12th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a. Texts and text sets are organized around a topic/topics to build students’ knowledge and their ability to read and comprehend complex texts proficiently.

Grade 12 units and corresponding text sets are developed around a thematic focus on the concepts of perception and perspective as students examine how “values, prejudices, and attitudes” shape one's view of reality. Additionally, throughout Grade 12, students learn about various literary perspectives by reading and discussing six literary theories:

• Unit 1, Perception is Everything, introduces students to the first two of six literary perspectives, Reader Response Criticism and Cultural Criticism. Students read and discuss Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” through the lens of Reader Response Criticism, which suggests that “readers’ perspectives often determine their perceptions.” The second lens, Cultural Criticism, is introduced midway through the unit: “[T]his form of criticism examines how different religions, ethnicities, class identifications, political beliefs, and individual viewpoints affect the ways in which texts are created and interpreted.” Thereafter, students explore Luis J. Rodriguez’s poem, “Speaking with Hands,” and George Orwell’s short story, “Shooting an Elephant,” using the lens of Cultural Criticism.

• Unit 2, The Collective Perspective, introduces students to three new literary perspectives: Archetypal, Feminist, and Marxist. The unit asks students to “focus [their] attention on characters, characterizations, and the relationship between and among individuals and groups in a variety of texts, including fiction, drama, film, and non-fiction.” Students apply the Archetypal lens to their reading of Ovid’s “Orpheus Sings: Pygmalion and the Statue” and Shaw’s play, Pygmalion. Students are then introduced to Marxist Criticism which “asserts that economics is the foundation for all social, political, and ideological reality” and about which Marxist critics would argue creates “a power structure that drives history and influences differences in religion, race, ethnicity, and gender.” After developing an understanding of Marxist Criticism, students return to Pygmalion and reevaluate the play with a Marxist lens. The final literary theory introduced in this unit is Feminist Criticism, examining “the patterns of thought, behavior, values, enfranchisement, and power in relations between and within the sexes.” Students apply the Feminist lens to various texts including “Cinderella, the Legend” by Madonna Kolbenschlag. Students demonstrate the store of knowledge gained in this unit through Embedded Assessment 2, writing an analytical essay “applying the Feminist Critical Perspective to a short story...either ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin [or] ‘The Chaser’ by John Collier.”

• Unit 3, Evolving Perspectives, continues to develop the students’ awareness of the various lenses studied thus far through the application of Cultural Criticism and Marxist Criticism to Othello. Additionally, the unit introduces the sixth and final lens to be studied, Historical Criticism. Understanding Historical Criticism “considers the time period in which a work was created and how that time period may have influenced the work…[or] the text’s themes, characters, events, ideas, and structure.” Students read an excerpt from “The Moor in English Renaissance Drama” by Jack D’Amico and analyze Othello in an argumentative essay confirming or countering D’Amico’s assertions.

• Unit 4, Creating Perspectives, asks students “to assess how the various critical lenses they have been exploring may be applied to real-world events to inform an understanding of the underlying tensions that contribute to the resonance and importance of an event in the context of society.” Students read a variety of articles about Hurricane Katrina and as a collaborative group choose one text for the focus of critical analysis, identifying what “critical lenses are evident in how the text approaches the issue? Which dominate or are absent? What specific language reveals the lens(es) at work?”

• Unit 5, Multiple Perspectives, causes students to consider multiple critical lens as they read the graphic novel, The Arrival by Shaun Tan. Following the whole class analysis of Tan’s novel through each of the six lenses studies, students demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and reading skills by working collaboratively to analyze a text they have read independently through multiple lenses.

The sequence of texts and lesson scaffolds are designed to support students as they read to comprehend complex texts. Students read text independently, in small groups, and as whole group read alouds. In addition, students are asked to actively monitor their reading comprehension through the guiding questions of the Setting a Purpose for Reading and Second Read sections. Unit texts are distributed at varying levels within the quantitative and qualitative measures appropriate to the grade band. Finally, in each Activity, students are provided with text-dependent questions to engage them actively and provide scaffolding for students in need.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b. Grade 12 materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher order thinking questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

The Grade 12 program uses literary criticism as a vehicle for sequencing a progression of higher order thinking questions and tasks, fostering independence in students’ ability to analyze all facets of a text and examine the concept of perspective in relation to those texts, primary and secondary. Within most activities of each unit, students work independently, in small groups, and as whole group responding to questions and completing tasks that require analysis of individual texts and text sets. The sequence of texts and tasks are designed to support students as they build knowledge and skills through progressively more complex text-based interactions.

Each unit activity introducing a new text follows a common pattern. An activity feature, Preview, explains the what and why of the lesson/activity followed by Setting a Purpose, an activity feature fostering self-monitoring through “while-reading” task engagement with the text. For example, in Unit 2 Activity 4, Preview tells students what they will be reading, a myth that inspired the writing of the play Pygmalion, and the why, to “analyze and summarize.” Setting a Purpose asks students to “underline words or phrases that reveal aspects” of the protagonist’s character and “circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.” Following the first reading, Second Read asks students a series of increasingly rich, text-dependent questions, each classified as a question related to better understanding Key Ideas and Details or Craft and Structure. In some question sets, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas is also included within this portion of the lesson.

