The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 do not meet the criteria that materials support students’ literacy skills (understanding and comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade level skills (series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels).

The materials do not provide variety in text complexity to support growth of literacy skills. Students read one text in each of the six units in Semester A and read four texts in the first four units of Semester B. Students do not read any texts in the last two units of the school year. In the units with supplemental independent reading texts, the quantitative rigor decreases over the course of the year, which are below grade-level. The other texts fall within a small range of the Lexile stretch band for Grade 6. Students are rarely asked to analyze texts, but rather read excerpts attached to technology-enhanced questions. 

Texts do not increase in complexity across a school year and a variety of complexity across texts in the school year is not evident.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• At the beginning of the year, the students read The Boy in the Wooden Box with a 1000L. Instructions in the Summary of each lesson for most reading assignments state similar instructions throughout: “You will want to read Chapter 8 of The Boy on the Wooden Box in preparation for the next lesson. Continue to make it a point to pay attention to the words used and the tone that they create.” The only variance in Summary instruction states students should “pay attention to the words used and the tone they create.”   
• In Semester A, Unit 3, students read The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those That Survived the Great American Dust Bowl with an 850L. Instructions in the Summary state similar instructions throughout: “As you read The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, pay attention to the fact that although the author is writing a story, it is a true story, which makes it non-fiction writing. Pay attention to the descriptive words used to describe the journey that the characters experience. As you read, take notes on the key points.” No further instructions are provided for context, nor steps to accomplish the objective. 
• In the middle of the year in Semester A, Unit 5, students read a letter from Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt multiple times. Instructions in the Summary include reading the letter and writing a summary (Lesson 2), identifying the author’s purpose (Lesson 4), and making a claim about the letter (Lesson 6). These skills increase in complexity of student skill development, but are not necessarily reflective of text complexity.  
• In Semester B, Unit 3, students read and analyze various poems; however, the expectations of complexity of reading are not reflected. CCSS standards are addressed, but the level of independent reading is not affected by the standards presented. Unit 3 is the last reading unit of the year. In Lesson 12: “Why is Personification Used in Poetry,” Summary, student instructions state: “For your assignment, read ‘Woman's Work’ by Maya Angelou again. Look for any examples of personification and write them down.” Students do not analyze personification, point of view, find evidence to support their own claim, and/or make comparisons to other works.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 do not meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level. 

The publisher did not include a text complexity analysis for the texts used in the materials. No rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level provided is evident.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 do not meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade-level reading proficiency.

The materials do not clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in reading a variety of texts to become independent grade-level readers. The materials do not offer a wide range of genres in the texts, nor do they vary much in complexity. In the six units with texts, a range of the Lexile band is evident but many are below the Grade 6 stretch band. Six of the twelve units have trade books serving as anchor texts, they are referred to as supplemental independent reading texts by the publisher. Students are required to purchase text bundles from an online seller. No provisions are discussed addressing what would happen if students did not purchase or could not afford to purchase texts. 

In the six reading units, the trade books are the only texts students read. All reading is assigned as independent work at the end of each lesson in the Summary. There is no evidence of guided reading, no instruction for close reading, and rarely are students asked to respond to open-ended comprehension questions and support their analysis with text evidence. No mechanisms for teachers and students to monitor progress toward grade level standards or to keep track of reading is evident, though occasionally students are asked to make notes in their digital notebooks. It is noted in the last two units of Semester B, there are no anchor texts, so students are reading less at the end of the year than at the beginning.  

Reading comprehension skills do not build on one another, as they are presented independently of each other and the DOK levels do not always build on the same skill, even within the same lesson. All texts are read as part of the daily curriculum; however, it is not specified whether the students are to read the texts during school or as homework. In addition, no additional self-selected independent reading texts are specified. All students read the same texts throughout the year, which does not provide for individual student text complexity needs.

