5th Grade - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a.

Texts of various genres in each unit focus on building knowledge by investigating an Essential Question. Students listen to read-alouds, read texts, engage in discussions, and write and answer questions connected to texts to build knowledge around the topic. A “Build Knowledge Routine” within daily lessons supports student reflection on what they have learned about the Essential Question through discussions and writing. Small group instruction includes texts centered around the same topics to increase the ability of students to read and comprehend increasingly complex texts independently.  

Texts are connected by a grade-appropriate cohesive topic/line of inquiry. Texts build knowledge and the ability to read/listen and comprehend complex texts across a school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Text Set 1 explores the Essential Question, “How can experiencing nature change the way you think about it?” Students participate in an interactive read-aloud about nature photographer Ansel Adams in “Capturing the Natural World” (author not cited). Students read about how Thoreaus’ time in the woods changed his view about nature in the shared read, “A Life in the Woods” (author not cited). In the anchor text, Camping with the President by Ginger Wadsworth, students learn about President Roosevelt’s trip to Yosemite. In the paired selection, “A Walk With Teddy” (author not cited), students read about Roosevelt’s travels through England and how they affected his thoughts about birds.

• In Unit 4, Text Set 2 has an element of mystery that explores the Essential Question, “What can you discover when you give things a second look?” Students participate in an interactive read-aloud, “The Mystery Riddle” (author not cited), where friends discover a riddle in a cup. Students read about a lost pet chameleon in “Where’s Brownie?” (author not cited). The anchor text, A Window Into History: The Mystery of the Cellar Window by David Adler, is a drama where kids discover a long-hidden room in an old house used by the Underground Railroad. In the paired selection “A Boy, A Horse, and a Fiddle” by Elizabeth ten Grotenhuls,  students read the legend of how the horse fiddle was invented. 

• In Unit 6, Text Set 3 explores the Essential Question, “What can our connections to the world teach us?” Students participate in an interactive read-aloud about a girl who feels a connection to a crowd of people dancing at a salsa concert in “The Beat” (author not cited). Students read two poems as shared reads, “To Travel” and “Wild Blossoms” by Jad Abbas. These poems help students learn that books can take readers to places they have never been and make connections with the natural world that may be different from others. The anchor texts contain two poems, “You Are My Music” by Jean LeBlanc and “You and I” by Mary Ann Hoberman. In the paired selection, “A Time to Talk” by Robert Frost, students realize connections with other humans are important.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b.

Instructional materials include multiple opportunities across the school year in each text set for students to analyze key ideas, details, author’s craft, and structure. Text-dependent questions and tasks align with the correlated standard. Tasks include discussing how authors use various elements and structures to help create meaning or shape the text. The questions and tasks are coherently sequenced and build upon each other toward a culminating task. 

For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Weeks 3 and 4, students read One Hen by Katie Smith Milway. Students read the text and answer the inference question, “How can you tell that Kojo is becoming successful?” Students use their Reading/Writing Companion to answer questions about the text. Partners and talk about Kojo’s plans and collect text evidence to answer, “What message is the author sending by writing about the future that Kojo dreams about?” and “How do you know that Kojo’s dream will come true?” These questions lead to writing to the prompt, “How does the characterization of Kojo help him succeed? Why was his outlook on life so significant to the story?”

• In Unit 4, Weeks 1 and 2, students read the biography Rosa by Nikki Giovanni. Students cite text evidence to show how the author helps them visualize what Rosa was like. Students list words and phrases that help them create a mental picture. Students answer, “How do you know what Rosa thinks and how she feels as she sits on the bus waiting for the police?” and collect words and phrases from the text to show what she is thinking and feeling. Students infer why the author uses a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. and collect evidence as they determine what the quote means and what it helps them understand about the text. Tasks and questions prepare students to write to the prompt, “Describe three lessons from Rosa Parks’s actions and explain them using text evidence.”

• In Unit 5, Week 4, Lesson 6, students read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis and discuss how the characters’ actions help the reader learn more about them. Students answer questions about the specific details of the text, including, “What is the name of Bud’s set of rules?” and “Why did the author include this?” Students analyze the characters by answering, “What does the author reveal about Bud through his responses to the conversation he overhears?” Students further analyze characterization when answering, “How do these expectations compare to Bud’s original set of rules?” and “How is he affected by this?” Students determine Bud’s character as they answer, “How does the author help you understand how Bud changes as he becomes part of the band?” and “How does this show that he has changed during the story?”