Following Second Read, students become engaged in Working from the Text, a frequently collaborative activity typically engaging students in a directed but more personally responsive work, e.g., working with a graphic organizer, preparing a summary, classifying text ideas, comparing and contrasting concepts and approaches, etc. In Unit 2, Activity 4, students are asked to return to the text to “look for archetypal characters: the creative person, the object of his affection, and the being who grants his wish.” After students work through the activity text in various ways, Check Your Understanding asks them to respond briefly to a guiding question, typically in writing but sometimes through discussion. For example, in Unit 2, Activity 4, students are told that many cultures draw on Ovid’s myth of Pygmalion; they are asked to consider why “this myth exists in different cultures[.] What is it in human nature that inspires in us a desire to create life?”

Although some unit activities end with Check Your Understanding, another feature, Language and Writer’s Craft, appears in many units and builds student knowledge and practice to complete the Writing to Sources feature. For example, in Unit 2, Activity 4, after moving through the standard activity features, the lesson continues with Language and Writer’s Craft: Summarizing. The section provides an overview of the purpose of a summary and delineates six tips as guidelines to summary writing. Students are asked to practice the technique by writing a one paragraph summary of Ovid’s myth. Writing to Sources follows the practice paragraph and asks students to extend the summary that was just written and use their “knowledge of common archetypal motifs to explain two themes in the story.” In writing this response, students are instructed to begin with a thesis statement, include direct quotations, use a coherent organizational structure, and “employ transitions effectively to relate textual evidence to the themes.”

The unit activities and texts work progressively, leading students to toward the first of two Embedded Assessments appearing midway through the unit and again at the unit end. The Unit 2, Embedded Assessment 1 draws on skills and knowledge practiced through various activities of Unit 2, Activities 2.1 through 2.13. The assessment tasks students to collaboratively write “a script that transforms a scene from Pygmalion so that it reflects one of the critical perspectives you have studied.” In transforming a scene, students need skill in summarizing, analytic insight in understanding how aspects of a character reveal characterization, and knowledge of literary theory, each facet having been practiced through the features of Activity 2.4.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c. Grade 12 materials contains a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts. Within most activities of each unit, the sequence of questions, texts, and tasks are designed to build student knowledge and strengthen student skills. Teaching and learning materials provide explicit instruction in research-based reading strategies and text annotation, analytic discussion, and academic writing.

Reading closely is a central activity of every unit: “During the first read, students are encouraged to engage with the text and annotate it with questions and thoughts. When they return to the text for a second read, students search for answers and evidence in response to thoughtful text-dependent questions found after each passage. The questions have been written to tap into the complexity of the text: thematic complexity, structural or linguistic complexity, or content knowledge demands.” Overall, these questions are text-specific and/or text-dependent and are framed across texts. The concepts and lenses of literary criticism are taught throughout Units 1-3 and continued in application in Units 4 and 5. Additionally, many Second Read questions reference learning related to themes, literary elements, literary devices or conventions, further supporting the acquisition of knowledge within and across texts.

In addition to discussions fueled by text-dependent questions, a mix of argumentative, explanatory, and narrative writing prompts provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding and analysis of texts through written expression. Performance tasks allow students to integrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired to demonstrate proficiencies in reading and language standards through writing. Most embedded assessments ask students to expand on unit texts by conducting independent research to integrate knowledge acquired on their own with knowledge gained in the classroom.

Unit activities are typically threaded together through a thematic focus connecting one day’s lesson to the next day’s lesson and therefore, the text of study in one activity to the text of study in the following activities. Additionally, Embedded Assessments occur twice in each unit, with the exception of Unit 5 which offers only one Embedded Assessment at the unit’s end. They ask students to use knowledge and skills gained through previous lessons to demonstrate proficiencies and growth. Each unit follows a similar pattern in developing student ability to successfully build knowledge from single texts and synthesizing knowledge among texts. Day one of each unit begins with Preview, an overview of the unit’s first Embedded Assessment; thereafter, most activities or lessons build to develop student skills and knowledge in the performance of that assessment. After the completion of the first Embedded Assessment the second half of the unit begins, this time with a preview of the second Embedded Assessment which culminates the unit study. Thereafter, most ensuing activities progress to build student proficiencies to complete the second assessment. Through this reiterative process, students gain knowledge and skills to the immediate text under study while simultaneously considering how to integrate their learning into the upcoming performance task.

