9th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that 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 materials offer students several opportunities to use evidence pulled directly from the text as well as make inferences while reading in order to help make meaning of the of the texts provided. Most discussion questions and tasks cover comprehension, summarizing, clarifying, drawing conclusions, making inferences, evaluating, synthesizing ideas, and analyzing and identifying literary devices. Most questions are higher order and ask students to engage with the text directly. The materials do include a range of text dependent questions and tasks throughout each unit, and questions and tasks cover a wide continuum of standards and strategies. Each text in the unit has a sequence of reading opportunities- guiding students in how they should approach each reading of the text. Approaches to reading individual texts within each unit include, but are not limited to: First Read, Skill, Close Read. The First Read is a reading of the text with very little front loading and is more of a surface read of the text and might include tasks and questions that ask students to make inferences and predictions and/or summarize. The Skill reading focuses on a particular skill to think about while re-engaging with the text. Questions and tasks covered in the Skill sections vary and include, but are not limited to: figurative language, argumentation, rhetorical analyses, and technical language. The Close Read brings the student back to the text and often includes questions and tasks that require students to re-engage with the text deeply- citing textual evidence, synthesizing ideas, and/or analyzing author’s purpose/craft.

In Unit 1, “Empathy” one of the exemplar texts is “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song written by James Weldon Johnson and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson. The following text dependent tasks/questions can be found in the “First Read: Discuss.” In this part of the lesson, students are put into small groups to discuss questions they identified while reading. The following questions are included in the teacher’s edition to help facilitate discussions:

• “What are the people in this song ‘rejoicing’? How do the lyrics make this clear?”
• “What do you think is ‘the place for which our fathers sighed’? Why does the song ask whether they have not come there?”
• What are the subjects asking for in the third verse? Why do you think this is so important to the subjects of the song?

After students discuss the song in small groups or pairs, they move onto the “First Read: Think,” in which they answer short answer questions like the following:

• “Reread the first section of the song. What do you think the song is celebrating? What is the ‘new day’ the songwriter refers to in this section?"
• “Reread the second section of the song. Using textual evidence to support your answer, what can you infer about the journey forward from the ‘dark past’?”

In the Skill portion of this lesson, students learn three different skills: determine the tone of song lyrics, making inferences and citing textual evidence to support them, and identifying, analyzing, interpreting and appreciating figurative language in a song and poem. Within this section, a skill is defined; a model of how a text is analyzed for that skill is shown; and, finally, students answer text dependent questions that illustrate their understanding of the skill. A detailed example is explained here from the Skill: Tone lesson. Students are taught in the Identification and Application section how the tone of a song is affected by different things like form or structure, subject and theme, point of view, songwriter’s attitude about the theme, the connotations of words, and the use of sound devices. Then they are asked to read and annotate the Model text by highlighting key points, asking questions, identifying the places where the Model is applying the strategies laid out in the Identification and Application section, noting unfamiliar vocabulary and commenting on the effect that an analysis of tone has on the meaning of the text. After reading the Model text, teachers lead a whole-group discussion using the following questions:

• “What’s the first step this Model uses to begin looking for the song’s tone?”
• “What contrast does the Model set up to help you understand why this song’s tone is mostly serious?”
• “After looking at a song’s poetic structure, what else should help you find the tone of the song?”
• “Give a brief explanation of what the Model means by connotations, citing examples from the Model and the song.”
• “According to the Model, how do the final four lines of the first verse shift the tone?”

At the end of the discussion, students are told to answer a multiple choice question which will assess their understanding of the skill. A section of the song is written on the left side of the screen, and the following questions are on the right:

• “Part A: Which of the following accurately describes the tone of the lines?”
• “Part B: Which words from the song help you identify the lines with the sad or serious tone?”

During the Close Read portion of the lesson, students are given the opportunity to explore figurative language and tone in greater detail. Students begin by working with vocabulary found in the text. Then, the teacher models how to close read the text using annotation strategies provided. After modeling, the teacher reads over the Skills Focus question, so the students understand what they should pay close attention to while reading. Then students read and annotate the rest of the text; discuss the Skills Focus question in a large group; and, finally, answer a writing prompt. The Skills Focus questions from this lesson, Close Read: The Life Every Voice and Sing, include:

