The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of careful reading.

For Grade 2, a Literature Anthology completely replaces the big books used in Kindergarten and Grade 1. All of the stories in the anthology are of publishable quality and worthy of careful reading. These anchor texts are examined multiple times for multiple purposes and are used to expand topics and essential questions, build vocabulary, and prompt writing.

Quality literature texts in the materials build academic vocabulary and facilitate access to future texts. Quality informational texts in the materials are engaging and provide students with opportunities to gain and broaden their knowledge base and personal perspective on a variety of topics at various levels of depth/meaning.

Examples of quality Grade 2 texts include but are not limited to:

• Help! A Story of Friendship by Holly Keller is a simplified fable that uses engaging characters to share a lesson of friendship with students. The characters are relatable, and the story is familiar.
• Not Norman by Kelly Bennett is a fictional story that is relatable for students. The use of dialogue and a multidimensional main character make this high quality text inviting to students.
• Families Working Together (Time for Kids Expository Article) is an informational text that describes families. The text includes rich language and engaging photographs.
• Volcanoes by Sandra Markle is written by an award winning author. The text includes detailed illustrations and domain rich vocabulary.
• How the Beetle Got Her Colors (folktale) is written by award-winning author Joseph Bruchac. This text is written in a play format and immerses students in dialogue. There is also information on each of the animals featured in the folktale that will be of interest to students.
• April Rain Song by Langston Hughes is a quality poem that includes imagery and descriptive adjectives that will engage the reader.
• Wolf, Wolf by John Rocco has the familiar fable retold with the setting being Japan. Students are introduced to aspects of Japanese cultures in the humorous retelling of the fable from the point of view of the wolf.
• Narrative Nonfiction: Biblioburro - A True Story of Columbia includes multiple shifts in unfamiliar settings and cultural vocabulary.
• Brave Bessie by Eric Velasquez is a historical biography about the first African American woman to get her pilot's licence. The text includes complex vocabulary as well as engaging illustrations that help the reader to understand the text.
• The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico by Nina Jaffe features a myth about a young boy who plants a variety of seeds that grow into a rainforest and a giant pumpkin with a magical surprise inside. The engaging story and bright, colorful illustrations will captivate Grade 2 students.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations for reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards. Read Aloud Texts, Literature Anthology, and Paired Selections include a balanced mix of literary and informational texts. Genres represented in the materials include, but are not limited to, poetry, fantasy, fables, folktales, myths, and biography.

Example of texts representing the balance of text types and genres include the following Literary Texts:

• Unit 1, “My Puppy” by Aileen Fisher (Poetry)
• Unit 2, Sled Dogs Run by Jonathan London(Realistic Fiction)
• Unit 3, “Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin” by Duncan Tonatiuh (Realistic Fiction)
• Unit 4, “April Rain Song” by Langston Hughes (Poetry)
• Unit 5, “The Legend of Kate Shelley” (Legend)
• Unit 6, “The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico by Nina Jaffe (Myth)

Example of texts representing the balance of text types and genres include the following Informational Texts:

• Unit 1, Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan (Informational Text)
• Unit 2, “At Home in the River” (Informational Text)
• Unit 3, Many Ways to enjoy Music, Time for Kids (Informational Text)
• Unit 4, Rain Forests by Nancy Smiler Levinson (Informational Text)
• Unit 5, “Earth’s Resources” (Informational Text)
• Unit 6, Money Madness by David A. Adler (Informational Text)

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the indicator for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for this grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task(s). The majority of Grade 2 reading materials are of appropriate complexity.

Texts that are of the appropriate complexity include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, students read the fable, Wolf!, Wolf! by John Rocco (pgs. 136-157). This text measures qualitatively as 580 Lexile.This fable includes some domain-specific vocabulary. This story is set in China, and the author included words that are Chinese. Additionally, the story is told from the wolf’s point-of-view. Students will engage in learning tasks that require them to find text evidence in order to understand how the author uses text, craft and structure to develop a deeper meaning of the story (p. T95). Students will also write a short response to the text.
• In Unit 2, Week 4 , students read Baby Bears by Bobbie Kalman.This text measures qualitatively as 590. Lexile. This text may be more complex due to lack of prior knowledge and vocabulary. Some facts may be brand-new to students. Students will need to be provided background or clarification of facts as needed. Teachers are also to provide definitions of specific words as needed. This text uses text features such as headings, photos, and captions. Teachers are directed to make sure students understand these text features to better comprehend the text. Students read and discuss to find the main topic and key details of the text.
• In Unit 4, Week 4, students read a realistic fiction, Dear Primo- A Letter to My Cousin by Duncan Tonatiuh (pgs. 336-363). This text measures qualitatively as 610 Lexile.This text includes letters that cousins write to each other. It also includes Spanish words. Additionally, one cousin lives in Mexico and one in America. This text asks students to use the skill compare and contrast to gain meaning and understanding of the text, along with following the plot of the story. Students complete a graphic organizer as they read detailing the plot line of both characters (p. T225G).
• In Unit 6, Week 3 , students read Astronaut Handbook by Meghan Mccarthy. This text measures qualitatively as 790 Lexile. Students may be unfamiliar with the purpose of a handbook. The teacher explains that a handbook is a kind of reference book with facts and helpful information about a topic. Students may have difficulty with sentence structure and concept words. The topic, mountain climbers, is unfamiliar to students. Students are encouraged to take notes, reread, and ask questions when necessary.
• In Unit 6, Week 5, students read poetry, “Books to the Ceiling” by Arnold Lobel, “I’ve got this Covered” by Lauire Purdie Salas, and “Eating While Reading” by Gary Soto. These texts measure qualitatively as 570-580 Lexiles. These poems include some sensory language that could be complex. There are a few instances of figurative language. In this unit, students are asked to describe how words supply rhythm in a poem. Students use a graphic organizer to describe the point of view of the characters found in each poem to assist in finding the poem's meaning (p. T405C).

