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Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability: Really Great Reading | ELA
Product Notes
The Really Great Reading materials for grades K-2 partially meet the expectations for alignment to Common Core State Standards and research-based practices for foundational skills instruction. The materials have a sequence for explicitly teaching all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters. However, there is no explicit instruction in letter formation. The materials contain explicit instruction in phonological awareness and have multimodal/multisensory opportunities for students to practice phonological awareness skills frequently. The materials contain explicit, systematic instruction in decoding and encoding phonics skills in isolation. The materials frequently allow students to decode words in decodable phrases, sentences, and passages. For grades K-1, there is a sequence for the explicit instruction of high-frequency words. Decodable passages in Grades K-2 contain high-frequency words, although the high-frequency words do not necessarily align with the sequence. The materials do not contain explicit instruction in rate, accuracy, and expression. However, students have frequent opportunities to practice fluency with phrases, sentences, and passages. The Really Great Reading materials for Grades K-2 partially meet the expectations for implementation, support materials, and assessment. The materials contain a well-defined teacher’s manual as well as supplemental resources. The manual and supplemental resources contain instructional routines and adult-level explanations. The content of the materials can be taught in a school year, although the materials do not include instructional timings for activities. The materials contain a clear, cohesive hierarchy for phonological awareness skills, and they contain a scope and sequence for phonics with a general research-based explanation. The materials contain decodable passages aligned to the phonics’ scope and sequence. However, the decodable passages do not align with the scope and sequence of the high-frequency words. The materials have assessment opportunities for some foundational literacy skills, such as phonological awareness and phonics. The materials contain some resources to support multilingual learners, specifically Spanish resources. The materials contain options for differentiation within lessons. The materials contain digital materials compatible with many platforms and operating systems. Some materials can be personalized and customized.
Kindergarten
View Full ReportEdReports reviews of foundational skills supplements determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to research-based practices and college and career ready standards. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Alignment (Gateway 1)
Materials must meet or partially meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Usability (Gateway 2)
1st Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews of foundational skills supplements determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to research-based practices and college and career ready standards. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Alignment (Gateway 1)
Materials must meet or partially meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Usability (Gateway 2)
2nd Grade
View Full ReportEdReports reviews of foundational skills supplements determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to research-based practices and college and career ready standards. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Alignment (Gateway 1)
Materials must meet or partially meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating encompasses all grades covered in the program.
Usability (Gateway 2)
Report for 2nd Grade
Alignment Summary
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, partially meet the expectations for alignment to standards and research-based practices for foundational skills instruction meet expectations for implementation, support materials, and assessment. Materials have explicit, systematic instruction in decoding and encoding phonics skills in isolation. Materials contain student opportunities for decoding and encoding words in isolation and connected tasks. There is no explicit modeling of encoding sound-spellings in connected tasks. Materials do not have explicit instruction in high-frequency words. Materials contain student opportunities to decode and encode high-frequency words in connected text. Materials do not contain explicit instruction in rate, accuracy, or expression. Materials contain opportunities to practice automaticity and accuracy with decodable passages. Materials contain student opportunities to read decodable text with purpose and understanding. Materials contain a well-defined teacher’s manual with instructional routines and adult-level explanations. Materials contain lessons for a school year. Materials do not specify instructional timings. Materials contain a scope and sequence for phonics with a general research-based explanation. Materials contain decodable passages aligned to the phonics’ scope and sequence. Materials contain decodable passages, which do not align with a scope and sequence of the high-frequency words. Materials contain assessment opportunities. Materials contain documentation of alignment to Common Core State Standards. Materials contain some supplemental resources to support multilingual learners. Materials contain suggestions to help students in need of additional support. Materials contain challenge options. Materials contain digital materials compatible with many platforms and operating systems. Some materials can be personalized and customized.
2nd Grade
Alignment (Gateway 1)
Usability (Gateway 2)
Overview of Gateway 1
Alignment to Standards and Research-Based Practices for Foundational Skills Instruction
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, partially meet the expectations for alignment to standards and research-based practices for foundational skills instruction. The materials have explicit, systematic instruction in decoding and encoding phonics skills in isolation. There are student opportunities for decoding and encoding words in isolation and connected tasks. However, there is no explicit modeling of encoding sound-spellings in connected tasks. The materials do not have explicit instruction in high-frequency words, although the materials have opportunities for students to decode and encode high-frequency words in connected text. The materials do not contain explicit rate, accuracy, or expression instruction. The materials provide decoding opportunities for students to practice automaticity and accuracy with decodable passages. The materials contain opportunities for students to read decodable text with purpose and understanding. The materials contain instruction in confirming and self-correcting errors, although students do not practice independently.
Gateway 1
v1.0
Criterion 1.1: Phonics
Materials emphasize explicit, systematic instruction of research-based and/or evidence-based phonics.
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, provide explicit, systematic phonics instruction for phonics standards. The materials contain frequent opportunities to decode phonics patterns in isolation and connected text. The materials contain student practice opportunities for encoding sound-spelling patterns in isolation and connected text. While the materials have explicit modeling of encoding sound-spelling patterns in isolation, the materials do not contain explicit modeling of sound-spelling patterns in writing tasks.
Indicator 1F
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1f.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials contain explicit, systematic phonics instruction. There is teacher scripting and repeated teacher modeling of all grade level phonics standards throughout Units 1-32. There is explicit modeling for teacher tasks with the projections of the lesson materials. HD Word Phonics lessons provide the teacher with systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade level phonics pattern.
Materials contain explicit instructions for systematic and repeated teacher modeling of all grade level phonics standards.
Distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5, Lesson 3, Part 3, page 232, Review Open Syllables, the teacher reviews what students learned in the video and asks students what syllable has a vowel followed by one or more consonants. Student response is “closed syllable.” The teacher asks, “What kind of vowel sound is usually in closed syllables?” The teacher asks how many vowels are in an open syllable and what type of letter is found at the end of an open syllable. Students respond. The teacher asks, “What kind of vowel sound is usually in an open syllable?” The teacher displays the word got and asks students if it contains an open or closed syllable and what kind of vowel sound is in the word.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 3, Part 3, page 271, Review Schwa, the teacher asks, “What kind of vowel sound do we expect to hear in a Closed Syllable? What kind of vowel sound do we expect to hear in an Open Syllable?” The teacher models using Sylla-Boards with the word extra and explains that the word has two syllables, the first being closed and the second being open. The teacher asks, “What kind of vowel sound do we expect to hear in the first syllable? What kind of vowel sound do we expect to hear in the second syllable?”
Know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 9, Lesson 4, Part 3, pages 232- 234 in Start Teaching, Reading words with Most Common Vowel Team Spelling of Long o (oa, ow) and Long i (igh). A direct instruction lesson includes teacher modeling using a SyllaBoard to read the word flashlight. HD Word Online is used to display the words coat and flow to demonstrate the vowel teams oa/ow as the teacher talks through what kind of syllable is being seen and what vowel team is making the long /o/.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 17, Lesson 3, pages 242-243, Review Other Vowel Phoneme /ou/, the teacher displays howl. The teacher points to ow and reminds students that ow spells one vowel phoneme. The teacher explains ow spells two phonemes. The teacher models trying both phonemes to read the word. The teacher displays noun. The teacher points to ou and reminds students that ou spells one vowel phoneme. The teacher points to the tiles and models decoding noun.
Decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 249, Read Two- & Three-Syllable Real Words With Closed & Open Syllable, the teacher reads respect, tripod, investment, misconduct, grumpy. The teacher says, “Now it’s your turn to read some words on your own. You are going to use SyllaBoards to read two- and three-syllable real words. Remember that every syllable has a vowel. Every syllable that you look at today has one vowel by itself, not next to another vowel. Every syllable that you read today is either closed or open. I will write the words on the board. Do not read them aloud until you have looked for the vowels, broken them into syllables, and written them on your SyllaBoards.”
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 7, Lesson 4, Part 5, pages 327-328, Read Real Words With Vowel-Consonant-e, the teacher displays and reads the word explode. The teacher underlines the three vowels in explode and connects the o and e with a curved line. The teacher says, “We know that the vowel letter and the final e stay together in the same syllable because they work together to spell one vowel sound. They are one vowel spelling.”
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 15, Lesson 4, Part 3, pages 178-179, Review Vowel Phoneme /oo/ in Longer Words, the teacher reviews the animation portion of the lesson using the word pursue. The teacher asks students how many vowels the word has and then clicks to underline the three vowels in pursue. The teacher asks students if they see a vowel team and which letters work together to create the vowel team. The teacher tells students the word has two syllables: “Remind students that the ur stays together on one board because it is an r-controlled vowel spelling, and the ue stays together on one board because it is a vowel team.”
Decode words with common prefixes and suffixes.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 25, Lesson 3, Part 5, pages 187-188, Read Real Words with Consonant Suffixes, the teacher reads the word sadness. The teacher says, “This word has two vowel letters and two vowel spellings, which means it probably has two syllables. The n, e, s and s work together to spell one suffix that includes a vowel phoneme, so they stay together in the same syllable. They include one vowel spelling.” The teacher works with SyllaBoards to help students break the word apart by syllables.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 29, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 305, Read Real Words with Prefixes, the teacher displays and reads the word imperfection. The teacher asks if the word has a prefix, then underlines im- in the word. The teacher asks if the word has a Latin chunk or suffix at the end of the word, and the answer is provided: “yes, -tion.” The teacher tells students the word has four syllables and says, “The prefix im- forms a complete syllable, so those letters stay together in the same syllable by themselves. The chunk tion forms a complete syllable, so those letters stay together in the same syllable by themselves.”
Identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 11, Lesson 4, Part 3, page 22, Review R-Controlled Phonemes /ar/ and /or/, the teacher reviews the animation video portion of the lesson. The teacher asks, “What kind of syllable has a vowel letter followed by the letter r? [r-controlled]. When the vowel a is followed by the letter r, what phoneme do they usually spell together? [/ar/]. When the vowel o is followed by the letter r, what phoneme do they usually spell together? [/or/]”. The teacher models decoding the word argument.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 22, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 46-47, Review Consonant -le Syllables, the teacher reviews the animation video and reads the word candle. The teacher asks how many letters a consonant-le syllable has. The teacher states, “three, consonant then the letter e.” The teacher says “If the syllable before a Consonant-le Syllable ends in one consonant letter, what type of vowel sound will we expect to hear? [short]. If the syllable before a Consonant-le Syllable ends in one vowel letter, what type of vowel sound will we expect to hear? [long].” The teacher continues modeling decoding candle using SyllaBoards.
Lessons provide teachers with systematic and repeated instruction for students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade level phonics pattern.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 13, Lesson 3, Part 5, page 99, Dissect Real Words with R-Controlled Vowel Phoneme /er/, the teacher states, “We will dissect the word by looking at the letters and trying to determine which graphemes are in the word. We will then use our letter tiles to represent the graphemes in that word.” The teacher models using the word pearl.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 24, Lesson 3, Part 5, pages 151-152, Build Real Words with Hard and Soft C and G, the teacher tells students to watch and listen as they build the word price as they first stretch the phonemes and display a color tile for each sound. The teacher clicks to spell as they place a letter tile below each color tile. The teacher explains that the e has two jobs in the word price, one is to build the vowel-consonant-e pattern with i, and the other is to make the letter c spell its soft sound. Once the letter tiles are placed appropriately to create the word price, the teacher uses Touch and Say to read the word price. The teacher works with students to build the word plunge.
