1st Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the expectations that the materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

Although there are a multiple questions and tasks that direct students to analyze integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts, the time allotted these questions and tasks is not sufficient for students to analyze the information. Each unit contains three weekly text sets with questions and tasks created for each set. Each text set centers around a theme or topic with questions and tasks that asks students to refer back to the text to find and support answers to questions and to complete tasks. Questions and tasks require connected knowledge and ask students to connect ideas between multiple texts. The amount of class time allotted to each text and question set may not be sufficient to provide the time needed for students to analyze texts and gain knowledge and ideas, and teachers may need to use outside resources to plan accordingly. An example of how text sets and questions that build knowledge and integrate ideas are provided, but not given enough instructional time includes but is not limited to:

Unit 5, Week 5

• Students talk about celebrating America! Teachers guide children in collaborative conversations and discuss the essential question: Why do we celebrate holidays? Develop academic language. Students listen to “Celebrate the Flag” and reread to understand the importance of the American flag.
• Students read Share the Harvest and Give Thanks to apply foundational skills in connected text. Teachers model close reading. Students revisit Share the Harvest and Give Thanks to learn about the harvest season, citing text evidence to answer text-dependent questions. They also read Share the Harvest and Give Thanks to analyze text, craft, and structure, citing text evidence.
• Students write about celebrating the Harvest and are modeled writing to a source. Students analyze a short response student model and use text evidence from close reading to write to a source.
• Students read and write about America. They practice and apply close reading of the anchor text, Happy Birthday, U.S.A.! to learn about the birth of America use text evidence to understand how the author presents information. Students then write to a source, citing text evidence to support their opinion of the most important part of the Fourth of July.
• Students integrate knowledge and ideas to connect texts. They discuss how each of the texts answers the question: Why do we celebrate holidays? Students then read with “You’re a Grand Old Flag” to compare songs about America and then conduct a short research project that has them create a flag.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the expectations questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

Culminating tasks and projects do occur across the year’s worth of instructional materials. The culminating tasks are partially related to the text-based questions or tasks produced during the week. On Day 5 of each week, students complete the Integrate Ideas activity and the Text Connections, Research and Inquiry, and Speaking and Listening tasks.

During Text Connections each week, students complete a foldable to compare information from the week’s readings. The directions ask students to compare texts without giving any further direction or guiding questions. The directions and foldable for connecting to the essential question do not vary or grow in rigor throughout the units or school year. This culminating activity does not demonstrate knowledge of a topic.

During Research and Inquiry students create a checklist to review their project for the week. This gives students a better understanding of the task and its requirements, but does not demonstrate knowledge of a topic. For example in Unit 6, Week 5, the Teacher’s Edition states, “Have children create a checklist and review their projects: Does their flag look like a Japanese Children’s Day flag? Do they wish to make any last minute changes to the flag?Have they correctly written sentences about what they learned in their research?Have they taken notes about what they would like to talk about when presenting their projects to the class? Guide partners to practice sharing their projects with each other. Children should practice speaking and presenting their information clearly. Guide children to share their work. Prompt children to ask questions to clarify when something is unclear: What did you learn about Japanese Children’s Day? What do you want your flag to look like? Why is Japanese Children’s Day important? Have children use the Presentation Checklist online.”

The Speaking and Listening activity remind students speaking and listening strategies while working with a partner to complete an activity in the Close Reading Companion. Students again compare how the Close Reading text is similar to the week’s texts. These directions are vague and do not support a student's ability to demonstrate knowledge of a topic. For example in Unit 4, Week 2, the Teacher’s Edition states, “Read aloud with children the Integrate activity on page 113 of the Close Reading Companion. Have partners share reactions to the photograph. Then guide them to discuss how it is similar to the selections they read earlier in the week. Have partners collaborate to complete the Integrate page by following the prompts.”

At the end of the Unit, during Week 6, students Wrap Up the Unit: The Big Idea. Students use their weekly graphic organizers and notes to participate in a collaborative conversation about the Unit Big Idea. Students present their ideas and the class creates a list. This task does not differ throughout the units. The Teacher Edition does not provide enough support to ensure that students demonstrate their knowledge of a topic.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the expectations that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. The materials do provide some teacher guidance for supporting students’ academic vocabulary, but lack a year long structure. Vocabulary words are not revisited during the year and do not build to students being about to read across texts.

In the Professional Development Instructional Routine Handbook, a supplemental resource, teachers are guided through a 4-step routine that can be used year-long to introduce vocabulary. (pages R41-R42)

• Step 1: Introduce (tell students what the vocabulary routine will be)
• Step 2: Model (I Do - Define/Example/Ask)
• Step 3: Guided Practice (We Do - Ask students to identify examples and non-examples of the word; Guide students in creating word squares)
• Step 4: Provide Independent Practice (You Do): “Individual turns allow you an opportunity to assess each student’s skill level and provide additional practice for those students who need it. Near the end of each week, students should write sentences in their word study notebooks using the words” (page R42).

