12th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 thought-provoking, of high interest, and contain rich language with numerous instructional opportunities for both the instructor and students. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, students read The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley. This text is a high-quality text that allows students to analyze ideas and delineate arguments.
• In Module 2, Unit 2, students read The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s play is a timeless classic that provides rich language and gives students the opportunity to discover the use of various literary elements.
• In Module 2, students read “Ideas Live On” by Benazir Bhutto. A well-written speech, Bhutto’s writing is well-paired with Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. Both pieces use rhetoric to develop central ideas.
• Within Module 3, Unit 1, students read Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. This high-quality, non-fiction text discusses the causes for resource and wealth inequality across the world. Students will consider the author’s purpose and analyze text structure.
• In Module 4, Unit 2 students read “The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol. This short story is a Russian fable that is high interest reading and exemplifies how structure and and narrative style can impact the development of theme(s).
• In Module 4, students read A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. This classic play conveys various themes through complex characters, settings, contrasts, and other literary devices.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for texts having 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 “Civil Disobedience,” which has a Lexile level of 1340. The text contains ideas and themes still pertinent today, and the essay provides the reader with an opportunity to build on their analysis of complex claims developed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, read earlier in Grade 12, including exploring the idea between the individual and the state.
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley, has a Lexile level of 1120L. The text is appropriate for Grade 12 and requires students to be familiar with historical subject matter. The text’s meaning is complex and has moderately complex text structure.
• Students read the narrative essay,“Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit" by Leslie Marmon Silko. This text examines how Silko develops and weaves together ideas, events, and individuals as she reflects on her childhood and explores the influences of family and culture on the formation of her identity. The text has a moderately complex structure and meaning.
• Students read the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams. This text includes complex text meaning and poetic dialogue. The text requires cultural knowledge and addresses mature themes.
• “The Overcoat,” published in 1842, is a short story by Nikolai Gogol, a Ukrainian-born Russian writer. “The Overcoat” contains surreal, exaggerated, and supernatural elements. The text has a complex structure and uses symbols and imagery throughout.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials supporting 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 engage with autobiographical nonfiction to explore the craft of personal narrative before beginning work on their own personal narrative essays in response to a prompt.
• In Module 2, students read both literary and nonfiction texts to analyze how authors use rhetoric and structure in texts dealing with concepts of government and power.
• In Module 3, students engage in an inquiry-based iterative process for research. Building on work with evidence-based analysis in Modules 1 and 2, students explore topics that may elicit multiple positions and perspectives, gathering and analyzing sources to establish a position of their own and crafting an argument-based research paper.
• In Module 4, students work with literary texts, including drama, poetry, short fiction, and a novel to explore how authors treat similar central ideas and themes via character development and interaction.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 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 12 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 12, text-dependent and text-specific questions are included throughout the modules. Each module is divided by 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 that focus 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 the text, The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. Students are required to support their inferences with textual evidence for the following text-specific questions:

• What changes come over Malcolm X when he returns from Boston?
• What does Malcolm X identify as the root of this change?
• Why does Malcolm X characterize the interaction with Mr. Ostrowski as “the first major turning point of [his] life” (p.39)?
• How does Malcolm X characterize what his life would have been like if Mr. Ostrowski had encouraged him to be a lawyer?
• Why might Malcolm X look negatively on this lifestyle?

In Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 9, students read the text, The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. Students are required to support their inferences with textual evidence for the following text-specific questions:

• What do the descriptions of Gogol’s birthday parties suggest about the relationship between Gogol and his parents?
• How does the change in setting affect Ashoke and Ashima?
• In what ways do the visit to Calcutta and the return to Pemberton Road impact the relationships in the Ganguli family?

Exemplar students answers are provided in the Teacher Guide. For example, in Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 8, students read pages 243-249 of the text, Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, and discuss questions. Teachers are provided with exemplar responses, such as:

• What factors promote potential diffusion of new technologies across societies? Student responses may include:
  • Trade and travel can promote the diffusion of new technology because societies may “see or learn of the invention and adopt it” (p. 244), as in the case of “transistors from the United States to Japan in 1954” (p. 245).
  • War or conflict can promote technology diffusion because societies “find themselves at a disadvantage vis-à-vis the inventing society” (p. 244), as in the case of muskets among New Zealand’s Maori tribe. Diamond describes how, during the Musket Wars, those Maori tribes who did not adopt muskets were “subjugated by tribes already armed with them” (p. 245); thus, the “musket technology” (p. 245) spread for survival purposes.
  • Societies “embedded in the major continents” (p. 246) with shared boundaries or common trade routes diffuse technology more easily, as in the example of centrally located medieval Islam, which “acquired inventions from India and China and inherited ancient Greek learning” (p. 246).
• What factors counteract potential diffusion of new technologies? Student responses may include:
  • Geographical isolation counteracts potential diffusion. For example, the “Tasmanians had no contact with other societies for 10,000 years and acquired no new technology other than what they invented themselves” (p. 246).
  • Fads counteract potential diffusion, as in the example of the Japanese samurai suppressing the adoption of guns. The “samurai-controlled government began by restricting gun production” and then added subsequent restrictions until “Japan was almost without functional guns” (p. 247). Additionally, fads can persist when the culture is isolated. One example is that of “Aboriginal Tasmanians, who abandoned even bone tools and fishing to become the society with the simplest technology in the modern world” (p. 247). If Tasmania were not geographically isolated, this fad may not have persisted.
• How does the statement “technology begets more technology” relate to the “autocatalytic process” (p. 247)?
  • Diamond suggests that the “autocatalytic” nature of invention is one that “speeds up at a rate that increases with time, because the process catalyzes itself” (p. 247). Therefore, “technology begets more technology” because as simpler technologies are invented they pave the way for new and more complex technologies to be invented (p. 247).

