6th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests.

Students are exposed to a variety of texts that are worthy of careful reading including texts that are written by published authors and have won major literary awards. The nonfiction texts include articles and texts with engaging photographs, strong academic vocabulary, and text features worthy of engagement.

Examples of publishable, high-quality texts include:

• In Unit 1, students read an excerpt from Does My Head Look Big in This by Randa Abdell-Fattah, which is an age-appropriate first-person story about the challenges a Muslim student faces in school. It addresses stereotypes, social pressures, and identity from a female teen perspective. It contains rich language.
• In Unit 2, students read the Newbery Award-winning novel, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, which is a high-interest fictional novel about survival.
• In Unit 5, students read an excerpt from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, which is a Newbery Award-winning author and book with high interest and a relevant and important theme.
• In Unit 6, students read an excerpt from Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman. This is Golden Kite Award winner and an ALA Best Book for YA winner. It is high interest, diverse, relevant, and has relatable characters.
• In Unit 8, students read an excerpt from Journey to the End of the Earth by Jules Verne, which is a science fiction text that is of high interest and contains rich language.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6  meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

The whole group and read aloud texts include a mix of nonfiction and fiction texts with a variety of genres including fantasy, science fiction, plays, memoirs, historical fiction, and poems. Students are exposed to various texts throughout the entire program.

Examples of fiction texts include:

• Unit 3: The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw - historical fiction
• Unit 4: Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French - realistic fiction
• Unit 7: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin - fantasy
• Unit 8: So, You’re Going to Mars  by Arthur C. Clarke - science fiction

Examples of informational texts include:

• Unit 1: Facing the Lion by Joseph Lemasolal Lekuton - autobiography
• Unit 4: What Good is Diversity? By Phillip Hoose - persuasive essay
• Unit 5: Rosa Parks: My Story - by Rosa Parks - memoir
• Unit 6: Irrigation Pumps by Sandra Postel - persuasive essay
• Unit 7: "A Silent Army" by Jacqueline Ball and Richard Levey - history article
• Unit 8: "Here, There, and Beyond" by Glen Plelan - science article

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

Students read several texts throughout the program within the grade band Lexile of 925-1185; however, several books are outside of this band, both below and above. There are also books for small group reading below, at, and above the Lexile band; however, in small group reading instruction, students receive tailored instruction.

Texts that are appropriately in the grade band range include:

• In Unit 5, students read Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad by Ann Petry, which has a Lexile of 1000, though listed as having a Lexile of 1060 and has middle high qualitative features.
• In Unit 7, students read The Emperor’s Silent Army by Jane O’Connor, which has a Lexile of 1040, though listed with a Lexile of 1090, and has qualitative features that are middle low.
• In Unit 8, students read Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, which has a Lexile of 1030.

Examples of texts that students read during shared reading that have Lexiles outside of the band include:

• In Unit 1, students read Racing the Lion by Joseph Lemansolal Lekuton, which has a Lexile of 720, though listed with a Lexile of 790. The qualitative features are qualitatively low. They also read A Work in Progress by Aimee Mullins, which has a Lexile of 960 and is qualitatively middle low.
• In Unit 2, students read Arctic Adventurer by Delores Johnson, which has a Lexile of 660 and is qualitatively middle high. They also read Deception: Formula for Survival by Robert Sisson, which has a Lexile of 1140 and has qualitative features that are middle high.
• In Unit 3, students read The Journal of Nakhi by Richard Platt, which has a Lexile of 930 and is qualitatively middle low. They also read The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, which has a Lexile of 1120.
• In Unit 4, students read Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French, which has a Lexile of 700.
• In Unit 5, students read Iqbal: A Novel by Francesco D’Adamo, which has a Lexile of 730, though listed as having a Lexile of 710 and is qualitatively middle low.
• In Unit 6, students read Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman, which has a Lexile of 710, though listed as having a Lexile of 650, and has middle low qualitative features.
• In Unit 7, students read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, which has  a Lexile of 810 and is qualitatively middle low.
• In Unit 8, students read So You’re Going to Mars by Arthur C. Clarke, which has a Lexile of 1180. The qualitative features are middle high.