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that anchor texts and series of connected texts are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level. For each unit, the Teacher’s Edition includes a text complexity analysis including quantitative, qualitative, and reader and task information. This text complexity information is included for the Reading/Writing Workshop stories, the Literature Anthology, and for the leveled readers. Additionally, for all of these texts, an Educational Testing Services (ETS) Text Evaluator score is also provided. This tool evaluates eight dimensions of text complexity and accounts for differences in genres.

The materials are clear about the level of text complexity and what students will gain from using these texts. For example, in Unit 6, Week 1, teachers are provided with a selection from the Literature Anthology entitled The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico which has a Lexile Score of 590. Teachers are provided with qualitative information that indicates that students will be working on genre and vocabulary as well as reader and task information which provides teachers with a more detailed description and specific page numbers for teaching the lesson/skill for the week.

The Teacher’s Edition also contains the Instructional Path at the beginning of each week. This path lists all texts read, why students are reading the text, the educational focus, and how the texts connect to one another during the week. There is also a Research Base Alignment in the online resources. Additionally, a page is provided at the beginning of each week’s materials for teachers entitled “Differentiate to Accelerate.” Teachers are instructed on this page, “If the text complexity of a particular section is too difficult for children, then see the references noted in the chart below for scaffolded instruction to help children Access Complex Text.”

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet the expectations for materials providing opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading, and there are supports to build students’ proficiency of grade level texts. Resources are provided to offer students texts to engage in a range and volume of reading. There are leveled texts, literature big books, and reading/writing workshop books, as well as book suggestions for extending complex texts.

Before each unit on the Differentiate to Accelerate Teacher pages, there is information for teachers titled “Monitor and Differentiate.” This information guides teachers towards lessons they can use to reteach, develop, extend, and review material for students. This page also contains additional information for English Language Learners.

Text examples that show specific evidence for range and volume of reading from the Grade 2 materials include:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, students read a fiction story in the Literature Anthology, “Not Norman” (450L). This text is paired with a poem, “My Puppy.” Students engage in a close reading and modeling of the text “Finding Cal” (410L). The Leveled Readers range from 350L to 510L and include a variety of genres. Students engage with the reading of the Interactive Read Aloud cards “My Partner and Friend.” Students practice close reading of complex texts by practicing literacy skills of using information from illustrations and text to demonstrate understanding. Students practice with independent partner work in order to gain gradual release to becoming independent readers. Teachers use weekly progress monitoring on the Data Dashboard to check student growth.
• In Unit 3, Week 4, students read an Expository Text, “Wild Weather” (670L), in the Literature Anthology. This is paired with an Expository Text “Can You Predict the Weather?” (610L). The Leveled Readers range from 370L to 630L all on the topic of weather exploration. Students are tasked with finding the main topic and purpose of the text. Students are also engaged in a modeled close reading of “Tornado” and an Interactive read aloud, “Clouds All Around.” After listening to these texts students make text connections that extend their comprehension. Students practice with independent partner work to gain gradual release to independent work. Students answer text-dependent questions and make text to text connections. Teachers use weekly progress monitoring on the Data Dashboard to check student growth.
• In Unit 6, Week 5, students read several poems in the Literature Anthology Books such as “To The Ceiling,” “I’ve Got This Covered,” and “Eating While Reading.” These poems are paired with two more poems, “Clay Play” and “Crayons.” The Leveled Readers range from 70L to 640L. Students engage in a modeled close reading of three poems “A Box of Crayons,” “What Story is This?” and “The Ticket.” Students are tasked with answering questions to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. Students practice with independent partner work to gain gradual release to independent work. Students answer text-dependent questions and make text to text connections. Teachers use weekly progress monitoring on the Data Dashboard to check student growth.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations of most questions, tasks, and assignments being text-based and requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text). Questions support students’ literacy growth over the course of the year.

Questions and tasks are connected to texts are text-based. These questions and tasks support students in drawing on textual evidence to support their learning of explicit information and inferences in a text or text set. Text-based questions and tasks require readers to produce evidence from texts to support opinions or statements when writing and speaking. These questions support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year.

The teacher materials reviewed provide support for planning and implementation of text-based writing and speaking activities through the Integrate Ideas Section for each week. Materials provide support for planning and implementation. For example, in Unit 6, Week 4, students are asked to summarize a section of the text. To provide support for implementation the Teacher Edition states, “Have children work with a partner to reread and summarize pages 450 and 451. Guide them to read the subheadings as they determine the most important ideas on each page and then tell those ideas in their own words.”

In Unit 4, Week 3, students read Dear Primo: A Letter to my Cousin. Text-based questions and tasks include, “ Where does Carlitos live? Where does Charlie live? How are these places different? What does the language used to describe where they live show you about the cousins? What is the subway like? What does the simile help you understand about the subway? What word does the author use to describe Charlie scoring a basket? How does the author show the excitement when Carlitos scores a goal? How did the illustrations show how the cousins lives are similar? What else can I visualize by using the illustration on the page? What details on page 354 help you visualize what the fiestas are like? What picture do they help you create in your mind? How is this celebration different from the one in Mexico?” Students also engage with the text, Games around the World. Text-based questions and tasks include, “What additional information does the map on page 366 tell you? How many players are needed to play Oware? What does the game board look like? What do the players do? Why is Games Around the World a good title for this selection? How does the author organize the selection? How do the circles around the countries on the map and around the photos help you understand the information in the selection?”

