7th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials for Grade 7 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of careful reading, and consider a range of student interest.

Texts are rich in language, engaging, grade-level appropriate, and relevant. They encompass universal and multiple multicultural themes that integrate into other content areas. They can be examined multiple times for multiple purposes, such as close reading and literature response, as well as to gather textual evidence for research assignments. Texts are used to build academic and content specific vocabulary and provide students opportunities to gain knowledge and perspective on a variety of topics. This knowledge and perspective facilitates access to future texts and exposes students to rich character development.

Examples of texts that demonstrate high quality include:

In Unit 1:

• "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
• "Choices" by Nikki Giovanni
• "Why Couldn't I Have Been Named Ashley?" by Imma Achilike
• "Huveane and Clay People" from Voices of the Ancestors: African Myth by Tony Allan, Fergus Fleming, and Charles Phillips
• Excerpt from Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers
• “Phaethon" by Bernard Evslin
• “Arachne” by Olivia E. Coolidge
• “The Burro and the Fox” by Angel Vigil
• “Mbombo” by Tony Allan, Fergus Fleming, and Charles Phillips

In Unit 2:

• "America the Not-So-Beautiful" by Andrew A. Rooney
• "Another study highlights the insanity of selling junk food in school vending machines" by Karen Kaplan
• "Ain't I a Woman?" by Sojourner Truth
• "Failure to Ban Violent Video Games Makes Job Harder for Parents" by Tamika Mallory
• “Remarks to the U.N. conference on Women Plenary Session” by Hillary Rodham Clinton

In Unit 3:

• Tangerine by Edward Bloor
• "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman
• Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood
• Excerpt from Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
• Excerpt from Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin
• “A Stunning Tale of Escape Traps Its Hero in Replay” by Harry Bruinius

In Unit 4:

• "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
• "maggie and milly and molly and may" by e. e. cummings
• "It Happened in Montgomery" by Phil W. Petrie
• "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
• "LIttle Red Riding Hood and the Wolf" by Roald Dahl
• Twelfth Night (1996) directed by Trevor Nunn
• “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

Grade 7 text types include poems, essays, articles, films, editorials, myths, novel excerpts, short stories, memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies. The balance of instructional time devoted to studying literary and informational text is not balanced within units, but there is a mix over the course of the year.

• In Unit 1, text types include poetry, novel excerpts, autobiography, memoir, personal narrative, myths and fables, and informational text. Specific examples include, but are not limited to the following titles and authors:
  
  • "Why Couldn't I Have Been Named Ashley?" by Imma Achilike
  • "Phaethon" by Bernard Evslin
  • "Raven and the Sources of Light" by Dona Rosenberg
  • Excerpt from Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers
  • “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
• In Unit 2, text types include informational texts, documentary film, news articles, essays, and speeches. Specific examples include, but are not limited to the following titles and authors:
  
  • "Facts About Marketing to Children" from The Center for a New American Dream
  • "Another study highlights the insanity of selling junk food in school vending machines" by Karen Kaplan
  • "Ain't I a Woman?" by Sojourner Truth
  • "It's Perverse, But It's Also Pretend" by Cheryl K. Olson
  • The Myth of Choice: How Junk-Food Marketers Target Our Kids
• In Unit 3, text types include a novel, film, news article, biography, informational text, poetry, and speech. Specific examples include, but are not limited to the following titles and authors:
  
  • "A Stunning Tale of Escape Traps its Hero in Replay," by Harry Bruinius
  • "To an Athlete Dying Young," by A.E. Housman
  • Excerpt from Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela
  • "Landmarks of Nelson Mandela's Life," BBC News
  • "Invictus," by William Ernest Henley
  • Excerpt from Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, by John Carlin
• In Unit 4, text types include poetry, monologues, informational text, drama, and film. Some specific examples include, but are not limited to the following titles and authors:
  
  • "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes
  • “Haiku” by Jose Juan Tablada, translated by Samuel Beckett
  • "Roommate," "Mr. Perfect," and "Family Additions" by Deborah Karczewski
  • "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes
  • "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.

Materials have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated task. Grade 7 quantitative levels, as suggested in the CCSS-ELA and Appendices, should start in range 925-1185 Lexile and build, with appropriate reader-task considerations at the high end of the range.

The quantitative measure of these texts vary from a 680 Lexile level to a 1490 Lexile level. The qualitative measure tends to stay in the complex and very complex range. The texts have the appropriate level of complexity for Grade 7 according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task. This program uses Lexile for both quantitative and qualitative measures.

