9th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests.

Texts consider a range of topics that are high-interest and age-appropriate for Grade 9. Topics include the plight of migrant workers, epic poetry, women’s rights, and the power of love. Many of the core texts are CCSS exemplar texts, written by award-winning authors, and contain rich vocabulary, both academic and content-specific. Texts are worthy of careful reading. Examples of these texts include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, students read the following texts that are worthy of especially careful reading:
  • Students read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This coming of age, first-person novel is a CCSS exemplar text that contains enduring themes along with rich language that illustrates the characters’ life experiences.
  • Students read “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier, which won the Gwendolyn Brooks Price for Fiction. This first-person short story tells the tale of a 14 year old African American young woman coming of age during the Great Depression. Students can relate to both the age and experience of the main character, as Collier provides a first-person account of the main character’s impulsive reaction to a situation, which is followed by her regret over her response.
  • Students read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This selection is a CCSS exemplar text, filled with rich figurative language.

• In Unit 2, students read the following texts that are worthy of especially careful reading:
  • Students read 1984 by George Orwell. This British text contains academic language, strong content, and enduring themes.
  • Students read “Farewell Address” by George Washington This speech is a CCSS exemplar text and contains complex sentence structure along with formal word choice.

• In Unit 3, students read the following texts that are worthy of especially careful reading:
  • Students read The Joy Luck Club, a CCSS exemplar text that portrays complex characters and a mother/daughter relationship. Students can glimpse into Chinese immigrant culture and relate to the daughter who has a goal that differs from that of her mother.
  • Students read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a CCSS exemplar text by the acclaimed poet Maya Angelou. Students read about the author’s childhood in Arkansas along with the racial issues in American history. The text is filled with rich figurative language.
  • Students read “We Choose to Go to the Moon,” a speech by John F. Kennedy. This speech draws on students cultural knowledge of American history and illustrates an excellent model of persuasive speaking.

• In Unit 4, students read the following texts that are worthy of especially careful reading:
  • Students read Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. One of Shakespeare’s most well-known and oft-referenced plays, students read the famous balcony scene and analyze Shakespeare’s skillful language.
  • Students read Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, a Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography. Students read about McCourt’s impoverished childhood in Ireland. This text contains complex sentence structure and academic vocabulary.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 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.

The instructional materials for Grade 9 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade. Most texts fall within either the Current Lexile Band or the Stretch Lexile Band for grades 9-10. Texts range from 680L to 2100L; most texts are appropriate for Grade 9 according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. Some texts do exceed these bands but the tasks are designed to make them accessible. Examples of texts that have the appropriate level of complexity for Grade 9 include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, of the nine texts that have readability levels that can be measured, five fall within the span for this grade and four fall below. Some texts are clustered together on the same topic. This exposure to these topic connected texts helps students build the knowledge of the topic and equip them to handle the complexity. “Harvest Gypsies,” Lexile 900, and The Grapes of Wrath, Lexile 680, both fall below the band. The Grade 9 ELA Overview explains the use of these three texts at this grade level: “These three texts will provide multiple perspectives on the Great Depression and the conditions farmers and their families endured as they were displaced by the Dust Bowl to California. text. The three texts focusing on the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the plight of migrant workers in California represent a gradual increase of text complexity, intertextual references, and demands on the cultural/literary knowledge of ninth graders. While the quantitative dimensions for Endangered Dreams is higher than the other two texts, this historical account of the migrant-worker.”
• In Unit 2, students read George Washington’s “Thanksgiving Proclamation,” Lexile 2100, and his “Farewell Address,” Lexile 1540, which both reach above the recommended grade band. However, the Grade 9 ELA Overview claims that “qualitative dimensions, reader characteristics, and task demands make these two texts accessible to ninth-grade students, enabling them to grow in skill by interacting with such appropriately challenging texts.” The lesson plan for the “Farewell Address” tells teachers to scaffold the reading and instruction of this text by looking at purpose, specific vocabulary and sentence structure. In regard to “Purpose,” teachers tell students the primary and secondary purpose of his speech and lead students to discuss “what issues seem to worry the departing president and why based on the comments in the address.” For “Specific Vocabulary,” teachers encourage students to paraphrase when necessary. Teachers model how to use context clues to understand difficult vocabulary with the five bold vocabulary words chosen for further study. Students are also given a “Text Glossary” in the Access handouts on which are listed unfamiliar words or idioms and their definitions as well as additional blanks so students may add more. “Sentence Structure” has the teacher provide topics/questions on the Access handout for summarization that will help students make sense of the lengthy sentences. In addition to that, students are given sentence frames to aid them in answering the Think Questions.
• In Unit 3, students read “The Case of Susan B. Anthony.” The Lexile level is 1510 which exceeds the Current Lexile Band. The two Susan B. Anthony texts are appropriate for this level. This unit includes another text on Anthony that is within the appropriate level. The cluster of these three texts should provide students with sufficient exposure to this topic for them to be successful.
• In Unit 4, of the seven texts that have readability levels that can be measured, five fall within the Current Lexile Band or the Stretch Lexile Band, and two fall below. Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love by Helen Fisher has Lexile of 1210, which is appropriate for 9th grade students. Students focus on informational text structure with this text as this text uses multiple like cause-and-effect, sequential, and section headings. “The Gift of the Magi,” with a Lexile of 880, is below the current band, but is included on the CCSS Text Exemplars. Also, the task requires students to analyze theme, which is a complex task.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 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.)

The instructional materials provide a variety of texts appropriate for the grade band. These texts increase in complexity as the units progress. While some texts fall at the high end of the grade level, others are more accessible in order to provide stronger support for students as they learn how to analyze text. Along with increasing text complexity, the students’ writing demand also increases in complexity.

In order to increase students’ literacy skills, each text has students complete a First Read lesson, Skill lesson(s), a Close Read lesson which includes a constructed response for each text.

