The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for texts are organized around a cohesive topic(s)/theme(s) to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Each unit is organized around a central theme and related guiding questions that connect overall to the unit topic. The texts, tasks, and materials for this grade level are grouped so that students investigate a Central Question when moving through the Foundation and Development units using the information they gather from analyzing the various texts to perform the culminating tasks. Throughout the process of analyzing multiple texts, students broaden their vocabulary and knowledge, strengthen reading comprehension, and develop independent-thinking skills as they dig into unit content and apply their learning to new readings they encounter. The course capstone includes an Application Unit in which students drive their investigation with an inquiry question of interest. The Program Guide provides additional information for teachers relating to the selection of classic and contemporary texts within each unit: “Text sets guide and focus student learning and knowledge development by examining a diverse body of authors, perspectives, and genres. While students develop strands of knowledge in units, they also extend their understanding across units in their year, and across all four years, of high school.”

Texts are connected by cohesive topics/themes to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. Some examples include:

• Texts are connected by cohesive topics/ themes/lines of inquiry.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, texts are centered around a Central Question: “Who changes the world, and how?” Students analyze book excerpts, articles, and a speech to expand their knowledge of how people make an impact on the world. In Section 1, Lesson 1, students examine the central question to prepare for the remainder of the unit. Other unit texts that connect to this theme include “Agents of Change” by Phil Patton and “How to Start a Movement” by Derek Sivers. In the culminating task, students work in groups to research how change occurs in specific systems.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, students study the development and impact of photojournalism as a catalyst for change in the world, investigating the Central Question: “How do images change the world?” Examples of texts students study to explore a common line of inquiry include, but are not limited to “Introduction,” the book excerpt from Imprisoned in a Luminous Glare: Photography and the African American Freedom Struggle by Leigh Raiford and Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, texts are centered around the Central Question: “Why do we still read Shakespeare?” Texts that connect to this theme include “Why Do We Still Care About Shakespeare?” by Cindy Tumiel and contemporary film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, tasks center around the Central Question: “How does perspective shape our understanding of events?” The culminating task asks students to “Write a vignette from the perspective of a different character in the novel.” Students demonstrate the knowledge developed through the examination of multiple texts around this theme when they answer, “Explain which narrative techniques were incorporated into the vignette and the rationale behind their inclusion.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, texts are centered around a central theme: “How do we feed a growing world?” Texts that connect to this theme include “A Five-Step Plan to Feed the World” by Jonathan Foley, “The Case for Engineering Our Food” by Pamela Ronald, and “The Vertical Farm: A Keystone Concept for the Ecocity” by Dickson Despommier.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students revisit readings from the Foundation Unit or any other texts they encountered throughout the academic year. Students answer questions related to the research they wish to continue as they prepare to deliver a presentation by their learning community.

• Texts build knowledge, vocabulary, and the ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 3, students learn the term tipping point before reading selections from Malcolm Gladwell’s “Introduction,” from his book The Tipping Point. In this lesson, students also discuss the term change agents in preparation for reading Phil Patton’s piece “Agents of Change.”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, students read the classic play Romeo and Juliet, along with supporting informational texts to expand students’ knowledge and understanding of the cultural relevance of the play. The unit also includes the classic poem by Ovid, “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe.” These classic complex texts allow students to gather the necessary skills for reading throughout the school year.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, students read complex texts to build knowledge around the Central Question: “How does perspective shape our understanding of events?” Examples of texts include, but are not limited to, the essay “My Mother Never Worked” by Bonnie Smith-Yackel and “Sixty-Nine Cents,” an excerpt from Little Failure: A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 2, students explore the term food system as they review graphics such as the “Nourish Food System Map” and the reading “Food System Primer: The Food System.”

  • The Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, allows the opportunity for student agency when answering the questions: “What theme, question, or idea would I like to know more about?” and “How can the research process help my team arrive at a deeper understanding of a topic or idea?”

  • In the Application Unit, Section 2, Lesson 2, students investigate an inquiry of their choosing while revisiting complex texts from previous studies including, but not limited to, these Grade 9 appropriate texts from the Global Food Production Unit: “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment” by Jayson Lusk and “10 Things You Need to Know about the Global Food System” by Evan Fraser and Elizabeth Fraser.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b.

Grade 9 materials provide opportunities for students to analyze the author’s word choice, structure, and point of view development as delineated in the grade-level craft and structure standards. Additionally, each unit in the Grade 9 materials includes guiding questions that students track throughout the unit; these questions are present throughout each lesson and within the written materials and tasks. In the independent reading lessons, students read texts related to the anchor texts and use the guiding questions to present their findings on how the texts relate to each other.

Students build knowledge by investigating a topic or anchor text through organized text sets in each unit. Throughout this process, students cite textual evidence and examine themes and complex characterization according to grade-level standards. To support student learning and literacy development, as students develop their projects they examine key ideas and details from texts, use texts to craft definitions of key concepts and themes through close examination of language used by the authors of the core texts read, examine choices made in film adaptations of literature and how these choices affect the overall meaning of the texts, and embed their learning into final products that take key details and structure into account as they compose their final drafts.

The Foundation Unit provides data for teachers to make decisions about the support necessary in future development units and whether students might need additional guidance or differentiation. The scaffolding for students is consistent to support students in grade-level proficiency by the end of the year and to support comprehension of grade appropriate complex texts. By the end of the year, analysis of key ideas, details, craft, and structure are embedded into student tasks and routines.

Materials require students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently-sequenced, high-quality questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details and craft and structure (according to grade-level standards).

  • The materials contain coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address key ideas and details.

    • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World, Section 1, Lesson 3, students analyze The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Students work through a sequence of questions to develop their understanding of the key ideas and details in the text. At the beginning of the lesson, students “highlight the phrase that illuminates where Hush Puppies first made their comeback” to draw them to key details in the text. The sequence of questions increase in the level of details and complexity, leading students to “make meaning from the text regarding the characteristics of change agents and some common elements that are in place when change happens.”

    • In Section 2, Lesson 1, students use quotes from a collection of core texts to define a change agent. Students examine the key details and ideas presented in each quote to narrow a list of possible definitions to complete a template that defines the term change agent.

    • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 1, students examine the ideas and work of famous photojournalists and discuss the Central Question: “How do images change the world?” Early in the unit, students examine Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange, attending to details as they consider: “What stands out to you as you examine this photo?” In Section 1, Lesson 4, students attend to details about the role of the Farm Security Administration and its photographers by considering: “How do details from the text relate to or expand what you already have learned about the FSA and its photographers?” In Section 2, Lesson 2, students examine Robert Capa’s “D-Day Invasion, June 6, 1944” and consider: “What details in the photo stand out to you or strike you as interesting or important?”

    • In The Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 2, students study Eyes of the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos to answer a series of scaffold questions to clarify the key ideas and details of the piece. The final prompt in the section asks students: “Why might the authors have chosen to title their book about Capa and Taro Eyes of the World? How did the photographers’ ‘invention of modern photojournalism’ change the world?”

    • In the Application Unit, Section 2, Lesson 2, students choose one of the texts from the Global Food Production Unit Reader to reread and assess independently using the Potential Sources Tool. The activity follows an opportunity to complete the task previously with a different text and a greater level of teacher support. Examples of questions include, but are not limited to:

      • “Does the text present ideas or information that I find interesting?

      • How does the information relate to other texts?

      • Does the text provide accurate, current and supported information?”

  • The materials contain coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address craft and structure.

    • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 3, Lesson 1, students have the opportunity to draft claims that explore the filmmaker’s choices in the Franco Zeffirelli, Paramount Pictures,1968 adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and whether these choices detract from the themes of the play. Students use their Film-Theme Note-Taking Tool to respond to the Act 1 Scene 5 adaptation by answering:

      • “How did the director’s choices enhance the theme? What details from the film support your claim?

      • Did any of the choices detract from the theme? If so, how? What details from the film support your claim?”

    • In Section 4, Lesson 4, students read William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to analyze elements of craft and structure. In Activity 2, students annotate the text and answer questions such as: “How do both Juliet and Lord Capulet’s reactions conflict with what we had learned about their relationship in earlier scenes?” Students also examine how the structural choices and character actions contribute to the meaning. These questions prepare students for further analysis in Section 4, Lesson 5, in which they answer, “How do her [Juliet’s] thoughts and behaviors develop a theme in the play?”

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, students analyze the structure of a narrative and utilize the Narratives Reference Guide.

      • In Section 1, Lesson 2, students read the novel The Book of the Americans by Cristina Henriquez, reviewing the concepts of setting, conflict, and plot. Students read and listen to the text and question their understanding as they read. Following this analysis, the activity concludes with students writing an evidence-based personal reflection of the thoughts and emotions the text provokes.

      • In Section 2, Lesson 1, students examine a quote from The Book of the Americans, paying attention to word choice and imagery. Students use imagery later in the unit by including it in their responses during the Culminating Task.

      • In Section 2, Lesson 3, students have an opportunity to closely read “Immigrant in Our Own Land” by Jimmy Santiago Bace and to “Choose a different color and underline or circle phrases that represent imagery or descriptive language.”

      • In Section 4, Lesson 3, students compare two different voices in the text, answering:

        • “How does the Mayor’s use of imagery differ from Alma’s?

        • What effect does this difference in voice have on the reader’s understanding of the text?”

