10th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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.)

Some of the complexities of the anchor texts provide an opportunity for students’ literacy skills to increase across the year. The “Context and Knowledge Demands” remain steady, not increasing, throughout the year at a level 3 for each anchor texts beyond Unit 1. “Structure and Language Conventionality and Clarity” vary in complexity throughout the year. “Levels of Meaning, Purpose, and Concept Level” increase in complexity according to the scale provided from a 2 in Unit 1, to a 3 in Unit 2, and a 4 in Units 3, 4, and 5. The Lexile levels decrease in the anchor texts from Unit 1 (1180) to Unit 5 (790). However, the series of texts found within the textbook include a variety of complexity levels. Within a given unit, there are different levels of complexity and the teacher could choose which to use at different times to meet student needs. A teacher could choose to read an entire unit since each unit, as a stand alone entity, provides a variety of complexity levels. Instructions in the teacher’s edition offer an Instructional Model for ways to read the text, which provide flexibility in how to teach the units, but the recommendation is to teach the text from front to back with mid-year assessments included to monitor student progress on grade-level skills and standards.

• Anchor texts do not increase in 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.
  • Unit 1: Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket by Tom Benecke. Lexile 1180, Qualitative 2.3
  • Unit 2: “How to react to Familiar Faces” by Umberto Eco. Lexile 1110, Qualitative 2.6
  • Unit 3: “A Tree Telling of Orpheus” by Denise Levertov. Poetry, Qualitative 3.6
  • Unit 4: Antigone by Sophocles. Drama, Qualitative 3.3
  • Unit 5: Arthur Becomes King of Britain from The Once and Future King by T.H. White. Lexile 790, Qualitative 3.6
• Series of texts within units include a variety of complexity levels.
  • In Unit 1, Part 3, there are six texts within the text set (Perseverance). The average Lexile is 1046. The qualitative measures fall between a 2 and 4.
  • In Unit 2, Part 3, there are six texts within the text set (Vision). The average Lexile is 1138. The average qualitative measures between a score of 3 and 4, with some 2’s.
  • In Unit 4, Part 3, there are six texts within the text set (Conscientious Objections). The average Lexile is 1325 which increases from Unit 2. All the qualitative measures score at a 3 or 4.
  • In Unit 5, Part 3, there are six texts within the text set (The Arthurian Legend). There is a range of Lexiles from 1030 to 1410. The qualitative measures in this text series range from 3-5. This is the only unit where the qualitative measures reach a difficulty of 5, which would be appropriate for the end of the year.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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.

All anchor texts are housed in Part 3, Developing Insight, of each of the five units, and a “Big Question” is presented to tie these texts together. The rationale for educational purpose and placement of these texts within the unit is not found in the 9th grade text. The “Text Complexity Rubrics” are vague and offer limited information on what a teacher would need to scaffold in order for students to be successful. This analysis tool is also not totally accurate and clear. It is not thorough or detailed enough to provide what is needed in order to provide correct scaffolded instruction. The rubric includes qualitative measurements broken into three parts: Context/Knowledge Demands, Structure/Language Convention and Clarity, Levels of Meaning/Purpose/Concept Level and each of these parts receives a scaled score from 1 to 5 (1 being low) and a brief statement describing why that score is given for all those components, not specifying which component it is associated with. The rubric also includes quantitative measures which include: a Lexile score, word count, and reader and task suggestions.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Unit 1, Part 3, Perseverance: The readings in this section explore concepts of perseverance or “grit”. Readings are preceded by the following introduction to the theme, “Society generally sees perseverance as a virtue that lets us solve problems and achieve goals. Consider how ideas of perseverance relate to the Big Question for this unit: Can progress be made without conflict?” The following reading selections are found in this unit.
  • “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”. Lexile 1180
  • From Swimming to Antarctica. Lexile 850 Content Knowledge and demands, structure & language , levels of meaning are all a 2. This selection has a low level qualitative and quantitative score, but we can assume the rationale for its placement in this unit is that it is because it explores the “Big Question”.
  • “Occupation: Conductorette” Lexile 1050
  • “The Upside of Quitting”. Lexile 850 Content Knowledge and demands, structure & language, and levels of meaning are all a 3. This selection also has a low level qualitative and quantitative score, so we assume the rationale for its placement here is that it explores the “Big Question”.
  • The Winning Edge (Lexile 1320)
  • Science Fiction and the Future (Lexile 1030) - Content Knowledge and demands, structure & language , levels of meaning all a 4

