Kindergarten - Gateway 3

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten 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 contains the student texts, as well as practice materials for all components of Reading and Writing Workshop. Additional printable practice pages are also available online. The student resources include ample review and practice resources in the Student Interactive. The directions are clear with explanations and correct labeling of resource aids. However, some response boxes in the consumable worksheets are not large enough to provide adequate space for students to respond.

Resources include, but are not limited to:

• There are five volumes for Kindergarten. According to the Program guide:
• The myView Literacy program contains online leveled reader support with ELL Access Videos to build background, as well as audio and word-by-word highlighting for student scaffolding.
• Interactive graphic organizers and highlighting and note taking capabilities are available.
• Sentence frames before, during, and after reading provide the language structures students need to incorporate academic language into their speech and writing (Language Awareness Online).
• Additional printable practice pages are available online.
• Research articles are written at three different reading levels. 
• The materials contain many science and social studies topics. Content vocabulary is underlined in the text. The sidebars contain definitions of the vocabulary words to assist the reader. Clear, colorful photographs are also used to help students with these concepts. Directions are clear. When doing a close read of the shared reading text, the directions are in the margin on the page where students find the text evidence. Since the shared reading texts are all in the Student Interactive, students underline the text evidence directly on the shared reading text. For example, in Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 3, Reading Workshop, Close Read, after reading Animals On the Move, in the margin is the close read icon. Use Text Features is bolded. Students are asked, “What do some animals do? Underline the word that names the main idea.” Visual aides such as maps, photographs, headings, bold words, glossary, and illustrations are correctly labeled.
• In Unit 1 of the Student Interactive, page 26, the teacher "remind[s] students that the letter m makes the sound /m/ and the letter t makes the sound /t/. Have partners take turns pointing to the m or t in each word and saying the sound for the letter. Then have them use the picture to identify each word.” The visual aids on the page include pictures of the words map, man, mop, rop, ten, and rat. 
• In Unit 2 of the Student Interactive, page 195, students complete a graphic organizer by drawing details about exercise. The directions state, “Remind students that details tell more about a topic. Say: Finding the most important details will help you better understand what you are reading. Have students evaluate details they learned in the text and draw two important details about exercise. Remind them to look back at the text.”
• In Unit 4 of the Student Interactive, page 50, students complete a graphic organizer by drawing details from their life to begin writing a narrative. The directions tell teachers to say, “Authors think of ideas before they write. When authors plan a personal narrative, they think about real events in their life they can tell a story about. Ask students to generate ideas for a class narrative as you draw the ideas on the board. Then have students generate ideas for their personal narrative by drawing events they might tell about in the graphic organizer.”