• The First Read has specific protocols for students to follow in order to develop the reading skills necessary to read that type of text as well as to gain a basic understanding of what the text states and how it is conveying that information.
• The Skill lessons contain specific skills activities that will help students read deeper into the text. These lessons include videos that allow students to see models of other students practicing that skill. The students are then lead through the process of applying that skill to the reading selection through both a model and a practice session. The Skill lessons that students are exposed to throughout the year get increasingly more in-depth as appropriate to the literature. Students may practice the same skill multiple times; however, they are practicing those skills with different reading materials and the skills change slightly according to the material and the skill level of the students.
• The Close Read lessons provide students with an opportunity and the structure to read the selection for a second time. There are guided reading practices for the teacher to walk the students through and specific questions for the students to answer in order to increase their reading skills. Students are expected to go deeper into the text during these readings to look at what the reading means and what that reading causes students to think. The questions and activities accompanying these close reads support students in doing this. After the close read, students complete a constructed response which “asks students to synthesize their work in First Read, Skill, and Close Read lessons by providing textual evidence to support analysis of the text."

To ensure student success and support literacy growth, each type of lesson contains four Access Paths in which teachers can find resources scaffolded for English Language Learners as well as differentiated for different levels of learners. Access 1 are the emerging learners; Access 2 are the immediate learners; Access 3 are the advanced learners, and Access 4 are the approaching learners. These Access Paths provide handouts that offer support for handling text complexity in the areas of purpose, genre, organization, connection of ideas, sentence structure, specific vocabulary, and prior knowledge. The lower level Access Paths also supply Sentence Frames for the Think Questions in the First Read, Guided Reading prompts for the Skill lessons, and a detailed planning outline for the constructed response after the Close Read.

There are multiple assessment opportunities throughout the year for teachers to assess student learning and performance in order to adjust instructional strategies as needed. Teachers use the Placement and Diagnostic Assessments at the beginning of the year. In addition, there are summative assessments that will help teachers track students progress. The formative assessments vary “in type and duration . . . [and] help teachers adjust instructional strategies, measuring individual student progress at strategic points over regular intervals."

Each unit focuses on the use of textual evidence to support student analysis. This literacy skill helps students evaluate information within texts, organize ideas, make inferences, create claims, and use evidence within their own writing. By the end of the year, students are using textual evidence in independent writing assignments such as argumentative essays.

Examples of increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year include but are not limited to:

• The First Read lessons focus on comprehension and vocabulary. In the First Read lesson for To Kill a Mockingbird in Unit 1, students begin by accessing their prior knowledge of social injustice and race relations in the South through discussion and free writes. The Access Path offers more direction as students are guided through a group discussion that has them imagine themselves in a situation in which someone has been treated unjustly. The Access Path has students paired with more proficient readers and has them do additional practice with each vocabulary word and provides a Text Glossary chart on the handout that allows students to note the definition of the bold words as well as any other unfamiliar words or idioms they find in the text. Before students read the text, they are taught a comprehension strategy. In this particular lesson, students learn “Asking and Answering questions,” which is asking and answering questions of oneself before, during and after reading. Teachers model this strategy with a Think Aloud of the first paragraph by saying such things as, “When I read the first line of the selection, I ask myself what the expression ‘raised on fish food’ means and what it says about the boy Walter Cunningham." After modeling, students read independently and annotate the excerpt. Core students are given general instructions like, “ask questions about passages of the text that may be unclear or unresolved.” Access Path students are provided more support. They listen to the audio of the text and follow the detailed Annotation Guide on the Access handout, which contains instructions such as, “Highlight at least two sentences or passages that you have questions about. Enter your questions as annotations.” After reading, students talk part in a small group or partner discussion about the their questions, their answers and the text evidence the found to support their answers. Finally, students answer the Think questions. Core students answer the questions and use a rubric to complete two peer reviews. Access Path students are given Sentence Frames on the handouts, “Walter’s use of words and expression, such as ___________and “he pizened ‘em,” tell me about his character. I think he grew up in _____________________, and he probably did not _____________ at school.” Approaching students on the Access Path are provided a “Find the Evidence” chart that gives them specific tips for how to answer the “Think” questions, “Look at paragraphs 6 and 8 for examples of Walter’s manner of speaking. What do you notice about his choice of words and expressions? How does his language shape your ideas about him?”
• The Skill lessons in the Grade 9 curriculum get increasingly more in depth. Informational text elements is a skill learned and practiced in all four units. Included here is an analysis of the lessons in Unit 1 and Unit 2. In Unit 1, the lesson objectives are that students will learn the definition of information text elements- details, events, people and ideas - and practice using concrete strategies for analyzing these elements. After reading the Model text, students are asked how the Model begins to analyze events; what point does the author make after the description of the family’s living condition; how the conditions and the effects of the conditions make it difficult for the mother and father to work; and how the series of events are connected. This lesson requires students to identify the elements and recognize how they affect one another. The Unit 2 lesson objectives are to learn the definitions of informational elements - important ideas and key details - and practice using concrete strategies for identifying the elements. Students also determine which elements in an informational text help readers find the most important ideas, and how readers can conclude which details are critical and which are less so. This lesson asks students to identify the elements and then delineate them as key or nonessential.
• The Close Read lessons have students looking deeper into the text at what it means and makes the reader think as well as synthesize their learning from the First Read and Skill lessons. In the Close Read lesson for “The Raven” in Unit 4, students begin by comparing their prediction of the bold vocabulary words with the precise meaning. Then, the teacher models a close reading of the first few stanzas by modeling annotation strategies that ties the text to the focus skill and shows students what they looking for while they read. Students are then to read and annotate the rest of the poem after reading the “Skills Focus” questions, which ask the students to not only fine the skill focus but also explain it. For example, “How does the poet use rhyme, rhythm, and repetition in the first half of the poem to establish a mood, or feeling? How does that mood change by the end of the poem? Highlight evidence of repetition and rhyme at the beginning and at the end of the text, and use the annotation tool to explain how they contribute to the different moods.” Access Path students are given a “Complete the Sentences” exercise on the handout to aid them in this process. For example, “The poet uses rhyme and repetition to create an insistent, driving _________ for this poem. The repetition of certain words like rapping and tapping creates _________. At the end of the poem, the rhythm and rhyme scheme have remained _________, but now the repetition includes entire __________. This repetition combines with the steady rhythm and rhyme to create a mood of ______ and a feeling of ____________” (Unit 4 Close Read:“The Raven” Access 1). After reading and annotating, teachers lead a whole class discussion about the Skills Focus questions. Access Path students work in small groups or pairs to share and discuss their annotations. The final element to the Close Read lesson is the constructed response, which has students synthesize their learning from the First Read, Skill: Poetic Structure, and Skill: Connotation and Denotation lessons. For “The Raven,” students are to “Write an essay in which you explore the poem’s structure and language, and explain how these elements suggest that Poe was making careful choices in his writing. Use your understanding of poetic structure and connotation, and how both can contribute to a poem’s theme and mood, when answering the question. Support your ideas with evidence from the text.” Students brainstorm clues to Poe’s intentions and choices as a whole class or in small groups, and then begin planning their essays. Access Path students complete the prewriting activity on the handout that helps them shape the essay with sentence starters and labels to make sure all requirements are met. After planning, students read through the rubric and write their final response.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 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.