Examples of texts students read in small groups that are in the lower level include:

• In Unit 1, students read Celebrate Cultures by Daphne Liu & Marylou Tousignant, which has a Lexile of 710.
• In Unit 2, students read Deep Freeze by Sandra Markle, which has a Lexile of 690.
• In Unit 3, students read The Revenge of Ishtar by Ludmila Zeman, which has a Lexile of 660.
• In Unit 4, students read Penguin Parents by Sharon Katz Cooper, which has a Lexile of 610.
• In Unit 5, students read Rosa Parks by Maryann N. Weldt, which has a Lexile of 670.
• In Unit 6, students read the Big Catch by Gare Thompson, which has a Lexile of 700.
• In Unit 7, students read Everyday Kids: Then and Now: China by Jean Bennett, which has a Lexile of 780.
• In Unit 8, students read Earth Inside Out by Beth Geiger and Glen Phelan, which has a Lexile of 630.

Examples of texts students read in small groups that are in the higher level include:

• In Unit 2, students read The Red Devils by Rob Waring, which has a Lexile of 1160.
• In Unit 4, students read Saving the Amazon Together by Rob Waring, which has a Lexile of 1200.
• In Unit 6, students read Living in the Slow Lane by Rob Waring, which has a Lexile of 1200.
• In Unit 8, students read Space Walk by Rob Waring, which has a Lexile of 1280.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that support materials for the core text(s) provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year.

Throughout the year, students engage in a broad range of text types and disciplines as well as a volume of reading to achieve grade-level reading proficiency. Students read fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry, and media texts with varying Lexiles. Throughout the week, students read anchor texts in their anthology and participate in small reading groups with leveled texts. There is also Learning Station Time where students participate in various reading and writing stations or participate in independent reading.

In addition, students are exposed to a broad range of text types and disciplines throughout the year during whole group instruction, small groups, learning centers, and independent reading. Units have a shared reading and a close reading pairing each week with additional supplemental texts. There are also leveled readers related to the topic of each unit for small group and independent reading.

Examples of the disciplines a student might read in units include:

• In Unit 2, students read:
• "Deception: Formula for Survival" by Robert Sisson - science article
• Living Nightmares by Lynn Brunelle - science feature
• "Lichen We" by Joyce Sidman - poem
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen - adventure chapter book
• Survival Story: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Juliane Koepcke Diller - personal narrative
• Arctic Adventurer by Dolores Johnson - biography
• In Unit 4, students read:
• A Natural Balance by Nora L. Deans - environmental report
• "Mireya Mayor" by Mireya Mayor - online article
• What Good is Diversity by Phillip Hoose - persuasive essay
• Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French - realistic fiction story
• The Super Trees by Joel Bourne - essay
• “Transplanting Trees” by Joseph Bruchac - poem
• “Endangered Species” by Phillip Carroll Morgan - poem
• In Unit 6, students read:
• Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman - realistic fiction chapter book
• "Soup for the Soul" - interview
• "Dwaina Brooks: from It’s Our World Too!" by Phillip Hoose - social studies article
• "Feeding the World" by Peter Winkler, Kathleen Simpson, and Jonathan Foley - persuasive article
• Irrigation Pumps by Sara Patel - persuasive essay
• In Unit 8, students read:
• "Finding Mars on Earth" by G.K. Gilbert - science article
• "Here, There, and Beyond" by Glen Phelan - science article
• So, You’re Going to Mars by Arthur C. Clarke - science fiction text
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne - science fiction text
• Deep into Darkness by Beth Geiger - science feature

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria of most questions, tasks, and assignments being text-dependent/specific, which require 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).

Students are asked text-dependent questions during and after reading the texts throughout the program. While some questions are retell questions, others are text-specific that require the students to analyze actions of characters or analyze the word choice of the author.

Examples of text-dependent questions include:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, after reading Facing the Lion, students name two main ideas in the first paragraph on page 12 and analyze how Lekuton feels about being at the cattle camp.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, after reading Living Nightmares, students explain why the author uses the words "watch food squeeze through its guts" when describing the glass frog’s body.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, after reading an excerpt from The Journal of Nakti, students explain how Nakti responds to the robbers’ actions and look at the dates of the journal entry to describe what time of year it is based on the evidence from the text.
• In Unit 4, Week 4, students read The Super Trees and explain why the author opens the essay with a question and explain what Muir means when he says "every good thing, great and small, needs defense."
• In Unit 5, Week 1, students read the history article, “The Civil Rights Movement," and explain what the heading tells them about the section and how segregation keeps people apart. They also determine the author’s viewpoint about the separate but equal rule using evidence from the text.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, after reading an interview called “Soup for the Soul”,  students explain why they think the title of the interview is “Soup for the Soul" and to explain why the gourmet food services for busy families benefit the needy.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, after reading an excerpt from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, students determine which details describe the fields where the family works and explain why Minli’s life might be difficult.
• In Unit 8, Week 4, after reading Deep into Darkness, student analyze a photo and then, using what they read about the rock cycle, describe how the pit formed.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

The materials provide practices and protocols for opportunities to discuss and interact with the curriculum content and vocabulary, though there is not much evidence for these protocols being used within the program. The Best Practices Routines, which are the speaking and listening protocols, are located in the front of the Teacher Guide. There are protocols for partner discussions, group conversations, and presentations. Clear directions and protocols are provided and supported by the Academic Talk Flip Chart. Group conversations are scaffolded with roles that are clearly defined and supported with sentence stems to help students fulfill their role in the discussion.

