11th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.

50% of the anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task. The appropriate grade level lexile bank for grades 11 and 12 is 1185L to 1385L.

Texts that fall below the Lexile band for the 11-CCR grade band do not increase in qualitative complexity to make-up for their lack of quantitative complexity, therefore cannot be considered at the appropriate level for the grade.

Examples include, but are not limited to,

• Unit 1: There are four anchor texts, and this unit meets the criteria for appropriate text complexity
  • From “The Iroquois Constitution” . Lexile 1510, qualitative 3-4
  • From “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards. Lexile 1210 qualitative 4-5
  • “The Declaration of Independence”. Lexile 1390, qualitative 3-4,
  • From The American Crisis by Thomas Paine. Lexile 1200 qualitative 3-4.
• Unit 2: There are four anchor texts, and this unit does not meet the criteria for appropriate text complexity
  • “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving. Lexile 1130, qualitative 2-3.
  • “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Lexile 1250, qualitative 3-5
  • From “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau. Lexile 980, qualitative 3
  • From The Preface to the 1855 Edition of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. Lexile 1900, qualitative 3-4.
• Unit 3: There are four anchor texts. Most fall below the complexity band for grade 11.
  • From My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglas. Lexile 1110, qualitative 4,
  • “Heading West” by Miriam Davis Colt. Lexile 970 and qualitative 3-4,
  • “ I Will Fight No More Forever” speech by Chief Joseph. There is no Lexile score.
  • “The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin. Lexile 960, qualitative 3-4.

• Unit 4: There are three anchor texts which fall below the appropriate grade level complexity.
  • “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Lexile 1090, qualitative 2.3
  • “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway. Lexile 1020, qualitative 2.6
  • From Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston. Lexile 920, qualitative 2
• Unit 5: This unit has five anchor texts that do fall in the appropriate grade level complexity band. Some are poetry and do not have Lexile scores.
  • “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath. Poetry, qualitative 2.6
  • “Courage” by Anne Sexton. Poetry, qualitative 3
  • “Inaugural Address” by John F. Kennedy. Lexile 1410, qualitative 2
  • “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. Lexile 1330, qualitative 2.3
  • From Hiroshima by John Hersey. Lexile 1230, qualitative 2.3
• Unit 6: Two of three anchor texts in this unit do not fall in the appropriate grade level complexity band.
  • “Camouflaging the Chimera” poetry by Yusef Kmmanyakaa. Qualitative 3.6
  • “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. Lexile 980, qualitative 2.6
  • “One Day Now Broken in Two” by Anna Quindlen. Lexile 1160, qualitative 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band.)

The complexity of anchor texts students read do not provide an opportunity for students’ literacy skills to increase across the year, encompassing an entire year’s worth of growth. There is a variety of complexity levels, however they do not systematically increase within units nor across the year. Therefore, it is unclear that student’s literacy would grow across a school year. Series of texts include a variety of complexity levels. However, quite a few are out of grade level band (1185L-1385L) and importantly, do not make up in quantitative complexity what they lack in qualitative. Also, anchor texts in Volume 2 range from below the Lexile band in unit 4, to the middle/top of the Lexile band in unit 5, to below the Lexile band in unit 6. Importantly, for the texts below the Lexile band for the grade, they are not significantly complex to make-up qualitatively for their lack of quantitative complexity.

• Anchor texts do not increase in both quantitative or qualitative complexity over the course of the school year. Note that the qualitative measure here is the average of the scores on context/knowledge demands, structure/language conventionality, and levels of meaning/purpose/context. Each of these values had a score on a scale of 1 to 5 attached.
  • In Unit 1 there are four anchor texts, ranging from 1200 to 1510 Lexile levels. The average of the qualitative measures is 3
  • In Unit 2 there are 4 anchor texts ranging from 980 to 1900 Lexile levels. The average of the qualitative measures is 3.1
  • In Unit 3 there are four anchor texts ranging from 960-1110 Lexile levels. The average qualitative measure is 3.5
  • In Unit 4 there are three anchor texts ranging from 920-1090 Lexile levels. The average qualitative measure is 2.3
  • In Unit 5 there are five anchor texts, two of which are poetry with no Lexile level, but the other selections have a range of 1230-1410 Lexile levels, and average qualitative measure of 2.2
  • In Unit 6 there are three anchor texts ranging from 980-1160 Lexile levels. The average qualitative measure is 2.7

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.

