texts. All units contain a Project-Based Inquiry task with an Area of Focus, where students compare across texts, include inquiry research, and have peer collaboration and discussions. The teacher may need to provide some extra support to assure students are focusing on the content as well as demonstrating writing or speaking skills.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 6, students answer the Unit Essential Question, “How can a place affect how we live?” After answering the questions, students complete a culminating task, creating a brochure to convince someone that a place in their community should be made a historic landmark. The brochure will be presented to the class. During completion of the project, students engage in research and multiple discussions with a peer. In preparation for this task, students engage in weekly discussions following their shared read, building knowledge and skills to complete the culminating task. 
• In Week 1, students read Reaching for the Moon and discuss how visiting new places can improve our understanding of our place in the world. 
• In Week 2, students read Rare Treasure and discuss ways in which a place can enrich our lives. 
• In Week 3, students read “Twins in Space” and discuss what living in outer space can teach us about the human body. 
• In Week 4, students read Life at the Top and discuss the advantages of living in different places. 
• In Week 5, students read Barbed Wire Baseball and discuss how people can influence the places where they live.
• In Unit 2, Week 5, Writing Workshop, the Assessment directions state, “Think about travelers who visit places so that they can see the animals. Write a travel article about a place where animals are adapted to a particular environment. Describe the place and the unique animals. Be sure to include a strong lead paragraph, have clear organization, choose relevant, concrete details, use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.”  This lesson is a culmination of Weeks 1-4 of Unit 2 in which each week contains Minilessons that model and teach students the skills needed to complete this Week 5 task.
• In Week 1, Writing Workshop, the lessons include: Analyze a Travel Article, Analyze a Lead Paragraph, Analyze Photographs, Brainstorm and Set a  Purpose, Plan your Travel Article.
• In Week 2, Writing Workshop, lessons include: Develop an Introduction, Develop Relevant Details, Develop Different Types of Details, Compose Captions for Visuals, Develop a Conclusion.
• In Week 3, Writing Workshop, lessons include: Compose a Headline, Compose a Body Paragraph, Group Paragraphs into Sections, Develop Transitions, Compose with Multimedia.
• In Week 4, Writing Workshop, the lessons include: Use Linking Words and Phrases, Use Precise Language and Vocabulary, Edit for Capitalization, Edit for Adverbs, Edit for Coordinating Conjunctions.
• In Unit 3, Week 6, students answer the Unit Essential Question, “How can we reach new understandings by exploring diversity?” After answering the question, students complete a culminating task writing a letter to the principal convincing him/her that the playground should have inclusive equipment. The letter will be presented to the class. During completion of the project, students engage in research and multiple discussions with a peer. In preparation for this task, students engage in weekly discussions following their shared read building knowledge and skills to complete the culminating task. 
• In Week 1, students read Out of My Mind and discuss why people communicate in diverse ways. 
• In Week 2, students read Mama’s Window and discuss how our experiences help us see the world differently. 
• In Week 3, students read Trombone Shorty and discuss how music brings people together. 
• In Week 4, students read Weslandia and “The Circuit” and discuss how new people influence us. 
• In Week 5, students read a Poetry Collection and discuss how people with interests different from ours affect us.
• In Unit 4, Week 5, Writing Assessment, students “Think about events that significantly impacted the development of your state. Write about one person or event in the history of your state that played an essential role in making it the state it is today. Describe how a person or event shaped the state’s history. Be sure to clearly state your opinion, include strong reasons and supporting evidence for your opinion. Choose relevant facts and details, use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.” This activity is the culmination of the previous four weeks in the Writing Workshop which build through modeling, practice, and application of the skills needed to complete this Week 5 task.  
• In Week 1, Writing Workshop, lessons include: Analyze an Opinion Essay, Understand Point of View, Understand Reasons and Information, Brainstorm a Topic and Opinion, and Plan Your Opinion Essay.
