3rd Grade - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 do people from different cultures contribute to a community?” Students participate in an interactive read-aloud about how art can tell a story about culture in “Faith Ringgold: Telling Stories Through Art” (author not cited). The shared read is “Room to Grow” (author not cited). In the anchor text, Gary the Dreamer, students learn about author Gary Soto’s Mexican-American experiences. In the paired selection, “Sharing Cultures,” author Pat Mora describes her bilingual background, and illustrator Kadir Nelson shares how athletes and heroes are inspirational.

• In Unit 3, Text Set 2 explores the Essential Question, “What makes different animals unique?” Students participate in an interactive read-aloud of a folktale titled “Bear, Beaver, and Bee” (author not cited). Students read another folktale about a spider who likes to play tricks and is taught a lesson in “Anansi Learns a Lesson” (author not cited). In the anchor text, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, retold by Carmen Agra Deedy, students learn what makes animals unique. In the paired selection, “Get a Backbone” (author not cited), an expository text, students read to learn about animals with vertebrates.

• In Unit 6, Genre Study 1, Weeks 1–2, students read the anchor text Looking Up to Ellen Ochoa by Liane B. Onish. Shared reads “A Flight to Lunar City” and “Rocketing into Space” (authors not cited) are centered around the topic of biographies and why goals are important. The Essential Question is “Why are goals important?” In the small group instruction accompanying this text set, students read the leveled reader, Reaching for the Stars by Dominic Ashton, which is also connected to the essential question, supporting students in developing their ability to read and comprehend increasingly complex texts as they build knowledge about a topic.

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 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, Week 5, Lesson 3, students read “Protecting Our Parks,” a TIME for Kids article. Students work with a partner to answer, “How does the author help you understand why the National Park System is important?” and fill in a graphic organizer with details from the text. Students complete the sentence starter, “I understand why the National Park System is important because the author…” and answer the question, “How does the author help you understand the different claims people make about park visitors?” Students cite facts and details from the text in their responses. Students respond to the writing prompt, “What would you do to protect our parks?” using text evidence to support their choice.

• In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 1, before students read the shared read, “Anansi Learns a Lesson” (author not cited), they think about the Essential Question and what they know about folktales. Students are prompted to preview the title and illustrations, make a prediction, and note the column on the left of page 40 to write their questions, list interesting words they would like to learn, and identify key details from the text. Students make inferences by answering the question, “How does Turtle feel when he first sees Anansi?” and cite text evidence.

• In Unit 5, Week 5, Lesson 4, students read “Power for All” (TIME for Kids) and answer the unit Essential Question, “What are different kinds of energy?” Students also read the paired text, “It’s All in the Wind” (TIME for Kids), and answer, “What is the central idea of ‘Alternative Power Comes to the Rescue’?” Students continue to study energy by answering, “How has the new solar power system changed Tsumkwe?” Students use the sidebars in the text to gain further information to build the knowledge to answer, “Which energy-saving tip is related to solar energy? Why?” and “How Is the rest of the sidebar related to the selection?”

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

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 8, students read “A Plan for the People” (author not cited) and discuss the author’s use of text structure to achieve a purpose in writing. The materials provide purposes for text structures, including description, cause and effect, and compare-and-contrast. Students practice identifying the structure using paragraphs from the text. Students explain how the author used cause and effect structure to explain how the Bill of Rights came to be included in the Constitution. 

• In Unit 4, Weeks 1 and 2, students read an excerpt from The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker. While re-reading, the teacher asks, “How does the author use sensory language to describe how Clementine feels when Principal Rice says, ‘Open the curtains!’?” Later, the teacher asks, “What simile is used to describe how Margaret nods to Clementine on page 293?” In the Reading/Writing Companion, students cite text evidence showing words or phrases to show how what happens in the story is funny and answer the question, “How does the author use humor to describe how important Clementine is to the talent show?” Students collect text evidence that helps them understand what the expression “one of a kind” means. These questions build knowledge of the text so that students may answer the question, “Why do you think Clementine develops or changes from the beginning of the story to the end?”