In the Professional Development Instructional Routine Handbook, teachers are also provided with instructions on introducing vocabulary in context: “As you Close Read the selection with students, take a moment to point out the Build Vocabulary words and their definitions...Unlike the Define/Example/Ask Routine, the purpose of the Build Vocabulary words is to simply point out and define these rich vocabulary words to enrich and broaden students’ vocabulary and promote understanding of the text” (page R43). In this supplemental resource, the Define/Example/Ask routine is explained:

• Define: “You will tell them the meaning of the word using student-friendly language--words they already know” (page R44).
• Example: “You will give them an example of how the word is used, using their own common experiences” (page R44)
• Ask: “You will ask them a question that helps them connect the word to words they already know and use the word in speaking” (page R44).

In the “Smart Start” of the Wonders Teacher’s Edition, year-long protocols and routines are presented at the beginning of Unit 1. The “Smart Start” pages guide teachers in introducing students to the following instructional routines that are addressed in weekly lessons:

• Build Background Oral Language: Words are explained/modeled and students participate in guided practice with sentence stems.
• Build the Concept Oral Language: Words are introduced that connect to the essential question. Students create a word web.
• Extend the Concept Oral Language: Words are introduced that connect to the essential question. Students create a word web. Category words are also introduced, modeled and practiced.
• Integrate Ideas Oral Language: Words are introduced that connect to the essential question. Students create a word web.

During each week students are introduced to oral vocabulary using the define/example/ask routine. These vocabulary words are revisited throughout the week of instruction. For example in Unit 6, Week 3, students are introduced to the oral vocabulary words cycle and predict. The Teacher Edition states, “Tell children that you will share some words that they can use as they discuss the weather and its effects. Use the Define/Example/Ask routine to introduce the oral vocabulary words cycle and predict.” Students then participate in the Oral Vocabulary Routine:

• Define: A cycle is a series of events that repeats in the same order.
• Example: A butterfly begins its life cycle as a caterpillar.
• Ask: What is the cycle of weather over a year?
• Define: When you predict, you use clues to guess what will happen in the future.
• Example: When Ken reads a story, he predicts what will happen next.
• Ask: What do you predict will happen when you go home today?

Academic Language are also included in bold in the Teacher Edition notes and listed and labeled in a side box in the teacher edition. These words are used in student questioning and directions.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet the expectations for including a progression of focused shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials. Students engage in a progression of short research projects to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.

There is one research opportunity in each unit. Students are led through the research process across the school year and the research requirements for students do not change or increase in complexity. Also, supports for teachers in how to teach students to do research for projects are not explicitly provided and opportunities for teachers to instruct and support student research to build understanding of a topic are missed.

In Grade 1, on Day 4 there is a Research and Inquiry activity. The students create an artifact to show something they have learned during the past unit, such as making a poster, or a page in a class book. The three research steps in the Teacher Edition though, rarely vary from what is given in Unit 1, Week 1: (T44) Choose a Topic, Find Resources, and Keep Track of Ideas. The Find Resources step sometimes adds in that students can reference magazines or library books or that students may use an interview as a resource. Occasionally students are asked to Conduct Internet Research instead of Find Resources.

Every Week 6 a set of research steps are listed:

• Set Research Goals
• Identify Sources
• Find and Record Information
• Organize and Summarize
• Compare and Present

This list doesn’t change from Week 1 to the end of the year. This additional Week 6 research project opportunity also lacks direction. For example, in Unit 4, Week 6 one of the projects is, “Research teams will study threats to an animal team they reported on in Week 2 and write a short story about how the animals work together to overcome a specific problem.” If a teacher has several groups of students working on this same project that creates a lot of work for the teacher to find Web sites and texts students can access to create this project. More instruction and guidance are needed to complete these projects.

Teachers are not provided with adequate direction and support for research projects. For example in Unit 6, Week 2 students make a newspaper. The Teacher Edition states, “ Do a Research project to write a newspaper article about someone who helps others. Children will work with a group to put the Articles together to make a newspaper. “ Each student writes an article and put it together to create the newspaper. The information provided to teachers is, “Review the steps in the research process. Guide children to think of the people who help them in their lives and choose one to write about. With children, review print and online newspapers. Encourage children to interview family and community members to get information. Have them use the research process checklist online. Have children record their ideas in a 4 tab foldable. Model recording details they can include in their article. Explain the characteristics of a newspaper. Have children write articles and create a newspaper. Prompt children to use the information from their interviews to write an article about a person who helps them. Guide them to include a drawing of the person they write about. Have groups put their articles together to form a newspaper. Encourage groups to read each other newspapers.”