• “As you reread the text of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ think about the subject of the song. How does the language change over the course of the song, and how does that change impact the tone? Compare the tone of the first verse to the tone of the second verse. Remember that word choice, sound devices, the song’s subject, and the songwriter’s point of view all contribute to the tone. Highlight evidence from the text to support your answer.”
• “A songwriter can use figurative language to appeal to readers’ and listeners’ senses and create emotional impact. In the second verse, the songwriter writes, ‘Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.’ What kind of figurative language is being used? What does this image mean, and how does it add to the overall meaning of the verse? What other evidence from the text supports the meaning of the verse?”
• “In the third verse, the writer includes the words Thy, Thou, and Thee for the first time. How would you describe effect of these words on the tone in the final verse? What other words or phrases influence the tone? Highlight textual evidence and annotate to explain your ideas. How does this verse relate to the rest of the song?”
• “What does the songwriter mean by the phrase, ‘drunk with the wine of the world’ in the third verse? Explain how the phrase is an example of figurative language. What is the songwriter calling on God’s help to avoid? Look at the context of the song lyrics for text evidence to help you explain its meaning. Cite this evidence in your explanation.”
• “In the second verse, the songwriter writes, ‘Bitter the chast’ning rod.’ Look at the context of the word chast’ning, (a short form of “chastening”) and the use of the word rod. How does the context of the line in which the word appears help you understand its meaning? What does the songwriter mean by a chast’ning rod? How does this choice of words in the song help to develop a reader or listener’s empathy for the people being described?”

The text-dependent writing prompt for this lesson is:

• “Think about the title of the song 'Lift Every Voice and Sing'by James Weldon Johnson. What is the difference between 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' and, for example, 'Lift Your Voice and Sing?' How does that affect the appeal of the song? How does the writer use figurative language and tone to explore his subject and create meaning? Write a short literary analysis in which you analyze the tone and language of the song and craft an argument about whether they are effective in expressing the songwriter’s meaning. Use what you have learned about finding and citing textual evidence to support your claim and explain your ideas.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

The materials provided students multiple opportunities, through questions and tasks, to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts. Each unit contains texts that are represented in more than one format, several texts that explore/represent one theme, and several argumentative prompts that give students the opportunity to state and claim and use evidence from the various texts to support their claim.

The reading, writing, research, and discussion tasks throughout the four units of study require students to complete a thorough, detailed examination of every reading selection. The culminating task for each unit is an Extended Writing Project; the prompts for the informational, argument, and literary analysis writing tasks demand that students cite evidence from multiple texts in the unit. Each unit contains a Research Project that requires that the students put the skills of reading and analyzing texts that they learned throughout the unit into practice. Each unit also contains a Full Text Study which comes with companion texts. This text set becomes the resource for the final activity for the Full Text Study, where students are asked to complete sustained writing tasks in response to prompts that require them to compare and contrast two or more of the texts in the set. Examples of coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students compare and contrast an experience from the short story “Tuesday Siesta” with a real-life event the author describes in his autobiography Living to Tell the Tale. The prompt asks students to “analyze what is emphasized or absent in each account . . . [and] compare and contrast the order of events presented in the autobiography with the order of events presented in the plot structure of the short story.” Before writing, students annotate the text thinking about the following: “which account . . . is better supported by facts; analyze the author’s purpose for writing . . . each account; make connections among the setting, individuals, events, and central ideas.”

• In Unit 2, in the close read of The Odyssey (A Graphic Novel), students respond to a writing prompt comparing this text to Book XII of Homer’s The Odyssey translated by Butler. The prompt is as follows: “[compare and contrast] this graphic novel segment . . . with the same section from Book XII of Homer’s The Odyssey . . . Analyze the positive or negative features of the graphic novel compared with the Book XII version. Think about such categories as story, character, setting, and tone as you compare and contrast. ” Students need to use evidence from both texts to support their answer.

• In Unit 3, students are provided with one of the the Full Text Studies Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In the Teacher’s Edition of the reading guide, each chapter has a section titled, “Comparative Texts.” Different types of texts and media that can be compared in some way with the chapter, whether thematically or topically, are included. For example, for chapter 5, the “Comparative Texts” lists an excerpt from the opening chapter of The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. “Students will compare how Steinbeck and Faulkner use their characters to create a particular tone or perspective.”

