2nd Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students knowledge and vocabulary which will over time support and help grow students’ ability to comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.

Texts are connected by a central topic that is appropriate for Grade 2. Texts build students’ knowledge, vocabulary, and the ability to comprehend complex texts across the school year. The Student Interactive helps to guide students through the close read process throughout the entire year. Over the five units, central topics include You Are Here, Nature’s Wonders, Our Traditions, Making a Difference, and Our Incredible Earth. The units are designed to build knowledge and vocabulary and become more rigorous as the year progresses.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, the theme is Nature’s Wonders. This unit focuses on the patterns found in nature. In Week 1, Lesson 1, the read-aloud, Patterns on the Prairie, tells about patterns in nature and helps students start to visualize where they may see patterns. The Leveled Readers for this week also emphasize patterns with the titles, Nature’s Patterns, The Monarch Butterfly, and Amazing Migration. These books tell about physical patterns, as well as cyclical life patterns.
• In Unit 3, the theme is Our Traditions. This unit builds knowledge about what makes a tradition and includes examples of traditions around the world. Week 3, Lesson 1 begins the week with a read-aloud of a traditional tale or folktale titled The Princess and the Peanuts. This week also incorporates other folktales in the Leveled Readers: The Crafty Fox, Weighing and Elephant, and The Greedy Dog.  The shared reads ask students to compare two versions of the traditional Cinderella tale, Interstellar Cinderella and Cendrillion: An Island Cinderella. In Week 4, Lesson 2, the shared read, Abenaki, is an informational text that introduces the Abenaki people and their traditions.
• In Unit 4, the theme is Making a Difference.  This unit introduces students to why connecting with other people is important. The theme revolves around building relationships to make life easier and more interesting because everyone makes a difference in their own way. In Week 3, Lesson 1, the read-aloud text, Making a Difference in Your Community, fits the theme of making a difference and introduces the topic to students for listening comprehension. Students continue to develop the topic with the shared read, The Garden of Happiness, which is about members of a community coming together to grow a garden. In Week 5, Lesson 1, the read-aloud is titled Volunteering Helps Everyone, which shows the important ways people can make a difference by volunteering. There is also an expository text in the leveled readers about helping the community. The shared read text is titled Kids Can Be Big Helpers and shows ways even kids can make a difference in their community.
• In Unit 5, the unit theme is Our Incredible Earth and the Essential Question is “How does Earth change?” The following shared reading texts and Essential Questions connect to the theme: Week 1, Introducing Landforms with the Weekly Question: “What are some of Earth’s changing features?”; Week 2, excerpts from How Water Shapes the Earth and How Earthquakes Shape the Earth with the Weekly Question: “How do natural events change Earth?”; Week 3, Where Do They Go in Rain or Snow? with the Weekly Question: “How does weather change Earth?”;  Week 4, Volcano Wakes Up! with the Weekly Question: “How does a volcano eruption change Earth?”; and Week 5, Rocks! with the Essential Question: “What can rocks reveal about how Earth changes?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

