6th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations for core texts being of publishable quality and worthy of careful reading and considering a range of student interests.

Core texts cover a range of topics of interest to Grade 6 students. Many of the core texts are written by award-winning authors, and many of the texts themselves have also won awards.

Examples of central texts that are worthy of careful reading include the following:

• Module 1:
  
  • Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse (John Newbery Award)
  • Bud Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis (John Newbery Award and Coretta Scott King Award)
• Module 2:
  • The Odyssey, by Homer (Peabody Award) Homer; Translation by Robert Fagles; Reading by Ian McKellen
• Module 3:
  • Blood on a River, by Elisa Carbone (IRA Teacher’s Choices Award)
  • Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland, by Sally M. Walker (YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist)
• Module 4:
  • Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance, by Jennifer Armstrong (ALA Best Books Award)

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards. The materials contain a balance of both informational and literary texts. There is also a variety of text types, including multimedia, novels, poetry, paintings, videos, articles, speeches, and myths.

Examples of Core Texts and supplemental texts from the module are listed below:

• Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis (novel)
• Mother to Son, by Langston Hughes (poem)
• The Odyssey, Book 9, translation by Geoffrey Steadman (myth)
• Blood on the River: James Town 1607, by Elisa Carbone (historical fiction novel)

Informational

• The Hero’s Journey Outline, by Christopher Vogler (article)
• The Mythology of Star Wars, by Bill Moyers and George Lucas (video)
• What Makes a Hero? by Matthew Winkler (video)
• Rethinking Jamestown, by Jeffery Sheler (scientific article)
• Address to Captain John Smith, by Chief Powhatan (speech)
• Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance, by Jennifer Armstrong (historical account)
• Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Prize Speech (speech)

The instructional materials for Grade 6 meet the expectations that the majority of texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task.

Though some texts fall outside the recommended Lexile range, the materials are accompanied by a qualitative analysis that provides a rationale for use of each text. Texts in the lower end of the Lexile range are typically used to foster student interest or supplement knowledge or evidence needed to complete more demanding tasks. Texts that are below the grade-level complexity according to quantitative measures have both qualitative measures and reader and task associations that make the text appropriate for Grade 6. For example, in Module 4, students read the text, I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World, by Malala Yousafzai and Patricia McCormick. This text has a quantitative measure of 830L and covers several complicated events that create a complex plot. It has unfamiliar words and deals with a mature storyline of what life was like for the main character as she lived in Pakistan. Students must read, annotate, and analyze events within the text to help answer questions such as, “How do Malala and her community respond to the hostile environment in Pakistan?" "How does Yousafzai’s and McCormick’s portrayal of Malala develop the concept of heroism?" and "How can the challenges of a hostile environment inspire heroism?” The qualitative measure and reader and task relationship make this text appropriately complex for the grade level.

Texts that rise above the grade level complexity according to quantitative measures and qualitative measures have reader and task scaffolds and accommodations so that students can access the complex texts. For example, in Module 4 students read the text, Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance, by Jennifer Armstrong. The text has a quantitative measure of 1090, which is above the grade-level band. The text contains complex characters and themes. The story is straightforward but can be dense and complex with students needing to make connections across chapters as well as understand figurative language. Students must also understand the text structure and some of the unfamiliar vocabulary and have some background knowledge of Antarctica and exploration. The lessons, questions, and tasks throughout Module 4, as well as the Focus Questions and class discussions, allow this text to be accessible to Grade 6 students.

The instructional materials for Grade 6 meet the expectations that materials support students’ increasing literacy skills over the course of the school year. Each module builds in rigor over the course of the school year, providing students opportunities to learn and demonstrate literacy skills at grade level by the end of the school year. Series of texts have a variety of complexity levels and are accompanied by tasks that provide opportunity to practice increasingly rigorous skills. The Appendices of each module give teachers access to the quantitative and qualitative features of each core text, including the knowledge, structure, and language use within the texts.

The knowledge, structure, and language use within the texts expands through the modules. Some examples of this expanding rigor are found in the following examples:

• Module 1: Bud Not Buddy (950L): The cultural knowledge could present a challenge for students not familiar with the Great Depression. The novel incorporates attitudes and experiences specific to this period, including homelessness (“Hoovervilles”), racism, and the development of jazz as a form of African-American cultural expression. There are limited academic vocabulary demands. The text is at an appropriate level for a student at the beginning of the Grade 6 year.
• Module 3: Written in Bone (1140L): This fascinating study introduces students to the field of forensic anthropology, detailing the ways artifacts reveal compelling stories of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century life in the Jamestown and Maryland colonies. The author’s detective-like curiosity combines with descriptions of forensic methods to show students the ways excavation can provide answers—as well as raise new questions—about American history. The text provides students an opportunity to build cultural knowledge of the early colonies, to understand the Great Depression and the Great Migration, and to understand the various hardships of colonists’ lives.