For example, in Unit 3, students are expected to apply the critical lenses of Reader Response, Feminist, Marxist, Cultural, and Archetypal Criticism studied in previous units as well as gain knowledge in Historical Criticism. In Unit 3, Activity 5, students are introduced to Shakespeare’s Othello through the cast of characters and asked to analyze the characters from a Marxist perspective: “When viewing characters (or a scene) in terms of the organization of society, you are viewing the work from a Marxist critical perspective. Examine the organizational structure of Venetian society in Othello and use the cast descriptions to infer meaning.” After reviewing the cast of characters in this way and predicting how Marxist criticism might emerge or present conflict in the play, Unit 3, Activity 6 introduces the actual play following the standard lesson protocol: Preview, Setting a Purpose, Second Read, Working from the Text, and Check Your Understanding. Preview tells students they “will read Act I, Scene I (lines 178-206) from Othello and annotate the scene for a performance. Then you will perform the scene with your acting company and provide rationale” for the interpretation. Setting a Purpose instructs students to be active readers in their first reading by underlining “words and phrases that indicate Brabantio’s emotional state,...note...theatrical elements (e.g., costumes, props, lighting, set design, etc.) a director might use to convey the emotion of the scene” and circle “unknown words and phrases.” Second Read engages students in deeper thinking with text-based and text-dependent questions, e.g., “What evidence in Brabantio’s first speech shows how he is feeling?” In Working from the Text, students are to use their own Reader Response notes from the first read and consider how actors would move and perform on stage to express their emotional states. Check Your Understanding prompts students to draw on their previous learning to consider how their interpretation of the scene may be different through the lens of a Cultural or Marxist perspective. The activity concludes with an Argument Writing Prompt: “Write a paragraph to state your preferred critical perspective that affords the most effective interpretation of the tension in this scene. Defend your choice with relevant and sufficient evidence.” Students are reminded to provide a “well-reasoned claim that incorporates the critical perspective; establish the significance of the claim, distinguishing it from alternate or opposing claims; use varied syntax, such as adverb clauses, and proper grammar.”

The unit continues to build student knowledge, literary criticism, and skill in the application of the lenses to literary interpretation. In Unit 3, Activity 13, students work with a partner to “choose one critical perspective (Archetypal, Marxist, Feminist, Reader Response, Cultural, or Historical). Draft one literal, one interpretive, and one universal question through that lens. When you have checked your work with another group, repeat the process for a different critical perspective, this time on your own,” showing a step toward independence in both their reading and analysis. In Unit 4, Activity 5, having learned to apply the six critical lenses to poetry, fiction, and drama, students are asked to perform a more complex task of applying these lenses to “real-world events and issues.” The application of these lenses can be readily seen as students read a series of non-fiction pieces on Hurricane Katrina, culminating in a Working from the Text assignment asking them to revisit one of the informational texts and “briefly annotate evidence that links to any of the critical lenses. Then use the following questions to analyze how the lenses are linked to any bias the texts reveal:

• What is being reported (the who, what, where, when, why and how of the event)?
• How is it being reported? How objective is the coverage? Identify textual details (slanters, titles, labeling, omission, and so forth) that reveal bias.
• What is the target audience for the publication/broadcast? How does the text’s rhetorical context affect what it talks about and its language and tone? What inferences can you draw about the writer’s or speaker’s expectations about the audience’s perspective?
• If you read only this article or heard only this speech, what would you think is the key issue? In other words, how does the article frame the truth and significance of the event?
• What critical lens or lenses are evident in how the text approaches the issue? Which dominate or are absent? What specific language reveals the lens(es) at work?"

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d. The Grade 12 questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. a combination of reading, writing, speaking, and listening).

During each unit, students complete two Embedded Assessments, one midpoint in the unit and the second at the unit’s end; the Embedded Assessments ask students to work collaboratively as well as independently. Each one is a unique performance task that allows students to show knowledge proficiency with texts, concepts, and skills representative of multiple grade-level standards and taught through previous lesson sets. The Embedded Assessments require students to deepen learning through analysis and synthesis, presenting their findings through a variety of products: essays, multimedia presentations, speeches, dramatic interpretations, and anthologies. Each unit strategically builds towards the culminating assessment and provides teachers with usable information about student readiness. Skills needed to complete the performance tasks, e.g., writing processes, technology fluency, and speaking and listening skills, are modeled and directly taught as well as practiced in relationship to the performance task. Further supports exist within the student and teacher materials to ensure students are able to complete the performance task. Additionally, many of the text-dependent questions related to Second Read as well as the questions and activities in Check Your Understanding align to the culminating tasks.

