The instructional materials for Grade 5 meet the criteria for texts being organized around a topic/topics or themes to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently. The series of texts in each collection are cohesive and are related to the anchor texts. All modules develop student’s knowledge through structured learning activities that provide effective scaffolding of content leading to students comprehending texts independently and proficiently.

Examples include:

• In Module 1, students study the theme/topic Cultures in Conflict. Students read to answer what it means to belong to a culture and to determine how a culture’s beliefs guide the actions of its people? And finally, what happens when different cultures come into conflict? Students read and discuss multiple texts to answer questions such as, “How did the United States' westward expansion impact Native American cultures in the West? How did the Nez Perce’s homeland sustain their lifestyle and culture? What role do stories play in Nez Perce culture? How does the conflict between the Nez Perce and the US government reveal differing cultural beliefs and values? What important beliefs and values guide Chief Joseph and his daughter, Sound of Running Feet?and What important Nez Perce beliefs and values does Chief Joseph convey in his Lincoln Hall speech?” Students read a novel, Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, by Scott O’Dell and Elizabeth Hall, a speech, Lincoln Hall Speech, Washington, D.C., January 14, 1879, by Chief Joseph, Nez Perce, and multiple stories such as, Coyote and the Monster Story Parts 1, 2, and 3, told by J. R. Spencer, How Beaver Stole Fire from the Pines. Students also study works of art and watch videos to build knowledge about what it means to belong in a culture.

• In Module 3, students study the topic of A War Between Us. Students are exposed to the many ways in which war impacts people and the many consequences of war. Students read firsthand accounts and historical fiction to answer the question, “How did the Civil War impact people?” Students read and discuss multiple texts to answer questions such as, “What factors led to the start of the Civil War? How did the Civil War impact boy soldiers? How did the Civil War impact girls and women? How did the Civil War impact free people of color in the South? and How did the Civil War impact the Pruitt family from the historical-fiction novel The River Between Us?” Students read texts such as articles like Hospitals and Medical Knowledge, Civil War Preservation Trust and Amputation, Civil War Preservation Trust. Students also read an historical account titled, The Boys’ War, by Jim Murphy, the novel, The River Between Us, by Richard Peck, and poetry such as, The Women Who Went to the Field, by Clara Barton. Students examine historical photographs, videos, and web pages to build knowledge about how war impacts people.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. The Implementation Guide notes: “Craft Questions teach students the elements of strong craft—writing, speaking, and listening—so that students become adept at applying these skills for a variety of purposes. Students explore the author’s craft and word choices, analyze the text’s structure and its implicit meaning, and attend to other unique features of the text. Students begin by examining high-quality exemplars of the craft. Then they receive progressive direct instruction in the skills necessary to practice and master the craft. Annotation during the first read aims to develop the habit of monitoring understanding of a text as students read. In subsequent reads, annotation focuses readers on deeper understanding, such as distinguishing among purpose, claim, and conclusion, noticing authors’ crafting of literary elements or text features, and/or supporting learning goals relevant to the text (e.g., character analysis, influence of setting).”

Examples include:

Module 1:

• In Lesson 4, groups work to discuss and record a main idea statement (“Boxes”) and at least two details (“Bullets”) the author uses to support the main idea.
• In Lesson 29, students are asked, “What questions could a writer ask to determine whether or not to add comparison-contrast transition?”

Module 2:

• In Lesson 2, students are asked, “How did Abbott and Costello’s delivery create humor and confusion?”
• In Lesson 27, students are asked, “What does a deeper exploration of Milo’s responses to challenges in the Mountains of Ignorance reveal?”

Module 3:

• In Lesson 17, students are asked, “What do you notice about the structure of chapters 1 and 2? In other words, how has the author organized, or set up, the story in chapters 1 and 2?”
• In Lesson 36, students are asked, “Which set of evidence best proves whether the impact of war is positive or negative?”

Module 4:

• In Lesson 19, student pairs read 5th Inning, using sticky notes to annotate key details that show the accomplishments of Negro League baseball players.
• In Lesson 2, students are asked, “How does an author’s choice of narrator impact how a story is told? Support your ideas with an example from one of the stories you have read this year.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for materials containing 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. Each module contains focus questions that are included with a set of texts. Content Framing and Craft questions are then asked of both single and multiple texts to integrate and build knowledge in order for students to reach the module’s learning goals. All lessons include coherently sequenced sets of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge. Students also participate in at least one socratic seminar where multiple texts are discussed as well as completing New Read Assessments which provide students with texts they have not read before to demonstrate their ability to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas.

