The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for anchor texts (including read aloud texts in K-2 and shared reading texts in Grade 2 used to build knowledge and vocabulary) are of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading/listening and consider a range of student interests.

Kindergarten materials include anchor texts that are of high interest and engaging to students. Many cultures are represented within the anchor texts and are varied within content areas as well. The anchor texts are examined multiple times for multiple purposes and are used to expand topics and essential questions, build vocabulary, and prompt writing.

Texts are of high quality, including rich language and engaging content. Accompanying illustrations are of high quality as well, supporting students' understanding and comprehension of the associated text. Examples of texts that fit this category include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, students listen to Senses at the Sea Shore, by Shelley Rotner. This is an informational text that is supported by photographs to teach children about the five senses. The author shares information by repeating the use of the five senses in sets of five. The sense word is set in big, bold text, and there is a photo demonstrating the sense being described. The language includes words that students would hear and use in their everyday conversation.
• In Unit 1, Week 4, students listen to An Orange in January by Diana Hutts Aston. This is a narrative nonfiction text that has vivid illustrations that detail the journey of an orange from seed to table. It also provides readers with a culturally diverse perspective with images of different types of people.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, students listen to Whose Shoes? A Shoe for Every Job by Stephen R. Swinburne. This is an informational text with a clearly stated purpose in the beginning. The book repeats the question: "Whose shoes?" and when the page is turned, the question is answered. Photographs show real people at work which helps children make real-life connections. 
• In Unit 4, Week 3, students listen to Roadwork by Sally Sutton. This is a nonfiction text about how roads are made. The illustrations support the language and the fonts denote the difference between the content and the sound words (Thump! Whump!). Illustrations are bright, colorful, and connect closely to the concept being described. 
• In Unit 7, Week 1, students listen to ZooBorns! by Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland. This informational text shares information about zoo babies from around the world and is clear and concrete. Each new animal is shown with a picture and information. The information provided includes the animals name and type. The animals are exotic and some of the animal names and information may include words and phrases that are unfamiliar to young learners – e.g. fennec fox, orangutan, aardvark. 
• In Unit 8, Week 1, students listen to When Daddy’s Truck Picks Me Up by Jana Novotny Hunter. This text is realistic fiction and the story is told from the little boy’s point-of-view which will help students connect with the main character. Rhyme throughout the story makes the text fun and easy to follow. The story includes speech balloons which may be unfamiliar to children.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level. Genres and text types are varied and represented throughout the school year.  Texts include a mix of informational and literary texts.

The following are examples of literature found within the instructional materials:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, What About Bear? by Suzanne Bloom
• In Unit 2, Week 3, I Love Bugs! By Emma Dodd
• In Unit 3, Week 1, How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Tommy by Gwendolyn Brooks
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Mack and Ben by Author Unknown
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Mischievous Goat by Author Unknown
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett

The following are examples of informational text found within the instructional materials:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, The Handiest Things in the World by Andrew Clements
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Whose Shoes? A Shoe for Every Job by Stephen R. Swinburne
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Growing Plants by Author Unknown 
• In Unit 7, Week 1, ZooBorns! by Andrew Bleiman

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for texts (including read-aloud texts and some shared reading texts used to build knowledge and vocabulary) have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade level according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and a relationship to their associated student task. Read-aloud texts at K-2 are above the complexity levels of what most students can read independently. 

Instructional materials provide opportunities for students to listen to grade-level appropriate texts during Shared Reading and Literature Anthology. Texts included have the appropriate level of complexity based on their quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and reader and task. 

Texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task and anchor texts are placed at the appropriate grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to: 

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Interactive Read Aloud, Timinmoto by author unknown. This text has a quantitative measure of 580 Lexile. This text is slightly complex because it uses chronological order to tell the tale, making it easy to follow. Some of the vocabulary included in the text increases the complexity including cradle, fetch, rumble.
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Literature Big Book, How Do Dinosaurs Go To School? by Jane Yolen. This text has a quantitative measure of 490 Lexile. The knowledge demands are somewhat complex. The structure is moderately complex. Both the language and knowledge demands are slightly complex.  
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Literature Big Book, ZooBorns: Zoo babies from around the World by Andrew Bleiman. This text has a quantitative measure of 500 Lexile. This informational text has language demands that are complex with domain specific vocabulary present throughout the text. The knowledge demands are high in that children would need domain and background knowledge about the different types of animals.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Literature Big Book, Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats. This text has a quantitative measure of 500 Lexile. The early reading indicators of semantics, structure, syntactic and decoding are all rated as demanding to high demanding for a beginning reader. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ literacy skills (comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade-level skills (leveled readers and series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels). 

The materials that students interact with on a daily basis do not increase in complexity throughout the school year to help students develop independence of grade-level skills. While texts that are used for interactive read-alouds are in the appropriate Lexile band for read-alouds, there is minimal increase in complexity. The same is true for the qualitative features of these interactive read-alouds. They are given complexity levels of slightly complex to somewhat complex throughout the year, with a few reaching moderately complex. The same is true for Shared Reading and Anchor texts. While the quantitative levels are appropriate, the complexity does not grow significantly over the course of the year to help students develop independence of grade-level skills. While students do gain knowledge throughout the year based on the text selections, independently accessing more complex, grade-appropriate books by the end of the year is not available to students. 

Interactive Read-Alouds remain around the same Lexile level over the course of the year. The same is true for the qualitative analysis. Specific examples include:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, students hear the fable The Lion and the Mouse by Aesop, which has a Lexile of 580 and is considered slightly complex, with the exception of language, which is considered somewhat complex. 
• In Unit 3, Week 1, students hear the fable The Boy who Cried Wolf by Aesop, which has a Lexile of 480 and is considered slightly complex, with the exception of language, which is considered somewhat complex. 
• In Unit 5, Week 2, students hear the fairy tale “The Pine Tree” (no author), which has a Lexile of 650 and is considered slightly complex, with the exception of language, which is considered somewhat complex. 
• In Unit 7, Week 2, students hear the Gullah tale “Aunt Nancy” (no author), which has a Lexile of 680 and is considered slightly complex for meaning and structure, but somewhat complex for language and knowledge demands. 
• In Unit 9, Week 2, students hear the fable “The Little Red Hen” (no author), which has a Lexile of 580 and is considered slightly complex for all areas of qualitative analysis. 

The complexity levels for Shared Reading and the Anchor Text are similar to Interactive Read-Alouds, in that the complexity only increases slightly throughout the year. Examples include:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, students hear the informational text The Handiest Things in the World by Andrew Clements, which has a Lexile of 480 and is considered slightly complex, with the exception of language, which is considered moderately complex. 
• In Unit 4, Week 1, students hear the informational text Whose Shoes? A Shoe for Every Job by Stephen R. Swinburne, which has a Lexile of 280 and is considered slightly complex in all areas. 
• In Unit 6, Week 1, students hear the realistic fiction text Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure, which has a Lexile of 330 and is considered slightly complex for language and knowledge demands, but somewhat complex for meaning and structure. 
• In Unit 8, Week 3, students hear Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett, which has a Lexile of 420, which is considered slightly complex for knowledge, somewhat complex for meaning, and moderately complex for structure and language.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria that anchor texts (including read-aloud texts in K-2) and the series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis. Instructional materials include a text complexity analysis for most texts; however, not all texts include a text complexity analysis. Quantitative and qualitative measures are provided in the text notes section. A clear rationale for the purpose and placement for texts chosen for the program is not evident. 

