11th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that anchor/core texts are of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading.

Anchor texts are of publishable quality. Each anchor text contains content worthy of study and provides a foundation for learning across a unit. Texts provide models of extraordinary writing. All texts presented are of high interest, thought-provoking, and contain rich language with numerous instructional opportunities for both the instructor and students. Examples include:

• In Module 1, students read “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. This text is of high quality in that it contains rich language and is considered a timeless Victorian era classic.
• In Module 1, students read Hamlet by William Shakespeare. This text is high quality in that it is a timeless Shakespearean classic that is typically studied in Grade 12.
• In Module 2, students read “Atlanta Compromise” by Booker T. Washington. This text is worthy of reading because of its thought-provoking content. It is a high interest pairing with W.E.B. DuBois’s “Of Our Spiritual Strivings.”
• In Module 2, students read “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” by W.E.B. DuBois. This text is high quality because of its rich language and thought-provoking content. It is a high interest pairing with Booker T. Washington’s “Atlanta Compromise.”
• In Module 3, students read “Hope, Despair, and Memory” by Elie Wiesel. This text is high quality because of its thought-provoking, rich language.
• In Module 4, students read “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien. This text is high quality and worthy of reading because students can identify with the content and it is age appropriate.
• In Module 4, students read “The Red Convertible” from The Red Convertible: Selected and New Stories, 1978-2008 by Louise Erdrich. This text exemplifies strong narrative writing techniques, therefore is worthy of reading.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis.

Materials offer a range of texts that are of varying levels of complexity. Overall, a large number of texts are on grade level, based on Lexile level and themes throughout each text. While there are texts that are above grade level based on Lexile level, these texts are paired or greatly scaffolded for student comprehension. The texts that are considered below grade level based on Lexile level are rich in theme and worthy of study. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students read “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” from The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois, which has a Lexile level of 1280. The appropriate qualitative features for this specific text include levels of meaning, structure, and sophisticated language.
• Students read “An Address” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton with a Lexile level of 1080. The appropriate qualitative features include levels of meaning, structure, and sophisticated language. While this text is considered below grade level based on quantitative measures, the text is qualitatively rich.
• Students read the Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, “Hope, Despair, and Memory,” by Elie Wiesel, which is an exemplar text for the 9-10 grade band. However, the themes and content of the text make it appropriate for Grade 11. This text is used as a springboard to research as students track potential research topics that emerged from the text, and they analyze the text for Wiesel’s use of rhetoric. While the purpose of this text is easy to identify, the message and complexity of it lie in its expert use of language and organization. High knowledge demands are acknowledged for Wiesel's exploration of language and cultural understanding.
• Students read the short story, “On the Rainy River,” by Tim O’Brien, which has a quantitative measure of 1000L. This text has mature subject matter and complex levels of meaning.
• Students read Shakespeare’s Hamlet and explore how an author may use characterization and point of view to shape central ideas by exploring the soliloquies, monologues, and dialogue. This text is appropriately complex for Grade 11.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials support students’ literacy skills (understanding and comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade level skills (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels).

Throughout the school year, students read poems, short stories, articles, and excerpts of longer texts with guided instruction and consistent discussion in pairs, small groups, and whole class. Each module contains tasks which require students to use selected works to cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says. Texts move from mostly literary texts in the first module to exclusively informational texts in the third module as students complete their own research project. More complex texts are read in smaller chunks in class, with as little as three or four paragraphs for an instructional lesson, with time and attention given to the complexities of the text substance and structure. Students build strength of analysis and comprehension with common texts then build stamina through independent reading. Students complete independent reading of self-selected texts throughout the school year. A reading journal logs student interaction and occasional analysis of independent texts. Examples include:

• In Module 1, students read closely for textual details in the poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, and the essay "A Room of One’s Own" by Virginia Woolf. Students examine how these authors develop and relate elements of a text.
• In Module 2, students track rhetoric and analyze its impact on “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” from The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois and “Atlanta Compromise Speech” by Booker T. Washington.
• Within Module 3, students heavily practice the research process and write about areas of investigation evidenced in the anchor text. This serves as the foundation of the research process for students, overall, in Grade 11.
• In Module 4, students read and annotate The Awakening by Kate Chopin to support their comprehension and analysis of the text.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency. Each lesson follows a standard structure: overview and identification of targeted content standards, homework check, class reading and collaborative conversations, quick write to process information, and closing activity to prep homework; the majority of the activities are based solely on the text(s) in question. Students interact with texts in multiple ways, including the following: teacher read-alouds, independent reading, anchor text readings and annotations, anchor text small group readings, whole group readings and discussion questions, paired readings, vocabulary journals and annotations, and research-based texts of student choice.