There is a “Text Complexity: At a Glance” section at the beginning of each Part. It provides a general text complexity rating for the selections in this part of the unit to help guide instruction. It states the title of the text and provides a label of either more complex or more accessible. Within each Part, a Text Complexity Rubric is provided that is more specific, however it is still not specific enough to provide appropriate and strategic scaffolding. The Text Complexity Rubric for qualitative measures is divided into three parts, all with a scale of 1-5 (1 being the lowest): Context/Knowledge Demands, Structure/Language Conventionality and Clarity, Levels of Meaning/Purpose/Concepts. Then there is a quantitative measures section which includes Lexile and text length. Lastly, a Reader and Task Suggestions section exist for each text. Each unit is divided into parts. Each part in the unit is a set of connected texts featuring one or more Anchor Texts, and works of particular significance. At the beginning of each part there is a “Selection Planning Guide” that tells are place in the section. However, the rationale for educational purposes and placement are limited.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Most units have a central question or theme which seem to provide rationale for the text selections that appear. For example;
  • Unit 1 introduction states, “This text set introduces students to the cultural groups that claimed a place in the early American wilderness. The origin myths and the “Iroquois Constitution” offer a closer look at the culture of several Native American nations”. Anchor texts, “From the Iroquois Constitution”, “From Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, “The Declaration of Independence” and “From The American Crisis”

• Unit 4, Part 2, “In Another Country”. Structure/Language Conventionality and Clarity is labeled as “accessible”. No rating for structure is identified at all. Levels of Meaning/Purpose/Concept Level is described as “Subtle conflict and resolution; abstract theme (alienation)”. No levels of meaning identified at all.

• Unit 5, Part 2, “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”. Context/Knowledge Demands is described as “short story; life experience demands”. The rating for Structure lists “Dialect” when no distinct dialect is present.

• Unit 6, Part 1, “Everyday Use”. Context/Knowledge Demands is listed as “Contemporary short story; cultural knowledge demands” No specific cultural knowledge demands were identified. For Structure, “Dialect; some lengthy sentences” is listed. No distinct dialect throughout the text. There is no mention of Walker’s use of three contrasting conflicts to drive the story’s plot

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially 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.

Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in reading a variety of text types and disciplines to become independent readers at the grade level. There are a variety of text types and disciplines in the materials, including, poems, short stories, nonfiction, drama, novel excerpts . However, it is unclear in the materials how students will build stamina, read for extended periods of time, and other such activities that build students from strong readers in a group setting to strong readers independently. While, instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in a volume of reading as they grow toward reading independence at the grade level, there is no clear opportunity for students to independently engage in a volume of text (or a shorter piece of text). There are no clear supports for teachers and/or students to monitor progress toward grade level independence.There are no clear supports to engage students in this independent reading.

There is no clear mechanism for progress monitoring of student reading achievement towards independence at the grade level.

• Unit 1 contains a large variety of genres and topics related to the theme of “The American Experience”. Selections include 3 myths, 6 essays, 2 political documents, 3 narratives, 3 poems, 1 sermon, 3 speeches, 1 argumentative text, 1 functional text, 1 biography, 3 autobiographies, 2 letters and 1 blueprint. The volume of reading alone would help help a student build toward independence.
• Unit 2 also provides a rich variety of genres and topics including, 6 essays, 1 short story, 1 field report, 4 poems, 2 autobiographies, 2 letters and 2 blueprints.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

At the end of every unit, in the Assessment: Synthesis there is one speaking and listening opportunity where students have a group discussion. In the Close Reading Workshop found in each unit, there is a “Discussions” paragraph, which gives students some directions on how to have discussions. The directions for these end of unit activities ask students to “refer to text in this section, other texts you have read, your personal experience, and research you have conducted to support your ideas.” In some activities, there is a direction to “Present your ideas using academic vocabulary”, however, there is no modeling of academic vocabulary found in the material. There are some opportunities to promote students’ ability to master grade level speaking and listening standards. Within the reading selections, there are questions for teachers to ask in the margins of the teacher’s edition. In some lessons, directions will state “Have students discuss...” There are no discussion protocols provided in the material. The teacher materials provided repeat the students’ directions and remind teachers to prompt their students to read the directions. However, there are some protocols, monitoring tools, accountability rubrics, and guidance for organizing students found in the Professional Development Guidebook. Examples of materials partially meeting this indicator include, but are not limited to:

The speaking protocols found in the Professional Development Guidebook are; Numbered Heads, Think-Write-Pair- Share, Save the Last Word for Me, Paired Discussion, and Give One, Get One.

