8th Grade - Gateway 3

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.)

Student materials include ample review and practice resources. Whenever a skill is introduced, students learn the definitions of associated terms, have the skill modeled via the teacher or analysis of a student model, and have an opportunity to practice and apply the skill most often in the Your Turn section. Student materials include clear directions and explanations, and reference aids are correctly labeled. The directions for completing the various activities are clear and sometimes include the academic vocabulary of the unit as an additional way to practice those words in context. Skill lessons include learning aids such as StudySync videos to aid students in learning the skill being taught.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 2, “Past and Present,” students read the poem “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost. In the Skill Lesson: Poetic Elements and Structure, students watch a StudySync video that provides definitions for the academic vocabulary and skill being taught and interact with the vocabulary through either a drag and drop activity or charting the words. Then, students examine and analyze a model with the skill and independently practice during the Your Turn component of the lesson by completing a drag and drop activity with Poetic Elements and Structure.
• In Unit 5, “Trying Times,” students read part of the novel Refugee, by Alan Gratz. In the Skill Lesson: Language, Style, and Audience, students receive the definitions of terms associated with audience and style, complete a drag and drop activity to practice those words, and examine and analyze the skill modeled using the text. Then in the Your Turn section, students respond to multiple choice questions to demonstrate their understanding of language, style and audience.
• In Unit 6, “Beyond Reality,” students study context clues while reading “Spaceships,” by Derrick Harriell. As an introduction to the skill, the materials provide students with a definition and explanation of the types of context clues readers use, both in written form and through an informational video. Next, students dive deeper into the skill and its application as they examine and analyze an annotated model. As a last step, students practice what they learned through the Your Turn activity. In this section, students read a short passage, analyze the text, and answer two multiple-choice questions.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.

Alignment documentation is provided for all questions, tasks, and assessment items. In the Pacing Guide for each unit, the CCSS standards addressed within those sessions are indicated, including the standards for reteaching and previous skill practice. Within each Lesson Plan, the standards being addressed through instruction, application, and assessment are clearly noted. Each grade level also has a Scope and Sequence document that details how standards are addressed across the year.

Alignment documentation is provided for all questions, tasks, and assessment items. For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 1, “Everyone Loves a Mystery,” students read “The Tell-Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allan Poe. During the First Read, students respond to questions within the “Think” section of the lesson. One example of a question is, “Write two or three sentences explaining how the narrator feels about the old man and why he decides to murder him.” Standard RL.8.1 is noted within the lesson at the bottom of the screen within the virtual platform and on the Lesson Plan.
• In Unit 6, ‘Beyond Reality,” the Introduce the Text task in the First Read lesson plan of “Manuel and the Magic Fox,” by Ekaterina Sedia, is as follows: “As a class, watch the video preview and have students read the introduction in pairs to make connections to the video preview.Ask students: What keywords or images from the video do you think will be most important to the story you are about to read? How does this information connect to something you already know? CCSS: RL.8.1, SL.8.2.” The Assessment task, Text Talk, addresses CCSS standards in question format. One of the questions is as follows: “What does Manuel find in the closet? (See paragraph 77: Manuel finds a fox skin.) CCSS: RL.8.1.” The Scope and Sequence mentions the Essential Question, outlines the texts in the unit, and notes if the activity is instructional in nature, including practice and application, or application only.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning..