Most texts include instructional notes and text notes. These are all found in the ELA Grade Level Overview booklet. At the beginning of each unit, there is an overall explanation of the unit. This includes the balance of literary to informational texts, the essential question, and an analysis of the text complexity of particular texts. In response to texts that are above the recommended Lexile band, the publisher provides scaffolds to assist all students in accessing the text. After this report, each text in the unit gets detailed instructional notes that include information on the author, qualitative features, quantitative features, and reader and tasks. The Author section includes the name, gender, nationality and, if needed, translator. The Qualitative Features component contains the publication date, genre, Scaffold Instruction to Access Complex Text (ACT), which is a short summary of the text, and ACT features, which is broken down into three subjects that vary depending on the text, but includes such things as organization, prior knowledge, specific vocabulary, sentence structure and purpose. The Quantitative Features provides the Excerpt Lexile, Full-text Lexile, and Word Count. The Reader and Tasks lists the skill lessons for that text, the close read prompt and the writing form.

Examples of texts being accompanied by text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement include but are not limited to:

• In the text complexity analysis for Unit 1, one of the texts it discusses is Living to Tell the Tale. For this text, students identify and interpret textual evidence to support comprehension and strengthen inferences. The excerpt Lexile is 1260. The Grade 9 ELA Grade Level Overview states, “Although the last informational text in the unit, Living to Tell the Tale, an example of literary nonfiction, reaches toward the high end of the recommended quantitative dimensions for grades 9-10,its thematic relevance, relationship to García Márquez’s short story “Tuesday Siesta,” and rich qualitative dimensions make it a valuable addition to the unit. A focus on textual evidence in the accompanying Skill Lesson and in the Close Read questions ensures that students challenged by the vocabulary and cultural context in García Márquez’s autobiography will have a path through the selection. Understanding the linguistic and cultural challenges of the text may be difficult for some English learners. Therefore, vocabulary instruction and text summaries will help them with the cultural context and specific words and phrases.”
• The text complexity analysis in Unit 4 examines three selections toward the end of the unit: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt, “Frank McCourt, Whose Irish Childhood Illuminated His Prose, Is Dead at 78,” and “Angela’s Ashes Author Frank McCourt Dies at 78.” The rationale states, “The three texts that focus on McCourt’s life represent a gradual increase of text complexity, intertextual references, and demands on the cultural/literary knowledge of ninth graders. While the quantitative dimensions for the New York Times obituary is higher than those of the other two texts, this article, which focuses on McCourt’s childhood, will draw on familiar experiential knowledge that renders it an appropriate selection for ninth-grade students. To address all three texts’ prior knowledge demands, the Build Background section of the First Read lesson plan in the obituary asks students to work with small groups to use online resources and primary and secondary sources to research McCourt’s childhood during the Great Depression and the socioeconomic conditions in Ireland at the time. Understanding McCourt’s difficult childhood may be challenging for some English learners, so the First Read lesson plan in all three selections is scaffolded with print and audio opportunities for EL students of differing English-language proficiencies. In addition, vocabulary instruction, including Access handouts for EL students, will help them understand unfamiliar words from the texts, while providing them with sentence frames, grammar supports, and opportunities for discussion.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the expectations for the anchor and supporting texts to provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of texts to achieve grade level reading.

Each unit exposes students to high-quality texts that cover a variety of genres, time periods, and cultures with a balance of literary and informational texts. Reading is done independently, as a whole class, aloud, and silently. All of the anchor texts and supporting materials revolve around a central theme and essential question for each unit. Reading materials increase in complexity as the year progresses, and teacher supports are gradually released in order to enable the students to achieve grade-level reading independently.

In the 9th grade curriculum, students read a variety of genres and authors from the classics to modern texts. Students read fiction (short stories and novels), poetry, and non-fiction (essays, articles, autobiographical excerpts, speeches). The authors are drawn from a worldly pool including authors from the United States, South America, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Diverse authors are included within materials.

Examples of students engaging in reading a range of texts include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students begin the first week’s first lesson by reading the Blast background and materials included in several research links. The next day the students participate in the First Read of “Marigolds,” in which they read and annotate the text, and a Skill lesson on Character, during which students read both the definition and model sections associated with the skill. Day three includes the skill lesson on Greek and Latin Affixes and Roots, in which students follow the same process as the previous skill lesson: read both the definition and model sections associated with the skill. Students then complete a Close Read of “Marigolds,” including a detailed reading and annotation of a selection. On the final day, students complete a First Read of To Kill a Mockingbird, in which they pay close attention to comprehension while annotating the text.
• In Unit 2, over the course of five weeks, students complete a full-text study of The Odyssey and read thirteen other partial texts that are a balance of fiction and informational texts. The texts are all related to the unit title of “Leadership.” Informational texts include Apollo 13, Universal History, The Longitude Prize, Into Thin Air, Down These Mean Streets, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Life of Alexander, and No-Man’s Lands: One Man’s Odyssey Through The Odyssey. Fiction texts include The Iliad, Book of the Dead, Sea Fables Explained, The Odyssey Graphic Novel, and “Ulysses.” Students have opportunities to interact with these texts through whole class read-alouds, individual silent reading, First Reads, and Close Reads.
• In Unit 3, students complete a First Read and a Close Read of “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros. Students also complete a skill lesson on informational text elements, and then complete a Close Read of the essay to practice the skills. Students also complete a Blast in which they read information about women and whether or not they have a difficult time pursuing their career and life dreams. In Unit 3, there are two full text studies: Of Mice and Men and The Joy Luck Club. Throughout Unit 3, students read additional texts including “The Necklace,” I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, “The Case of Susan B. Anthony,” and “We Choose to Go to the Moon.”
• In Unit 4, students complete a First Read and a Close Read of “The Raven.” Students also complete two skill lessons, one on poetic structure and one on connotation and denotation, and then complete a Close Read of the poem to practice the skills. Students also complete a Blast in which they read information about the ingenuity of birds. In Unit 4 there is a full text study on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir.. Throughout Unit 4, students read additional texts, including “The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet,” “The Gift of the Magi,” “Frank McCourt, Whose Irish Childhood Illuminated His Prose, Is Dead at 78,” “Angela’s Ashes Author Frank McCourt Dies at 78,” and “Sonnet 73.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 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; this may include work with mentor texts as well).