• In Unit 4, students compare and contrast “media to determine how they differ in the delivery of similar (or the same) content” while studying the “Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet”, Act II Scene II of Romeo and Juliet, and a scene from West Side Story - both the script and the movie clip. In the Close Read of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Act II, Scene II), students compare and contrast the Shakespeare excerpt with the Arthur Brooke poem. “Summarize the similarities and differences you see in plot, characterization and language - particularly figurative language. Why do you think Shakespeare’s version is considered ‘better’?” Both texts need to be cited within the response. In the Close Read of West Side Story, students are instructed to reread and watch the balcony scene from West Side Story and read Act II, Scene II from Romeo and Juliet. Then, they will “compare and contrast the scenes across each version and each medium.” Students need to cite specific evidence from both texts and the film.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a theme through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

The materials provide questions and tasks that support students’ ability to complete each unit’s Extended Writing Project in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic or theme through a combination of skills; this culminating activity is designed to deepen content knowledge as students return to texts they have already analyzed. The materials achieve this goal by tying the questions that are asked in the Extended Writing Project to the essential questions and theme of the unit. Each unit provides questions that prompt thinking, speaking and writing that focus on the central ideas and key details of the text. Reading and writing (and speaking and listening) are taught as integrated skills. Students are required to read, annotate, argue, discuss, write about, and share their thoughts about each of these texts in multiple ways. Examples of questions and task that support student’s ability to complete culminating tasks include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students read fiction, articles, autobiographies, songs, plays, and poetry that feature different human experiences that demonstrate the importance of having compassion for others. The unit’s Extended Writing Project requires students to write an argumentative essay that makes a claim about who in the unit best elicits empathy from an audience. The questions and tasks for each of the texts in the unit support this ultimate goal, such as the following question from the First Read of “Marigolds” found in the Teacher Edition: “How does Lizabeth change as the story develops?”

• In Unit 2, students study classic works of literature and informational texts as they learn about leaders who used their influence for good and those who abused their power. The culminating task asks students to write a literary analysis essay that requires them to analyze two texts from this unit and examine the theme of leadership. The lesson plan for the Extended Writing provides structured supports to help the students complete this writing. Discussion questions like the following are offered: “What specific things should you consider as you write your essay?” These questions will provide the teacher with information needed to determine the students’ readiness to complete the assignment.

• In Unit 3, the Extended Writing Project requires students to write an informative/explanatory essay that “analyzes the impact of dreams and aspirations on the lives and relationships of the people and characters in these texts.” The questions and tasks for each of the texts in the unit support this ultimate goal, such as the following question from the First Read of Joy Luck Club: “How are their versions of the American Dream similar and different?”

• In Unit 4, the Extended Writing Project focuses on the narrative form. Students write a narrative about love. In preparation for the culminating writing activity, students practice skills necessary for narrative writing. For example, in the Skill: Introductions lesson, students are given characteristics of introductions and a student model. In small or whole group, students read the model and identify the different components of the introduction. Questions, such as “how does the author reveal the setting?” are included in the Teacher Edition to activate thinking. After reading the model, students are instructed to write the introduction to their narrative, share with a partner and give feedback.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic and domain-specific vocabulary words in and across texts.

Language instruction in the StudySync core program provides systematic vocabulary instruction, as well as repeated opportunities for practice and application in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will encounter vocabulary-building opportunities in the Vocabulary Workbook, the Academic Vocabulary link on the Unit Overview page, and across all three lesson types: First Reads, Skill lessons, and Close Reads.

Students are also provided with a Vocabulary Workbook. This gives “students additional opportunities to build and expand their vocabulary” (Study Sync Core Program Guide: Grades 6-12 60). There are twelve units; each unit contains three to four lessons; each lesson consists of ten words related by a concept or theme. The lessons are on topics such as using context clues, prefixes, word families, synonyms, Latin roots, suffixes, Greek Roots, reference skills like using a thesaurus, and reading skills like word parts. Lesson structure, practice activities and assessments are included for each unit.

On the Unit Overview page of each unit, there are a list of readings, key skills and Common Core standards which the unit covers. Within this list, is the heading Academic Vocabulary, which contains links to two to three academic vocabulary lessons. Each lesson contains ten words that are related topically. The lesson is separated into three sections: Define, Model, Your Turn. Define lists the words, their form, their meaning and other meanings in a chart. The Model lesson gives students a sample context and then uses the words in sentences. Your Turn has the students complete an assessment that is self-assessed.

In the First Reads, students are exposed to the challenging vocabulary in the text. They are given opportunities to use context clues and analyze word parts in order to understand the meaning of the words, and teachers are encouraged to model these types of strategies. The materials focus on language development by having students use context clues, word placement, and common Greek and Latin affixes and roots to figure out the meaning of words.