Indicator 1G
Materials include daily practice opportunities for students to decode words that consist of common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns and provide opportunities for students to review previously taught phonics skills.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1g.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials provide students with frequent opportunities to decode phonetically spelled words. The HD Word materials provide students with frequent opportunities to read complete words by saying the entire word as a unit using newly taught phonics skills. The materials allow students to review previously learned grade-level phonics in various methods, including decoding words using syllable identification and reading words in Word Sorts.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode (phonemes, onset and rime, and/or syllables) phonetically spelled words.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Part 4, pages 68-69, Start Teaching: Reading Single-syllable Closed Syllable Words with Digraphs Word Sorts, students accurately sort read words with and without digraphs, ch, sh, th, wh, ck, and ph. Words include bath, top, pack, fix, shim, tent, shed, and sled.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 466, Detective Work: Mark It!, students practice decoding words with the long /e/ vowel teams ie and ey on page 62 in their workbooks.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 21, Lesson 4, Parts 3-4, pages 19-21, Start Teaching Review Vowel-ng, and Vowel-nk Chunks, students read the words sink, blank, prong, honk, fang, shrunk, lungs, and sing. Students read and sort words into two groups of closed syllables with and without chunks. Words include blink, sling, flung, chunk, plant, thick, frog, and stack.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 29, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 341, Read Real Words with Additional Prefixes, students practice reading words with prefixes by breaking words into syllables using Syllaboards. Practice words are recalculate, protocol, prevented, and remodel.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read complete words by saying the entire word as a unit using newly taught phonics skills.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 7, Lesson 5, Part 4, page 335, Word Sort: Which Syllable is Which?, students read and sort words with vowel-consonant-e.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 5, Parts 4-5, pages 497-499, Start Teaching Common Long Vowel Teams in One-, Two-, Three, and Four Syllable Words and Word Sort Which Long Vowel Phoneme, students identify practice newly taught phonics concepts in printed words and produce the proper pronunciation for each syllable. Students blend the syllables to read real words and read (decode) words in isolation. The words contain the target phonics concept.
In HD Word Book 3, Unit 26, Lesson 4, Part 3, pages 233-237, Reading Two-, Three-, and Four-Syllable Words with Vowel Suffixes, students read three-syllable real words with vowel suffixes. Words include: lemony, bestseller, relaxes, chewable, and presenter.
Materials contain opportunities for students to review previously learned grade-level phonics.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xx-xxi, the HD Word Scope and Sequence shows that students learn vowel team spellings in Units 9 and 10. In Unit 10, students have a cumulative review of vowel team spellings for long vowels (ai, ay, ee, ea, igh, ow, oa, ie, ey).
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xx-xxi, the HD Word Scope and Sequence reflects that students learn suffixes in Units 25-27 and learn prefixes in Units 28-29. Unit 30 contains a cumulative review of reading two- to four-syllable words with suffixes and prefixes.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 4, Parts 3-4, pages 482-485, Start Teaching: Reading Words with Vowel Team Spelling: Cumulative Review, students review previously learned grade-level phonics and vowel teams by using their SyllaBoards. Students review sorting words into four groups by placing long /a/ words in one column, long /e/ words in another column, long /i/ words in the third column, and long /u/ words in the last column.
Materials contain a variety of methods to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade level phonics.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 22, Lesson 3, Part 4, page 47, Word Sort, students place words into categories by the first syllable having a short vowel sound, the first syllable having a long vowel sound, and the first syllable having an r-controlled vowel sound.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 24, Lesson 5, Part 4, page 172, Word Sort-Hard or Soft C and G, students read words and complete a word sort identifying syllables with hard or soft /c/ or /g/.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 5, Parts 2-5, pages 495- 498, Start Teaching: Common Long Vowel Teams in One-, Two-, Three-, and Four-Syllable Words, a variety of methods are used to promote students’ practice of previously taught grade-level phonics. For example, in Detective Work-Mark It, students underline the vowel letters e and y while saying “e-y spelled /e/ '' and saying each syllable as they read the word hockey. In Word Sort - Which Long Vowel Phoneme, students sort words by long vowel phoneme sounds. In Phrases and Sentences to Read, individual students read phrases and sentences aloud containing various long vowel words. The other students read the sentence to themselves and serve as “checkers”.
Indicator 1H
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1h.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials provide frequent opportunities for students to practice decoding phonetically regular words in sentences with Sentences to Read workbook activities, Decodable Passages, and Oral Reading passages. Each unit begins with an oral reading activity and concludes with a sentence reading activity, both of which give students opportunities to practice decoding words in sentences. There are opportunities for explicit, systematic practice for decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence.
Materials provide explicit, systematic practice for decoding phonetically regular words in a sentence.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 13, Lesson 1, Part 2, Page 86, Activity Oral Reading, the teacher guides students to complete the oral reading procedure. Three students read a connected text passage aloud, each for one minute. The other students read along silently and record any errors.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 22, Lesson 5, Part 5, page 71, Activity Sentences to Read, students take turns reading a sentence aloud from the student workbook. Sentences contain decodable words and high-frequency words. While one student reads aloud, the other students read silently as checkers, mark errors in their workbooks, and give non-verbal feedback on accuracy.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, HD Word Passages, students have opportunities to read passages for Units 1-32. In Unit 32, students read “Dear Diary”, which contains words with 2-4 syllables with split vowels. Students read, I traveled to Rome to visit the ruins of a stadium. I pretended I was triumphant in a race with real gladiators.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to decode words in a sentence.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Scope and Sequence, pages xxiv-xxv, the materials indicate that every unit begins with three one-minute timed readings of connected text. Students chart their accuracy and words correct per minute. Every unit ends with student practice activities, including Sentences to Read.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 5, Lesson 5, Part 5, page 255, Phrases and Sentences to Read, students read sentences from the workbook page 34. The sentences provide students with practice decoding words based on the phonics concepts taught within the unit, reading single-syllable words with open syllables, and reading two and three-syllable words with open and closed syllables. Practice sentences include: Can you protect and defend the chipmunk?; My nylon wig gets frizzy when it is humid out.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 32, Lesson 5, Part 5, page 453, Phrases and Sentences to Read, students read sentences from the workbook page 98. The sentences provide students with practice decoding words based on the phonics concepts taught within the unit, reading two, three, and four-syllable words with split vowels. Practice sentences include: Arguing and being envious are two things that can make your life less enjoyable.; The artist created a mosaic of Siamese cats on a large tabletop.
Indicator 1I
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1i.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials contain lessons for students to build, manipulate, spell, and encode words using common and newly taught phonics sound and spelling patterns. The HD Word lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to build/manipulate/spell and encode words using letter tiles and activities such as Touch and Say and Build Words to practice common and newly-taught sound and spelling phonics patterns.
The materials contain teacher-level instruction/modeling for building/manipulating/spelling and encoding words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns of phonics.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 185-186, Review Reading Two Syllable Word, the teacher displays the word picnic and breaks the word apart by first identifying vowels in the word and using Syllaboards to break the word into two syllables, pic/nic. The teacher sweeps their hand from left to right under the syllables to read the entire word picnic.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 13, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 96-97, Start Teaching reading Single-Syllable Words with R-Controlled Vowel Phoneme /er/, after watching an animation about the r-controlled vowel sound /er/, the teacher reviews that when a syllable that has a vowel letter followed by the letter r is an r-controlled phonics pattern. The teacher models reading the words hurt, stir, learn, and fern by building, then spelling, then reading r-controlled words using color tiles to build words. Letter tiles are added to match the color tiles to spell words. The teacher uses Touch and Say to read the words.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 20, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 365-366, Read Real Words with Other Vowel Spellings, the teacher models manipulating, building syllables, and reading the word willpower. The teacher begins by manipulating the letters of willpower into three syllables using SyllaBoards. The teacher adds i to the first board, places ow on the second board, then puts er on the third board.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3 Unit 26, Lesson 4, Part 3, pages 233-237, Reading Two-, Three-, and Four-Syllable Words with Vowel Suffixes, the teacher guides students to hear, say, encode, and read each newly taught grade-level phonics pattern. The lesson sequence for this unit follows the pattern: The objective is listed. Information for the teacher is in What You Need to Know. The teacher follows a scripted lesson: #1. State Objectives, #2. ( Teacher model -I Do) View Vowel Suffixes in Longer Words, #3. (Review of prior learning) Review Vowel Suffixes, #4. (Guided practice- We Do) Word Sort, (Individual practice -You Do) Read three syllable real words with vowel suffixes. Words include lemony, best seller, relaxes, chewable, and presenter.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to build/manipulate/spell and encode words using common and newly-taught sound and spelling patterns of phonics.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 15, Lesson 4, Part 5, pages 181, Read Real Words with Vowel Phoneme /oo/, students use SyllaBoards to read two- and three-syllable words by manipulating the letters in words provided to break the words into syllables onto SyllaBoards. First, students look for the vowels in words, write vowel phonemes in each syllable part, and fill in the consonants to create the syllables. Students blend the syllables in the SyllaBoards to read the words.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3 Unit 26, Lesson 4, Part 4, pages 233-237 in Reading Two-, Three-, and Four-Syllable Words with Vowel Suffixes, students complete a Word Sort by placing words by whether words have a vowel suffix or do not. In Part 5, students use SyllaBoards, and as they identify vowels, they fill them in, then place consonants in each syllable section. Students blend the syllables they have written to read the words. In You Do, students read three syllable real words with vowel suffixes, including lemony, best seller, relaxes, chewable, and presenter.
Indicator 1J
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 1j. (mid K-Grade 2)
In the HD Word Grade 2 materials, there are missed opportunities for the teacher to explicitly and systematically teach phonics to encode sounds to letters and words in writing tasks. HD Word Grade 2 materials have the application for students to encode words in phrases and sentences based on common and newly taught phonics patterns through activities and tasks. The materials provide opportunities to encode words in activities or tasks at the phrase or sentence level. There are three HD Word Dictation Sentences for each unit within the Supplemental Resources.
Materials do not include explicit, systematic teacher-level instruction of teacher modeling that demonstrates the use of phonics to encode sounds to letters and words in writing tasks.
No evidence.
Lessons provide students with frequent activities and tasks to promote the application of phonics as they encode words in sentences or in phrases based on common and newly taught phonics patterns.
In HD Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, there are HD Word Dictation Sentences. There are three dictation sentences for each unit. In Unit 4, students encode, Catch the insect in the cobweb.; I saw a mantis at the fishpond.; Take a candid shot of the bobcat.
In HD Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, there are HD Word Dictation Sentences. There are three dictation sentences for each unit. In Unit 13, students encode, You need to find a project partner.; The snowbird will perch on a branch.; That show is currently on channel four.
In HD Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, there are HD Word Dictation Sentences. There are three dictation sentences for each unit. In Unit 29, students encode, Recycle plastic bottles and cardboard boxes.; Provide a report on pandas by Friday.; You could make a prediction before reading.
Criterion 1.2: Word Recognition and Word Analysis
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, provide limited explicit and systematic instruction in high-frequency words. There is no scope and sequence for high-frequency words in grade 2. While the materials allow students to read and write high-frequency words in isolation and connected text, there is no explicit instruction or practice in using student-friendly reference materials and resources. The materials have explicit instruction in word analysis and student practice of word analysis.
Indicator 1K
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 1k.