The materials provide a consistent format for students to engage with text-dependent questions and tasks. Questions, tasks, and assignments are evident in each of the unit’s three sections: First Read, Skill, and Close Read. Within the units, each text begins with a First Read in which the teacher is modeling reading and thinking aloud using comprehension text-dependent questions. Then students complete the first read using text dependent questions either individually or in a small group. Then, the teacher completes the Skill lesson using text-dependent questions. Finally, during the Close Read, the teacher models how to do a close read of the text using text-dependent questions that are focused on the skills taught and require students to analyze the text at a deeper level. Text-dependent questions are to be completed verbally or written in the student’s journal. Each unit provides scaffold-approach to text-dependent and text-specific questioning. Students are required to provide support from the text in most of the work they complete within the unit.

The Harvest Gypsies in Unit 1 contains text-dependent questions found in the Student Preview of the Close Read. Under the Read tab, students find Skills Questions. Five questions accompany The Harvest Gypsies. Students encounter text-dependent questions such as the following:

• “In paragraphs 5-6, Steinbeck writes that when the father and mother saw that their four-year-old boy had eyes that were ‘feverish,’ they gave ‘him the best place in the bed. But one night he went into convulsions and died,” and “[i]t was one step down.’ What does Steinbeck mean by the phrase, ‘one step down”? What comparisons can you make between the first and second families the author describes that explains what he means when he talks about the middle and lower classes of the squatters’ camp, and why this tragic event is ‘one step down’? Support your answer with specific textual evidence.
• “In addition to the actual horror of physical death, Steinbeck describes the stages a family goes through before reaching the lower class, and compares it to a kind of death. Evaluate his claim that falling from middle-class prosperity and self-sufficiency into poverty is a kind of dying. Highlight evidence from the text that supports this idea.”

In Unit 1 during the Skill lesson of “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost, the focus is on Textual Evidence. Within this section, teachers use the following questions to ask students to look for examples of textual evidence:

• “According to the Model, what is the role of the wall in Frost's poem?”
• “How does the author describe the wall? What textual evidence helps you understand what kind of wall it is?”
• “What textual evidence does the Model mention to support the inference that the speaker and his neighbor have met at the wall many times?”
• “What statement does the Model make about the text as a whole? Do you agree with the Model's interpretation, based on the textual evidence? Why or why not?”

In Unit 3, following the First Read of Mice and Men, students practice using textual evidence. First, they read a definition of textual evidence. Then, they see a model of using textual evidence. In the Your Turn tab, students practice the skill. Students encounter practice questions such as the following:

• Part A - Which statement best describes George’s feelings about retelling the story?

1. George is extremely proud that he has taught Lennie to tell the story.
2. George never gets tired of delighting Lennie with the story.
3. George is growing impatient with retelling the story and wants Lennie to tell it.
4. George is as excited as Lennie about the prospect of raising rabbits.

• Part B - Which evidence from the text best supports your answer?

1. “No, you. I forget some a’ the things. Tell about how it’s gonna be.”
2. “O.K. Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and—”
3. “An’ live off the fatta the lan’,” Lennie shouted. “An’ have rabbits.”
4. “Whyn’t you do it yourself? You know all of it.”

• In Unit 3 Dreams and Aspirations from the reading “After Being Convicted of Voting the 1872 Presidential Election,” the close read section includes a writing prompt that asks students to:
  • “Write a persuasive (or argumentative) speech in which you convince your audience that Susan B. Anthony’s argument builds with each paragraph of her speech. Note how her word choice, especially her use of words with strong connotations and her use of technical language, mainly legal terms, contribute to this forward movement of her argument. Quote passages from the text to support your claims. Provide a concluding statement that follows from and supports the argument you present.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for having 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).

Materials include both text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that help prepare students for each unit’s Extended Writing Task. These culminating tasks integrate writing, speaking, or both. There are questions that prompt thinking, speaking, and writing tasks that focus on the central ideas and key details of the text. Reading and writing (and speaking and listening) are taught as integrated skills. The Extended Writing Tasks ask students to explore the theme and essential question of the unit in more depth as they reconsider what they have learned through analyzing texts, conducting research, and contemplating their own life experiences. Each unit has a different mode of writing so that over the course of the year, students demonstrate proficiency in constructing long-form argumentative, argumentative literary analysis, informative/explanatory, and narrative works. Once submitted, these writing assignments can be adapted and delivered as oral presentations. Examples of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks that build to a culminating task include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, the Extended Writing Project focuses on argumentative writing. Students probe this unit’s central question, “How does human compassion inform our understanding of the world?”, as they write an argumentative essay that identifies an individual from the unit who, in the writer’s opinion, best evoked compassion or empathy in an audience to inspire action or change. In the Close Read lesson for “Mending Wall,” students are given the writing prompt: “Why do you think the speaker of the poem helps to repair the wall every year? How do the poet’s descriptions, including figurative language, help express the speaker’s feelings about it? If you were in the speaker’s position, would you help repair the wall each year? Why or why not?” The guiding questions throughout the prompt help the students to analyze and evaluate what the speaker in the poem is talking about in order to write an argumentative response explaining whether or not they think the speaker should help repair the wall. This allows the students to put themselves in the place of the speaker, in other words, live empathy for the speaker’s situation and then support that position with evidence from the text. This is directly leading the student to the final culminating task of the unit.