For example, in Module 1, students study the focus question, “What role do stories play in Nez Perce culture?” Students analyze both single and multiple texts by answering Content Framing and Craft questions. Students read the text Coyote and the Monster Story, Parts 1, 2, and 3, by J.R. Spencer and answer, “What is the meaning of the story 'Coyote and the Monster' for the Nez Perce people?” Students also read the texts, Coyote and the Monster Story, Parts 1, 2, and 3, by J.R. Spencer and How Beaver Stole Fire from the Pines to answer questions such as, “How do Nez Perce stories build my knowledge of Nez Perce culture?”

Each End-of-Module Task ensures that students are analyzing the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts. For example, in Unit 4 the End-of-Module Task states, “Write an informative/explanatory research essay in which you explain how an organization is using the sport of soccer to influence individuals and societies. Create a thesis with two points and use evidence from three sources, two of which are researched on your own, to support your points.”

The instructional materials for Grade 5 meet the expectations that questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, and listening).

Each module has several Focusing Question Tasks that scaffold the material to aid in the successful completing of the End-of-Module task. The materials contain sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent questions and activities that build to each culminating task. Many tasks are focused on pieces of writing; however, students engage in speaking and listening as well as reading and writing to prepare for tasks, providing learning through integrated skills.

For example, in Module 2, the End-of Module task states,”Write an 'exploded moment' scene in which Milo encounters one of the demons from the Mountains of Ignorance on his return journey and helps him resolve a conflict related to the wordplay of his name and his experiences in The Phantom Tollbooth, by conveying wisdom related to the story’s central themes.” To prepare for this, students answer questions and complete tasks such as:

• Write an explanatory paragraph to explain how words create both confusion and humor in Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s comedy routine,Who’s on First?
• Write a “character snapshot” scene featuring Milo and an invented character from Abandon Elementary School, including wordplay to describe both the setting and the character.
• Write an “exploded moment” scene featuring Milo and an invented character from Abandon Elementary School, including dialogue sequences to show conflicting ideas between characters.
• Write an explanatory paragraph to identify one overarching theme in Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth, and explain how Juster reveals this theme by revealing how the main character, Milo, changes from the beginning to end of the story.
• Participate in a Socratic Seminar: Explain how wordplay can create both confusion and humor, drawing on examples from the collection of jokes and riddles students shared and Abbott and Costello’s famous comedy routine, Who’s on First?
• Participate in a Socratic Seminar: Synthesize understanding of overarching themes in Norton Juster’s novel, The Phantom Tollbooth, drawing on evidence of how Milo has changed since the beginning of the book, what he has learned throughout his journey to the Lands Beyond, and how he has confronted and overcome challenges along the way.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Vocabulary is taught both implicitly and explicitly, using words in the core and supplementary texts. As texts are read multiple times, students gain new vocabulary. Explicit vocabulary instruction focuses on Content Specific Vocabulary, Academic Vocabulary, and Text Critical Vocabulary. Materials focus on elements of vocabulary, such as abstract or multiple meanings, connotation, relationships among words, and morphology.

Vocabulary Routines can be found in the Resources section of the Implementation Guide and include routines and instructional examples such as the Frayer Model, Morpheme Matrix, Outside-In, Relationship Mapping, and Word Line. Teachers utilize Word Walls and Vocabulary Journals for students to record newly-acquired words and vocabulary strategies.

Appendix B includes vocabulary support that explains the implicit and explicit vocabulary instruction. For example, Core lessons, 75-min. daily: vocabulary study that is essential to understanding the text at hand. Instructional strategies are explicitly introduced and practiced during vocabulary instruction and put into practice during a reading of the text. Vocabulary Deep Dives: vocabulary instruction and practice that advances students’ knowledge of high-value words and word-solving strategies, focusing on aspects such as abstract or multiple meanings, connotation, relationships across words, and morphology. The appendix also includes a Module Word List and a list of words that would pose a challenge to student comprehension.