Examples are as follows:

• In Unit 1, the overall quantitative levels are 660-1150. Novel excerpts, poetry, and memoir selections are qualitatively complex and less complex. Students work within single texts and compare/contrast components of the materials.
  
  • In Unit 1, Activity 1.4 “The Scholarship Jacket” by Salinas, the overall Accessible text complexity is a 740 Lexile, low text complexity and accessible task.
  • In Unit 1, Activity 1.11 “Phaethon” by Evslin, the Lexile is 700, the task and text are qualitatively moderate.
• In Unit 2, the overall quantitative levels are 760-1240. Articles, speeches, poetry, and nonfiction excerpts are qualitatively complex, and are coupled with activities that call for synthesizing evidence across texts.
  
  • In Unit 2, Activity 2.8 ”Marketing to Kids Gets More Savvy,” the Lexile is 1130. Qualitative: Moderate Difficulty. Task Demand: Accessible-Understand.
  • In Unit 2, Activity 2.12 “Another Study Highlights the Insanity of Selling Junk Food in School Vending Machines,” the Lexile is 1250. Qualitative: Moderate. Task Demand: Challenging-Evaluate.
• In Unit 3, the overall quantitative levels are 570-1150; texts such as a speech by Nelson Mandela and film clips from Invictus are incorporated with thematically-paired poems and articles. Students engage in working across texts.
  
  • In Unit 3, Activity 3.7 “A Stunning Tale of Escape Traps its Hero in Replay” by Bruinius, the Lexile is 1200. Qualitative: Moderate Difficulty. Task Demand: Low.
  • In Unit 3, Activity 3.17 “The Nobel Peace Prize 1993, Biography of Nelson Mandela,” the Lexile is 1490. Qualitative: Medium difficulty. Task Demand: Accessible-Understand.
• In Unit 4, the overall quantitative levels are 700-1330; texts such as Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which includes antiquated language and rigorous structures, are presented with poems and monologues, which are qualitatively rigorous (although not quantitatively measurable). Tasks are integrated reading-writing-speaking-listening and synthesize skills and knowledge learned over the course of the school year.
  
  • In Unit 4, Activity 4.7 “The Highwaymen from Hounslow Heath,” the Lexile is 1320. Qualitative: Moderate Difficulty. Task Demand: Accessible-Understand.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the criteria for supporting students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band.) Series of texts are at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band.

Texts support students' increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. The overall reading and writing demands gradually increase in complexity and challenges over the course of the school year as they incorporate previously-taught components and move students to synthesize literacy skills.

Students progressively build literacy skills through work with a variety of texts over the course of the school year. Texts sets are at various complexity levels, quantitatively and qualitatively, and therefore support learners as they develop literacy skills and background knowledge to support independent and proficient reading practices.

The overall reading and writing demands start at an accessible range in Unit 1 and gradually increase in complexity and challenges over the course of the school year. This range includes measures of quantitative and qualitative demand. In Unit 1, the text Lexile measures range from 660 to 1150. The majority-- about 80 percent-- of the texts are in the "accessible" qualitative range. In Unit 2, the text Lexile measures range from 760-1240. About three-fourths of texts are qualitatively "accessible," and there is an increase in rigor from a qualitative measure. In Unit 3, the text Lexile measures in unit three range from 570 to 1150. There is also a novel study; the suggested novel, Tangerine, has a Lexile level of 640 and is qualitatively and thematically complex. In Unit 4, the overall text Lexile measures are not listed because the texts are primarily monologues, poetry, and dramas. The qualitative nature of these texts is rigorous, and much of the language (e.g. Shakespeare dramas and poetry) includes antiquated language and engages students in highly complex text.

Further student supports online allow students to access texts audibly. Print and online student editions provide grammar handbooks, explaining language standards, as well as a variety of reading and writing strategy explanations. The print and online teacher edition contains these resources as well, along with teaching tips, resources, and suggestions, such as extra grammar lessons, Teacher to Teacher tips, and adapt and extend opportunities for ELL, struggling, and advanced students. There are multiple opportunities during collaborative discussions, Literature Circles, and class presentations to practice speaking and listening skills.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 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.

In Grade 7 materials, the anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for educational purpose and placement at Grade 7. The publisher includes a complete Text Complexity Analysis for each text used. This document includes a text description, a locator for where it is used, a section on context, a chart of the quantitative and qualitative measures, the qualitative considerations, the task and reader considerations, and the placement considerations.