For most texts, students analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards).

• In Unit 1, Weeks 5 and 6, students read argumentative texts. Students read “The Future of Transportation,” a TIME for Kids article. The article is divided between two points, “Autos Advance” and “The Rail Way.” After Reading “Autos Advance,” students answer the question, “How does the author’s use of facts strengthen the argument?” Students collect text evidence that shows words and phrases that help them understand the author’s argument about public transportation and cars. After reading “The Rail Way,” students determine how the author feels about public transportation by citing text evidence such as headings, photographs, and captions. Students make connections across all texts, including song lyrics for “Down Yonder.” Partners discuss the lyrics and compare what they have in common with the text selections that focus on the positive or negative effects of transportation. Students write to the prompt, “The song lyrics and the selections are similar because…”

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 6, students read Who Wrote the U.S. Constitution? By Candice Ransom and answer multiple questions to determine how an author uses various elements to build meaning. Students analyze the author’s use of structure by answering, “Why does the author use headings to help you understand the text?” and “How does the sidebar give more insight into the role James Madison played in the Virginia Plan?” Students analyze language by answering, “What effect does the idiom chewed over create?” 

• In Unit 4, Week 5, Lesson 3,  students read a collection of poems. After reading “Words Free as Confetti” by Pat Mora, students answer the question, “How does the poet’s use of free verse create the poem’s mood?” Students collect words and phrases from the text and describe how they create a mood. After reading “Dreams” by Langston Hughes, students answer the question, “How does the poet use repetition and meter to help you understand his message?” Students collect words and phrases from the text that are repeated and fill out a graphic organizer. Students read the poem “A Story of How a Wall Stands” by Simon J. Ortiz and answer the question, “How does the poet use dialogue to help you understand how the speaker’s father feels about his work?” These tasks lead to a “Show Your Knowledge” task where students write a poem that expresses an important idea.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c.

Materials provide students with multiple opportunities to engage in the analysis of knowledge and ideas in the unit texts. Students can build knowledge and integrate ideas within individual texts and across multiple texts. Questions and tasks are coherently sequenced to build the skills needed to complete the culminating task. Students regularly examine illustrations and determine how to create meaning or clarify parts of a text. Each text set provides a chance to use information from multiple texts to build knowledge and create a project integrating the information from the texts. 

Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, Week 4, Lesson 8, students read “From Tale to Table” (author not cited) and analyze the text. Students answer, “What makes the creation of a new recipe so remarkable?” and “Look at the title. Why is ‘From Tale to Table’ a good title for this selection?” Students examine the illustration and caption on page 136 and answer, “How do the photographs support this text? How can photographs help you better understand a recipe?” In Lesson 9, students use illustrations to help determine how plans can help people accomplish a task. The teacher asks students to “Look at the sketches and read the caption. Talk with a partner about each image and what they tell you about the Wright brothers.”

• In Unit 5, Week 4, Lessons 7–9, students read the paired selection, “Musical Impressions of the Great Depression” (author not cited). They answer the question, “How does this kind of music affect people who struggled during this time?” Then they discuss with a partner why music was able to change how people felt during a difficult time. Later, students look at a photograph of Ella Fitzgerald singing in their Reading/Writing companion and answer, “How do this photograph and the selections Bud, Not Buddy and ‘Musical Impressions of the Great Depression’ demonstrate how sharing music can affect people?”

• In Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 1, after reading Mysterious Oceans (author not cited), students respond to the Author’s Craft question, “How do the photographs and captions support the text? What do they help you understand?” in the Reading/Writing Companion.

Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 10, students analyze multiple texts from the unit to create a bookmark showing how people became good problem solvers. Students use evidence from the texts such as “Wordsmiths” (author not cited) Who Wrote the U.S. Constitution? by Candace Ransom, and “Creating a  Nation” (author not cited) to answer the question and create the bookmark. 

• In Unit 5, Week 4, Lesson 10, students demonstrate the knowledge they have gained toward answering the Essential Question, “How do shared experiences help people adapt to change?” Students use text evidence from the text set, Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, “Musical Impressions of the Great Depression” (author not cited), and “The Day the Rollets Got Their Moxie Back” (author not cited) by writing song lyrics about how shared experiences help people adapt to change. Students use specific examples from the texts in their writing. Additionally, students respond in their Reading/Writing Companion by analyzing information across texts to answer, “How do this photograph and the selections Bud, Not Buddy and ‘Musical Impressions of the Great Depression’ demonstrate how sharing music can affect people?”