• In Unit 4, Weeks 3 and 4, students read Amazing Wildlife of the Mojave by Laurence Pringle. Students answer questions related to craft and structure as they analyze the text. The teacher guides students to look at the photographs and answer questions with a partner about what kinds of plants and animals they see and what they can learn about the desert from the photos. They also study the map of Death Valley. In their Reading/Writing Companion, students answer, “How does the author use words and phrases to help you visualize how the chuckwalla protects itself?” Students collect clues from the text with a partner and complete the sentence starter, “I can visualize how the chuckwalla protects itself because…” Students also collect text evidence as they answer, “How does the author feel about the iguana’s ability to change color?” In the final response to this text, students write to the prompt, “How does the author help you understand how he feels about wildlife in the Mojave?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 in the unit. 

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

• In Unit 1, Week 5, Lesson 3, students read a TIME for Kids article, “Protecting Our Parks,” and answer the question, “How does the author help you understand why the National Park System is important?” Students are prompted to combine what they know about protecting wildlife and the facts the author gives to help understand why the National Park System is important. With a partner, students discuss what the National Park System does and collect evidence from the text to complete a graphic organizer with facts from the text. Students complete the sentence starter, “I understand why the National Park System is important because the author…”

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 3, students read the anchor text Vote! by Eileen Christelow and answer questions to analyze the text, including “Look at the illustrations on pages 100–101 with a  partner. What is this scene showing? Where does the scene take place? What is written on the signs? Let’s synthesize information from the illustrations to create a new understanding about our government.” Students answer further questions to analyze the illustration, including, “What do you think the author wants to tell the reader? What clues tell us about the purpose of this selection before we begin reading?”

• In Unit 6, Week 5, Lesson 4, scripted teacher guidance supports students in reading and rereading the paired selection, “The Gentleman Bookworm” (author not cited). The teacher asks depth-of-knowledge questions such as, “In the dialogue in stanza 4, who is speaking to whom?” and “Is the party a success? How can you tell?” Students use the Reading/Writing Companion to respond to the following questions, “How does the illustration help you understand the details in the poem? How does the poet use personification to help you visualize what the bookworms are doing?” 

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 4, Lesson 7, students read “Next Stop, America!” (author not cited) and answer the question, “Why do people immigrate to new places?” As students read, they are encouraged to take notes about the Essential Question. After reading, they compare this text with the anchor text, The Castle on Hester Street by Linda Heller, and discuss how they are similar and different. Students take notes about the text in their Reader’s Notebook. 

• In Unit 3, Week 4, Lesson 8, Teacher Resources, students read the paired selection, “Get a Backbone” (author not cited). Teachers ask, “Why did the author use an elephant and a mouse as examples of mammals? Which other mammals does the author mention? Why did the author do that?” After rereading the text selection on page 59 of the Reading/Writing Companion, students respond to the questions: “How does the author help you understand more about reptiles? What is something all reptiles share?”

• In Unit 5, Week 4, Lesson 9, using multiple texts from the text set, students use notes and annotations from the texts “Here’s a Nut” (author not cited) and “Clever Jack Takes a Cake” by Candace Fleming to compare how the poet and the author help readers visualize how the characters meet their needs. In the Show Your Knowledge section, students answer the question, “What did you learn about how people get what they need?” in their Reading/Writing Companion. Students are instructed to use the characters they read about in the text set. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 do people from different cultures contribute to a community?” Students write a blog entry in the Show Your Knowledge portion of the lesson. Students refer to their Build Knowledge notes in their Reader’s Notebook to write a blog about why it is important for people from different cultures to contribute to a community. Students use examples from the texts and new vocabulary words learned in their responses. Students present and display their blog entries and use sticky notes to post comments on each other’s blogs. The materials provide a rubric containing a checklist, which includes: “Use your Build Knowledge notes from your reader’s notebook, Write a paragraph with information, thoughts, and opinions, Use text evidence, and Include a title for your blog entry.” 

• In Unit 3, Week 5, Lesson 5, during Show Your Knowledge, students explore the Essential Question, “How is each event in history unique?” Students create a timeline of unique historical events to explain why it’s important to learn about unique events in history. Students use Build Knowledge notes from their Reader’s Notebook to create a timeline, write a description of the event, explain why it is important, and use text evidence. Students can refer to the texts, video, and listening passage for events to include in their timelines. A rubric is provided, and it 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.” Students present their timelines and compare events they chose and discuss why they are unique and important.