Over the course of the year, students analyze the author’s words and phrases, key ideas, details, craft, and structure as they interact, both individually and in large/small groups, with texts through questioning or by performing different tasks. Questions and tasks are sequenced to build students’ understanding gradually through each text and topic. By the end of each unit, questions and tasks become increasingly more complex and rigorous. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lessons 3 and 4, Reading Workshop, Close Read, the teacher asks students a series of questions about the shared read How Many Stars in the Sky?: "Look at the illustrations. Where is the boy? What is the time of day? How do you know? Have students underline a sentence that describes the setting. The text tells us that there are 'lots of streetlights' in town. How does the writer describe the streetlights? (They are 'burning”'.) Ask: What does the city skyline look like? (It is 'bright'.) Point out the words drove and sleeping on p. 31 and help students think of related words. The words work together to paint a picture of the city. Underline the words that help you understand the meaning of the word dazzling. Teach students how they can use their knowledge of related words to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Have them list words for beamed and flashed. Display the following example from paragraph 22: 'The stars were so thick I couldn’t tell one from another.' Explain that figurative language lets readers use their own minds to make pictures of what they say. Do you think they will see the stars while they are in town? Why or why not? How does the boy feel about looking at the stars in town? How does the country differ from the city? Which setting lets the boy and his father see more stars? Why?"
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 3, Reading Workshop, Close Read, students identify main idea. During the Whole Group lesson, students are introduced to the main or central idea of a title, paragraph, section, or of the entire text. On page 100 of the Student Interactive, students “Underline the words that tell you the main idea of the text.” On page 119 of the Student Interactive, students return to the text to find main idea and supporting evidence to complete a graph table. 
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Reading Workshop, Close Read, students learn the features and structures of informational text. Students listen to The Art of Gardens and the teacher models how to determine if a text is an informational text. Students complete either of the following tasks: "1. Students work in pairs or in partners to describe a book or article they have read about an animal. Then students explain, 'What made the text informational? What kind of text features did it include?' 2. Students mark text features in an informational text they are reading. Then, they explain what makes the text informational, what facts they learned, and what text features they used."
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 3, Reading Workshop, Shared Reading, students compare Interstellar Cinderella to the traditional Cinderella story. Then students complete either of the following tasks: "1. Students complete page 128 in the Student Interactive. Students identify the similarities and differences of Interstellar Cinderella to the traditional Cinderella story and Cendrillon: An Island Cinderella to the traditional Cinderella story. 2. Students compare and contrast two independent stories of the same genre using a chart similar to the one on page 128 in their Student Interactive."
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Lesson 3, Reading Workshop, Close Read, students learn that informational text can be organized in chronological order. The teacher models how to annotate and identify the text structure of One Plastic Bag. Students then complete either of the following assignments: "1. Students annotate text to complete the chronological order chart in the Student Interactive page 398. 2. Students mark places in one of their independent reading texts where they notice time-order words or other clues that tell them the text structures. Students then write what those clues tell them about text structure."
• In Unit 5, Week 5, Lesson 2, Reading Workshop, Shared Read, students continue to explore the main and central ideas. In this lesson, students are exposed to making inferences from a text. While reading the text, Rocks!, students scan paragraph 13 to infer the central idea of the section of text. On page 655 in the Student Interactive, students go back to the close read notes and make inferences about the main idea of each section using the table provided.
• In Unit 5, Week 5, Lessons 3 and 4, Reading Workshop, Close Read, the teacher asks a series of questions about the shared read Rocks!: "Underline the sentences that help state the main idea of the first paragraph. Have students scan paragraph 5 and highlight the sentences that can help them figure out the main idea on this page. Have students scan paragraph 6 and underline the words that tell the meaning of crust in this section. Ask students what other meanings of crust they know. Have students scan paragraph 9 to find and highlight the sentences that can help them determine the main idea of this section. The author has supplied a cause (pressure from the rocks) and an effect (heat formation). Ask why the author might use cause and effect to explain rock formation. Have students scan paragraph 10 to find and underline the sentence that tells the main idea of this page. Have students scan paragraph 15 and underline the words in the text that help them understand the meaning of nutrients. Have students scan paragraph 16 and underline the main idea and topic."

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 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. 

The materials provide teachers guidance outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component in the Reading Workshop and the Reading-Writing Bridge. The vocabulary taught in the Reading Workshop comes directly from the anchor text read for the week. The vocabulary taught in the Reading-Writing Bridge focuses on academic vocabulary, such as context clues, antonyms, and related words. Vocabulary is repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts) and across multiple texts. Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to high value academic words. Students are supported to accelerate vocabulary learning with vocabulary in their reading, speaking, and writing tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Reading Workshop, Leveled Reader, the teacher introduces the text, Amazing Migrations, and introduces and then reinforces the story vocabulary words (cycle, route, survive) before and after reading. During and after reading the teacher leads the discussion and has students use context clues to determine the meaning of route. Students compare how gray whales and whooping cranes are alike and different. Students write to answer the prompt: “Imagine you could travel with one of these animals while it migrates. Which one would you pick? Why?”

During the discussion and the writing, there are many opportunities to use the story vocabulary.

