11th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics or themes to build students’ knowledge and their ability to read and comprehend and analyze complex texts proficiently.

Texts are organized into modules. There are four modules that explore a particular literary element or idea. Students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts is supported by engaging in analysis, participating in evidence-based discussions, and writing to inform in the first two modules. In the third module, students learn the principles of research. In the last module, students study argumentation techniques to write their own arguments. Repeated reading for different purposes and to develop vocabulary with increasingly complex texts continues throughout the year.

Each module is divided into units. Each unit is entitled with a quotation from a text included as student reading. The quotation serves as the theme that build students’ knowledge while enhancing their ability to read and comprehend complex texts proficiently. The texts are connected by cohesive topics throughout the modules. The units within the module focus on a theme that can be supported in the various texts and demonstrated in the tasks and activities. Students are given numerous opportunities to independently practice with the texts and to build understanding.

• In Module 1, students study the topic of how authors develop and relate elements of a text. Throughout the textbook, students read “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning in Unit 1, Hamlet by William Shakespeare in Unit 2, and an excerpt from "A Room of One’s Own" by Virginia Woolf in Unit 3. These texts allow students to build their skills and knowledge on the topic through close reading for textual details, evaluating and organizing evidence to support analyses, and questioning for deeper meaning and understanding.
• In Module 2, students must consider how authors use figurative language or rhetoric to advance a point of view or purpose. The texts for this unit are cohesively structured. For instance, this unit begins with “Our Spiritual Things” by W.E.B. Dubois and moves to “Atlanta Compromise Speech” by Booker T. Washington.
• In Module 3, students practice researching multiple perspectives to develop a position. In Unit 1 students read “Hope, Despair, and Memory” by Elie Wiesel as a springboard or seed text for conducting research. In Unit 2, students further explore researching from multiple perspective in order to write argumentatively using the following model texts: “When the U.N. Fails, We All Do” by Fareed Zakaria, “Why Genocide?” by Fred Edwords, “After Rwanda’s Genocide” by the New York Times Editorial Board, “Bodies Count: A Definition of Genocide That Makes Sense in History” by Aaron Rothstein, “The Only Way to Prevent Genocide” by Tod Lindberg, “Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide” by William A. Schabas, et al. Students build their knowledge and deeper understanding of researching to include multiple perspectives based on the multiple texts with differentiating perspectives covered throughout.
• In Module 4, “Using Narrative Techniques to Craft Fiction Writing,” the End-of-Unit task requires students to consider points of view in each text read in the unit and discuss in writing how what is directly stated differs from the literal meaning. Within this particular module, student are to choose a specific part of the text “On the Rainy River” and work independently to respond to the following questions; “Choose a specific part of the text and analyze how it contributes to the overall meaning and structure of the text.” Students will then meet with other students to discuss their responses to further solidify knowledge built and strengthen comprehension.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher order thinking questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

In each lesson, text-based questions build from comprehension to deeper analysis questions exploring how the text works and what the text means. Students explore author’s craft, as well as key details. Students examine the effectiveness and impact of an author’s purpose, word choice, and use of figurative language, in order to derive meaning from texts. Key ideas, craft and structure are present within each question set. Question set build upon one another to push students to higher order thinking. For example:

• In Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 5, students read lines 149-157 from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Students are asked a series of prompts and questions including:
  • Which words does Hamlet use to describe the length of time between his father’s death and his mother’s marriage?
  • What do these words suggest about Hamlet’s attitude toward the time of his mother’s remarriage?
  • What is the meaning of the phrase ‘frailty, thy name is woman!’ (line 150)?
  • To whom is Hamlet referring in this line?
  • Describe Hamlet’s tone toward his mother in line 150?
  • Cite specific evidence to support your response.
  • Explain the comparison Hamlet makes in lines 154-155 when he says, "O God, a beast that wants the discourse of reason/Would have mourned longer!"What is the impact of this comparison on Hamlet’s tone?
• In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 22, Students read paragraph eight of Booker T. Washington’s “Atlanta Compromise Speech.” Students are asked a series of prompts and questions including:
  • How does the first sentence of paragraph 8 contribute to Washington’s purpose?
  • What does "the path" (par. 8) to which Washington refers represent?
  • What does this image suggest about his point of view?
  • What is the rhetorical effect of the figurative language that Washington uses to describe "the path"?
  • How does Washington describe "constant help" (par. 8) and its impact on the progress of African Americans?
  • How does Washington advance the purpose of his speech in paragraph 8?
• In Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 11 students read and annotate the text, “On the Rainy River.” Students answer questions, such as:
  • What structural technique does O’Brien use in this portion of the text?
  • How does the structural techniques in “On the Rainy River” sequence events to create a coherent whole?
  • How do structural techniques in the text contribute to tone and outcome?