In Unit 6, Week 2, students read the text, My Light. Text-based questions and tasks include, “Using those clues, what does the word golden mean? What does she want us to know? What word does the author repeat on page 517? Why does the author use the words whish and whoosh on page 518? What causes the wind? What does the author explain about plants? Which words help you figure out what buried means? Why does the author repeat the words my light again? What information does the author explain on page 526? How did the illustrations help you understand how different light bulbs work? How does the Sun's light illuminate your town? What is the author's purpose for writing this selection? How is the author's use of my light a strong ending to the selection? Why is she interested in science?” Students also engage with the text, The Power of Water. Text-based questions and tasks include, “Page 532 tell that water never disappears. Why is that? What does it explain? How could you summarize energy from water? Why is the power of water a good title for this selection?”

The Close Reading Companion provides additional text-based questions and activities for students to complete. These pages included basic questions as well as higher level questions that called on students to infer deeper meaning from the text. These pages include questions such as,“How does the author help you make inferences about wildfires?” and “How does the Earth change because of wildfires and volcanic eruptions?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials culminating tasks that support series of text dependent questions and activities. Students are provided with a Unit Big Idea and a weekly Essential Questions. Students discuss questions, make connections, and create a graphic organizer to be used at the end of the unit. Similar processes are included at the end of most units to build students' ability to engage with the texts.

Each week an Essential Question is addressed throughout the texts and tasks. This Essential Question is revisited at the end of each text with Integrate Ideas activities. At the end of the week, students Integrate Ideas through Text Connections, Research and Inquiry, and Speaking and Listening activities. Students revisit the Essential Question and create a graphic organizer using notes from the weekly read. For Example in Unit 1, Week 5 students complete integrate ideas activities to connect to the week’s texts:

• Connect to the Essential Question: “Write the Essential Question on the board, ‘What happens when families work together?’ Read the Essential Question aloud. Tell children that they will think about all of the information that they have learned about families. Say: We have read many selections on this topic. We will compare the information from this week’s Leveled Readers and “Families Work!,” Reading/Writing Workshop, pages 86–89. Evaluate Text Evidence Guide children to review the selections and their completed graphic organizers. Have children work with partners to compare information from all the week’s reads. Children can record notes using a Foldable®. Guide them to record information from the selections that helps them to answer the Essential Question.”
• Research and Inquiry: “Make a Job Description Sheet: Have children create a checklist and review their job description sheets:
  • Did they interview an adult family member or friend to learn about a specific job?
  • Does the job description sheet describe and explain what this person does at their job?
  • Have they included pictures or photographs of this person doing their job?
  • Have they taken notes for their presentation to explain how this person’s job helps the community?
  • Guide groups to practice sharing their job description sheets with each other. Children should practice speaking and presenting their information clearly. Prompt children to ask question to clarify when something is unclear: What type of job does this person do? Where do they work? What type of goods or services do they provide for the community? Have children use the Presentation Checklist online.”
• Text to Photography: “ Read aloud with children the Integrate activity on page 33 of the Close Reading Companion. Guide partners to discuss how the photograph of the family washing the car is similar to “Families Work.” Have partners collaborate to complete the Integrate page by comparing the photograph to the week’s selections. Present Ideas and Synthesize Information When children finish their discussions, ask for a volunteer from each group to share the information from their Foldable® and their Integrate pages. After each group has presented their ideas, ask: How does learning about a specific job in your community answer the Essential Question: What happens when families work together? Lead a class discussion asking children to use the information from their charts to answer the Essential Question.”
• Speaking and Listening: “As children are working with partners in their Close Reading Companion, or on their charts make sure that children are actively participating in the conversation, and when necessary, remind them to use these strategies: Speaking Strategies: Have children talk with adults in their family about their job. Have them ask specific questions about the type of work the adult does and the goods or service they provide for the community. Ask children to stay on topic and use descriptive details as they explain the specific job they researched. After they have finished presenting, encourage children to ask others to share their ideas, opinions, and questions about the job they described. Listening Strategies:Remind children to follow the agreed-upon rules for discussion by always looking at and listening to the speaker. Children should ask questions to gain additional information.”

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. For example in Unit 4, Week 6 students Wrap Up the Unit by addressing the Big Idea: What animals do you know about? What are they like? Students make text connections that connect to the big idea:

• Text to Text: “Write the Unit Big Idea on the board: What animals do you know about? What are they like? Remind children that they have been reading selections all about different types of animals through the course of the unit. Divide the class into small groups. Tell children that each group will compare what they learned about animals in order to answer the Big Idea question. Model how to compare this information by using examples from the Leveled Readers and what they have read in this unit’s selections.”
• Collaborative Conversations: “Have children review their class notes, writing assignments, and completed graphic organizers before they begin their discussions. Ask children to compare information from all the unit’s selections and presentations. Have children work together to take notes. Explain that each group will use an Accordion Foldable® to record their ideas. Model how to use an Accordion Foldable® to record comparisons of texts. Guide children to focus their conversations on what they learned about what different animals are like.”
• Present Ideas and Synthesize Information: “When children finish their discussions; ask for a volunteer from each group to read their notes aloud. After each group has presented their ideas, ask: What interesting things have we learned about animals and what they are like? Lead a class discussion and list children’s ideas on the board.”
• Building Knowledge: “Have children continue to build knowledge about the Unit Big Idea. Display classroom or library sources and have children search for articles, books, and other resources related to the Big Idea. After each group has presented their ideas, ask: What do we know about animals? What are they like? Lead a class discussion asking students to use information from their charts to answer the question.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations for providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

On Day 1, the essential question is discussed as a way of building background knowledge. Students discuss the question in partners or small groups, using a concept web to generate words and phrases. A “Collaborative Conversation” chart is also included, with different strategies students can focus on each week.

Oral vocabulary routines are provided on Day 1 of each unit. Five words are presented. Students are then prompted to use the words as they discuss the essential question. The Speaking and Listening Standards are referenced.

Later on Day 1, eight more vocabulary words are introduced under the mini lesson title of “Words in Context.” There are visual vocabulary cards for this part of the lesson, and a Define/ Example/ Ask routine is provided for each word on the back of the card. Students then work with a partner to look at the pictures and discuss the words. These vocabulary words are reviewed on Days 2, 3, and 4.