The Skill Lessons focus on domain-specific vocabulary, and students are exposed to these vocabulary words through a variety of media. The vocabulary words are explained by other teens through a video, and there is a written explanation and examples for each term below the video.

The Close Read lesson has students look at the precise meaning of the academic vocabulary and compare it with their initial predictions from the First Read. Misunderstood words are reviewed and students discuss why the context clues or other tools did not help them define the word. Students are then to complete the vocabulary worksheet associated with the lesson.

Examples of opportunities for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 10 of the Grade 9 Vocabulary Workbook, there are four lessons: Lesson 35: Using Synonyms, Lesson 36: Using Context Clues, Lesson 37: Prefixes That Tell When, and Lesson 38: Using Reading Skills: Connotation and Denotation. The words in Lesson 35 are all related to the “attitudes and tools we can use to respond to life’s mysteries” ; in Lesson 36, all are related to the emotions and how people react differently to the same situation; in Lesson 37, all words contain the prefixes pre-, post-, or mid-; in Lesson 38 students evaluate whether a word has a positive or negative connotation and why (232-238).

• On the Unit 2 Overview Page, the Academic Vocabulary heading has three links: Academic Vocabulary Lesson 33, Lesson 34 and Lesson 35. Lesson 33 contains ten words that will “help [students] discuss economic concepts,” like allocate, incentive and subsidy. Students read the definitions on the “Define” page, such as “fee, noun, a fixed charge for a privilege or for professional services.” Then, they read the words in example sentences on the Model page - “A professional such as a doctor, a lawyer, or an accountant will charge a fee for providing services.” Finally, they complete three questions in the Your Turn section that can show immediate feedback, like question one that asks students to “drag and drop the visual that matches the sentence and the vocabulary word that correctly completes the sentence.”

• In the Unit 3 First Read lesson of “The Case of Susan B. Anthony,” students are told to make predictions about the five vocabulary words found in the text based on context clues. The teacher models this skill with the word “ostensibly” by thinking aloud and asking questions - “This is a long, difficult sentence, so it might help to paraphrase it and the two sentences that precede it in the paragraph to better understand the context. The sentence in which the word appears says that the suffragists were "ostensibly" treated as criminals, but that in reality, most of the people who were prosecuting them were ashamed of doing so. What clue does this sentence and the two preceding sentences provide about the treatment of these women?” Students then predict the rest of the words on their own, with a partner or in small groups.

• The Skill Lesson for the poem, “Sonnet 73,” in Unit 4 includes a Concept Definition video that defines poetic structure terminology - stanzas, line breaks, rhyme schemes, sonnets, villanelles, theme, tone, mood, poetic structure, haiku, limerick, and open form. After the video, there is a small group or whole class discussion about poetic structure with questions like, “What makes a poem a poem?” Students are then taken to the model and asked to look for the following on their own - “comment on the effect the elements of poetic structure have on the text’s meaning.” After an individual analysis, the teacher leads a whole group discussion that helps “students understand how to identify elements of poetic structure. . .”. Finally, students are asked a comprehension question to assess their understanding of the domain specific vocabulary associated with poetic structure - “What aspect of the poetic structure changes significantly in this section?”

• The Unit 1 Close Read of “Tuesday Siesta” has the teacher “project the vocabulary words and definitions onto the board or provide students with a handout so they can copy the vocabulary into their notebooks . . . [have] students compare the precise meaning of a specific word with their vocabulary predictions from the First Read. Review words defined incorrectly to understand why students were unable to use context clues or other tools to develop usable definitions.” Once this exercise is completed, students complete the vocabulary worksheet attached to the lesson.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials support students’ increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.