• In Week 2, Writing Workshop, lessons include: Develop a Topic and Opinion, Develop Reasons, Develop Supporting  Details and Facts, Compose a Concluding Statement, Compose Using Technology. 
• In Week 3, Writing Workshop, lessons include: Compose the Introduction and Conclusion, Organize Reasons,  Organize Supporting Details, Use Transition Words and Phrases, Use Technology to Collaborate.
• In Week 4, Writing Workshop, lessons include: Rearrange Ideas for Coherence and Clarity, Combine Ideas for Coherence and Clarity, Peer Edit, Edit for Complete Sentences, Edit for Nouns.
• In Week 6, Project-Based Inquiry, Collaborate, the directions state, “Direct student pairs to use the checklist on page 416 as they write a complete draft of their blog post. Point out that this checklist has all the elements they need to include in the blog post. Remind students to include a main idea.” Students then “Brainstorm how to incorporate characteristics of digital texts into their blog posts.”
• In Unit 5, Week 6, students answer the Essential Question for the unit, “Why is it important to understand our environment?” After answering the question, students complete a culminating task writing an opinion article on the most dangerous environmental event. The article will be presented to the class. During completion of the project, students engage in research and multiple discussions with a peer. In preparation for this task, students engage in weekly discussions following their shared read building knowledge and skills to complete the culminating task. 
• In Week 1, students read from Planet Earth and discuss what we know about earth’s features and processes. 
• In Week 2, students read Volcanoes and discuss in what ways volcanoes impact our earth. 
• In Week 3, students read from Top Ten Ways We You Can Reduce Waste and discuss ways daily actions can reduce pollution. 
•  In Week 4, students read The Himalayas and discuss what makes an extreme location somewhere to explore and protect. 
• In Week 5, students read Trashing Paradise and “Bye Bye Plastic Bags on Bali” and discuss what happens to what we throw away.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. 

Academic vocabulary is introduced, defined, discussed, and presented throughout unit reading and writing tasks. Students preview vocabulary before reading the text and the teacher questions to determine what they know before reading and to connect to any prior knowledge. Questions and activities focusing on the unit academic vocabulary words are embedded in the instructional materials. There is a Possible Teacher Point during the Shared Read where teachers can use the Reading Writing Workshop Bridge to reinforce a vocabulary skill. During the Shared Read, there are opportunities for students to use context clues to determine the meaning of words, as well. After the Shared Read, there is Develop Vocabulary time where students have an opportunity to apply their knowledge with the words they have learned in independent practices. Each unit is built around a specific topic allowing for the building of related vocabulary exposure, meaning, and connections to be made throughout the weeks of instruction, increasing students’ word knowledge across texts. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Reading-Writing Workshop Bridge, Academic Vocabulary, students use roots and affixes to determine the meaning of words. Students then use the word in a sentence, demonstrating an understanding of the meaning of the word.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, the Shared Read section states, “The vocabulary words, bristle, brittle, contour, and system, relate to feathers and their functions. Remind yourself of the word’s meaning; ask yourself how the word relates to the topic.” Then on page 246 of the Student Interactive, students “Review the topic in the center circle. Then complete the graphic organizer by writing a word from the word bank in each circle and explaining how each word relates to the topic.”
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Reading Workshop, Respond and Analyze, Develop Vocabulary, students learn that making connections between vocabulary and the plot helps readers better understand a text. Students then use newly acquired vocabulary to answer questions showing how the author’s choice of words helps them better understand the text, Mama’s Window.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Formative Assessment Options, Apply, students have two options to apply vocabulary knowledge. Option 1: “Have students respond using newly acquired vocabulary as they complete page 240 of the Student Interactive.” During this option, students use words from the word bank (vocabulary words studied) to complete the paragraph. 
• In Unit 5, Week 4, Reading Workshop, Respond and Analyze, students learn vocabulary, focusing on the difference between concrete and abstract language. Students then use the newly acquired vocabulary in sentences to answer questions about The HImalayas.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan to support students’ increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.