The Grade HD Word materials contain limited lessons with systematic and explicit instruction of irregularly spelled words in lessons. The core materials include minimal teacher modeling of the spelling of irregularly spelled words in isolation. Online resources contain supplemental activities that teachers may use to teach high-frequency words. Students practice reading high-frequency words in isolation and sentences with the Student Workbook practice. The materials lack a specified list or amount of grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words taught in Grade 2 for students to make reading progress over the year.
Materials include limited systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words.
Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 271, View Schwa Animation, the teacher plays the video for the lesson. The teacher in the video explains the concept of schwa with explicit instruction on open and closed syllables. The teacher in the video models breaking the word adopt into syllables explaining that you expect to hear a long vowel phoneme for a in a-dopt, but you hear /uh/ instead, the schwa sound.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 14, Lesson 3, Part 3, page 130, Review /er/ Spelled OR and AR, the teacher reviews the video. “When the vowel o is followed by the letter r, what are two phonemes they can spell together?” The answer /or/ and /er/ are provided. The teacher reminds students that when they see or and ar in a word, they will often spell /or/ or /ar/, but they will sometimes spell /er/ sound.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 18, Lesson 3, Part 2, pages 278-279, View Other Vowel Phoneme /oo/ Animation, there is a sidebar that explains there is an optional second animation video for oul for the /oo/ sound in book for the high-frequency words would, could, and should.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 31, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 392, View Closed Syllable Exceptions Animation, the teacher in the video explicitly introduces the five common closed syllable exceptions as three-letter combinations that look like closed syllables where “the vowel letter behaves differently as expected.” The three-letter combinations included in this lesson are -old,- ild, -ind, -olt, and -ost. In the video, the teacher explains that with the closed syllable -old, the o makes the long /o/ sound instead of the short /o/ vowel sound. There are example words for each closed syllable except with a three-letter combination.
Materials include frequent opportunities for the teacher to model the spelling and reading of high-frequency words in isolation.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 285, Read Real Words With Schwa, there is teacher scripting and modeling for reading and spelling the word accomplishment using syllabication and focusing on the/uh/ sound for a.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 14, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 130, View /er/ Spelled OR and AR Animation, the teacher in the video models reading and spelling words with /er/ sound with word and doctor.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 31, Lesson 3, Part 3, pages 392-395, View Closed Syllable Exceptions Animation, the teacher reviews the concepts of the five common closed syllable exceptions -old,- ost,- ild, -ind, and olt. There is scripting for the teacher when discussing and providing examples for each of the five closed syllable exceptions. The word sold is provided for modeling the spelling, reading, and syllabication with -old closed syllable.
Students practice identifying and reading high-frequency words in isolation.
Materials do not include a sufficient quantity of grade-appropriate high-frequency words for students to make reading progress.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 3, Part 4, page 273, Word Sort, students read and sort words into the categories schwa or no schwa sounds. The word across is to be placed in the schwa category.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 8, Lesson 5, Part 2, page 275, Sentences to Read, there are eight practice sentences including, You could invite Miss Vandike to the festive parade by our cottage. The sentence includes irregularly spelled words you and could. In the PRSW, the sentence is Which bug is by the mat? The Heart Words are which, is, by, and the.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 19, Lesson 3, Part 4, page 318, Word Sort, students sort words into three categories: short vowels, long vowels, and /aw/. Words placed under /aw/ include words with aw and au spelling, including August.
Indicator 1L
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 1l.
The Grade 2 HD Word materials provide students with frequent opportunities to read grade-level irregularly spelled words in sentences. There are opportunities for writing grade-level high-frequency words in sentences. However, there are missed opportunities for the use of student-friendly reference materials and resources.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to read grade-level high-frequency words in a sentence.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 5, Part 5, pages 55-56, Phrases & Sentences to Read, the teacher calls individual students to read Heart Words in phrases and sentences. The remainder of the students are checkers as the individual student reads the sentences. The teacher expects students to read the sentences accurately, and the checkers show a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to agree or disagree accordingly.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 12, Lesson 5, Part 5, page 83, Phrases & Sentences to Read, a sentence for student reading practice is: Marcus and Arnold are forbidden from eating the assortment of tarts at the store. The high-frequency words are are, from, and of.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 23, Lesson 1, Part 2, and Lesson 2, Part 2, pages 74-76, Complete Oral Reading Procedure for Readers 1, 2, and 3, students practice reading irregularly spelled words in the passage, “Philadelphia”. Words in the passage are many, other, great, being, every, where, and because.
Lessons provide students with frequent opportunities to write grade-level high-frequency words in tasks (such as sentences) in order to promote automaticity in writing grade-appropriate high-frequency words.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, HD Words Sentences for Dictation, three dictation sentences are provided per unit. Sentences in Unit 6 include He ate a dozen bagel sandwiches. Who had the basic frozen lemon punch?
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, HD Words Sentences for Dictation, three dictation sentences are provided per unit. Sentences in Unit 11 include Find a normal market north of here. We got the green carpet from Norway.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, HD Words Sentences for Dictation, three dictation sentences are provided per unit. Sentences in Unit 6 include He ate a dozen bagel sandwiches. Who had the basic frozen lemon punch?
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Spelling Lists and Resources, HD Words Sentences for Dictation, three dictation sentences are provided per unit. Sentences in Unit 29 include Provide a report on pandas by Friday. You could make a prediction before reading.
Materials do not provide repeated, explicit instruction in how to use student-friendly reference materials and resources and reading high-frequency words (e.g., word cards, word lists, word ladders, student dictionaries).
No evidence.
Indicator 1M
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 1m.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials provide lessons that explicitly teach word analysis strategies. There is teacher scripting, modeling, and student practice opportunities in Lessons 3 through 5 in each unit, which include phonics concept lessons for Days 1 and 2 and student practice. The HD Word materials provide multiple and varied opportunities over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies through HD Word Online video animations and teacher modeling in I Do, You Do, and We Do lesson formats along with student activities such as Touch & Say, Detective Work, Word Sorts, Nonsense Words, and Phrase Reading.
Materials contain frequent explicit instruction of word analysis strategies (e.g., phoneme/grapheme recognition, syllabication, morpheme analysis).
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 3, Lesson 3, Part 3, page 138, Activity Reading Single-Syllable Closed Syllable Words with Trigraphs, the teacher introduces the concept of trigraphs and displays the trigraphs tch and dge. The teacher guides students to use the Touch & Say routine to underline, touch, and say each sound in a word, then to read the word as a whole. The teacher guides students to read the words fetch and badge, underlining the trigraph as a group and using only one sound to match it.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 16, Lesson 3, Part 1, page 206, State Objectives, the teacher opens HD Word Online to view Unit 16, Lesson 3, Phonics Concept 1. The video teaches the two most common spellings, oi and oy, for the /oi/ phoneme. The video models analyzing and reading the words coin, void, oil, toy, joy, and troy to determine which spelling of the /oi/ phoneme students will see in words. The video explains if you hear /oi/ in the beginning or middle of a syllable, they will see or use the spelling oi, and if you hear /oi/ at the end of a word, they will see or use the oy spelling.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 18, Lesson 5, Part 2, Page 298, Activity Detective Work, the teacher tells students that they will be reading two-, three-, and four-syllable words with closed, open, VCe, vowel team, and r-controlled syllables. The teacher models marking the oo and u spellings of the phoneme /ŏŏ/, saying the spelling and phoneme aloud, then reading each syllable and the whole word. Students repeat. The teacher and students repeat this process for the entire Mark It word list.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 28, Lesson 3, Part 2, page 292, View Prefixes Animation, the teacher plays the animation video in HD Word Online for Unit 28, Lesson 3, Prefixes. The animation reviews what was previously learned about suffixes, that they come after the word to change the meaning of the word modeling with colorful. The concept of prefixes is introduced as the word part added at the beginning of a word with prefixes dis-, con-, un-, im-, and in-. The video examines words with the prefixes introduced with their meanings and models how many syllables they have with Syllaboards, with prefixes on their Syllaboard. For example, they model the prefix dis-, providing the meanings of not, opposite of, and away in dislike. The video breaks the word dislike into two syllables with Syllaboards dis/like. It explains that when one of the prefixes taught is seen at the beginning of a word, it should be broken apart to decode words more easily.
Materials contain frequent explicit instruction of word solving strategies to decode unfamiliar words.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 8, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 364, Read Real Words With Vowel-Consonant-E, the teacher displays the word adhesive and asks students how many vowels the word has and if they are together or apart. The teacher asks if there is a vowel-consonant-e in the word. The teacher reminds students when the vowel spellings are apart from each other, each vowel will be in its own syllable on its own Syllaboard: “This word has four vowel letters, but the i and e work together as a part of a vowel-consonant-e pattern to spell one vowel sound, so they stay together in the same syllable.” The teacher tells students the word must have three syllables and breaks ad/he/sive into three syllables reviewing open and closed syllables. The teacher uses Touch & Say to read the word.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 9, Lesson 3, Part 5, page 400, Activity Read Two- & Three-Syllable Real Words with Long A and Long E Vowel Teams, the teacher displays the word repeat and underlines the two vowel spellings in the word. The teacher displays a Syllaboard under each syllable and models recording each vowel or vowel team on a Syllaboard. The teacher adds the consonants to each Syllaboard. The teacher tells students that the first syllable is open and will have a long vowel sound, and the second syllable has a long vowel team. The teacher points to and reads each syllable, then sweeps their hand under and reads the word. The teacher guides students to repeat the process with the word playfulness. Students practice with the words weekday, explaining, reveal, and sunscreen.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 30, Lesson 3, Part 5, Page 360, Activity Read Real Words with Suffixes and Prefixes, the teacher displays the word graceful. Students identify the suffix, and the teacher underlines ful. Students identify the VCe vowel pattern in the word. The teacher underlines the vowels and draws a line to connect the a and e. Students identify the number of vowel spellings and syllables in the word, and the teacher places a Syllaboard under each syllable. The teacher records each vowel spelling on the Syllaboard, then adds the consonants. The teacher models using the Touch & Say routine to sound out each syllable, then says each syllable separately, then sweeps their hand underneath both Syllaboards and reads the whole word. The teacher repeats with the word converge. Students practice with the words immune, brightness, displace, and crunches.
Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis strategies.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 12, Lesson 3, Part 4, Page 54, Activity Word Sort, students sort words into the long vowel, short vowel, or r-controlled vowel groups. The teacher models with the words tore, phone, and block, explaining how they know each word belongs in its category based on its vowel pattern or syllable type. Students sort the following words and explain how they determined the placement: pond, spot, notch, slope, roast, crow, pour, ore, born.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 30, Lesson 4, Parts 2-5, pages 367-378, in Part 2, the teacher has the student view the lesson animation video to review suffixes and prefixes they have learned in longer words. In Part 3, the teacher reviews suffixes and prefixes in longer words reviewed in the video. In Part 4, the teacher and students do a word sort with words with categories prefixes, suffixes, both, or neither. In Part 5, Read Real Words with Prefixes and Suffixes, there is an I Do portion for the teacher to model reading words with prefixes and suffixes, a We Do Portion for the students and teacher to read words together, and a You Do portion of the lesson where students practice reading the words deconstructed, shadowy, contrasting and stubbornly.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 25, Lesson 5, Part 5, Page 211, Activity Phrases & Sentence to Read, students read phrases or sentences that contain both high-frequency words and decodable words. Individual students read a phrase or sentence while the other students read silently as checkers and provide nonverbal feedback on accuracy.