Examples include the following, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Literature Big Book, What About Bear? by Suzanne Boom, materials include the following notes on the text; however, a rationale for the placement of this text in this grade level is not included:
• Qualitative Features - Meaning/Purpose - Moderately Complex: The story is about friends playing together and shares the message that all friends can be included and play together. Although the message of inclusion is not explicitly stated, it becomes obvious throughout the story because of the repeated use of the question, “What about Bear?” The story line and animals’ feelings are also clearly displayed in the images and body language/facial expressions of the animal characters – for example, when Bear is sad about being left out, he sits with his back to Fox and Goose.
• Structure - Moderately Complex: The structure is mostly question and answer. The same question, “What about Bear?” is repeated over and over to draw attention to the friend that is being left out. The repetition of the question creates a pattern in the story that children can follow. The text is color-coded by character which teachers may need to point out (e.g., when Goose talks, the text is blue; when Fox talks, the text is white; when Bear talks, the text is black) and placed near the character that is speaking which is another way that children can follow the story. 
• Language - Slightly Complex: Simple sentences. Words used are words that kindergarten children would use in their day-to-day conversations. Knowledge Demands - Slightly Complex: The theme touches on the social emotional topic of friendship and including all friends during play. This is a topic of interest for young children new to school and navigating new friendships. 
• Quantitative Features:  Lexile 170L 
• Reader Consideration: Readers will likely connect with the social side of navigating friendships, and teachers may need to be sensitive to children in the class who struggle with being left out. 
• Task Consideration: The story touches on the social-emotional learning topic of friendship and how to treat friends. Teachers can use this opportunity to talk about how to play with friends, take turns, and be kind to classmates. 
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, Literature Big Book, My Garden by Kevin Henkes, materials include the following notes  on the text; however, a rationale for the placement of this text in this grade level is not included:
• Qualitative Features - Meaning/Purpose - Moderately Complex: "The shifts between real and make-believe in the beginning and end of the story can be subtle and teachers may need to guide children to notice differences. Although children will likely enjoy all of the imaginative things the girl grows in her garden, young children used to reading informational text may get confused by the approach of this story. Teachers may need to guide children to understand that the book is mostly about a make-believe garden versus facts about a topic." 
• Structure - Moderately Complex: The author uses ellipses to shift from real to fantasy which may not be immediately clear to young children. Additionally, at the end of the story the shift back to a real garden is subtle and may need to be pointed out. The colorful and detailed images help emphasize the main character’s imagination and the fantasy genre. 
• Language - Slightly Complex: There are some words in the story that will need an explanation/example, such as lanterns or rusty. Additionally, there are garden-specific words that children may be unfamiliar with such as morning glories or weeds. 
• Knowledge Demands - Somewhat Complex: Having a clear understanding of the fantasy genre and practice using their imagination will be helpful prior to reading. Additionally, some familiarity about what grows in a garden and how things grow would provide good background knowledge. 
• Quantitative Features: Lexile 570L. 
• Reader Considerations: Familiarity with a garden and how things grow in a garden will be helpful to children who may live in a city or a place without easy access to gardens. 
• Task Considerations: The shifts from real to fantasy and back again are subtle so children may need to hear a few targeted reads.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that support materials for the core text(s) provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year. 

The materials provide opportunities for students to engage with a range of texts including nonfiction, realistic fiction, poetry and fables throughout the year. Each week, students read many texts about the same topic and interact daily with two to three texts during whole group and small group instruction, including Shared Reading, Paired Selections for small group instruction, Anchor Texts, Interactive Read-Alouds, Leveled Readers, and Literature Big Books. Materials contain lessons and resources for read-alouds, guided reading, and independent reading. In a typical week, it is suggested that on Day 1, 20 minutes should be spent on listening comprehension and 40 minutes for small group instruction. On Day 2, the suggested times are 20 minutes for listening comprehension, 10 minutes for shared reading, and 45 minutes for small group reading. On Day 3, 15 minutes for listening comprehension, 10 minutes for shared reading, and 50 minutes for small group reading is suggested. On Day 4, it is suggested that 20 minutes is spent with the literature big book and the paired selection and 10 minutes of shared reading, before 35 minutes of small group instruction, and on Day 5, 10 minutes of shared reading and 65 minutes of small group instruction. 

Instructional materials identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in reading and listening to a variety of texts to become independent readers and comprehenders and engage in a volume of reading as they grow toward reading independence in Kindergarten. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, students engage in reading:
• Literature Big Book (informational text): Shapes All Around by Gare Thompson
• Shared Reading: “We Like Tam!” (unknown author) and “I Like Sam” (unknown author)
• Interactive Read-Aloud (informational text): Kites in Flight (unknown author)
• Leveled Readers with Paired Readers: “Shapes!," ''Play with Shapes” and “Use a Shape” (unknown author)
• In Unit 3, Week 2, students engage in reading: 
• Literature Big Book (fiction): Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep! by Robert Burleigh
• Shared Reading: “Nat and Sam” and “Tim and Nan” (unknown author)
• Interactive Read-Aloud (Brazilian folktale): “The Turtle and the Flute” 
• Paired Selection: “Sounds are Everywhere” (unknown author) 
• Leveled Readers: “City Sounds”, “Farm Sounds” and “A Noisy Night” (unknown author)
• In Unit 4, Week 3, students engage in reading: 
• Literature Big Book (informational text): Roadwork by Sally Sutton
• Shared Reading: “I Can, You Can!” (unknown author) 
• Interactive Read-Aloud (fable): The Bundle of Sticks by Aesop
• Paired Selection (nonfiction): “The Community Garden” (unknown author)
• In Unit 5, Week 1, students engage in reading:
• Literature Big Book (realistic fiction): My Garden by Kevin Henkes
• Shared Reading: “Hop Can Hop!” (unknown author)
• Literature Big Books: Tommy by Gwendolyn Brooks, Maytime Magic by Mabel Watts and The Seed by Aileen Fisher
• In Unit 8, Week 3, students engage in reading:
• Literature Big Book (fantasy): Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett.  
• Interactive Read Aloud (informational text): “A View from the Moon” (unknown author)
• Shared Reading: “Up! Up! Up!” (unknown author)
• Decodable Reader: “Zig-Zag Jet Can Zip” (unknown author) 
• Literature Big Book: “Day and Night Sky” (unknown author) 
• In Unit 9, Week 3, students engage in reading: 
• Literature Big Book (informational text): Bread Comes to Life by George Levenson
• Shared Reading: “Look!, A Home!” (no author)
• Paired Selection: “Nature Artists”  (no author)
• Small Group Texts: “What’s for Breakfast” and “Joke Note” (unknown author)
• Interactive Read-Aloud (play): Nature’s Art Fair (unknown author)
• In Unit 10, Week 1, students engage in reading: 
• Literature Big Book (fantasy): What’s the Big Idea, Molly by Valeri Gorbachev
• Paired Reading: “Better Together” (unknown author) 
• Interactive Read-Aloud (tale): The Shoemaker and the Elves by the Grimm Brothers
• Small Group Texts: “Animal Band”, “We Want Honey” and “A Good Idea” (unknown authors)

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-based, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

The materials provide opportunities for students to engage with the texts. Questions and tasks provide opportunities for students to use text-based evidence when answering  questions or completing tasks in correlation to the text they are reading or listening to. These opportunities are included in the Literature Big Book, Shared Read, Interactive Read-Aloud, Reading/Writing Companion, and Paired Selections.