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

Materials contain text-dependent questions that support student analysis across the text. The questions provided are scaffolded and offer opportunities to raise the level of rigor in the classroom through deeper analysis and textual evidence to justify students’ responses. The texts are organized in a manner that poses thought-provoking questions to students from the beginning to the end of the lesson. The questions also provide opportunities for each student to demonstrate these skills using one text or multiple texts. Module 3 focuses on research-based questions that extend beyond the classroom.

In Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 13, students build their analytical skills using questions to build knowledge across the individual text, Hamlet, through text-dependent and text-specific questions:

• How does Hamlet’s tone relate to what has just occurred in lines 102-104?
• What might be the cause of his tone here? Reread lines 113-115.
• Besides “chaste,” what else can the word honest mean? Besides “beautiful,” what else can the word fair mean?
• What reasons might Ophelia have for lying or being unfair?
• Paraphrase and explain Hamlet’s statement in lines 117-118.
• How does Ophelia relate chastity and beauty in her response (lines 119-120)? Why might Hamlet be discussing chastity and beauty here?
• How do these ideas relate to lines 99-105? (Module 1 Teacher Guide, pp. 210-211)

In Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 6, students are placed in small groups are instructed to consider the following questions:

• What is the influence of wives and mothers according to paragraphs 11-12?
• What does Cady Stanton mean when she describes women as "slaves"?
• How does the notion of women as “slave” in paragraph 11 interact with other ideas from previous paragraphs?
• What is the effect on the nation if women are “slaves”?
• How does Cady Stanton support her claim about “wise mother[s]” in the last sentence?

Then in the Writing Instruction section for Module 2, Unit 2, students discuss the following questions: “What are the elements that contribute to an effective conclusion or concluding statement? What is restated and summarized in conclusion? How does the conclusion offer a new way of thinking about key information?” Students are then instructed to respond to the following in the Quick Write Revision section: “Expand and develop your 11.2.2 Lesson 5 Quick Write response by refining your evidence selection or adding more significant and relevant evidence form paragraphs 11-12 and providing a concluding statement.”

In Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 5, students answer questions presented based on Wiesel’s text that build knowledge across the individual text through text-dependent and text-specific questions:

• How did the victims heed the historian’s words?
• What does Wiesel imply about the survivors when he states, “We reassured ourselves” (par. 19)?
• What is the indifference to which Wiesel refers?
• What was the purpose of trying to find “the propitious moment” in paragraph 19?
• Underline each time Wiesel uses the phrase “it would be enough” in paragraph 19.
• What is the “it” he is referring to in this phrase?
• What is the impact of Wiesel’s use of repetition in paragraph 19?
• How does Wiesel use imagery in paragraph 20, and what is the effect of this imagery?
• What is the effect of Wiesel’s use of parallel structure in paragraph 20?

In Module 4, students examine contemporary and canonical American literature, focusing on how author’s structure texts, establish point of view, and develop complex characters. Students read, discuss, and analyze two short stories: “On the Rainy River" by Tim O’Brien and “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich, and the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

Each module includes a Module Performance Assessment that serves as a culminating task in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills. 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. Each unit also includes both 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.