• At the end of each unit, there are Assessment: Synthesis Lessons:
  • Unit 1: Evaluate a Persuasive Speech
  • Unit 2: Write & Deliver a Persuasive Speech
  • Unit 3: Oral Interpretation of a Literary Works
  • Unit 4: Analyze a Non-Print Political Advertisement
  • Unit 5: Analyze and Evaluate Entertainment Media
  • Unit 6: Compare Print News Coverage

All of these lessons include a page on how to complete the skill and then a page on implementing the skill.

• In Unit 1, Part 1, in the “Introduce” section at the beginning of the unit, the teacher is given a very detailed lesson with questions to work through the background information prior to reading texts. In the teacher edition, many questions are given that teachers might use to guide students through discussions on the texts. These are in bold “Ask” and provide possible answers. They are meant to be used as whole class discussion, at various places, the teacher instructions state to “summarize the class discussion” before moving on to the next text. At the end of this section, there are two opportunities that are labeled as speaking and listening. The first is only in the teacher edition as “Speaking and Listening: Collaboration” and provides three questions to guide a class discussion. There is a reference to the Professional Development Guidebook p. 65 for help to conduct a discussion. The second opportunity is printed in the student edition and is part of the “Integrate and Evaluate Information” activity called “Speaking and Listening: Oral Presentation.” Students are to “develop an oral presentation in which you perform an example of the form (of spoken word).” Students are given four forms of early American spoken word and are to research and perform the example they chose. No instructions are given for whether this is a group or individual activity, though there is direction in the teacher edition to have students who chose the same form to “work together to list likely research resources.”
• In Unit 1, There is an Assessment Workshop, Speaking and Listening Task. Students are directed, “As you speak, present information, findings, and evidence clearly so that listeners can follow your line of reasoning. Make sure your use of language speaking style, and content are appropriate for a formal discussion”. However, there are no protocols or examples for students to follow.

• In Unit 2, there are three speaking and listening tasks. In all of these tasks, the standard that is addressed under speaking and listening is standards 6, “Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate”. The tasks include delivering a speech and delivering two oral presentations. Also, in Unit 2 Part 3, students are prompted to discuss the role of individuals in our society today. They are provided with three questions to discuss and prompted to choose a point person to share the group’s conclusions with the class.

• In Unit 2, students get the following directions for engaging in a debate, “Designate someone to moderate the debate. This person will make sure students from each team speak in order and for equal amounts of time. Each debate team should prepare and deliver an opening statement that is lively, to the point, and presents the team’s primary claim. Make sure you have evidence to support each of your team’s points. Anticipate claims opposing team members might make in favor of their poet. Have responses ready to counter these claims. Be respectful of others’ opinions at all times.

• In Unit 3, there are three speaking and listening tasks for students to participate in. Students are asked to identify all works from the unit to engage in the task which is to hold a panel discussion in which they analyze various authors’ use of irony in works from Unit 3. Also in Unit 3 there is the following activity; “Speaking and Listening: Collaboration Small Group Discussion 1. Review the assignment with students. Divide the class into small groups and have students discuss the idea of how historians divide the past into meaningful time periods. Have a representative from each group present the group’s ideas to the class. 3. Open up the discussion to the whole class. Write on the board the sentence, ‘What are the benefits of organizing the past into ‘meaningful units’? What are the drawbacks?’ Then invite students to respond, and list their comments on the board. 4. To help conduct the discussion, use the Discussion Guide in the Professional Development Guidebook, page 65.

• In Unit 4, in “Winter Dreams” students have a few opportunities to discuss the text. The first one is in Activating Prior Knowledge, “Have students discuss what this description reveals about Judy. After they read the story discuss their predictions and compare them against the actual plot.” Another opportunity is midway through the story, “Have three students act out the scene described in the bracketed passage.” Students are asked to read aloud bracketed passages often during this story. Lastly, teachers are directed to lead a class discussion, probing for what students have learned that confirms or invalidates their initial thoughts. Directions state, “Encourage students to cite specific textual details to support their responses.” There is no protocol to put into place. Within this story there is one opportunity to use evidence in the discussion. No modeling of academic vocabulary. Teacher materials provide limited support and direction to fully implement.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and evidence. Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied grade-level-appropriate speaking and listening opportunities. Opportunities include speeches, formal presentations, and engaging in small and large group discussions.