• In Unit 5, Week 2, Lesson 10, students explore the Essential Question, “What do good citizens do?” In the Show Your Knowledge lesson, students look at their Build Knowledge notes in their Reader’s Notebook and brainstorm a list of qualities that make a good citizen and use the list to write a recipe for a good citizen. Students write step-by-step instructions to explain qualities they would add together to create a good citizen. A checklist reminds students to use their Build Knowledge notes from their Reader’s Notebook, list qualities they want to include using text evidence, write step-by-step instructions, and add illustrations to their recipe. The rubric includes: “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.” Students present their timelines, compare events, and discuss why each is unique and important. Students read their recipes and sentences to the class to discuss. The class compiles the recipes in a binder, and volunteers are asked to design a cover for the recipe book.

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 Units 1 and 2, students write in a genre they have read in a mentor text. Students follow the Writing Process outlined in The Instructional Routines Handbook to support students working through each step: expert model, plan, draft, revise, edit and proofread, and publish and present. 

  • In Unit 1, Weeks 1–4 contain 13 lessons on narrative writing. Lessons scaffold to a personal narrative to describe a memory in which they tried their hardest to do something. In Week 1, students analyze the expert model, the anchor text, Gary the Dreamer, by Gary Soto. In Week 2, students choose their topic, plan a sequence of events, and write a first draft. In Week 3, one lesson focuses on revising. In Week 4, students continue to revise, conduct peer conferencing, edit and proofread, publish, present, and evaluate.

• In Units 3–6, writing projects focus on writing to sources. Students begin by analyzing a rubric, student model, and sources. Then they use multiple sources to respond to a prompt. 

  • In Unit 3, Weeks 5–6, students write an opinion essay on self-driving cars. A variety of models, routines, and protocols are provided to support teachers in the process. In Week 5, Lesson 4, students are provided with a student model essay and are guided to read each paragraph and look for specific techniques. For example, students look for supporting reasons, relevant evidence, and a sentence in the conclusion that restates supporting information provided in the introduction. The materials provide the teacher with an Analyze the Prompt routine to guide students. The steps include, “Read the prompt,” “Identify the purpose,” “Identify the audience,” and “Identify the type of writing the prompt is asking for.” In Week 6, Lesson 3, students plan and organize ideas using a graphic organizer to outline their reasons and conclusion as well as include relevant evidence from each source.

  • In Unit 6, Weeks 1–4, there are 13 lessons on expository writing. Lessons scaffold to an expository essay where students explain why it is important to have different experts in space. Lessons in Week 1 focus on analyzing the rubric, using academic language, and analyzing the student model. In Week 2, lessons continue to focus on analyzing the student model. In Week 3, lessons center on analyzing the prompt and sources and organizing ideas. In Week 4, lessons focus on referencing sources in their draft and conducting peer conferences.

• 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. Additional skills are taught, such as note-taking, Think Aloud, quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing in this routine.

• In Unit 2, Weeks 1–4, students write a realistic fiction narrative. A student model is provided, and teachers guide students to analyze this over the course of 4 lessons. Think-alouds are also available to use during instruction. In Week 2, Lesson 2, students analyze the prompt and choose a topic. The teacher explains that characters change and develop during the course of a narrative and helps students to begin to plan for their writing. A sample script is provided for teachers stating, “The author of a realistic fiction story tells the events of the story in sequence, from beginning to end. He or she may use signal words to help the reader follow the events of the story.” Students think of a character they want to write about, the problem they want to solve, and use the online Sequence Graphic Organizer. In Week 3, Lesson 5, students revise their essays. The materials provide teachers with a sequence of questions to guide students in revising their narratives, such as, “Does your story begin by introducing the main character? Do you include dialogue in your story? Is it clear who is talking? Does your story show how the characters change and develop in the course of the story?”

• In Unit 3, Weeks 5–6, students write an opinion essay on self-driving cars. The materials provide models, routines, and protocols to help teachers support students in the process. In Week 5, Lesson 4, a model student essay is displayed. The teacher looks for relevant evidence and a sentence in the conclusion that restates supporting reasons the student gave in the introduction. In the Analyze the Prompt routine, the steps include “Read the prompt,” “Identify the purpose,” “Identify the audience,” and “Identify the type of writing the prompt is asking for.” In Week 6, Lesson 3, students plan and organize ideas, using a graphic organizer to outline their reasons and conclusion, as well as include their relevant evidence from each source.