In Module 1, students consider the role that point of view plays in literature and literary nonfiction and how authorial choice contributes to character development, setting, meaning, and aesthetic impact. Each unit culminates with an assessment that provides scaffolding for the Module Performance Assessment, in which students compose a multi-paragraph response to examine a central idea shared by all three module texts. As students work through the units, the Mid- and End-of-Unit Assessments provide feedback. For example,

• In the Unit 1 End-of-Unit Assessment, "Students draft a one-paragraph response to the following prompt, citing evidence from the text: How does the revelation in lines 45-47 affect the development of the Duke’s character over the course of the poem?”
• In the Unit 2 Mid-Unit Assessment, ”Students draft a multi-paragraph response to the following prompt, citing evidence from the text: Select one of Hamlet’s first three soliloquies. In this soliloquy, how does Shakespeare develop the character of Hamlet in relation to other characters in the play?
• In the Unit 3 End-of-Unit Assessment, students complete the following: “In this lesson assessment, students discuss and then draft a multi-paragraph response to the following prompt, citing evidence from texts: Analyze the relationship between Woolf’s text and the character of Ophelia.”

In Module 3, students research multiple perspectives to develop a position. The Module Performance Assessment has students build on the analysis they did for their research-based argument paper by producing a 3-5 minute video presentation. Students distill and reorganize their research for a specific audience and offer essential points of the research in an engaging video presentation that demonstrates their command of content and uses formal spoken English. Students’ presentations should make strategic use of the video format to enhance and add interest to their research findings. As students work through the units, the Mid- and End-of-Unit Assessments provide feedback. For example,

• In the Unit 1 End-of-Unit Assessment, “Students complete a two-part writing assessment in response to the following prompts: Part 1: How do two or more central ideas interact and build on one another over the course of the text? Part 2: Articulate two to three distinct areas of investigation and where they emerge from the text.”
• In the Unit 2 End-of-Unit Assessment, “Students submit a completed research portfolio with four organized sections including: 1. Defining an Area of Investigation, 2. Gathering and Analyzing Information, 3. Drawing Conclusions, and 4. Discarded Material. The research journal is also located in the research portfolio.”
• In the Unit 3 End-of-Unit Assessment, “Students are assessed on the alignment of the final draft to the criteria of a research-based argument paper. The final draft should present the precise claim that is supported by relevant and sufficient evidence and valid reasoning.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials contain a yearlong, cohesive plan of writing instruction and practice which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts.

Module 1 introduces expository/informational writing in a series of lessons intended to develop close reading habits paired with evidence-based writing. Modules 2 and 3 extend and deepen the expository/informational writing skills and habits. Module 4 is dedicated exclusively to argument writing. Most lessons end with a Quick Write, on-demand assessment, which provides the opportunity to respond to text, often following a text-based discussion in class. Quick Write activities in all instances act as major process writing assignments. Mid-unit and end-of-unit writing assignments allow extended writing. In Module 3 students research to support exploration of topics. Specific examples include:

In Module 1, Unit 3, Lesson 2, students response to the following Quick Write prompt: “How does Woolf’s comparison of Shakespeare to his sister further develop and build on a central idea in the text?” This task requires students to use the lesson’s vocabulary in the response. Likewise in Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2, students incorporate the lesson’s vocabulary into their response for the following prompt: “How do specific word choices in Claudius’s monologue impact the development of Hamlet’s character?”

In Module 2, Unit 1, the instructor directs students to individually read the standards being assessed on their own and discuss what the standards mean with their partner in relation to what they are studying. After a brief discussion, students must then review their notes and add examples if necessary of rhetoric and figurative language. Teachers must then instruct the following:

• “Explain to students that because the Mid-Unit Assessment is a formal writing task, they should include an introductory statement and develop their responses thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant evidence, including extended definitions, concrete details, and quotations. Instruct to practice developing and organizing their responses in a style that is appropriate to their specific task and audience.”
  • Teachers are then asked to remind students about using transitional terms, providing clear conclusion statements, and using proper grammar.
  • Students are then asked to “Identify a central idea in ‘Of Spiritual Strivings’ and analyze how DuBois uses figurative language or rhetoric to develop this central idea.”

In Module 3, Unit 2, Lesson 3, students use the “Assessing Sources” handout to guide their response to the following prompt regarding their research topics: “Why are the three categories discussed in the Assessing Sources handout (credibility, accessibility, and relevance) important to consider when examining potential sources?”

In Module 4, the same Assessment patterns from Module 3 are used; however, Module 4 only focuses on narrative writings. Writing is evident in various spots over the course of the module. Most of these writings are smaller and require a one to two paragraph response. The writings usually address whether or not the narrative techniques discussed in the module were effectively used.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop and synthesize knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.