• In Unit 2, the Extended Writing Project focuses on literary analysis and addresses the following prompt: “What do the authors of these texts have to say about leadership, and how well do they say it? How does each author present and support his or her claims? Do the authors you have selected agree or disagree about the role of and responsibilities of a leader?” The students must draw upon what they learned about the responsibilities of power throughout the unit to make a claim about leadership and support that claim with reasons and relevant evidence from the cited texts. Tasks throughout the reading help students build to the culminating task. While reading the text History of the Peloponnesian War: Pericles’ Funeral Oration, students respond to the following discussion question and have a conversation around this questions in small groups: “According to Pericles, how does Athens compare to other city-states? What information does he offer to support his comparisons? What inference can you make about Pericles’ motivation for making this comparison? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.”

• In Unit 4, the Extended Writing Project focuses on the narrative form. Students probe the unit’s central question, “How are we affected by the power of love?”, as they write a narrative about real or imagined events about love - sacrificing for love, pursuing love despite differences, longing for unfulfilled love, or mourning the loss of love. In the Extended Writing Project skill lesson, Narrative Techniques and Sequencing, students, either individually or as a class, read the Define section of the lesson. In small groups or as a class, they use these questions to spark discussion with classmates about narrative techniques. One example of a question provided is, “How do you think writers can manipulate a story’s pacing?” This will assist students in writing their own narratives for the culminating task.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials providing 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.

Each unit provides frequent and varied opportunities for students to engage in whole class, small group, and peer-to-peer discussion that reference the text under study and incorporate the understanding and use of academic vocabulary and syntax. A Speaking and Listening Handbook provides teachers with explicit instructions on teaching and modeling collegial discussions, and strategies and handouts to guide students as they practice and assess evidence-based discussions. Checklists and graphic organizers are offered to students to use in preparation for the discussions and rubrics are provided for peers and teachers to assess the academic conversations. Examples of how materials meet the criteria of this indicator include but are not limited to:

• Teachers are provided with language, structures, protocols, graphic organizers, and clear connections to the CCSS in The Speaking and Listening Handbook. This is found as a link that appears on each grade level under the heading “Additional Resources.” The handbook provides aid for teachers as they support students’ speaking and listening skills. The tool provides videos of model discussions and opportunities for students to practice different discussion skills.
  • In Unit 1, in the First Read of To Kill a Mockingbird, the students will watch the SyncTV video on To Kill a Mockingbird in a whole group setting. Teachers will distribute the Collaborative Discussion Strategies handout, then the teacher will pause the video at key moments to reflect on how the students in the video demonstrate collaborative discussion strategies. For example, at 00:36 “Allison starts the discussion by questioning, “Who would want to kill a mockingbird?” After Spenser reminds them that Atticus said it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, the group makes connections to what they know in order to make sense of Atticus’s comment. What two strategies does this mainly demonstrate?”
  • Teachers are also provided with structures to discuss register with students and a guiding handout that compares the different registers appropriate for different audiences. Students are asked to participate in several sample discussions that will allow them to experience different registers in a non-threatening scenario. An example of this is: “Distribute the Formality of Speech handout. Explain to students that the language they use in any speaking situation depends on their audience and purpose. Some audiences and purposes are formal and demand formal language, or language that follows the conventions of standard English usage. For example, you would use formal language in an interview with a college admissions committee. Other audiences and purposes are informal and allow for informal language. For example, you would use casual expressions, shorter sentences, and maybe even slang when telling your close friends about your college admissions interview” (“Speaking and Listening Handbook” 5). By practicing these registers, students begin to understand the differences in the expectations for their language with different purposes. All of the above activities are supported with handouts that will help students to organize their thinking and self and peer assess.

• The First Read lesson in each unit provides teachers with opportunities for students to conduct numerous discussions either in small groups, as a whole group, or with a partner. This happens continuously through the process of preparing to read through the first read. Students are given numerous opportunities to explore the ideas and the texts through speaking and listening with their peers and the model discussions provided. An example of this can be found in Unit 3, during the First Read of the Joy Luck Club. Students discuss the questions and inferences they made while reading. They are to refer to Collaborative Discussions in the “Speaking and Listening Handbook” and answer questions like: “Why does the mother choose Shirley Temple as a model for her daughter to follow?”

• Throughout the skill sections of each lesson, students are provided with at least two or more opportunities to discuss how the skills they are learning can be applied to the text. They either apply it to a discussion around the skill itself, or they apply it to a discussion of how the skill is applied to the model text. In Unit 3, during the Skill: Compare and Contrast lesson of Romeo and Juliet, students apply their understanding of the skill with reasons and evidence in small or whole group discussion. An example of a discussion that focuses on the skill is the following: “After watching the Concept Definition video, have students read the definition of comparing and contrasting. Either in small groups or as a whole class, use these questions to engage students in a discussion about comparing and contrasting.” An example of a whole group discussion that focuses on the modeled text is: “As students read the Model, use these questions to guide their understanding of how to compare and contrast two passages . . . What similarities does the Model identify between Brooke’s version of Romeus and Juliet, and Shakespeare’s…”

• During the Close Read lesson in each unit and text, students are provided another opportunity for students to use collaborative discussion strategies, and also encourages and models academic vocabulary. “Project these instructions for the peer review onto the board and review them with your class, so they know what they are looking for when they begin to provide their classmates with feedback. [1] Has the writer clearly expressed his or her central claim or argument in the opening sentences? [2] How well did the writer’s choice of figurative language support his or her main idea? [3] Did you agree with the writer’s interpretation of the figurative language? Why or why not? [4] Were you convinced or persuaded by the writer’s argument by the end of the response? Why or why not? [5] What additional suggestions can you offer that would help strengthen the writer’s response to the prompt?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

Students are given frequent and varied opportunities to engage in speaking, listening, and presenting activities surrounding their study of texts and the associated reading, writing, and research tasks. The opportunities for speaking, listening, and presenting can be found throughout the unit in the Blasts, First Reads, Skills, and Close Reads.