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials containing 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, Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 2, students respond to the following Quick Write: “How does Diamond demonstrate the validity of researching Yali’s question in the except?” The activities and questions leading up to this task include:

• How does Diamond’s response to the first “objection” on page 17 support his decision to research Yali’s question?
• Explain how the following statement is relevant to Yali’s question and Diamond’s research: “Sound evidence for the existence of human differences in intelligence that parallel human differences in technology is lacking” (p.19).
• How does Diamond’s point of view affect his claim that ”New Guineans are smarter than westerners” (p.20)?

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, Unit 1, students explore a research topic of their choice. In Lesson 27 of this unit, students complete the End-of-Unit Assessment by “writing about their evidence-based perspective in a two-page synthesis, using their research evidence and details for support.” Students use the “Organizing Evidence-Based Claims Tool” and their discussion notes from previous lessons and activities to completes this assessment.

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 Module 4, students choose between two options for the Performance Assessment; option one is performed in two parts. In part one, students will write a narrative using key scenes and information from the text. Part two asks the student to write a commentary “on how the narrative choice you made shapes or re-shapes the character’s identity and explain how your choices impact the original text.” For option two, students are directed to “make an evidence-based claim about the role of place or culture in creating an identity. Discuss the role of place or culture in creating and identity using textual evidence for support.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials supporting 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 26, students form pairs to discuss questions such as:
  • Why does Malcolm X consider everything he does as “urgent” (385)?
  • How does the style in the first two paragraphs of this excerpt contribute to the power of the text?
  • What does Malcolm X described as “almost impossible” (p.387)?
  • How does his use of style to refine this description contribute to the power or beauty of the excerpt?
  • How does Malcolm X describe racism in the last paragraph? What effect does he hope he has had on racism?
• In Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 4, students form groups. Students annotate as they read their assigned parts of the play together. Students summarize the events that occurred and answer questions presented that build on complexity including, “What is the meaning of the phrase ‘put it by’ that Casca uses on lines 232 and 239?” In the Quick Write that occurs later students must respond to the following questions: “Analyze how Shakespeare’s choice to relate events through Casa in Act 1.2, lines 22-334, affects the plot of the drama.”
• In Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 15, students work in small groups to brainstorm questions for an area of investigation (research). In the small group, each student presents his or her area of investigation. The group is responsible for creating questions for the presenting student. The brainstorming process continues until each member of the group has presented and received a list of inquiry questions.
• In Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 3, students work in pairs to discuss questions, such as:
  • What does Akaky Akakievich’s behavior on the way to the party suggest about his developing character?
  • How does the new overcoat impact Akaky Akakievich’s relationship with his co-workers?
  • Why is the “important person” not specifically named in the text?

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials including 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 2, the Unit 2 Mid-Unit Assessment has students write a multi-paragraph analysis in response to the following prompt:“Is Caesar’s death a 'sacrifice' or a 'butchery'? Students are given this prompt at multiple times during the unit to begin making notes of details that they may want to use when it is time to write the above analysis. Then, the Module Performance Assessment has students completing a multimedia research journal. Students are assessed on final multimedia narrative presentations and on their response to audience questions following the presentations. Students participate in multiple quick writes throughout the unit to prepare for the final process writing:

• In Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 3, students are asked, “How do paragraph 24-28 refine central ideas introduced earlier in the text?” Student use textual evidence to justify their response. A High Performance Response is included in teacher resources.
• In Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 22, students respond to the following prompt: “Explain how the title The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is appropriate for the play, or propose a new title and explain why it is more appropriate.“ Students use textual evidence to support analysis and inferences drawn from the text. A rubric and a High Performance Response is included in teacher resources.

In Module 4, the Module Performance Assessment gives students two options. Option 1: Choose a key scene or critical moment form one of the module texts. Rewrite they key scene or critical moment so that the character(s) make a choice that differs from the one made in the actual text. The scene should have a narrative arc and the content should remain consistent with the original text. Option 2: Select one or two of the module texts and make an evidence-based claim about the role of place or culture in creating an identity. Discuss the role of place or culture on your identity. Students participate in multiple quick writes throughout the unit to prepare for the final process writing:

• In Module 4, Unit 2, Lesson 4, students work on a Quick Write: “How do two central ideas interact in the 'fantastic ending' of 'The Overcoat'?" Students use textual evidence to respond to this prompt. After a whole group discussion, students are then given opportunities to revise their responses. Students are to use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist to guide their written responses.
• In Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 9, students respond to the Quick Write: “Choose either Stanley or Stella. To what extent does Williams provide a resolution for this character?” Students use the Short Response Rubric and Checklist to guide their written response. A High Performance Response is included in teacher resources.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials including 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 of author’s craft, and synthesis of information from class discussions. Tools, such as graphic organizers are provided to help students 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 responses provide examples for the teacher and list criteria that students can refer to when writing. For example:

• In Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 4, students are given the following prompt for a Quick Write: “Analyze how two central ideas in this chapter interact and build on one another.” Students find evidence in the annotations that they made within the text, The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
• In Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 3, students are given the following prompt for a Quick Write: “How does Shakespeare use rhetoric to develop a central idea in the play?”
• In Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 24, students engage in an activity where they develop counterclaims using the “Forming Counterclaims Tool,” which also requires them to revisit the claims they crafted in the previous lesson for their area of investigation or research topic.
• In Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 7, students respond to the following Quick Write: "Select either Mitch or Blanche. How does this character exercise power in Scene Nine and to what extent is he or she successful in doing so?" Students are instructed to look at their annotations to find evidence and use the lesson vocabulary wherever possible in their written response.