Instructional materials include questions, tasks, and assignments that are mainly text-based over the course of a school year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2 Week 1, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, The Handiest Things in the World by Andrew Clements, the teacher displays and read pages 14-15 aloud. The teacher then asks students the following questions:
• "What handy tools is the child using in the photographs? 
• What is the child doing with these tools? 
• How does the photograph help you understand the information?" 
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague, students listen to the text and the teacher asks the following questions, "How does the teacher feel? How do you know?"
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, When Daddy’s Truck Picks Me Up by Jana Novotny Hunter, the teacher asks the following questions, "What is Daddy doing during this part of the story? What is the boy doing?"
• In, Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats, Plot, the teacher asks, "What happens in the middle of the story?"

Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-dependent writing, speaking, and activities. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 2, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Literature Big Book, Shared Writing, What Can You Do with a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla, as the teacher rereads the story, they share the prompt, “What can you tell about neighbors in this barrio?” The teacher takes notes on an anchor chart with student responses to then support the students in shared writing of a sentence: The neighbors are ___.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 3, Reading/Writing Companion, page 38, students write a response to a prompt about the story Kim and Nan by author unknown. Students listen to the text and the teacher asks, “What are some things Kim likes to do?” The teacher points out “that the prompt is asking for information about Kim and the things she likes to do."  Find Text Evidence Say: "We need to find text evidence, or clues, in the text and pictures to help us answer the prompt. Let’s look on page 39. We see a picture of Kim and Nan. The text says that Kim is a kid on the go. That must mean she likes to go places and do fun things.”  The teacher then continues guiding the children to look for text evidence to use in their writing. Under the section, Write to the Prompt, the teacher guides children to review the text evidence they found and plan their writing in their writer’s notebook.
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Day 4, Reading/Writing Companion, pages 69-69,  students answer questions such as, “What does the sculptor use to carve a mask? What does the artist use to weave a basket?”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials containing sets of high-quality sequences of text-based questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding (as appropriate, may be drawing, dictating, writing, speaking, or a combination).

Throughout the program, the materials contain sets of high-quality sequences of text-based questions and activities that build to a culminating task. In each week of a unit, students are given the opportunity to reflect on their learning from the week. Each week has a final performance task, called the Weekly Wrap-Up. It is designed to help students demonstrate their understanding of the essential question, as well as reflect on what else they would like to learn about the topic. Students complete the Weekly Wrap-Up in their Reading/Writing Companion. This culminating task is the same each week. 

Some specific examples of what students learn and how they demonstrate their knowledge of the topic at the end of the week include:

• In Unit 2, Week 3, students learn about bugs and at the end of the week, students write about what they learned during the week. Students begin by reflecting on what they have learned about bugs and then look at a picture of a beekeeper and discuss the bugs they see. Students work with a partner to compare the various selections in their Big Book from the week. Students discuss how the texts are alike and different before completing a Two-Tab Foldable comparing the texts. They are given the sentence frame, "The texts tell about..." and complete the writing assignment independently. Some questions asked of students prior to this task to support them in this culminating task include, “What do the bugs do to the boy? Name some bugs that you have learned about. How will it be able to fly with wet wings?” 
• In Unit 3, Week 3, students reflect on the essential question of "What places do you go during the week?" Students begin the culminating task by discussing what they have learned about places in their neighborhood. Students look at a picture in their Reading/Writing Companion and make a connection between the picture and the green grocer in Please Take Me for a Walk by Susan Gal. Before completing a Two-Tab Foldable, the teacher asks, "What fruits and vegetables do each sell? What new information did you learn?" Students complete the foldable by working with a partner to compare Please Take me for a Walk and “A Neighborhood” (no author) and identify how the two are similar and how they are different. Questions asked of students throughout the week to support the completion of the culminating task include, “Where are the girl and her dad? How does the dog look when the little boy starts crying? What different settings do you see on this page?” 
• In Unit 6, Week 2, students learn about weather. On Day 5, students look at a picture in their Reading/Writing Companion and talk to a partner about how the weather in the photo is like the weather in the text, Rain by Manya Stollic. Students also discuss how the weather is different. Students complete a task where they compare Rain and “Cloud Watch” (no author). The teacher provides some guiding questions about similarities and differences before students complete the Two-Tab Foldable. Students complete the Weekly Wrap-Up independently by identifying what they learned about weather and what else they would like to learn. Some questions that lead students to successfully complete this task throughout the week include, “What type of weather do you see? How do you know? How do you think the girl feels about the weather?” 
• In Unit 8, Week 1, students learn about transportation. On Day 5, students reflect on what they learned. They begin by looking at a photo of transportation and discussing which train is from long ago and which train is from today. Students compare the truck in their Big Book to the train in the photos. The teacher guides the students to successfully complete this discussion by asking how the vehicles are similar and different. Students compare When Daddy's Truck Picks me Up by Jana Novotny Hunter with "From Here to There" by Time for Kids by completing a Two-Tab Foldable. Students independently return to the essential question and reflect on what they learned and what else they would like to learn. Questions throughout the week to support this culminating task include, “What is Daddy doing during this part of the story? How is Daddy feeling? What happens at the end of the story?”