The Writing Workshop component has a weekly format that remains consistent in each unit throughout the year. Students are exposed to standards-based writing skill Minilessons that support progress toward independent writing. Lessons include modeled writing, shared writing, guided writing, and independent writing. In Week 1 of each unit, the students are immersed in and introduced to a genre of writing. In Week 2, students work on developing the elements of that genre. Week 3 concentrates on developing the structure of the writing. Week 4 contains lessons in author’s craft. Week 5 focuses on publishing, celebrating, and assessing. The daily routines for each lesson contain a 5-15 minute Minilesson with 30-40 minutes of independent writing time, during which the teacher confers with students. During this time, students practice and refine their writing skills. Although the lesson format remains the same throughout the year, the Minilessons progress and students consistently learn more skills in order to demonstrate proficiency at grade level by the end of the school year. A gradual release model is used each week. The teacher models writing and think alouds first to demonstrate the  writing skills students need for the writing type. Next, students engage in shared writing, guided writing, and lastly, independent writing of the specific writing genre for the unit. As students develop their writing skills throughout the unit, they complete a writing prompt assessment that measures their ability to independently complete a written assignment that assesses all of the writing skills upon which they have been building. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Weeks 1-5, Writing Workshop, students focus on personal narratives. During Week 1, students examine the elements of personal narratives and engage in practice activities where they explore the narrator’s voice, setting, and story events. They also brainstorm and set a purpose as they plan to write their own personal narrative. In Week 2, students use a series of questions to describe the narrator and how the narrator portrays people. Students also work on composing the setting of their narrative, developing ideas with relevant details, using concrete words and phrases to transform general descriptions into specific ones, and using sensory details in their writing. During Week 3, students develop and compose the introduction, event sequence, dialogue, and conclusion of their narratives, while also using transition words and phrases in their writing. In Week 4, students revise their work by adding and deleting ideas for coherence and clarity and edit their work for adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. Students continue editing in Week 5, focusing on irregular verbs and punctuation marks. Then, students publish and celebrate their work before completing their end-of-unit writing assessment, during which they write a personal narrative in response to a prompt.           
• In Unit 2, Weeks 1-5, Writing Workshop, students work on informational text, focusing on travel articles. In Week 1, students analyze a travel article and elements, such as the lead paragraph and photographs, before brainstorming and setting a purpose as they plan to compose their own travel article. During Week 2, students develop an introduction, relevant details, different types of details, such as facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, and examples, and a conclusion for their travel article. They also compose captions for the visuals included in their work. Students continue their composition work in Week 3, as they compose a headline and body paragraphs for their writing. Students also group their paragraphs into sections, develop transitions, and explore multimedia options before mapping out ideas for including selected options in their travel article. During Week 4, students revise their work, using linking words and phrases, as well as precise language and vocabulary. They also edit for capitalization, adverbs, and coordinating conjunctions. In Week 5, students wrap up editing, with a focus on complete sentences and nouns. Then, they publish and celebrate their writing, before completing the end-of-unit writing assessment, during which students write a travel article in response to a prompt.      
• In Unit 3, Weeks 1-5, Writing Workshop, students learn about realistic fiction. During Week 1, students discuss an anchor chart to help them understand the elements of realistic fiction. Then, they use text to practice identifying parts of the plot and recognizing the elements of fiction, before brainstorming a topic and planning their own realistic fiction story. In Week 2, students begin composing their pieces, focusing on using sensory details and developing internal monologues to describe characters and composing the setting, problem, and resolution. During Week 3, students write from one point of view, compose event sequences and dialogue, plan illustrations, and select a genre for their story. In Week 4, students begin the revision and editing process by using irregular verbs and pronouns in their writing and editing their work for punctuation, prepositional phrases, and coordinating conjunctions. Revision and editing continue in Week 5, as students rearrange and combine ideas and edit for capitalization. Students publish and celebrate their work, prior to completing the end-of-unit writing assessment, during which students write a realistic fiction story in response to a prompt.       