Speaking and listening opportunities are not frequent over the course of the school year. It happens once at the beginning of the unit in the “Snapshot of the Periods” and once at the end of the unit. Instruction and speaking and listening opportunities throughout the unit lessons is rare. End of unit activities do increase in complexity. Speaking and listening is often presented as a stand alone task.Prompts and presentations are included in final tasks with criteria for success listed, however clear instruction on how to engage in small or large discussions, debates, formal presentations is not included within materials. Practice in speaking and listening is not varied over the school year.

The speaking and listening work requires students to marshall evidence from texts and sources and is applied over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to the following:

• In Unit 1, student directions include: “William L. Andrews raises an important question at the end of his essay: Has the United States become the country early citizens imagine? Conduct a full-class discussion about this issue. Work together to achieve the following goals: Determine the ideals held by Jefferson and his contemporaries. Come to a consensus about whether modern America has fulfilled these ideals.”
• In the unit openers (Snapshot of the Period), there is a speaking and listening activity that asks students to research information and then present. For example, in Unit 2, students use a variety of print and electronic resources to research one of the nineteenth-century inventions. Then they write and deliver a slide presentation that explores the impact of the invention on American life: the mechanical reaper, the cotton gin, the steam locomotive, the telegraph, the bicycle. In their presentation they should answer the following questions: What aspects of American life did the invention affect or change? What ripple effects did the invention cause? Whom did the invention most benefit? Whom, if anyone, did the invention harm? In Unit Three, in “Snapshot of the Period”, students read “Recent Scholarship: Defining an Era” by Nell Irvin Painter. After they read, there is a Speaking and Listening: Collaboration where students hold a small group discussion about their own time period. What event or events define it? When would you say it started? What name or label would you give it? As a group, arrive at a consensus and then share your ideas with the class.
• In Unit 2, students are prompted, “Both Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are today acknowledged as poetic geniuses. Review their work, giving special attention to Whitman’s ‘Preface to the 1855 Edition of Leaves of Grass’ Consider the qualities that make these writers so enduringly great. Assignment: Establish two debate teams, one focusing on Dickinson and one focusing on Whitman. Prepare to have a debate about which was the greater and more influential of the two poets. Look to secondary sources, including biographies and literary criticism.”
• In Unit 3, Part 1, there is one opportunity for students to marshall evidence from the text while practicing speaking and listening with the text. In “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” the teacher edition states, “Have students read aloud the spiritual, emphasizing the rhythm and rhymes. Ask students the Listening question.” The listening question has students read the song aloud. What is the effect of the repetition of the word home?
• In Unit 3, Part 2, there is a research opportunity where students present information in an oral presentation. Within this, the teacher support states to “Organize students into groups. Suggest that one student in each group record its ideas and share them with the class. Encourage students to give specific examples of their favorite aspects of American humor today. Specify the amount of time that groups will have to work together.”
• In Unit 4, students have an opportunity to create a multimedia presentation. Directions say, “Choose one of these popular culture forms and prepare a brief multimedia presentation about its significance during the period of 1914-1945. There are some questions for students to answer, such as, “Who were some of the outstanding people in this field and what did they do?” Student directions for creating this project state, “Integrate print, visual, and audio examples into your presentation to communicate your points clearly and to add interest to your presentation.”

Every unit contains a Speaking and Listening lesson at the end of the unit. The lessons include:

• Unit 1: Evaluate a Persuasive Speech
• Unit 2: Write & Deliver a Persuasive Speech
• Unit 3: Oral Interpretation of a Literary Works
• Unit 4: Analyze a Non-Print Political Advertisement
• Unit 5: Analyze and Evaluate Entertainment Media
• Unit 6: Compare Print News Coverage
  

While there are ample opportunities for listening and speaking about what is read and researched, the facilitation, monitoring and instruction within the materials is limited.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing (year long) that reflect the distribution required by the standards. May include “blended” styles.