The instructional materials for Grade 6 meet the criteria for providing information to the teacher about the text complexity and features of the anchor texts. Anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis. A rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level is included.

Each text is accompanied by a text complexity rubric found within the Teacher Edition in Appendix A of each module. The text complexity rubric provides the quantitative, qualitative and reader/task considerations. There is a rationale for each selection presented under the title and author's name, along with a key learning objective. The information provided includes a list of Common Core standards that are met within the piece. The rubric also offers a detailed explanation of the qualitative areas such as meaning/purpose, structure, language, and knowledge demands. On this same page, the quantitative Lexile measure is stated.

Materials also include a rationale for placement, which is located in the Module Summary section that states in a few sentences why most texts are applicable to the student. For example, the Module 1 Summary is found below:

• “However, the frame of this story—its era—is important for students to understand if they are to grasp the extremity of the hardships that Bud and Billie Jo experience. To that end, the module includes engaging supplemental materials about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. These materials historicize the novel’s themes of persevering in times of difficulty. They also help students envision life during this period. To these ends, students read about Hoovervilles and study first person accounts of young people’s experiences as migrants riding the rails. They examine Dorothea Lange’s iconic photograph 'Migrant Mother' and analyze the powerful poem 'Mother to Son' by Langston Hughes. They listen to jazz music and watch a fictionalized video about a General Motors labor strike. The anchor texts, complemented by these materials, press students to analyze the ways in which ordinary people responded to and transcended the extreme hardships of the Great Depression.” (GM Grade 6, Module 1, Module Summary)

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations for core texts and supporting materials providing opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade-level reading.

Each module includes lessons with supplementary texts of varying lengths. These texts are read independently, in groups, aloud, and silently, offering multiple opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading. Materials also offer multiple novels across the year. Teachers read aloud the back cover of a novel, the first chapter of a novel, and sample sentences to highlight the structure of the text or specific vocabulary terms pertinent to the text. Students then take responsibility for group or independent reading. Opportunities for teacher read alouds and small group work are also available during the scaffolding options component. Students engage with the the majority of content reading independently as homework.

The lists below demonstrate the range and volume of reading across all modules and include additional independent reading from the “Parent Tip Sheet.” Examples of texts include:

• Module 1
  • 2 literary novels, 2 historical texts, 1 journal, 1 piece of music, 1 poem, and 3 videos.
  • Books to Read at Home include:
    • Children of the Depression, Russell Freedman
    • On the Blue Comet, Rosemary Wells
    • Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories, Richard Peck
    • Moon Over Manifest, Clare Vanderpool
    • My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George
    • Sounder, Williams H. Armstrong
    • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred Taylor
    • No Promises in the Wind, Irene Hunt
• Module 3
  • 1 historical fiction novel, 1 scientific account, 3 paintings, 1 article, 1 speech, and 1 video.
  • Books to Read at Home include:
    • Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions and Debates, Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robert Shaw
    • The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare
    • The Lost Colony of Roanoke, Jean Fritz
    • Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart, Candace Fleming
    • Emperor’s Silent Army: Terracotta Warriors of Ancient China, Jane O’Connor

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectation that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-specific and require students to engage with the text directly and to draw on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the texts. Questions draw the reader back into the text and support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year. Reading and writing (and speaking and listening) are done in a cohesive learning environment. Students read and reread to write and discuss. The materials provide opportunities for evidence-based discussions and writing. Examples of student directions include: “Cite evidence” as you participate in Socratic Seminar, “Please remember to include proper citations for your textual evidence,” and a writing rubric requires students to use “textual evidence that develops your idea.”