• By the end of the year, these components (language, word choice, key ideas, details, structure, craft) are embedded in students’ work rather than taught directly.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 5, students create a Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool for “The Wanderers” by Guadalupe Nettel after reading The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez and practicing these skills. Students discuss the question: “Based on evidence from The Book of Unknown Americans and ‘The Wanderers,’ What connections can you make about the role of plot, setting, and conflict in narrative text?”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 2, Lesson 1, students record key ideas and details from the article “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century” by Amanda Briney. The materials include direct instruction and the use of the Evaluating Ideas Tool to guide students. By the end of the unit, students write an argumentative essay, using key ideas and details from different sources. Students must apply the skills from previous lessons and units, so direct instruction for the components is not included but embedded in the activity and questions. In Section 5, students complete a culminating task to create an argumentative product on current issues facing the food system. Some of the objectives students complete include:

    • Develop a logical sequence of claims that support your position, including at least one counterclaim to an opposing argument.

    • Support your position with evidence cited from relevant materials and research.

    • Include examples of the social, environmental, and economic issues in your subtopic and the implications of your proposed response or solution.

    • Express your claims, explanations, and supporting evidence with clear and powerful language in an appropriate tone for your purpose and audience.

  • The task embeds the use of language, key ideas, details, and applying a structure to a final product that requires students to present their position and thinking clearly.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students complete a culminating task in which they “use the research portfolio you have built over the course of the unit a to develop a presentation for your learning community that shares your findings and conclusions.” By the end of the year, students choose their own topic for study and receive guidance in preparing their research by returning to guiding questions encountered in the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, and throughout the Development Units. Students follow a Culminating Task Checklist and rubric to support their planning, pacing, and accountability to embed the required components within their work to demonstrate mastery of unit skills and standards.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c.

The Grade 9 materials include questions and tasks to support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas via sets of coherently sequenced higher-order questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, knowledge, and ideas within a text or texts to make meaning and to build an understanding of a text or a topic.

Throughout the year, students read a variety of selections for analysis and annotation while investigating a topic. The sequences of text-specific and/or text-dependent questions support students in their ability to analyze across multiple texts and within single texts. The materials juxtapose texts strategically to build student knowledge around a common topic or theme. Lessons build to a unit culminating task or project through which students demonstrate understanding of the core body of knowledge and skills built into the unit. By the end of the year, integrating knowledge and ideas is embedded in student work.

Materials require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently-sequenced, high-quality, text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge.

  • Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze within single texts.

    • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students read “Agents of Change” by Phil Patton and complete a Note-Taking Tool to record moments of change that occur in the text, how the change happens, and how this could connect to a pathway they are studying in the unit.

    • In The Development Unit, Photojournalism, students closely examine “Letter From Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to explore the idea of direct action and gain a solid knowledge of the period. This knowledge will then be applied to a photograph students will carefully examine. In Section 3, Lesson 4, Activity 1, the Teaching Notes state, “Reading this response [‘Letter From A Birmingham Jail’] helps to frame the context of not only this letter and the argument that follows, but also the events that Charles Moore photographed.” Students read and gain knowledge and understanding of King’s claims about direct action being the only option in Birmingham by describing the steps of a nonviolent campaign. The knowledge gained in the study of this letter allows students a thorough understanding of the individual text and a better understanding of the photograph they will examine at a later date. Students build an understanding of the background and context of the civil rights movement by considering: How does King use an emotional appeal (pathos) to develop his justification for direct action?

    • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 3, Lesson 2, students read Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Students answer a series of questions in the Section 3 Question Set that include:

      • “Where does Shakespeare use dramatic irony in this scene?

      • What effect does Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony have in this scene?

    • Students also complete the Character Note-Taking Tool to analyze characters within the text.”

    • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students select a text to revisit, including but not limited to: “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changes in the 20th Century” by Amanda Briney or “Impossible Foods, Impossible Claims” by Anna Lappa. Students assess the text utilizing the Potential Sources Tool, answering questions such as:

      • “Can I corroborate the information with other sources?

      • How extensive and supported is the information it provides?

      • The lesson prepares students to assess potential sources of their choosing as they continue to build and integrate knowledge around a topic of inquiry and prepare for the culminating task.”

  • Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts.

    • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, students use the Note-Taking Tool to track moments of change that occur in the multiple texts read throughout the unit. In Section 1, Section Diagnostic, students construct a multi-paragraph essay using the texts they have read in the unit to demonstrate their understanding of “change agent.” Students respond to the following set of questions to create the essay:

      • “What are the characteristics of a change agent?

      • How are these characteristics universal?”

    • In Section 2, Lesson 2, using evidence from “Agents of Change” as well as evidence from other unit texts, students share and discuss self-developed, open-ended questions from the readings to demonstrate their understanding of the topic and critical thinking about the text set.

    • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 3, students read “Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics” by Society of Professional Journalists and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. Students consider the code of ethics in conjunction with a quote by Dr. King, Jr. as he reprimands Flip Schulke, a photographer for Life magazine. Students discuss the connection between the code of ethics document and the quote as well as write an explanation of their position in response to the question: “Is it the job of the photojournalist to be a witness and the ‘eyes of the world’ or to ‘join the fray’?” In Section 3, Lesson 4, students respond to additional questions about the author’s purpose and how he establishes credibility, including:

      • “According to King, what is the purpose of direct action?

      • How does King describe the usefulness of tension in this paragraph?”

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 3, students study the essay “My Mother Never Worked” by Bonnie Smith-Yackel. Towards the end of the lesson, students answer guiding questions regarding the key ideas and details of the essay to deepen their analysis such as: What is Smith-Yackel’s argument? Is it explicitly stated or implied? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.

    • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 2, Lesson 3, students use the Delineating Arguments Tool to analyze the texts “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment” and “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?” and use the information they collect to discuss and examine similarities and differences between the texts.

• By the end of the year, integrating knowledge is embedded in students’ work.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, students complete a culminating project comparing the development of themes in the film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet. Students use tools such as the Film-Theme Note-Taking Tool to analyze both film adaptations, applying their learning to their final products. In Section 5, Lesson 1, students use evidence gathered using the Film-Theme and Note-Taking tool to summarize their thinking on how filmmakers Zeffirelli or Luhrmann enhance or detract from the theme.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 4, students explore the narrative “The Wanderers” by Guadalupe Nettel, making connections to The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez. Students analyze a quote from Henriquez’s text to further their analysis of narrative elements in the text. As students read and annotate “The Wanderers,” they consider how the author uses setting and conflict to develop the plot in the story and record entries in the Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool as an independent activity. The tasks and close analyses of texts empower students to synthesize what they have learned about storytelling elements and to “rewrite a vignette from The Book of Unknown Americans from the perspective of another character.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 5, Lesson 1, students synthesize their knowledge from multiple texts to create a final product for the Culminating Task. Student incorporation of multiple sources of information is embedded within the task as students complete the Organizing Evidence Tool to analyze multiple texts to support the claims in their writing.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students complete a Culminating Task using “the research portfolio you have built over the course of the unit a to develop a presentation for your learning community that shares your findings and conclusions.” By the end of the year, the students choose and prepare their own topic of study, returning to guiding questions encountered in the Foundation Unit and throughout the Development Units. Students follow a Culminating Task Checklist and rubric to support their planning, pacing, and accountability to embed the required components within their work to demonstrate mastery of unit skills and standards.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d.

The Grade 9 materials include multimodal and summative unit Culminating Tasks that provide various ways for students to communicate their understanding among smaller peer groups and to the larger learning community. Unit Culminating Tasks are varied and include the following: Narrative Essay/Group Presentation; Fictional, Personal, or Historical Narrative; Literary Analysis; Explanatory Essays; Argumentative Essay; and Portfolio/Group Presentation. Session Diagnostics at the end of each unit section provide formative opportunities to assess student readiness of the discrete skills required to complete each Culminating Task. According to the Program Guide: “Written diagnostics tasks span a range of task types, including literary analysis, argument, narrative, and expository. Oral diagnostics may be tasks done by an individual (e.g., participation in a Socratic Seminar) or in groups (e.g., presentation of an analysis with teammates).”

Culminating tasks require students to demonstrate their knowledge of a unit’s topic/theme through integrated literacy skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Culminating tasks are evident across a year’s worth of material and they are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) at the appropriate grade level. Culminating tasks are varied across the year and provide students the opportunity to demonstrate comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening).

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, students answer the unit Central Question: Who Changes the World? In Section 1, Lesson 3, students read the Introduction from The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and the TED Talk “How to Start a Movement” by Derek Sivers. Using these and other texts, students prepare to complete the two-fold Culminating Task, an oral presentation incorporating speaking and listening skills and a written reflection demonstrating reading and writing skills to address the question: “What are the conditions that caused or allowed change to occur in your pathway topic, and who were change agents?”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 5, Lesson 1, students begin working on the unit Culminating Task, an expository essay that addresses the prompt: “How does photojournalism highlight and define important moments in history and culture? Support your claims with textual evidence by citing one or more written texts and at least two photographs and photojournalists.” The task requires students to demonstrate mastery of several standards, including writing expository texts, citing textual evidence, using inferences to support central claims, and using precise language and domain-specific vocabulary.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 4, Lesson 12, after reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and viewing film adaptations by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann, students engage in the Section Diagnostic, a Philosophical Chairs Discussion, in which they create and defend a claim about the directors’ choices in transforming the story. To facilitate the discussion, Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide possible statements for students to debate, such as:

    • “Zeffirelli’s choice to remove Paris from the final scene enhances the thematic idea of love.

    • Luhrmann’s choice to have Juliet awaken as Romeo takes the poison detracts from the thematic idea of fate.”