Materials include sufficient writing opportunities for a whole year’s use. Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to practice and apply different genres/modes of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. However, learning opportunities are limited. There is a Writing Workshop at the end of each unit which teaches a writing lesson. However, students are asked to practice and apply genres/modes throughout the entire unit, including at the beginning before instruction on those genres and modes has been provided. Materials provide few opportunities for students/teachers to monitor progress in writing skills. Rubrics and checklists are found in the Writing Workshops at the end of each unit (6 times total). The “Writing to Sources” tasks say to use rubrics which are in the Professional Development Guidebook. Also, in the teacher’s edition, it says to guide students to writing a specific text using the Support for Writing page, available online. The writing tasks found in the Common Core Assessment Workshop provide a rubric and a checklist for tasks.

None of the six Writing Workshops require students to connect to text or text sets, however at the end of every unit there is a Text Set Workshop where students explore the fundamental connections among the texts through a writing task. In the Writing to Sources activities students have to connect to the text in order to complete the activity.

• In Unit 1, under the Close Reading section students: “Choose one of the three myths and turn it into a play that a group of classmates can perform for an audience.” This involves using the myths students read, but there isn’t much writing they have to create on their own since the plays are already written.

• Some examples of the variety of genres/modes are seen in these assignments:
  • Unit 3, Part 3, Close Reading Activities, Writing to sources, Argument,Students are prompted: “ When it was first published, Dunbar’s work received mixed reviews. Conduct research to find examples of both positive and negative responses to Dunbar’s work. In a report, summarize your findings and take a position about Dunbar’s legacy. Examine how ideas help during Dunbar’s era - including prejudice - may have influenced critics.

• Unit 4, Part 1, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources Informative Text, “Winter Dreams” can be thought of as a commentary on the notion of the American Dream - the idea that a person’s success depends more on his or her efforts than o factors such as class or race. In an essay, explore the vision of the American Dream as Dexter experiences it.

• Unit 4, Part 2, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources, Argument,” In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Faulkner notes that the writer’s duty is “to help endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pite and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past.” Apply this criteria to a critical review of “A Rose for Emily.” Consider whether Faulkner fulfills his ideal. Support your opinion with facts, details, quotations, or other information and examples from the story.

• Unit 5, Assessment Workshop, Constructed Response, Writing Task 1: Literature, Analyze Word Choice, Write an essay in which you analyze the figurative and connotative language in a story or a poem from this unit.

• Unit 5, Part 3, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources Argumentative Text: Effective persuasive writing in Salem could have saved lives or even more effectively condemned the accused. Assume the persona of a character in the play and write a persuasive letter urging another character to take a particular course of action.
• Unit 6, Part 1 Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources, Narrative Text, In both literature and life, stories are shaped by the points of view of those who tell them. Write a new version of the story from the point of view of one of the men who changes Yolanda’s tire.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for research-based and evidence-based writing to support analysis, argument, synthesis and/or evaluation of information, supports, claims.

Writing opportunities are presented throughout the materials but are not explicitly taught or monitored and are not consistently part of daily and weekly lessons that flow from the instruction and text-dependent questions. The majority of these writing tasks require the use of evidence from texts, however there are writing tasks that do not require evidence and ask for personal experiences and/or opinions and to go beyond the text. Materials do not always meet the grade level demands of the standards listed for this indicator, specifically the standard where students produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to tasks, purpose, and audience. Directions for students and teachers are limited and brief in regards to development, organization, style, purpose, and audience.

Examples of writing tasks found in the units that provide opportunities for students to learn, practice and apply writing using evidence while encouraging close reading of the the texts include:

• In Unit 1, Part 2, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources Argument. “ A speaker’s choice of persuasive techniques should depend on the audience and the occasion. Write an evaluation of the persuasive techniques that Edwards uses. Discuss the responses he evokes in an audience and the ways he achieves it.”
• In Unit 2, Part 1, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources,Informative Text. “Choose two passages from the poems you have just read that evoke distinct moods in the readers. The passages should be between five and ten lines long. Write a compare-and-contrast essay in which you describe the mood evoked by each passage and discuss the stylistic devices the poet uses to create those moods. For example, in addition to meter, consider each poem’s subject, striking images or work choices, and other aspects that you find noteworthy. Support your comparisons and contrasts with details from the passage.”
• In Unit 2, Close Reading Activities, Timed Writing. “Refer to both the Consumer Guide and the Government Report to write a position statement, a persuasive essay in which you state and support an opinion about the management of natural resources both today and in the future. Cite facts, statistics, and quotations from the documents to support your case and persuade readers to agree with your position.