Module examples of vocabulary instruction include, but are not limited to:

• In Module 1, Lesson 1, Explain to students that they will take a closer look at the word culture. Display and distribute Handout 1C: Frayer Model. Instruct students to record the definition of culture in the upper left hand box of the Frayer Model: “the way a group of people lives and understands the world, including ideas, beliefs, and values; traditions; religion; language; rules; gender roles; food; clothing; art, music, dance, sports, and other ways of life.”
• In Module 2, Lesson 1, Deep Dive: Vocabulary, Instruct students to Think-Pair-Share, and ask: “What are the different meanings of the homographs left and left and homophones they’re, there, and their?”
• In Module 3, Lesson 26, Display the following sentence from The River Between Us with the idiom underlined or italicized: “[Dr. Hutchings] needed a little starch in his spine and [Delphine] was the one to put it there” (118).Instruct students to Think-Pair-Share, and ask: “What type of figurative language is the phrase ‘needed a little starch in his spine’?”
• In Module 4, Lesson 20, Instruct students to Think-Pair-Share to generate a list of words that use the prefix trans-. Call on volunteers to share examples; record and display examples on the board or on a piece of chart paper.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectation for materials supporting 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.

Through explicit learning-to-write instruction, teachers gradually release responsibility for a specific writing strategy through a series of lessons. One or more of the following Craft Stages shapes each lesson. (Implementation Guide)

• Examine: Students analyze how an exemplar models one or more writing strategies. The exemplar can come from authentic texts, class collaborative writing, or a module resource.
• Experiment: Students practice applying a target strategy. Scaffolded tasks provide significant support by limiting
  the volume of writing, providing parts of a writing piece, or focusing on a relatively simple topic.
• Execute: Students plan or draft a full writing piece, paying particular attention to applying the target strategy to
  support the purpose of the task.
• Excel: Students revise, edit, and respond to feedback on the pieces they drafted in the
• Execute stage, focusing on the target strategy. They reflect on their use of the strategy to refine their thinking about its use in current and future writing.

Students write an average of twenty or more minutes of writing pers lesson and are given explicit instruction of writing strategies. Students write both on-demand and process writing while accessing complex texts. There are a variety of writing performance tasks and Craft Lessons address 5 features; Structure, Development, Style, Conventions and process.

Students study Mentor texts and get feedback from the teacher, a peer, and themselves as well as being provided with writing checklist and rubrics to ensure that writing skills are grown throughout the year.

Examples of materials supporting students’ increasing writing skills include, but are not limited to:

• In Module 1, Lesson 22, student examine a painted essay with the Craft Question, “What is a Painted Essay?”. Students have learned about and practiced writing paragraphs. For Focusing Question Task 5, they write a longer essay to express their ideas and learn about the form of a basic essay.
• In Module 2, Lesson 32, students experiment with introductory elements using the mentor text, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and answering the Craft Question, “How does expanding sentences with introductory elements work?”
• In Module 3, Lesson 15, students execute planning an opinion essay. The teacher is to, “Circulate as students draft their essays; provide feedback to individuals, small groups, or the whole group as trends arise in students’ work. Students reread their drafts when they are finished. Then they self-assess, or trade papers with a partner, and check their work against the “Checklist for Success” on Assessment 12A. On the back of Assessment 12A, students explain one strength and one area of improvement for their own or a partner’s writing.”
• In Module 4, Lesson 31, student revise their explanatory essay and answer the Excel Craft Question, “How do I improve an explanatory essay, with a focus on the reflective conclusion?” Students work together with a partner to give feedback on each other’s essays and think about how they can improve them. Students add from the earlier Socratic Seminar, message discussion, or their Knowledge Journals and are reminded to focus on the conclusion to be sure it effectively restates the focus statement and gives the reader something to ponder.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations 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. Modules are divided into Focus Questions that build knowledge of a topic using multiple texts. The focus questions all build to the End-of-Module Task that encompasses a module’s worth of texts and source materials. Students also complete shorter research projects throughout the modules. Teachers are also encouraged to use pausing points to complete student-led research projects. In every grade, at least one EOM Task focuses on a sustained research project. In addition, students conduct a variety of short research projects throughout the year.

Examples include:

• In Module 3, Lesson 32, teachers encourage students (after their learning about Delphine’s experience as a free woman of color) to conduct mini-research projects into the experiences of other African American women during the Civil War and how those experiences differed from Delphine’s. For example, students might explore the Underground Railroad and the critical roles that free African-American women like Harriet Tubman played in this network during the Civil War.
• In Module 4, the End-of-Module task is a sustained research project. Students research a soccer organization and describe how the organization is using soccer to influence individuals and societies, demonstrating their understanding of the power of sports.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for materials providing a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class. The majority of lessons require some independent readings of text followed by text-specific questions and tasks that reflect student accountability. Students are asked to annotate texts. Additionally, most homework assignments include independent readings and tasks that require students to produce evidence of reading and to keep an independent reading log.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Appendix D: Volume of Reading outlines independent reading: Students may select from these recommended titles that support the module content or themes. These texts and Volume of Reading Reflection Questions can be used as part of small-group instruction or as part of an independent and/or choice reading program.
• In Module 1, Lesson 3, teachers are to instruct students to reread the first three paragraphs independently and underline or highlight three words or phrases that most help them understand the main idea of the passage.
• In Module 3, Lesson 10, students are told that when finished, they should check their work. Then, students may begin independently reading Chapter 5 of The Boys’ War.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing. Each lesson is designed for a 90 minute block. Each module contains from 35-37 lessons. This pacing allows for unexpected or special school events which may interfere with traditional pacing.