  • In addition to supporting students’ speaking and listening skills, the discussion prepares students for the unit Culminating Task to write a literary analysis explaining how the directors’ choices in their adaptations enhance or detract from the development of a theme in the play. Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition state:

    • “The statements for discussion are all connected to the directors and the choices they made in order to prepare students for the Culminating Task. If you add or change statements, make sure you include statements that have students think critically about the choices the directors made.”

  • Teachers may also use the Section Diagnostic to inform instructional decisions and assess how students progress in their understanding.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 4, Lessons 5 and 6, students participate in a two-part Section Diagnostic focused on the tasks of reading, writing, and speaking. In Lesson 5, students write a response comparing themes found in The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez and a companion text. Student-facing materials prompt students to answer:

    • “What is a theme in the novel, and how is it similar to a theme in one of the other texts in this unit?

    • What literary elements and narrative techniques did the authors use to convey the themes?”

  • In Lesson 6, students write a short narrative inspired by a protagonist from an excerpt from Little Failure: A Memoir titled “Sixty-Nine Cents” by Gary Shteyngart. Students share their work within their writing groups and exchange feedback through discussion.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, as the unit Culminating Task, students write an argumentative essay in which they develop a perspective and argumentative position in response to a current issue facing the food system. In Section 3, Lesson 7, students collaborate in a peer review team to complete the Section Diagnostic, an argument proposal and research plan utilizing speaking, listening, and writing skills to explain and defend the argument they plan to develop. In Section 4, Lesson 3, students write a multi-paragraph synopsis of their arguments as the Section Diagnostic. The various tasks provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate an understanding of the texts they are examining through reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 6, Lesson 1, students finalize presentations after compiling comprehensive research on a specific question. During the unit, students collaborate in teams to develop and deliver a presentation of their findings to their learning community. Students use the Culminating Task Checklist to assist their completion of the task, which includes the following categories for assessment: Reading & Knowledge Goals, Writing Goals, and Speaking & Listening Goals. Students complete the checklist by answering prompts, such as: “How well does our presentation use visual media and technological tools in an effective way, building the audience’s interest and illuminating our findings?”

• Earlier text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks are coherently sequenced and will give the teacher usable information about the student’s readiness (or whether they are “on track”) to complete culminating tasks.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 3, students read Section 1 of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and discuss key distinctions in two events that illuminate different pathways of change. Student-facing materials provide guidance and a series of questions to support student comprehension and building knowledge, such as:

    • “In the fourth paragraph, the author provides three characteristics of an epidemic, and he says that the third characteristic is important to understand modern change. What is the third characteristic, and how does it relate to modern change?”

  • Such questions and activities prepare students for the unit Culminating Task, a collaboratively researched, developed, and delivered oral presentation addressing the unit theme and Central Question, Who changes the world?, that includes an individual self-reflection on the research process. Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide guidance, such as:

    • “You might model how a question can lead a reader to specific details in the text, and walk through how you make meaning, or synthesize, across those details with respect to the question. Students might then practice this process and skill with the second question.”

  • Teachers may use these opportunities to inform instructional decisions and to assess student understanding of the texts throughout the unit.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 2, students begin reading The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez and answer text-dependent questions, including:

    • “How has the author structured and used the elements of plot (exposition, complication, climax, falling action, and resolution) to develop the work?

    • How does the literary element or narrative technique shape the reader’s understanding of the text?”

  • These prompts and activities align to the Lesson 6 Section Diagnostic, an expository essay addressing the question: “How do authors engage readers through setting, plot, and conflict?”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 3, Lessons 1 and 2, students listen to a podcast and participate in a fishbowl activity to gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence to demonstrate an understanding of different perspectives and identify counterclaims, reasoning, and evidence. In Lesson 1, students listen to “‘Fate Of Food’ Asks: What’s For Dinner In A Hotter, Drier, More Crowded World?” an interview of environmental journalist Amanda Little by Terry Gross and answer questions such as:

    • “What was the most compelling idea or argument discussed about the future of food?

    • What are some challenges Little addresses? Have we discussed these challenges in the unit? Is there one challenge that seems most pressing?

    • What are some potential solutions to the challenges facing the food system Little discusses in her interview?”

  • These questions help prepare and scaffold students to participate in the fishbowl, after which students answer:

    • “What were some of the most compelling arguments about the future of the food system introduced in our discussion?

    • What are some potential solutions that Little discusses in her interview that might directly address one of the challenges listed in the infographic?

    • Which challenges to our future food system are the most immediate? How does Little portray these challenges in her interview?”

  • The series of questions and student answers allow teachers to assess student readiness for both the Section Diagnostic and unit Culminating Task.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students work in groups to submit research portfolios the instructor uses to assess their progress toward the Culminating Task, a collaborative research presentation that demonstrates their findings and conclusions of their group-developed research questions. In Section 1, Lesson 7, students submit their preliminary research portfolio, including their completed Exploring a Topic Tool, Central Research Question Checklist, Potential Sources Tool, and individual reflections. The Potential Sources Tool asks students text-specific questions, such as:

    • “What is the purpose of the text with respect to the topic?

    • Does the text provide accurate, current and supported information?”

  • In Section 3, Lesson 8, students resubmit their portfolios, including the Research Frame Tool, Potential Sources Tool, Research Note-Taking Tool, Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool, Organizing Evidence Tool, Research Evaluation Checklist, and three claims about their inquiry questions or research problem. The Organizing Evidence Tool prompts students to state claims from their research and to cite supporting evidence from the resources they collected. In both portfolio submissions, the teacher provides feedback and students self-assess, answering a series of guided questions:

    • “How well did you take necessary action to prepare for the task?

    • What went well for you during the completion of this task?

    • What did you struggle with during the completion of this task? How did you push through that struggle?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 2e.

The Grade 9 materials provide writing tasks across the grade level that increase in complexity. The program’s design provides practice through Section Diagnostics to allow teachers to monitor student progress of grade appropriate writing activities and to prepare students for completing the unit summative tasks. The program also offers a final Application Unit as a capstone in which students can follow a self-selected topic of inquiry and apply writing skills they acquire and practice throughout the year. The student-facing materials include guidance as students complete writing tasks, and the teacher-facing materials provide additional support for scaffolding, including opportunities for modeling and using exemplar or model texts students read during the unit. The Literacy Toolbox includes Reference Guides and Tools to support student writing tasks. These tools are incorporated purposefully throughout the course materials.

Students encounter a Culminating Task at the beginning of each unit and perform a series of formal and informal writing activities addressing grade-level standards to build their knowledge and writing skills over the course of each unit. The materials provide students a wide range of writing tasks, including short-response questions, guiding questions, and formative writing opportunities throughout the year. Writing tasks vary in length and purpose and help students to develop their analytical, argumentative, informational, and narrative writing skills. The lessons provide a cohesive design so that students apply and expand the skills they learn from previous lessons to perform on later lessons throughout the units. Culminating tasks walk students through each stage of the writing process and allow students to monitor their progress with rubrics, checklists, and graphic organizers. Writing instruction and assignments scale up in difficulty throughout the year. Writing instruction supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year, building students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the year.

Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to achieve grade-level writing proficiency by the end of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials include writing instruction that aligns to the standards for the grade level and supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 3, students make and record connections to the term “tipping point” by responding in their Learning Logs to the prompt: “If you could create or cause an important change what would you like to change?” Students then share their written responses with a writing partner. This activity is one of several scaffolds that prepares students for further writing throughout the unit and across the school year.

    • In Section 1, Lesson 9, for example, students complete the Session Diagnostic, a multi-paragraph explanatory essay that demonstrates their understanding of “change agents.” Lesson Goals for this activity include writing standards that require students to:

      • “Compare and Connect: How well do I recognize points of connection among texts, textual elements, and perspectives to make logical, objective comparisons?

      • Organize Ideas: How well do I sequence and group sentences and paragraphs and use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, evidence, and visual elements to establish coherent, logical, and well-developed narratives, explanations, and arguments?”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, to complete the unit Culminating Task, students write an expository essay that supports their claims using citations from one or more written texts and at least two photographs and photojournalists. Students develop their writing skills throughout the unit through informal and formal writing opportunities. In Section 2, Lesson 2, for example, students read the introduction to Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Journalism by Marc Aronson, Marina Budhos, Henry Holt, and Company, and write a summary of the prologue using the Summarizing Text Tool. In Section 3, students complete the Section Diagnostic, a multi-paragraph response addressing the prompt: “How did the photojournalism of Charles Moore and others push the agenda of civil rights leaders into public discourse and serve as a catalyst for change?” Lesson Goals for this activity include writing standards that require students to:

    • “Form Claims: How well do I develop and clearly communicate a meaningful and defensible claim regarding the influence of photojournalism during the civil rights era using valid, evidence-based analysis?

    • Develop Ideas: How well do I use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, evidence, and visual elements to support and elaborate on coherent and logical explanations?”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 4, Lesson 1, students have the opportunity to address the Lesson Goal, “Can I develop and clearly communicate a meaningful and defensible claim about how a theme is developed during the course of multiple acts in Romeo and Juliet?,” by completing four activities that address the revision writing standards. Students revise their Section 3 Diagnostic multi-paragraph expository responses by revising to form a clear and strong claim, include strong textual evidence including relevant quotations, thoroughly explain the significance of the textual evidence through clear connections among ideas, and include effective integration and proper citation of quotations.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 6, students complete the Section Diagnostic to draft a response to the question, “How do authors engage readers through setting, plot, and conflict?” Lesson Goals for this activity include writing standards that require students to:

    • “Develop Ideas: How well do I use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, evidence, and visual elements to support and elaborate on coherent and logical narratives, explanations, and arguments?