• Unit 2, Part 3, Vision: The readings in this section raise questions about what we really see when we look at the world. The readings in this unit are introduced with the following instruction, “ Ranging from explanations of physical sight to discussions about maps, media, painting, and sculptures, these texts explore the connections between seeing and interpreting. Think about how vision and perception relate to the Big Question for this unit: What kind of knowledge changes our lives? “ The anchor and supplemental texts all fall within the correct Lexile range for grade 10. .
  • Anchor Text: “How to React to Familiar Faces” Lexile 1110
  • from “Magdalena Looking” Lexile 1138
  • from “The Statue That Didn’t Look Right” Lexile 1040
  • from “The Shape of the World” Lexile 1250
  • “Seeing Things” Lexile 1130)
  • “How to Look at Nothing” Lexile 1160

• In Unit 3, Part 2, on the opening page of the section is a paragraph that explains what students will do during the “guided exploration” part of the unit and includes an attempt at purpose: “Skilled writers use words the way artists use paint - to tell stories, conjure images, engage senses, and stir imaginations. As you read the poems in this section, notice the ways in which the lyrical, artful quality of words enhances the expression of feeling and thought. Then, consider how these texts relate to the Big Question for the unit: Does all communication serve a positive purpose?” This vaguely relates to purpose for students, but there is no direct rationale for text selection given to teachers regarding purpose or placement. This is the same in each unit.

• In Unit 3, Part 3, the anchor text and the accompanying texts have text complexity rubrics with qualitative and quantitative measures. There is a summary of each text on the opening page of the part, but no rationale for purpose or placement. This is the same in each unit.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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.

• Unit 1, Part 3 includes a short story, a memoir, an autobiography, a radio transcript, a magazine article, a speech, and a photograph to analyze. There are a total of fifteen texts for students to read and interact with in Unit 1. The anchor text, Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket is to be read multiple times over five days. Also, two short stories, “Like the Sun” and “The Open Window” can be read in a single setting and then compared by students.
• In Unit 2, Part 3 there is an expository essay, novel excerpt, two expository non-fiction selections, two science writings, and a painting for students to analyze. There are a total of 18 texts for students to read and interact with in Unit 2. There are four texts that can be read either in a short amount of time or over a longer period. These include, From Longitude, “The Sun Parlor”, “Keep Memory Alive”, and “The American Idea”. The anchor text, “How to React to Familiar Faces” is recommended for five days. The two texts, “A Toast to the Oldest Inhabitant: The Weather of New England” and “The Dog That Bit People” should be read in two days.
• The materials provide a “Flexible Pathway” page to lead students through the text strategically if needed. It suggests that if students struggle with any aspects of the Close Reading Activities in Part 1 (Setting Expectations), then teachers should assign targeted features in Part 2 in order to provide instruction and practice in those areas. If students are successful with the Close Reading Activities in Part 1, then they may move directly to Part 3. There is also a chart on the “Flexible Pathway” page that suggests using the units in their entirety, or creating your own path through the units using the chart as a suggestion.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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:

• Towards the end of the unit there is a speaking and listening lesson that addresses a different topic.
  • Unit 1: Delivering an Oral Interpretation of a Literary Work
  • Unit 2: Delivering a Persuasive Speech
  • Unit 3: Analyzing Media Messages
  • Unit 4: Comparing Media Coverage
  • Unit 5: Delivering a Multimedia Presentation

• In Unit 1, Part 1 at the beginning of the unit, there is a “Discuss” item as part of the “Setting Expectations” section of the text. The directions remind students to share their own ideas and listen to those of others. They are directed to participate in collaborative discussions, work on having a genuine exchange in which classmates build upon one another’s ideas. They are told to support their points with evidence and ask meaningful questions. Following the instructions is a “Discussion Model” that gives examples of three students building ideas off another student’s shared idea. In the margins of the teacher’s edition, it tells the teacher that throughout the unit, students will be engaging in discussions about the selections they read and to remind students of how to participate effectively in a collaborative discussion. A lesson in Unit 1 encourages the use of academic vocabulary with the following instructions to the teacher, “As students are discussing “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”, encourage them to use the thematic vocabulary presented in introducing the Big Question. You might encourage them with sentence starters like these:...”