Content knowledge is included, where needed, and is accurate, understandable, and gives true assistance to all educators using the materials. There are detailed lesson plans provided for each text within the units. Types of lessons include Blasts, First Reads, Skill Lessons, Close Reads, and Independent Reads with detailed instructions, activities, and answer keys for each task suggested in the lesson plans. The teacher’s edition provides possible student responses to questions and instructional strategy suggestions for struggling students. When applicable and would enhance student learning, technology support is embedded, overarching, and accessible to most. The program’s instruction in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language is delivered digitally and includes opportunities for collaboration, writing, research, and assessment using technology. Several features of the program were also designed to mimic the style of communication on social media. During the Blasts, students engage in QuikPolls that enhance students' knowledge through questions in which students' responses cannot exceed 140 characters.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 3, “No Risk, No Reward,” students read The Call of the Wild, by Jack London. In the Skill: Language, Style, and Audience lesson, students reread and discuss a model of a close read. After this, students analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning in The Call of the Wild. The Teacher’s Edition provides detailed instruction for the teacher. An example of this is as follows: “Define: Introduce the Skill—As a class, watch the Concept Definition video and read the definition for Language, Style, and Audience. Turn and Talk—Use the following questions to discuss language, style, and audience with your students. Think of your favorite story by a particular author. Would it be the same story if it were written by someone else? Why is word choice so important? How do the choices that an author makes affect the reader? Have students share their answers with the class.”
• In Unit 4, “Hear Me Out,” students read “Gaming Communities,” by Joshua Vink and Caroline Rodgers. In the Blast: The World Beyond Warcraft lesson, students explore background information and research links about a topic. After this, students answer the StudySync QuikPoll with a 140-character response.
• In Unit 5, “Trying Times,” in The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, teachers show a StudySync TV and the Lesson Plan indicates the timestamp to stop the video and the questions to ask. Guidance for teachers includes: “3:49—Drew states that everyone needs a place to privately process stuff, which Anne does in her diary. In the first diary entry, what does the group conclude about Anne, based on examples and evidence in the text?”
• In Unit 6, “Beyond Reality,” students read Randall Munroe’s “Everybody Out” (From “What If?”). The Blast: The Heroes We Deserve lesson embeds technology, as students compose a 140-character response to the question, “What do our superheroes reflect about our society?” Students also complete a QuikPoll in response to this question, “Is it a good idea to create new characters to take over for established superheroes?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.

More advanced concepts are consistently explained to support teachers with improving and deepening their understanding of the content. In the Lesson Plan, there are detailed, thorough explanations of all concepts to help teachers understand the content. The materials provide answer keys to student questions. Explanations are accessible to all educators. The Program Guide includes explanations of all the program’s components and suggestions on how to support struggling learners, students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and English learners.

For example, one example is included in the following:

• In Unit 3, “Everyone Loves a Mystery,” Integrated Reading and Writing, Vocabulary Review, teacher guidance includes language for how teachers might read and discuss the model to practice the unit’s vocabulary. Examples include: “Use the vocabulary word to write one conflict that could happen in a suspenseful story. Using new vocabulary words in writing helps you make sure that you understand what the words mean and how to use them in a sentence. How do you think this strategy might help you learn and recall new vocabulary words? Are there particular words on this list that stand out to you as potential parts of a conflict?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

In the StudySync materials, alignment is evident in the Grade Level Overview and the Scope and Sequence for each grade level. The Grade Level Overview outlines how each text and task connects to the Essential Question and explains how the Extended Writing Project, Skills Lessons, Close Reads, Independent Reads and Blasts integrate reading and writing standards across the year and across the overall curriculum. The Scope and Sequence within the units provides an “at a glance” overview of the alignment of the curriculum and frequency of standards (Reading Literature, Reading Informational Text, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) are addressed within the texts of the units. For each text, the materials identify which standards are being practiced and which ones are being taught and practiced. This is indicated by an “o” and an “x” respectively.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 1, the Grade Level Overview states, “Skills like Annotation, Context Clues, Reading Comprehension, Textual Evidence, and Collaborative Conversations do not just build a foundation for the school year; they also allow students to encounter this text repeatedly using different perspectives, which makes this difficult text more manageable.”
• In Unit 6, Scope and Sequence, alignment of Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language standards are available at a glance for teachers for each text in the unit. The frequency of the standards taught in the unit are denoted with an “o” or an “x.” The “o” denotes the standards being practiced or applied. The “x” denotes instruction, practice, and application of the standard respectively. For example, in the Genre lesson, Standard RL.8.10 is instructed, practiced, and applied, and Standard L.8.5c is practice or applied.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria that materials contain explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies.