    • Use Conventions to Produce Clear Writing: How well do I apply correct and effective syntax, usage, mechanics, and spelling to communicate ideas and achieve intended purposes?”

  • Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provides additional guidance to support students, including: “As students might still be mastering the concepts they try on this Section Diagnostic, you might consider using their sentence-level writing as formative data that you can build upon in the next section.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students develop their writing proficiency through a series of portfolio submissions as Section Diagnostics. In Section 1, Lesson 7, students submit their portfolios, including their Exploring a Topic Tool and Central Research Question Checklist, which help students develop their research topics and inquiry questions that drive their research. Lesson Goals for this activity include writing standards that require students to:

    • “Generate Ideas: How well do I generate ideas, positions, and solutions to problems?

    • Develop Ideas: How well do I formulate questions and lines of inquiry that lead me to deepen my knowledge of important themes?

    • Collaborate: In my research team, how well do I brainstorm creatively, present my thoughts clearly, and listen to my peers’ perspectives to generate new ideas?

    • Communicate Effectively: How well do I write a clear, precise statement that communicates my team’s inquiry question or problem and its relevance to our learning community?”

  • In Section 3, Lesson 8, students submit their portfolios, including tools, including the Research Frame Tool, Potential Resources Tool, and Research Note-Taking Tools. Students use these tools to develop their ability to identify and evaluate resources that address the inquiry pathways they developed. Here we see each portfolio requiring increasing complexity of student writing as they progress towards the Culminating Task. Lesson Goals for this activity include writing standards that require students to:

    • “Form Claims: How well do I use sources I’ve collected to form strong, credible claims based on clear textual evidence?

    • Organize Work: How well do I take meaningful notes that inform my further research, my writing about my inquiry question, and my team’s final presentation?”

• Instructional materials include a variety of well-designed guidance, protocols, models, and support for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 5, students utilize their Mentor Sentence Journals to compile powerful and interesting sentences. The student-facing materials guide students through the process through prompts including:

    • “What does this sentence contribute to the author’s ideas in the text?

    • How does it expand your understanding of the text or author?”

  • Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide additional guidance to support students, such as choosing at least one mentor sentence worthy of careful study in advance and offering students suggestions.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lesson 10, students “write one-paragraph expository responses that identify a theme and how it is developed in Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.” The Teacher Edition provides the following guidance:

    • “Sentence frames are used in this Section Diagnostic because it is the first place in the unit in which students are required to write a formal structured response. As students master the structure of an evidence-based claim, you might choose to taper off the use of sentence-frame models.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, students complete the Culminating Task during which they “Rewrite a vignette from The Book of Unknown Americans from the perspective of a different character from the book. Consider plot, conflict, setting, character traits, theme, structure, and point of view.” The Culminating Task Checklist provides a list of requirements for the vignette and a rubric that addresses the following areas of writing development:

    • “How well do I use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, evidence, and visual elements to support and elaborate on coherent and logical narratives?

    • How well do I sequence and group sentences and paragraphs and use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, evidence, and visual elements to establish coherent, logical, and well-developed narratives?

    • How well do I use language and strategies to accomplish my intended purpose in communicating?

    • How well do I apply correct and effective syntax, usage, mechanics, and spelling to communicate ideas and achieve intended purposes?”

  • Students revisit their Culminating Task Checklist by completing the Culminating Task Progress Tracker throughout the unit to determine their progress towards the Culminating Task. In the Teacher Edition, the Teaching Notes encourage instructors to record students’ responses to make necessary changes to instruction in the next section based on student progress.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 1, the materials provide teachers and students with specific tools to help students work through a multistep analytical process. Students examine visuals to see how food is grown, harvested, and processed across the United States. Teachers have the option of providing the Visual Analysis Tool with “questions provided for students in the activity sequence come directly from this tool in order to help deepen their understanding of each image and begin to think about connections among the images. Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition outline the tools available to support students writing development in this lesson and throughout the unit and year as follows:

    • Tools are graphic organizers that support students’ reading and writing by helping them think through text, find pertinent textual details, and develop ideas for their writing. Note that many, such as the Analyzing Relationships Tool and the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool, are text agnostic—they are designed to be used with any text.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 2f. 

Grade 9 materials build skills throughout the year, including opportunities for collaborative research, evaluating sources, synthesis and analysis of texts, and applying those skills in a unit-long research project as a capstone for the course. The Program Guide provides details relating to active learning through inquiry: “In the Foundation and Application units, students investigate a topic through recursive and iterative cycles of inquiry in which they work in learning communities to explore significant issues and topics, refine research questions, find and assess sources for relevance and credibility, and present their research in various forms.” Students compile comprehensive research on specific questions during the final Application Unit and present their findings to their learning community. The student-determined text set during the final unit provides students with an opportunity to explore topics they have been learning more deeply and demonstrate the research skills they acquire.

The materials reviewed for this grade level include a progression of research skills according to the grade level standards by providing various opportunities for students to engage in online research and discussion of unit topics and to cite evidence from multiple sources in the Lesson Activities, Section Diagnostics, Culminating Tasks, and Independent Reading Presentations. Students also have the opportunity to synthesize work and analyze content through a variety of tools provided in the materials and are given opportunities to complete research projects of varying lengths. Materials sequence research projects throughout the year to help students progress in their research skills. At the beginning of the year, students begin to practice working in groups in the Foundation Unit with focused guidance from the instructor, and during the Application Unit at the end of the year students work collaboratively in self-directed teams with the instructor acting as coach or facilitator. Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic. The materials provide guidance and support to teachers, including but not limited to, questions to prompt student thinking, graphic organizers to assist students, and an option for teachers to provide various scaffolds for students.

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. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Research projects are sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. 

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 3, students join research groups that work collaboratively throughout the unit to complete the unit Culminating Task to research and create a 5–7 minute presentation about global, national, and local change agents and the conditions that caused or allowed change in one of the following pathways: technological, cultural, business and marketing, humanitarian, political, or scientific. 

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 4, students collaborate in character-based expert teams to closely examine photographs and text passages that represent Capa’s and Taro’s developing styles as photographers in preparation for the unit Culminating Task to write an expository essay addressing the question: “How does photojournalism highlight and define important moments in history and culture?” Over the course of the unit, students gather ideas and information from multiple resources and support their claims by citing evidence from one or more written texts and at least two photographs and photojournalists. Students analyze and explain how and why the photos were politically influential, made history, or were catalysts for social change. 

• In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 3, Lesson 7, students expand their research skills by identifying and focusing on a controversial subtopic issue and questions related to food systems and production, and by delineating the key elements of an argument, first in writing and then in a peer review defense. This research task and embedded activities prepare students for the unit Culminating Task to develop a perspective and argumentative position in response to a current issue facing the food system, including an argumentative thesis supported by a series of evidence-based claims and at least one counterargument to an opposing perspective or position. 

• In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students collect, organize, and analyze relevant ideas and resources encountered throughout the year to complete the unit Culminating Task, a collaborative research project in response to a self-generated inquiry question. Students curate a portfolio throughout the unit to complete this task and develop a presentation sharing their findings and conclusions at a celebratory community event, school, or classroom event. Instructional materials direct student presentations to:

  • “Share your Central Research Question and tell the story of why you became interested in the question and how you arrived at your current understanding of your research topic.

  • Present a clear, engaging narrative of your research process, communicating the evolution of your critical thinking and learning, reflecting on the challenges and successes you experienced, and citing evidence from a wide range of perspectives to help your audience understand the context and conclusions of your work.

  • Tailor your final presentation to your audience, using auditory, visual, and digital aids, as well as public-speaking techniques that will keep them engaged.

  • Respond to questions from your audience respectfully and knowledgeably by citing your sources and expressing your conclusions.”

• Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic via provided resources. 

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 7, students work in groups to select a source text about a local change agent, analyze the text to determine its relevance and credibility, and discern its value to their research. To support this task, students use the Attending to Details Tool to analyze the text for the central idea and the guiding questions in the Foundation Unit Research Guide to evaluate the text for bias and credibility.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 2, Lesson 2, students develop the skill of film analysis by viewing two film adaptations of Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet and analyzing the choices that each director made, comparing the theme development in Act 1 of the play with the theme development in Act 1 of the film adaptations and evaluating whether the directors’ choices enhance or detract from the themes developed in the play. To support student readiness for this task, students examine the reference table on the first page of the Film-Theme Note-Taking Tool to learn what director choices to consider when analyzing a film and use the Tool to capture their analyses. Student-facing directions instruct students as follows:

    • “As you view the prologue and Act 1, Scene 1, pay attention to the following director choices:

      • costumes

      • soundtrack

      • camera shots

      • acting (facial expressions and body language).”

In addition, Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide additional guidance to support students as follows:

• “Film analysis is likely a new skill for students. For the first few scenes, it might be important to model for students how to complete the Film-Theme Note-Taking Tool during this activity.

• Paying attention to all four director choices on first viewing might be challenging for students. You might want to have students focus and take notes on one or two, and share their observations and notes with a partner.”

• In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 5, Lesson 6, students engage in a sustained recursive inquiry process as part of their research for the Culminating Task during which they rewrite a vignette from The Book of Unknown Americans from the perspective of another character from the book. During the lesson, students use the Culminating Task Progress Tracker to assess their own learning. Students also examine and discuss as a group the possible connections among the unit, other units from the year, and the research they might choose to do in the final Application Unit. The materials provide an Application Unit Potential Topics Tool for students to capture their reflections, and the student-facing materials provide questions for consideration, such as:

  • “What about each text or topic do you still want to study? What questions do you still have? Write these down in the Questions or Subtopics to Explore column.”