In the online teacher edition, a complete text complexity analysis and rationale for that text's inclusion in the program is available. Included in the text analysis is a paragraph setting the context of the reading within the rest of the unit, a quantitative/complexity measure, qualitative considerations including purpose/levels of meaning, structure, language and knowledge demands, and task, reader, and grade level placement considerations.

In the forward of the print teacher edition, an explanation of the metrics used for text complexity measures is provided. Quantitative measures are indicated with Lexile scores. Qualitative measures are indicated as "High," "Moderate," and "Low" difficulty and were determined by teachers considering meaning, purpose, structure, language, and knowledge demands of each text. Task difficulty was measured using Anderson's and Krathwohl's taxonomy based on the cognitive demands of tasks associated with the text.

At the beginning of each unit, the teacher edition lists rationale for materials included in the Planning the Unit section through Context, College Readiness Standards, and Instructional Practices and Pacing. When texts appear to fall below the grade 6-8 Lexile band, a rationale is provided for justification. In the print teacher and student editions, Text Complexity Icons and information appear as sidebars at the beginning of all prose texts.

The instructional materials for Grade 7 meet the criteria that support materials for the core text(s) provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year.

There are numerous opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of texts throughout the year. Furthermore, students are given many opportunities over the course of school year to practice oral and silent reading fluency, and self-monitor their progress. Materials include a breadth and depth of text types. Student and Teacher Editions contain an extensive list of suggested fiction and nonfiction texts, correlated to each unit’s theme, along with Lexile level, in the front of each unit. Students are instructed at beginning and midpoint of each of four units to select a text from the list, or a similar one of their own, corresponding to unit’s theme. Students keep a Reader’s/Writer’s Notebook through the course of the year’s study. There, they record connections between anchor text and text selected for independent reading. The journal also serves as a repository for self-reflection on the success of reading strategies employed; multiple reading for multiple purposes, rereading, visualizing, and summarizing. Students also use journal to monitor growth in reading fluency, but there isn't a consistent way for the teacher to track a students' growth. The texts provide ample opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading mastery. Additional support is given to struggling readers and English Language Learners, as well as extension opportunities for those reading above grade level. Online programs include Desmos and Linc, and all selections are available as audio versions for practice of oral fluency.

There are numerous opportunities for students to engage with a range and volume of texts throughout the year both in print and in mixed media. Suggested independent reading texts and support texts, when combined with anchor texts, provide a robust collection of opportunities for students to read broadly and deeply. Texts range in length and form from online articles to plays and novels. In the Planning the Unit section, a list of Suggestions for Independent Reading is found. Students are encouraged to do their own research and select titles that intrigue them. In Activity 1.2, students create an Independent Reading Plan based on a series of questions which lead them to consider the type of text they would enjoy reading.

There is guidance for practicing reading strategies, such as rereading, thinking aloud, visualizing, chunking text, and summarizing. Text selections are available in audio format to support students at varying reading and language abilities.

Close Reading workshops are designed to provide practice with and build the skill of close reading. They are used to support or extend instruction rather than as a day to day core component. However, unless the teacher specifically asks students questions at the opportune time, it is difficult for the teacher to find gaps in literacy ability as the Close Reading workshops do not provide enough comprehensive support for teachers to utilize within independent reading to support students that are struggling.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 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).

Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-dependent writing, speaking, and other activities. Every anchor and supporting text has a Second Read component that asks students to look at a particular section of the text, and complete a text-dependent activity. Questions students have about the text are recorded daily in students-required Reader’s/Writer’s notebook. The Teacher Wrap in both online and print teacher’s editions provides extensive guidance to teachers, as well as suggested answers to text-specific activities. Students record, revise, and edit their responses digitally with online text, and are encouraged to use digital tools such as Highlight, Note, Mark, Annotate, and Question to help with understanding. Further support is provided to students digitally through Zinc and Desmos.