The materials include a substantial document that provides the research base for all of the elements of the program. In Additional Resources, Research-Base Alignments, the materials provide the research base that outlines how the program components address all of the parts of the CCSS standards, including comprehending literary and informational text; writing; knowledge of content, language, and literature; speaking and listening; reading fluency; and conventions. Each one of these sections provides detailed explanations and citations from supporting literacy theory and research.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In the Research-Base Alignments, Text Comprehension, Text Comprehension Research Recommendations, the materials include the following research-based recommendation: “Students identify and use texts’ organizational structure to facilitate close reading.” Support for this recommendation is found in Unit 4, Skill: Informational Text Structure; “The Last Human Light” (from What If?) and in Unit 4, Close Read: “The Last Human Light” (from What If?).
• In the Research-Base Alignments, Text Comprehension, Text Comprehension Research Recommendations, the materials provide this research-based recommendation: “Students generate questions during reading to gather evidence and build knowledge.” Examples supporting this occur during Unit 1, First Read: Woodsong and in Unit 5, First Read, “The Invisible One” (Algonquin Cinderella).

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.

Materials provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities for assessment throughout all grade levels and units. Teachers use Checks for Success in text-dependent questions, discussions, and short written responses to informally assess students. Formal assessments include Benchmark tests, Diagnostic tests, Extended Writing/Oral Projects, Reading quizzes, and End of Unit assessments. Materials genuinely measure student progress. According to the Program Guide, every StudySync lesson offers students an opportunity to demonstrate progress toward standards mastery. Responding to sources, auto-graded Reading Quizzes, skills mastery checks, and longer written responses in the Extended Writing Projects all include standards labeling.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 2, “Past and Present,” in the End-of-Unit Assessment, students read grade-level appropriate passages, answer text- dependent questions, and respond to grade-level appropriate writing prompts to assess their performance on key reading, writing, and language standards covered within the unit. For example, Question 4 is a multiple choice question which asks the following: “Which two statements summarize the Emperor’s thoughts during the procession?”
• In Unit 6, “Beyond Reality,” the First Read lesson plan of “Manuel and the Magic Fox,” by Ekaterina Sedia includes a Reading Quiz that serves as a formative assessment for students. Although the questions are not provided in the teacher Lesson Plan, the answer key is.
• There are Benchmark assessments available in the Assess tab. There are three forms for each grade level.
• There are also Reading Diagnostic tests for each grade level. These assessments are under the Placement and Diagnostic tab at the bottom of the grade level page under the units.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

Materials include denotations of the standards being assessed in both types of assessments. The answer key at the end of the assessments provides item-specific information such as content focus/skill, Common Core State Standard, and Depth of Knowledge (DOK) level. The End-of-Unit Assessment serves as a summative assessment which provides standards aligned to each question to ensure that all standards taught within the unit are being addressed in the assessment.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 1, “Everyone Loves a Mystery,” students read “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson. In the Close Read, students respond to the following prompt: “LITERARY ANALYSIS: In Shirley Jackson's ‘The Lottery,’ things aren't exactly as they appear. What is one theme or message that you think the author develops in the story? How does she use the setting to surprise readers and build on the theme? How do allusions deepen your understanding of the text and its theme? Monitor details from the story to show how Shirley Jackson develops the theme through the setting and allusions.” This prompt is aligned to CCSS RL.8.1, RL.8.2, RL.8.9, W.8.1.A, and W.8.1.B in both teacher-and student-facing materials.
• In Unit 4, “Hear Me Out,” after students read an excerpt from Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt, in the Skill: Point of View lesson, students demonstrate their mastery of denoted standards as they answer the following questions: “Part A: Which aspect of Wilse’s point of view best shows the author’s use of dramatic irony?” and “Part B: Which sentence or phrase from the text supports your answer to Part A?” These questions support teachers in identifying students' mastery of Common Core State Standard RL.8.6.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meets the criteria for assessments or provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.