• In Unit 4, Part 1, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources, Informative Text, “The Turtle” is part of Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, which portrays the struggles of a Depression-era farm family. Steinbeck intended that readers draw parallels between the turtle and the human characters. Write an essay connection the events described in “The Turtle” to the lives of ordinary people during the Great Depression.
• In Unit 4, Assessment Workshop, Constructed Response, Writing Task 2. Students, “Write an essay in which you analyze the impact of word choice in a poem from this unit.”
• In Unit 5, Part 3, CLose Reading Activities, Writing to Sources, Explanatory Text. Directions say, “Although Miller wrote The Crucible in response to the hysteria caused by anti-Communist hearings of the late 1940s to 1950s, the themes of the play have endured. Indeed, The Crucible remains one of the most-performed plays worldwide. Write an essay in which you interpret the play’s primary themes and explain how the reflect both the play’s historical context and universal human issues.”
• In Unit 6, Assessment Workshop, Writing Task 2. “Write an essay in which you analyze the word choice and tone in a literary work from this unit.”

Examples of writing tasks that do not require students to use evidence from the texts under consideration and do not require close reading of the text, or analysis or claims include, but are not limited to:

• All of the Writing Workshop tasks: For example in In Unit 3 and In Unit 5, students, “Write an argument essay that urges readers to accept your viewpoint on and claims about an issue.”
• In Unit 4, Part 3, Close Reading Activity, Timed Writing. Write an argumentative essay in which you persuade readers that it is or is not a good idea to do important research using an online encyclopedia that is written and edited by its users. Consider both the benefits and issues such as an online tool might present. Cite specific details, including your own observations, to support your argument. This is a prompt without a text discussing the usefulness of wikis or the use of an actual wiki, just a printed example of a wiki.
• In Unit 5, Part 3, Close Reading Activity, Timed Writing. “When The Crucible premiered, critics had the power to make or break a Broadway play. Today, with the rise the Internet, social networking sites, and numerous forms of publishing, can any one critic still be as important or as powerful in any art form? Write an argumentative essay in which you express and defend your opinion on this topic. Support you claims with detail from the feature article and theater reviews as well as your own observations and experience.” This is a prompt without any example of any internet sources or a text discussing the impact of critics in various forms.

• In Unit 1, Part 1, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources, Found Poem. “A found poem is a poem created from writing or speech not intended to be poetry. Choose a passage from the Iroquois Constitution that you think is especially strong or beautiful. Turn it into a poem by rewriting it with line breaks like those of poetry. Organize the stanzas and place the line breaks where you feel they create the most impact. Read your poem aloud to verify your choices; revise them if necessary.
• In Unit 4, Part 3, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources,Narrative Text. “Write a reflective essay that tells a story about a moment in your life that inspired you to pursue something you love. Develop a clear conflict or problem by describing obstacles you faced. Develop a clear resolution by showing the events that inspired you and the change that occurred as a result. Enhance the plot and develop characters by using a range of literary strategies and devices, including dialogue.
• In Unit 5, Part 2, Close Reading Activity, Writing to Sources. “Prepare a response to “One Art” and “Filling Station” in more than one genre, or form. Illustrate the poems with drawings, paintings, photographs, or collage of images from other sources, including the internet. Then, write an explanation of your choices. Finally, combine the images with the text in a poster to display in your classroom.
• In Unit 6, Part 3, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources, Informative Text. “Write a letter to the author of the essay you found most interesting. Explain what you liked, what you did not like, and ask any questions you might have.”
• In Unit 6, Part 3, Close Reading Activities, Writing to Sources, Narrative Text. “Both of these writers share an experience from the past. Choose a significant event that you have experienced and write a brief memoir exploring its meaning.

The materials do not meet all the demands of the standards listed for this indicator. For example, Writing Standard 1 speaks specifically about developing “claims and counterclaims fairly, while pointing out strengths and limitations of both”. No counterclaims were required to be addressed in students writing. There was also a lack of norms and conventions of the discipline in which students are writing. Writing standard 8 was also missing. There was no instruction on how to cite sources or how to determine if a source is reliable.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 11 partially meet the criteria for materials including instruction of the grammar and conventions/language standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application context.