• In Unit 1, using the graphic organizer that includes specific prompts for the texts, students summarize “The Scholarship Jacket” and use textual evidence to support their analysis of the narrator's understanding of incident. Students also read "Phaethon" and are presented with statements about the text that they must agree or disagree with. Students must provide text evidence to support their agreement or disagreement.
• In Activity 1.3 students read the text, "Choices" by Nikki Giovanni and answer questions such as, " Which lines in “The Road Not Taken” tell you about the choice the narrator is faced with and the factors he considers when making his choice?" and "How does the narrator feel about the choice he made? How do you know?" Students then respond to, "Think about the poems and your analysis of their speakers, word choices, and themes. Then write a paragraph in which you explain the two narrators’ reflections about choices."
• In Activity 3.20 students read the text, "invictus" by William Ernest Henley and respond to questions such as, "What central idea or theme does the speaker develop by referring to his soul in stanzas 1 and 4?" Students also read the text, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation by John Carlin to answer questions such as, "What inference can you make about Nelson Mandela’sability to understand and work with other people? Support your answer withdetails from paragraph 6. and "Compare and contrast the film and text versions. How were they similar and different? Why do you think some of the facts were altered in the film version? "
• In Unit 4, students are prompted to select two poems and compare and contrast writer's use of language, using examples of specific language from each poem.
• In Activity 4.7, students read The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes and respond to, "Did the soldiers just happen to come to the inn, or did they somehow have information about the highwayman’s movements? Support your answer with examples from the text." Students also, "Reread lines 37–51 of the poem “The Highwayman.” Write a paragraph from the point of view of one of the soldiers. Be sure to use descriptive language to convey why the soldier behaves as he does."

The instructional materials for Grade 7 meet the criteria that materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

Grade 7 materials contain units that have two culminating activities that focus on the steps of the writing process. Materials include writing instruction aligned to the standards for the grade level, and writing instruction spans the whole school year.

Multiple opportunities require short and extended research. Mode-specific Writing Workshops are in the online teacher edition, which include open-ended prompts and Embedded Assessments with scoring guides to provide regular practice. The Student Edition includes writing instruction such as brainstorming, controlling idea, details, dialogue, drafting, editing, evaluating, feedback, outlining, planning, prewriting, quickwrites, research, revision strategies, multimedia components, writing process, and writing prompts. The Planning Unit section of the teacher edition provides an explanation of expectations of Embedded Assessments, as well as a comprehensive Instruction and Pacing Guide. A Writer's Workshop is available online for extra support.

Throughout the texts, the teacher is advised to "have students think-pair-share to write a short response or discuss their responses" to questions and prompts. In the sidebar activities, students are given questions to respond to in writing for almost every text in the student edition.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, after reading a set of myths and studying the components of this form, students complete an on-demand writing prompt that is a creative writing task but draws on what they have learned thus far: "Imagine and write an 'unseen scene' that might be in the 'Daedalus and Icarus' myth. Use your sketches from your plot diagram to generate ideas. Be sure to:
  • Use techniques of characterization to maintain characters’ personalities.
  • Incorporate correctly punctuated dialogue.
  • Use vivid details to enhance elements of character and plot."

Students collaborate with a writing group to strengthen drafts through editing as they engage in their first writing groups in the first Embedded Assessment. Students practice with their writing groups, using revision techniques and using transitions for coherence. They learn how to create a revision plan based on Writing Group feedback. Next, students focus on revision techniques and use their own draft to put them into practice.

• In Unit 2, after viewing advertisements (print, online or television), students complete a graphic organizer in which they analyze the use of advertising techniques about which they've been learning. This activity is followed by an on-demand writing prompt: "Write a response explaining how an advertisement you identified in question 4 tries to influence its target audience. Be sure to:
  • Introduce and develop your topic with relevant details/examples from the advertisement.
  • Use transitions, the precise language of advertising techniques, and formal style.
  • Include a concluding statement that supports your explanation."

Students strengthen expository writing skills by revising for precise language, formal style, and sentence variety and use rubric criteria to write introduction and conclusion. At the end of the unit in Embedded Assessment 2.2, students independently write an argument by generating a new research question, forming a claim, gathering information, and taking their ideas through the writing process.

• In Unit 3, Writer's Craft and Language mini lessons are threaded throughout the unit to provide ongoing practice in revising drafts for varying sentence structure.
  
  • Students write a comparative analysis essay in small groups to practice generating ideas. Students use writing strategies such as guided writing, writing groups, and drafting text-based responses.
  • Students have opportunities to revise and edit their drafts to add variety and interest to their writing. They then move from group writing tasks to independent practice, drafting multiple paragraph text-based responses to literary analysis writing.
  • In Embedded Assessment 3.1, students will work through the stages of the writing process to create a literary analysis essay.

The instructional materials for Grade 7 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards for this grade.

Grade 7 materials include a variety of writing skill instruction is embedded throughout the year to hone students' craft as they learn new forms and modes of writing. Students work on a variety of skills throughout the year including conclusions, controlling ideas, dialogue, figurative language, style, introductions, note-taking, quotations, sensory details, transition words, citing sources, visual displays, supporting details, etc. The index section in the back of the book shows all the skills addressed throughout the year.