The materials supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. To achieve this goal, instructional materials include well-designed lesson plans, models, and protocols for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Direct instruction on the writing process builds as the year progresses. Within the unit, students write in response to driving questions in Blasts, comprehension questions in First Reads, and discussion questions in Close Reads. These informal writing opportunities prepare students to write more formally as part of each unit’s Extended Writing Project and Research assignments. For Research, students discuss, plan, research, write, and deliver presentations. In the Extended Writing Project, students complete a writing project in one of the three primary modes of writing with the help of a student model, graphic organizers, rubrics, and extensive scaffolding of writing skills. The students engage in all phases of the writing process. Examples of materials supporting students’ increasing writing skills over the school year include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, the Blasts, comprehension questions in First Reads and writing prompts in the Close Reads scaffold throughout the texts as students are asked to complete more advanced understanding of the topics and texts through their writing. To start with, students are introduced to the big idea and theme of the unit. In the case of unit 1, they are asked to examine the emotion of empathy. In the Blast that introduces the unit, they are asked to participate in some research, a discussion, and then write a Blast that they create using 140 characters or fewer answering the following: “How do we develop empathy for others?” The first short story, “Marigolds,” starts with a question in the First Read that requires students to answer a comprehension question that focuses on using details from the text to support the answer: “How do we know that Lizabeth is on the verge of becoming an adult? Refer to several details from the text.” This is the first prompt in a series of short answer prompts that support them in developing a more thorough understanding. The writing prompt for the Close read then builds on this initial writing prompt by asking the following: “In Marigolds, a grown-up Lizabeth tells a story about her adolescence from the perspective of her adult self. Analyze the character of Lizabeth, both as an adolescent and an adult. Which key words and phrases that the author uses best describe Lizabeth’s changing character? How does Lizabeth’s adolescence affect her decisions and actions in the story? Identify specific textual details that shows this. How can we tell that the adult Lizabeth has learned something from this experience? Be sure to use textual evidence in your response.” Taking what has already been asked of the students in regards to knowing that Lizbeth in the story is on the edge of becoming an adult, the essay that they are asked to write has the students analyzing the text through a series of questions to lead the students through the process of the literary analysis it is asking them for. This is a clear scaffold to support students in accessing essay writing at the start of unit one.

• In Unit 2, the Extended Writing Project focuses on a literary analysis argumentative writing, and instruction focuses on an introduction to this form. The Extended Writing Project provides a Student Model that contains the essential features of the literary analysis essay and offers an example of a structured academic grade-level response to the prompt. The Student Model is used to help students better understand how the elements work together to create an effective literary analysis, to identify and label the seven features of literary analysis writing (clear thesis, clear organizational structure, supporting details/textual evidence, effective transitions, formal style and objective tone, proper citations, and a concluding statement), and to think about how they can apply these ideas to their own writing. Direct instruction is provided on writing thesis statements, organization, supporting details, introduction, body paragraphs and transitions, conclusions, and sources and citations.

• In Unit 3, the Extended Writing Project is an informative piece. It provides a Student Model that contains the essential features of the informative/explanatory form and offers an example of a structured academic grade-level response to the prompt. The Student Model is used to help students better understand how the elements work together to create an effective essay, to identify and label the eight features of informative writing (clear thesis, clear organizational structure, supporting details from reliable sources, clear and varied transitions, precise language and domain specific vocabulary, formal style and objective tone, citations of sources, and a concluding statement), and to think about how they can apply these ideas to their own writing. Direct instruction is provided on research and note-taking, thesis statements, organization, supporting details, body paragraphs and transitions, and sources and citations.

• In Unit 4, the Extended Writing Project focuses on narrative writing. Analysis of characters, theme, word choice and tone are key task demands. Since this is the last unit of the school year, these skills are more advanced than simply identifying elements of a narrative, but they build on the knowledge students have gained about narrative writing through the earlier units. For example, lessons focus on story structure in the study of Unit 1’s short story, “Tuesday Siesta,” but advance to story structure and figurative language in the study of Unit 2’s short story, “The Lady, or the Tiger?” This illustrates the ample scaffolding as the analysis becomes more sophisticated across the units. The recommended Unit 4 model text for this project, “The Gift of the Magi,” which is also one of this unit’s Common Core Appendix B exemplar texts, emphasizes the analysis of story structure and theme. By the time students have reached the final literary selections in the unit, they will be prepared to address the more complex ideas of theme, tone, word choice and complex characters and begin to incorporate these elements into their own writing.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials include a 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.

Each of the four units in the Grade 9 materials include multiple opportunities for students to engage in research activities and present their findings. Each unit begins with a Big Idea Blast that gives students their first opportunity to draft a response to the driving question of the unit. The Blast includes multi-media research links that are related to the theme, and as students interact with the research links in the Blasts throughout the unit, they formulate a broader understanding of the theme, the texts in the unit, and the issues that surround them. The First Read of many selections in the unit includes a Build Background activity that asks students to work collaboratively on a small scale research inquiry that complements the text they are reading.

Each unit also includes an extensive, multi-step Research Project that is related to the unit’s theme and is a culmination of the skills that the students have practiced over the course of the unit and the knowledge they have gained. 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.