Students engage in a range of text types, both literary and informational. More complex texts are chunked with guiding questions that lead students through analysis with talk partners. Less complex texts ask students to do more independent processing. Students self-select resources to read in support of research and novels for independent study. The lesson structure remains consistent throughout the year so that students develop fluency with analytic practices.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

In Grade 11, text-dependent and text-specific questions are included throughout the modules. Each module is divided into units of study with individual lessons. Each unit is centered around a direct quote that functions as the theme of the unit. Questions require repeated close reading focusing on a range of text segments, from the use of a particular word to reading and surveying a segment of text. Students also practice analyzing the overall tone, theme, or effect across an entire text. Students are required to go back into the text and read closely in order to determine what the text says explicitly while responding to questions that require students to provide evidence for inferences drawn from the text. Text-dependent questions build upon one another, providing opportunities for students to engage deeply with texts through close reading. Teachers are provided with exemplar student responses for questions and tasks.

In Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 3, students read lines 25-31 of “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. All of the questions provided are specific to the poem and require students to provide textual evidence in their answers. Students are prompted to respond to questions, such as:

• What does the Duke mean by “the dropping of daylight in the West” (line 26)?
• What does bough mean in the line ‘The bough of cherries some officious fool/Broke in the orchard for her’ (lines 27-28)? What words are associated with bough that can help to define it?
• What happens in lines 27-28?
• What is the connotation of the word officious (line 27)? What words or phrases suggest this connotation?
• What inferences can be made about the Duchess based on lines 25-29?

In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 4, students are asked to read the last sentence in paragraph three (3) of “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” from The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois. Students are required to support their inferences with textual evidence for questions, such as:

• What is the “twoness” DuBois describes?
• What does DuBois mean by “two warring ideals”?
• How does the use of the word “warring” refine DuBois’s description of the ideals? Where are the ideals “warring”? What does this description suggest about the effect of the feeling of twoness on African Americans?

Exemplar student answers are provided in the Teacher Guide. For example, in Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 6, students are asked to read paragraphs twenty-five (25) and twenty-six (26) of “Hope, Despair and Memory” by Elie Wiesel. The following questions require students to provide textual evidence in their answers, and they are specific to the text. Teachers are provided with exemplar responses, such as:

• What connection does Wiesel draw between racism and Apartheid in this paragraph?
  • Wiesel states that the racism becomes “more repugnant” when it “pretends to be legal” because it gives those in power a justification for their racism (par. 25). The system of Apartheid promotes racism and was part of the legal framework and way of life in South Africa.
• How do the examples of terrorism Wiesel provides advance his claim that it must be “fought and eradicated” (par. 25)?
  • Wiesel uses examples that all include the deaths of innocent people in different parts of the world: Jews worshiping who became victims of the “cold blooded massacre” in Turkey, diplomats and civilians taken hostage in Iran, and peaceful protesters gunned down in Paris by the police (par. 25). These examples involve different parties committing terrorism, which puts the responsibility on all “civilized nations” (par. 25) to work together to end terrorism.
  • Differentiation Consideration: If students struggle consider providing the following definition: eradicated means “removed or destroyed completely.”
• What is the cumulative impact of these examples?
  • Wiesel provides examples of legal racism, Apartheid, fanaticism, “the outrage of terrorism,” government persecution, “preventing men and women ... from leaving their country,” and even Israel who cannot achieve peace with their “Arab neighbors” (par. 25). The impact of these examples is an overwhelming demonstration that mankind has not achieved peace, and there are many instances of atrocities and injustice taking place in the world after World War II.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of sequences of text-dependent/text-specific questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding.

Students have varied opportunities to demonstrate understanding in each module. Students prepare for the culminating task in multiple ways that integrate skills, such as: close reading, annotating, reading independently and in small groups, hosting whole class and small group discussions in multiple formats, and asking and answering questions.