Speaking and listening are also important aspects of the Research Project students complete in each unit. After sharing and discussing the results of individual members’ research findings, each group plans and then delivers a formal presentation in either the narrative, argumentative, or informative mode using multimedia elements such as videos, graphics, photos, and recordings to reinforce its main ideas.

The Speaking & Listening Handbook is utilized during the Research project by students, who will be required to respond critically and constructively to the work of their peers. This handbook also provides teacher support in the form of lesson plans, handouts, checklists, rubrics, and formative assessments that help them teach and assess the Speaking and Listening standards.

In addition to those, the Extended Writing Project at the end of each unit contains various opportunities for whole group, small group and/or peer to peer discussions throughout the different lessons: Extended Writing Project, lessons that cover the writing process (prewrite, plan, draft, revise, edit, proofread and publish); Skill/Skills, lessons that incorporate elements students will need to include within their project; and Blasts, lessons that have a driving question focused on a technique.

Examples of speaking and listening tasks, relevant follow-up questions, and supports include but are not not limited to:

• The First Read lesson for each text contains an introduction to the text prior to the First Read. Students are asked to participate in different types of discussion, sometimes small group, sometimes whole group, sometimes peer to peer, in order to help them activate prior knowledge that will best support them in accessing the text being read and analyzed in that particular set of lessons. This changes throughout but always includes a discussion element. An example of this is found in Unit 1, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The teacher is directed to separate students into small groups and ask them to generate a list of “information and previous knowledge the group members may have about how Africans were sold into slavery in America, where and how they worked, how they were treated, and how they responded to their situations.

• After the first reading in the First Read section of the lesson, students are then asked, again to work in some group arrangement that will require them to verbally process through what they have just read and to pinpoint some specific information that is imperative to understanding the text more deeply. An example of this is found in Unit 3, Of Mice and Men. The teacher lesson plan directs the teacher to discuss students’ responses to the questions from the first readings of this text after practicing the skills of summarizing and annotating the text. Under the heading Discuss, teachers are provided with the following suggestion: “In small groups or pairs, have students discuss the questions they asked and inferences they made while reading. To help facilitate discussions, refer to Collaborative Discussions in the Speaking & Listening Handbook.”

• During the Skill lesson for each text, students are introduced to a new skill they will practice with the text. There is a video explanation of the skills, a written explanation that supports the video, and a model discussion of a group of students discussing how that skill is applied to the text they are studying. Students are asked to participate in different types of discussion, sometimes small group, sometimes whole group, sometimes peer to peer, in order to Skill: Rhetoric lesson for “Washington’s Farewell Address.” Teachers are directed to separate students into small groups and use the provided questions to facilitate a discussion about rhetoric. Questions such as: “Why do you think rhetoric is such an important part of persuasive writing?” and “What types of rhetoric have been used in other works that you have read this year?”

• Students then engage in a Close Read of the text being studied. The text offers extensive support for the teacher to model how to apply the skill to the text being read and follow up questions are provided in the lesson plans. Students are offered the opportunity to work in different types of collaborative situations in order to discuss their close read of the text and to delve deeper into their findings. This is seen in the Unit 4 Close Read for “The Gift of the Magi.” Teachers are told to use the sample responses to the Skills Focus questions at the bottom of the lesson to discuss the reading and begin identifying the themes using questions like: “Explain how the author uses the first three paragraphs to indicate Della’s feelings about the poverty the couple is experiencing. Highlight evidence from the text and make annotations to explain your choices.” and “In paragraphs 43-45, Jikm realizes that both gifts are now useless. How does Jim’s reaction to the situation support the specific theme of the story? Use inference skills to answer the question. Highlight evidence from the text and make annotations to support your answer.”

• The Blasts lessons contain short informational passages, research links to deepen content knowledge and a driving question that students respond to in one hundred and forty characters or less. Students discuss the driving question and context in different collaborative situations: large group, small group and/or peer to peer. An example of this is found in Unit 1, “The Harvest Gypsies.” Teachers are instructed to lead a whole class discussion about the title and the driving question for the Blast, “How do writers evoke compassion from their readers?” After students draft their initial responses to the driving question, they are separated into pairs and given questions like the following to discuss: “Can you think of anything you have read that has moved you to tears?” and “How do words such as ‘filth’ and ‘tatters’ convey a more emotional meaning than the word ‘dirty’?”. Then students look at the “Number Crunch” section of the Blast. The teacher breaks them into pairs and has them make predictions about “what they think the number is related to.” After they click on the number, the students discuss in a large group “if they are surprised by the revealed information.”

• Further opportunities for speaking and listening are also found in the Research Tab within each unit. In Unit 3 of Grade 9, students research the creation and pursuit of goals as the process is portrayed in various mediums, including radio, recordings, photography, film, television, and print. As students research they determine if they want to present their research as an informative or argumentative presentation. Depending on their choice, students are directed to resources from the Speaking and Listening Handbook. As students consider and plan their research, the teacher reviews the Big Idea Blast and Unit Trailer, and leads a large group discussion about the subject of the research in relation to the unit texts with questions like: “What is the most interesting or surprising lesson this unit has taught you about the pursuit of dreams and goals?” and “In the fiction and nonfiction selections you read in this unit, how have elements such as an emphasis on point of view, or the interaction between characters, helped you to understand the importance of the pursuit of dreams and goals?” Once students have reviewed and discussed the subject, they are separated into small groups and are either assigned or self-select a topic. While researching, students are given the opportunity to review and discuss their sources and research in order to amalgamate their information into one presentation.

• In Unit 1, the Extended Writing Project is Narrative Writing . In the Skill: Organize Narrative Writing lesson, there is a whole class or small group discussion about the organizational structure in narratives with questions such as, “How does the narrator [in the model text] introduce the problem in this story?” and “How can reader’s determine the narrator’s point of view in this story?”. During the Extended Writing Project: Plan lesson, the teacher is instructed to lead a whole class discussion that reviews the characteristics of narrative techniques and sequencing with questions, such as “What should the exposition of a story contain in order to generate the reader’s interest?” and “What is the purpose of a story’s climax?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing and short, focused projects. Each unit of study asks student to engage in both on-demand writing and process writing in a variety of forms, including full-length essays, short constructed responses, peer reviews and Blasts.