In addition, after every two units, the program provides a spiral review to review and extend the concepts in the previous two units. Students can reflect on and discuss what they have learned across the units. The format for this review is the same and requires students to demonstrate their knowledge from the previous two units. An example of spiral review follows:

• After Units 3 and 4, students are given three days to review and extend the skills of the units. On Day 1, students review fables and write about the main characters and setting. On Day 2, students focus on nursery rhymes and the events of a story. On Day 3, students connect to the big idea. Students compare books from the texts. Then students discuss some of the people and places in the stories. Finally, students complete the summative assessment, which measures key details, character, setting, and events, and text structure.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

The materials provide students opportunities to engage in evidence-based discussions using academic vocabulary in whole class, small groups, and peer-to-peer. Opportunities are seen throughout the units in the Think-Aloud, Talk About It, Collaborative Conversations, and Vocabulary Picture Cards routines. For example: 

• Vocabulary routines are provided on Day 1 of each unit along with visual vocabulary cards. The teacher follows the oral vocabulary routine “define/ask/example” when presenting new vocabulary to students. The students complete the “Talk About It” activity in their Reading/Writing Companion and talk to a partner.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1,  Whole Group, Independent Writing, Write About the Shared Read, students share their final drafts with the class and are encouraged to ask and answer questions about each other’s work.  A list of Speaking Strategies and Listening Strategies located in a chart in the Teacher Edition contains the following, “SPEAKING STRATEGIES: Speak slowly and clearly. Speak at an appropriate volume. Take turns speaking. LISTENING STRATEGIES: Listen actively and politely. Look at the speaker. Listen quietly when someone is speaking.” No further directions are given.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, Whole Group, Independent Writing, the teacher is prompted to review the listening and speaking strategies on the page, as needed. The speaking strategies include: "speak slowly and clearly, speak at an appropriate volume, and look at your audience."  The listening strategies include: "listen actively and politely, look at the speaker, and wait until the speaker has finished to ask questions."  
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1-5, Whole Group, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, My Garden by Kevin Henkes, Academic Vocabulary, Realistic Fiction, on Day 5 with the Weekly Wrap-Up, students return to the genre of realistic fiction. The teacher guides the students to talk about what they have learned and share their ideas with the class. As students engage in discussions, the teacher encourages them to express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas audibly and clearly. 
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Day 1, Talk About It, the teacher presents the Collaborative Conversation protocol for asking and answering questions,  “Ask questions to clarify ideas they do not understand. Ask for help getting information. Wait after asking a question to give others a chance to think and answer questions with complete ideas, not one-word answers."
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Share and Evaluate, students review their final drafts and then prepare to share by using the Reading/Writing Companion, pages 82-83 Share and Evaluate. Students practice presenting their work and then take turns with a partner. A checklist is provided for Speaking and Listening which allows students to self-evaluate their skills of speaking in a clear and loud voice, using correct grammar, listening carefully and answering questions with detail.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading (or read aloud) and researching (shared projects) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

The materials provide opportunities for students to partake in listening and speaking activities about what they are reading through responding to evidence-based questions prompted by the teacher, as well as whole group and partner share. Collaborative conversations are encouraged throughout each unit. Students also have opportunities to discuss what they are researching. For example: 

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Big Idea, students are asked to, “Say hello to your partner. Talk about each photo. Circle someone in the photo who is trying something new. Talk about what these friends at doing. Retell the story. Talk about ways friends can get along.”
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1-5, Whole Group, The Handiest Things in the World by Andrew Clements. The teacher uses the Literature Big Book pages to read the text. The teacher asks the students, “What questions do you have?” The teacher encourages students to ask questions to deepen their understanding of the text. The teacher focuses the students questions on the photograph and text on the page.  The teacher asks, “Why would you need to move the dirt around?” 
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1, Whole Group, Introduce the Concept, Talk About It, Reading/Writing Companion, students use the photo to discuss rules we follow when we play a sport or game. The students are prompted to use the words rules and cooperate during the discussion. The students are asked evidence-based questions regarding the photo and then talk with a partner, “speaking clearly and loudly enough for the partner to hear,” about the photo.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 5,  Whole Group, Independent Writing, the students look over their final drafts and make any changes. The students then practice presenting their writing with partners.  Under Evaluate, Research, students discuss and evaluate their own presentations. The Teacher Edition says the students can complete an online Student Checklist to evaluate their presenting and listening skills. No link was provided for access to the online Student Checklist.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1-5, Whole Group, My Garden by Kevin Henkes, the teacher asks:
• "What is realistic fiction? 
• What is real on page 15? 
• What is make-believe? 
• The girl is not imagining anymore. How do you know? 
• Why is she holding a seashell?" 
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Day 5: Integrate Ideas, Text Connections, students use page 72 of the Reading/Writing Companion to connect with the essential question. The teacher guides the students to work with a partner to compare two selections they have read this week asking, “How are the texts alike? How are they different? How do they help you answer the Essential Question?” The teacher encourages students to support their ideas with details from the selection.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1-2, Whole Group, Peter’s Chair, by Ezra Jack Keats, while reading the text, the teacher asks, “What is the theme?” The teacher then guides the children to cite clues to support their response.
• In Unit 10, Week 3, Day 1, Listening Comprehension, Reading/Writing Companion, students review what they learned about what happens in a panda kindergarten. On page 54 of the Reading/Writing Companion students retell the selection in order, using the retelling cards and the routine as needed. Partners talk about why people care for the panda cubs at Wolong Nature Reserve.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing grade-appropriate writing (e.g. grade-appropriate revision and editing) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

Instructional materials provide students with opportunities for students to write daily. For example, on Days 1 and 2, students are active participants in both shared writing and evidence-based independent writing using the texts from the week. On Days 3, 4, and 5, students work through the writing process where they practice application of a writing skill, citing textual evidence, revising, editing, and publishing a piece of writing. 

Materials include a mix of both on-demand and process writing that covers a year’s worth of instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 4, the materials state, “after children have revised their work, have them edit it carefully, checking for the following:
• Students edit by making sure that words with m are spelled correctly.
• Students use nouns correctly.
• Students spell high-frequency words correctly.
• Students begin sentences with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark."
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 3, Teacher Edition, Independent Writing, students write about the Shared Read, responding to the prompt, “How are the tiger and the zebra the same?” The teacher provides sentences starters as needed: “The tiger is _____.” “The zebra is _____.”“The tiger has _____.” “The zebra has _____.”
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1-5, On Day 3, the students write a response to the Shared Read, Pam Can See, in their Reading/Writing Companion, page 16. The prompt for students is, “How is the shopping cart a handy tool for Pam and her mother?” The students then write a draft. On Day 4, the students edit their drafts and then on Day 5, the students prepare their final draft and present it to classmates.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, after listening to the story How Do Dinosaurs Go To School? by Jane Yolen, students use the Reading/Writing Companion pages 10-11 to respond to the story. Students write about a funny part of the story using the provided sentence starter. Students draw and write about a rule they follow at school. On Day 2, Shared Writing, teacher and students write a new story about a dinosaur in the grocery store. Together, they write two questions about something that a misbehaving dinosaur would do in the grocery store. They then write two sentences about what a well-behaved dinosaur would do.On Day 3, Independent Writing, after reading the story, “Can I Pat It?” by author unknown, students write a new story called “Can I Play With It?” They continue working on this writing task on Day 4 and prepare their final draft to share on Day 5. 
• In Unit 4, Reading/Writing Companion, Personal Narrative, students use a multi-day approach to plan, draft, revise and edit, share and evaluate their longer writing piece. 
• Personal Narrative- Student Model, Yosi’s Mystery Trip, page 74 (Week 2, Day 1)
• Personal Narrative- Plan, Think about an event that was special to you.  Students draw and write and then draw again. Pages 76-77 (Week 2, Day 2) 
• Personal Narrative- Draft. A Trip to the Airport (student model). Students write in their writer’s notebooks. Pages 78-79 (Week 2, Day 3) 
• Personal Narrative- Revise and Edit, My Mystery Trip (student model). Students edit the piece looking for complete sentences and adjectives. Pages 80-81 (Week 2, Day 4) 
• Personal Narrative- Share and Evaluate, students use a checklist and a peer conversation to evaluate their writing. Students write to answer the questions, “What did you do well in your writing? What do you need to work on?” (Week 2, Day 5) 
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 2, Shared Writing, the teacher demonstrates and students compose sentences using a prompt and sentence frames.
• Prompt- “Let’s continue to build an imaginary class garden. What make-believe things would you put in your imaginary garden?”
• Students use sentence frames: “In our garden there are _____. My favorite part of the garden is _____. The flowers would_____. The vegetables _____. There would be _____.”
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Independent Writing, students can choose from the following writing prompts:
• “What do you know about places in which animals can live?”
• “Draw and label and picture in his natural habitat.”
• “Write about a scientist studying an animal and its home.”
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Day 1, Reading/Writing Companion, Respond to the Big Book, Bringing Down the Moon, by Jonathan Emmett, students write sentences responding to “Why can’t Mole bring down the moon? Why do you think Mole has not seen the moon before?”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing (year-long) that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