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

The publisher has provided documentation of alignment with Common Core State Standards. Detailed information of where the standard is being practiced in the Student Interactive and Teacher's Edition are listed under the corresponding standard. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The ten standards are divided into Literature, Informational, and Foundational Skills, Writing, Language,and Speaking and Listening. Detailed information of where the standard is being practiced in the Student Interactive and Teacher's Edition are listed under the corresponding standard under Planning Resources for each grade level. For example, RL.K.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details: SI (Student Interactive):  Unit 1, Week 2, 81/TE (Teacher's Edition):  Unit 1, Week 2, T128-T129. RI.K.4 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text: SI: Unit 5, Week 4, 151/TE: Unit 5, Week 4, T249.
• The materials include the three types of writing addressed in the standards, as well as research. Each of the five units culminates with a research inquiry project. The assessments list the skills and standards assessed. Students are assessed three times a year, as well as after each unit.
• There are specific standards-based assessments in each unit that include phonological awareness, phonics, high frequency words, listening comprehension, and writing.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten 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's Edition contains many suggestions and examples on how to present content to students throughout the year. The unit and weekly format of the Teacher's Edition follows a structured routine throughout the year for each grade level. The materials provide teachers with ample annotations to model skills and strategies through teacher think alouds. Teacher support is also provided for the use of embedded technology to support student learning. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Teacher's Edition provides a unit overview, as well as a weekly overview and a suggested weekly plan to aid in lesson planning. Teachers can use the Weekly Hyperlinked Planner to make planning lessons easier. 
• At the beginning of each unit, there is a Program Overview section that includes the Program Components section that lists the print and digital resources. The Instructional Model is included in the Program Overview, and an explanation is included for how the Reading Workshop, Reading-Writing Bridge, Writing Workshop, and Project-Based Inquiry Project fit together. In the Program Overview, there is a section for each of the following models: Reading Workshop Instructional Model, Reading Workshop Small Group Instructional Model, and Writing Workshop Instruction Model. These sections include an explanation of how the Unit of Study is separated, a list resources, and the Weekly Plan/Objectives. The Program Overview section also explains the Reading-Writing Bridge and the Project-Based Inquiry section. The assessments are explained in the Assessment Overview. There is also a letter recognition section to teach Kindergarten students the alphabet. Guidance is included for teachers to use with ELL students, struggling students, and accelerated students.
• In Getting Started, Program Overview: Reading Workshop Minilesson, Focus On Strategies, teachers are directed to “Lead a discussion to help students recognize major characteristics of informational text. Explain that to understand an informational text, readers must be able to recognize the text’s main, or most important, idea and key details. Readers should also look for domain specific vocabulary, text features, graphic features, and a recognizable text structure.”
• In Model and Practice, teachers are directed to “Model using the main idea and key details to identify the text as informational: To determine the main idea of ‘Snowy Owls,’ I start with the topic of the text: snowy owls. What idea about snowy owls is the author developing? The first sentence of this text states that snowy owls are well adapted to the Arctic. This could be a main idea. When I reread, I determine that all the details support the opening sentence. I can identify this as an informational text whose main idea is ‘Snowy owls are well adapted to their environment.’”
• The Language Awareness Handbook is an online resource that provides resources to scaffold instruction during reading and writing workshop. For example, sentence frames that can be used to help students include academic language in their reading and writing. Weekly lessons contain a launch video and the student online text contains audio and word-by-word highlighting for student support.  In writing, teachers are provided with conference prompts to help focus instructional needs. For example, “If students need additional support, then choose a personal narrative from the stack to review together and discuss its narrator, setting, and events.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten 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. The videos are authored by the authors and researchers of the program.

Professional Learning videos are provided to give teachers the research behind the series and enhance teaching practices. The myView Literacy authors provide teachers with best practices. 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 provided include Assessment, Book Club, Comprehension & Assessment, Differentiation, Dual Language, Engagement, Foundational Skills, Inquiry, Reading, Small Group, and Vocabulary. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• 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 instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies.

The Teacher's Edition has explanations of instructional approaches and research-based strategies of the program. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Teacher's Edition, the program authors/advisory board are presented and have different quotes about components of the program/instructional approaches. The instructional model of the curriculum is explained in the Teacher's Edition for both the overall instructional structure of the block, but also the daily structure and focus. An explanation of the reading and writing workshop bridge also provides teachers with the knowledge of those research-based strategies. 
• Within the online resources, a teacher can find professional development to guide the instructional approaches used in the curriculum. Each topic has a short video explaining the specific purpose and strategies for the topic. The videos are presented by experts in the field.  Some topics also have presenter-created notes or articles detailing the research-based instructional approach with significant references.

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

The materials include multiple, varied assessment opportunities throughout the curriculum to measure student progress. Students are assessed in all areas of reading and writing through the assessments presented in the curriculum. Teachers are able to assess students in a base-line, mid-year, and end-of-year assessment. Unit assessments are given to assess the standards addressed in that unit. Within each unit, teachers have access to give students weekly progress assessments. Cold read fluency passages are also used as an assessment monitoring tool for teachers on fluency and comprehension. Each unit contains an end of unit project during Week 6, which has a rubric for teachers to assess student progress. Writing workshop assessments are also offered in the curriculum. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Summative Assessments
• Baseline, Middle-of-Year, and End-of-Year Tests
• Unit Tests
• Cold Reads for Fluency and Comprehension
• Customizable Digital Assessments
• Inquiry-Based Project Rubrics and Checklists
• Progress Check-Ups
• Writing Workshop Assessments. 