Instructional materials do not clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in reading a variety of texts to become independent readers at the grade level. The materials also do not clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in a volume of reading as they grow toward reading independence at the grade level.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

In a typical week, students complete five lessons in one unit. In Semester B, Unit 1, students are reading The Giver. Lessons for the first week include: 

• Lesson 1: “Determining Word Meaning”. Students move through DOK leveled activities: Context Clues, Multiple Meaning Words, and Affixes. Some examples are presented from the text, but students are not assigned to read the text until the Summary where they are assigned to read Chapters 1-4: “As you read the next two chapters, pay close attention to unfamiliar words and use the strategies learned here to help understand them.” No instructions are provided if students annotate or make notes about unfamiliar words they encounter.
• Lesson 2: “Identifying the Central Idea in Fiction”. Examples and excerpts are used in the DOK leveled activities on the central idea, evidence, and drawing conclusions, but students are not assigned to do any reading until the Summary where they are instructed to read Chapters 5 and 6: “As you continue to read The Giver, make sure to stop from time to time, think about what you know and what you are reading. In your digital notebook, take notes on each chapter, the central ideas, the evidence and conclusions you are able to draw.” In this case, students are asked to make specific notes about the text.
• Lesson 3: “Describing the Plot”. In the DOK Level 3 activity, “The Most Exciting Part!”, students view important events from The Giver that lead to the climax. In the Summary, student instructions state: “As you read, write down notes in your digital notebook on what events are occurring that create the plot. Label each page by the chapter and list the detailed events.” It is not clear what they will do with these notes as they finish reading Chapters 7 and 8.
• Lesson 4: “Analyzing Character Change and Development”. Again, examples and excerpts from The Giver are used in the DOK leveled lessons. Student assignments are stated in the Summary: “As you continue to read, write down the different conflicts that Jonas has in each chapter and make a prediction on how he will deal with these conflicts. Reflect back when you are done reading to see if your predictions were correct.”
• Lesson 5: This lesson includes a Time to Review activity prior to the Unit Exam, which is a cloze activity where students choose words from a word bank to fill in sentences related to the skills learned in the previous lessons. There is a Practice Activity where students complete 12 multiple choice or drag and drop constructed response items related to the skills learned in the previous lessons. Some of the questions use examples from the text. Finally, the Weekly Quiz includes 27 multiple choice or drag and drop constructed response items related to the skills learned in the previous lessons. Reading is not assigned in Lesson 5.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 do not meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text). 

While there are supplemental independent reading texts associated with each unit or lesson, the core questions and tasks are mostly focused on the skill for the activity rather than questions about the text. Some of the materials provide opportunities for evidence-based reading and writing to build literacy skills, but the majority of questions and tasks in the materials are not text-dependent. Some questions and tasks associated with the supplemental text in the three DOK activities and the Daily Assignment are evident, but these usually include a drag-and-drop or matching activity. Students are not required to create and provide their own answers, nor do they choose evidence from the text to support their answers. Sentences and examples used for independent practice are disconnected from the supplemental text and do not build over the course of the year. Instead, students continue to respond with prepared drop-down or drag-and-drop answers to questions and do not form their own responses.

While the Teacher Portal includes students’ scores on activities, no suggested interventions for struggling students are provided or if students do not answer the questions correctly. For instance, the materials are lacking instruction to assist students in using details from the text in their answer, selecting significant evidence, appropriately paraphrasing, quoting, transitioning between paragraphs, citing sources, or further explaining when providing text-dependent written or spoken answers. No guidance is provided to support teacher planning nor assistance with implementation of text-dependent writing, speaking, or completing any activities. The OER/Teacher Resources link takes students to outside sources related to the skill being taught, and are also not text-dependent.