In Unit 1, Embedded Assessment 1 asks students to create an Argumentative Photo Essay after “[examining] models of argumentation and [exploring] how argumentation can be supported with visual imagery.” The assessment task tells students to “create and present a photo essay expressing your perspective (position) on an issue or topic of importance to you. You can use the argument you wrote in Activity 1.15 to develop a final product, using at least 10 images to develop a visual argument. Include your intended thesis and a written rationale explaining how your images convey this thesis.” In accomplishing this task, students will demonstrate knowledge and skills the conventions of photo essay format, including the design and expression of a thesis stating a perspective or position on an issue. The task requires students “design a layout that presents a clear sequence of ideas that visually advances a position; understand the function, use, and effects of cinematic and stylistic techniques; apply the elements of argumentation to analyze and create arguments.” To achieve these objectives, students analyze print and nonprint texts from a literal and theoretical perspectives. The performance task also requires the demonstration of speaking and listening skills as students participate in a gallery walk, commenting on and evaluating the work of their peers. To support students in completion of this task, a series of questions guides students through planning, drafting, evaluating and revising, checking and editing and presentation phases of the task, e.g., “How will you practice to share your work in the gallery walk?; What criteria will you use to evaluate other students’ essays (using sticky notes for comments) and identify the unstated thesis of each essay?” Throughout the unit, teachers have the opportunity to assess students’ knowledge of and ability to accomplish the smaller aspects of the assessment and provide them with additional learning opportunities if necessary. For example, in Activity 1.11, teachers are guided to use the Check Your Understanding exercise as a means of assessment: “Check that students’ analyses make a clear claim about the effectiveness of the ad and provide precise details supporting their claim.” If students seem to be struggling, the Teacher Wrap goes on to give teachers suggestions for adapting or extending the lesson: “If students need additional help understanding the connection between argument and a visual image, revisit the media literacy units from previous levels. To extend learning, have students analyze multiple images from an ad campaign or create their own original commercials or print ads incorporating concepts from this activity (framing, angles, strategic placement of objects, rhetorical appeals).”

In Unit 2, Embedded Assessment 1 asks students to work with a partner to write “a script that transforms a scene from Pygmalion so that it reflects one of the critical perspectives you have studied. You will also write a reflection analyzing and evaluating your process and product.” In accomplishing the task, students demonstrate knowledge of script writing, understanding of script writing conventions, the concepts of critical perspectives, and the yearlong thematic focus. Additionally, students apply the elements of plot, characterization, dialogue, and subtext to the writing process, using guiding questions to convey a sophisticated understanding of the drama. While students don’t present/act out their final products, there are steps along the way to support their growing proficiencies in speaking and listening skills demanded by the assessment. For example, in Activity 2.8 students are asked to work collaboratively to discuss the protagonist and antagonist of Pygmalion and thereafter, “create a dialogue among all three characters. Remember that the subtext is often even more important than the words that are spoken, so include any subtext that seems appropriate by noting it in parentheses at the end of the corresponding line.” The Teacher Wrap for Activity 2.8 indicates that students present their dialogues for evaluation based on a series of questions allowing teachers an opportunity to assess student proficiencies essential to success in Embedded Assessment 2.

In Unit 3, Embedded Assessment 2 asks students to make a choice regarding the critical lenses they have studied and apply it to a scene from Othello: “Your assignment is to interpret a scene from Othello using one of the critical perspectives you have studied and then plan, rehearse, and perform the scene.” In completing and performing the task, students demonstrate skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening by working collaboratively as an acting company to interpret the selected scene. In the process, they select and apply a relevant critical perspective studied in the previous units; create a notebook appropriate for the role they are playing within the company, and perform the duties of these roles. Thereafter, students reflect on the process, including the company’s collaboration on scene analysis and interpretation during rehearsals. Having read the play in the first part of the unit, Activity 3.20 guides students through multiple steps of developing the performance and considering what critical perspective to apply in developing the performance. For example, one tool provided to the students is a graphic organizer to help them plan “how to make each character’s vocal delivery, the set, staging, and blocking of the scene to reflect the critical perspective in a performance.” The Teacher Wrap provides guidance for how Check Your Understanding can further support student success in preparing for the embedded assessment: “Review the Check Your Understanding task with students. Meet individually with acting companies to ensure clear understanding of the critical perspective they have chosen and its proper application to the scene they will present. The components should clearly show what students plan to do and how they accomplish their goals. Review their graphic organizers for necessary presentation notes.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2e. Grade 9 materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Materials include a consistent approach for students to regularly interact with word relationships and build academic and figurative language in context.

Opportunities to build vocabulary are found throughout the instructional materials. A cohesive, year-long description of vocabulary instruction is found in the Language Development section of The Front Matter, Teacher’s Edition found in the listings under the Teacher Resource tab on the program’s landing page. The Front Matter describes the program’s approach to language skills and knowledge as “part of an integrated approach to reading, writing, speaking, and listening with instruction that focuses on language as a flexible tool that can be adapted for specific contexts.” The section goes on to specifically outline four instructional features embedded within each unit: Academic Vocabulary featuring Tier Two terms and concepts; Literary Terms equipping students with Tier Three language from the ELA domain; Word Connections featuring roots and affixes etymology, cognates, word relationships, and multiple-meaning words; and Academic Vocabulary in Context featuring glossed terms at the point of use for words with insufficient context clues to aid in comprehension. Additionally, Language and Writer’s Craft activities along with Grammar and Usage sidebars provide language instruction and grammar support in the context of reading and writing within the unit. Language Checkpoint activities offer optional practice opportunities for students to develop or refresh their knowledge of standard English conventions.