Every lesson culminates in a Quick Write assessment task. This assessment provides information about students understanding of the lesson objectives and texts. Teachers are provided with High Performance Response criteria. Lessons contain sets of high-quality, text-dependent/specific questions that build to the culminating task. For example, in Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 5, students respond to the following prompt: “How does Browning's choice of speaker impact the development of central ideas in the poem?” The activities and questions leading up to this task include:

• What is the connection between the Count’s “known munificence” and "a dowry” in lines 49-51?
• What is the impact of Browning’s choice to use the word "object" in this line?
• How do the final three lines of the poem contribute to the development of the Duke’s character?

Each unit includes a Mid-Unit Assessment and an End-of-Unit Assessment that connect to the Module Performance Assessment. These unit assessments give teachers feedback as students work towards the Module Performance Assessment. For example, in Module 3, students complete an End-of-Unit Assessment where they “[write] their evidence-based perspective in a one-page synthesis, using their research evidence and details for support.”

Each module includes a Module Performance Assessment that serves as a culminating task. The lessons and activities that are completed within the units of study lead to preparing students for the Performance Assessment. Supporting lessons contain text-dependent and text-specific questions, tasks, and assignments. Thinking, speaking, writing, and listening skills are the focus of key ideas and details in the modules. Writing and reading are integrated throughout the tasks. Text-dependent questions scaffold throughout the modules to help students become equipped to respond to the culminating tasks. Students demonstrate understanding through written expression, oral discussions, and presentations within groups. For example, in the Module 2 Performance Assessment, students respond to the following prompt: “In this Performance Assessment, students develop a claim about how a new text, Sherman Alexie’s poem ‘How to Write the Great American Indians Novel’ relates to at least two of the texts they have analyzed in this module.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials support students’ listening and speaking (and discussions) about what they are reading and researching (shared projects) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

Opportunities are presented for students to engage in speaking and listening activities for the texts they are reading and for the chosen area of investigation that they want to research. Students further demonstrate their speaking and listening skills through creating and sharing inquiry questions and engaging in discussion regarding self-created inquiry questions.

Throughout the modules, students are given opportunities to respond to higher order questions by utilizing textual evidence. Furthermore, students are directed to read and annotate with their peers, take notes, and respond to their peers’ questions and thoughts. Students collaborate with others and revise writings, as needed. Teachers are provided with exemplar answers as models, as well as student look-fors. For example:

• In Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, students work in pairs to reread lines 5-8 of “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning and answer text-dependent questions before engaging in whole class discussion. Students participate in a whole class discussion of the Short Response Rubric and Checklist in preparation for completing a Quick Write activity.
• In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 4, students work in small groups. The teacher posts questions that groups discuss and respond to. The students will continue to annotate and even revise previous annotation as they work together to analyze the text. Questions include:
  • What does Du Bois list in the first sentence of paragraph 3?
  • What is the effect of beginning the sentence with “After”?
  • How does the phrase “born with a veil” (par 3) further develop the idea of the “veil” from previous paragraphs?
• In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 19, students are provided with the Rhetorical Impact Tracking Tool. Teachers are then reminded to tell students to track Washington’s use of rhetoric on the tool as they read and analyze the text. Students read paragraph 3 of the “Atlanta Compromise Speech” on their own. Students answer the following questions in writing and prepare to share with the class during a whole-group discussion, citing evidence from the text:
  • How does Washington relate the story of the ship to the ideas he introduces in paragraphs 1-2?
  • What is the impact of Washington’s use of rhetoric in the story of the lost ship?
• In Module 3, Unit 3, Lesson 1, students work in pairs to discuss their claims and their responses on the Research Frame Tool. Students discuss “the strongest or most interesting possible central claim that has emerged from their research.” Later, students are asked to Turn and Talk about their Organizing Evidence-Based Claims Tools using the following discussion question: "How does this order effectively support your central claim?"
• In Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 3, students work in pairs to identify examples of and discuss the effect of Kate Chopin’s use of vivid, precise language and sensory details in The Awakening, as addressed in the writing standard W.11-12.3.d. Students are asked the following follow-up questions: “What is the effect of Chopin’s use of the word embrace (p. 16)? What is an example of sensory language in this quote? What is the effect of this sensory language on the development of experiences events, setting, and/or characters?” This is followed by a whole-class discussion. Students continue working in pairs to identify two passages in the text, one that shows Chopin’s use of “precise, descriptive, and sensory language” and another where the author does not use precise word choices, details, and sensory language. Students discuss the ways in which the two passages either exemplify or do not exemplify the writing standard.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