A minority of questions, tasks, and assignments are text-dependent. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Semester A, Unit 1, Lesson 2: “Determining Author’s Point of View and Purpose,” students are reading The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson. In the Pre- and Post-Tests, students match definitions of tone, connotation and denotation, point of view, and author’s purpose. Next, they highlight five sentences in an excerpt from the novel that create a serious tone. Finally, they match provided author’s purpose options with excerpts from the novel. There are no text-dependent questions in the lesson video that teaches the skill of determining author’s point of view. In the DOK Level 1 activity, students categorize words or statements with positive or negative connotations (drag and drop). In DOK Level 2, students read an excerpt from the novel and highlight five sentences that create a pleasant tone. In DOK Level 3, they read a different passage from the text and sort excerpts by those that support the author’s nostalgic point of view from those that do not support. In these activities, students are shown the correct answers after they submit, and can choose to redo the same questions over until they are successful. 
• In Semester A, Unit 1, Lesson 2: “Determining Author’s Point of View and Purpose,” Daily Assignment, students answer six questions; one question is text-dependent.
• The one question related to the text is: “Complete the sentence with the correct response: The author’s purpose is to (inform the reader of the situation, persuade the reader that nothing is wrong, or entertain the reader).” Students answer using the following excerpt from The Boy on the Wooden Box: “In front of me, my parents still downplayed the seriousness of events. ‘We’ve had pogroms before in the east,’ my father said with seeming nonchalance. ‘Now there’s trouble in the west. But things will settle down. You’ll see.’ I don’t know if that was what he really thought or if he was trying to convince himself and my mother as much as me. After all, where could we go? What could we do?” 
• An example of one of the six skill-related questions that are not related to the supplemental text is: “Look at the sentence below, then decide if the italicized words have a negative, positive, or neutral connotation: Her stellar reputation remains untarnished. This is a (positive, negative, neutral) connotation.” 
• In Semester A, Unit 4, Lesson 6: “Engaging the Reader,” students are reading Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman. This lesson focuses on the types of hooks authors use and point of view. Throughout all parts of this lesson, there is one activity in the DOK Level 2 activity that is directly connected to the text. Students are provided quotations from the text and they drag and drop the type of hook the author was using to match the quotations. None of the other activities are text-dependent questions.
• In Semester B, Unit 4, Lesson 7: “Forming Opinions About Poetry,” Pre-Test, students answer three questions, one of which is text-dependent. The same questions are located in the Post-Test. In Question 1, students read statements and label them as fact or opinion. In Question 2, students drag hypothetical statements about a poem into the categories of “appropriate response” and “not an appropriate response”. In Question 3, students read a short poem and answer four questions with drop-down answer selections about figurative language, the author’s message, the mood created, and the most logical opinion about the poem. All the DOK activities are related to opinion: Level 1: recognizing fact and opinion, Level 2: forming an opinion, and Level 3: writing an opinion. However, none of the questions or tasks in Level 1 or Level 2 are text-dependent. In Level 3, students read the poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” and answer four questions. Rather than students writing their own opinion and supporting it with evidence from the poem, they select answers from provided drop-down menus. For example, “Which of the following is the message the author is attempting to get across in the poem? (Sometimes responsibilities have to come before wishes and desires, It is extremely dangerous to be alone in the woods at night, or The speaker got lost in the woods because he didn’t keep track of the directions)."  None of the six questions in the Daily Assignment are text-dependent.

No teacher guidance is provided for implementation of text-dependent questions and tasks, and intervention after checking student answers.

Examples include, but are not limited to: 

• In Semester A, Unit 2, Lesson 1: “Exploring the Writing Process,” Daily Assignment, students answer six questions. Examples of the types of questions and teacher guidance include: 
• Question 1 (Multiple Choice): “The first step of the writing process is: Revision, Prewriting, Drafting, or Editing.” 
• Question 2 (Multiple Choice): “Sometimes the writing process might feel like it includes an extra step, but that step always brings you one step closer to a successful writing piece. By _________, you’ll get all of your ideas down on paper.”  (Choices: Prewriting, Publishing, Editing, Revising). As the teacher views student answers, if a student got the answer wrong, the message to the teacher is: “There might be a better choice here.” It is unclear if the teacher is to say this directly to students. Also, if a student got the answer wrong, the platform tells the teacher the right answer, but does not provide the student’s answer. Therefore, the teacher cannot provide feedback on the student’s work.
• Question 5 (Multiple Choice): “Responding begins the _____________, in which a teacher or peer will look over your work and make suggestions (review process, editing process, prewriting process, publishing process).” If the student chooses the wrong answer, an auto-generated response is provided on the Teacher Portal that states, “There could be a better choice. Look again.” It is unclear if this is what teachers are directed to say to students. This response is not provided on the student view. In the Teacher Portal, the student’s answer choice is not provided to the teacher, just that the student got it wrong.
• In Semester A, Unit 4, Lesson 1, Summary, students write a two to four page factual report on one of two historical figures. Students must include in-text citations and use a minimum of three credible sources listed on a Works Cited or Bibliography page; however, no rubrics or model papers are provided for a teacher to support students as they write drafts or for teachers to grade and provide feedback.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 do not meet the criteria for sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks build to a culminating task that integrates skills (may be writing, speaking, or a combination).