Below are examples of text-dependent/specific questions included in each module:

• Module 1, Lesson 1:
  • "What lessons has Bud learned since turning six?”
  • "What is the significance of Bud's suitcase?”
• Module 1, Lesson 6:
  • "What kind of evidence can be cited from Kentucky Flood to support this topic statement?"
• Module 1, Lesson 10:
  
  • “What details on page 9 does Cross include that help establish context for the story?”
  • “What textual details in 'The War' intrigue readers about The Odyssey and orient them to the story? What questions are created by these details? Reference your Observe-Infer-Wonder chart for ideas.”
• Module 1, Lesson 22:
  • "In what areas of the translations did word choice differ? How did this reveal different ideas about Penelope’s character?"
  • "In what areas of the translations was word choice the same or very similar? What does this reveal about Penelope’s character?"
• Module 3, Lesson 4:
  • “What is the meaning of the word barren, based on its context?”
  • “How does Hughes’s delivery, his image, and the integration of the other poem affect your understanding of ‘Dreams’?”
• Module 3, Lesson 25:
  • “Why might rulers create monuments, such as statues, buildings, or other structures?”
  • “How might these monuments connect with the themes and ideas of Animal Farm?”
• Module 4, Lesson 2:
  • “What did you notice and wonder about Antarctica, based on the author’s description?”
  • “Stranded means ‘to be left behind or put into a helpless position.’ Would you expect the crew of the Endurance to survive after being stranded in Antarctica? Explain your response with text evidence.”
• Module 4, Lesson 13:
  • “The third line of the song uses the word reckons, which means ‘to settle accounts or to deal with.’ What does it mean to reckon 'the rough with the smooth'? What does it mean to 'never [swerve]'?"
  • “How do the poem’s lines capture Shackleton’s leadership style as portrayed by Armstrong?”

Instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectation that they should contain sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent questions and activities that build to a culminating task that integrates skills to demonstrate understanding. Each module begins with an Essential Question; each module also contains multiple Focusing Questions that deal with the core text. Each of the daily lessons work toward answering the Focusing Questions while building the skills and knowledge needed to complete the End-of-Module Task. Supplementary texts help to build knowledge while integrating skills such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

For example, in Module 2 the Core Texts are Odyssey and Ramayan. The Essential Question is, “What is the significance and power of the hero’s journey?” The End-of-Module Task is, “Part 1: Plan your original monomyth using the Character Archetypes and Stages of the Hero’s Journey tables. Part 2: Choose two stages to fully develop into narrative scenes. Part 3: Use technology to create a presentation, and choose one of your narrative scenes to present in a fluent read to share your hero and his/her journey with the class.” During the module lessons student read, discuss, and write to build knowledge through various activities and routines. Students work towards understanding the Focusing Questions to build knowledge and complete the culminating task.

Focusing Questions for Module 2 include:

• Focusing Question 1: How does Ramayana: Divine Loophole exhibit the genre expectations of the monomyth?
• Focusing Question 2: How does The Odyssey exhibit the genre expectations of the monomyth?
• Focusing Question 3: How do translations of The Odyssey and Ramayana expand our understanding of these texts?
• Focusing Question 4: How does the monomyth genre persist in and influence the stories we tell?

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations providing students frequent opportunities to practice academic vocabulary and syntax in their evidence-based discussions. Each module gives the students ample opportunity to hold evidence-based discussions with Think-Pair-Share, Socratic Seminars, Jigsaw discussions. Gallery Walk/follow-up discussions, etc. The materials offer scaffolds to help students hold academic conversations, including evidence to support students’ claims. Scaffolds include sentence starters, evidence graphic organizers, and teacher-facilitated discussions.

Academic vocabulary instruction is found throughout the modules. Teachers use multiple strategies in introducing, discussing, and using new vocabulary. Each module contains Appendix B, entitled Vocabulary, which clarifies the category in which each word is listed. The materials vocabulary is presented in three categories: Content Vocabulary, Academic Vocabulary, and Text-Critical Vocabulary. Students create vocabulary journals and also participate in Vocabulary Deep Dives and Style and Conventions Deep Dives.

Examples of how students have opportunities for evidence-based discussions that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary include:

Module 1:

• Students are asked to engage in a (modified) Socratic Seminar in which they cite and explain evidence from Bud, Not Buddy to respond to questions.
• Students are asked to engage in a Socratic Seminar in which they cite and explain evidence from Out of the Dust to respond to questions.

Module 2:

• Working with a small group, students are asked to choose another text (book or film) with which they are all familiar and that they think is an example of the monomyth genre. Then, students use the Character Archetypes and Stages of the Hero’s Journey tables to organize the characters and events.

Module 3:

• In Lesson 5, students complete a Factor Tracker, then share their facts (evidence) with others in the class.
• In Lesson 18, students think-pair-share on big ideas in the novel, Blood on the River, and search for evidence to support their claims.