Teachers may use the Culminating Task Progress Tracker to conference with students and guide their questions when monitoring readiness for the unit Culminating Task and in the initial stage of planning for the Application Unit end-of-year research project. In addition, Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide additional guidance relating to the Application Unit Potential Topic Tool as follows:

• “1. It provides a space in which students can capture their reflections about what they found intriguing in a unit and might want to explore further in the Application Unit. 

• 2. It serves as a repository of leads they might research when they arrive at the Application Unit.”

• Materials provide many opportunities for students to synthesize and analyze content tied to the texts under study as a part of the research process. 

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, students work toward the Culminating Task during which they collaboratively participate in a research team to choose a pathway topic and create and deliver a 5–7 minute presentation about global, national, and local change agents and the conditions that caused or allowed change in one of the following pathways: technological, cultural, business and marketing, humanitarian, political, or scientific. In Section 3, Lesson 6, students refine and revise their Section 1 Diagnostic to “demonstrate how your understanding of change agents has expanded and changed after reading additional texts.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 2, Lesson 3, students practice using the Delineating Arguments Tool to break down two texts related to the central idea of the unit: “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment” by Jayson Lusk and “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?” by Barrett Colombo et al. Students use the Delineating Arguments Tool to identify the issue/question, purpose, perspective, and position of the texts in addition to claims, counterclaims, and supporting evidence.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 5, Lesson 7, students synthesize and analyze the texts and films they have studied throughout the unit to write a literary analysis to answer the question: “How can adaptations enhance or detract from the themes of the original text?” Students select themes from Romeo and Juliet by William Shaekspeare and compare and contrast how those themes are developed in two film adaptations of the play. Students must research the information from the films and synthesize this information with what they have read while studying the text of Romeo and Juliet. The Culminating Task Checklist provides the following guidance to instruct students on how to synthesize the information to develop their literary analysis: “Write a literary analysis in which you explain how the directors’ choices in their adaptations enhance or detract from the development of that theme in the play. Be sure to state your response and logically and succinctly support your response with evidence from the texts and films. Support your claims with textual evidence, including direct quotations with parenthetical citations.”

• In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, students complete a rewrite of a vignette from The Book of Unknown Americans from the perspective of a different character from the book. Students read a large array of stories within The Book of Unknown Americans as well as other story sources, including but not limited to “The Wanderers” by Guadalupe Nettel and “My Mother Never Worked” by Bonnie Smith-Yackel. Students analyze and then synthesize the various narrative techniques and themes in each of these stories and their sources. During their readings of the various texts, the student’s research and plan the realistic characters, events, and conflicts they will portray in their rewrite of a vignette from The Book of Unknown Americans. In Section 4, Lesson 4, Activity 1, students create expert and home teams during a jigsaw activity designed for students to research and then report elements of setting, plot, and conflict in the novel “The Wanderers” by Guadalupe Nettel. Students then use this information for research in creating their own elements of setting, plot, and conflict in their rewritten vignette.  

• Students are provided with opportunities for both short and long projects across the course of a year and grade bands.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students complete a short research project during which they read and analyze change agents using a presentation protocol to learn about the change agents in the text “Agents of Change” by Phil Patton. Working in groups, students use the Change Agents Note-Taking Tool to analyze one change agent from the reading and present their findings to the class in order to learn about all the individuals the author highlights. Later in the unit, Section 4, Lesson 1, students begin a longer research project, the unit Culminating Task during which they “to create a 5–7 minute presentation about global, national, and local change agents and the conditions that caused or allowed change in one of the following pathways: technological, cultural, business and marketing, humanitarian, political, or scientific.” 

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 7, students write an “evidence-based multipart claim and supporting paragraph” addressing the question, “What is the greatest challenge facing the global food system?” In Section 3, Lesson 7, students present their ideas using the Delineating Arguments Tool and “present the issue, question, perspective, position, and major claims and counterclaims for [their] final arguments.” Finally, in Section 5, Lessons 1–6, students compose their Culminating Task of developing their argumentative thesis using evidence-based claims, revise their work, present their findings to the whole class, and reflect on the process. 

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 1, Lesson 1, students discuss the importance of a researched perspective and the research process. Students form small research teams and begin developing the research topics that they will explore throughout the unit. In Section 1 Lesson 2, 1, students begin the first section of a shorter research project using the Exploring a Topic Tool to identify one or two potential Central Research Questions that might lead to valuable questions and problems to explore in their research. The teacher discusses each phase of the Research Plan and the Research Portfolio Description section. The Application Unit provides students with an opportunity to self-direct their research process, build a research portfolio, and develop a presentation for their learning community that shares their research findings. Tools and Reference Guides students utilize in previous units are available for students in the Literacy Toolbox throughout the unit-long project. Students may choose topics and texts from any of the prior units: Who Changes the World?, Photojournalism, Romeo and Juliet, The Book of Unknown Americans, and Global Food Production.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3a.

Across the school year, the Teacher Edition includes guidance in the Teaching Notes. Teaching Notes categories are as follows: Teaching Strategies and Decisions; About the Author, Concept, Text, Topic; and Student Support and Differentiation. Materials include a Literacy Toolbox for students and teachers. This resource provides both teachers and students support and scaffolds for teaching and growing literacy development and includes a wide range of Reference Guides and Tools, including, but not limited to, Annotating and Note-Taking Reference Guide, Delineating Arguments Tool, and Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool. The Program Guide details the Guiding Principles, Program Design, Unit Components, Instructional Approaches, Support for Students with Diverse Learning Needs, Bias & Sensitivity, and Website Guidance. The Course-at-a-Glance also provides a descriptive snapshot of the program’s overall structure with several suggestions for yearlong pathways.

Materials provide teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials to support students’ literacy development. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide comprehensive guidance that will assist teachers in presenting the student materials and ancillary materials.

  • In the Program Guide, materials explain the function of the Teaching Notes section, “All units contain robust teaching notes that support teachers by providing important content and pedagogical information. The teaching notes are organized into three categories, About the Author, Concept, Text, Topic; Teaching Strategies and Decisions; and Student Support and Differentiation.” Materials offer content and pedagogical information. For example, in the Application Unit, Section 1, Lesson 1, the Teaching Notes provide insight into the importance of vocabulary instruction for ESL learners:

    • “These opportunities provide students, particularly English learners, a tremendous chance to increase their cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). Often, students, particularly English learners, employ basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS).”

  • Materials present opportunities for teachers to expand their knowledge of what these skills are and how they can support them in the classroom.

  • In the Program Guide, materials provide teacher guidance on the Reference Guides available to students. Student-facing materials include reminders to utilize the Reference Guides, and these reminders are also included in the Teaching Notes. One example includes Reference Guides that support writing, such as Connecting Ideas, Conventions, Integrating Quotations, Organization, and Style. The guides “include definitions, descriptions, and examples of sundry conventions and language usage concepts. For example, the Connecting Ideas Reference Guide includes descriptions of the purpose and effects of transitions and a table highlighting ‘Transition Words and Phrases.’ The Integrating Quotations Reference Guide offers students examples of how to incorporate, and respectively credit, the work of others into their own writing.”

• Materials include sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions that are presented within the context of the specific learning objectives.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 5, students use a Reference Guide to determine the credibility of sources. The Teacher Edition includes Teaching Notes with Teaching Strategies and Decisions, such as “If students need additional support with assessing sources, you might direct them to the Assessing Sources Reference Guide. You might define credibility and credible source for students (believable, fair, trustworthy).”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 4, students do a close reading of a passage and use the Section 2 Question Set. In the teacher-facing notes for this activity, guidance notes that students can use the Visual Analysis Tool or Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool for extra support. Materials also provide information about the author to aid in instruction, and teacher guidance also suggests using vocabulary lists from prior chapters to support instruction.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lesson 6, students read Lines 1–105 of Act 1, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition include About the Author, Concept, Text, Topic notes which state, “Note: Lines 1–30 of Act 1, Scene 1 contain lewd jokes. Shakespeare used both high- and low-brow humor in his plays. Students should connect this scene to emerging themes about family relationships, hate, and violence.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 4, Lesson 2, Teaching Notes on Teaching Strategies and Decisions to help solidify understanding. A set of questions in the Student Support and Differentiation portion of the Teaching Notes helps teachers diagnose student problems and suggests various tools to support their students, such as the Annotating and Note-Taking Reference Guide.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 3, Lesson 1, Teaching Notes address Teacher Strategies and Decisions and Student Support and Differentiation, such as paring down a student’s list of research options for them to digest the project better and make progress. In Lesson 4, students learn how to provide parenthetical citations for the sources of information and quotations they use. The Teaching Edition includes Teaching Notes on Student Support and Differentiation which states, “If students struggle citing evidence, consider modeling different citation examples with a model source and text.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3b.

The explanation and examples help build teacher understanding to ensure teachers provide the necessary support for students throughout the lessons. Materials provide additional tools that teachers can use beyond current offerings in the course materials, such as K-W-L protocols and Notice and Wonder tables. Materials also include teacher guidance on film analysis to support students with this concept, and provide specific background information on instructional concepts.