• In Unit Two, Part One, after completing the “Independent Practice” of reading Everest from Touch the Top of the World, in the “Close Reading Activities” is a “Discuss” question. The question asks students to “conduct a partner discussion” that connects directly to the text. The second part of the discussion directions are to “summarize your discussion and share your ideas with the class as a whole.” The teacher edition gives possible answers students might provide, but does not refer to discussion protocols.

• In Unit 4, under the Close Reading Activities after from An Enemy of the People students are asked to discuss in a small-group about the two men and their tactics used to argue. There are no supports and/or directions for the teacher to guide this discussion or for students.

In Unit 4, students read The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act I, II, III, IV, & V. The discussion prompts for the entire play state, “As students read, they will explore the big Question through text analysis of the selection. Encourage students to take notes as they read and raise additional questions, using text evidence to support their thoughts. Students should refer to their notes to help them deepen their understanding of the selection through discussion , research, and writing.” This is the only direction, opportunity given during all five acts of the play. At the end of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act I, II, III, IV, & V, students do have the opportunity to work with a partner and give a dramatic reading of Cassius’ discussion with Brutus in lines 132-177 of Act I.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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, in-formal presentations, and engaging in small and large group discussions.

Instructional support is lacking for speaking and listening instruction. 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.

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:

• Unit 1, within the Close Reading section, directions state, “In a small group, conduct an interview between a skeptical journalist and the Whites after the tragedy. Prepare questions that will allow Mr. and Mrs. White to share their story.”

• Also from Unit 1, direction state, “Discuss the following passage with a small group. Take notes during the discussion. Contribute your own ideas and support them with examples from the text.”.
• In Unit 2: There is a culminating Speaking and Listening Activity. Students prepare to deliver a persuasive speech, Students are asked to, “Choose a topic that has two sides. Organize a presentation in which you take a stand. Practice delivering your speech for a classmate. Based on the feedback you receive, revise your presentation. Then, deliver the speech for the full class. Consider the following questions as you develop your speech: How clear is the position, point of view, or claim? Is the position supported by varied and convincing evidence? Is the evidence logically and clearly organized? Is the line of reasoning easy for listeners to follow?” This is a stand alone activity that does not build from previous text dependent activities.
• In Unit 5, students are to, “Discuss the following passage with a classmate. Listen closely and build on one another’s ideas, supporting them with examples from the text.”
• In Unit 3, students are directed to ,“Prepare and deliver an oral presentation in which you analyze the use of sound devices in a poem from Part 2 of this unit. Select a poem that makes interesting and significant use of sound devices, such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia. Identify the sound device and analyze the effect that they have on the meaning of the poem, as well as how they contribute to the mood of the poem. As you present your analysis, read key passages aloud to demonstrate the effects of the sound devices. Draw conclusions about the role of sound devices in poetry. Present your ideas in a clear and logical way.

• Each unit’s final Assessment has a discussion section that has the following prompt: “Conduct discussions. With a small group of classmates, conduct a discussion about...Refer to the texts in this section, other texts you have read, the research you have conducted and your personal experience and knowledge to support your ideas. Begin your discussion by addressing the following questions….Summarize and present your ideas. After you have fully explored the topic, summarize your discussion and present your findings to the class as whole.”
• At the end of Part 2, students are to “produce a multimedia presentation. Use the steps shown to prepare and deliver a multimedia presentation of a research paper you have already written.”

Towards the end of each unit there is a speaking and listening lesson. The lessons include:

• Unit 1: Delivering an Oral Interpretation of a Literary Work
• Unit 2: Delivering a Persuasive Speech
• Unit 3: Analyzing Media Messages
• Unit 4: Comparing Media Coverage
• Unit 5: Delivering a Multimedia Presentation

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 10 partially meet 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 provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Materials address five genres/modes in the Writing Process sections in each unit and through some annotated mentor texts. Also, there are Craft and Structure lessons throughout the textbook that link the stories and the Writing to Sources lessons after students read the stories. However, there is less instruction than opportunities to practice and apply skills. There are no exemplars and/or samples in the teacher’s edition for teachers to use to monitor students’ skills. There are limited guidelines and suggestions provided for teachers to monitor students’ writing skills. Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports). Writing opportunities exist in each part of each unit so that students will write across a school year. Writing tasks are included in the Close Reading Activities following texts and text sets, in stand-alone workshop tasks in each unit (the Writing Process sections) , and in the assessments after Part 2 (Assessment: Skills) and Part 3 (Assessment:Synthesis) of each unit. Materials provide limited opportunities for students/teachers to monitor progress in writing skills. There are rubrics in the Writing Process lessons, which occur once per unit. Also, rubrics are provided in the Professional Development Workbook. Support for teacher monitoring is not found. The teacher would need to create a larger system for students to track their progress in different modes.