There are regular, on-demand writings called Quick Writes that include a rubric and a writing checklist. These are used consistently throughout lessons and build to the unit assessments. Each unit includes a mid-unit and end-of-unit assessment, which provide students an opportunity to develop process writing habits that include using evidence from text analysis and information from research or inquiry projects. Graphic organizers, rubrics, and exemplar responses are provided for written responses throughout the units.

In Module 1, students write an extended response to the following prompt: “Select a central idea common to all three texts [Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess,’ Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Woolf’s "A Room of One’s Own"]. How do the authors develop this idea over the course of each text? How do the texts work together to build your understanding of this central idea?” Students participate in multiple Quick Writes throughout the unit to prepare for the final process writing:

• In Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 5, students respond to the Quick Write, “ How does Browning’s choice of speaker impact the development of central ideas in the poem?” Students use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist to guide their written responses. A High Performance Response is included in teacher resources.
• In Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 9, students respond to a prompt: “Choose one of the images Hamlet uses to describe himself in the ‘Now I am alone’ soliloquy. How is this image related to the development of a central idea from another soliloquy?” This lesson concludes with a Quick Write activity where students respond to the following prompt: “How does Hamlet decision to stage a play impact the action of the drama?” A High Performance Response is included in teacher resources.

In Module 2, the Module Performance Assessment has students develop and present a claim about how a new text, Sherman Alexie’s poem “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel,” relates to at least two of the texts they have analyzed in the module. Students participate in multiple Quick Writes throughout the unit to prepare for the final process writing:

• In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 8, students respond to the Quick Write, “How does Du Bois use rhetoric in paragraphs 6-7 to further develop his point of view on freedom?" Students use the Text Analysis Rubric to evaluate their answers. A High Performance Response is included in teacher resources.
• In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 18, students respond to the Quick Write, “How does Washington’s use of rhetoric contribute to the persuasiveness of this excerpt?” Students use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist to guide written responses. A High Performance Response is included in teacher resources.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support sophisticated analysis, argumentation, and synthesis.

Instructional materials include frequent opportunities for students to write evidence-based claims relating to various topics and in response to text sets organized around the topic. Students are asked to analyze text, develop claims, and support those claims with evidence from the text. There are opportunities to practice and demonstrate literary analysis, understanding author’s craft, and synthesis of information from class discussions. Tools, such as graphic organizers are provided to help student analyze and organize text to be used in later writing. The checklists and rubrics also include criteria for using evidence which asks students to support explanations/claims with evidence from the text by using accurate quotations, paraphrases, and references.

Opportunities for writing to sources include informal writing with Quick Writes, within the units and formal writing in the form of Module Unit Assessments and the culminating Module Performance Assessments. High Performance Responses are also included. These response provide examples for the teacher and list criteria that students can refer to when writing. For example:

• In Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 8, students respond to the following homework prompt: “Choose one of the images Hamlet uses to describe himself in the ‘Now I am alone’ soliloquy. How is this image related to the development of a central idea from another soliloquy?”
• In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 4, students respond to the following Quick Write: “Determine two ideas from paragraph 3 and explain how the ideas interact and develop over the course of the paragraph.”
• In Module 3, Unit 2, Lesson 11, students use the Organizing Evidence-Based Claims Tool, utilized in a previous lessons, in combination with the Evidence-Based Claims Criteria Checklist, to compose a response for the following prompt: “Develop and explain a claim about an inquiry path or your problem-based question and support it using specific evidence and details from your research.”
• In Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 5, students write a multi-paragraph response to the following Mid-Unit Assessment: "Choose a specific part of the text and analyze how it contributes to the overall meaning and structure of the text.” Students are instructed to use their annotated texts, lesson Quick Writes, discussion notes, homework notes, and tools to write their responses.