Criterion 1.3: Decoding Accuracy, Decoding Automaticity and Fluency
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, do not contain explicit instruction in rate, accuracy, and expression. The materials contain HD Word Passages for students to practice reading fluently with purpose and understanding. While the materials contain instructions on confirming or self-correcting errors, students do not practice confirming and self-correcting independently.
Indicator 1O
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 do not meet the criteria for 1o. (Grades 1-2)
In HD Grade 2 materials, there are missed opportunities for frequent explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements using grade-level text and successive student practice for fluency and accuracy using grade-level texts. HD Word Decodable Passages and Oral Reading Fluency Practice Passages are in the Supplemental Resources. Students can track their accuracy percentage of reads with the Decodable Passages and Oral Reading Fluency Practice Passages. In the Oral Reading lesson (Lesson 1), students read non-controlled text. However, there is no explicit instruction associated with the Oral Reading lesson.
Materials do not include frequent opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in fluency elements using grade-level text.
RF.2.4.B Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
No evidence.
Materials do not provide opportunities for students to hear fluent reading of grade-level text by a model reader.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Decodable Passages for HD Word, it provides the following suggestion, “You should also be aware of modeling prosody, the third component of reading fluency, as you are working through the passages with students.” The materials do not provide explicit instruction in modeling prosody.
Materials include a variety of resources for fluency. However, explicit instruction is not provided.
The Supplemental Resources include HD Word Decodable Passages and Oral Reading Fluency Practice Passages. However, there is no explicit instruction in fluency from the teacher.
Indicator 1P
Varied and frequent opportunities are built into the materials for students to engage in supported practice to gain oral reading fluency beginning in mid-Grade 1 and through Grade 2 (once accuracy is secure).
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 do not meet the criteria for 1p.
In HD Word Grade 2 materials, there are missed opportunities built into the materials for students to gain oral reading fluency. The materials do not contain core opportunities for students to engage in repeated reading. There are missed opportunities for feedback suggestions to the teacher for supporting students’ gains in oral reading fluency. While each unit contains a Phrases and/or Sentences to Read activity that focuses on accuracy and offers a positive feedback procedure, individual students read one or two phrases or sentences a week in this activity. Each unit contains an Oral Reading Procedure in which three students read a non-controlled passage aloud for one minute; this procedure involves the other students recording any accuracy errors but does not include instructional feedback for the readers. The materials include optional decodable passages with instructions for using the passages to build fluency. Teacher guidance to support student gains in oral reading fluency is general and minimal.
Varied, frequent opportunities are not provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to gain oral reading fluency. There are Passages in the Supplemental Resources.
No evidence.
Materials contain optional opportunities for students to participate in repeated readings of a grade-level text to practice oral reading fluency.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, HD Word Passages, the materials outline optional procedures for repeat readings of optional decodable passages, using a cold read, practice reads, and a warm read.
Materials include minimal guidance and feedback suggestions to the teacher for supporting students’ gains in oral reading fluency.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are optional HD Word Decodable Passages with information in Building Fluency. Students are to track cold and warm reads for an accuracy percentage. However, there is no guidance or feedback suggestions to support student gains in oral reading fluency.
Indicator 1Q
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 1q.
There are opportunities in the HD Word Grade 2 materials for explicit instruction from the teacher and peers on confirming or self-correction in fluency. Students use Positive Error Correction to correct each other’s errors. However, students do not use context to confirm or self-correct errors in their own fluency. There are opportunities for students to read on-level texts for purpose and understanding over the course of the year when they read Decodable Passages. There are comprehension questions associated with the Decodable Passages.
Materials provide explicit lessons for the teacher in confirming and self-correcting errors in fluency.
Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
In HD Word Appendix, the materials have a routine for Positive Error Correction for Phrases and Sentences to Read. The routine is:
If a Reader misreads any of the words in a phrase or sentence, provide Positive Error Correction.
Tell students how many words were read correctly.
Prompt a Checker to identify which word was misread by giving the position of the word in the phrase or sentence without saying the word itself.
Prompt Rader to use Touch & Say to read the word again. If the Reader reads the word accurately, the Reader then reads the entire phrase or sentence again. If the Reader reads the entire phrase accurately this time, you and all the Checkers congratulate the Reader.
Materials provide opportunities for students to practice using confirmation or self-correction of errors of peers. Students do not practice using confirmation or self-correct of their own errors without peers.
In Blast Teacher Guide Book, Unit 8, Lesson 5, students act as Checkers while classmates read phrases. “When you are not a Reader, you will be a Checker. When you are Reader, make sure you read loudly enough for everyone to hear. When you are a Checker, you must pay careful attention to the Reader and the text. You will mark any error in your workbook.” After students read, the Direct Checkers, “give a thumbs-up if the Reader reads all of the words correctly or a thumbs-to-the-side if the Reader misreads a word(s).”
Opportunities are provided over the course of the year for students to read on-level texts (Grades 1-2) for purpose and understanding.
Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, HD Word Passages, students read “The Perfect Quirky Dessert”. There are comprehension questions to check students’ understanding. In Unit 13, questions include, What ingredient are you supposed to stir into the yogurt first? How hot should the oven be?
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, HD Word Passages, students read “The Greedy Angler”. There are comprehension questions to check students’ understanding. In Unit 21, questions include, Why was the greedy angler angry? How did the fish convince the angler to let him go?
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, HD Word Passages, students read “Lightning Bolt”. There are comprehension questions to check students’ understanding. In Unit 31, questions include, How much energy is needed to power a lightbulb for three months? What should you avoid when you hear thunder and see lightning?
Overview of Gateway 2
Implementation, Support Materials & Assessment
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, partially meet expectations for implementation, support materials, and assessment. There is a well-defined teacher’s manual with instructional routines, lesson objectives, and adult-level explanations. The materials contain lessons for a school year, however, the materials do not specify instructional timings. The materials contain a scope and sequence for phonics with a general research-based explanation. The materials contain decodable passages aligned to the phonics’ scope and sequence. The decodable passages do not align with the scope and sequence of the high-frequency word. There are opportunities to assess foundational literacy skills. The materials contain documentation of alignment to Common Core State Standards. The supplemental resources provide only resources for students who read, write, speak, and listen to Spanish. Within the lessons, there are suggestions in the Appendix to help students in need of additional support. There are Challenge options for students who need extensions. The materials contain digital materials compatible with many platforms and operating systems. Some of the materials can be personalized and customized.
Criterion 2.1: Guidance for Implementation, Including Scope and Sequence
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, contain a well-defined teacher’s manual with instructional routines for foundational skills. The materials have adult-level explanations and examples of foundational skill content. While the foundational skills content and lessons can be completed in a school year, the materials do not have specific times for each activity within the lesson plans. The materials contain a scope and sequence for phonics with a general research-based explanation. The materials have strategies for informing stakeholders. There are Parent Crash Course Videos explaining concepts, activities, and procedures.
Indicator 2A
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 2a.
The materials contain HD Word Teacher Guides with introductions that provide an overview of the program and provide a well-defined teacher resource with teacher scripted lessons, sidebars, and prompting for when and how to use the HD Online student facing digital materials. The HD Word Teacher Guide contains detailed information and instructional routines to help the teacher effectively implement foundational skills.
Materials provide a well-defined, teacher resource (teacher edition, manual) for content presentation.
The HD Word Teacher Guide Books are organized, so a teacher can access the units and descriptions of corresponding materials for students. For example, in HD Word Teacher Guidebook Book 1, PDF page 4, there are no page numbers on these pages as it is prior to page i. There is a table of contents that lays out each unit and the starting page number for that unit with descriptions of unit concepts in the table of contents.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Unit Structure of HD Word, pages xvi-xvii, it states HD Word contains 33 units each of which contain five lessons.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 11, Lesson 2, pages 5-12, the materials provide a well-defined teacher resource for content presentation. The lesson is scripted to meet the needs of a novice or experienced teacher. Each lesson contains materials the teacher and student will need to utilize, objectives for the lesson, and pedagogy for the teacher in regard to the lesson. The scripted lesson is broken out into the parts of the lesson and notes when and how to access and utilize the online learning tools for the lesson. Callouts can be found on the side as reminders and pointers for teachers of possible errors or misconceptions aligned with the learning in the lesson.
The teacher resource contains detailed information and instructional routines that help the teacher to effectively implement all foundational skills content (i.e. phonological awareness, print concepts, letters, phonics, HFW, word analysis, decoding).
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, What You Need to Know, Pages 11-13, Overview of Finger-Stretching Phonemes have details including the objective, goal, and explicit procedures for the finger-stretching activity. Students hold a fist and begin to segment the word using a finger for each phoneme beginning with their thumbs. Next, students blend each individual phoneme finger by finger back into a fist to say the whole word.
The Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xvi-xvii, Unit Structure of HD Word lays out the lesson components. Teachers are provided a sample of what this may look like over the course of the week with Monday being Oral Reading Focus, Tuesday being Phonemic Awareness focus, Wednesday-Thursday being direct instruction of Phonics concepts, and Friday including guided and independent practice and assessment.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, page 387, Appendix A, Phonemic Awareness, the teacher resource contains detailed information and instructional routines for phonemes that help the teacher to effectively implement foundational skills content.
Any technology pieces included provide support and guidance for the teacher and do not create an additional layer of complication around the materials.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, HD Word and the HD Word Online technology, page xv-xvi, the expectation is provided that the HD Word Online interactive teaching tool can be used as a means to present complex phonemic awareness and phonics so that concepts are clearly explained to both teachers and students.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, page 17, TEACH, any technology pieces such as phoneme animation, posters of lesson content, and color and letter tiles provide support and guidance for the teacher and do not create an additional layer of complication around the materials.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 15, Lesson 5, pages 190-191, Detective Work-Mark It!, the icon for HD Word Online appears and teachers are prompted to open HD Word Online to Unit 15, Lesson 5.
Indicator 2B
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 2b.
The materials contain full, adult-level explanations and examples of the foundational skills concepts included in the program. Teachers can use the materials to improve their own knowledge of the subject because the HDWord materials provide adult-level explanations and examples of foundational skills concepts in the What You Need to Know section in the Introduction. Within the What You Need to Know sections of each lesson, there are detailed explanations of the concepts, routines, and procedures for teachers. The materials provide the teachers with the pedagogy needed to explicitly teach the program. There is a Glossary of Terms associated with foundational skills definitions in the Appendix. The definitions are accompanied by detailed examples of those grade level foundational skills concepts.
Complete, detailed adult-level explanations are provided for each foundational skill taught at the grade level.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages vii-viii, detailed adult-level explanations are provided for the foundational skills including explicit phonemic awareness, instruction, high-frequency words, and alignment with foundational skills standards.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, What You Need to Know, page 11, the teacher is provided a definition of phonemes, the marking of phonemes, and additional information on phonemes and how they play a part in the learning of the program. The explanations can be found for the phoneme when it is introduced in the materials.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Appendix B, Glossary, pages 411-414, many definitions associated with foundational skills are included, such as fluency, phonemic awareness, prefix, suffix, root words, open syllable and closed syllable.