Examples of types of writing include:

• personal narratives
• poetry and short stories
• expository and argumentative essays
• take notes, and synthesize into research reports
• illustrated myth
• notes for collaborative discussion
• literary analysis essay
• biographical presentation
• creating and presenting a monologue

Each unit includes short paragraph response writing as well as process writing practice, which students apply to the writing type included with the lesson. Writing types are associated with texts that may be used as models for students. Some examples that show the balance of writing over the year as writing assignments are positioned with mentor texts include:

• In Unit 1, students read personal narratives and then are guided to write one of their own.
• In Unit 2, students read articles from multiple media sources and write expository and argumentative essays.
• In Unit 3, students write literary analyses after reading a novel.
• In Unit 4, students read monologues and Shakespearean drama and craft their own monologue.

The instructional materials for Grade 7 meet the criteria that materials include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information. Grade 7 materials include many opportunities for evidence-based writing, requiring text-based evidence in responding to questions for each selection. With some texts, students' writing is mostly tied directly to texts they have been reading, analyzing, and critiquing although in others, student writing is only focused on extracting evidence of literary devices.

Evidence-based responses are required as follow up activities for all reading selections. Materials provide frequent opportunities throughout the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply their new knowledge in writing. Writing tasks often reference the reading content and mode in which the reading was presented. As students study a text for form and content, students are provided prompts and guidance to identify the components and then practice replicating or analyzing those components.

Across the consumable student edition, there are graphic organizers and note-taking prompts to assist students in producing writing associated with the texts being read. Prompts include questions that are dependent to the text but used with multiple texts, as well as text-specific writing demands. In the sidebars of the student edition, students are provided organized space and guidance to annotate and collect evidence to use in the writing tasks at the ends of each text and/or section. Most writing tasks explicitly require students to cite components of text in the writing.

An example includes:

• In Unit 3, after reading multiple texts on advertising and media marketing to youth, students write an essay. This sample outline frame is provided:

"Marketing to Youth"

1. Introduction/Thesis Statement That Answers the Prompt
2. Body Paragraphs (with examples and information to support the main ideas of the thesis that include evidence and commentary in each paragraph.)
3. Concluding Statement

"In this part of the unit, you have read several texts on marketing to young people, viewed a documentary film, and had numerous group discussions about the topic. In addition, you have collected information from websites. Using the information from these sources, create an outline for an expository essay about this topic."

Students complete the outline, drawing on specific source material from what they've read. Then, the on-demand writing prompt has students write a component of an essay: "Write a conclusion for an essay on the topic of advertising to young people. Be sure to:

• Write a final statement that supports the thesis topic sentences.
• Bring a sense of closure by using transitions and explanations that follow from the essay's main points.
• Use a formal writing style.

In each component, as well as in the guided questions and tasks along the reading, students are consistently required to cite and reference specific evidence from the materials.

The instructional materials for Grade 7 meet the criteria that materials include explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

Grade 7 language instruction in grammar and conventions is provided in a sequence consistent with the demands of the CCSS-ELA and is integrated with reading and writing instruction. Language skills are taught explicitly and then applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts. Across the school year, materials build and promote students' ability to apply conventions and writing within their own writing. In the Teacher Resources section of the online textbook, there are approximately 30 additional Grammar Activities which can be downloaded covering a variety of grammar topics. These files contain a learning target, examples/lesson, and a Check your understanding practice segment. There is also a 24-page downloadable Grammar Handbook which can be used as a reference document.

Examples include the following:

Grammar and usage lessons:

Unit 1

• Activity 1.4: Regular and Irregular nouns
• Activity 1.12: Pronouns and Antecedents
• Activity 1.7: Compound/Complex Sentences

Unit 2

• Activity 2.15: Dangling modifiers

Unit 3

• Activity 3.4: Revising with Subordinate Clauses
• Activity 3.7: Revising with Coordinating Conjunctions
• Activity 3.8: Understanding Phrases
• Activity 3.17: Adjectival and Prepositional Phrases
• Activity 3.21: Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

Unit 4

• Activity 4.7: Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

Language standard Knowledge of Language (CCSS L.3) refers to choosing language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating redundancy. Lessons supporting this include:

Unit 1

• Activity 1.6: Creating Coherence and Sentence Variety
• Activity 1.7: Coherence

Unit 2

• Activity 2.4: Revising for Cohesion and Clarity
• Activity 2.6: Revising for Precise Language and Formal Style
• Activity 2.8: Sentence Variety
• Activity 2.13: Using Rhetorical Devices

Unit 3

• Activity 3.11: Active vs. Passive Voice

Unit 4

• Activity 4.4: Varying Syntax for Effect