Students engage in on-demand writing via Blasts, constructed response questions that accompany the Close Read lesson of each text, as well as in the ELA Assessment PDF that is part of each grade level. The Blasts are 140 character writing responses to modern media connections to the literature and themes students are studying. The constructed response questions demonstrate students’ understanding of the reading and language skills and additional experience with the featured mode of writing. Within the ELA Assessment PDF, teachers are provided with multiple on demand writing opportunities that students can complete in correlation with each unit in the year. These assessments include all three modes of writing (explanatory, narrative and argumentative) in a format that mimics the on-demand writing expectations of the state required tests.

Process writing is found in the Extended Writing Project at the end of each unit. Each of the four units covers one of these essential writing forms: narrative, informative/explanatory, literary analysis, and argumentative writing. These Extended Writing Projects take students through the writing process including the following: prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, and editing/proofreading/publishing. Students explore different aspects of the writing process and are given a variety of writing practice opportunities to hone their skills and enhance their understanding of each unit’s particular writing form.

Examples of on-demand and process writing include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, during the close read of “In the Time of the Butterflies,” students engage in a multi-step constructed response to the following prompt: “Do our memories of past events determine, or have a controlling effect on, our future actions? Write an argumentative essay in which you agree or disagree with the idea of how memories of the past can determine how we act in the future.” Students brainstorm a list of example memories individually or in pairs. Next, the students write using a rubric to guide the process, and once finished, they participate in two peer reviews of each other’s writing.

• In Unit 1 of the ELA Assessment PDF, students complete an Argumentative Performance Task: “You have been learning about argumentative writing in class. Your school newspaper would like you to write an essay about extreme sports, focusing on mountaineering. Before you begin, you will read two persuasive articles about mountaineering on Mount Everest. After you read these articles, you will answer some questions about them. Briefly scan the articles and the three questions that follow. Then, go back and read the articles carefully to gain the information you will need to answer the questions and write an argumentative essay.”

• In Unit 3, the Extended Writing Project focuses on informational writing. Students probe the unit’s essential question, “What makes a dream worth pursuing?,” as they write an informational/explanatory essay that looks at the impact of dreams on the lives and relationships of the people and/or characters within the texts they studied in Unit 3. Other lessons on the Extended Writing Prompt include skills lessons on research and note-taking, thesis statements, the organization of informative writing, supporting details, body paragraphs and transitions, and sources and citations. Short constructed responses that accompany all Close Read lessons in the unit help students demonstrate understanding of the writing skills necessary to complete this project. Some examples include, but are not limited to: writing a brief informative/explanatory essay that includes a “clear topic sentence . . . progression of ideas . . . [and] specific textual evidence” after “Sympathy,” explaining why the mother’s dream is worth pursuing after reading The Joy Luck Club, and explaining how the informational text structure of “The Case of Susan B. Anthony” helped express the author’s point of view.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing. The materials provide for a variety of writing tasks across the school year that vary in length and depth, tie to classroom texts and Big Ideas, and represent equally narrative, informative/explanatory, literary analysis, and argumentative writing.

Students engage in writing activities throughout each unit. Students write short constructed responses as part of each Close Read lesson for each text in the unit. This informal writing allows students to demonstrate understanding of the specific text while practicing the featured type of writing. Students engage in informal writing through the annotations that students create as they closely read the various units in the text.

In addition to these shorter, less formal writing opportunities, each of the four units of study contains an Extended Writing Task that takes place at the end of the unit. These writing prompts are linked to the unit texts; throughout the units, students are given opportunities across the school year to learn, practice, and apply writing types addressed in the standards. StudySync also provides guidance and support from peers and adults to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. Students are given opportunities to use digital sources for research and presentation. Examples of opportunities to address different text types include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, in the Extended Writing Project, students write an argumentative essay. Students are asked to, “Choose two selections to write an argumentative essay that makes a claim about who in the unit best evokes compassion or empathy in an audience to inspire action or bring about a deeper understanding of the world: a writer of fiction or nonfiction text, a poet, a playwright, a photographer, or a politician?” A rubric is provided to help monitor student progress.

• In Unit 2, the Extended Writing Project focuses on literary analysis, a form of argumentative writing. Students write an essay in response to the following prompt: “Write a literary analysis of two selections from this unit in which you examine the theme of leadership and the ways in which each author conveys his or her message about the role and responsibilities of a good leader. What do the authors of these texts have to say about leadership, and how well do they say it? How does each author present and support his or her claims? Do the authors you have selected agree or disagree about the role and responsibilities of a leader? Analyze how effectively each text communicates its author’s message.”

• In Unit 4, the Extended Writing Project focuses on narrative writing. Students write a narrative in response to the prompt, “You have been reading and learning about demonstrations of love in different literary genres, as well as the techniques authors use to communicate the experience of feeling and falling in love. Now you will use those techniques to write your own narrative about love—either a short story or a narrative poem about real or imagined events. As a starting point, choose one of the following demonstrations of love explored in Unit 4: sacrificing for love (ex. ‘The Gift of the Magi’), pursuing love despite differences or disapproval (ex.The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story), longing for unfulfilled love (Angela’s Ashes), or mourning the loss of love (‘The Raven,’ ‘Sonnet 73’).”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate for the grade level.

The materials provide students with writing activities that vary in length and purpose in response to a variety of texts. The First Read lesson for each text requires students to complete short answer questions that are text-dependent. The Close Read lessons at the end of each text include an extended writing prompt that requires students to synthesize all of the close reading and skills work that they have done with the text. At the conclusion of each Full-Text Unit, there are two opportunities for long-form writing responses that are connected to an anchor text. One of these is always analytical in nature and requires an argumentative or informative/explanatory response to the whole text. Lastly, the Extended Writing Project requires students to return to the texts they have read over the course of a thematic unit in order to draw evidence from and analyze these mentor texts. Examples of evidence-based writing to support careful, well-defended analyses include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, in the First Read of “Tuesday Siesta,” students are asked a short answer question that will require them to access the text in order to answer the question: “Identify details from paragraphs 1-3 to explain to what social class the mother and daughter belong. Why might the author want us to know about their social class?” The question requires them to go back into specific areas of the text, use details to answer a basic comprehension question, and then apply that information to an analysis question that cannot be directly found in the text, but which builds on discussions had throughout the first read of the text.