If students are working on a topic that is informative, they present evidence to develop the subject matter. If students are working on a topic that involves presenting an argument in support of a claim, they use evidence that both supports their opinion and answers opposing viewpoints, or counter arguments. The Speaking & Listening Handbook is provided during this phase of the Research project both for speakers and for listeners, who are required to respond critically and constructively to the work of their peers. Each unit provides suggested topics for each research project. Examples of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area include but are not limited to:

• The Big Idea Blast in Unit 2 has students considering the unit’s essential question, “What are the responsibilities of power?” Included in this are research links that have the students explore different leaders: Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Adolf Hitler and King Leopold II. This research introduces students to the idea that power can be used for both positive and negative gains.
• An example of Build Background can be found in the First Read of Romeo and Juliet (Act II, Scene II) in Unit 4. The students work in pairs or small groups to “research different aspects of Shakespearean drama.” Each group of pair is assigned a topic from the following: Shakespeare’s biography, the Globe Theater, conventions of Shakespearean drama, categories of Shakespeare’s plays, and modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays.
• The Research Project in Unit 3 has students researching “the creation and pursuit of goals as the process is portrayed in various mediums, including radio, recordings, photography, film, television and print.” There is a suggested list of topics for the small-group research project and provided links are found in the Blasts throughout the unit. This is a multi-step project that includes reviewing and discussing the topic, conducting the research, presenting the research and responding to the presentations.This research can be used as a resource for the Extended Writing Project, which is an informative essay about how dreams can negatively and positively affect people’s lives and relationships.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

The Core Program Overview includes a structured guide titled "Building an Independent Reading Program." This section provides an overview of why independent reading is important, and it gives details on how to set up such a program in the classroom. Teachers are also given a five step plan to implement an independent reading program that provides choice for students to select texts and read independently at home and at school. This includes referring students to the StudySync Library where they can explore other titles in the library that share the same themes as addressed by the units.

Suggestions for accountability include reading logs, notebooks, online reflections, and informal conversations; having students do end-of reading activities such as filling out a Google Form, pitching books, producing movie trailers, writing reviews on GoodReads, designing movie posters, and participating in a book club style chat. Examples of opportunities for students to regularly engage in a volume of independent while being held accountable include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, the StudySync Library includes several additional texts related to the theme Empathy. Additional texts include In Our Neighborhood by Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Endangered by Eliot Schrefer, Material Dreams: Southern California Thought the 1920s by Kevin Starr, Killers of the Dream by Lillian Smith, Whirligig by Paul Fleishchman, Speak by Laurie Halse-Anderson, A Death in the Family by James Agee, Nobel Peace Price Acceptance Speech by Malala Yousafzai. For each of these texts, there is a mini unit that includes an Overview, an Introduction to the text, Vocabulary found in the text, an excerpt to Read, Think questions to aid comprehension, and Write prompts that require deeper analysis and practice with skills taught in the unit.

• In Unit 2, the pacing guide offers outside reading selections related to the theme, Leadership, as well as the archetype, Hero’s Journey. “To begin with, students may enjoy the prequel to The Odyssey, Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, also available in Butler’s prose translation on Gutenberg.com. Students can get a taste of Homer’s poetry in Robert Fagles’s poetic translation of both epics. Another exciting ancient classic is the Babylonian/Sumerian poem Gilgamesh, predating The Odyssey by a thousand years. This epic journey of a grieving king may well have influenced Homer’s Odyssey. The theme of the hero’s journey has inspired thousands of books, including a vast number of Young Adult titles. These include Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Ursula K. Leguin’s A Wizard of Earthsea, Christopher Pacini’s Eragon, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson novels, Neil Gaiman’s InterWorld, and Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie, just to name a few” (16). These independently read comparative texts are specifically referenced in the Teacher’s Reading Guide for the full text study of The Odyssey, which is divided into sections covering each Book of the epic poem. At the end of the reading guide are two writing prompts that revisit The Odyssey and reference the comparative texts.

• In Unit 3, the theme is Dreams and Aspirations. Students are expected to read independently both in school and at home. The Core Program Guide states, “In addition to the time you spend reading in class, it’s important to set clear expectations for independent reading outside of the classroom. Students should read outside of class for a set amount of time each day. As students become stronger readers, the time spent reading outside of class should also increase.” Teachers are encouraged to request parent signatures on a reading log or ask students to keep an ongoing log of their reading in their notebooks or online where they reflect on their reading each week. Questions should be provided to direct student reflections. The Core Program Guide stresses that it is important for a teachers to decide on an amount of time appropriate for independent home reading for their student population, then communicate that expectation clearly to both students and parents.