• In Unit 4, Weeks 1-5, Writers Workshop, students explore opinion writing. During Week 1, students analyze an opinion essay and use text to understand point of view, as well as the reasons and information, such as facts, definitions, examples, and quotations, that authors use to support their opinions. Students brainstorm a topic and an opinion as they plan to write their own opinion essay. In Week 2, students develop their writing by working on the topic, opinion, reasons, and supporting details and facts for their essay. They also compose a concluding statement and use technology to help them experiment with rearranging sentences and paragraphs in order to find the best structure for their reasons and supporting information. During Week 3, students compose the introduction and conclusion, organize the reasons and supporting details, and use transition words and phrases in their writing. They also use technology for a group project, during which students analyze model opinion essays before composing their own. In Week 4, students begin revising and editing their work. They rearrange and combine ideas for coherence and clarity, peer edit, and edit their work for use of complete sentences and nouns. During Week 5, students complete the revision and editing process by incorporating peer and teacher suggestions before publishing the final draft of their opinion essay. After students publish and celebrate their work, they complete the end-of-unit writing assessment, during which students write an opinion essay in response to a prompt.           
• In Unit 5, Weeks 1-5, Writing Workshop, students study poetry. In Week 1, after discussing an anchor chart on the elements of poetry, students explore what poetry sounds and looks like. Then, they brainstorm ideas and plan to write their own poem. During Week 2, students engage in tasks to practice incorporating elements of poetry into their writing, by composing a rhythm, and using alliteration, assonance, similes, metaphors, rhyming words, and repetition in their written work. In Week 3, students turn their attention to drafting their poem, by working on developing compositions with line breaks, arranging stanzas, selecting punctuation, setting a rhyme scheme, and selecting a genre. Students begin the revision and editing process in Week 4, and check their writing for use of progressive verbs, structure, word choice, comparative and superlative adjectives, and prepositional phrases. During Week 5, students finalize the revision process by adding and deleting ideas for coherence and clarity. Then, they publish and celebrate their writing, prior to completing the end-of-unit writing assessment, during which students write a poem in response to a prompt.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.

Each unit has an Essential Question which is supported by a theme, additional weekly Essential Questions, and a variety of multi-genre texts. During Week 6, a Project-Based Inquiry task occurs using anchor texts, Book Club texts, and additional research. Students work both independently and collaboratively to complete this project. It is within the Project-Based Inquiry that students research and develop applicable “real world” products, such as opinion letters, scrapbooks, speeches, informational posters, and brochures. In order to complete these projects based on the theme of the unit, students are required to research, analyze, and synthesize information for this culminating activity. Throughout the Workshops in the weeks building to the final project, students engage in a progression of tasks that build their knowledge through reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. 

• In Unit 1, Week 6 of the Project-Based Inquiry, there are five lessons: “Lesson 1: Gather background information from research articles. Lesson 2: Use field research to conduct research. Lesson 3: Use primary and secondary sources to refine research. Lesson 4: Incorporate media to extend research. Lesson 5: Present and reflect on research results.” The Teacher’s Guide states, “Use the opinion article, ‘Save our Theater’ and the Plan your Research chart to help students recognize the characteristics of argumentative texts, including claims, facts, and evidence. This week students will address the theme of Networks by developing and conducting a research plan to write a brochure designed to convince readers that a particular place in their community should be designated a historic landmark.”
• In Unit 2, the Essential Question is “How do living things adapt to the world around them?” During Week 6, the project, Make Note of It, provides the students the opportunity to use the knowledge from the anchor texts, Book Club, and additional research to complete a research-based project connecting to the theme, Interactions. The students research endangered animals before completing the final project, a poster. The project is divided over five separate lessons. A four-point rubric scale is provided for students and teachers to understand the components needed on the final culminating research project.