• In Unit 2, in the Close Read of In the Time of Butterflies, students are asked to argue how memories of the past affect future actions: ‘Dede’s memories of the past have left her with a fear of the future because “she doesn’t want to be the only one left to tell . . . [her family’s] story.’ What do you think? Do our memories of past events determine, or have a controlling effect on, our future actions? Write an argumentative essay in which you agree or disagree with the idea of how memories of the past can determine how we act in the future.”

• In Unit 3, in the Full Text Study of Of Mice and Men, at the conclusion of reading the text, the students read a companion text: John Steinbeck: A Biography. They then complete a compare and contrast essay in response to the prompt: “What other relationships can you find between Steinbeck’s life and his writing, in particular Of Mice and Men? Do further research into a biography or biographical article on John Steinbeck and find other influences of his own life on the characters, setting, events and tone of his novella or other writings. Present your findings in an essay of 200-300 words.”

• In Unit 4, in the Close Read of “The Raven,” students respond to a prompt asking them to examine the author’s choices and how they contribute to the theme and mood. The prompt states, “Poe claimed to have written “The Raven” very logically and methodically. Write an essay in which you explore the poem’s structure and language, and explain how these elements suggest that Poe was making careful choices in his writing. Use your understanding of poetic structure and connotation, and how both can contribute to a poem’s theme and mood, when answering the question. Support your ideas with evidence from the text.”

• The Extended Writing Project in Unit 2 requires students to access the texts within the unit by having students write a literary analysis essay. “What role should a leader play? What are the responsibilities of leadership? In this unit, you have been reading texts by or about political leaders and others who hold power in a society. Write a literary analysis of two selections from this unit in which you examine the theme of leadership and the ways in which each author conveys his or her message about the role and responsibilities of a good leader. What do the authors of these texts have to say about leadership, and how well do they say it? How does each author present and support his or her claims? Do the authors you have selected agree or disagree about the role and responsibilities of a leader? Analyze how effectively each text communicates its author’s message.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for materials including 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.

The materials include a student edition and an annotated teacher edition of the Grammar, Language, and Composition Guide. The guide is separated into two parts: Grammar and Language Workbook and the Grammar and Composition Handbook. The Grammar and Language Workbook offers lessons to provide additional instruction and practice of specific grammar or language needs and can be used by the teacher for whole class, small group, or individual practice depending upon students’ needs. The lessons can be used for pre-teaching or reteaching. The Grammar and Composition Handbook focuses specifically on grammar and usage, with each chapter focusing on a specific grammar or usage skill. The lessons provide instructions, practice, and review, and the lessons and tasks build in complexity.

Grammar and usage instruction and practice is also embedded in each of the units of study. Under the Overview tab, there is a section called Key Grammar Skills which lists all of the in-context grammar lessons contained in each text in the unit and where they can be found. Not only can students practice specific grammar/language convention skills, they have opportunities to apply them in context in both reading (First Read) and in writing (Extended Writing Project).

The teaching of grammar, usage, and mechanics happens throughout the Core Program and is designed to help students develop a complex understanding of language that they can use to enhance their comprehension of texts. The grammar strand is structured around instruction, practice exercises, and student application. After receiving direct instruction and completing a practice handout on the lesson’s grammar, usage, or mechanics concept, students are prompted to analyze the use of this concept in a given text and answer questions about the purpose and effect of the concept. They may also be prompted to practice the skill through short revision tasks. Core concepts are revisited with opportunities for application throughout a grade level. Language instruction is also provided strategically throughout a unit’s Extended Writing Project, which gives students the immediate opportunity to apply grammar, usage, and mechanics concepts to their own writing, by revising their drafts to incorporate the concept and editing their drafts to apply it correctly. Examples of explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards include but are not limited to:

• The Grade 9 StudySync Grammar and Language Workbook is divided into five parts: grammar, usage, mechanics, vocabulary and spelling and composition. Each part has units that cover specific skills. For example, in Part 1 Grammar, Unit 2 focuses on parts of the sentence and includes four lessons about subjects and predicates: simple, complete, compound and order, and two lessons on complements: direct and indirect objects and subject and object complements. Part 5, Composition, “contains lessons on basic writing skills such as writing effective sentences, building paragraphs, and paragraph ordering, areas some students may benefit from additional instruction as they develop their writing” (StudySync Core Program Overview 6-12. 59)

• The Grade 9 StudySync Grammar and Composition Handbook is divided into four parts: ready reference, grammar, usage and mechanics, composition, and resources. Each part has chapters that are “targeted to a specific grammar or usage skill. The chapter begins with a pretest, is followed by instruction and practice, then ends with a post test” (StudySync Core Program Overview 6-12 59). For example, in Part 2, Grammar, Usage and Mechanics, Chapter 10 focuses on “Capitalizing” and contains three lessons on capitalizing sentences and quotations, letter parts and outlines, and proper nouns and proper adjectives. Students are given a pretest and told to “rewrite any incorrect sentences, correcting errors in capitalization.” Then the students go through the three lessons practicing the rules for each skill. After the lessons, students take the posttest and has them again “rewrite any incorrect sentences, correcting errors in capitalization” with 25 new sentences.

• The “Key Grammar Skills” under the Overview tab for Unit 3 show that grammar lessons appear in the First Read lessons of The Joy Luck Club, “Only Daughter” and “Letter to the Editor: Susan B. Anthony, and in the Extended Writing Project lessons Draft, Revise and Publish. The First Read of “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros has students complete a lesson on parallel construction and then has them “read through "Only Daughter," searching for examples of sentences put together with parallel construction.” The Draft lesson in the Extended Writing Project focuses on adjective and adverb phrases and clauses. Students learn about them and then analyze their usage in the student model essay. Then, students reread their own essays and look for a variety of phrases and clauses and that they punctuated them correctly. If needed, students are encouraged to combine phrases and clauses to “create a variety of sentence structures and add interest to their writing.