Module 4:

• In Lesson 8, students work in small groups to answer three (3) text-dependent questions. Students use their response journals and the text to provide evidence for their claims. Students cite page numbers of the evidence recorded.
• In Lesson 20, students work in pairs to answer the question, "How does using sources responsibly work in research writing?" First, they are asked to discuss and record their thoughts on the question, "In what ways does this essay’s author responsibly incorporate evidence from the three different sources?"

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching with relevant follow-up questions and evidence.

Speaking and listening work requires students to gather evidence from texts and sources. Opportunities to ask questions and hold discussions with peers and teachers about research, strategies and ideas are present throughout the year.

Within this curriculum there are multiple opportunities for speaking and listening that include whole group discussions and small group discussions. In addition, through the lessons there are instructions for the teacher and tips on facilitating whole group, small group, and partner speaking and listening. Students specifically practice these skills in every module in Socratic Seminars. Materials include speaking and listening rubrics, as well as the Socratic Seminars. There is a tracking form that helps the teacher track students’ ability to perform skills with speaking, listening, and reading (citing evidence).

Module 1, Lesson 2:

• Students Think-Pair-Share about unanswered wonderings from chapter 2. Students share questions with text-based answers or predictions.

Module 2, Lesson 2:

• As a whole group, students brainstorm how technology enhances and supports the production and publishing of student work. The teacher displays ideas and adds others that are missing.

Module 3, Lesson 12:

• In small groups, students discuss and write responses for specific text-dependent questions in their response journals. Afterwards, the class reconvenes to discuss group responses.

Module 4, Lesson 9:

• Student pairs skim two pages (designated by the teacher) and discuss what they notice and wonder about Armstrong’s selection of sources. They record these observations and questions in their Response Journals. After five minutes, the teachers reconvenes the class and asks for volunteers to share.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations that materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing and short, focused projects. Students write both on demand and over extended periods throughout every nine-week module. There are informal and formal responses over the course of the module, where students learn, practice, and demonstrate the stages of expository writing, narrative writing, and argumentative writing. Materials include short and longer writing tasks and projects. Writing tasks and projects are aligned to the grade-level standards being reviewed. Students also keep a response journal to record thoughts and ideas.

Module 1 emphasizes students’ understanding and implementation of explanatory writing as a multiple-step process. In particular, the purposeful sequence of activities focuses on students’ ability to compose: (1) a ToSEEC paragraph that has a topic statement, evidence and elaboration, and a concluding sentence; (2) an introductory paragraph that contains a hook, introducing section, and thesis; (3) a mini-essay that includes an introduction and two body paragraphs containing relevant and sufficient evidence, thorough elaboration, and appropriate transitions; and (4) a full essay that includes a cause-and-effect structure, precise language, a formal writing style, and a concluding paragraph. For the End-of-Module Task, students apply what they have learned about structure, development, style, and conventions to write a well-developed cause-and-effect explanatory essay.

• Focusing Question Task: Write a ToSEEC paragraph in which you explain what makes Bud a survivor.
• End of Module Task: Write a cause-and-effect ToSEEC essay (introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion) in which you explain how Bud or Billie Jo’s responses to hardship(s) (cause) contributed to his/her transformation (effect).

Module 2 builds upon students’ understandings of explanatory writing, incorporating it into the analysis of the anchor texts. This module also introduces narrative writing and the production and publishing of technology-based presentations. Narrative writing is purposefully scaffolded so students are given the opportunity to experiment with context building, narrative techniques, transition words, precise word choice, and conclusions before drafting their own original myths in the End-of-Module Task. Students create technology-based presentations to introduce their character and context as part of the third Focusing Question, giving students an opportunity to rehearse and perfect their production and delivery. For the End-of-Module Task, students apply what they have learned to write two full scenes from their own original monomyth and use technology to present their ideas to their peers.

• Focusing Question Task: 1. Part 1: With a partner, complete the Character Archetype and Stages of a Hero’s Journey tables for Ramayana: Divine Loophole. Part 2: On your own, write an explanatory essay in which you synthesize your understanding of Ramayana: Divine Loophole by explaining how this text illustrates the genre expectations of the monomyth as well as how it might diverge from those expectations.
• End of Module Task: Part 1: Plan your original monomyth using the Character Archetypes and Stages of the Hero’s Journey tables. Part 2: Choose two stages to fully develop into narrative scenes. Part 3: Use technology to create a presentation and choose one of your narrative scenes to present in a fluent read to share your hero and his/her journey with the class.

The materials meet the expectations providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Materials provide opportunities that build students' writing skills over the course of the school year. Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources.