• In Unit 5, Weeks 1–4, students write an opinion essay. A student model is provided, and teachers guide students to analyze this over the course of 4 lessons. The materials provide think-alouds for the teacher to use during instruction. When students analyze the student model in Week 1, Day 4, the teacher provides guidance on how to use elaboration to make an opinion essay stronger. Teachers guide students through analyzing the model by asking questions such as, “Have students identify the author’s claim about Susan B. Anthony’s family. Ask: How does the author use elaboration to help you understand this opinion of Susan B. Anthony’s family? Read the second paragraph. Ask: How does this paragraph elaborate on the opinion of her family?” In Week 3, Day 1, students use the Analyze the Prompt Routine. Teachers display an Opinion Essay anchor chart to help students identify the characteristics of an opinion essay. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 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 information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

  • In Unit 1, Week 5, Lesson 2, the teacher models how to take notes while researching and how to organize that information. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 5, Lesson 2, teachers introduce formal inquiry for collecting information through reliable resources for their research. Teachers then identify informal inquiry as collecting and gathering information by asking questions. Students create a list of questions they can ask a school faculty member or a family member. They then locate reliable sources. Teachers guide students in how to take notes and cite the sources they use to gather the information for their articles. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 5, Lesson 2, the teacher models how to create research questions and make comparisons about information they find. 

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, and strategies to teach research and inquiry as well as a presentation rubric.

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 2, students research to map places in their community that show its culture using the Five-Step Research Process. In Step 1, the teacher explains places that tell about a community’s culture, including schools, parks, libraries, monuments, and businesses such as restaurants and stores. Students use a Four-Door Foldable graphic organizer to plan their maps. In Step 2, students brainstorm digital and print resources they can use for their research, books, websites, magazines, and newspapers. In Step 3, the teacher reviews how to take notes and cite sources they use to gather information for their map. In Step 4, the teacher demonstrates how to organize the places and information and which symbols and labels can be used to sketch out their maps. In Step 5, the teacher discusses options for presenting the maps. 

• In Unit 4, Week 3, Lesson 2, partners begin a science research project on how a particular animal’s behavior changes along with the season. The materials prompt teachers to display examples of reliable sources and model how to locate and use them to find information using the five-step research process. In Step 1, the teacher prompts students to brainstorm a list of animals and then suggests focusing on a question relating to the animal’s appearance, habitat, how it finds food, and how it responds to changing seasons. In Step 2, students choose print or online resources that are relevant to their topic. In Step 3, students use a Four-Door Foldable graphic organizer to organize information from their sources. In Step 4, students write captions for each of the images they selected for their collage. In Step 5, students present their collages to the class. 

• In Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 2, during the Inquiry project, teachers guide students through researching what their classmates believe is important. For example:

  • “Remind students to develop and follow a research plan. Guide students as they brainstorm a question and four answer choices.”

  • “Circulate and support partners as they question classmates and record the responses.” Teachers then demonstrate how to use an online tool to record information.

  • “Ask partners to review how each classmate answered. Have them tally the results. Remind students to keep the bar graph format in mind.”

  • “Tell students to write and draw their bar graphs neatly. Suggest that they make each bar a different color. Discuss options for presenting, such as creating an online presentation by recording their presentation and posting it online or creating a digital poster of their bar graph to display. Model ways to read and present a bar graph.”

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 build knowledge about a topic.

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 2, partners create a map that shows places where their community shows its culture by answering the Essential Question, “How do people from different cultures contribute to a community?” Students follow a five-step research process: 

    • Step 1: Set a goal by listing places they want to include on their map. 

    • Step 2: Identify sources such as books, magazines, and websites to find information about their community and its culture. 

    • Step 3: Find and record information from sources, take notes, and cite those sources. 

    • Step 4: Organize and combine information by sorting the places into groups, dividing symbols to represent each group, and sketching their map. 

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

  • In Unit 4, Week 3, Lesson 2, partners create a collage that explains how animal behaviors change using the Essential Question, “How do animals adapt to challenges in their habitat?” Students follow the five-step research process:

    • Step 1: Set a goal by brainstorming a list of animals they are interested in, then select one to research.

    • Step 2: Identify sources by asking questions about their animal that can be answered using research. Students find books and reliable websites with relevant or related information. 

    • Step 3: Find and record information from sources and take notes. Collect photographs of their animal and its habitat. 

    • Step 4: Organize and combine information by choosing pieces of information to include in the collage and add captions to the photographs. 

    • Step 5: Partners create and present the collage by adding facts, photographs, and captions to the poster. They can include illustrations, maps, and diagrams before presenting to the class. The Instructional Routines Handbook includes presentation rubrics.

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 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.