Materials include quality rubrics and scoring guides. The descriptors on the rubrics are unique to the tasks. Rubrics and scoring guides can be used to assess the standards to their full intent. Rubrics are specific to the writing tasks and include scoring descriptors as guidance to assess the standards to their full intent. Materials provide quality suggestions for follow-up. The Program Guide states that the pacing guide allows time for teachers to revisit key concepts with which students may have struggled during core instruction and application. The Review and Reteaching section of each unit is guided by the data tracking tools in StudySync, which allow teachers to view day-to-day student performance on all standards. Teachers may use Spotlight Skills, targeted lessons that provide resources to reteach or remediate without assigning additional readings. Quality guidance for the teacher to interpret assessment data is provided. Data tracking and presentation tools help teachers use the results of assessments to identify which standards and skills present particular challenges for students, as well as where students are excelling and are ready for enrichment.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• Students are assessed often, via formative and summative assessments, and the materials provide teachers with many tools, such as task-specific rubrics, to help them interpret student performance. Each rubric uses a four-point scale to help teachers and students identify areas of strength, weakness, and growth. This system of rubrics allows teachers to compare student performance as the year progresses. The instructional materials provide follow-up suggestions for students who do not master the skills/habits in the Review and Reteach section, and teachers can provide Spotlight Skills lessons to support students with this learning.
• As stated in the Program Guide, “Data tracking and presentation tools help teachers use the results of assessments to identify which standards and skills present particular challenges for students, as well as where students are excelling and are ready for enrichment. Using the StudySync Gradebook, teachers can effectively decide how to scaffold instruction and provide remediation support for individual students. Tracking tools for these assessments will provide teachers with raw scores as well as a breakdown of student performance against standards and a breakdown of student performance against skills. In addition, color-coded reporting will allow teachers to quickly and easily monitor student performance and needs.”
• As stated in the Program Guide, “Spotlight Skills are targeted lessons that provide resources to reteach or remediate without assigning additional readings.” Each Core Skill lesson has a corresponding, standards-aligned, Spotlight Skill lesson. Spotlight Skills can be assigned at any point in the year, but the end of each unit provides a set time to pause, review data collected throughout the unit, and reteach skills students have not yet mastered.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

The materials reviewed include routines and guidance for opportunities to monitor student progress. The Lesson Plan includes Vocabulary, Check for Success, and Complete Skills Focus sections which assist teachers in monitoring students’ progress throughout the unit. The materials also provide teachers with prompts and suggestions for supporting students who may be struggling and for understanding students’ thinking about the concepts to make instructional decisions about next steps.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 2, “Past and Present,” students read “Abuela Invents the Zero, by Judith Ortiz Cofer. The Skill: Theme lesson provides teachers with suggestions for monitoring students’ progress. Suggestions include: “Circulate the room as students work independently to complete the vocabulary chart. If students struggle to match the correct definition, discuss the correct meaning of the word. If a majority of students struggle with the same word, pause the activity and discuss the definition as a class.”
• In Unit 6, “Beyond Belief,” the Complete the Skills section of the Close Read lesson for Manuel and the Magic Fox, by Ekaterina Sedia, includes the following teacher guidance: “Have students work in small groups to discuss, read, and annotate the first Skills Focus prompt. Check for Success: If students struggle to respond to Skills Focus question 1, ask them the following questions: What does Manuel do after finding out about his mother’s illness? Who does he call on for help? What does that suggest about the story’s theme? Have students transition to read and annotate independently once they have successfully completed the first Skills Focus prompt.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.

Specific strategies to meet the needs of all learners are included. Scaffolds exist as part of the many standard features in the StudySync digital platform and can be strategically utilized to support students’ comprehension and engagement. Students who have been identified as English Learners, Approaching-Grade-Level students, or Beyond-Grade-Level students automatically receive scaffolded support or enrichment in their digital accounts. Vocabulary scaffolds are also available, including Spanish translations, in a slide-in screen for Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced-High English learners, as well as Approaching-Grade-Level students. Each lesson is concise and follows a Teach/Model and Practice/Apply routine with suggestions for differentiated practice. StudySync also offers a variety of accessibility options, presentation customization options, content accommodation and modification, and instructional strategies to address the needs of students with disabilities. Some of these options are as follows: shortened or modified assignments, the Scaffolds tab, and Screen Reader.

For example, an example is included in the following:

• In Unit 2, “Past and Present,” students read “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost. The Instruction—Activate Prior Knowledge part of the Close Read lesson outlines the following guidance for Beyond-Grade-Level students: “Lead the Discussion: Have your Beyond-Grade-Level students lead the discussion about how to make important life choices with their peers. Remind them to provide all students equal opportunities to share and discuss, and to generate a list (on the board or on paper) of their peers’ responses.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards.