Detailed examples of the grade level foundational skill concepts are provided for the teacher.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 6, Lesson 3, What You Need to Know, page 269, there are reminders about open and closed syllables that include detailed examples: “A closed syllable consists of one vowel letter followed by, or closed in by, one or more consonant letters (at, pat, splat, patch).” The term schwa with detailed examples is also included in the section.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 10, Lesson 2, What You Need to Know, page 431, the teacher is provided a definition on phoneme deletion: “Example: ‘Say brake without the first sound /b/. What’s the new word?’”
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 21, Lesson 4, page 25, in the sidebar next to subheading We Do Read Hyperlinking, there is a note at the end explaining that, “... the base word hype has a vowel-consonant-e, but we drop the e when we add the vowel suffix -er to spell hyper”.
Indicator 2C
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 2c.
The HD Word Grade 2 program utilizes lesson plans with a limited research base, including foundational concepts, such as phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, high-frequency words, and fluency. The program is intended to be taught in whole group lessons. Materials provide assessments to identify if students need to use the program as a small group intervention. HD Word lessons are designed to be taught for 15-20 minutes daily. However, the teacher guides do not contain specific times for each activity within a lesson. HD Word has 33 weekly units, which can be completed in one school year without modifications. There is flexible scheduling to complete more than one lesson or unit per week with 30-40 minutes daily to complete the program in 17 weeks.
Lesson plans utilize some effective, research-based lesson plan design for early literacy instruction.
In Quick Links, Research Alignment, Really Great Reading for English Language Learners, “Tutor, Aceves, and Reese (2016) likewise summarize a body of research that has demonstrated that ‘interventions should include foundational skills (e.g., phonological awareness, decoding) along with other literacy and language skills’ (p. 18).”
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book, Lesson Design, Label 7, page xvii, the program follows an I Do, You Do, We Do lesson model.
In HD Word Teacher Guide, Book 3, Unit 24, Lesson 3, pages 147-155, the lesson focuses on one-syllable words with a hard and soft /c/ and /g/. Using research-based design and the HD Word Online tool, the lesson presents the hard and soft sounds for each of the two letters, first explaining and modeling the sounds. Next, it provides We Do practices before the students participate in a word sort using tiles. It progresses to building real words with hard and soft /c/ and /g/, moving into an extension word building activity using the word tiles.
The effective lesson design structure includes both whole group and small group instruction.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Prerequisites, Placement and Groups, pages x-xi, it describes how HDWord is “used as a whole class supplement.” There are prerequisites for using HD Word as an intervention. There are specific assessments for placement.
In HD Word Teacher Guidebook 1, Introduction, Who Qualifies for HD Word, pages ix-x, it explains that the program is designed to be presented as “[a] supplement for schools that need a more structured foundational reading program.” However, the teacher may wish to augment full-class instruction for struggling students by forming homogenous groups designed to provide targeted instruction to resolve weaknesses and build specific skills.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments & Groupings, there are recommendations for supporting and reteaching students. Small Group Instruction with Really Great Reading’s Phonics Suite states, Countdown, Blast, and HD Word lessons can be taught in small to medium-sized groups to provide intervention for students who are “at risk” or have weaknesses in their foundational skills and are within the intended grade range of the program.”
The pacing of each component of daily lesson plans is clear and appropriate. However, the teacher guides do not contain specific times for each activity within a lesson.
In HD Word Teacher Guidebook, Book 1, Introduction, Unit Structure for HD Word, page xvi-xvii, there is a sample of what daily lessons may look like over the week, with Monday being Oral Reading Focus, Tuesday being Phonemic Awareness focus, Wednesday-Thursday being direct instruction of Phonics concepts and Friday including guided and independent practice and assessment.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Unit Structure of HD Word, page xvi, it states each daily lesson contains a specific focus and takes approximately 15-20 minutes per day and 75-100 minutes of foundational
skills instructional time per week.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Flexible Scheduling, page xix, it states although HD Word lessons are designed to be taught in 15-20 minute increments teaching five lessons in one unit Monday through Friday for 33 weeks, it can also be taught in 30-40 minutes increments teaching two weekly units in one week for 17 weeks.
The suggested amount of time and expectations for maximum student understanding of all foundational skill content (i.e., phonological awareness, print concepts, letters, phonics, HFW, word analysis, decoding) can reasonably be completed in one school year and should not require modifications.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Overview, page ii, it states that typically the program can be completed in 16-33 weeks. The program has 33 units composed of five lessons per week and is presented in 15-20 minutes.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Unit Structure of HD Word, page xvi, it states HD Word contains 33 weekly units containing five lessons.
HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, Overview, page ii states HD Word can be completed in either 16-33 weeks. The program has 33 units comprised of five lessons per week. Units can be completed sooner if larger time slots are made available for lessons.
For those materials on the borderline (e.g., approximately 130 days on the low end or 200 days on the high end), evidence clearly explains how students would be able to master ALL the grade level standards within one school year.
N/A
Indicator 2D
Indicator 2D.ii
Scope and sequence clearly delineate an intentional sequence in which phonics skills are to be taught, with a clear explanation for the order of the sequence.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 2d.ii.
HD Word materials have a delineated scope and sequence that progresses from simple to complex. The instructional sequence begins with single-syllable words and moves to multi-syllable words, common vowel team spellings, variant diphthong, r-controlled spellings, variant vowel words, consonant -le, soft /g/ and /c/; and finally Latin affixes. In addition to the Scope and Sequence in the Introduction, more detailed information about the strands and sub-strands is at the beginning of each lesson in the HD Word What You Need to Know sections. The materials provide instruction and practice to build toward the application of the skills based on evidence and research. There is insufficient research on the particular sequence of phonics skills in the Scope and Sequence.
Materials clearly delineate a scope and sequence with a cohesive, intentional sequence of phonics instruction and practice to build toward application of skills.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xx-xxi, the HD Word Scope and Sequence, the following information is provided for the phonics instruction scope and sequence:
Unit 1: Read single-syllable closed syllable words with digraphs
Unit 2: Read single-syllable closed syllable words with two-sound blends and digraph blends
Unit 3: Read single-syllable closed syllable words with trigraphs and 3-sound blends
Unit 4: Read two- and three-syllable words with closed syllables
Unit 5: Read single-syllable open syllable words; Read two- and three-syllable words with closed and open syllables
Unit 6: Schwa in 2, 3, and 4-syllable words with closed and open syllables
Unit 7: Read single-syllable VCe words; Read two-, three-, and four- syllable words with closed, open, and VCe syllables
Unit 8: Read 2-syllable words with VCe spelling schwa; Read 2, 3, and 4- syllable words with closed, open, and VCe syllables (with and without schwa)
Unit 9: Most common vowel team spellings for long a (ai, ay); long e, (ee, ea); long i (igh); and long o (ow, oa)
Unit 10: Less common vowel team spellings for long e, ie, ey; Cumulative review vowel team spellings (long vowels)
Unit 11: Read one- to three-syllable words with /or/ spelled or and /ar/ spelled ar
Unit 12: Read 1-3-syllable words with /or/ spelled or, our, ore, oor, oar; /ar/ spelled ar, are, air, ear
Unit 13: Read 1-3-syllable words with /er/ spelled er, ir, ur, ear
Unit 14: Read 2, 3, and 4-syllable words with /er/ spelled ar, or; Cumulative review of 2-3 syllable words with r-controlled vowels phonemes /ar/, /or/, /er/
Unit 15: Read 1-4-syllable words with /oo/ spelled oo, u, u-e, ew
Unit 16: Read 1-4-syllable words with /oi/ spelled oi, oy
Unit 17: Read 1-4-syllable words with /ou/ spelled ou, ow
Unit 18: Read 1-4-syllable words with /oo/ spelled oo, u
Unit 19: Read 1-4-syllable words with /aw/ spelled au, aw
Unit 20: Cumulative review of one- to four-syllable words with phonemes /oo/, /oi/, /ou/, /oo/, and /aw/
Unit 21: Read one- to four-syllable words with chunks ang, ing, ong, ung, ank, ink, oik, unk
Unit 22: Read two- to four-syllable words with consonant-le
Unit 23: Read two- to four-syllable words with Latin chunks: -tion, -sion, -ture; Additional Latin chucks: -cial, -tial, -cious, -tious
Unit 24: Read one- to four-syllable words with Hard and Soft c and g
Unit 25: Read two- to four-syllable words with consonant suffixes: -es, -less, -ness, -ment, -ful, -ly
Unit 26: Read two- to four-syllable words with vowel suffixes: -es, -ing, -er, -est, -ous, -y, -able, -ible
Unit 27: 1-1-1 Double rule in two-, three-, and four-syllable words; 3 Sounds of suffix -ed in one-, two-, three-, and four-syllable words
Unit 28: Read two- to four-syllable words with prefixes: dis-, con-, un-, im-, in-.
Unit 29: Read two- to four-syllable words with prefixes: re-, pre-, pro-.
Unit 30: Cumulative review read two- to four-syllable words with prefixes and suffixes.
Unit 31: Read one- to four-syllable words with closed syllable exceptions: ost, old, ild, ind, olt.
Unit 32: Read two- to four-syllable words with split vowel.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xx-xxi, in HD Word Scope and Sequence states Phonics Concept Days occur in Lessons 3 and 4 on Days 1 and 2 for all Units 1-33.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction on page xxv-xxvi, the HD Word Scope and Sequence Chart information is delineated. The phonics instruction listed in the Lessons 3 and 4 column includes Units 1-5: Unit 5 open syllable words; Unit 6 schwa in multi open and closed words; Units 7-8: single-syllable open and closed VCe words; Units 9-10: common vowel team spellings; Units 11-14: r-controlled spellings; Units 15-20: variant diphthong and variant vowels words; Unit 21: Words with chunks ang, ing, ung, onk, ank, ink, onk, and unk; Unit 22: Consonant -le words; Unit 23: Common Latin suffixes; Unit words with hard and soft g and c; Unit 25-30 Common Latin suffixes.
Materials have a limited research-based explanation for the order of the phonics sequence.
In Research Alignment, White Papers, Early Literacy White Paper, page 5, it states, "Perhaps the most important goal, in the interest of giving students a productive knowledge of grapheme phoneme correspondences, is to convey to them the basic alphabetic principle, or the idea that words are made of sounds and that letters represent those sounds in a systematic way (Paulson & Moats, 2010)."
In Research Alignment, White Papers, Early Literacy White Paper, page 8, provides the research, “Adams (1994) also noted that ‘...programs that included systematic phonics resulted in significantly better word recognition, better spelling, better vocabulary, and better reading comprehension at least through third grade’ (p. 38) and that ‘approaches in which systematic code instruction is included alongside meaning emphasis, language instruction, and connected reading are found to result in superior reading achievement overall’ (p. 49).”
In Research Alignment, White Papers, Early Literacy White Paper, page 8, the paper states, “The scope and sequences for Countdown, Blast Foundations, and HD Word progress from simpler to more difficult concepts. Students begin by learning short vowel sounds and the closed syllable spelling pattern and gradually progress to more challenging long vowel sounds and the multiple spellings of those sounds. By the end of HD Word’s scope and sequence, students as young as second grade have been explicitly taught to decode all six syllable types, including spellings of the short, long, r-controlled, and variant vowel sounds; prefixes and suffixes; and other functional word parts.”
Phonics instruction is based in high utility patterns and/or common phonics generalizations.