Instructional materials provide opportunities for students to write narrative, opinion, and informative writing pieces throughout the year. Each writing lesson has a purpose for writing, a teaching and model section, and examples/rubrics to guide students through shared and independent writing. Materials provide opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes of writing; however, the shared writing and independent writing prompts do not reflect the distribution required by the standard. The majority of the writing prompts require students to respond to a prompt about the text, with minimal prompts and lessons on opinion writing. Opinion wirint prompts are found as options in small group choice time, but there are minimal explicit lessons, nor do the prompts require students complete the writing task. According to the scope and sequence each unit provides a different genre of writing that is the focus. In Units 1, 3, and 5-10, the focus is narrative writing. Units 2 and 4 focus on informational writing. No units focus on opinion writing.

While narrative writing instruction is a major focus of instruction in kindergarten, there are very few examples of narrative writing found in either shared writing or independent writing. Examples of narrative writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 4, Week 2, students write their own personal narrative. Students begin by drawing a special event from their life before beginning their own narrative. 
• In Unit 5, Week 1, students write a story about a make-believe pet, using the Shared Reading, “Hop Can Hop!,” as a model text. 
• In Unit 6, students write a realistic fiction story, using their Reading/Writing Companion. Students plan their ideas and characters and then draw their story idea, before drafting their story. 
• In Unit 7, Week 2, students write a story about getting a new pet after hearing the text, “I Hug Gus” (unknown author).
• In Unit 10, Week 1, students write a story using the same characters as in “What is the Big Idea, Molly?” (unknown author). 

There are minimal examples of opinion writing found in shared writing or independent writing. Opinion writing is not a focus in any of the units according to the Scope and Sequence document. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 4, students choose a book and write their opinion of the book, expressing what they liked or disliked about it; however, this is part of the Extend Your Learning section in the Reading/Writing Companion, which not all children will complete. This writing prompt is also offered in Units 4, 6, 8, and 10, but no instruction is provided to complete the writing prompt. 
• In Unit 10, Week 2, students complete a shared writing after listening to the book, All Kinds of Families! The students answer the question, “Why do you think the author includes unusual families like a brush and a comb, fingers and toes, and letters and numbers?”

Informational writing is found throughout the program, both during shared writing and independent writing. Students respond to a prompt about both the Literature Big Book and the Shared Reading and follow the writing process to answer the prompt. Examples of informational writing including, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, students independently write about how the marbles and the broom are different in the text “I Can” (unknown author). 
• In Unit 2, Week 2, students write an expository piece on a topic such as trees, caterpillars, or stars, from the unit. After brainstorming, students draw a picture about the topic, showing one fact, before writing about their topic. 
• In Unit 7, Week 1, students write about how the wolf pup and the lion cubs are the same and how they are different. 
• In Unit 8, Week 3, students follow the writing process to answer the prompt, “Why does Greg think he is ‘in luck’ in the story “Up! Up! Up!” (unknown author)

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials including regular opportunities for evidence-based writing to support recall of information, opinions with reasons, and relevant information appropriate for the grade level.

Instructional materials provide opportunities for students to write and support their writing with evidence for the texts that they are reading. During shared writing, students learn and practice new writing skills and how to provide support using evidence from the text. Students also write opinions on books they have chosen to read and use text evidence to explain their opinion.  

Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, students read Senses at the Seashore. A three-step process for writing to a prompt using text evidence is provided. First, teacher and students analyze the prompt, “What do you see in the story?” The teacher models how to look for clues in the text to answer the prompt. Second, the teacher models how to find text evidence. The materials state, “you will look at illustrations on pages 10-11." Children then discuss important details from the text. Third, students write to the prompt using text evidence they have gathered from the discussion. The materials state, “teacher rereads the prompt and guide children in writing complete sentences about the senses children use at the seashore.”
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Days 1-5, Shapes All Around, by Gare Thompson,  Reading Writing Companion, Shared Writing, students work together to write a response to the prompt, “What shapes does the girl see all around her?”  Using text evidence, from pages 18-21 of the text, the teacher rereads the text and takes notes to answer the question. Students form complete sentences to answer the questions and help tell the teacher what to write. On Day 3, students are prompted to write about the text, We Like Tam!  The prompt is, “How does the class take care of Tam?”  The students write a draft that uses clues from the text and illustrations to show how the class members take care of Tam.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Reading Writing Companion, Read Respond to the Big Book, A Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell Depalma, after retelling the nonfiction book, students write an important fact and note the text evidence page. 
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Day 1, Teacher’s Edition, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, the teacher presents the essential question, “Where do animals live?” Using the Reading Writing Companion, pages 54-55, students respond to the text writing about what the animals did in the bear’s den. The teacher models how to find text evidence. Students respond to the sentence starter, “I know this is a fantasy because…” Students use the story to identify something that is make-believe or fantasy. Then students draw a real animal and write about what that animal does in winter. 
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 1, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, after reading Hen Hears Gossip by Megan McDonald, students respond to the text using the Reading Writing Companion. Students write the reason why Hen tries to hear what Cow whispers to pig. The teacher models how to find text evidence. Students then talk about what might happen if people do not listen carefully. Students write their responses on page 33.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials include explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context. 

Instructional materials provide opportunities for teachers to explicitly teach grammar, language, and handwriting skills and provide guided practice. Materials include multiple opportunities for students to independently practice each new skill. Students have opportunities to practice new skills during whole group and partner share. All grammar and conventions standards are covered over the course of the year and most standards are revisited throughout the year in increasing complexity, such as application to the text. Students have opportunities over the course of the year to apply newly learned skills both in and out of context. 