• In Unit 3, Week 6, Project-Based Inquiry, there are five lessons: “Lesson 1: Gather background information from research articles. Lesson 2: Use search engines to conduct research. Lesson 3: Use paraphrasing and quoting to refine research. Lesson 4: Incorporate media to extend research. Lesson 5: Present and reflect on research results.” The Teacher’s Guide states, “This week, students will extend their understanding of the theme of Diversity by following a research plan and writing an argument letter to the school principal advocating for accessible playground equipment on school property.” The Student Interactive states, “Think about the argument letter you wrote. Which parts of your letter do you think are the strongest? Which areas might you improve next time? Write your thoughts here.”
• In Unit 4, Week 6, students research the origin of an American tall tale to write an explanatory blog post. While conducting research, students read The Truth Behind the Legend, The Library of Congress, and Who’s Your Hero? in addition to completing independent research and developing a bibliography for their blog post, students create the blog post and share the post with classmates.
• In Unit 5, Week 6, Project-Based Inquiry, there are five lessons: “Lesson 1: Gather background information from research articles. Lesson 2: Use expert evidence to conduct research. Lesson 3: Use primary and secondary sources to refine research. Lesson 4: Use and online archive to extend research. Lesson 5: Present and reflect on research results.” The Teacher’s Guide states, “During this week, students will develop the idea of Features by following a research plan and writing an opinion article, arguing that a particular type of storm or other environmental event is the single most dangerous.” The Student Interactive states, “With your partner, think of two types of experts you could write to when gathering evidence for your dangerous weather opinion article.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

The materials provide opportunities for students to use anchor texts and Book Club texts during Reading Workshop. Leveled Readers support the instruction for the unit and student’s comprehension. Reading supports are available in the Getting Started Program Overview to assist teachers in guiding students to become independent readers. In the beginning of each Introduce the Unit section, the Student Interactive contains an Independent Reading Log, in which students track the date, book, genre, pages read, and minutes read. There is also a place called My Rating, in which students rate the book using a star system. Additionally, students conference with the teacher for three to five minutes at different points each week to discuss specific aspects of what they are reading. Book Club meets twice a week during Small Group time. Students complete an information sheet for Book Club that they use when meeting with their group. Students are expected to finish reading their Book Club book within 10 days. Students document their noticings, connections, and wonderings about their Book Club book daily. There are lessons for free reads that guide students and teachers during independent reading and a pacing guide and lessons for Book Club. Students are to read their Book Club book outside and inside of class in order to keep up with session requirements.

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Independent Reading, the Teacher’s Guide states, “Students can reread or listen to Rare Treasure or another text, Read a self-selected book or their Book Club text, [or] pair up and share with partners the main idea of a self-selected text they recently read.”
• In Unit 2, Teacher’s Edition, Book Club, five opportunities are available for students to participate in Book Club. Each week there is a summary, guidelines, and protocols for both the teacher and student to conduct a Book Club. The texts for Book Club connect to the theme and each of the anchor texts for the week. Protocols are available for the students to complete during independent reading and before group discussions. There are also checkpoints for understanding regarding student progress towards their comprehension. 
• In Unit 3, Introduce the Unit, Independent Reading, guidance in this section states, “Reading for longer, or sustained periods of time can build your stamina and make a better reader. The more you read, the better you become. Set some goals to increase your time you spend reading. Keep track of how long you read.” 
• In Unit 4, Introduce the Unit, students choose books based on their interests and work on reading at a steady and comfortable rate. Students spend increasing amounts of time reading independently throughout the unit. Students use pages in the Student Interactive to log their reading by recording the date, book, genre, pages read, minutes read, and a student rating for the book. 
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Independent Reading section, the Teacher’s Guide states, “Students can reread or listen to the diagram, ‘Pollutant Emissions,’ with a partner, read a self-selected text, [or] reread or listen to their leveled reader.”