• In Unit 6, Weeks 1–2, after students read The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hogland Hunter and Allies in Action (author not cited), students make connections and integrate knowledge by answering the question, “How is the message of this World War II poster similar to the message of The Unbreakable Code and Allies in Action?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d.

Materials provide multiple opportunities for students to complete culminating tasks directly tied to the studied topics. The Show Your Knowledge lesson is a culmination of students’ knowledge gained throughout the text set related to the Essential Question. These culminating tasks allow students to synthesize ideas and information from the readings and require students to use notes captured while reading and new vocabulary learned in the unit. The tasks vary and integrate reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Tasks include but are not limited to writing a blog entry, writing a recipe, creating a timeline, writing an invitation, creating a public service announcement, and planning a podcast. Tasks can be completed independently, in partnerships, or in a group and presented or displayed. The audience, classmates, and teacher provide feedback to the presenters.

Culminating tasks are evident and varied across the year and they are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, listening) at the appropriate grade level, and comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 10, students explore the Essential Question, “How can experiencing nature change the way you think about it?” Students write a public service announcement (PSA) about why it’s important to experience nature. Students use Build Knowledge notes in their Reader’s Notebook and text evidence to support their ideas. Students consider who their audience is and think about what they can include to encourage their audience to experience nature. Students present their PSAs and display their work in the classroom. Students use sticky notes to place comments under each display. The provided rubric includes the following: “I synthesized knowledge from three or more texts, I included three or more words from my reader’s notebook, and I supported all of my ideas with text evidence.”

• In Unit 4, Week 2, Lesson 10, students complete a Build Knowledge project by creating a podcast about how people can bring about a positive change. Students review the Anchor Charts and notes in their Reader’s Notebook and discuss the prompt. As they create their podcasts, students use evidence from the texts, videos, and a listening passage to support their idea. Students are reminded to write about the effects people had on civil and equal rights. Students use vocabulary from the text set in their writing. Students share their podcasts and use sticky notes to post comments. Students respond to the comments and think of other ways to respond to the text. 

• In Unit 6, Week 4, Lesson 10, students complete a Build Knowledge project by writing a magazine article about the need for some animals to have adaptations for them to live in their environment. Students review the Anchor Charts and notes in their Reader’s Notebook and discuss the prompt. Students list several reasons animal adaptations are necessary for survival in extreme or unusual environments. Students use evidence from texts, videos, and the listening passage from the text set to support their ideas. Partners present their articles. Students use sticky notes to post comments under others’ articles. Presenters read the comments and post sticky notes responses if they choose. Students brainstorm other ways they could respond to the texts from the text set.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 2e.

Materials follow a cohesive plan across the year to support students in developing and increasing writing skills and achieving grade-level proficiency in writing. The Teacher Manual provides guidance in each unit for the teacher to facilitate the writing process with students. The materials include guidance and support in each unit for both students and teachers in the form of protocols, routines, rubrics, graphic organizers, and student models. Students read texts in a particular genre and perform writing tasks in the same genre. Students engage in writing tasks that increase in rigor and length across the year. Materials have uniformity in the organization and layout of the writing activities. 

Materials include writing instruction that aligns to the standards for the grade level and supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In the first four units, the extended writing projects focus on Writing to Sources. Students follow the Writing Process outlined in The Instructional Routines Handbook as they develop argumentative and expository essays. Lessons support students working through each step: analyze the rubric, analyze the student model, analyze the prompt, analyze the sources, plan, draft, and revise.

  • In Unit 1, Weeks 1–4, there are 13 lessons on argumentative writing. These lessons scaffold an argumentative essay about whether or not Florida’s government should use funds to protect natural lands or develop the land. In Week 1, students analyze the rubric, learn about making a strong claim in argument writing, and begin to analyze the student model. In Week 2, students continue to analyze the student model, focusing on the sources used and how the student synthesized information from each source to support his claim. In Week 3, students analyze the prompt and sources for their topic and begin to plan and organize their ideas. In Week 4, students write a draft, focusing on relevant evidence, revise, conduct peer conferences, and complete a self-evaluation.