A module overview is found at the beginning of each module which includes: Module Summary, Essential Questions, Suggested Student Understandings, Texts, Module Learning Goals, Module in Context, Standards, Major Assessments, and Module Map.

Materials include detailed lessons plans with supporting materials which include an agenda for the lesson including Welcome, Launch, Learn, Land, Wrap, and a Vocabulary Deep Dive or a Style and Convention Deep Dive. Each section has hyperlinks included for materials needed, such as graphic organizers or articles.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations that the teacher and student can reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.

Each module provides 35-37 lessons, and each lesson is designed for a 90-minute block. Each of the four modules can be completed in a 9 week grading period. Teachers and students can reasonably complete the content within a 36-week school year as long as their schedule provides a 90-minute block of time for English Language Arts.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet expectations 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.).

Students have access to an array of materials that provide ample review and practice resources, such as note catchers, reference charts, anchor charts, new-read assessments, supporting excerpts or texts, close read guides, essay rubrics, reference aids, model writings, vocabulary words list and definitions, and speaking and listening checklists.

Student resources include clear explanation and directions. Activities that are completed with teacher guidance have directions included in the teacher lesson plan notes. Resources that are completed independently or in small groups without direct teacher guidance include clear directions and explanations so that the task can be completed.

Examples include:

• Module 1, Lesson 6 includes an “Experiment with at Topic Statement” handout students. It has clear directions and exemplar statements for students to use as models as they write their own topic statements.
• Module 3, Lesson 31 includes a chart with information that helps explain an analogy. The chart is clearly labeled and includes both text and a place for students to use illustrations to better understand the analogy.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for materials including publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.

Alignment to the CCSS is documented in multiple places in the curriculum including the following sections: Module Map, Module Learning Goals, Standards, Major Assessments, and Lesson Agenda with the section, ”Standards Addressed.”

For example, in the overview of each module there is a Module Map that includes learning goals and standards addressed. The standards section includes all Reading (Informational and Literary), Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language standards that are addressed in each module. In the Major Assessments section of the Module Overview, each standard is listed for each Focusing Task Question Activity and each End-of-Module Task.

Materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectation for materials containing 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. There is limited integration of technology and or guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.

The materials contain a teacher's edition that provides teaching notes for each lesson that provide a Focusing Question, Content Framing Question, as well as a Lesson Summary. The lesson overviews include an “At A Glance” outline of each lesson, as well as Learning Goals and Standards Addressed. The Land/Wrap section has teachers analyze, look at context and alignment, and provide next steps.

The following are examples which demonstrate how the materials are useful and offer ample guidance for teachers:

Module 4

• Lesson 3 Welcome/Launch: "Post the Content Framing Question. Remind students that a character’s perspective includes his/her view of himself/herself, others, and the world. Affirm that the questionnaire challenged them to think about Squeaky’s perspective—particularly how she views herself. Tell students that they will explore Squeaky’s perspective more in depth, but they will focus on how she views other characters in the story—and how these views change by the end of the story."
• Lesson 17 Teacher’s Note: "Encourage students to think about what they learned about segregation and discrimination against African Americans from reading We Are the Ship, Raymond’s Run, and from watching the documentary about Nelson Mandela."
• Lesson 33 Land/Wrap: Next Steps: "Before moving on to the next lesson, ensure students have a workable plan (Handout 33B). If students do not, determine why. Did they have a hard time developing a thesis statement with two points? Did they not have enough time to complete the handout? Did they find usable information from a sufficient number of sources? Did they struggle to synthesize information from multiple sources? Did they have a different struggle? Determine the greatest need, either for the whole group or a small group, and plan follow-up instruction as needed. Students will type their drafts in the next lesson, so prioritize who you will work with during that time to improve their plans."

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 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.