Materials include explicit instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to:  

• Students have opportunities to print many upper- and lowercase letters.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1, during Handwriting, the teacher models how to write an uppercase and lowercase t. Students trace both forms of the letter with their index finger. Students identify uppercase and lowercase forms of the letter. Students practice making each form of the letter in the air. Students write the form of each letter with paper and pencil. This is practiced each day for the five-day sequence.
• Students have opportunities to use frequently occurring nouns and verbs. 
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Grammar portion of the day, the teacher explains the meaning of a noun, shows photo cards for words that are nouns, and explains how each of the nouns are either a person, place, or thing. Students work together to identify photo cards as either a person, a place, or a thing. The teacher then writes and reads the following sentence aloud: "I share a book." The teacher explains that a book is a noun that names a thing. The students draw pictures of items they share at school and label them with the noun that names the item. The teacher and students review the Shared Writing product and the students identify the nouns that were used. The teacher works with the students to add nouns to their writing. 
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, during the Grammar portion of the lesson, the teacher claps his/her hands and asks the students to identify what can be done with their hands. The teacher writes the word clap and reads it aloud. The teacher explains that the word clap is an action word and is something that you can do. The teacher also explains that action words are called verbs. The teacher writes and reads throw, wave, and point. The teacher explains that these are action words. Students revisit the Big Book: The Handiest Things in the World and identify action words. The teacher tracks the print as she/he reads aloud the sentences and students say verb when a verb is read. Students work in partner groups to generate sentences with verbs. The teacher and students revisit the Shared Writing and identify verbs in the writing. 
• Students have opportunities to form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ (e.g., dog, dogs; wish, wishes).
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 1, during the Grammar portion of the lesson, the teacher reminds students that nouns are naming words, singular nouns name a person, place, or thing, and that plural nouns name more than one person, place, or thing. The teacher explains that most plural nouns are created by adding -s.  The teacher then writes the following letters/blends on the board -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z, and explains to children that they should add -es to words with these endings. The teacher writes the following words and reads them aloud: box, clock, dress, bush, tree. The teacher asks, “What endings do we need to add to make these words tell about more than one thing?” Students work with a partner to determine if the list of given words need an -s or -es to make the word plural. Students review the Shared Writing piece to identify any plural nouns that were used. 
• Students have opportunities to understand and use question words (interrogatives) (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how).
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1, during the Grammar portion of the lesson, students work with partners to orally generate question and answer sentences. 
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 2, students work with a partner. Each pair has sentence strips that have one of the following words at the beginning of the strip: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Students think of a question sentence they can write that starts with the word they were given. Students write and read their sentences as needed. Students who need additional practice may use Practice Book page 152 or online activities.
• Students have opportunities to use the most frequently occurring prepositions (e.g., to, from, in, out, on, off, for, of, by, with). 
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Day 1, during the Grammar portion of the lesson, the teacher explains that sentences have both a naming part (that tells who or what) and a telling part (tells what happened). The teacher gives a sample sentence,  "The boy rides in the truck." The teacher identifies the naming and telling parts of the sentence. The teacher points to the word in and explains that there are words that can tell us where or how something happens, such as, off, on, to, from, in, out, by, and with. The teacher shares the sentence,  "The book is on the table." The teacher underlines the word on and explains that on tells us where the book is. The teacher then does actions. The students say what the teacher is doing and are guided to use a preposition in the sentence. Students work with a partner to generate sentences using the prepositions to, from, in, and out. The students review the Shared Writing to identify any prepositions they may have used and the teacher works with the students to add additional prepositions in their writing. (also in Unit 8, Weeks 2-3, All five days)
•  Students have opportunities to produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 4, during the Grammar part of the lesson, students work with partners to orally generate sentences with adjectives and are encouraged to use adjectives to describe the kinds of food they like to eat.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, during the Grammar part of the lesson, students work together with partners to orally create sentences with pronouns. Students are encouraged to say two sentences. The first sentence should be the noun and the second sentence should include the pronoun that replaces the noun. 
• Students have opportunities to capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I. 
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, during the Grammar portion of the lesson, the teacher explains that a sentence begins with a capital, or uppercase letter, and ends with an end mark. The teacher displays sentences. The teacher and students work together to identify which are complete sentences. The students identify the uppercase letter and the end mark. The teacher reminds the students that the word I is always capitalized. Then the teacher and students work together to make the incomplete sentences complete. The teacher and students work together to review the Shared Writing and to identify the uppercase letters and end marks in the writing. (grammar focus of all 5 days)
• Students have opportunities to recognize and name end punctuation.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1, during the Grammar portion of the lesson, the teacher reminds the students that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with an end mark. The teacher writes the following sentences, "Who plays baseball? Dan plays baseball." The teacher explains that the first sentence is a question sentence and requires a response and that all question sentences end with a question mark. The teacher explains that the second sentence is a complete sentence because it tells about someone or something doing an action. The teacher reminds students that the sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. The teacher and students review the Shared Writing and identify the capital letters that begin each sentence and the punctuation marks that end each sentence. 
• Students have opportunities to spell simple words phonetically, drawing on knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 4, during the Word Work/Phonics Dictation part of the lesson, the teacher dictates the following sounds for students to spell: /m/, /a/, /s/, and /p/. Students repeat the sound and then write the letter that stands for the sound: /m/, /a/, /s/, and /p/. The teacher then dictates the following words for children to spell: map, am, Sam, Pam. The teacher models for students how to segment each word to scaffold the spelling. When students are finished, they write the letters and words to self correct.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 4, the teacher dictates the following sounds for students to spell: /k/, /n/, /i/, /t/, /p/, /s/, /a/, /m/. The teacher dictates these words: cap, can, cat. The teacher models how to segment each word to scaffold the spelling.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks directly teach foundational skills to build reading acquisition by providing systematic and explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle, letter-sound relationships, phonemic awareness, and phonological awareness (K-1), and phonics (K-2) that demonstrate a transparent and research-based progression for application both in and out of context.

Kindergarten materials provide multiple opportunities for explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics during the Phonemic Awareness and Word Work portions of the lessons. This includes teacher modeling, guided practice and opportunities for students to practice the skills independently; however, there is a missed opportunity to provide whole-group instruction in blending and segmenting onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words within Tier II small group instruction.