Other unit features support teacher instruction and student use of vocabulary in various contexts. The Unit Overview, a feature page of each unit, presents a sidebar listing of Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms introduced, taught, and studied in each unit. Within the activities or lessons, the Setting a Purpose for Reading feature frequently asks students to identify “unknown words or phrases” and determine their meaning using “context clues, word parts, or a dictionary.” Additionally, Planning the Unit offers two features, Supporting Students’ Language Development and Digital Resource: English Language Development Activities, offering additional supports in scaffolded language instruction to ensure students have opportunities to learn, practice, apply, and transfer the language needed to “develop the content knowledge, skills, and academic language needed to perform well on the Embedded Assessments.” The application of words across texts or in ways that support accelerated vocabulary learning in reading, speaking, and writing tasks is most strongly supported through Tier 3 study of language related to literature, rhetoric, and other studies of the ELA domain and reiteratively applied in analysis and communicated through speaking and writing.

In Unit 1, Unit Overview lists Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms for study across the next 18 activities or lessons. Academic terms listed are: perception, perspective, scenario, marginalize, dominant, subordinate, andimperialism; literary terms listed are: literary theory, Reader Response Criticism, mise en scene, visual rhetoric, imagery, prologue, vignette, and Cultural Criticism. Over the course of the unit, students frequently interact with these words in the context of texts, activities, and tasks. Unit 1, Activity 2 is a lesson on perception. The word, “perception” is featured in a sidebar and defined as “one person’s interpretation of sensory or conceptual information.” Activity 1.2 focuses further on the term perception by explaining, “Studying literary critical theories can help a reader become aware of competing perceptions of truth, to learn that a text, like life, is seen through a filter of ideologies, theories, and perspectives.” The discussion of perception and its meaning integrates into the next activity as students are asked to examine perception puzzles and discuss with a partner “how perception changes as you continue to look at the image.” The lesson expands from a visual image as text to an alphabetic text and the examination of aphorisms as an exploration of how “seeing and understanding are always shaped by how we perceive the world.” The activity concludes by having students consider how their perceptions are similar to and different from their classmates or the authors they are currently reading. Throughout the unit, all terms listed in the Unit Overview are featured in activity sidebars, and each activity provides similar treatment of featured words; terms are fully defined and contextualized and, thereafter, repeated many times through the unit’s study in both receptive and expressive modes. Sidebars supported through activities such as this provide rich, multidimensional interaction with language and accelerate vocabulary learning. These activities are foundational to students as they build academic vocabulary enabling them to read diverse literary texts, research among primary and secondary sources, and become college and career ready.

In Unit 4, Unit Overview lists eight Academic Vocabulary and five Literary Terms for study across the next 14 activities or lessons. The unit feature, Supporting Students’ Language Development Section notes that numerous “resources are available in this unit to help teachers differentiate instruction for English language learners or other students who need extra support in English language development.” The associated ELL Support Document found on the listings under the Teacher Resource tab on the program’s landing page indicates teachers should “consistently apply and practice strategic vocabulary development support for Academic Vocabulary with tools such as interactive word walls, diffusing, vocabulary graphic organizers, and QHT work.” The Digital Resources feature indicates where ELD-focused activities for three texts within the unit can be found, i.e.: Academic and Social Language Preview, Interpreting the Text Using Close Reading, and Collaborative Academic Discussion. Each of these activities uses an excerpt from the text under study to support language learning essential to understanding the isolated text, the concepts under study, and the larger goals of the unit. For example, Unit 4, Activity 4.5a draws on vocabulary from the Activity 4.5 text, “President Outlines Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts.” The Academic and Social Language Preview activity begins by providing a three-column chart listing selected Tier 2 words for study, e.g., scope, task force, andprivate sector. The second column of the chart provides a contextual reference as a direct quotation from the text. In the third column, students are asked to “work with a partner to see if you can determine the word’s meaning using context clues or your knowledge of word parts.” Following completion of the chart, students work through a series of Language Practice exercises. In Activity 4.5a, among the exercises is practice matching photographs with vocabulary words or phrases, explaining differences between pairs of words, and writing a sentence using two vocabulary words. Unit 4, Activity 5c, Collaborative Academic Discussion, engages students in small group or paired discussions around academic language and literary concerns. For example, Activity 4.5c asks students, “What is the situation or rhetorical context surrounding President Bush’s speech? How do you know?” and then provides a sentence frame for student response: “The rhetorical context of the speech is _______. The evidence in the text is _______.” The activity ends with the feature, Asking Questions, which typically begins by providing an explanation of the text’s content or message and then asks students to write a response. For example, in Activity 4.5c, students are told, “Presidents usually address questions from the press after speeches. Write questions you would want to ask President Bush about his speech. Make sure to reread the speech and focus your questions on what the speech says directly or what you can infer.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2f. Grade 12 materials contain a year-long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts.