The Implementation Guide provides multiple explanations and charts regarding curriculum terminology. The implementation Guide also explains at length the research behind each approach in the curriculum. There are Appendices that include adult level explanations as well as sample student answers and annotated responses that teachers can use to improve their knowledge of what standards being met would look like in a response.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet expectations for materials containing a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

Materials include an extensive Implementation Guide which goes into great depth about how the curriculum as a whole addresses all of the standards. Additionally, a Module in Context and a Module Learning Goals document are provided in the Module Overview of each unit. The Module in Context includes an overview of how the materials address the Common Core shifts as well as a detailed account of how the CCSS standards have a role in the curriculum. The Module Learning Goals articulate specific standards as they are addressed in each individual module.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for materials containing explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identifying research-based strategies.Materials include resources found primarily in the Implementation Guide that provide explanations of the instructional approaches and identify research-based strategies. The Implementation Guide lists what research says, what students need and how Wit and Wisdom materials provide what students need within the curriculum.

Explanations provided include, but are not limited to:

Research Says: “Performance on complex texts is the clearest differentiator in reading between students who are likely to be ready for college and those who are not.” (ACT 16-17) “But as expectations of college and career reading have held steady or increased, the complexity of Grades K-12 texts have held steady or increased, the complexity of Grades K-12 texts has declined (Adams 4-5; NGA Center and CCSS) 3). Students need to be able to unlock meaning from complex texts.”

Wit & Wisdom Responds: “Instead of basals, Wit & Wisdom students read complex, grade-level books they love from classics such as The Story of Ferdinand and Animal Farm, to new favorites such as Last Stop on Market Street and The Crossover, to captivating nonfiction such as I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban and An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. Students use these texts at every turn-to learn, and eventually master, essential reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar, and vocabulary skills.”

Some Core Practice examples include:

Vocabulary: “The Wit & Wisdom approach to teaching vocabulary thorough knowledge of word meanings is key to understanding any complex text and to learning as a whole (Chall and Jacobs; Anderson and Freebody 77). Vocabulary instruction in Wit & Wisdom is accordingly designed to achieve three key student outcomes:

• Better comprehension of complex texts
• Broader and deeper knowledge of words and word parts (including affixes and roots)
• Increased ability to determine the meanings of unknown words As a text-based curriculum,

Wit & Wisdom teaches vocabulary both implicitly and explicitly using words in the core and supplementary texts. Through repeated readings of complex, knowledge-building texts, students implicitly learn many new words (Feitelson, Kita, and Goldstein 340; Miller and Gildea 96; Nagy and Scott 273). Explicit vocabulary instruction focused on the three student outcomes emphasizes three categories of high-leverage vocabulary words and phrases.”

Questioning: “Students monitor their understanding of the text by recording questions they have about it. During their first encounter of the text, students record questions they have about it. When students return to the text, they continue to monitor their understanding, recording any additional questions that arise while also looking for answers to their original questions. After the first stage of reading, students share, and when possible, answer these text based questions, or problem solve about how to answer the questions. For example, students may return to the text, consult a reference source, or conduct research. This helps students maintain engagement with and focus on the text while reading and monitor their comprehension of what they are reading. This helps teachers formatively assess students to indicate their understanding of the text and learning from previous modules.”

Materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for materials regularly and systematically offering assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress. Each lesson includes a check for understanding question. Throughout the modules there are 3-6 Focusing Question Tasks and 2-3 New Read Assessments where students independently do a cold read of an informational or literary text and then complete various question (multiple choice, open-ended, short response, multi-select, etc). After answering questions, students also complete a short writing task accompanied by a graphic organizer to capture their thinking. Students also participate in 2 Socratic Seminars per module, and each of these tasks builds to the End-of-Module Task.

Instructional materials reviewed clearly denote which standards are being emphasized. Standards are found in multiple places and times during the module. Each lesson includes Learning Goals which are connected to and labeled with a standard. In each module, there is a tab labeled Module Overview. A chart is provided that lists all of the standards for New Read Assessments, Socratic Seminar, and EOM (End-of-Module) Assessments. All standards assessed are labeled clearly.

Instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations of assessments providing sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up. Appendices include Answer Keys, Rubrics, and Sample Responses as well as rubrics for all writing types tasks.