Materials provide support for EL students and students who work below grade level. The Instruction and Differentiation tab of each Lesson Plan includes various scaffolding suggestions for teachers to use with learners at varying ability levels. Examples of these lesson scaffolds are as follows: visual glossaries, speaking frames, text synopses, sentence frames, word banks, etc. Scaffolds support EL students with varying ability levels such as Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced-High. The student-facing digital materials provide options for enabling the various scaffolds detailed in the Lesson Plan. Tech scaffolds include audio with variable speed, audio text highlight, and supplemental language. The Program Guide contains a substantial section that provides explanations of the scaffolds and how they might be used. Scaffolds may be printed for each lesson using the Actions drop down. The Newcomer EL Support guide provides teachers with detailed lessons, materials, and strategies for supporting EL learners of many different languages. The progress monitoring feature allows teachers to monitor student progress after each lesson.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 1, “Everyone Loves a Mystery,” students read Monster, by Walter Dean Myers. The Skills Lesson: Character provides teachers with guidance on student groupings. Teachers place ELs in collaborative mixed-level pairs for peer support as they follow along. Teachers allow students to work together to highlight and annotate the text in English or in their native language. An annotation guide is available for additional scaffolds during the Model—Read and Annotate portion of the lesson.
• In Unit 6, “Beyond Reality,” students read The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells. The Skill: Language, Style, and Audience lesson includes suggestions for helping ELs of all levels using scaffolds, such as speaking frames, a visual glossary, and annotation guide.

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.

Materials provide multiple opportunities for advanced students to investigate the grade-level content at a greater depth. The Program Guide contains information for teachers about how to support and push their beyond-grade-level students and includes a description of how differentiation is built into different types of lessons for these students. The Scaffolding & Differentiation section of the Lesson Plan includes additional opportunities for working with smaller groups of beyond-grade-level students, such as having them analyze the text with greater scrutiny or with a different analytical skill. These activities often introduce students to a new literary device or consider the effect of an author’s choices. These opportunities give students further enrichment in their study of literature as they practice the type of close scrutiny and analysis that will prepare them for the rigors of more advanced courses. Technology may also be leveraged to support these students.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 3, “No Risk, No Reward,” students read “Cocoon,” by Mahvash Sabet. Advanced learners complete the following activity from the Scaffolding & Differentiation section of the Lesson Plan: “Leading the Discussion: Have your Beyond-Grade-Level students lead the discussion about feeling conflicted over a decision or life choice they have made. Remind them to provide all students equal opportunities to share and discuss, and to generate a list (on the board or on paper) of their peers’ responses.”
• In Unit 5, “Trying Times,” students read “Parallel Journeys,” by Eleanor Ayer. The Lesson Plan for the First Read includes the following suggested activity for beyond-grade-level students: “Ask students to analyze the following quote: ‘The beast in man had lifted its mask and the time of euphemistic niceties and rationalizations was over.’ (Annette Dumbach) Encourage them to consider questions like: What do you think this quote means? Do you agree with this quote? Why or why not?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 8 meet the criteria for materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

Each Lesson Plan in the materials includes a variety of grouping strategies. The beginning of the Lesson Plan for all Blast, First Read, Close Read, Skills, and Writing lessons includes a chart noting the grouping strategy suggestion for each part of the lesson—whole group, pairs or small group, and one-to-one. Lesson Plans also provide grouping strategies for activities such as Text Talk, Turn and Talk, and Collaborative Discussions.

For example, some examples are included in the following:

• In Unit 5, “Trying Times,” students read an excerpt of Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. In the First Read, students participate in a Text Talk during whole group instruction, answering questions, such as “Do you think Jeanne’s father was right or wrong when he did not resist arrest and decided to cooperate with the FBI? Explain why or why not.”
• In Unit 6, “Beyond Reality, during the Blast lesson, students participate in a Turn and Talk to discuss the Driving Question(s), “What do you think this Blast will be about? Make a prediction. Do you have a favorite fantasy or science fiction story, movie, or television series? Tell what you really like about it.”