Opportunities to build and communicate learning of topics and texts through written expression are found throughout the instructional materials. A cohesive, year-long description of writing instruction is found in the Effective Expression section of The Front Matter, Teacher’s Edition found in the listings under the Teacher Resource tab on the program’s landing page. The Front Matter explains the program provides “multiple opportunities for authentic, task-based writing and writing to sources. As students are learning to write, they learn to consider task, audience, and purpose in structuring and organizing their writing. Direct instruction in writing in different modes—narrative, argumentative, and explanatory—is a primary focus of unit instruction.” The section goes on to delineate five areas integrated within unit activities and additional resources available through the teacher resource tab: guided instruction in the major modes of writing; direct instruction emphasizing incorporation of details, reasons, and textual evidence; short and extended research writing focused on evaluating sources, gathering relevant evidence, and citing and reporting findings accurately; integration of research-based strategies supporting the writing process; and formative writing prompts, performance-based embedded assessments and optional mode-specific writing workshops.

Several unit features also support student growth in writing skills. Language and Writer’s Craft and Language Checkpoints features “build students’ knowledge of grammar and conventions, making them more proficient, confident, and creative writers and more effective self- and peer-editors.” Explain How an Author Builds an Argument, another frequent unit feature, presents formative writing prompts encouraging the use of academic vocabulary in various contexts. Additionally, each unit presents two performance-based embedded assessments and a corresponding rubric outlining performance expectations. Instruction is progressive, incorporating strategies and protocols to support students' writing independence as they work towards mastery. Finally, a portfolio of student work is cultivated over the course of the year and acts as a final assessment of student writing development.

Unit 1, Embedded Assessment 1 asks students to create an argumentative photo essay and express "your perspective (position) on an issue or topic of importance to you,...using at least 10 images to develop a visual argument. Include your intended thesis and a written rationale explaining how your images convey this thesis.” To prepare students for this task, they complete several writing assignments to build knowledge and skills necessary to the task. In Unit 1, Activity Writing to Sources asks students to write a brief essay “that presents an interpretation of the photo’s mise en scène. Be sure to: provide a concise thesis statement that presents your interpretation; cite specific details from the image to support your interpretation; use precise language of photography to describe the image and your interpretation.” To aid students in developing the ideas for this brief essay, students use an OPTIC graphic organizer to analyze visuals/art/photographs. In Activity 1.7, students are introduced to the photo essay, an essay revealing an “author’s perspective on the subject through a collection of photographic images.” Students follow instruction with collaborative practice, analyzing a photo essay by focusing on specific elements: title, image sequence, photographic content, captions, purpose, target audience, issue and position. Following the collaborative analysis, students complete the Writing to Sources feature prompt: “Write an interpretive response in which you explain the argument being presented and evaluate whether it is effective or not.” The Teacher Wrap provides guidance in leading class discussions and tips on what to assess: “Check that responses to the writing prompt clearly show how the photographer presents his or her argument. Also, interpretations should draw supporting evidence from the image(s).” The Teacher Wrap also provides adaptations for struggling students, e.g., “provide them with an example of a less ambiguous ad campaign to analyze.” These activities, coupled with argumentative assignments such as the Unit 1, Activity 11 on the efficacy of an advertising’s visual rhetoric, provide students with the foundations they need to complete Embedded Assessment 1 while simultaneously laying the foundation for stronger analytic and argument writing in the future.

Unit 2, Embedded Assessment 2 instructs students to work “with a partner to write a script that transforms a scene from Pygmalion so that it reflects one of the critical perspectives you have studied. You will also write a reflection analyzing and evaluating your process and product.” To prepare for this embedded assessment, Unit 2, Activity 16 and 17 engage students in reading two different essays, “Cinderella, the Legend” and “Why Women Always Take Advantage of Men,” and complete a graphic organizer to compare and contrast “the issues raised by each author.” These activities simultaneously build student understanding of Feminist Criticism and act as a formative assessment of that understanding. After discussion, students are asked to write “a compare/contrast analysis to explain an assumption of Feminist Criticism from the graphic organizer you completed in this activity.” Unit 2, Activity 18 continues to develop students’ skills by having them complete a graphic organizer over feminist perspectives in the children’s story, “The Giving Tree,” before having students write a more complex essay of analysis: “Consider the final line of the story: ‘And the tree was happy.’ Write an explanation of why the tree would or would not be happy. How could a feminist reading of this story give the reader a new or different understanding?” The Teacher Wrap urges teachers to encourage the reading of this story from different perspectives and modeling “the kind of analytical questioning that is needed to critique literature from a feminist critical perspective.” Teachers are also urged to remind students “of the task for Embedded Assessment 2: write an analytical essay applying Feminist Criticism to a short story. Conduct a reflection of skills they have developed so far that will help them be successful with this task.” As students complete these assignments, they become more prepared to complete Embedded Assessment 2.