Students then read the Reading/ Writing Workshop story. The eight vocabulary words are highlighted. The words are discussed when they are encountered while reading the text.

After the story is read, students go back to the story and use sentence frames to answer questions using text-evidence.

On Day 1, students write work with partners. Additionally, a grammar rule is taught, and students have time to work in partners to talk and practice the rule on Day 2.

After reading the Literature Anthology story on Day 3, students get together to answer the essential question and cite text evidence.Students also participate in discussions with partners to complete research projects and culminating projects. Examples of discussion activities are:

• Speaking and Listening: “Engage in collaborative conversation about weather. Retell and discuss Rain School. Present information on how the weather can affect us.”
• Oral Vocabulary Words: “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.”
• 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: “weather, affect, tall tale, visualize, events, characters, text, illustrations, events, order, pronoun, visualize, realistic fiction, cause and effect, idea, concluding statement, evidence, pronoun, theme, message, comma, pause”
• Reading/Writing Workshop: Talk About It: “Weather Together: Guide children to discuss the weather in the photo. How does the weather affect the people in this photograph? How does the weather affect the cars? What other effects could it have? Use Teaching Poster 40 and prompt children to complete the Word Web by sharing words to describe how the weather affects everyone in the photograph. Have children look at page 257 of their Reading/Writing Workshop and do the Talk About It activity with a partner.”
• Collaborative Conversations: “Take Turns Talking: As children engage in partner, small-group, and whole-group discussions, encourage them to: take turns talking and not speak over others, raise their hand if they want to speak. ask others to share their ideas and opinions.”

Materials provide multiple opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials. Teacher modeling occurs often, with guided practice following. Support for evidence-based discussions encourages modeling and a focus on using academic vocabulary and syntax. Teacher materials support implementation of these standards to grow students’ skills.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations for supporting students' listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching with relevant follow-up questions and evidence.

In the majority of the lessons, there are opportunities for speaking and listening, whole group discussions, small group discussions, and partner discussions, that correlate to the Common Core Standard S.L.2.1 of engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions. The curriculum includes Collaborative Conversations supports, graphic organizers, Access Complex Text information, Conference Routines, and modeled Think alouds. Students are prompted to refer to the text with each task and modeled think alouds include text evidence.

Instructional time is dedicated to student’s practicing and applying speaking and listening skills daily. In Second Grade, speaking and listening instruction is applied frequently over the course of the school year and includes facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers. Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading (or read aloud) and researching through varied speaking and listening opportunities especially on Day 4 and 5 with regards to research.

Students are expected to integrate ideas through Day 4 and Day 5 using speaking and listening skills weekly. Through the use of Make Connections and Respond to Text in each week, students talk about things learned and listen to others speak. Speaking and Listening skills are also directly addressed during the Close Read Companion task. For example, in Unit 6, Week 4 teachers are directed to monitor students as they work with partners in their Close Reading Companion or on their posters to make sure that they are actively participating in the conversation, and when necessary, remind children to use these speaking and listening strategies. A list of speaking and listening strategies is provided:

• Speaking Strategies: As they discuss money and its circulation, remind children to support their thoughts and ideas by using evidence from their research using complete sentences. Ask children to describe the circulation of money outlined on their flow charts with appropriate facts and relevant details.
• Listening Strategies: Remind children to follow the agreed-upon rules for discussion by always looking at and listening to the speaker. Ask children to listen to each other’s contributions and then add their own details and examples to the discussion. Tell children to ask questions to clarify anything they did not understand.

During Research and Inquiry each week, students complete weekly projects. Each week students are asked to work in pairs or small groups to find out more about the weekly reading topic. Students use what they learn from their reading and discussions as well as other sources to find additional information. There is an option to set up a Shared Research Board to post illustrations and other information that students gather as they do their research.

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet the expectations for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing and short, focused projects incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

Each week students read and write about text in a mix of on-demand and process writing. On Days 1 and 2, students participate in both a shared and interactive evidence-based on-demand writing using the week’s texts. On Days 3, 4, and 5 students complete an independent process writing in which students analyze a student model, write, find textual evidence, apply a writing trait, revise, edit, and publish a writing. Digital resources are provided each week for additional practice.

In Unit 2, Week 1 the essential question is, “How do animals survive?”. During Reading Writing Workshop, students engage with the texts, “A Visit to the Desert”. Students also read the Literature Anthology Sled Dogs Run and the Paired Read “Cold Dog, Hot Fox”. During the week students address both on-demand and process writing prompts including but not limited to:

• Build Writing Fluency: Quick write on ”A Visit to the Desert,”
  • Day 1 and Day 2 Write to a Source:Analyze a student model. Write about “A Visit to the Desert”. Apply Writing Trait: Ideas. Apply Grammar Skill: Singular & Plural Nouns.
  • Day 3 Write to a Source: Write about Sled Dogs Run independent practice. Provide scaffolded instruction to meet student needs.
  • Day 4 and Day 5 Write to Two Sources. Analyze a student model. Write to compare Sled Dogs Run with “Cold Dog, Hot Fox”.
• Genre Writing: Informative Text How-To Text Expert Model: “Discuss features of informational writing. Discuss the expert model Prewrite. Discuss purpose and audience Plan the topic.”
• Write to Sources: “Build Writing Fluency Write to a Prompt Provide children with the prompt: Add an event to the story. Have Grandma explain why she wanted Tim to come with her to the desert. Have children share possible reasons Grandma invited Tim to come. After children finish sharing ideas, have them write continuously for seven minutes in their Writer’s Notebook. If children stop writing, encourage them to continue. When children finish writing, have them work with a partner to compare their ideas for an event to add and explanation for Grandma’s invitation. Partners should make sure that they both understand the topic.”
• Writing Process Genre Writing: Informational Text: How-to Text,First Week Focus: “Over the course of the week, focus on the following stages of the writing process: Expert Model Analyze with children the features of how-to text and discuss the Expert Model found online in Writer’s Workspace. Prewrite Discuss with children the purpose for writing how-to text and analyze their audience. Teach the Order Ideas Minilesson. Then have children choose their topics and plan their writing. Walk children through Model Graphic Organizer 23 found online in Writer’s Workspace. Then have them record their ideas for their how-to text on Graphic Organizer 24.”
• Write to the Reading/Writing Workshop Text:Analyze the Prompt, “Read aloud the prompt on page 112 of the Reading/Writing Workshop. Say: What is the prompt asking? We need to explain why Grandma wanted Tim to visit her home in the desert. In order to add a new event to the story, let’s reread the selection to find supporting details that tell us about the characters and the setting. We can also look for descriptive details. As we reread we can take notes to answer the prompt. Analyze Text Evidence Say: Let’s take a look at how one student, Olivia, took notes to answer the prompt. She tells about the desert animals and the stars. Say: Why do you think Olivia put these details in her notes? (They help explain why Grandma wanted to show the desert to Tim.) Display Graphic Organizer 11 found online in Writer’s Workspace and guide the class through the rest of Olivia’s notes. Analyze the Student Model Explain how Olivia used text evidence from her notes to write a response to the prompt.”
  
• Your Turn: Write About the Text Read, “Pretend you are Tim. Explain to your parents how your feelings changed during the trip. Discuss the prompt with children. Remind them that A Visit to the Desert is realistic fiction, a kind of narrative text. In continuing the story, their purpose is to entertain with a story that could happen in real life. Have children take notes as they think about the details from the story that they can use as they respond to the prompt. Remind them to include the following elements as they craft their response from their notes: Event, Descriptive Details, Details. Have children use Grammar Handbook page 477 in the Reading/Writing Workshop to edit for errors with nouns.”

Direction and instruction is also given to teachers on conducting student conferences about their writing. Conferencing Routines include, “STEP 1 Talk about the strengths of the writing, STEP 2 Focus on the target trait, and STEP 3 Make concrete suggestions for revisions. Peer Conferences provide questions to guide peers as they review a partner’s draft such as, “Which details describe the setting? Does the writer use complete sentences? and Where can descriptive details be added?” A Go Digital! Writer's Workspace provides tools for writers to use the writing process digitality.

The materials reviewed for Grade meet the expectations for providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. The writing prompts are balanced between informative, narrative, and opinion writing prompts.

Unit Genre Writing prompts include opportunities for students to address different types of writing:

• Unit 1- Narrative: Friendly Letter, Personal Narrative
• Unit 2- Informative/Explanatory: How-to Text,How-to Directions
• Unit 3- Opinion: Opinion Letter, Book Review
• Unit 4- Narrative: Fictional Narrative, Poem
• Unit 5- Informative/Explanatory: Explanatory Writing, Compare/Contrast Writing
• Unit 6-Informative/Explanatory: Summary, Research Report

Weekly Write to Sources prompts include opportunities for students to address different types of writing:

• Unit 1 - three narrative writings, one opinion writing, and one informative writing
• Unit 2 - three narrative writings, one opinion writing, and one informative writing
• Unit 3 - three informative writings, one opinion writing, and one narrative writing
• Unit 4 - three informative writings, one opinion writing, and one narrative writing
• Unit 5 - two opinion writings, two informative writings, and one narrative writing
• Unit 6 - two opinion writings, two informative writings, and one narrative writing

On demand prompts and quick writes include opportunities for students to address different types of writing:

• In Unit 2, students answer, “In your opinion, is it easy or hard for an eagle to take care of an eaglet? Use text evidence to support your answer. Students compare the two texts “Baby Bears” and “From Caterpillar to Butterfly” and answer the prompt - Which selection is presented in a more clear and understandable manner?”
• In Unit 5 students write a dialogue between Pablo and his mom that happens after the class wins the prize.
• In Unit 6, students answer, “How does the author help you to understand that the world changed from the beginning to the end of the story?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support recall of information, opinions with reasons, and clear information appropriate for grade level. The materials include weekly opportunities for students to respond to one or two texts in a variety of writing modes including informative, opinion, and narrative analysis.

Frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing occur in each week of instruction. For example, in Unit 6, Week 4, the essential question is, “How can we use money?” Students write multiple times for multiple purposes to address this question’s topic. Examples of writing opportunities include, but are not limited to:

• Write to Sources- Students draw evidence from expository texts,write informational texts, and conduct short research on money.
• Write About Money- The teacher models writing to a source. Students analyze a short response student model. Students use text evidence from close reading to write to a source.
• Write a short response about Money Madness.- Students write to two sources, citing text evidence from Money Madness and “King Midas and the Golden Touch.”
• Conduct a Short Research Project- Students create a flowchart about money and its circulation.
• Write to Two Sources- How do the authors of “Money Madness” and “King Midas and the Golden Touch” use sequence to organize the text?
  • First students analyze the prompt. The Teacher’s Edition states, “Explain that today children will use facts and details from both “Money Madness” and “King Midas and the Golden Touch” in the Literature Anthology to write a response to a prompt. Provide children with the following prompt: How do the authors of “Money Madness” and “King Midas and the Golden Touch” use sequence to organize the text? Use evidence from both texts to support your answer.”
  • Then students analyze text evidence. The Teacher’s Edition states, “Display Graphic Organizer 58 found online in Writer’s Workspace. Say: Let’s see how one student took notes to answer the prompt. Here are Farah’s notes. Read through the text evidence for each selection and have children discuss how each author used sequence to organize the text. Provide the following prompt to children: How do the authors of “Money Madness” and “King Midas and the Golden Touch” use illustrations to support the text? Use evidence from both texts to support your answer.”
  • Finally students find text evidence. The Teacher’s Edition states, “Have children take notes. Help them find text evidence and give guidance where needed. If necessary, review with children how to use their own words to describe the illustrations and text in each selection. Remind them to write down the page number and source of the information.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet expectations for explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions/language standards as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of the context. Across the year, students are taught nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, sentence rearranging, and proper nouns. Additionally, there are many lessons on conventions: commas in a series, capitalization of plays and book titles, commas in dates, capitalizing book titles, apostrophes, and abbreviations, to name some of them. Readings/texts support the acquisition and practice of language standards.