Materials provide a teacher’s edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples, when necessary, of the more advanced concepts so that teachers can improve their knowledge of the subject. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade/course-level concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 1, the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide suggestions on other strategies to use when trying to access background information from students:

    • “Other strategies to activate background knowledge include using the K-W-L protocol or a Notice and Wonder table. The K-W-L (Know, Want to Know, Learn) protocol asks students to identify what they know about the topic at the beginning of the unit, lesson, or activity; generate questions about what they want to know about the topic; and, in the end, determine what they learned about the topic. In a Notice and Wonder table, students take note of parts of the text in one column and write ‘I wonder’ statements based on those observations in a second column.”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 3, the Teacher Edition includes the following explanation for how teachers can help students who are struggling with finding the central idea: “Are students struggling to determine the central and supporting ideas? If so, they might benefit from the following: engaging in focused annotation and a short discussion (see the Annotating and Note-Taking Reference Guide); rereading the text multiple times using guiding or text-specific questions, each with a different purpose (see the guiding questions in the Questioning Reference Guide for examples of additional text-dependent questions); using a Reading Closely Tool, such as the Attending to Details Tool…”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 3, the Teacher Edition provides adult-level explanations for teachers regarding the complex concept of the frame narrative structure. Teacher guidance suggests thinking of the concept as the frame of a house, “The frame of a house determines, for example, how many rooms a house has and how the facade will look; it also provides strength and structure to the building. Students can relate these constructs to how the frame of the phone call to Social Security provides strength and structure to the narrative and how Smith-Yackel used the frame to highlight the exhaustive list of jobs her mother held.”

  • In the Development Section, Global Food Production, Section 2, Lesson 1, the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition explain what the Green Revolution was and point out key details to improve the instructor’s knowledge of the subject:

    • “The Green Revolution refers to a general time period between 1950 and 1960 in which an increase in technological initiatives in agriculture predominantly impacted countries in the developing world.

    • Its overall impact was an increase in global food production as a result of new chemical fertilizers, mechanization in agricultural techniques, and developments in irrigation.

    • […] Norman Borlaug is often referred to as the father of the Green Revolution.

    • Various environmental, socioeconomic, and health impacts are often discussed in relation to the Green Revolution, and it has been the object of both praise and criticism.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 1, Lesson 1, the Teacher Edition leads teachers to use the Application Unit: Teacher Planning Guide to facilitate student learning throughout the Application Unit. An adult-level explanation that is provided in the guide specifies how teachers can guide student research on page 2 of the Application Unit: Teacher Planning Guide. It states, “Students should be encouraged to build on a familiar topic (including those of the foundation and development units) to provide them with a comfortable, and even advanced, starting point. They can draw on their written work and class discussions from earlier units and use their responses to a unit prompt on their Application Unit Potential Topics Tools to determine areas of interest within the topic.”

• Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 4, Lesson 2, the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition explain the significance of a scene from Franco Zeffirelli’s film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by pointing out the following:

    • “In the Zeffirelli film, the mood of the scene starts out humorous and playful with the characters smiling.

    • The camera shots make it difficult to see the moment that Tybalt stabs Mercutio, but from Tybalt’s facial expression, it was clearly an accident.

    • From his facial expression, body language, and intonation, the viewer can tell that Romeo clearly wants to kill Tybalt, but Zeffirelli reduces Romeo’s responsibility for the death by having him on the ground, lifting his sword in self-defense when Tybalts runs onto it.

    • Zeffirelli chooses to interrupt this scene with a short excerpt from the following scene with Juliet, heightening the emotion of the scene.”

  • Materials provide insight into film analysis to help the instructor improve their own knowledge of the director’s choices to better assist students in their analysis of the film.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3e.

Materials include a Program Guide with a detailed description of Instructional Approaches that relate to the following content: Questioning, Reading, Writing & Presenting, Vocabulary, Grammar & Syntax, Speaking & Listening, and The Literacy Toolbox. The Program Guide also includes an Appendix E: Tools section that lists Instructional Areas and corresponding Tools, such as the Attending to Detail Tool to correspond with Reading Closely. Other notes in Appendix E include information relating to Writing and Organizing, Analyzing Arguments, Research, Vocabulary, and Evaluation.

References for Reading include but are not limited to: Fisher and Frey’s Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts (2013) and Wiggins’ Understanding by Design (2005). References for Speaking & Listening include Walqui’s Scaffolding the Success of Adolescent English Language Learners (2010) and Zwiers’ Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Content Understanding. References for Support for Students with Diverse Learning Needs include but are not limited to Cervetti’s Conceptual Coherence, Comprehension, and Vocabulary Acquisition: A Knowledge Effect?, and Fisher and Frey’s Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure Success with Effective Classroom Instruction & Intervention (2010).

References for the Teaching Notes include but are not limited to: Bransford’s How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School (2000) and Reeves’ Transforming Professional Development into Student Results (2010). References for Writing & Presenting include but are not limited to Dornan’s Within and Beyond the Writing Process in the Secondary English Classroom (2003) and Vermont Writing Collaborative’s Writing for Understanding: Using Backward Design to Help All Students Write Effectively (2008).

Materials provide explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials explain the instructional approaches of the program.

  • In the Program Guide, materials include a description of Questioning as an approach to secondary literacy instruction. The program uses “questions to frame students’ initial reading, guide students through analysis, and initiate inquiry.” Materials provide additional information relating to the Central Questions, Assessment Questions, Guiding Questions, Student-Generated Questions, Metacognitive Reflective Questions, and Supporting Questions.

  • In the Program Guide, details relating to Writing include supporting students’ writing skills “not only by analyzing text to develop their own ideas, but also by analyzing and mimicking the writing of others.” Throughout the program, materials consistently include Mentor Sentences and ongoing journals for students to identify exemplars they can emulate and strategies they can incorporate into their own pieces.

  • In the Program Guide, materials include a description of Vocabulary in the list of Instructional Approaches. The Program Guide states that this curriculum uses vocabulary for high school literacy development, “by providing opportunities for students to expand their word knowledge that they can call on in speech and writing.” Additional information is available relating to the Supporting Vocabulary: Tools & Reference Guides, Critical Thinking & Analytical Tools, and Reference Guides.

  • In the Program Guide, materials list Grammar & Syntax under the Instructional Approaches. The Program Guide states that through the high-school literacy instruction, “students are given opportunities to explore and mimic grammar, syntax, and usage in text.” The Program Guide also states that Grammar & Syntax are examined in context, and “Grammar is examined with the goal of improving students’ reading and writing skills.” Materials further note, “Students are given opportunities to deconstruct, examine, and mimic grammar, syntax, and usage they see in a text.” The Program Guide includes the following headings under Grammar & Syntax: Mentor Sentences;, Supporting Grammar & Syntax: Tools & Reference Guides; Critical Thinking & Analytical Tools, which include the Language Use Handouts and Working with Mentor Sentences Tool; and various Reference Guides, which include the Connecting Ideas Reference Guide, and Integrating Quotations Reference Guide.

  • In the Program Guide, materials list Speaking and Listening as an Instructional Approach included in the high school literacy program. The Program Guide states, “Throughout the units, students speak to, and hear from, their peers formally and informally.” The Program Guide also notes, “Academic conversations are linchpins in literacy development.” Materials include Academic Conversations in many lessons throughout the course. Students and teachers can access Supporting Speaking & Listening: Tools & Reference Guides and Critical Thinking & Analytical Tools, including the Philosophical Chairs Discussion Tool and an Academic Discussion Reference Guide.

• Materials include and reference research-based strategies.

  • In the Program Guide, materials emphasize the importance of students reading “for depth and breadth, allowing for students to build the stamina to read one text deeply, critically, and closely or several texts to build a robust body of knowledge.” The Program Guide includes detailed descriptions of the following: “Depth: Closely Reading for Nuanced Understanding” and “Breadth: Wide Reading for Content and World Language.”

  • In the Program Guide, materials include details relating to tools available, as well as the use of scaffolding, drawing on research to support student performance during academic discourse. Materials state, “Students are provided a suite of tools, materials, and resources to support their learning, including sentence frames and conversation starters.” The tools students use, such as the Academic Discussion Reference Guide in the Literacy Toolbox, provide a number of Discussion Stems that students can use based on their role in the discussion. These include, but are not limited, to stems when exploring a topic, opinion, or argument and stems when encouraging others to share their thoughts, such as, “How did you come to that idea? We haven’t heard you share yet. Do you agree or disagree with _____?” Materials identify scaffolding as a best practice when teachers work with students who are learning English as an additional language.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3f.

The Literacy Toolbox includes a comprehensive list of Reference Guides and Tools needed to complete activities throughout the course. Student-facing materials and Teacher Edition Teaching Notes also reference these tools and guides throughout the unit. The Materials tab for each unit, section, and lesson, includes a list of materials. The Text Overview tab includes a comprehensive list of texts needed for the unit.

Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials include a tab titled Materials throughout each unit, section, and lesson. According to the Program Guide, the Materials tab includes a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities: “The Materials tab houses documents specific to the unit, including the Evaluation Plan, Text Overview (teacher-facing), Unit Text List (student-facing), Culminating Task Checklist, and any other relevant documents.”

• Materials include a Text Overview at the beginning of each unit which provides a comprehensive list of texts that will be used throughout the unit. The Program Guide includes the following note regarding the Text Overview: “The Text Overview tab contains the unit’s Text Overview (PDF), which identifies the texts used in the unit and includes recommendations for independent choice reading texts.”

• Materials include a Literacy Toolbox for each unit which contains a list of Tools and resources that teachers can use to support student learning for each unit. The Program Guide includes the following information to describe the contents of the Literacy Toolbox for each unit: “Key to HSLP instruction is the Literacy Toolbox, composed of graphic organizers (tools), rubrics, checklists, and reference guides, carefully designed to support student success throughout the learning process in all units. Each unit has content or text-specific materials to support reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities pertinent to the unit’s text or topic, as well as instructional sequences.”