In Unit 5, the single Embedded Assessment asks students “to work with a group to present a novel or play to an audience of your peers. You will collaboratively prepare an analysis of the literary work through multiple critical perspectives and present it in a performance-based or visual medium of your choice. Your analysis should include a summary of the text in the format of a graphic novel.” To complete the assessment students will need to be able to summarize the text and apply the format of a graphic novel; analyze the text through a critical lens; present multiple critical perspectives in a single visual or performance-based product; monitor the audience’s responses, and adjust the presentation as appropriate. To accomplish this, students draw upon skills developed throughout the activities and embedded assessments of this unit as well as previous units. For example, students draw on the explanatory writing prompt of Unit 5, Activity 4 asking that they draft “a brief response to Part I of The Arrival using the Reader Response critical perspective,” as well as an argument response of Unit 5, Activity 9 asking that they “choose one critical perspective that you think is most useful, overall, for analyzing the graphic novel The Arrival. Draft an argument to support your position.” Yet another writing prompt, the analysis prompt of Unit 5, Activity 12, asks students to analyze “how Tan uses graphic features such as framing, transitions, page composition, flow, angles, etc. to convey a theme to readers. How does the author develop a theme using visual features rather than words?” to support students in their preparation of the final embedded assessment.

Throughout the year, students have the option to add all stages of their writing to a writing portfolio. Teachers are encouraged to support students in using the portfolio as a repository for the writing process artifacts and as a measure of student growth. Teachers are encouraged to have students see the collected artifacts as part of the process in “successfully accomplishing the task.” The Teacher Wrap also suggests students archive their reflective responses following the completion of each embedded assessment and draw on those reflections to get “a sense of their growth as academic thinkers and producers.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2g. Grade 12 materials include a progression of focused, shared research, and writing projects to encourage students to synthesize knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.

Opportunities to build skill in research as well as synthesize knowledge and understanding across classroom activities and research-based projects are found throughout the SpringBoard materials. The Front Matter of the Teacher’s Edition indicates that “SpringBoard provides multiple opportunities for authentic, task-based writing and writing to sources” with many writing tasks requiring students seek evidence beyond those texts provided as part of the curriculum. Additionally, students are engaged in short-term tasks and longer-term projects wherein they practice and demonstrate proficiencies in “evaluating sources, gathering relevant evidence, and citing and reporting findings accurately.” Specifically, the Grade 12 materials include a steady “progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.” While the first three units lack a large research project, they do present shorter research projects primarily associated with independent reading and incorporated to support students as they develop knowledge of literary perspectives needed for the completion of larger research projects. Thus, students build skills and knowledge in multiple ways throughout the year, collaboratively and independently. The Teacher Wrap consistently provides teachers with support in “employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic,” as well as “resources for student research.” Students are given opportunities to complete short projects as they develop the foundational skills necessary to move on and complete long projects typically encompassed in the embedded assessments.

The Unit 1 Embedded Assessments do not engage students in a traditional or conventional research projects; however, Embedded Assessment 1 requires students to create an argumentative photo essay and use “at least 10 images to develop a visual argument.” The development of the visual argument requires research of not only the image but also the context surrounding selected images. Other activities within the unit provide opportunities for independent and focused research projects, fostering a more thorough understanding of the unit’s focus. For example, Activity 1.2 introduces students to the Independent Reading Plan, the goal of which is increase “knowledge about topics that fascinate you while also reinforcing and deepening the learning” taking place in the classroom. In Activity 1.15, students are asked to conduct research to represent their independent reading: “Think about the ideas and perspectives from your independent reading from this half of the unit...Do research to find a series of images or photographs that visually summarizes the themes and perspectives from your reading, and present the image series in a small group discussion.” Prior to this activity, in Activity 1.12, students read Florence Kelley’s address to the National American Woman Suffrage Association, after which, students were asked to discuss “the central ideas in this speech.” Included within the text of the speech is an image from 1908. The activity associated with the print text goes on to ask students to “work with peers to find additional photos that would strengthen the claim or enhance the speaker’s message.” The Teacher to Teacher Note in the Teacher Wrap provides support for this activity, suggesting teachers access the The Library of Congress digital collection containing “thousands of photographs documenting many topics connected to the readings in this course, including child labor. Encouraging your students to do independent photo research for this activity will provide meaningful practice for the Embedded Assessment.” Thus, while students are not incorporating textual evidence from research into their project, they are having to research photos that convey their meaning and defend that position in a “written rationale explaining how images convey this thesis.”

In Unit 4, after students have developed a thorough understanding of different literary perspectives through short research projects in units 1-3, students engage in longer research projects. Unit 4, Embedded Assessment 1 builds upon the skills used in the Embedded Assessment in Unit 5 of the 11th grade year and incorporates the knowledge of literary perspectives students have attained in the first part of Grade 12: “Your assignment is to write an argumentative essay, including an annotated bibliography, that argues for the use of a particular critical lens to interpret an event, supporting your argument with evidence from at least five texts gathered alone or with your group members.” To accomplish this task, students “apply a critical lens to the meaning and significance of a real world event...evaluate textual passages for use as evidence in support of an interpretive claim...and synthesize sources in support of an interpretive argument.” To prepare for Embedded Assessment 1, students complete shorter, guided research tasks such as Activity 4.7 where students read a variety of editorials, articles, and reports on Hurricane Katrina, analyze the texts as a group in questions from Working with the Text, plan and deliver a class presentation, and evaluate peer presentations. Thereafter, students write using the “evidence from the various articles you have discussed.” The Teacher Wrap provides guidance to teachers and points out examples of the various literary perspectives that can be seen in the different pieces of literature. Through practice, students gain the independence to use a distinct lens as they interpret an event and to support their interpretation with textual evidence.