• In Unit 1, Week 5, Lesson 2, Shared Reading, students read You Can’t Climb a Cactus. The teacher explains that “authors choose vocabulary to describe key plot elements. The vocabulary words excited, favorite, tour, guide, and explore help describe the main events in the plot.” The teacher tells students to "Remind yourself of the word’s meaning. Ask yourself what the author is trying to describe about events in the plot." Students are asked to complete one of the following tasks: "1. Students complete the chart on page 182 of the Student Interactive by using a dictionary to find the meaning and pronunciations, meaning, and related words. 2. Students use a dictionary to define words they are unfamiliar with in their independent reading. Then have them write the definitions on sticky notes and stick them near the word in the text."
• In Unit 2, Week 3, Lesson 2, Shared Reading students read The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree. The teacher explains that “authors use action words and words with affixes to describe events. Words that end in -ly, for example, describe how actions are done. The vocabulary words rustle, glow, and decorates describe actions in The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree. The author uses the vocabulary words carefully and quietly to tell how actions happen.” The teacher tells students to "Remind yourself of the word’s meaning. Ask yourself what the author is trying to say about an action in the text." Students are asked to complete one of the following tasks: "1. Students complete the assignment on page 322 in the Student Interactive by underlining the words that end in -ly and completing each sentence. 2. Students make a list of -ly words from their independent texts. Then the teacher will prompt them to figure out the meaning of each of these words. Students will write the definitions in their reading notebooks."
• In Unit 2, Week 4, Lesson 1, Reading-Writing Bridge Workshop, students use academic vocabulary for the unit (behavior, design, evidence, identify, similar) in a lesson on suffixes. The teacher explains that suffixes are word parts added to the end of a word and may give clues to the words meaning. Students complete a page in the Student Interactive to show understanding of suffixes using academic vocabulary. The glossary in the Student Interactive gives definitions in student-friendly language. 
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Lesson 1, Reading Workshop, the teacher uses the weekly vocabulary words (destroy, environment, reaction, balance, and resources) when discussing and questioning students about the infographic. In Lessons 3 and 4, the vocabulary is discussed again through teacher questioning during the close reading of the shared reading text. For example, “How do the poems in Volcano Wakes Up! Tell about the environment? What is the reaction to the ferns in the poem ‘Ferns’ to the volcano sleeping?” During the Lesson 5, Compare Texts, the teacher again provides oral practice of the vocabulary words during questioning when connecting to the Weekly Question. In Week 1, Lesson 1 of the Reading-Writing Workshop Bridge, students review the academic vocabulary and then practice adding prefixes to them. Then they complete a prefix activity with their words in their Student Interactive. 
• In Unit 3, in the shared reading text, My Food, Your Food, a teaching point provided for the teacher includes: "Use the Academic Vocabulary lesson on page T386-T387 in the Reading-Writing Workshop Bridge to remind students to use the vocabulary terms to talk about the text. Point out the academic vocabulary word belief on page 193. Explain: 'Sometimes, people choose to eat or not eat certain foods because of their religious beliefs.' Ask: 'How can people’s beliefs affect the food they eat?' Encourage students to use academic vocabulary in their responses."
• In Unit 4, Week 5, Lesson 2, of Shared Reading students read Kids Can Be Big Helpers. The teacher explains that “when they encounter a new word, they might not know how to pronounce it. Remind them that a dictionary can tell them both the meaning of the word and how to pronounce it.” Students are asked to complete one of the following tasks: "1. Students complete the assignment on page 432 in the Student Interactive by using a dictionary to define and pronounce newly acquired vocabulary from Kids Can Be Big Helpers. 2. Students find and list unfamiliar words from their independent-reading texts. Then students use a dictionary to find the definitions and how to pronounce the words."
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Lesson 2, the Minilesson focus for the teacher is to explain that authors choose words carefully to convey precisely what they want to say: "Help students internalize the meanings of the vocabulary words by finding words they already know that have similar meanings. In the model and practice: Direct students’ attention to page 574 in the Student Interactive. Model completing the first term: 'I know from both the context clues and from the hint given beneath the blank that I am looking for a word that means 'stay alive.' As I look at the vocabulary words, survive seems to fit the best. I check its meaning to confirm that I am correct.'”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials contain a year long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts. 