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 program also suggests gathering comprehensive assessment data to inform instructional pathways using embedded daily routines and digital/print assessment resources, such as quick checks, assess and differentiate, assess prior knowledge, assess understanding, observational assessments, conferring checklists, and rubrics.  All of these provide ample opportunity to assess student progress in a genuine way.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten 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 Teacher Manual includes a standards correlation chart for the baseline, middle-of-year, and end-of-year assessments as well as for all unit tests that 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 the Assessment Guide, in the 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.
• Under the ExamView, it also mentions that you can search/assign test questions by standard.

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

The provided Assessment Guide is an extensive tool for teachers to provide support in interpreting student data and next steps in instruction.  There is a chart included that delineates the types of assessments in the program, examples, when the assessment should be administered, data type, and information regarding how to utilize the data.  Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Assessment Guide for Grades K-5 provides teachers with “ongoing professional development support to read and interpret data to drive instruction.” The 192 page document is designed to support teachers with all types of student assessment throughout the school year. For example, there is a Reading Strategy Checklist, a teacher tool to monitor a student’s knowledge of reading strategies.  It is in rubric form with categories of Proficient, Developing, Emerging, and Not Yet. Each chapter has a case study example that ends with a teacher reflection, what’s next, and the take away.
• Chapter 3 of the Assessment Guide is titled Benchmark Assessment and Instructional Grouping. It begins with a case study and then guides the teacher through “What are guided reading levels and how are they used?” It helps to match readers with the correct myView Cold Read level for progress monitoring and has an If...Then chart to help teachers with grouping students. Students are grouped into Developing, On Level, and Advanced and given a suggested instructional focus for reading.
• Questions are provided to guide teachers through the process of looking at data and deciding next steps in Chapter 4 of the Assessment Guide. For example: "Is this student making progress in this small group? Do I need to regroup this student? Do I need to change the way I am instructing this student? Do I need to change the texts this student is reading?"
• In the Writing Workshop, If...Then, instruction to guide the teacher when doing student conferencing during Writing Workshop is included. For example: "If students need additional support, Then ask: Which word in a sentence do you always capitalize? If students show understanding, Then ask: Which capitalization rules will you use to help you edit your writing?"

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

The Progress Check-Ups Teacher Manual contain routines, guidance, and progress monitoring tools for teachers to use to monitor students throughout the school year. Examples of the routines and guidance that is provided to teachers while conducting progress monitoring include:

• In Kindergarten, there are 25 check-ups, one for each instructional week in the myView Literacy program. Progress Check-Ups assess Kindergarten students in a developmentally appropriate manner. Each Progress Check-Up contains four sections.
• The High-Frequency Words section consists of three multiple-choice questions that assess students’ knowledge of the week’s high-frequency words. Teacher scripting is provided for each item.
• The Phonics section consists of four multiple-choice questions that assess students’ knowledge of the week’s phonics skills. Answer choices are provided as pictures, so students do not have to be able to read. Teacher scripting is provided for each item.
• The Listening Comprehension section consists of a selection read aloud to students and three multiple-choice questions that assess students’ knowledge of the week’s comprehension focus. Answer choices are provided as pictures, so that students do not have to be able to read. Teacher scripting is provided for each item.
• The Writing section consists of a writing prompt that asks students to draw and write or dictate in a particular writing mode. The teacher may wish to record dictation provided by students.

The Assessment Guides states “Comprehension is assessed in most of the myView assessment products. The myView Progress Check-Ups, myView Cold Reads for Fluency and Comprehension, myView Unit Tests, myView Middle-of-Year Test, and myView End-of-Year Test will help you determine progress in Comprehension on a weekly basis.” The materials also suggest taking running records of students. There are weekly word study lessons built into the program in the myView Reading-Writing Bridge. 