The materials do not include sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions that build to a culminating task. Culminating tasks also do not integrate skills, and the culminating tasks do not connect to student read texts. The questions students answer during each unit are stand-alone, skill-based questions. There is no evidence of sequencing building to the culminating task, though students write the culminating task throughout the unit with little support. The curriculum does not provide tasks of quality that are evident across a year’s worth of material. While all of the units end with a unit exam which covers the skills that were presented in the lessons, these are not culminating tasks that integrate skills. Three of the twelve units include a writing assignment that could be considered a culminating writing task, though they do not include speaking and listening elements. All three units occur in Semester A. The first semester includes culminating projects that highlight integrated writing skills; however, writing is not text-dependent, does not require students to read any specific text, and is not based on any time frame of reading or text-dependent work. Each of the writing tasks can be completed without reading the supplemental independent reading text for the unit. Skills-based lessons include excerpts and examples from the text, but the writing tasks do not ask students to draw from the text. The final unit of the year teaches skills in speaking and participating in a digital presentation, but there are no requirements the students actually produce any work for these skills, and they are not tied to any text.

Culminating tasks are not related to coherent sequences of text-dependent questions and tasks; they may be completed without understanding of the text.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Semester A, Unit 2, the culminating task is a two-four page first-person narrative on a day where nothing went right. They are to explain what they learned from the experience and how it changed them. Students learn about the writing process throughout the unit while reading the text, Red Scarf Girl. While excerpts and examples from the text are used in the lessons on these writing topics, students could complete the writing assignment without understanding or reading the text. There are very few text-dependent questions where students construct their own responses or where students could use to build to the culminating task. Questions are related to skills of lessons using technology-enhanced activities. Lessons focusing on writing strategies related to the task include:
• Lesson 4: Using Prewriting Strategies
• Lesson 6: Creating an Outline
• Lesson 7: Using Descriptive Details
• Lesson 8: Using Dialogue and Pacing
• In Semester A, Unit 4, the culminating task is a two-four page factual report on one of two early civil rights activists. In this unit, students read Freedom Walkers, a text about the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Lessons throughout the unit use examples and excerpts from this text, but students could complete the culminating task without understanding or reading the text. There are very few text-dependent questions where students construct their own responses or where students could use to build to the culminating task. Questions are related to skills of lessons using technology-enhanced activities. This unit includes lessons on creating a presentation, but it is not clear if or when this will be completed in class. Lessons focusing on the writing skills related to the task include:
• Lesson 1: Identifying the Audience and Brainstorming Ideas
• Lesson 2: Organizing Claims and Ideas
• Lesson 3: Gathering Relevant, Credible Sources
• Lesson 4: Identifying and Citing Credible Sources
• Lesson 7: Supporting Claims with Clear Reasoning
• Lesson 8: Using Quotations Effectively
• Lesson 14: Creating Multimedia Presentations
• In Semester A, Unit 6, the culminating task is a 2-4 page persuasive letter on a topic of student choice. Students read Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” as they learn the skills needed to write a persuasive letter. Examples and excerpts are used in the skill-based lessons; however, no text-dependent questions are posed for students to answer. Questions are related to skills of lessons using technology-enhanced activities. Students could complete the culminating task without reading the associated supplemental text. Lessons that build skills related to the task include:
• Lesson 1: Introducing Claims for a Specific Audience
• Lesson 2: Identifying Credible Sources
• Lesson 3: Finding and Quoting Sources
• Lesson 4: Writing an Introduction and Thesis
• Lesson 6: Developing Arguments
• Lesson 11: Using Clear and Effective Language
• In Semester B, there are no culminating tasks. Although units have the titles Writing Fiction (Unit 2), Writing Poetry (Unit 4), Writing an Academic Essay (Unit 5), and Creating Digital Presentations (Unit 6), none of these units have an assigned culminating task; students learn the skills in isolation.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 do not meet the criteria for materials provide frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

The materials provide few opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions and are not robust across the full school year. Four lessons are provided related to speaking and listening in discussion. Each lesson, titled “Engaging in Collaborative Discussions,” introduces students to the theory and practice of having discussions; however, students do not have evidence-based discussions around the text they are reading. The lessons teach protocols and strategies for how to interact with each other when reviewing work related to writing assignments and presentations, but the skills are isolated to these particular lessons. The materials are not clear for when students are to have discussions during class time during the instructional day. While there is not an established plan for using vocabulary in context, the lessons introduce students to content-specific vocabulary related to collaborative discussions. Teacher implementation guidance is not provided to support students struggling with these skills; teacher materials are the same materials the students see. 