The partner discussion protocol includes sentence stems and opportunities for each partner to talk. The group conversation protocol includes roles for each student including a facilitator, encourager, timekeeper, and note taker. There are also sentence stems to help students with the discussion. At the end of the discussion, the class comes back together and different students share what their group discussed.

The presentation protocols are outlines for students and include criteria such as stand up tall, speak clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear, and introduce the presentation. The protocols also include directions for listeners and includes listen attentively, ask questions if you do not understand something, and make eye contact. However, the materials provide no clear opportunity for students other than English Language Learners to engage in oral presentations.  The Cooperative Learning suggestions in the text also provide support for partner and group discussion configurations that can be used with the protocols.

Examples of opportunities for evidence-based discussions include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 4, the teacher uses a Fishbowl protocol to have students discuss the Big Question in relation to the readings. The teacher models asking clarifying questions. Students sit in a close circle with others seated around them and then practice summarizing and asking clarifying questions.
• In Unit 4, Week 2, students use information they have written in Venn diagrams to discuss the value of diversity and sustaining a natural balance on Earth. The teacher facilitates a think-pair-share for students to think and discuss how the texts address the value of diversity and sustaining a natural balance on Earth. Partners then share their ideas with the class.
• In Unit 7, Week 4, the teacher leads a discussion of the Big Question by reviewing that restating an idea means to put it into their own words. The teacher guides the students through a Three-Step Interview to discuss the Big Question in relation to the Week 3 reading.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

Materials include multiple opportunities for both on-demand and process writing tasks that span the year’s worth of instruction. Throughout the day, students participate in power writing, daily writing skills, writing lessons, and practice writing during learning stations. Students also write on Day 5 of small group reading time. In addition, students participate in a week-long writing project each week that takes them through the writing process.

There are many opportunities for students to participate in on-demand writing. This includes timed writing to improve stamina, writing lessons, and writing in response to texts that are read.

Students participate in power writing each day. This writing is a timed, one minute, on-demand quick write. For example:

• In Unit 5, Week 4, students write as much as they can about the word, indignation.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, students write as much as they can about the word, empire.

Students complete daily writing activities that lead to a week-long objective. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, students work on elaborating on a topic.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, students work on writing a strong ending.

Writing lessons, often based on the texts read, are included each day. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, students read the poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, and write about how the stanzas affect the meaning of the poem.
• In Unit 4, Week 3, students read the text, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Abbott, and write about how the characters communicate, how this story would be different if the characters had a conversation instead of exchanging emails, and how this story would be different if the narrator told the story.

Students write on Day 5 of small group reading time. Students are given three options that are different for each of the leveled readers. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 1 the students in the below level group can either draw a few of the hieroglyphics shown in the book and write what they mean, write a dialogue between Jean-Francois and his brother, or write about something they would like to be the first to do in the world.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, the students in the above level group can either write a brief news article describing the methods that Albert Yu-Min Lin uses to find artifacts and tombs, write a review of the book by summarizing what happened and stating whether they would recommend it to a friend, or write about what it would be like to live in the Gobi in a ger, or yurt.

Students also write during daily Learning Station time. For example:

• In Unit 1, Week 2 students can choose to write a dialogue.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, students can choose between writing a journal entry or keeping notes while researching Cleopatra’s Needles and then writing about it.

Process Writing opportunities include students participating in a week-long writing project each week. Students are given a prompt, study a model, prewrite, draft, revise, edit, publish, and present. One week a unit, students participate in a week-long research project that often has students plan, research, organize, draft, and present ideas. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, students write a research report on animal adaptations.
• In Unit 3, Week 2, students write a social studies article on an aspect of how archaeologists use data to understand the past. This takes place over five days.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, students research a local or national food bank or community kitchen program and write a report about it, including graphics and multimedia elements, in order to make a presentation.
• In Unit 8, Week 2, students develop a print ad or a TV commercial to convince investors to buy the right to explore one planet.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

Materials provide a progression of multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply narrative, opinion, and informative/expository writing. The daily writing lessons support students in the weekly writing project, which provides students the opportunity to write narratives, informational, and argumentative pieces. The materials provide tasks for students to use different modes of writing. Students write arguments, opinion pieces, persuasive essays, informative texts, interviews, letter or emails, reports, procedural texts, explanatory texts, narratives, stories,  and responses to texts. The instructional guide provides supports for teachers to assist students as students progress in writing skills such as graphic organizers, checklists, and rubrics. Each week focuses on a different writing genre, appropriately aligned to the text. Mini-lessons are scaffolded throughout the week in order to support student outcomes. Model writing samples and other instruction support accompany each unit.