• In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 2, Activity 2, materials listed in student-facing materials and the Teacher Edition Teaching Notes include the Change Agents Note-Taking Tool.

• In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 2, Lesson 2, materials listed include: Romeo and Juliet Vocabulary List, Vocabulary Journal, and the Academic Discussion Reference Guide to record and discuss the terms adapt, enhance, and detract in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

• In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 4, Lesson 2, materials listed include the Organizing Evidence Tool to help record evidence, claims, and counterclaims students find in the resources they collect for their Culminating Task.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3i.

Materials incorporate Common Core State Standards (CCSS) language teachers can identify and correlate to local standards. The publisher-provided standards correlation document identifies CCSS at the unit level and for each Section Diagnostic and Culminating Task. Materials provide teachers with opportunities to examine and assess student growth on the Learning Goals in each unit, including opportunities for formative assessment, Section Diagnostics, and unit Culminating Tasks. Assessment rubrics and supporting materials, such as the Culminating Task Checklists, provide general descriptions and categories (Exceeds Expectations, Meets Expectations, or Below Expectations) relating to student performance in Reading & Knowledge Goals, Writing Goals, and Speaking & Listening Goals.

Assessment information is included in the materials to indicate which standards are assessed. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials consistently identify the standards and practices assessed for formal assessments.

  • The publisher provides a CCSS alignment spreadsheet to identify standards addressed in each unit’s Section Diagnostic and Culminating Task.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 3, Lesson 6, students refine and revise their Section 1 Diagnostics to demonstrate how their understanding of a change agent expanded or changed after reading additional texts. Learning goals incorporate language of the standards, and the Section Diagnostic Checklist includes Writing Goals, such as the following for Organize Ideas:

    • “How well do I sequence and group sentences and paragraphs and use devices, techniques, descriptions, reasoning, evidence, and visual elements to establish coherent, logical, and well-developed narratives, explanations, and arguments?”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 10, students have the opportunity to revise their Section 1 Diagnostic by responding to teacher comments, evaluation, and feedback. The Section Diagnostic Checklist includes Reading & Knowledge Goals, such as the following for Gather and Organize Evidence:

    • “How well do I gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence to demonstrate my understanding of the texts and topics of this section, as well as the task posed by the question in the Section Diagnostic?”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 5, Lesson 2, students utilize a Culminating Task Planning Guide that incorporates language that connects to grade-level standards, including, but not limited to:

    • “Determine Your Focus: Determine the theme you will trace and whether the director choices in each film enhance or detract from the development of that theme.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3j.

The Teacher Edition and unit materials include guidance on the assessment system. Materials also include assessment guidance in documents such as the unit Evaluation Plan, which outlines how instructors can monitor, diagnose, and evaluate student performance. Each unit includes multiple formative assessments, such as Section Diagnostics, and summative assessments in the form of Culminating Tasks. Each Section Diagnostic provides ongoing opportunities for student reflection, and both the Section Diagnostics and Culminating Tasks include tools which students can use to track their performance. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide suggestions for monitoring student performance, including next steps for students’ literacy skill development.

Assessment system provides multiple opportunities throughout the grade, course, and/or series to determine students’ learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Assessment system provides multiple opportunities to determine students’ learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 8, students complete a Section Diagnostic in which they compose a multiparagraph response addressing the following question: “How did the photojournalism of Charles Moore and others push the agenda of civil rights leaders into public discourse and serve as a catalyst for change?” Before completing the response, students review the Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist and review their Learning Logs to look at previous activities’ responses to help them address the Section Diagnostic prompt. Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition suggest that teachers “check on students individually, answering questions and prompting students to be specific in their answers to the questions[, and] encourage them to think about the connection of images to rhetorical appeals.” In Lesson 9, as students reflect on their Section Diagnostic, Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition explain many ways of collecting and interpreting student performance, specifically:

    • “You may want to have students complete this metacognitive activity in class so you can gather feedback from several students regarding what they have learned and what they still need to learn.

    • You might want to create a visible class tracker for each class, noting student learning along the way.

    • Academic feedback should provide students with relevant information in the midst of their learning process, including concrete ideas of how to improve their skills.”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Unit Overview, Materials Tab, the Evaluation Plan Document outlines the many opportunities that teachers have to assess student learning: “The unit includes a variety of formal and informal opportunities designed to assess student learning and performance: a Culminating Task, which is the final, summative assessment for the unit; Section Diagnostics, which are formative assessment opportunities to track student progress toward the Culminating Task; and informal opportunities in each lesson to monitor student performance.”

  • In the Application Unit, the materials provide an Evaluation Plan to help instructors monitor student progress throughout the unit. The materials explain the function of the Evaluation Plan:

    • “This document identifies the unit’s Culminating Task, its Section Diagnostics, and the subsequent lessons and activities that provide practice and enrichment opportunities for students whose performance on diagnostics indicates a need for continued monitoring or additional targeted support.”

  • The Evaluation Plan outlines how to monitor, diagnose, and evaluate student performance and outlines goals in reading, writing, and listening and speaking for the unit.

• Assessment system provides multiple opportunities to determine students’ learning and suggestions to teachers for following-up with students.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 9, students work on the Section 1 Diagnostic in which they write a multi-paragraph response on change agents. The Teacher Edition provides guidance on how teachers can determine student learning and provide follow-up for students who are struggling on a specific aspect of the assessment: “Sentence frames can also be a useful scaffolding for all students, regardless of ability range and are particularly useful for English learners…If you observe trends in students’ misapplication of writing techniques, you might consider planning a mini writing activity to address the issue in the next lesson.”

• In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 2, Lesson 2, students read and annotate “Chapter 3: Moving Up the Food Chain,” an excerpt from Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity by Lester R. Brown, W.W. Norton & Company. Students determine how the authors support their claims. The Teacher Edition provides guidance for teachers to interpret and support student learning: “If students still seem confused about the difference between an argument and evidence, pull an example from the chapter so they have an idea about what to look for. Claim: ‘The type of animal protein that people choose to eat depends heavily on geography’ (Brown 25). Evidence: ‘Countries that are land-rich with vast grasslands—including the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Russia—depend heavily on beef or—as in Australia and Kazakhstan—mutton’ (Brown 25).”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3k.

Materials utilize various modalities and item types for student assessments. Section Diagnostics and Culminating Tasks in the Foundation and Development Units range in modality from written tasks to discussions to oral presentations. Item types include discussion questions, constructed response questions, project-based tasks, and research portfolios. Section Diagnostics and the Culminating Task in the Application Unit use the same modalities and item types across each grade level— a problem-based research portfolio and an oral presentation.

Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/course-level standards and shifts across the series. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, students complete three Section Diagnostics which lead to the end-of-unit Culminating Task. During the Section 1 Diagnostic, students write an expository response to the following question: “What is a change agent?” During the Section 2 Diagnostic, students participate in a Socratic Seminar, using evidence from “Agents of Change” by Phil Patton, as well as other texts read during the unit. Guiding questions include: “What are the qualities of a change agent? How do change agents impact their communities? What conditions allow change to occur?” During the Section 3 Diagnostic, students “Refine and revise your Section 1 Diagnostic to demonstrate how your understanding of a change agent expanded or changed after reading additional texts.” During the Culminating Task, students work in groups to “Collaboratively research, create, and deliver a presentation about change agents.” Afterwards, students individually write a narrative in which they reflect on their research process.

• In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, students complete four Section Diagnostics which lead to the end-of-unit Culminating Task. During the Section 1 Diagnostic, students write an evidence-based, multi-paragraph expository response to the following question: “How do photographs and photojournalism influence politics?” During the Section 2 Diagnostic, students participate in a Socratic Seminar, responding to questions such as: “What is the role of photojournalism in constructing the way in which viewers catalog and remember history? How does photojournalism shape the events it documents? How did the work of photojournalists Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and others in the midst of the Spanish Civil War and World War II shape or change viewers’ perspectives of the history of those events?” During the Section 3 Diagnostic, students write a multi-paragraph expository response to the following question: “How did the photojournalism of Charles Moore and others push the agenda of civil rights leaders into public discourse and serve as a catalyst for change?” During the Section 4 Diagnostic, students write an expository response to the following question: “Does the image Falling Man successfully define a significant aspect of 9/11? In other words, is the image an important, albeit disturbing, image, or is it in poor taste?” During the Culminating Task, students write an expository essay in which they “[explain] and [analyze] how photojournalism highlights and defines important moments in history and culture.”

• In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, students complete four Section Diagnostics which lead to the end-of-unit Culminating Task. During the Section 1 Diagnostic, students write a one-paragraph literary analysis “that identifies a theme and how it is developed in Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.” During the Section 2 Diagnostic, students participate in a Socratic Seminar and “analyze how the directors’ choices enhance or detract from the thematic ideas in Romeo and Juliet and capture the discussions in your Discussion Tool.” During the Section 3 Diagnostic, students write and revise a multi-paragraph literary analysis, citing textual evidence, in response to the following questions: “What is a theme from Act 1 that is further developed in Acts 2 and 3? How is that theme developed?” During the Section 4 Diagnostic, students engage in a Philosophical Chairs Discussion “in which you take a position by defending or countering a claim about the directors’ choices in transforming Romeo and Juliet.” During the Culminating Task, students “Write a literary analysis in which you explain how the directors’ choices in their adaptations enhance or detract from the development of a theme in the play.”