In Research Alignment, White Papers, Early Literacy White Paper, page 8, “Blast Foundations and HD Word students also focus on decoding and encoding increasingly complex words using explicit and predictable routines and procedures. They are taught to incorporate functional strategies for breaking down words at both the single-syllable and multisyllabic word level.” The paper states that when decoding, students look for vowel letter spellings, write those on their boards, and build in the word by adding consonants around the vowels. This provides students with multiple ways to try to decode unknown words.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xx-xxi, the HD Word Scope and Sequence reflects that students learn short vowel phonemes in Units 1-4. The HD Words Scope and Sequence reflects that students learn short and long vowel phonemes in Units 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. In Units 1-10, students learn one-, two-, three-, and four-syllable words.
In HD Word Teacher, Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xxv-xxvi, the HD Word Scope and Sequence, under Lesson 2 Phonemic Awareness and Lessons 3 & 4, Phonics Concepts Days 1 & 2, it indicates phonics instruction introduces high utility sound/spelling early in the sequence. The sequence progresses from simple to complex. For example, the single syllable consonants and vowels within words are introduced before vowel digraphs and diphthongs.
Patterns and generalizations are carefully selected to provide a meaningful and manageable number of phonics patterns and common generalizations for students to learn deeply.
HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page vi, it states that lessons are explicit and systematic instruction and introduce simpler phonics concepts before complex concepts. Each unit builds on the previous units, and lessons within a unit build on previously taught content. Each lesson also provides multiple opportunities for students to apply their learning to master concepts.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xx-xxi, the HD Word Scope and Sequence reflects that students learn vowel team spellings in Units 9 and 10. Unit 10 contains a cumulative review of vowel team spellings for long vowels (ai, ay, ee, ea, igh, ow, oa, ie, ey).
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xx-xxi, the HD Word Scope and Sequence reflects that students learn suffixes in Units 25-27 and prefixes in Units 28 and 29. Unit 30 contains a cumulative review of reading two- to four-syllable words with suffixes and prefixes.
Indicator 2E
In the Grade 2 Quick Link materials, Home Connection Activities section, teachers and parents view Teacher and Parent Crash Course Videos to understand the concepts, activities, routines, and procedures in the Really Great Reading Program. In the videos, teachers and parents see activities, routines, and procedures. There are additional Skills and Activities pages in the HD Word Teacher Guide Book where teachers can see how foundational skills are aligned with the activity name and what lesson they can be found in.
Materials contain jargon-free resources and processes to inform all stakeholders about foundational skills taught at school.
In Quick Links, Teacher’s Tool Kit, Home Connection Activities, Tools and Resources, Teacher/Parent Crash Course Video, there are concepts, activity routines, and classroom procedures in a 20-minute video. Concepts introduced, defined, and modeled are letters and sounds, finger-stretching, building words with color tiles then adding letters to the tiles, closed syllable words, digraphs using three-color tiles due to the digraph, blends definitions using color tiles, long vowel sounds and their spelling, silent e vowel-consonant-e, open syllables, vowel teams, multisyllabic words with a post-it note for each vowel, and how to lose the rules way if the word does not make sense.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 12, Lesson 4, Start Teaching, pages 66-69, in activity reading one-, two-, and three-syllable words with -ar as in care, the teacher follows a scripted lesson to teach one-, two- and three-syllable r-controlled words with the -ar. Using the HD Word Online tool, teachers guide students through a lesson that follows an explicit lesson format, providing teacher modeling, ample student individual practice, and students explaining their respective answers to finish.
Materials provide stakeholders with strategies and activities for practicing phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, fluency, and print concepts that will support students in progress towards and achievement of grade level foundational skills standards.
In Quick Links, Teacher’s Tool Kit, Home Connection Activities, HD Word Resources and HD Word Dictation Sentences, it includes three dictation sentences for each unit. The sentences have decodable words and words from the first 220 Pre-Primer, Primer, First Grade, and Second Grade Dolch high-frequency words explicitly taught in lessons for parents to read to students for spelling practice.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 24, Lesson 4, Start Teaching, pages 158-167, in activity reading two, three, and four-syllable words with hard and soft /c/ and /g/, students continue their study of words that contain the hard and soft sound of /c/ and /g/ by extending what they know about one-syllable words with these sounds to reading words two-, three-, and four-syllable words with these two sounds. Using the HD Word Online tool, the teacher continues to present a scripted lesson that moves from teacher modeling to students practicing word sorts and concluding with individual students explaining how they know if a series of words include a hard or soft /g/ or /c/. The words include galaxy, volcanic, eggnog, subtropical, damage, tolerance policy, and apology.
Criterion 2.2: Decodable Texts
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, contain decodable passages. The passages align to the sound-spelling patterns per unit. Decodable passages are available for all units. The decodable passages contain high-frequency words. However, the high-frequency words do not align with the scope and sequence of high-frequency words since there is no high-frequency scope and sequence in grade 2.
Indicator 2F
Indicator 2F.i
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 2f.i.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials contain opportunities for student use and repeated readings of program phonics aligned decodable texts. The HD Word materials contain Oral Reading passages within unit lessons. HD Word Online provides decodable passages in Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources.
Materials include decodable texts to address securing phonics.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are 32 HD Word Decodable Passages. The materials state the HD Word Passages are strictly controlled stories that align with the phonics skills and include Heart Words. The HD Word Passage for Unit 19, “Aubrey’s Autograph” includes Words to Preview: walked, glove, thank, face, chance, decided. The passage contains 219 words, with two- to four-syllables and words with the phoneme /aw/. One sentence in the passage is, “She did not want this fan to have an awful day because of her.”
Decodable texts contain grade-level phonics skills aligned to the program’s scope and sequence.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, The HD Passages are aligned to each unit’s phonics skills. For example, in Unit 8, students learn 2-4 syllable words with schwa. The passage, “The Lost Necklace” contains 2-4 syllable words with schwa.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the HD Word Passages are aligned to each unit’s phonics skills. For example, in Unit 18, students learn 2-4 syllable words with /aw/. The passage, “Aubrey’s Autograph” contains words with /aw/.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the HD Word Passages are aligned to each unit’s phonics skills. For example, in Unit 23, students learn 2-4 syllable words with Latin chunks. The passage, “Erosion” contains 2-4 syllable words with Latin chunks.
Materials include detailed lesson plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to address securing phonics skills.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there is a Sample Schedule.
Lesson 1: Heart Word Magic Spelling Templates/Activities
Lesson 3: Cold Read of Decodable Passage, Introduce Spelling Words (Spell It! Template)
Lesson 5: Warm Read of Decodable Passage, Write/build spelling words, Dictation Sentences
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, HD Word Passages, it states, “The HD Word Passages can be used in the classroom, in small groups, or for practice at home. Each passage aligns with a unit from HD Word. Once students have completed the Phonics Concept Lesson (Lesson 3 or Lesson 4) for the aligned unit, they can use the corresponding passage to practice the concept learned in that unit. For instance, the passage “Thad” is for students who have completed HD Word Unit 1. After completing the Phonics Concept lessons in Unit 1, students should have learned everything they need to decode the words in that passage accurately, except for the Words to Preview. “
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, HD Word Passages, in Additional Activities, it suggests, “Underlining a new phonics concept in words, such as digraph th or 2-sound blends. Highlighting words containing a certain feature, such as short a or Open Syllables.”
Indicator 2F.ii
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 2f.ii.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials have opportunities for student use and repeated readings of decodable texts with high-frequency words. However, the passages do not align with a scope and sequence. The HD Word materials contain Oral Reading passages within unit lessons. HD Word Online provides decodable passages with Heart Words in Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources.
Materials include decodable texts that utilize high-frequency/irregularly spelled words.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are 32 HD Word Decodable Passages. The materials state the HD Word Passages are strictly controlled stories that align with the phonics skills and include Heart Words. The HD Word Passage for Unit 19, “Aubrey’s Autograph” includes Words to Preview: walked, glove, thank, face, chance, decided. The passage contains 219 words. It has words with two to four syllables and words with the phoneme /aw/. One sentence in the passage is, “She did not want this fan to have an awful day because of her.”
Decodable texts contain grade-level high-frequency/irregularly spelled words. However, the high-frequency/irregularly spelled words are not aligned to a scope and sequence.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the HD Word Passages, it states, “the passages include high-frequency words from the pre-primer, primer, first, and second grade Dolch 220 high-frequency word lists. The passages may also include up to six high-frequency words from the third grade Dolch 220 lists and nondecodable words (according to the scope and sequence). Those words are listed at the top of the page for you to preview with your students before reading the passage and they are underlined in the passages.”
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the HD Word Passages are not aligned to a scope and sequence. In Unit 3, students read “Lunch at the Mall”, which contains open, pink, done, full.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, the HD Word Passages are not aligned to a scope and sequence. In Unit 22, students read “Unbelievable Comeback” which has the following Words to Preview: announcer, whistle, resume, continue, minutes, comeback.
Materials include some detailed lesson plans for repeated readings of decodable texts to address securing reading high-frequency words/irregularly spelled words in context.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, there are HD Word Decodable Passages. The HD Word Passage for Unit 25, “Fearless”, includes Words to Preview: new, told, color, wrap, wrapped, sign. For the instruction of Words to Preview, “Before asking students to read the passage, review the words in the ‘Words to Preview’ section several times. You should read and pronounce these words for your students and provide definitions or example sentences to clarify the meaning of any unfamiliar words.”
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, HD Word Decodable Passages, the directions state, “up to six words from the 3rd grade Dolch 220 list and words that have not been explicitly taught in the HD Word lessons appear in a “Words to Preview” section at the top of each passage. In the passages, these words will be in gray text. The teacher should review these words with the students several times before reading the passage. Since students are not expected to know these words, the teacher may read these words to the students when they are encountered in the passage if necessary.”
Criterion 2.3: Assessment and Differentiation
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, contain assessment opportunities. There are assessments of phonics skills in the Reading Playground Formative Assessments, which provide information about students’ phonics skills. The phonics assessments do not assess students' phonics skills in context. The Grade 2 Foundational Skills Surveys, Sight Words Surveys, and Reading Playground Formative Assessments provide information regarding students’ high-frequency word knowledge. There are limited fluency assessments to measure and monitor reading fluency. The teacher and students track Words Correct Per Minute in the Oral Reading Procedure and with the HD Passages. The materials have a standards alignment documentation with tasks and assessments. In the Supplemental Resources, there are resources to support students who read, write, speak, or listen to Spanish. However, there are limited supports for all multilingual learners. The materials contain suggestions in Appendix B for supporting students who need more instruction in foundational skills. There are no specific lessons within the materials for small group instruction. For students needing extensions or more advanced opportunities, the materials have Challenging, More Challenging, and Most Challenging activities.
Indicator 2G
Indicator 2G.iii
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress of phonics in- and out-of-context (as indicated by the program scope and sequence). (K-2)
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 2g.iii.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials regularly and systematically provide assessment opportunities that measure student progress in phonics out-of-context as indicated with the program scope and sequence with Reading Playground Formative Assessments. The Reading Playground Formative Assessments provide teachers and students with information about students’ current levels. The Reading Playground Formative Assessment materials support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in phonics. However, there are missed opportunities for regular and systematic assessment opportunities of phonics in context. The Recommended Assessment Timeline references the Foundational Skills Survey, but it is optional and may not be given to all students.
Materials provide resources and tools to collect ongoing data about students’ progress in phonics.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, page 1, Reading Playgrounds Formative Assessments for HD Word, it states there are three games from each unit, including phonics that can be used as formative assessments and focus on newly acquired knowledge first. Pages 2-11 list the first three games from each unit used as formative assessments.