  • In Unit 2, Weeks 1–4, there are 13 lessons on expository writing. These lessons scaffold an expository writing piece on how inventors improved society. In Week 1, students analyze the rubric and learn about elements of expository writing. In Week 2, students continue to analyze the student model evaluating how the author used evidence to support his central idea. In Week 3, students analyze the prompt and sources to identify specific evidence that supports their central idea and organize their ideas. In Week 4, students draft their essays, revise, edit, and proofread, conduct peer conferences, and complete a self-evaluation.

• In Units 5 and 6, writing projects focus on genres students have previously read. Students use anchor texts or paired texts as mentor texts. Students consider their purpose and audience as they plan, choose a topic, write a draft, revise and edit the draft through peer and teacher conferences, and publish and present their work.

  • In Unit 5, Weeks 1–4, there are 12 lessons on research report writing. Lessons scaffold to a research report about a scientific advance. In Week 1, students analyze an export model, learn about what a research report is, choose their topic, and begin to plan by identifying relevant evidence and reliable resources. In Week 2, students draft their research reports, including learning to use more elaborative details and support their central ideas using specific evidence. In Week 3, students revise, engage in peer reviews and conferencing, and edit based on feedback. In Week 4, students publish, present their research, and self-evaluate their writing. 

  • In Unit 6, Weeks 1–4, there are 13 narrative writing lessons. These lessons culminate in a historical fiction narrative about a historical time that interests the student. In Week 1, students analyze the expert model, The Unbreakable Code by Sara Hoagland Hunter, choose their topic, and plan their characters. In Week 2, Lessons 6–8 focus on writing a draft, including setting, conflict, and resolution. In Week 3, students revise, conduct peer conferences, and edit and proofread. In Week 4, students publish, present, and self-evaluate their writing.

• Students write daily in their Writer’s notebooks for various purposes, including  writing to weekly prompts, writing self-chosen pieces, completing craft mini lessons, listing and reviewing spelling words, and completing grammar assignments. A digital version is also available for students.

Materials include a variety of well-designed lesson plans, models, and protocols for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development.

• The Instructional Routines Handbook outlines the writing process routine. Lessons support students working through each step: expert model, plan, draft, revise, edit and proofread, then publish and present.

• The Instructional Routines Handbook includes guidance for the “Analytical Writing Routine,” which includes steps to analyze the prompt, state a clear topic or opinion, cite text evidence, and provide a strong conclusion. Within this routine, additional skills are taught, such as note-taking, Think Aloud, quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.

• In Unit 2, Weeks 1–4, students write an expository essay. In Week 2, Lesson 8, students analyze the model identifying how the author used three sources to write her essay. In Week 3, Lesson 5, students use a graphic organizer to plan their writing by identifying the central idea, supporting ideas, and relevant evidence. In Week 4, Lesson 3, students draft their essays. The materials provide guidance to develop their central idea and identify specific evidence to explain and elaborate on their central idea.

• In Unit 3, Weeks 1–4, students write an argumentative essay. In Week 1, Lesson 3, students analyze the rubric to understand how using a logical progression of evidence supports their claim. In Week 3, Lesson 4, teacher questions guide students through analyzing sources to identify specific evidence that supports the claim. In Week 4, Lesson 9, specific statements and questions guide students in a peer review of writing through peer conferencing. 

• In Unit 6, Weeks 1–4, students write a historical fiction narrative. In Week 1, Lesson 3, students analyze the expert model. The teacher creates an anchor chart listing the features of historical fiction, including, “it takes place in the past, the plot may include events that really happened in history, it usually describes events in a logical sequence, and it uses narrative techniques such as dialogue, description, and pacing.” In Lesson 4, students brainstorm a list of different periods in history using an idea web. In Week 3, Lesson 3, students conduct peer conferences using a revising checklist. There is also a video, “Peer Conferencing,” students can watch to view a model of the process. A peer conferencing routine is provided with four steps: “listen carefully as the writer reads their work aloud, begin by telling what you liked about the writing, ask a question to help the writer think more deeply about the writing, and offer one or two comments to help the writer improve.” The materials also include an editing checklist, presenting checklist, and self-evaluation rubrics.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 2f.

Materials contain guidance for teachers to facilitate learning using research to develop topic knowledge and research skills. During each text set within the units, students work with a partner or group to complete a two-week science or social studies research project. The projects are varied and require students to research a topic directly related to the unit topic and Essential Question. Students work collaboratively to build knowledge, practice written and oral presentations and apply research skills across the school year. Longer research projects are available in a digitally delivered program called Inquiry Space. These six-week projects guide students through the research, writing, and presenting process. 