• In each unit there is a Writing Process lesson that provides instruction for students and include an annotated mentor text and student model
  • Unit 1, write an Argument: Analytic Response to Literature
  • Unit 2, write an Argument: Persuasive Essay
  • Unit 3,write an Explanatory Text: Cause - and - Effect Essay
  • Unit 4, write a Narration: Autobiographical Narrative
  • Unit 5, write an Informative Text: Comparison-and Contrast Essay

• A variety of text types of writing appear throughout the curriculum. For example, in Unit 1, students write a letter to the editor, a response to literature, a narrative, an essay, a sequel, letter, explanatory text, cause and effect essay, a profile/biographical sketch, an autobiographical narrative, and a reflective essay.

• In Unit 2, Part 2, under the Writing to Sources students write a critique. The directions in the teacher’s edition directs teachers to guide students in their writing critiques, give them the Support for Writing to Sources page for this selection in the Student Companion All-in-One Workbook, then to evaluate students’ critiques, using the rubrics for Critique in Professional Development Guidebook.

• In the Close Reading Activities, students have writing tasks, however there are no rubrics to monitor students’ writing skills. In Unit 1, Part 3, students write a cause-and-effect essay. The teacher’s edition does tell teachers to encourage students to review their drafts to ensure they have used transitional words and phrases to effectively express cause and effect. They provide examples for teachers to use with students, therefore, because, or as a result.

• In Unit 2, in the “Keep Memory Alive” text, students have persuasive writing modeled in the Craft and Structure lesson. Next, they answer text-dependent questions about the persuasive writing after the text. Then in the Close Reading Activity under Writing to Source they write an argumentative letter to Wiesel in which they respond to his claim in “Keep Memory Alive” that forgetting makes people accomplices to crimes or atrocities. The only monitoring of skills in the writing lesson is found in the Professional Development Guidebook.

• In Unit 3, at the beginning of Part 1 in the “Close Reading Workshop: Write” section, students are shown a model of writing an Explanatory Essay. The model includes highlights and annotations for successfully completing the requirements of that mode of writing. This connects to a “Writing Process” activity in Part 2 of the unit where students are given directions for how to write an expository: cause-and-effect essay on any topic - not connected to any of the readings. Another connection to the model in Part 1 is in Part 3. In the “Assessment:Synthesis” section at the end of the unit, students complete the “Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text” assignment which asks students to “Write an expository essay in which you explain, describe, and discuss one or more aspects of your chosen question” from a list of choices above the assignment. However, there are no smaller expository writing tasks throughout the unit to build to the assessment essay, nor are any of the questions directly cause-and-effect, which could then connect to the process writing from Part 2. Narrative, argumentative, or informational writing modes are given at the end of each reading. There are research questions at the end of each text in the “Close Reading Activities” that could be used as evidence for some of the essay prompts.

• In Unit 4, after each reading, the “Close Reading Activities” ask students to write a variety of different types of writing: expository essay, editorial, obituary, compare/contrast essay, explanatory essay, autobiographical narrative, writer’s journal (self-reflection), literary analysis essay, reflective essay, position paper, definition essay, and argumentative essay. In Part 2 of this unit, there are fewer writing opportunities at the end of each text because they are longer plays, “Julius Caesar”,and “A Raisin in the Sun”. The larger text is broken into parts, but “Close Reading Activities” only have reading tasks in this unit, unlike other units where there are reading, writing, and speaking/listening tasks. However, in Part 3, the writing activities are included again with each text. This same pattern is followed in all units.