In HD Word, Assessments, Diagnostic Decoding Surveys, the materials provide a Beginning and Advanced Decoding Survey. The Beginning Decoding Survey measures students’ ability to read single-syllable decodable words with short vowels, digraphs, and blends. The Advanced Decoding Survey measures students’ ability to read single-syllable decodable words with more advanced vowel patterns and decodable multisyllabic words.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide three Reading Playground Assessments that measure student proficiency over the year in building words with short vowels, digraphs, two-sound blends, trigraphs, and three-sound blends, identifying closed and open syllables in words, choosing syllables to spell spoken words, choosing the correct word to match a spoken word, and identifying words with the schwa sound.
Materials offer assessment opportunities to determine students’ progress in phonics that are implemented systematically.
In HD Word, Assessments, Diagnostic Decoding Surveys, the materials provide a Beginning and Advanced Decoding Survey. The Beginning Decoding Survey is for use at the beginning of second grade, and the Advanced Decoding Survey is intended for the middle and end of second grade. The Recommended Assessment Timeline indicates these surveys are optional for teachers with access to Reading Playground and recommended for teachers without access to Reading Playground.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, the materials indicate that three Reading Playground Games from each unit can be used as formative assessments. The Reading Playground assessments include, but are not limited to, newly-taught phonics skills from the unit and are intended for use in each unit.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide three Reading Playground Assessments that measure student proficiency in a selection of phonics skills over the year. The Recommended Assessment Timeline indicates teachers should administer these assessments at the beginning, middle, and end of the year.
In HD Word Online, Reading Playground, there are phonics activities in the formative assessment games for Units 1-21. In Unit 10, Game 1, students sort words by long /a/, /e/, /i/, and /o/; in Game 2, students build words with vowel teams by counting the syllables in words and dragging the correct syllables to spell the words. In Unit 20, Game 3, students sort words into vowel team and no vowel team categories. Each Reading Playground assessment includes ten questions.
Assessment opportunities are provided regularly for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence with phonics. However, the assessments do not provide in-context phonics.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Groupings, Reading Playground, Units 1-21 provide phonics assessment opportunities.
In HD Word, Assessments, the materials provide beginning, middle, and end of year assessments to measure progress in phonics skills, using the Diagnostic Decoding Surveys and/or the Reading Playground Assessments. The materials provide assessment opportunities focusing on newly-taught skills for each unit using the Reading Playground Formative Assessments.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information about students’ current skills/level of understanding of phonics.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, pages 2-11, Reading Playgrounds Formative Assessments for HD Word, there is a chart of HD Word Benchmark Scores, which lists Benchmark Scores categories for each formative assessment game. Scores of greater than or equal to 80% as nearing proficiency; scores of 60-79% as practice; and scores equal to or less than 59% as re-teach.
In HD Word, Assessments, Diagnostic Decoding Surveys, Page 4, the materials provide a chart of criterion-referenced benchmarks to gauge proficiency.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials indicate that teachers can access student scores on the beginning, middle, and end of year Reading Playground Assessments as percentages correct in each assessed skill.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, Pages 2-12, the Benchmark Scores chart provides a percentage score aligned with the following three categories: Nearing Proficiency, Practice, Reteach. The chart is organized by game name and lists the correlating Common Core standards assessed by each game.
Materials genuinely measure students’ progress to support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in phonics.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, pages 2-11, Reading Playgrounds Formative Assessments for HD Word, there is a chart of HD Word Benchmark Scores. The chart includes Instructional Recommendations: Animations, Workbook and Reading Playground materials. In Unit 20, Instructional Recommendations include Unit 20, Lesson 3, Other Vowel Spellings Review Animation, all games; Workbook Unit 20, Lesson 5 all sorts, Unit 20 Extension Activity, Word Hunt; Reading Playground Unit 20, Game 3.
In HD Word, Assessments, Grouping Matrix, the materials indicate that the Grouping Matrix tool provides instructional recommendations for groups of students, including Really Great Reading materials. Instructional Recommendations include the sections Decoding Level, Suggested Instruction, and Suggested Max Group Size. The sample account provides the following student examples:
For students with Significant Decoding Deficit, Phonics Boost is suggested with a maximum group size of six.
For students with Moderate Decoding Deficit, HD Word Foundations or Phonics Blitz is suggested with a group size of eight.
For students with Slow Reading Rates, Fluency Support and monitoring decoding accuracy are suggested. The group size is none.
Indicator 2G.iv
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress of word recognition and analysis (as indicated by the program scope and sequence). (K-2)
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 2g.iv.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials contain Grade 2 Foundational Skills Surveys and Reading Playground Assessments, which provide opportunities to assess high-frequency word knowledge (recognition and analysis). These assessments provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills or level of understanding of word recognition and word analysis. Instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students progress toward mastery in word recognition and word analysis are in the HD Word Grade 2 materials Grouping Matrix Tool and Benchmark Scores Chart from the Reading Playground Assessments that provide specific instructional instructions recommendations matched to assessment items. HD Word Grade 2 materials provide optional Sight Word Surveys and Foundational Skills Survey as noted in the Recommended Assessment Timeline Flow Charts. However, there is no reference for administering the Sight Word Fluency Surveys throughout the year, although the Sight Words Skills Levels contain tracking data at the beginning, middle, and end of the year.
Materials regularly and systematically provide a variety of assessment opportunities over the year to demonstrate students’ progress toward mastery and independence of word recognition (high-frequency words or irregularly spelled words) and analysis.
In HD Word, Assessments, Diagnostic Decoding Surveys, the materials provide a Beginning and Advanced Decoding Survey. The Beginning Decoding Survey measures students’ ability to read high-frequency words and single-syllable decodable words with short vowels, digraphs, and blends. The Advanced Decoding Survey measures students’ ability to read single-syllable decodable words with more advanced vowel patterns and decodable multisyllabic words. The Beginning Decoding Survey is for use at the beginning of Grade 2, and the Advanced Decoding Survey is for use in the middle and end of Grade 2.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, the materials indicate that three Reading Playground Games from each unit can be used as formative assessments. The Reading Playground assessments include, but are not limited to, newly-taught word analysis skills from the unit and are intended to be administered with each unit.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide three Reading Playground Assessments for the beginning, middle, and end of the year that measure student proficiency in word analysis skills, including identifying closed and open syllables in words, labeling syllable types, and syllabication of words with prefixes, suffixes, and split vowels.
Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information concerning students’ current skills/level of understanding of word recognition and word analysis.
In HD Word, Assessments, Diagnostic Decoding Surveys, Page 24, the materials provide a chart of criterion-referenced benchmarks to gauge proficiency.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials indicate that teachers can access student scores on the beginning, middle, and end of year Reading Playground Assessments as percentages correct in each assessed skill.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, Pages 2-12, the Benchmark Scores chart provides a percentage score aligned with the following three categories: Nearing Proficiency, Practice, Reteach. The chart is organized by game name and lists the correlating Common Core standards assessed by each game.
Materials support teachers with instructional suggestions for assessment-based steps to help students to progress toward mastery in word recognition and word analysis.
In HD Word, Assessments, Grouping Matrix, the materials indicate that the Grouping Matrix tool provides instructional recommendations for groups of students, including Really Great Reading materials.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, Pages 2-12, the Benchmark Scores chart provides specific instructional recommendations in the following categories: Animations, Lesson Review/Practice, Workbook, Reading Playground.
Indicator 2G.v
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 2g.v.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials provide some assessment opportunities to measure student fluency progress. The Recommended Assessment Timeline indicates that teachers may give a Grade-Level Oral Reading Fluency Measure and suggests DIBELS, AIMSWeb, and Easy CBM as examples. In the Recommended Assessments Timeline and Flowcharts, assessments are optional for those with access to the Reading Playground. Reading Playground does not provide fluency assessment opportunities. The materials include options for students to track the words correct per minute during the Oral Reading procedure and Decodable Passages.
Some assessment opportunities are provided regularly and systematically over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence of fluency.
During Oral Reading, students track their Words Correct Per Minute and their word reading accuracy. Students document their reading on Tracking Charts (in the back of the student workbook).
Some assessment materials provide teachers and students with information about students' current skills/level of understanding of fluency.
During HD Word Decodable Passages, students do a cold read, practice read, and warm read. For cold reads and warm reads, the teacher charts the student’s Accuracy Percentage and charts the data on the Tracking Chart.
Materials do not support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in fluency.
No evidence.
Indicator 2H
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 2h.
The HD Word Grade 2 Common Core Standards Alignment documentation contains specific standards aligned to lessons and tasks within the Teacher Guidebook. The materials include denotations of standards being assessed in the Reading Playgrounds End of Year (EOY) summative assessment and Reading Playgrounds formative assessments regarding the questions and tasks asked of the students.
Materials include denotations of the standards being assessed in the formative assessments.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, Reading Playgrounds Game Mapping for HD Word, there are the game number skills and standards. The formative assessments are the first three games denoted in green. In Unit 18, Game 1, the standards RF.2.3.e and RF.2.3.f assessed as students identify graphemes and vowel spellings.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, Reading Playgrounds Game Mapping for HD Word, there are the game number skills and standards. The formative assessments are the first three games denoted in green. In Unit 22, Game 1, the standards RF.2.3 and RF.2.3f are assessed as students drag words to their correct group based on final syllables: le, VCe, or neither.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessment & Grouping, Reading Playgrounds for Formative Assessments, the formative assessment materials provide a document citing the correlating Common Core standard for each Reading Playground assessment game.
Materials include denotations of standards being assessed in the summative assessments.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, Reading Playgrounds EOY Summative Assessment for HD Word, a chart contains the Reading Playgrounds game number, the content assessed, and the standards alignment. In Game 8, the standards RF.2.3 and RF.2.3.a are tested with short vowels, digraphs, and two-sound blends.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessment & Grouping, Reading Playgrounds BOY, MOY, and EOY Assessment for HD Word, the summative assessment materials provide a document citing the correlating Common Core standard for each Reading Playground assessment game.
Alignment documentation is provided for all tasks, questions, and assessment items.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessments and Grouping, Reading Playgrounds MOY Assessment for HD Word, a chart contains the Reading Playgrounds game number, the content assessed, and the standards alignment. In Game 11, the standards RF.2.3 and RF.2.3a are assessed with syllable types.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Assessment & Grouping, Reading Playground Assessments, the materials provide documentation of CCSS alignment for each assessment task.
Alignment documentation contains specific standards correlated to specific lessons.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, an HD Word Common Core Standards Alignment provides the domain, cluster, standard, expectation, and three to five citations within lessons. The chart provides the following information: standard RF.2.3.c is in Unit 7, Lesson 4, page 323, where students read two-syllable words containing closed, open, and vowel-consonant-e syllables.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, an HD Word Common Core Standards Alignment provides the domain, cluster, standard, expectation, and three to five citations within lessons. The chart provides the following information: standard RF.2.3.d is in Unit 27, Lesson 4, page 270, where students learn three pronunciations of suffix -ed and read two- to three-syllable words using that knowledge.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, Other Resources, HD Word Common Core Standards Alignment, the materials provide an alignment document that provides each foundational skills standard and the lessons or supplemental materials that teach each standard. Each standard includes one to four lessons or supplemental materials from the curriculum, and the materials indicate when additional lessons address the standard, though not all lessons are specified.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, Other Resources, Reading Playgrounds Game Mapping for HD Word, the materials include a document that describes each learning game in the Reading Playground and names the corresponding standard by number.