Research projects are sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 2, during the Inquiry project, students research how delegates solved issues leading to the creation of the US Constitution. The teacher models how to follow the five-step research plan. In Step 1, the teacher models how to set research goals, and students set goals and consider how the delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write the Constitution. Students write questions they would like to answer through their research. In Step 2, students find resources after the teacher models. In Step 3, the teacher models how to take notes while researching, and then students record information from sources in their own words and cite those sources. In Step 4, the teacher models how to organize information, and students organize their research around how they want to present it in their slideshows. Students compare and contrast the primary and secondary source information. In Step 5, students create a final version of their researched slideshow, adding images, graphics, or music. Students discuss options for presenting to the class and prepare for their presentations. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 2, during the Inquiry project, students research how animal rescue groups care for and protect animals by creating a television segment. The teacher models how to follow the five-step research plan. In Step 1, the teacher models how to set research goals and questions, and students set goals for the project and begin to consider animal rescue groups to research and write questions they would like to answer through their research. In Step 2, students work to find resources they can use with assistance from the teacher. In Step 3, the teacher models how to take notes while researching, and students record information from sources in their own words and cite their sources. In Step 4, the teacher models how to analyze the information they have gathered and best organize it. Students then analyze their data and organize information for their television segment. In Step 5, students complete the planning and discuss options for presenting to the class. 

Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge on a topic via provided resources. 

• The Research Roadmap blackline master outlines the five steps in the research process. It includes questions to guide students, as well as graphic organizers to find, record, and organize information.

• The Instructional Routines Handbook outlines the Five-Step Research Process Routine, the Online Research Routine (Used with Inquiry Space in grades 3-6), and additional guidance for planning a presentation, listening to a presentation, strategies to teach research and inquiry as well as a presentation rubric.

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 2, during the Inquiry project, teachers guide students through researching animal adaptations. For example:

  • “Guide students in focusing their research by writing down questions that they want to research about the Earth, Sun, and Moon. Offer feedback as students generate questions and decide what information they would like to include in their podcasts.” 

  • “Remind students to use reliable, credible sources. Point out that print and online science articles, journals, and databases may be good sources of information when researching how the relationship between the Earth, Sun, and Moon changed over time.”

  • “Discuss plagiarism with students and how to avoid it. Remind them that plagiarism is copying the exact words an author uses and using them as your own. Point out that paraphrasing source information in their own words and giving credit to the author is one way to avoid plagiarism. Students can paraphrase by restating the author’s ideas and opinions in their own words. They can also summarize the central idea of a source or use a direct quotation from the source. Review with students how to take notes and cite the sources they use to gather information for their podcasts.”

• In Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 2, during the Inquiry project, teachers guide students through researching animal adaptations. For example:

  • “Have students brainstorm a list of animals that have unique adaptations. They have them choose one animal and use the internet to find information, photographs, videos, and audio clips related to the animals’ adaptations. Offer feedback as students choose another animal from the list to include in their slideshows.” 

  • “Remind students of the importance of reliable and credible sources that provide relevant information. When researching visual and audio clips, have students cross-check the clips they found from one source with clips from other sources to be certain the information is accurate.”

  • “Review with students how to use the internet to search for images, videos, and audio clips. As students take notes, have them also cite source information. Check their notes and multimedia elements and offer feedback.”

  • “Demonstrate how to organize the information students may want to include in their slideshows. Discuss what multimedia they would like to include and remind them that they must also include captions that provide factual information. Help students sketch a rough slideshow on paper.”

Materials provide many opportunities for students to synthesize and analyze content tied to the texts under study as a part of the research process. 

• Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 2, small groups conduct a two-week research project to research a National Park and create a promotional map to answer the Essential Question, “How can experiencing nature change the way you think about it?” Students follow the five-step research process.

    • Step 1: List National Parks of interest, then choose one to research.

    • Step 2: Identify reliable print or website sources. 

    • Step 3: Find and record information from the sources and cite those sources. 

    • Step 4: Organize and synthesize information by creating a rough sketch of their map, including features such as insets, symbols, a legend, and a key. 

    • Step 5: Create and present to the class. The Instructional Routines Handbook includes presentation rubrics.