Chapter 4 of the Assessment Guide is titled Ongoing Assessment. The chapter begins with a case study example concluding with teacher reflection, what’s next, and the take away. The materials suggest teachers do formative assessments throughout the school year: “Combined, your observations, running records, inventories, small-group conferences, and Weekly Progress Check-Up results will help inform your understanding of where your students are and how they are progressing.” The Guide also provides teachers with a chart of different types of questions to use for informal assessments that monitor student understanding and gives teachers a guide of what to do next. If a student receives a low score on a Progress Check-Up or shows a lack of adequate progress during the year, teachers may use myFocus Intervention, Level A to provide the student with additional opportunities to practice high-frequency words, phonics, comprehension, and writing. This can be done through large-group, small-group, or individual instruction. Alignments between individual assessment items and lessons in myFocus Intervention are provided on the Item Analysis Charts.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of 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 strong support for meeting the needs of all learners, including English Language Learners. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Program Overview breaks down the support in the Teacher's Edition in Reading Workshop to include whole group lessons and small group lessons. These lessons are meant to differentiate and provide support to all students.  The materials also focus on the three tiers of instruction. In small groups, leveled readers with lesson plans are included to support guided reading groups. There is a Leveled Reader Teacher Guide, as well as a Small Group Guide to assist the classroom teacher. The Leveled Reader Teacher's Edition provides “possible teaching points for differentiation with DOK levels of complexity.” There are various types of small groups for the classroom teacher to use listed in the Teacher Guide. There are strategy group Minilessons, intervention activities, guided reading, and conferring opportunities. 
• Several online tools are available to further support teachers and students. For example, at the beginning of every unit there are “ELL Access videos to build background.” Text Complexity Analysis for the Shared Reading text is in each unit. This analysis includes reader and task considerations for English Language Learners, Intervention, and On Level/Advanced to support those learners.
• In Unit 1, Week 1,  Lesson 3, Close Read, Identify and Describe Characters, teachers are provided with ELL strategies:
• Teach antonym parts to help students use vocabulary as they give information about characters and objects.
• Emerging-Show pictures to illustrate the antonym pairs young/old and big/small. Have students give information about the characters or objects by drawing or labeling a picture to represent each pair.
• Developing-Have students draw a picture to represent antonym pairs. Ask them to point to and give information about their pictures, using the sentence frame: That one is _____ but this one is _____.
• Expanding-Have students brainstorm antonym pairs that could give information about people. Have them use the pairs to describe the characters in a story they know.
• Bridging-Have students write a list of describing words that give information about a character. Then have them work in pairs to brainstorm some antonyms of the character words on their list.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 3, Assess and Differentiate, teachers are provided with intervention strategies:
• Teaching Point-Because the characters in realistic fiction text seem like real people, readers can use their own experiences and ideas to imagine the characters and understand them better. Model using your imagination and experiences to understand what the characters are doing in Mission Accomplished!
• Model-Tell students that you are a little confused about something you read on page 33. "I read here that Rena wants to go to Mars. But children don’t fly to Mars, do they? I thought this was supposed to be like real life. But I will try to think like Rena. I can use my imagination." Read pages 33-34 aloud. Point out the picture showing the thought bubble. Explain that the thought bubble means this is an idea Rena is thinking up in her imagination. "That means Rena is using her imagination, just like a good reader does. I know that using your imagination is a fun way to play. I loved to use my imagination when I played. This helps me understand more about both Rena and Christopher. They have fun imaginations that help them pretend to go to Mars."
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 5, Assess and Differentiate, On Level and Advanced, teachers are provided with strategies to use with students who are reading, writing, speaking, and listening above grade level:
• Organize Information and Communicate-Have students share with a partner what they learned during their inquiry about how people use their imaginations.
• Critical Thinking-Ask students how the stories relate to imagination. "How did the children use their imagination to change the place where they were? How do writers use their imagination?"

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten 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.