Indicator 2I
Differentiation for Instruction: Materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding grade-level standards.
Indicator 2I.i
Materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen in a language other than English with extensive opportunities for reteaching to meet or exceed grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 2i.i.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials contain general strategies and suggestions in Appendix B and in Supplemental Resources about how to support Multilingual Learners (ML); however, there are missed opportunities to help ML students who read, write, speak, and listen in a language other than English or Spanish.
Materials do not provide support for English Language Learner (ELL) students.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, Really Great Reading for English Language Learners, the materials provide a research-based overview of how the program’s overall instructional approach matches ML students' needs.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, Spanish Resources, there are articulation videos for short and long vowels.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, Spanish Resources, there are videos for Phonemes & Finger-Stretching in Espanol, Schwa in Espanol, and digraphs.
General statements about ELL students or strategies are not noted at the beginning of a unit or at one place in the Teacher Edition are then implemented by the materials throughout the lessons.
In HD Word Teacher Guidebook 1, Appendix B, Page 499, the materials provide general strategies for supporting ML students, including emphasizing motions and visuals, using guidewords in students’ native languages when possible, using familiar words, working with partners, and focusing on CVC words in specific activities. The guidebook directs teachers to this appendix page to support ML students within the lessons.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, Phonics Suite Espanol, each unit has resources available in Spanish. Resources include animations, articulation videos, word work, or instructional routines.
Indicator 2I.ii
Materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade-level with extensive opportunities for reteaching to meet or exceed grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the criteria for 2i.ii.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials provide limited guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support students who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level in extensive opportunities to learn foundational skills at grade-level standards through sidebars in lessons with opportunities to assist students. Appendix B provides limited suggestions for students struggling to learn foundational skills. There are missed opportunities for small group reteaching within Teacher Guide Book lessons.
Materials provide limited opportunities for small group reteaching.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, page x, Who Qualifies for Word?, a chart states that in Grades 2-5, large groups of up to 30 students for students starting to fall behind and have foundational skills weaknesses. Mid-size groups are recommended for use as an intervention, as large as twelve students.
Materials provide minimal guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support students who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level in extensive opportunities to learn foundational skills at the grade-level standards.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Appendix B, pages 497-498, in Differentiation Strategies, there are suggestions for students struggling with spelling consonant sounds correctly in Build a Word Lessons, struggling to spell vowel sounds in Build a Word Lessons, and reading high-frequency words with automaticity and accuracy. There are suggestions for making lessons easier for younger students, including using words students are familiar with for finger stretching activities, utilizing hand motion for syllable types, having students finger-stretch, and building additional words with simpler CVC patterns.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 4, Lesson 4, Part 5, page 203, Read Two- and Three-Syllable Real Words, a sidebar advises teachers to look for opportunities to assist students in adjusting their Syllaboards as they chunk their words and provides a suggestion script, “Close your second syllable or keep this digraph together.”
Indicator 2I.iii
Materials regularly provide extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade-level.
The materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for 2i.iii.
The HD Word Grade 2 materials provide multiple opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level to investigate grade-level foundational skills at a greater depth through student practice in workbook activities such as Phrases and Sentences to Read and Word Sort which contain Challenging, More Challenging, and Most Challenging levels of options in each unit. Supplemental resources provide challenge words for the Phonics Concepts lessons and extension options for other recurring instructional routines.
Materials provide multiple opportunities for advanced students to investigate grade-level foundational skills at a greater depth.
In HD Word Teacher Guidebook 1, Introduction, the materials indicate that every unit includes an optional independent extension activity page with a Challenge Yourself component.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Appendix B, pages 404-405, there are four suggestions for making the lessons more challenging for older or more advanced students. Suggestions include using words unfamiliar for finger-stretching or Build a Word activities, providing sentences for words that help expand students’ oral vocabulary, utilizing More Challenging option activities for student practice, utilizing extension activities in phonics lessons, and utilizing extension activities in Lesson 5. Extension activities include Morph It!, Word Math, Swap It!, Word Hunt, Sentence Hunt, and Match It!.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 3, Unit 25, Lesson 5, Part 6, page 36, Unit 21, Extension Activity, students open to workbook page 11, read each sentence, underline all of the word chunks, and circle all of the word chunks that contain more than two syllables. This is completed after Part 5 where they complete Phrases and Sentences to Read.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Challenge Words, HD Word Phonics Concept Challenge Words, the materials provide supplemental challenge content for each unit’s Phonics Concepts lesson. The supplement includes three challenge words that contain the lesson’s target phonics concept, using more challenging words for advanced students.
There are no instances of advanced students simply doing more assignments than their classmates.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 8, Lesson 5, Part 4, pages 374-375, Word Sort-Which Syllable is Which?, students open to workbook page 51. The activity contains Challenging, More Challenging, and Most Challenging words to write the correct syllable in each column, either closed, open, or VCe syllables. Words in the Challenging section include four words with two syllables, words in the More Challenging section contain two words with two syllables and two words with three syllables, and words in Most Challenging include one two-syllable word and three three-syllable words.
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 2, Unit 19, Lesson 5, Part 5, page 339, Phrases and Sentences to Read, students open to workbook page 118 for reading practice. The activity in the book contains Challenging and More Challenging phrases and sentences to read. Sentences to Read the Challenging sentences include 11-13 words, and the More Challenging sentences have 12-24 words.
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, PDF Resources, Other Resources, HD Word Activity Extension Suggestions, the materials list suggested extension options for recurring instructional routines. Some of the extensions offer replacement work that is more challenging, such as asking students to brainstorm a sentence containing three target Heart Words instead of reading the three words aloud. Some extensions offer more challenging assignments for students after completing the target activity, such as identifying the part of speech of a target word or writing a sentence using the target word.
Criterion 2.4: Effective Technology Use and Visual Design
The Really Great Reading materials, HD Word, are web-based. They can be opened with multiple internet browsers and are compatible with operating systems, inclusive of Windows and Apple. The materials integrate technology effectively. The Reading Playground materials are interactive and engaging for students. The materials have some opportunities for personalization. The Reading Playground can be personalized when teachers unlock students’ access to different games. The materials contain limited opportunities for customization. A teacher can customize lessons with the Heart Word Generator and Letter-Sound Generator. The visual design of the materials is not chaotic or distracting.
Indicator 2J
The HD Word Grade 2 materials contain digital materials that are web-based and compatible with multiple Internet browsers, inclusive of Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome. The Countdown web-based materials are also “platform neutral”, compatible with operating systems inclusive of Windows and Apple, follow universal programming style, and allow iPad, Amazon Fire tablets, and iPhone mobile devices. The instructional videos for the games do not load on the iPad.
Examples include but are not limited to:
In Reading Playground FAQs, the site states that Reading Playgrounds has “responsive capabilities, so it can be used across multiple devices and platforms.” It states that “with a minimum of 200 students in your district or school, you can request rostering through the Clever or Classlink.” Further, the site states that it is “FERPA and COPPA compliant.”
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xv-xvii, it states that teachers can access HD Word Online “from a variety of devices, including an interactive whiteboard, a computer screen, a computer hooked up to an LCD projector, or a tablet or iPad.”
Indicator 2K
The HD Word Grade 2 materials integrate technology through Blast Online with animation videos referenced within Teacher Guide Book lessons for teachers to introduce and practice skills with students throughout all HD Word units. The HD Word Online activities are colorful. Most include a built-in auditory component and all activities require student interaction. Reading Playground is the online component of the program for independent student practice. The Reading Playground contains interactive games with activities for independent student practice in phonics, phonemic awareness, reading, and high-frequency words. Reading Playground games are interactive, engaging, and colorful.
Examples include but are not limited to:
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Introduction, pages xv-xvii, it states that “HD Word Online is the online interactive teaching tool” with “virtual manipulatives” that “help make important phonics concepts easily accessible and obvious for your students.” The guide states that “HD Word Online includes visuals for the teacher-led instruction in Units 1–33, virtual letter tiles, online word sorts, vibrant posters, and word analysis activities.” HD Word Online contains “supplemental activities and options to increase students’ practice with concepts and provide various levels of support or challenge for students who need it.”
In HD Word Teacher Guide Book 1, Unit 1, Lesson 4, page 38, View Digraph Animation, the teacher opens to HD Word Online Unit 1, Lesson 4, Phonics Concept 2. The animation video reviews the concepts of phonemes and introduces the concept of graphemes. Colored letter tiles are used for phonemes and graphemes. Two letter tiles are matched to colored tiles. The digraphs ch, ck, ph, sh, wh, and th are introduced in the animation video.
In HD Word Reading Playground, Unit 17, Game 6, students label syllables in words provided as closed syllables, open syllables, VCe syllables, vowel team syllables, and r-controlled syllables. The word is provided and shown, separated into SyllaBoards by syllable. The student drags the correct syllable label to each syllable in the word.
Indicator 2L
The HD Word Grade 2 materials include some opportunities for teachers to personalize learning for all students through the student online component Reading Playground. The Reading Playground provides students with independent practice in phonics, phonemic awareness, high-frequency words, encoding, and decoding. The Reading Playground provides teachers with access to their students’ accounts, so teachers can personalize individual student learning by unlocking or locking games by unit for students to complete.
Examples include but are not limited to:
In HD Word, the online Reading Playground component materials allow the teacher to unlock the games/activities for students in each unit as they complete the unit. Teachers can lock units as needed. Each unit contains nine games.
In HD Word, the digital materials include letter tile freeplay. The digital materials have a Heart Word Generator that allows teachers to customize instructional content.
In HD Word, Assessments, Reading Playground Formative Assessments, the materials indicate how to use the data from the Reading Playground Games. The PDF document, Using the HD Word Reading Playground as Formative Assessment, includes alignment information for the assessments (games) and materials from the HD Word teacher guides and student materials (units and lessons) that align to the assessments (games) and standards. The data is used to personalize learning for students.
Indicator 2M
The HD Word Grade 2 materials contain limited materials to be easily customized for local use. The materials provide a Heart Word Generator, allowing teachers to customize high-frequency words for local use in Heart Word lessons. Although the HD Word Grade 2 materials provide opportunities to customize the Reading Playground by unlocking and locking games by units for individual students, the games themselves are not customizable.
Examples include but are not limited to:
In HD Word Online, Supplemental Resources, Online Resources, the Heart Word Generator allows teachers to select five Heart Words to teach in Heart Word lessons. It will enable teachers to choose five Heart Words to practice in Heart Word lessons.
The HD Word materials include alternative start lessons, activity extension suggestions, optional spelling lists and spelling sentences, optional extension activities in each unit, a distance learning guide, optional additional assessments, and differentiation options.
Indicator 2N
The HD Word Grade 2 materials reviewed include a visual design (whether in print or digital) that is not distracting or chaotic. The visual design supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject. The student materials digital platform, Reading Playground, and the teacher materials digital platform, Countdown Online, incorporate animation and color. The student digital platform supports students in engaging thoughtfully with foundational skills. The HD Word Teacher Guide Books and Student Workbook print materials are organized.
Examples include but are not limited to:
The HD Word Teacher Guide Books include digital and print material that are well organized by units, lessons, and parts.
The HD Word Online animation videos have color and animation.
The HD Word Student Workbooks are organized by units. The print of headings and activities are easy to read, and most activities have clear directions on the activity page.