Module 3 is dedicated to conducting a sustained research project. Students practice the skills and concepts of research throughout all modules via extension questions with each text. Students are presented with questions regarding historical figures in specific texts, etc. Module 3 offers students the opportunity to synthesize their findings through a major process writing: a written argument.

Students examine mentor texts and determine qualities of well-researched, evidence-based writing. Students also develop their own line of inquiry and present their findings in a culminating task. Students also practice the research process through Accountable Independent Reading (AIR), which pushes students to discuss the text and relate it to what they are doing within their personal lives; students must go outside of their regular assigned tasks to meet with a school librarian to identify a text that peeks their interest(s). Students synthesize knowledge gained through AIR with current assignments and projects.

Students are presented with graphic organizers that provide students a method of recording information, and rubrics make expectations for quality quite explicit. The use of rubrics encourages synthesis of knowledge and understanding of said topic(s). Overall, students will research an area of investigation by generating inquiry-based questions, evaluating sources (self-selected texts), analyzing the claims of authors, and developing their own claims and counterclaims throughout.

In Module 3, Unit 2, Lessons 1-15, students continue with the inquiry-based research process that begins in Module 3, Unit 1, wherein they completed a Pre-Search Tool to identify sources for a potential area of investigation stemming from their reading of “Hope, Despair and Memory” by Elie Wiesel. Students are presented a model area of investigation (preventing genocide) as an introduction to the inquiry process. Students are asked to evaluate the strength of an area of investigation, to identify key components of effective inquiry questions, and to evaluate potential sources for “credibility, accessibility, and relevance.” Students learn how to read and annotate sources and identify an author’s compelling arguments. Students develop a frame for their area of investigation using the Research Frame Tool before conducting independent research in earnest. Students continue with making claims in connection to the inquiry questions posed earlier in the process through an analysis and synthesis of sources. Students are asked to develop claims and counterclaims using the Organizing Evidence-Based Claims Tool and the Forming Counterclaims Tool, respectively, and to peer review each other’s claims/counterclaims. Students work both in groups and independently throughout Module 3, Unit 2. Students present their research findings and “write an evidence-based perspective that synthesizes the evidence collection and research work completed in this unit.” Within Module 3, Unit 3, Lessons 1-12, students are asked to go through the writing processes - drafting, outlining (a counterclaim for their central claim), and citing in MLA format (Modern Language Association). Students synthesize their findings in an argumentative essay.

In Module 4, Unit 2, students complete a performance assessment (after having studied, in previous lessons) techniques for writing narratives, including crafting introductions, developing characters, sequencing events, crafting conclusions, and making revisions for sake of coherence, precise language, and sensory language. Students respond to the following prompt: “Write an original narrative piece that assumes a specific point of view based on the setting of ‘On Rainy River,’ ‘The Red Convertible,’ and The Awakening. Choose two narrative writing substandards (W.11-12.3a-e) and develop the criteria of both substandards in your narrative writing piece.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

Students read independently and regularly for homework. Students’ independent reading is often completed as assigned homework. Students do have some opportunities to read independently in class. The reading assignments, in and outside of class, often require that students annotate the lesson’s text. The assignments extend the day’s lesson or prepare students for the following day. This includes finding new words and using context clues to draw meaning. There is a Homework Accountability activity in the next day’s lesson following the assignment.

Additionally, students are assigned to read their Accountable Independent Reading (AIR) text several nights a week. AIR is a frequent daily expectation for homework, and through protocols built into the lessons, students engage in accountable talk in pairs and with their teacher about their independent reading texts. In the Teacher Resource Book, teachers are instructed to use the school librarian or media specialist to help students locate quality high-interest texts. The accountability for independent reading can be seen in the follow-up activities which usually require students to share with a classroom or group what they have read.

In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 11, for homework students are asked to “preview paragraph 10 of 'Of Our Spiritual Strivings' and star each time you note the word prejudice." Students are also asked to place a box around unfamiliar terms and define them.

In Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 9, for homework students are “instructed to review Chapters I-XIX of The Awakening and review and expand their annotations in preparation for the Mid-Unit Assessment in the next lesson.”