Examples of narrative writing include:

• In Unit 1, Week 4, students write a personal narrative about a time when they had to make a choice.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, students write an adventure story about a rescue operation for a local newspaper.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, students pretend they are an archaeologist who has made a discovery, and they write a personal narrative that describes what they saw, heard, touched, and smelled during the exploration.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, students write a short story episode for the novel, Seedfolks, by introducing a new character, using dialogue, and developing a plot that tells how the characters respond to issues.
• In Unit 8, Week 3, students write a story about an interesting place they have visited.

Examples of expository writing include:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, students write a blog entry to tell about how the para-athletes are alike and what central or main idea unifies their profiles.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, students write an animal article based on an amazing animal that they have observed or have read about.
• In Unit 3, Week 2, students write a social studies article about how archaeologists use data to understand the past.
• In Unit 4, Week 2, students write an information pamphlet about the redwood forests that is geared toward young visitors.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, students write about key events in the anecdotes in the story.

Examples of argumentative writing include:

• In Unit 4, Week 4, students write an argument that persuades people to find a way to help an endangered species. 
• In Unit 5, Week 4, students write a persuasive speech to convince people to take action.
• In Unit 6, Week 4, students write letters to the editor arguing the benefits of eating fresh food and why it should be available to all people.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, students collaborate with a partner to write an online editorial about the qualities of a good leader.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

The materials contain Daily Grammar practice throughout all eight units. During Days 1-3 of a week, students play a game to practice using the new grammar or punctuation skill. On Day 4, students complete a Practice Master to show their knowledge from the previous three days of instruction. Students often practice the skill through editing a paragraph. On Day 5, there is a review of the skills and then an assessment of the skill.

Students have opportunities to ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, possessive). For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, the teacher introduces the subject pronoun and explains that a pronoun can take the place of noun as the subject of a sentence. On Day 2, the teacher introduces pronoun agreement in gender and teaches the rule: he refers to a male, she refers to a female, and it refers to a place or thing. On Day 4, the students edit and use proofreading marks to correct errors with subject pronouns and agreement.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, the teacher introduces subjects and objects in a sentence and teaches the rule for simple subject, direct object, and the typical sentence pattern.
• In Unit 2, Week 4, the teacher introduces possessive pronouns and uses example sentences to explain the difference between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives.

Students have opportunities to use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves). For example:

• In Unit 6, Week 4, students learn about reflexive pronouns. The teacher introduces the rules for reflexive pronouns and students play the Reflexive Pronoun Challenge for practice.

Students have opportunities to recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person. For example:

• In Unit 7, Week 2, the teacher reviews pronoun agreement in number. On Day 3, the teacher explains that the pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and person. The teacher works through examples with the students. On Day 4, the students edit using proofreading marks to correct errors in pronoun agreement in gender, person, and number.

Students have opportunities to recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous antecedents). For example:

• In Unit 5, Week 5, the teacher introduces ways to avoid pronoun confusion and teaches the rule: to make sentences clear, match the pronoun and the antecedent. The lesson also specifies the pronoun to be used with singular nouns and plural nouns.

Students have opportunities to use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements. For example:

• In Unit 4, Week 4, the teacher introduces using commas to separate participial phrases and appositives. Students then divide into two teams to play the game, Combine My Sentences. Students also practice editing a paragraph to combine sentences with participles and appositives.

Students have opportunities to spell correctly. For example:

• In Unit 6, Week 3, there is a five-day Daily Spelling & Word Work sequence to focus on spelling words with ch/k/ and ph/f/ in multisyllabic words that have Greek origins.

Students have opportunities to vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style. For example:

• In Unit 8, Week 4, students learn about concise writing. The teacher displays two example sentences of concise writing and then displays a chart with examples. Students then practice rewriting sentences to eliminate wordiness.

Students have opportunities to maintain consistency in style and tone. For example:

• In Unit 4, Week 3, students learn about voice and style in an email story. The teacher displays the model email story and students compare the differences in the voice and style of two email stories.