Teacher supports are explict::

Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1 Singular and Plural Nouns:

1. Explain/Model – Explain that some nouns name one person, place, or thing. These are singular nouns. Some nouns name more than one person, place, or thing or a group of things. These nouns are called plural nouns. Tell children that you can usually make a noun plural by adding –s.
2. Guided Practice – Display the sentences below and read them aloud. Have children identify the nouns and tell if they are singular or plural.
3. Practice – Display the sentence below and read it aloud. Have partners rewrite the sentence, changing the singular noun to a plural noun and the plural noun to a singular noun. Have them discuss the change in meaning of the sentence.
4. Talk About It – Find nouns – Display the following nouns: lizard, lions, rabbits, snake, pet, animals, frogs, turtle. Have partners record the nouns in a two-column chart labeled “singular nouns” and “plural nouns” and take turns using the nouns in sentences.

An example of instruction includes but is not limited to:

• Grammar Adjectives That Compare
  • 1. Explain/Model
    • Remind children that an adjective is a word that describes a noun (a word that names a person, place, or thing) and that we can use adjectives to compare nouns. We add -er to the end of an adjective to compare two nouns.
    • Display the following sentences: Rose has a new camera. Rose’s camera is newer than Sam’s camera. Model identifying the adjective in the first sentence and the comparative form of the adjective in the second sentence.
    • Think Aloud In the first sentence, the word new is an adjective. It describes the noun camera. The second sentence compares Rose’s camera to Sam’s camera. Rose’s camera is newer. The adjective is newer. The -er ending shows that two nouns, Rose’s camera and Sam’s camera, are being compared.
    • Discuss how the adjective new was changed to newer by adding -er to the end of new.
  • 2. Guided Practice/Practice
    • Display the sentences and answer choices below and read them aloud. Ask children to choose the correct adjective in parentheses.
    • Prompt children by asking: Does the adjective compare two nouns, or does it describe just one noun? The water is (cold/colder) at the bottom of the ocean than at the surface. (colder) The ocean is (deep/deeper) than the lake. (deeper)
  • 3. Talk About It/Compare It
    • Provide children with three adjectives that can be used to describe teamwork or exploration, such as strong, tough, and deep. Then have partners add the -er ending to each adjective, and then use the adjective in a sentence that compares two people, places, or things.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations of this indicator. Materials include explicit instruction for and regular practice of phonics (K-2) that demonstrate a transparent and research-based progression. Phonics instruction is part of students’ daily learning. Phonics instruction has modeling and guided practice/practice as part of the routine.

During the first weeks of the materials, there are 10 lessons in an introductory unit called Start Smart. Short vowels (a Kindergarten standard) are reviewed in the first four days. In Days 5 and 6, students relearn consonant blends. In Days 7 and 8, students are retaught long a and long i. In Days 9 and 10, long e is retaught.

Throughout lessons the teacher models and conducts guided practice. Phonics lesson are taught each day of the week. For example, in Unit 3, Week 2, the focus is long i, which is a Grade 1 standard:

• Day 1: Phonics – Introduce long i: I, y, igh, ie and blend words with long i
• Day 2 Review Long i: I, y, igh, ie (blend and build)
• Day 3 Phonics: Blend words with long I – I, y, igh, ie and Structural Analysis – Open syllables
• Day 4 Phonics: Build words with long I and Structural Analysis – open syllables
• Day 5 Phonics: Blend and build words with long i

Phonics lessons provide students with opportunities to learn grade-level phonics skills include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 3, students learn three prefixes: re-, un-, and dis-
• In Unit 2, Week 4, students learn two suffixes: -ful, -les
• In Unit 3, Week 4, students learn the suffixes: -s, -ess
• In Unit 4, Week 1, students learn silent letters: wr, kn, gn, mb, sc
• In Unit 4, Week 3, students learn irregular plurals
• In Unit 4, Week 5, students learn r-controlled vowel syllables
• In Unit 5, Week 4, students learn vowel team syllables

Skills progress over the school year, especially since Kindergarten and Grade 1 phonics are reviewed through Unit 3. At the beginning of the year students worked on more basic long vowel spellings – Unit 1 Week 5 Long I – i_e, but by mid year as evidenced above were working on more challenging long vowel patterns.

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials, questions, and tasks provide explicit instruction for and regular practice to address the acquisition of print concepts, including alphabetic knowledge, directionality, and function (K-1), structures and features of text (1-2).

The materials have opportunities for students to learn text features. For example:

• In Unit 2, Week 4, during Day 2 of Genre: Informational Text, the students are taught about the following text features: diagrams and labels.
  • Diagrams: Point out the diagram of the bald eagle. Explain that diagrams help give a picture of what something is, what features something has, or how something works.
  • Labels: Point out that there are five labels around the diagram of the eagle. Each of them points out and describes a different feature of the eagle.
• In Unit 3, Week 4, during Day 2 of Genre: Informational Text, the students are taught about the following text features: sidebars and subheads.
  • Sidebar: Point out the sidebar. Explain that a sidebar gives information that goes beyond the main text. Say: Read the title in the sidebar. How does it help you understand what information the sidebar gives?
  • Subhead: Point out the subhead “How Can You Stay Safe?”. Explain that a subhead tells what a section of text is about. Ask: What do you expect this section to be about?
• In Unit 4, Week 1, during Day 2 of Genre: Informational Text, the students are taught about maps. Point out the map. Explain that a map is a flat picture of part of Earth. Ask: Why do you think the author includes a map of Alaska in this selection? Students learn about the map key.