Students have frequent and adequate opportunities to learn and understand phonemes (e.g. produce rhyming words, segment syllables, blend onsets and rimes, pronounce vowels in CVC words, and substitute sounds to make new words). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to recognize and produce rhyming words.
• In Unit 0, Week 2, Day 3, during the Phonological Awareness portion of the lesson, the teacher reads the poem aloud two times. The teacher says,  "I am going to say three words from the poem: pan, can, toss. Two of those words rhyme. Pan and can rhyme because they sound alike; they both end with /an/. Listen again: /p/…/an/, /k/…/an/. Now I will say three more words. Tell me which two words rhyme: pan, hot, fan." The teacher guides the students to identify pan and fan.
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 1, during the Phonological Awareness part of the lesson, the teacher reminds students that rhyming words have the same sound at the end. The teacher explains that words in You’re A Grand Old Flag have the same ending sounds: wave/brave. The teacher then challenges students to generate rhyming words for each of the following words: cat, no, pet.
• Students have opportunities to count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1, during the Small Group Differentiated Tier II Instruction, the teacher rereads the poem To Market, To Market. The teacher says market, separating it into syllables and clapping with each syllable. The teacher asks,  "How many parts does market have?" The students say market with the teacher, listening for two parts. The teacher repeats the routine with jiggety, again, and pig. The teacher asks students to clap out and count the syllables in each word, guiding them as necessary.
• In Unit 10, Week 3, Lesson 1, the teacher models the use of sound boxes to segment sounds heard in words. "Listen as I say a word: make. Say the word with me: make. There are three sounds in make. Say the sounds in make with me: /m/ /ā/ /k/. Let’s place a marker for each sound: /m/ /ā/ /k/." The process is repeated for slide, /s/ /l/ / ī/ /d/. Students continue to practice this concept with the teacher using nine additional long vowel sound words and sound boxes to slide a chip for each sound heard.  Students are asked how many sounds they hear in each word.
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Lesson 2,  the teacher models how to blend sounds in words by saying, "Listen to the sounds in a word: /f/ /ē/ /t/. I can blend those sounds to make the word: /fēēēt/, feet. Listen as I say more sounds and blend them to make words." Teacher models four additional words provided.  Teacher then provides guided practice and says, "Listen to the sounds in a different word: /dr/ /ē/ /m/. Let’s blend the sounds and say the word together: /dr/ /ē/ /m/, /drēēēmmm/ dream." The children listen to the sounds in words, repeat the sounds, and then blend them to say the word. The teacher guides practice and provides corrective feedback as needed. The teacher and students  practice an additional nine words blending together sounds to say the whole word.
• Students have opportunities to blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words.
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 1, during the Small Group Differentiated Tier II Instruction, the teacher tells the students that the word see is made of two parts and that each part has a sound. "I can see the first sound in see: /s/. The second sound is /ē/. Listen as I blend the sounds: /s/ /ē/, see. Listen as I say the sounds in another word: /m/ /ap/, map. Repeat the sounds and the word after I say them again: /m/ /ap/, map." The teacher asks students to blend the onset and rime to form a word.  
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, during the Small Group Differentiated Tier II Instruction, the teacher rereads the poem The Firefighters and models segmenting, and blending onset and rime with the word truck. "Listen: /truck/, /tr/ /uk/, truck." The students repeat after the teacher. The teacher repeats the process with quick. The students segment and blend other single-syllable words from the poem and from theme-related words: fire, way, get, job, tool.
• Students have opportunities to isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC) words. 
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, during the Phonological Awareness portion of the lesson, the teacher  introduces initial /m/. The teacher displays the Photo Card for map. The teacher tells the students to listen for the /m/ sound at the beginning of the word map. The teacher asks the students to say the sound with the teacher: /mmm/. The teacher says, "Map has /m/ at the beginning." The teacher says mat, men, and mud, and the students repeat. The teacher emphasizes the phoneme /m/. The teacher plays “My Map,” and the students listen for /m/. The teacher instructs the students to listen to the song again and clap when they hear words that begin with /m/. The teacher displays and names mix, mop, and moth Photo Cards. The teacher says each picture name with the teacher. The students tell the sound at the beginning of the word. The teacher guides practice and provides corrective feedback as needed. If students need additional practice in isolating initial /m/, they use Practice Book page 40.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 3, during the Phonemic Awareness portion of the lesson, the teacher displays the piano Photo Card and says the word. The teacher explains that piano has the /p/ sound at the beginning and demonstrates isolating the sound: /p/, /p/, piano. The students say the sound with the teacher: /p/. The teacher tells the students to listen for the /p/ sound at the end of words. The teacher displays the Photo Card for map. The students say the word map with the teacher. The teacher explains that map has the /p/ sound at the end. The teacher asks students to listen as the teacher says each sound in the word: /m/ /a/ /p/, map. The teacher emphasizes final /p/. The teacher says, "Let’s say /p/ because we hear /p/ at the end of map: /p/." The teacher says a list of words and the students repeat. The students say /p/ if they hear /p/ at the end of the word. The teacher guides the students with the first word. The teacher then shows Photo Cards for bat, doll, mop, nut, sheep, soap, top. The students say the name of each picture with the teacher. The teacher asks the students to say /p/ if they hear /p/ at the end of the word. The teacher guides the practice and provides corrective feedback as needed. The teacher reviews initial /p/. The teacher plays the song “Polly and Paul Play the Piano.” The students clap when they hear initial /p/. The teacher demonstrates as they sing together.
• Students have opportunities to add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 5, during the Word Work part of the lesson, the teacher displays Word-Building Cards c, a, and n and says, "These are the letters c, a, and n. They stand for /k/, /a/, /n/. I will blend /k/, /a/, /n/ together: /kaaannn/, can. The word is can." The teacher distributes sets of Word-Building Cards with c, a, n, p, and t. The teacher shows how to make the word can and has students do the same. The teacher replaces the letter n at the end of it with a p and has students do the same. Students change the p in cap to t and read the new word, cat, pointing out that by changing one letter we make a new word.
• In Unit 10, Week 3, Day 4, during the Phonemic Awareness portion of the lesson, the teacher explains, "I can change the middle sound in a word to make a new word. Listen to this word: bake. Bake has the /ā/ sound in the middle. Now listen as I change /ā/ in bake to /ī/: bike." The teacher repeats with cone/cane. The students are guided by the teacher as they work to change sounds to make new words. The teacher provides corrective feedback as needed.