Materials provide few or no questions or supports for evidence-based discussions and few or no prompts or protocols for discussions encouraging modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax. Materials do not provide a year’s worth of instructional opportunities.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Semester A, Unit 1, “Understanding Texts and Forming Opinions: The Boy on the Wooden Box”, Lesson 11: “Engaging in Collaborative Discussions,” students learn about discussion techniques in three skills-based DOK activities:
• In DOK Level 1: “Communication”, students are instructed to make sure their communication is “clear” and “complete.” They view examples of one sentence that is unclear and one that is clear. In the practice activity, students view sentences and sort them into “clear” and “unclear” categories.  
• In DOK Level 2: “Listening”, students learn about active listening, including the steps of focusing, paraphrasing, and providing feedback. In the practice activity, students complete a cloze activity where they fill in the blanks in a paragraph about modeling the steps of active listening.
• In DOK Level 3: “Building on Ideas”, students learn about asking questions, providing information, building on others’ ideas and being courteous. In the practice activity, students view sentences that describe behaviors and then sort them into “recommended behavior” or “discouraged behavior.”

The Summary states, “In this lesson we started to look at the skills that will help you when you begin to work collaboratively with your peers. Being part of a group means that we need to remember to listen actively, to be clear and complete in our communication, and to be courteous. By using these skills, you will find it easier to collaborate with others.” It is not clear when they will be collaborating with peers, nor do they engage with the text during these lessons.

• In Semester A, Unit 5, “Collecting and Comprehending Sources,” Lesson 13: “Engaging in Collaborative Discussions,” students learn about discussion techniques in the three skills-based DOK level activities:
• In DOK Level 1: “Collaboration,” students view brief descriptions of fishbowl discussion, word webbing, literature circles, and think-pair-share. In the practice activity, students view sentences describing an activity and sort them into “Good method” and “Not good method” for collaboration categories.  
• In DOK Level 2: “Collaboration Brainstorming,” students are taught the process of brainstorming in a group. The steps include identifying the objective, set criteria or goals, discuss the assignment, reach a decision, and implement the decision. In the practice activity, students are presented with sentences describing a group’s brainstorming steps and they must drag them in order.
• In DOK Level 3: “Supporting Evidence,” students learn to support their opinion with evidence: “One way to ensure you're working together as a group is to make sure you have supporting evidence for your idea.” This lesson does use examples from the text students are reading in the instruction. In the practice activity, students view opinions from the text and select supporting evidence from a drop-down menu. While this task is associated with the text, students are not assigned to have a collaborative discussion where they apply these skills.

The Summary states, “For your next lesson, you will work together with a partner to examine ‘The Einstein Letter.’ Reread the letter and collaborate on how to make the letter better in regard to persuasion and clarity. Look for logical and emotional reasoning, errors, or logical fallacies. Take notes about what new knowledge you might add to the letter to make the argument stronger.” There is no guidance for teachers to support students who may struggle with this skill.

• In Semester B, Unit 2, “Writing Fiction,” Lesson 8: “Engaging in Collaborative Discussions: Conferencing with Peers or an Adult,” students learn about discussion techniques in the three skills-based DOK activities:
• In DOK Level 1: “Conference Behavior”, students view a chart with proper conference behaviors, including active listening, asking questions and active participation. In the practice activity, students view sentences describing a behavior and sort them into “Demonstrates Proper Discussion/Conference Behavior” and “Does not Demonstrate Proper Discussion/Conference Behavior”.  
• In DOK Level 2: “Preparing for your Conference”, students are taught strategies to prepare for a conference and to use during a conference. They view examples of how to prepare for the conference by making a list of questions to address and to understand that their work will be critiqued. During the conference, they should listen to feedback, write down suggestions, and answer politely if they disagree. In the practice activity, student instructions state: “Try the next activity to see how well you can apply these strategies for receiving feedback at a writing conference.” They are presented with sentences describing actions related to conferencing and they must drag them to sort into before conferencing and during conferencing categories. 
• In DOK Level 3: “Providing Feedback”, students learn how to provide helpful feedback or constructive criticism. They are presented the following guidelines: be positive, be specific, be prepared to explain, and be specific and honest, but polite. In the practice activity, students match specific feedback statements with descriptions of the feedback. For example, “The feedback is not specific enough” or “The comment is negative and not helpful.”