In the instructional materials, there are opportunities to identify text structures.

• In Unit 4, Week 2, during Day 2 of Genre: Informational Text, the students are taught about what expository text is. It gives facts about a topic such as a real person, a real event, a real place, or a real thing. Students are told about the structures expository texts contain. Text structures include sequential, cause and effect, and problem and solution. Students practice identifying expository text in the Practice book.
• In Unit 6, Week 4, during the Literature Anthology, the students focus on the problem and solution of the story.

Some examples of analyzing text features and structures together include:

Unit 3, Week 1 – On Day 2 students learn all about the fiction genre and how they can identify texts that are fiction. Student practice with this skill is also provided in their On Level practice book. Students review the fiction genre with the Mr. Putter and Tabby story. Students also work with a partner to find dialogue in the story. On Day 4 of this week students learn about text features: diagrams in the selection Day to Night.

Unit 1, Week 4 – On Day 2 students learn all about the Genre Narrative Fiction – this lesson includes an explain, model and guided practice/practice portion. There is also an On Level practice book page on this skill as well. In the Reading/Writing Workshop book there is also a Text Features explanation on photo and captions. There is also a Your turn portion where students are instructed to “Find other photos with captions. Tell what you learn from them.”

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet the expectations that instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and gain decoding automaticity and sight-based recognition of high frequency words. This includes reading fluency in oral reading beginning in mid Grade 1 and through Grade 2.

The Grade 2 program works on several areas of fluency: accuracy, building fluency, expression, intonation, phrasing, rate, rereading for understanding of words, tracking print, volume and word automaticity. There are several ways to work on the fluency whether in connected text, reading aloud, partner reading, choral reading, modeling fluent reading, echo-reading, and sound/spelling.

The materials contain opportunities for Grade 2 students to gain oral reading fluency over the course of the year.

• During the first two-week unit of the year, Start Smart, fluency is every few days.
  • Days 3 and 4: Teacher models, and then students read chorally.
  • Days 7 and 8: Teacher models, and then students read chorally.
  • Days 9 and 10: Teacher models, and then students reread in partners.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, fluency practice is on days 3, 4, and 5.
  • Day 3: Teacher explains and models reading with expression, there is guided practice, and then it says students CAN practice. It’s not part of the lesson. (T46)
  • Day 4: Teacher reviews reading with expression. Students practice. (T53)
  • Day 5: Students practice reading words with short a and short i for automaticity. (T58)
• In Unit 5, Week 1, fluency practice is on days 2, 3, 4, and 5.
  • Day 2: Build Fluency: Word Automaticity: “Have children chorally read words to build fluency.” (T26)
  • Days 3 and 4: There are lessons on intonation. The teacher explains this skill, models and then allows for guided practice. Teachers are also instructed at the bottom of the page that, “Children can practice fluency using the Practice Book passages.” (T44, T51)
  • Day 5: Students build fluency through use of the word building cards. (T57)

The small differentiated reading groups also reference fluency. For students who are approaching grade level and on grade level, fluency practice is in the lesson plan, and then also listed again for more practice afterward.

The lessons also grow in difficulty over the course of the school year. In Unit 2, Week 2 students have a fluency lesson on expression. In this lesson, the focus is on rate of reading and children are told, “When you read with expression, you can also show emotions by reading faster when a character is excited and slower when a character is sad. Good readers also raise the volume of their voice when they read an exclamation or a word that is emphasized.” This lesson was taken a step further in Unit 5, Week 2 when students have another lesson on expression and this time are told, “They should think about what kind of emotion is being expressed in the text, and then read in a way that shows that emotion. For instance, they might read more loudly to show anger or more quickly to show excitement. They can change their expression when reading dialogue to show the speaker's feelings and meaning,”

Irregularly spelled words and high frequency words are addressed. During High-Frequency Word lessons, students practice reading, spelling, and writing irregularly spelled and high-frequency words.

• In Unit 1, Week 5, Day 1, students learn: all, any, goes, new, number, other, right, says, understands, work.
  • The teacher displays High-Frequency Word Cards and uses the Read/Spell/Write routine to teach each word.
  • The teacher points out the irregularities in sound/spelling, such as the /ur/ sound spelled or in work and the short u sound, /u/, spelled o in other.
• In Unit 4, Week 5, Day 1, students learn: talk, once, upon, among, touch, bought, never, knew, soon, sorry.
  • After the Read/Spell/Write routine, students participate in guided practice.
• In Unit 6, Week 4, Day 3, students learn: complete, enough, anymore, river, against, terrible, sometimes, window, stranger, rough.
  • Students participate in guided practice, practice, and cumulative review.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations that materials, questions, and tasks provide systematic and explicit instruction in and practice of word recognition and analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.

Each week students were provided with high-frequency words that they would be learning over the course of the week. These words were explicitly taught through whole group lessons that focused on teacher modeling and a read/spell/write routine. These words were also used in context throughout the week and appeared in the reading/writing workshop book and again in small group instruction. The instructional materials contain practice of word recognition and analysis skills both in connected text, but also in isolated text through practice books or in class work.

During Start Smart, the beginning two-week unit, ten sight words are taught and reviewed each week. The words are introduced and practiced in isolation, using the Read/Spell/Write routine. Sometimes students practice writing in the air. Sometimes students practice filling the words in on a worksheet and then reading the sentences chorally.

In Unit 1, Week 1, ten high-frequency words are taught, and students have opportunities to read the high-frequency words in connected text.

• Day 1: The teacher models reading the ten new sight words A read/spell/write routine is used to teach the words. Students practice reading sentences containing the new words.
• Day 2: The ten words are practiced and added to a word bank. Students review the words they learned during Start Smart.
• Day 4: Students practice the ten words again, and use them orally in sentences.