Examples of writing prompts found throughout the modules that show how the materials meet the expectations of these indicators include:

• Write a cause-and-effect essay (introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion) in which you explain how hardship (cause) changes Billie Jo’s relationship with another character, a particular object, or the land (effect).

• Write a claim and two argumentative paragraphs in which you argue who had the greatest impact on Samuel’s growth and change as he navigated the unknowns in his new world of Jamestown.

• Write an explanatory essay in which you synthesize your understanding of Ramayana: Divine Loophole by explaining how this text illustrates the genre expectations of the monomyth as well as how it might diverge from those expectations.

• Write an explanatory essay in which you compare and contrast Carbone’s and Walker’s presentations of Richard Mutton. As part of your response, explain how each author introduces Richard and how each describes his character and his experiences in Jamestown.

• Part 1: Plan your original monomyth using the Character Archetypes and Stages of the Hero’s Journey tables. Part 2: Choose two stages to fully develop into narrative scenes. Part 3: Use technology to create a presentation and choose one of your narrative scenes to present in a fluent read to share your hero and his/her journey with the class.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations that materials include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information. Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing with evidence. Writing opportunities are focused around students' analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources. Materials provide opportunities that build students' writing skills over the course of the school year.

The following examples demonstrate evidence-based writing opportunities across all four modules:

Module 1:

• Write a mini-essay (an introduction and two body paragraphs) in which you explain how people during the Great Depression and the characters in Out of the Dust sustained their spirits during this difficult time in our history. You must use evidence from both Out of the Dust and Hoover’s Prodigal Children: Hungry Times on Mean Streets.
• Read the poem, Mother to Son, by Langston Hughes. Respond to multiple-choice questions, and then using evidence from the poem and Bud, Not Buddy, write a paragraph in which you explain how the perspective of the speaker of the poem compares or contrasts with Bud’s mother’s perspective about life.

Module 2:

• Students Jot-Pair-Share for the following question: Consider what you have read in the first two chapters of The Odyssey. How does this story’s settings, characters, and plot so far resemble those of the monomyth?

Module 3:

• Students write an explanatory essay comparing and contrasting Carbone’s and Walker’s presentations of Richard Mutton. Part of the response is an explanation of how each author introduces Richard and how each describes his character and his experiences in Jamestown.
• Students answer the question, “Should Captain Smith or Reverend Hunt be Jamestown’s next president?” Students review the text and collect evidence for the group’s assigned candidate. When the class reconvenes and shares findings, students record evidence for the other candidate so that they can then determine their own claim.

Module 4:

• Students analyze the main idea of Chapters 16 and 17 by completing the chart. In the chart the main ideas and factors of the main ideas are stated. Then, the student provides support/evidence from the book of these factors and their support of the main idea of each chapter.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet expectations for explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of the context. Each lesson has a deep dive in either vocabulary or style and conventions for 15 minutes of instruction, allowing students to practice the skills throughout the modules. Writing rubrics include grammar and conventions, and there are checklists at the End-of-Module tasks to assess application of conventions listed in the language standards.

Examples include:

Module 1:

• Lesson 19: Identify and explore how complex and compound-complex sentences signal differing relationships among ideas.
• Lesson 25: Explain how phrases and clauses affect writing.
• Lesson 26: Complete sentence frames using sets of appropriately punctuated modifiers.
• Lesson 28: Appropriately use coordinate adjectives to add description in writing.
• Lesson 32: Employ phrases and clauses appropriately to enhance writing.

Module 2:

• Lesson 11: Identify transitional phrases and clauses and explain their function in specific instances.
• Lesson 12: Use transitional phrases and clauses in writing.
• Lesson 16: Recognize and correct misplaced modifiers.
• Lesson 21: Explain why subjects are important when using participial phrases.
• Lesson 17: Revise argument paragraphs by using phrases or clauses to create transitions, add detail or precision, or clarify relationships.

Module 3:

• Lesson 14: Identify phrases and clauses and explain their function in specific instances.
• Lesson 15: Revise an argument paragraph by using phrases to create transitions, adding detail and precision, and to clarify relationships.
• Lesson 17: Revise argument paragraphs by using phrases or clauses to create transitions, addjng detail or precision, or to clarify relationships.
• Lesson 24: Combine simple sentences to create complex sentences that communicate multiple ideas.

Module 4:

• Lesson 6: Identify vague pronouns in context.
• Lesson 8: Correct vague pronouns to improve clarity.