• In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research, students complete four Section Diagnostics which lead to the end-of-unit Culminating Task. During each of the Section Diagnostics, “students submit their research portfolio to receive feedback on elements of their research project, such as their research questions, pertinent research tools, analysis of sources, and draft presentation materials.” During the Culminating Task, students work in research groups and “use the research portfolio you have built over the course of the unit to develop a presentation for your learning community that shares your findings and conclusions.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3m.

The Program Guide includes detailed guidance for teachers when supporting diverse learning needs. Materials include supports that assist students with accessing grade-level content. Examples of supports embedded into instruction include Reading Closely and Note-Taking Tools. The program consistently provides Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition with strategies to support students and differentiate when necessary. Reference Guides also “provide centralized resources for literacy concepts and processes and offer vocabulary, sentence starters, and other writing support.”

Materials regularly provide strategies and supports for students in special populations to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level standards that will support their regular and active participation in learning English language arts and literacy. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials regularly provide strategies, supports, and resources for students in special populations to support their regular and active participation in grade-level literacy work.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 5, students learn a protocol for goal setting and evaluation of progress. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide opportunities for student support and differentiation, including questions for the teacher to reflect on and use to make instructional decisions: “Will students benefit from some examples to help them answer Question 2 about contributing to the group? If so, some examples include: gather more sources; analyze sources; develop claims; determine our task, purpose, and audience; draft our presentation; revise our presentation; edit our presentation; and lead a conference with our teacher.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 1, students examine some places where food is produced by looking at a series of photos using a Visual Analysis Tool that depicts how food is grown, harvested, and processed throughout the U.S. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide student support and differentiation guidance around the suite of tools and resources students will utilize: “These tools help students develop and internalize analytical processes. Since they are scaffolds, they can be assigned at your discretion, or students might develop their own system for using them if they encounter difficult sections of text.” Materials emphasize the importance of students learning to “draw on tools from the Literacy Toolbox as they learn to recognize their own proficiencies and needs for specific supports, given the specific demands of text or tasks.”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 10, students prepare for the Socratic Seminar for the Section Diagnostic. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition include the following strategy to support special populations during the Section Diagnostic: “Allow some differentiation by having higher-level students work individually. Pair struggling students with those who have at least medium ability to help their partners formulate thoughts and responses to the questions.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 2, Lesson 3, students conduct research and gather resources for their Culminating Task. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition give opportunities for students who struggle with the content and those who may be more advanced:

    • “At this early point in their research, students still use the Potential Sources Tool to support their developing ability to assess sources for usefulness. Students who have already internalized and can apply the process of the tool might find it cumbersome. For these students, consider introducing them early to the more advanced Research Note-Taking Tool, which is introduced to the entire class in the following lesson.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3n.

The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition include sections dedicated to student support and differentiation, including considerations for working with students performing above grade-level expectations. These sections include questions that extend students’ thinking about the texts they read and develop their ideas in a more advanced way to maximize their learning experiences.

Materials regularly provide extensions to engage with literacy content and concepts at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide multiple opportunities for advanced students to investigate the grade-level content at a higher level of complexity. Materials are free of instances of advanced students doing more assignments than their classmates.

  • In the Program Guide, materials explain, “Student work may reflect the need for extended instruction for many reasons, including that the student may identify as gifted and talented.” The Program Guide provides examples of how this is offered to students:

    • “Students are encouraged to experiment with their own writing styles and structures on assessments.

    • Students are given opportunities to lead small groups and teams.

    • Students are encouraged to make metaphorical connections for newly acquired vocabulary.

    • Students are encouraged to make concrete and conceptual connections between texts or topics in one unit, to text and topics in different units, and across other disciplines.

    • Students are encouraged to develop their own note-taking habits and styles if they no longer need the support offered on tools.

    • Students can draw on tools from the Literacy Toolbox as they learn to recognize their own proficiencies and needs for specific supports, given the specific demands of text or tasks.

    • Students are encouraged to pursue their own interests at their own pace in the Foundation and Application units.

    • Students are encouraged to pursue independent reading options with texts written at a complexity level above the grade-level expectation.”

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 8, students explore the periodic sentence and examine Mentor Sentences to see how sentence structure can have an impact on writing and speaking. In the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition, the materials explain that if students master the content quickly, they can create examples that move beyond the model presented: “For example, if students conceptually understand that a semicolon links independent clauses, you might encourage them to use a semicolon to link more than two independent clauses for effect.” In Section 2, Lesson 8, students read and annotate the introductions to Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” and Phil Patton’s “Agents of Change,” and the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition suggests, “The two texts vary in text complexity, and you can guide students toward one text over another, if appropriate.” In Section 2, Lesson 11, students can choose between notetaking tools for their independent reading based on their proficiency in analyzing a text:

    • “[…] some students might continue to use Reading Closely Tools to develop their initial understanding of the text. Others might be ready to make analytical claims about the text. They might use Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tools to assist in such an analysis.”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lessons 4 and 6, students listen to readings of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition suggest, “As students become more comfortable with the language and familiar with the characters, you might assign them or have them self-select specific roles to read aloud during the lesson.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 2, Lesson 3, students read the texts “How Does Agriculture Change Our Climate?” by Barrett Colombo et al. and “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment”’ by Jayson Lusk and use the Delineating Arguments Tool to annotate the text. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition have question sets to aid in annotating the text for struggling and advanced students suggesting, “Some students who demonstrate advanced competency might benefit from an additional challenge.” The materials then provide a series of questions the instructor can use:

    • “Would students benefit from being asked how this text or topic connects to another text or topic they have read in another unit?

    • Would students benefit from creating analogous relationships?

    • Would students benefit from a task that requires them to discover the symbolic connection between the text and another concept they have learned in this course or elsewhere?

    • Would students benefit from explaining their expertise about the text to a group of novices? (e.g., How would you explain this text to a five-year-old?)”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 5, students reread “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to analyze the author’s use of language. The Teacher Edition provides the following information to provide opportunities for students who may be performing above grade level: “If students master the concepts quickly, you might have them experiment with grammatical rules to create sentences that move beyond the model. For example, if students conceptually understand that a semicolon links independent clauses, you might encourage them to use a semicolon to link independent clauses, for effect.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 5, Lesson 5, Activity 2, students participate in a peer-review process to receive feedback on the vignettes they have drafted. The Teacher Edition provides the following information to give students who are performing above grade-level opportunities to extend their learning: “Students who demonstrate more sophisticated writing skills might benefit from having time to complete a more extensive revision of their work, or experimenting with a unique organizational structure or stylistic technique.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 4, Lesson 2, students conference with the teacher to get feedback to develop the claims for their writing. The Teacher Edition provides the following guidance for students who are performing above expectations: “For students who are highly engaged and working quickly and independently, you can bring additional challenges to their tasks by asking them to think of ways to make their part of their final presentation more exciting and illuminating for their audience.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 3q.

The Program Guide includes teacher guidance on working with students learning English as an additional language. Materials embed support for English learners within the student-facing materials to help them access complex text and reach grade-level proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition outline options and strategies, such as Reference Guides and sentence starters, that teachers may use to support English learners. Attention to academic and Tier 2 vocabulary is evident in the materials, including the Teaching Notes, emphasizing the importance of students learning vocabulary within a meaningful context. Materials provide multiple opportunities for students to engage in discussion with their peers, “often using newly acquired academic and Tier 2 vocabulary with sample discussion stems as support. Through these discussions, English learners are able to strengthen their Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP).”

Materials provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards to regularly participate in learning English language arts and literacy. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 3, students utilize a Vocabulary in Context Tool to identify words that are not familiar and work collaboratively. Materials include questions in the Vocabulary in Context Tool to support students with using context to determine the meaning of a word, including but not limited to: “Does the word have a root word? Do I understand what the root word means? Does the author use any words to indicate the unknown word has a nearby synonym (i.e., a word that has the same meaning as the unknown word)?”

  • The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition include reminders such as, “Native English speakers might grasp nuances in contextual clues, such as tone or cultural references, while English learners might not understand, making it all the more difficult for them to define the targeted vocabulary word.” Guidance includes additional details and suggestions on providing student support, such as creating mental images and associations.

• In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 3, students listen to and follow along in their text to a read-aloud of the essay “My Mother Never Worked” by Bonnie Smith-Yackel. The student-facing materials provide instructions, including, “As you listen, pay attention to how the author structures the essay and uses dialogue to develop character.” The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition include strategies and reminders relating to the read aloud, such as, “English learners in particular benefit from read-alouds, as they can follow text while listening to accurate pronunciation and prosody of language.”

• In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 4, Lesson 1, Activity 6, students read Foley’s “A Five-Step Plan To Feed the World,” and then interact with words they defined to cement their understanding of the meaning. Guidance in the student-facing materials directs students to work in pairs to “read through the list and identify words and phrases from the article that you think you understand and ones you are uncertain about.”

  • The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide a list of exercises to assist students in interacting meaningfully with new words, including but not limited to: “Write example and nonexample sentences that use the new words. Answer hypothetical situations that use the new words. Craft analogies. Connect the meaning of the words to texts or topics they have previously studied.”

  • Additional teacher guidance in the Teaching Notes includes reminders of the importance of using words in meaningful contexts: “These opportunities provide students, particularly English learners, a tremendous chance to increase their cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). Often, students, particularly English learners, employ basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS).” Teacher guidance also notes that “You might combine new vocabulary with sentence starters, such as those found in the Academic Discussion Reference Guide, to provide opportunities for English learners to practice using academic language in the classroom.”