The Language Awareness Handbook, myFocus Intervention Teacher Resource Guide, and the Teacher's Edition 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 and meet or exceed grade-level standards. The Teacher's Edition provides ELL Targeted Support throughout the units and continues the entire school year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Program indicates unit launch videos that are included to “spark interest, make connections, and build knowledge to improve students’ comprehension.” The online edition of the Student Interactive provide “audio support and word-by-word-audio highlighting (K-2).” There are also ELL Access Videos to “provide background and help English language learners comprehend leveled texts.” These are all materials to support students working below grade level and English Language Learners with grade-level texts. There is “ELL Targeted Support Embedded at Point of Use” in the Teacher's Edition, as well as “dual language resources.” Sentence Frames are also provided for students to help incorporate academic language.
• The materials for Week 6 in each unit allow students to work on a research project. To support students with their reading of research articles, each article is available in three different reading levels. The teacher is also provided with If...Then conferring tips in Writer’s Workshop.
• “The Language Awareness Handbook is a valuable resource that provides integrated reading and writing support while working in tandem with core Whole and Small Group instruction in myView. The handbook provides models of scaffolded instruction, useful strategies, and practical routines that you can employ during reading or writing workshop. It is intended that these linguistically accommodated lessons be used during small-group time with students that you determine need additional scaffolded instruction. Refer to this handbook during planning to determine which lessons will provide the most focused scaffolds for your students. You may use any or all of the lessons or lesson parts as dictated by the needs of your students. This handbook is meant not only for the classroom teacher, but can be used by any support person working with the diverse student populations in your school.” 
• “myFocus Intervention Teacher Resource Guide targeted instruction focuses on the development of skills and strategies to help students achieve on-grade-level expectations. The lessons are tied to national and state English Language Arts standards. Lessons can be used flexibly, based on students’ differing instructional needs and rates of mastery. Discrete skills are scaffolded into small, manageable Minilessons for thorough coverage, focused practice, and built-in progress monitoring. Data-driven assessments after sets of related lessons allow teachers to monitor students’ progress efficiently and effectively.”
• The Teacher's Edition provides intervention and ELL strategies to teachers for students who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English.

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

The materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level. The Teacher's Edition and the Extension Activities in the Resource Download Center provide extension opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Leveled Readers include a wide range so that the teacher can match students with their appropriate reading level. Students who read above grade level, read books at their instructional levels. Also, the research articles are leveled into Easy, On Level, and Challenge. Students who are reading above grade level would read the Challenge articles. The Text Complexity Charts also provide prompts and tasks for On Level and Advanced students. In the Teacher Guide, the Formative Assessment for each week gives students two choices so students can challenge themselves.
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 1, Reading Workshop, Assess and Differentiate, teachers are provided with strategies to use with On Level and Advanced level students: "Have students talk with a partner about what they think it would be like if their families moved. Then have partners think about a place they would want to move to. Work with students to learn more about this place."
• In Unit 1 of the Extension Activities in the Resource Download Center, students can complete a genre log, a reading log, a fiction or nonfiction bookmark, and recommend books to their peers.

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

The materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies. These groupings are outlined in the Teacher's Edition with lesson plans to accompany the various grouping strategies. Students work in whole group, small groups, or with a partner. The Teacher's Edition suggests different  groupings for various tasks. 

In small groups, leveled readers with lesson plans are included to support guided reading groups. There is a Leveled Reader Teacher Guide, as well as a Small Group Guide to assist the classroom teacher. The Leveled Reader Teacher Guide provides “possible teaching points for differentiation with DOK levels of complexity.” 

There are various types of small groups for the classroom teacher to use during Reading Workshop listed in the Teacher Guide: strategy groups, intervention groups, guided reading groups, and conferring with 2-3 students. Small Group suggestions include teacher-led options for strategy groups, intervention activities, as well as suggestions for on-level and advanced support in the Teacher's Edition. Collaborate Groups suggestions include Book Club ideas and Writing Club ideas in the Teacher’s Edition. Partner Work suggestions include Turn, Talk, and Share suggestions throughout the Teacher's Edition and Project-Based Inquiry Project.