The Unit 5, Embedded Assessment is not a research project; however, the assessment does require synthesis of multiple literary perspectives. Additionally, throughout the unit, students engage in short research projects building knowledge of graphic novels and deepening understanding of literary perspectives. For example, in Activity 5.3, students conduct research “to find additional information about graphic novels and comics, including examples of each genre...record your notes from your research on how the two text types are similar and how they differ...record bibliographic information so that you can cite the sources you find...use your research findings to write an explanatory text describing the features and conventions of graphic novels and comics.” The task continues by asking students to write an explanation of their findings and how they would “revise or add to the definition” as a result of the research. The Teacher Wrap provides teachers not only with step-by-step guidance for the activity but also for assessment of the final product as well as adaptations: “If students have difficulty with the writing prompt, first ensure that they have chosen good examples of a comic book and a graphic novel. Model using a Venn diagram to compare a sample comic and graphic novel. Prompt students to identify the texts’ titles and authors, relevant details, and textual evidence.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2h. Grade 12 materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

Grade 12 materials provide students with numerous opportunities for independent reading both in and outside of classroom. Each unit incorporates two independent reading assignments, except for Unit 5, which has only one independent reading expectation. Independent reading is connected to an aspect of the unit study or theme and sometimes directly related to the embedded assessments. Six close reading workshops of various genres or modes are found in the Teacher Resources tab and provide opportunities for enrichment or accelerated learning. Each workshop provides three texts, each with explicit instruction advancing students' independent reading skills. Each text moves through four activities: a guided activity, a collaborative activity, an independent activity, and assessment opportunities for the entire workshop. Additionally, literature studied by the whole class, e.g., novels and plays, sometimes require independent reading beyond the classroom. Accountability is maintained through double-entry journals, reader/writer notebooks, independent reading links, independent reading checkpoints, and in-class discussions for which students must be prepared. Teachers, meanwhile, are provided with guidance for the inclusion of independent reading within the text and with ideas and suggestions for fostering reading independence through the Planning the Unit guide and the Teacher Wrap.

Unit 1 exemplifies how independent reading is established throughout the year. Each unit requires the students to read two texts independently, one during the first half of the unit and the second during the latter half of the unit. Independent reading suggestions for each unit are found in Planning the Unit page and “have been chosen based on complexity and interest.” While typically related to the unit’s theme, students have a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts from which to choose. Texts are equally varied by Lexile measures. For example, in Unit 1, some selections students can choose from are Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (870L), The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (960L), or Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1050L) for fiction and The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (1300L) or Jamaica Kincaid: A Critical Companion by Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert (1530L) for non-fiction. Teachers are urged to “encourage students to do their own research and select titles that intrigue them.”

In the first days of each unit, students create their Independent Reading Plan and share their plan with a partner: “How do you go about choosing what to read independently? Where can you find advice on which books or articles to read? What genre of texts do you most enjoy reading outside of class? How can you make time in your schedule to read independently? How do you think literary theory might change your perspective of the texts you are reading independently?” Additionally, students are given guidance in their reading selection and how their reading may apply to the unit’s theme. For example, in Unit 1 the Independent Reading Link notes, “In this unit, you will study multiple perspectives. For independent reading, find texts representing multiple perspectives from authors such as Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver, Julia Alvarez, Robert Heinlein, and Jamaica Kincaid. Set up a place in your Reader/Writer Notebook to record notes on how the perspectives in your reading are different from your own or from those you are studying in class.”

The Teacher Wrap gives teachers guidance in setting up the Independent Reading as well: “Review expectations as noted in the Independent Reading Link. Include a deadline by which selections should be made and reading should begin.” Additionally, the Teacher Wrap suggests differentiated approaches to support those who struggle gain independence as readers: “As students develop their independent reading plans, consider giving students who are at an early stage of English language development the option of reading a text in their home language. These students can build on native language literacy as they begin to develop academic English.”

As students proceed through the unit, connections are drawn between their independent reading and in-class readings through the Independent Reading Links found as sidebars throughout the teaching materials. For example, in Activity 1.4 the sidebar notes, “Think about your independent reading text. In what ways does your personal response to the text depend on where and why you are reading the text? Consider how your own experiences and background affect your reading of the text and how someone with a different background might view it differently. Then, write a short reflection on your response to the text.” Teachers, likewise, are guided by the Teacher Wrap to engage students in their independent reading throughout the unit and are reminded to draw students' attention to connections between their independent reading and the texts studied in class.