• In Unit 4, Part 3, in the “Close Reading Activities” after completing Antigone, students are asked to write a compare-and-contrast essay in which they analyze Antigone and Ismene. They are to “Explain the values that motivate each sister to act as she does. Then, consider whether Ismene serves as a foil to Antigone and explain [their] position.” However the “Writing Process Workshop” for compare-and-contrast writing comes in Unit 5. The prewriting instruction provided to students suggests they reread the play looking for how the two characters “express different values through their statements and actions.” It also provides two ideas for planning: to create a character trait list and a belief-action-consequences diagram. Later in Part 3, students are asked to write a position paper

• In Unit 5, Part 2, at the end of the “Writing Process” section, students have a “Reflecting on Your Writing” section. This section is in all units. Students are asked to answer a question in their Writer’s Journal: “Jot down your answers to this question: How did comparing and contrasting your subjects help you better understand them?” Underneath the question is a Self-Evaluation Rubric with a rating scale of 1 (not very) to 4 (very) in which they evaluate the effectiveness of their essay on the standards: purpose/focus, organization, development of ideas/elaboration, language, and conventions. Each criteria has an explanation of what that standard looks like in their essay.

• There are limited opportunities for students to monitor their progress. For example in Unit 1, a formative assessment states that if students are struggling with evidence based writing to have them complete the Writing to Source activities and/or Workshop that appear in Part 2. In Part 2, the Writing to Source activity is comparing irony and paradox. Students write a compare and contrast essay on how the authors present the concepts of truth and deception in these stories. No connection to assisting students who are struggling with evidence based writing. There are rubrics in the Writing Process lessons, which occur once per unit. Also, rubrics are provided in the Professional Development Workbook.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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 the Introductory In Unit of the text there is a workshop that relates to CCSS 1a, 1b, and 1e called “Composing an Argument”. The workshop gives directions on “Choosing a Topic, Introducing the Claim and Establishing Its Significance, Developing Your Claim with Reasoning and Evidence, and Writing a Concluding Statement or Section.” In the third section on Evidence, students are informed, to always support a claim with evidence, to have three pieces of evidence, what constitutes good evidence, what kind of evidence will make a strong impact on the audience, to make sure evidence comes from a credible source, and to cite sources. Following the instructions is a practice page that gives an example of a chart and sentence stems a student could use to explore both sides of an issue when making an argument. Later in the textbook, students write argumentative essays in various settings.
• In In Unit 1, Part 3, after reading an excerpt from Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox, students are to write an informational text in the “Writing to Sources” task in the Close Reading Activities. The assignment asks students to “write a profile, or biographical sketch, of Lynne Cox. Describe her athletic and emotional attributes and explain how she was able to achieve her goals.” The instructions remind students to follow three steps, one of the steps is to “Cite examples from the memoir that show how these different characteristics contribute to Cox’s achievements.”
• In In Unit 2, Part 3, in the Assessment: Synthesis section, the Writing to Sources task is an argumentative essay. The prompt says, “Write an argumentative essay in which you state and defend a claim about the connections between people’s perceptions, knowledge, and actions. Support your claim by citing information, examples, and details from two or more texts in this section.” The students are instructed through the steps of the writing process to complete the essay.
• In In Unit 3, Part 2, as part of a Close Reading Activities section of the Poetry Collection 3, students complete a critical essay in the Writing to Sources task. The prompt instructs students to write a critical essay in which they “reflect on the language techniques used in the four poems in this collection and discuss those you found most effective.” In the bulleted list of reminders, students are told to “Identify specific words, lines, or sections of the poem that still raise questions in your mind.” They are also reminded to “present your positions clearly and concisely. Then, support each claim with relevant quotations from the poems.”

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:

• In In Unit 1, “Occupation: Conductorette” it says, “Write an autobiographical narrative in which you describe a goal that you once pursued intensely and which you feel has shaped who you are.” There are three assignments in In Unit 1 that are personal like this, and require not use of evidence from texts.
• In In Unit 4, in the Assessment: Synthesis, students write an autobiographical narrative about their own life, in which they describe how a shared experience shaped their conscience or how an act of conscience gave them a new perspective.

The materials do not meet all the demands of the standards listed for this indicator. For example, in In Unit 1, Part 3 in the Discuss, Research, Write section after students read “from The Winning Edge” they are asked to write a persuasive essay. The directions do say to support your argument with evidence. The directions do not ask students to use a counterclaim. In In Unit 2, Part 2, before reading “Keep Memory Alive” in the Building Knowledge page, there is a mini-lesson on Persuasive Writing and Rhetorical Devices. Persuasive writing is built upon throughout this lesson “Keep Memory Alive”, however they do not require or address the counterclaim. Students are also not required to use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claims and reasons and counterclaims. Students are asked to express their opinion about the role of memory in society. Explaining why they think a society should or should not remember the past, including painful moments or terrible actions.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 10 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.