A variety of opportunities exist for students to practice and apply grammar and conventions skills as stand-alone activities or as applied to a text. Some explicit instruction is made. There is generally one task for each standard present. Most tasks that the materials identify as aligned to language standards are tasks that require students to already know about the grammar rule or convention. Often, the direct instruction comes in units after the tasks that require students to know and apply the rule. In some instances pages are cited for language standards instruction and have none at all. Grammar and convention instruction is provided in the same context each time - as exercises that require students to recognize use of grammar and conventions in a given text, as revision guidelines, or as stand-alone (not attached to any particular text instruction) explicit instruction. There is no change in the sophistication of these contexts throughout the school year.

• The teacher’s guide identifies language standards and provides page numbers for exercises aligned to those standards. However, sometimes this is not accurate, as there are no exercises, or no instruction/guidance on those standards. For example:
  • Language Standard 1a: Parallel Structure. The teacher’s guide lists pages 141, 199, and 290, where there is no reference to parallelism at all. On page 466, parallel structure is defined, but no examples are given. Students must find them in the reading selection. On page 634, parallel structure is finally fully explained, and multiple examples are given.
  • Language Standard 5b: Nuance in word meaning of words with similar denotations. The following pages are referred to in the teacher’s guide: On pages 108-09 there is an explanation of how a dictionary or thesaurus can help with connotations and denotations, but there are no exercises for students to practice. On page 290 there are no exercises with use of nuanced word meaning for words with similar denotations. Then on page 342 there is an exercise on analyzing poetic language. The definitions of denotation and connotation are presented, and there are examples of each. There are no exercises for students to practice. On page 654-655 a language study lesson is found with explicit instruction on connotation and denotation).

• For many standards there is no increase in sophistication in the instruction as the school year progresses. This is demonstrated by following vocabulary lessons over the school year:

• Unit 1, Part 2, Close Reading Activities Language Study Vocabulary: “The words listed below appear in “Rules of the Game.” Using your knowledge of these words, tell whether each sentence below makes sense. Use the meaning of the italicized word to explain your answer.”
• Unit 1, Part 3, Close Reading Activities Language Study Selection Vocabulary:” The following sentences appear in “The Scarlet Ibis.” Define each boldface word, and use the word in a sentence of your own.”
• Unit 3, Part 2, Close Reading Activities Language Study Vocabulary: “The italicized words in the numbered statements below appear in Poetry Collection 4. Decide whether each statement is usually true or usually false. Then, explain your answer.”
• Unit 3, Part 3, Close Reading Activities, Language Study Selection Vocabulary: “The following passages appear in the two poems. Research the etymology (history) of each boldface word. Then, explain each word’s modern English meaning.”
• Unit 5, Part 2, Close Reading Activities, Language Study Vocabulary: “The italicized word in each sentence appears in the excerpt from the Odyssey, Part 2. Indicate whether each statement is usually true or usually false. Explain your answers. Then, revise the statements to make them true.”
• Unit 5, Part 3, Close Reading Activities, p. 884: Language Study, Selection Vocabulary The following passages appear in “The Washwoman.” Define each boldface word. Then, use each word in a new sentence.

• A variety of opportunities exist for students to practice and apply grammar and conventions skills as stand-alone activities or as applied to a text. Each Close Reading Activity in Parts 2, and 3, has a Language Study section with exercises that focus on vocabulary and word study. Part 4 has no such opportunities. Part 1 only has vocabulary definitional exercises.

• Revising and Editing prompts exist for many of the writing prompts. These often include guidance on revising for clarity and conventions. However, some of these revision guidelines are specific to standards and some are not. Examples of specific and nonspecific guidelines include:
  • Unit 1, Part 3, Writing to Sources: Argument, Review Style: “Revise to cut wordy language. Check that you have found the clearest, simplest way to communicate your ideas. Omit unnecessary words and replace vague words with better choices that clearly state what you mean.”
  • Unit 3, Part 3, Assessment Synthesis, Writing: Narrative, Conventions: “Check your work to eliminate errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. “
  • Unit 4, Part 2, Writing Process, Revising to Combine Sentences With Phrases:”In Your Writing, review your draft, looking for short sentences that might be combined using appositive, participial, gerund, or infinitive phrases. Consider combining these sentences.”
  • Unit 5, Part 3, Close Reading Activities, Write, Editing and Proofreading: “ Review your draft to make sure you have avoided errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics. Check that you have maintained an appropriate academic style throughout your essay. Be sure that any paraphrases accurately reflect the original text.