Materials regularly provide:

• Sample answers and recommended scripts to share with students
• Suggestions for differentiation
• Next steps, if students had difficulty. ‘Consider reviewing handout…. and re-watching ……”
• Rubrics for scoring student tasks

Guidance for Interpreting Student Performance and suggestions for follow up can be found in the teacher’s notes and in the wrap section of each lesson. For example, in Module 4, Lesson 30, the next steps teacher notes state, “Analyze the CFUs to identify trends amongst learners. Was one module’s content more memorable or significant for students? Have students built larger, transferable understandings that encompass learning from multiple genres or historical time periods? Are students able to make larger observations about the world beyond the context of the texts they studied? Consider the consistencies and inconsistencies in students’ responses and the implications they may have on teaching the same modules to the next group of students.”

Instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectation for including routines and guidance that provide opportunities to monitor student progress.

All modules of Wit and Wisdom follow the same format and elements for student performance. The New Read Assessments are routine and help teachers monitor students progress towards standards mastery. The Focus Questioning Tasks routinely and regularly build to the End of the Module (EOM) Assessment and monitors student progress. Checklists are provided with tasks so that students are prepared for the EOM Assessment.

A variety of resources are available in Appendix C to assist teachers in monitoring progress. Some examples include:

• Self, peer and teacher evaluations
• Checklists for poetry performances and Socratic Seminars.
• Speaking and Listening Rubrics

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for providing teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so that the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.

Examples of strategies listed in the Implementation Guide and found throughout the program include:

• “Deliberate sequencing. Students build knowledge of each module topic by reading texts in a purposeful sequence. Students complete each module study with knowledge and skills that they can use to access grade-level text.”
• “Predictability of structures. The predictability of the recurring Content Stages helps students develop habits of mind and provides a scaffold for reading challenging texts. Students use the Content Framing Question as an entry point to difficult texts.”
• “Reading scaffolds. Organizing ideas from informational and literary texts establishes student understanding of the main ideas and plot points prior to the consideration of deeper ideas. Focus on vocabulary and syntax. Students learn to read closely and discuss important passages, with particular emphasis on learning the meanings of essential content words and academic vocabulary, studying roots and affixes to grow capacity to discern word meaning independently, and dissecting phrases to reveal how syntax conveys meaning.”
• “Exploration of content in multiple forms. Students explore print texts, visual art, videos, audio recordings, photographs, and maps to access module concepts and information."
• Reliance on strong models. Students examine models of strong writing to understand how to craft effective sentences, paragraphs, and essays.”
• “Frequent feedback. Students receive ongoing and explicit feedback from peers and teachers.”
• “Scaffolds. At key moments, lessons include specific suggestions for how to scaffold instruction. These scaffolds empower teachers to seamlessly integrate remediation suggestions into instruction. For students who may be challenged by the lesson’s rigor, scaffolds provide another path to the learning goal, rather than minimize or change the learning goal.”
• “Extensions and differentiation suggestions. Lessons often offer suggestions for how to vary learning tasks for those who already have well-developed skills, or to extend learning for students who seek an additional challenge. The chart below more specifically illustrates how Wit & Wisdom lessons support striving readers.”

The instructional materials reviewed meet the expectations that 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 include explicit vocabulary and grammar instruction, text-dependent questions that focus all students on key terms, phrases, and passages for rereading and repeated exploration, partner work that includes oral practice of written responses, and multiple authentic opportunities to use academic language with support, such as explicit teaching about speaking and listening, sentence frames, and vocabulary support.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet requirements for regularly including extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level. Extension activities are provided throughout materials. These are included in boxes in the Teacher’s Edition lesson plans.

Extension activities include:

• Module 1, Lesson 18: If students finish early, they may record and elaborate on additional evidence on Sound of Running Feet and/or Chief Joseph.
• Module 4, Lesson 6: Encourage students to determine if there is evidence in the paragraph that would be better suited as a direct quotation. Students mark this evidence, then offer a suggestion on what evidence would work better as a paraphrase.

Materials reviewed meet the expectations of providing ample opportunities for teachers to use grouping strategies during lessons. Lessons indicate where pairs, whole group, small group, or individual groupings are utilized for instruction. Each lesson provides students opportunities to work through more than one type of grouping. Teachers are also provided suggestions for how to assign roles or divide groups. For example, Socratic Seminars are used frequently, and teachers are given detailed instructions on how to model the strategy and assign groups and responsibilities. Other routines that provide opportunities for grouping include anchor charts, boxes and buttons, categorization, chalk talk, choral reading, echo reading, fishbowl, gallery walk, give one-get one-move on, graffiti wall, grammar safari, graphic organizers, jigsaw, link up, literary dominoes, mix and mingle, outside-in, partner reading, praise/question/suggestion, question corners, quick write, quiz-quiz-trade, reader’s theater, and response techniques.