The materials contain well-designed lesson plans, models, writing rubrics, and protocols for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Students are supported through the writing process with mentor texts, models, and shared writing. Feedback is provided by peers, the teacher, and self-evaluations to ensure that students' writing skills are increasing throughout the year.  Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Weeks 1-5, Writing Workshop, students learn about a variety of genres. In Week 1, students write a variety of genres to build excitement of writing. In Week 2, students plan and revise ideas in their writing notebook. In Week 3, students explore and apply features of fiction and nonfiction, and they think about ways to publish their writing. In Week 4, students improve their drafts by employing appropriate punctuation, adding details to make their writing more interesting, and deleting unnecessary words and sentences. In Week 5, students revise their writing with the aid of peer feedback, produce a final draft, and celebrate the publication of their work.
• In Unit 2, Weeks 1-5, Writing Workshop, students learn the elements of list articles. In Week 1, students write about subjects that interest them, include pertinent details, and discuss their writing with peers. In Week 2, students write informational texts that include a main idea, supporting details, and graphic features. In Week 3, students will consider how to present their ideas within the structure of standard informational text. In Week 4, students revise their informational list articles using proper language conventions and share their revisions with peers. In Week 5, students finalize their informational list articles, edit them for standard grammar, usage, and mechanics, and publish or present their list articles.
• In Unit 3, Weeks 1-5, Writer’s Workshop, Week 1, students learn about poetry and begin writing a poem. In Week 2, students add imagery to their poems. In Week 3, students practice similes and alliteration and work on adding to their pieces. In Week 4, students revise their poems adding descriptive adjectives. In Week 5, students edit their poems, write their final draft, and read it to the class. Students then have a poetry assessment where they write a poem to a prompt.
• In Unit 4, Weeks 1-5, Writing Workshop, students learn the elements of personal narratives. In Week 1, students plan, write, and finalize a well-developed personal narrative with the help of peer feedback. In Week 2, students draw on personal experiences to develop narratives that include a setting, problem, and its resolution. In Week 3, students continue to write a personal narrative and make revisions with the help of peer feedback. In Week 4, students edit and make revisions with the goal of crafting personal narratives that are clear, correct, and interesting to readers. In Week 5, students revise their personal narratives with particular attention to using correct language conventions and publish or present their narratives.
• In Unit 5, Weeks 1-5, Writer’s Workshop, Week 1, students learn about how-to books and begin to plan their how-to books. In Week 2, students learn to write commands and make detailed directions for their writing. In Week 3, students give their writing a title, write an introduction and conclusion, write a list of materials, and organize their steps. In Week 4, students make revisions to their writing. In Week 5, students edit their how-to writing, publish and share with the class.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.