The Summary states, “Be a good group member by following the guidelines for behavior and by helping others improve their work as well." It is not clear when and if students are expected to have a conference on their writing in this unit. There is no guidance for teachers to support students who may struggle with this skill.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 do not meet the criteria for materials support students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports. 

The materials address skills to make students successful when giving speeches, but the curriculum does not provide students multiple opportunities to practice. Speaking and listening instruction is found in some lessons throughout the materials. There are some questions that follow up on the skills of giving presentations or deciphering between formal and informal language; however, it is not applied frequently over the course of the school year. Speaking and listening instruction takes place in discrete lessons that are rarely connected to the texts students are reading. Students learn strategies for speaking collaboratively or presenting arguments and complete activities reinforcing definitions related to speaking and listening skills. No assignments where students take part in a collaborative discussion or present information to their peers is evident; it is not clear if and when students discuss or present. Speaking and listening activities rarely require students to gather evidence from texts and sources. Additionally, no teacher guidance is provided to support students who may struggle, nor does the curriculum provide facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers. 

Speaking and listening activities are few and do not span the course of a school year. Materials supporting speaking and listening are repetitive or optional, rather than assured in the instructional materials. Speaking and listening activities are rarely connected to texts students are reading or researching.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Semester A, Unit 4, “Creating and Presenting Arguments,” students write a factual report on an important civil rights activist. In Lesson 14, “Creating Multimedia Presentations,” students complete three skills-based DOK lessons and activities: Index Cards and Outlines, Visual Presentation, and Body Language. At the end of each lesson, student instructions state, “In order to help you stay focused, calm, and well-prepared, be sure to use the skills you learned today to make great notecards and visual aids to use during your speech.” While these lessons teach the skills of speaking and listening, it is not clear if and when students would make presentations. No further instruction is provided. No instructions for the teacher are provided for evaluating, giving feedback, and no grading rubrics are provided. Presentations seem to be optional and left to the teacher's discretion.
• In Semester B, Unit 4, “Writing Poetry,” Lesson 13: “When to Use Formal and Informal Language,” students analyze the work of others to determine which language is used. They do not use the supplemental text or their own research to practice the skills. Some of the examples require students to read other texts within the lesson.
• In DOK Activity 1: “Formal and Informal Language,” students learn when it is appropriate to use formal versus informal language while speaking or writing. The assessment is a drag-and-drop activity in which students identify the difference between statements using informal language (“Do u wanna hang out, Stay outta my room”) and formal language (“Sir, do you support an increase in funding?”). 
• In DOK Activity 2: “When to Use Formal and Informal Language,” students review an informational text about a sea otter and compare it to a poem about a sea otter. From these examples the students learn two different ways to use formal and informal language.  
• In DOK Activity 3: “Analyzing Language in Poetry,” students read two poems, one uses complex vocabulary and another one uses informal, silly language.  The first poem, “There is No Frigate Like a Book” by Emily Dickinson, uses fairly complex diction like frigate, coursers, prancing, traverse, and oppress. The second poem, “Dry the Dishes” by Shel Silverstein, uses simple words and phrases like awful, boring, and ‘stead. Students complete an assessment where they read another poem, “A Light in the Attic” by Shel Silverstein. They analyze the poem for language and style and answer questions using drop down menus, such as, “Which of the following is a use of slang? (outside, dark and shuttered, lookin’)”.  
• In Semester B, Unit 6, “Creating Digital Presentations,” several lessons teach the skills to participate in collaborative discussions and effectively present their points of view. Lesson titles include "Presenting Clearly and Appropriately", "Incorporating Media into Presentations", "Using Appropriate Volume and Clarity When Presenting", "Organizing Your Notes and Presenting", and "Actively Listening". While these lessons teach the skills of speaking and listening, it is not clear if and when students would make presentations. No instructions are provided for the teacher to use for evaluation, providing feedback, and no grading rubrics are provided. Presentations seem to be optional and left to the teacher's discretion.