Materials do include instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade band, however it is not always explicit. Most convention lessons are found in the Close Reading Activities in Part 2 of the texts. After the convention lesson there is a Writing to Source lesson within the Close Reading Activities. Within the lesson directions, students are asked to apply the grammar lesson just learned, for example “use correct spelling and use parallelism in your writing”. Also, there is an activity called, “Extend the Lesson: Sentence Modeling” for each convention taught. Students look at a model sentence from the text just read, and are asked to notice the grammatical structure. Then they imitate the sentence, matching the grammatical and stylistic feature just discussed. Over the course of the year’s worth of materials, grammar/convention instruction is provided, however it does not increase in sophisticated contexts.

• Unit 1, Part 2, after reading “The Monkey’s Paw”, the convention lesson is on nouns (common nouns, proper nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns). There is also a Sentence Modeling where students “notice” the nouns present and then write their own sentence matching the grammatical and stylistic features.
• In Unit 2, Part 2 in the Writer’s Toolbox there is a mini lesson on how to create parallelism in your writing. The text gives a definition, example, nonparallel sample and parallel sample. Then students are presented with some practice sentences where they add parallel structure.
• In Unit 3, Part 2, in the Close Reading Activities section after each set of poems, there are conventions instruction, practice, and application activities. (These types of conventions activities are found in Part 2 of every unit with all Close Reading Activities). This unit introduces different uses of commas and dashes to create more complex sentences with phrases or clauses. After the explanation, there are two practice activities. One is to “insert dashes or commas where necessary” in practice sentences. The second is to “rewrite the following sentences, correcting any errors with commas or dashes. There are two application activities, one for reading and one for writing. The reading application asks students to “find an example of commas and an example of dashes in one of the poems in Poetry Collection 1. For each example, explain how the punctuation marks are used.” The writing applications is to “write a brief summary of “The Fish.” Use commas and dashes to set off pieces of information where appropriate.”
• In Unit 4, Part 3, in the Close Reading Activities section after reading a portion of Antigone, students are given a Writing to Sources activity. On the side of the page next to the drafting and revising directions is a reminder about conventions that says, “As you compare and contrast characters, use parallelism. Identify similar ideas within a sentence or passage and use the same grammatical patterns to express them.” Instruction or practice on parallelism does not occur in Unit 4, but can be found in three places in Unit 2. Explicit instruction on parallelism is found in a Writer’s Toolbox in an activity called, “Revising to Create Parallelism.” Practice of parallelism is found in a Close Reading Activities section a few pages after the Writer’s Toolbox and after finishing a text. The activity asks students to “identify parts of the sentence that displays parallelism, and the part that does not. Explain how parallelism helps to clarify Eco’s meaning and how the part that is not parallel creates emphasis.”
• In Unit 4, Part 2, in the Language Study section after finishing an act of Julius Caesar, students are given four sentences that contain vocabulary words and asked to replace the words with an antonym. “Then, explain which sentence makes better sense.” This activity is connected to the reading because the words come from that section of Julius Caesar, but it does not necessarily serve an important purpose or use in the reading of the play to build their knowledge of new vocabulary, other than explicitly getting to think of antonyms for words. The next part of the activity is to learn and apply the Latin suffix -ile. This is a stand alone activity, but teaches the use of Latin roots and requires students to explain their thinking upon learning the new root. This type of activity is found after each Act of the play and in other places in the textbook.
• The level of sophistication required of students stays fairly consistent from the beginning to the end of the year in their use of conventions and language. The activities are consistent throughout the textbook. In Part 3 of each unit, the one of the texts, the Close Reading Activities section has a Language Study portion in which students practice vocabulary, structure, and conventions skills with examples and questions taken from the text they finished reading. Activities in the Language Study provide new vocabulary connected to the selection, diction and style analysis that appeared in story, and conventions practice that also appeared in the story. A different aspect of structure and convention is introduced and practiced in each unit. The difficulty of these activities does not necessarily increase over the school year, but stays consistently challenging and requires students to apply the knowledge to the story they just read.