The materials include research projects that are sequenced across the school year.  Each unit ends with Week 6 as an Inquiry Project. Students research a real-world issue through this project and are asked to demonstrate their learning across the unit, providing the opportunity to demonstrate what they know and are able to do, in speaking and writing. Research articles are provided on each topic at three different reading levels to support teachers and students in the research process.  Materials provide opportunities for both short and long writing projects. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 6, Project-Based Inquiry, students read differentiated research articles about exploring museums. Working in partners, they discuss what they are reading using sentence stems provided by the teacher to lead discussions. The teacher introduces persuasive writing using models and tells students they will write a persuasive paragraph about a favorite place in their community. Students are encouraged to begin their research by interviewing a community member about their favorite place in the community. Students then learn about using primary and secondary resources and using both print and digital resources. They are guided through the research process answering questions in their Student Interactive and teacher modeling.  Students revise and edit and finally, present their persuasive paragraphs to the class.
• In Unit 2, Week 6, Lesson 1, Inquiry Project, students research patterns in tree bark to write an informational fact sheet. In Lesson 1, students are taught how to do a tree rubbing and generate research questions on the topic of tree bark patterns. In Lesson 2, students learn the characteristics and structure of informational text, about opinions, facts, and how to conduct research using print and digital resources to answer the questions they generated. In Lesson 3, students learn the difference between plagiarizing and paraphrasing. In Lesson 4, students create posters to represent their informational fact sheet, revise, and edit their writing. In Lesson 5, students share their persuasive text with the class and reflect on their projects.
• In Unit 4, Week 6, Lesson 1, Inquiry Project, students collect personal items in order to create a time capsule and to write letters to themselves about the time capsule. In Lesson 1, students generate questions to ask themselves for the time capsule. In Lesson 2, students learn the characteristics and structure of informational text and conduct research using electronic resources. In Lesson 3, students begin writing their time capsule lists and learning about primary and secondary sources. In Lesson 4, students begin writing the letter to themselves about the time capsule, revise, and edit their writing to include more details. In Lesson 5, students share their informational text with the class and reflect on their projects.
• In Unit 5, Week 6, Lessons 1-4, Reading Workshop, Project-Based Inquiry, students learn about the Earth and write a “persuasive infomercial about Earth.” Students are introduced to the project and then read a research article, “The History of Advertising.”  They develop a research plan for the week with assistance. In Lesson 2, the teacher uses a mentor text to model argumentative writing and then students conduct research using books or online sources. Sentence frames are provided for students needing extra support. In Lesson 3, an example of an infomercial script is provided and analyzed together as a model using the Student Interactive. In Lesson 4, students revise and edit their scripts and record the infomercial and share with the class on the final day.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 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 procedures for independent reading, including an independent reading log and tracking system, included within the Student Interactive. The weekly reading plan includes daily opportunities for independent reading during small group and as a formative assessment option. Students are provided a wide variety of guided reading text that span the grade level. The teacher regularly provides supports through guided reading groups. The students may reread these texts independently throughout the week. 

Example include, but are not limited to: 

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 1, Reading Workshop, Introduce the Unit, students learn about the independent reading log and how to select an independent reading book. This is found in the Student Interactive. The students fill out the date, book title, pages read, minutes read, and then rate the book with a smiley face, straight face, or a sad face.  Students are then directed to choose their own books for independent reading. According to the materials students should "Select texts by favorite authors, about interesting topics, or in a particular genre. Establish a purpose for reading self-selected texts. Spend increasing periods of time reading independently throughout the unit to build stamina."
• In Unit 2, students are taught how to choose a book for independent reading in the Student Interactive, page 212. Students are taught to choose text by favorite authors, interesting topics, or certain genres. Students are also taught to establish a purpose for reading, and spend time reading at extended periods of time to increase stamina. On page 213 of the Student Interactive, there is a reading log for students to track their independent reading. In Week 1, Lesson 4, Reading Workshop, Ask and Answer Questions, students have the option to use sticky notes to mark places where they might have questions about the text and places that might provide answers to their questions during independent reading. During small groups on page T71 of the Teacher's Edition, students read a self-selected trade book. Students read or listen to previously read leveled reader or eText. Students continue to read their Book Club text.
• In Unit 3, Week 4, Lesson 1:  Reading Workshop, Assess & Differentiate, Small Group, while the teacher is conferring with students, there are several Independent/Collaborative suggestions for students. Under the heading Independent Reading students can "Reread or listen to 'The Princess and the Peanuts' or a previously read leveled reader or eText. Read a self-selected folktale. Begin reading their Book Club text." This is a similar format for Independent Reading under the Assess & Differentiate, Small Group weekly plan throughout the school year.
• In Unit 4, students are taught how to choose a book for independent reading in the Student Interactive, page 232. Students are taught to choose text by favorite authors, interesting topics, or certain genres. Students are also taught to spend time reading at extended periods of time to increase stamina. On page 233 of the Student Interactive, there is a reading log for students to track their independent reading. In Week 3, Lesson 2, Reading Workshop, Respond and Analyze, students have the option to create a list of unfamiliar words from their independent reading. Then students use a dictionary to look up each word and think of other words with similar meanings. During small groups on page T227 of the Teacher's Edition, students reread or listen to The Garden of Happiness. Students read a self-selected trade book or their Book Club text. Students will retell their independent-reading book to a partner.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Lesson 2, Reading Workshop, Shared Read, students use their Independent Reading books to list unfamiliar words from their reading and use context clues to determine the words’ meanings.