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Lesson 2, students work with a partner to conduct a two-week social studies research project using the Essential Question, “What can people do to bring about a positive change?” Partners select one person who positively impacted the civil rights movement and design a plaque that presents and summarizes the information they gathered. Partners follow the five-step research process:

    • Step 1: think about the person they chose and answer the question, “Why was this person an important part of the civil rights movement?” 

    • Step 2: identify print or website sources to use.

    • Step 3: Take notes, cite sources, and answer the question, “Why is it important to cite your sources?”

    • Step 4: Organize and synthesize information to create a draft and bibliography. 

    • Step 5: Create and present the final version of their plaque. The Instructional Routines Handbook includes presentation rubrics.

• Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

  • In Unit 4, Week 3, Lesson 3, students work to compare and contrast by rereading the anchor text, A Window into History: The Mystery of the Cellar Window, by David Adler. Students explore how the author shows people have different perspectives about turning Grandma J’s house into a playground. Students gather text evidence about each perspective and write about what the evidence shows.

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 3, students examine how authors use reasons and evidence by rereading the anchor text Winter’s Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again by Juliana, Isabella, and Craig Hatkoff. Students answer the prompt, “I know that the aquarium staff is concerned about Winter because the authors…” Students draw textual and photographic evidence from the text to show how the trainers feel about Winter.

The materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the criteria for Indicator 2g.

Materials contain instruction, practice, and assessment aligned to grade-level standards. Various instructional approaches are used to coherently support and increase student literacy development. Ample time is provided for students to engage in opportunities that spiral logically over the year. Instruction, tasks, practice, and assessments fully address the intent of the grade-level standards. Students answer questions about illustrations, plot, and characters, as well as participate individually and collaboratively in activities such as summarizing or retelling details, comparing and contrasting, and answering standards-aligned questions about texts. A pacing guide and organizational structures are in place to track and monitor student progress as they work toward meeting learning goals and grade-level standards. 

Over the course of each unit, the majority of instruction is aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The Scope and Sequence, Standards Correlations, Suggested Lesson Plans, and Pacing Guide documents clearly illustrate coverage of each grade level standard. The majority of discussions, questions, and writing directly align to grade-level standards identified within each lesson. The planning portion of the Teacher’s Edition contains a Weekly Standards tab where the standards taught within the week’s lessons are listed. Each daily plan includes specific standards covered in the lesson, separated by the activity in which they are covered. A grade-level standards correlation document lists when each standard is taught throughout the year. Students read and comprehend complex grade-level texts in each text set. Texts increase in complexity across the year. Mini-lessons are included with each text set and guide students to examine skills and strategies needed to experience success in reading, writing, speaking, and listening tasks.

Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions and tasks are aligned to grade-level standards. 

• Each text set connects to reading, writing, and building knowledge goals. Students have opportunities to closely read and analyze complex texts and respond to standards-aligned, text-based questions. Questions and tasks require students to cite text evidence and make inferences based on information not explicitly stated. Questions require students to infer and synthesize information. Questions and tasks build to and prepare students for the Unit Diagnostics and Culminating Tasks.

Over the course of each unit, the majority of assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. 

• Placement and Diagnostic Assessments, Unit Assessments, Progress Monitoring, and Benchmark Assessments include grade-level standard-aligned questions and tasks. The end-of-unit projects are aligned to standards, and standards are noted in the daily plans. Progress Monitoring and Benchmark assessments are aligned to the grade-level standards; however, the specific standards are not listed on each assessment and would require the teacher to list standards associated with each assessment. Unit Diagnostics and the end-of-unit Culminating Tasks align to grade-level standards. Each lesson includes standards-aligned explicit instruction, as well as questions and tasks, that prepare students for the corresponding Unit Assessment. Each Unit Diagnostic builds knowledge in preparation for the Culminating Task.

By the end of the academic year, standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard.

• The Scope and Sequence and Standards Correlations documents illustrate how standards spiral across the materials. Most standards are covered in multiple units, ensuring students have several opportunities to practice skills across the year, even if the teacher cannot cover all six units in the school year. The first unit provides a foundation for knowledge-building that progresses across the year. Each unit ends with Extended Writing and Connect and Reflect. Across the year, standards are repeated to facilitate mastery of the standards. Students have many opportunities to demonstrate proficiency by having authentic conversations about complex texts and writing to develop deeper meaning.