Much of the phonics instruction is practiced in connected text. In Unit 5, Week 2, students are working on the diphthongs oi and oy.

• Day 1: A sound-spelling card is shown, and the letter/sound connections are made. Students blend letters into words, and then practice reading words and sentences.
• Day 2: Students use the diphthong vowel cards to build words with other letter cards.
• Day 3: Students review the diphthongs again. Students blend words. Students practice decoding words in context in Decodable Readers.
• Day 4: Students review and blend words again. Students read Decodable Readers.
• Day 5: Students read words and also practice reading them quickly.

In the differentiated guided reading groups, the sounds are reviewed again, and decodable readers are read again in the approaching and on level groups.

The instructional materials for Grade 2 meet expectations for materials supporting ongoing and frequent assessment to determine student mastery and inform meaningful differentiation of foundational skills. Teachers are provided with a wealth of assessment resources. In addition to Unit assessments, there are weekly, mid-unit and end of unit assessments. Fluency passages to use with students are also provided online as well. Benchmark assessments, running records and screening/placement/diagnostic assessments are also provided online.

Assessment books are included with the materials: a Placement and Diagnostic Assessment book, a Unit Assessments book, and a Running Record/Benchmark Assessments book.

Grade 2 students are to be given a placement test in the first few weeks of the school year. Everything needed is included in the Placement and Diagnostic Assessment book. Grade 2 students are to be assessed on either a comprehension test, or an oral reading fluency assessment. There are specific guidelines for placement based on the assessment scores. For example, if students score in the 50th percentile or higher on the oral reading fluency assessment and 80% correct or higher on the comprehension test, then teachers are instructed to begin lessons with students with the Wonders On Level materials. Similar instructions are given on how to place students in the Wonders Approaching Level materials (pp. 8-9).

The oral fluency assessments include information about each student’s fluency. Also included is prosody checklist.

There are many other assessments included in the Placement and Diagnostic Assessment book. There is a chart on page 13 outlining a general testing schedule. For example, it is suggested that Grade 2 students be assessed on phonemic awareness subtests, sight word assessments, a phonics survey, an informal reading inventory, a writing assessment, a vocabulary assessment, and the spelling inventory at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. Other assessments are to be considered for the middle and end of the year. Since many states use a screener such as DIBELS or the TPRI, alignment information is provided (pp. 16-27). The phonemic awareness assessments, the letter naming fluency assessment, and some of the other assessments appear to be publisher-written. The phonics assessment is called The Quick Phonics Survey, and is written by Jan Hasbrouck.

In the Teacher Edition, each week there is a Monitor and Differentiate box. These boxes provided teachers with instructions for a quick check to see if students understand the concept. An example of one of these is seen in Unit 2 Week 1 when teachers are instructed to check “Can children read and decode words with short o and long o? Can children recognize and read high-frequency words?” Teachers are then given pages to turn to for additional small group instruction based on whether or not students understood the concept.

Examples of informal assessments include:

• Quick Checks: Wonders provides many opportunities for you to observe students independently practice a strategy or skill taught in whole group instruction. • The Quick Check reminds you to observe your students and see if any of them are having difficulty with a skill they have just learned. • You can use this information to decide if this is a skill you need to address in small group instruction.
• Assignments: Every assignment or activity allows you to assess reading behaviors. Assignments do not need to be formally graded, but they should be treated as a potential source of information about what students know, what they still need to learn, and what their misconceptions or difficulties are. • Review assignments, noting both strengths and weaknesses, and present the student with oral or written feedback.
• Classroom Observations: You have opportunities to observe your students at work and at play, working alone, and interacting with other students. Be systematic with the way you do and record the observations.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectations that materials, questions, and tasks providing high-quality lessons and activities that allow for differentiation of foundational skills. The monitor and differentiate boxes, small group lessons, English Language Learner boxes and corrective feedback boxes provide teachers many opportunities to target the needs of students. Students are given repeated opportunities to practice foundational skills over the course of the week. Phonics skills that are targeted for the week recur again and again throughout weekly lessons. Teachers can also constantly check for students’ understanding of these skills and were provided with additional supports to help all students achieve mastery. As evidenced below, students are provided many opportunities over the course of the week to work on foundational skills.

For every unit, there are pages titled Differentiate to Accelerate. These pages include the quantitative, qualitative, and reader/task information, as well as an outline for where to find information on how to differentiate for English Language Learners, how to differentiate using the Quick Checks, and also how to differentiate using the leveled readers. (Unit 5, Week 1, T7)

On every Day 1, and throughout the week, there are many scaffolds for English Language Learners. While many of these have to do with comprehension and vocabulary, there are some that have to do with foundational skills. “Phonemic Awareness:Minimal Contrasts: Focus on articulation. Say /ou/ and note your mouth position. Have children repeat.” (Unit 5, Week 1, T13)

Periodically, there is Corrective Feedback given. “Sound error: Model the sound that children have missed, then have them repeat the sound.” (Unit 5, Week 1, T13)

Each day, there is a Monitor and Differentiate box. The Quick Check is listed.Some of these have to do with comprehension, but some of them have to do with foundational skills. “Can children read and decode words with diphthongs ou and ow? Can children recognize and read high frequency words?” Then, directions are given for small group instruction. (Unit 5, Week 1, T15)

Differentiation is provided within the small differentiated reading groups. The students in Approaching grade level practice skills a lot more than the students in on grade level and beyond grade level groups. In Unit 5, Week 1:

• Approaching: There are 3 short lessons for phonological awareness, 5 for phonics, including 1 for building fluency with phonics, 2 for reviewing and reteaching high frequency words, 2 for structural analysis, and 1 for rereading text for fluency. (13 lessons
• On: 1 lesson for phonics. (1 lessons)
• Beyond: There are no foundational skills lessons.