Lessons and activities provide students adequate opportunities to learn grade-level phonics skills while decoding words (e.g. one-to-one correspondences, long and short sounds with common spellings, and distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying sounds of the letters). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to demonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1, during the Phonemic Awareness part of the lesson, the teacher models and introduces initial sound /k/ and displays the camel Photo Card. The teacher tells students to listen for the sound at the beginning of camel and explains that camel has the /k/ sound at the beginning. The teacher says these words and has students repeat: can, cap, cat, emphasizing the phoneme /k/. Teacher plays the song “Can Your Camel Do the Can-Can?” and has students listen for the /k/ sound. Students clap when they hear a word that begins with /k/. 
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 2, during the Phonics portion of the lesson, the teacher displays the hippo Sound-Spelling Card and explains, "This is the letter h. The letter h stands for the sound /h/ as in the word hippo." The teacher displays the hippo Sound-Spelling Card and points to the letter Hh. Students say the letter name and sound with the teacher. The students listen as the teacher says some words. The teacher asks the students to write the letter h on their Response Boards if the word begins with /h/. The teacher works with the students for the first two words.
• Students have opportunities to associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major vowels.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 3, during the Phonics portion of the lesson, the teacher displays the Word-Building Card u and says, "This is the letter u. The letter u can stand for /uuu/, the sound you hear at the beginning of umbrella. Say the sound with me: /uuu/. I will write the letter u because umbrella has /u/ at the beginning." The teacher repeats the routine using the word run. The teacher points out that run has /u/ in the middle of the word. The teacher says some words that have the /u/ sound in the middle and some words that do not. Students say /u/ and write the letter u on their Response Boards when they hear /u/ in the middle of a word. The teacher guides practice and provides corrective feedback as needed.
• In Unit 10 Week 2, Day 3, during the Phonics portion of the lesson, the teacher displays Word-Building Card e. The teacher explains, "This is the letter e. The letter e stands for the /ē/ sound. The letters e_e act together to stand for the /ē/ sound. The letters ee also stand for /ē/, the sound you hear in the middle of keep. Say the sound with me: /ē/. I will write the letters e, e_e, and ee because they stand for the /ē/ sound. The teacher says some words that have /ē/ in the middle and some words that do not. Students say /ē/ and write ee on their Response Boards when they hear /ē/ in the middle of a word. The teacher guides practice and provides corrective feedback as needed.
• Students have opportunities to distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 4, during the Phonics portion of the lesson, the teacher displays Word-Building Cards p, a, d, points to the letter p and explains, "This is the letter p. The letter p stands for /p/. Say /p/. This is the letter a. The letter a stands for /a/. Listen as I blend the two sounds together /paaa/. Say /paaa/. This is the letter d. The letter d stands for /d/. Listen as I blend the three sounds /paaad/, pad. Now you say it. Let’s change p to s." The teacher repeats the routine to blend sad. The teacher uses the Word-Building Cards to form did and dad. Students say the sounds for each letter, blend, and read the words. The students say both words and tell which letters are the same. The teacher asks the students to tell which letters are different. The teacher and students discuss the sounds each letter stands for and how it changes the word. This is repeated with mad and mat. If students need additional practice identifying the sounds for letters, they use Practice Book page 176.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 5, in the Teacher Edition, during the Word Word part of the lesson, the teacher models and explains that you can take sounds away from words to make new words. Students listen as the teacher says a word: neat. Students listen as the teacher says the word without /n/: eat. Neat without /n/ is eat. The teacher repeats with Gus and us. Students practice by deleting the initial sound and say the new word. The teacher provides corrective feedback as needed.

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonemic awareness instruction to build toward application. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Kindergarten Scope and Sequence, the Phonemic Awareness sequence is laid out for each of the units of study.  The sequence provides a scaffolded and cohesive sequence of difficulty that spirals Phonemic Awareness skills in each unit:
• Smart Start: Sentence Segmentation, Recognize Rhyme, Recognize Syllables, Blend Syllables
• Unit 1: Phoneme Isolation, Phoneme Identity, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Categorization
• Unit 2: Phoneme Isolation, Phoneme Categorization, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Identity, Phoneme Segmentation
• Unit 3: Phoneme Isolation (initial/medial), Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Categorization, Phoneme Identify, Phoneme Segmentation
• Unit 4: Phoneme Isolation (initial/medial), Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Categorization, Phoneme Segmentation, Phoneme Identify
• Unit 5: Phoneme Isolation, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Categorization, Phoneme Segmentation, Phoneme Addition
• Unit 6: Phoneme Isolation, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Segmentation, Phoneme Identity, Phoneme Addition
• Unit 7: Phoneme Isolation, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Deletion, Phoneme Substitution
• Unit 8: Phoneme Isolation, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Segmentation, Phoneme Identity, Phoneme Categorization, Phoneme Addition
• Unit 9: Phoneme Identity, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Deletion, Phoneme Substitution
• Unit 10: Phoneme Identity, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Substitution, Phoneme Segmentation

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonics instruction to build toward application. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Kindergarten Scope and Sequence, the Phonics focus is listed for each unit of study. The materials begin with consonants and consonant sounds and begin to add in short vowels to allow for work with CVC. The units culminate in long vowel review with magic e.
• Smart Start: Letter Recognition of all consonants and vowels
• Unit 1: /m/m, (initial and final), /a/a (initial and final), /s/s (initial)
• Unit 2: /p/p, (initial and final), /t/t (initial and final), long a (a_e), review /m/m, /s/s, /p/p, /t/t
• Unit 3: /i/i (initial and medial), /n/n, /k/c, long i (i_e)
• Unit 4: /o/o (initial and medial), /d/d (initial and final), review /i/i, /n/n, /k/c, /o/o, /d/d, /s/s, blends- sn, sp, st
• Unit 5: /h/h (initial), /e/e (initial and medial), /f/f (initial and final), /r/r (initial)
• Unit 6: /b/b (initial and final), /l/l (initial), /k/k (initial), /k/ ck (final), review: /h/h, /e/e, /f/f, /r/r, /b/b, /l/l, /k/k, /k/ck, blends- bl, cl, fl, sl
• Unit 7: /u/u (initial and medial), /g/g (initial and final), /w/w (initial), /ks/x (final), /v/v (initial), long u (u_e)
• Unit 8: /j/j (initial), /kw/qu (initial), /y/y (initial), /z/z (initial), review: /u/u, /g/g, /w/w, /ks/x, /v/v, /j/j, /kw/qu, /y/y, /z/z, blends with r
• Unit 9: long a (a_e), long i (i_e), long o (i_e)
• Unit 10, long u, long e and review five long vowels with magic e

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks provide explicit instruction for and regular practice to address the acquisition of print concepts, including alphabetic knowledge and directionality, and function (K-1), structures and features of text (1-2).

Kindergarten materials provide explicit instruction in print concepts, text structure, and text features to assist in comprehension of the text. Students are provided ample opportunities to write letters and extend handwriting concepts.  Within the Reading/Writing Companion lessons, as well as the Literature Big Book, explicit instruction is provided in the words that authors use that allow the reader to determine the structure of the text which helps students’ understanding of the text.

Materials include frequent and adequate lessons and multimodal activities for students to learn how to identify and produce letters. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, during the Handwriting portion of the lesson, the teacher explains handwriting cues, "P: Straight down. Go back to the top. Around and in at the dotted line. p: Straight down, past the bottom line. Circle around all the way." The teacher says the cues as students trace both forms of the letter with their index finger and then students identify the uppercase and lowercase forms of the letter. Students write P and p in the air as they say /p/ multiple times. The teacher guides practice and provides corrective feedback as needed.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, during the Handwriting portion of the lesson, the teacher explains handwriting cues as they write and identify the uppercase and lowercase forms of Oo. The teacher traces the letters on the board and in the air. The teacher and the students say the cues together as students trace both forms of the letter with their index finger. The students identify the uppercase and lowercase forms of the letter. The students write O and o in the air as they say /o/ multiple times. Students say /o/ every time they write the letter Oo. The teacher guides practice and provides corrective feedback as needed.

 Materials include frequent and adequate tasks and questions about the organization of print concepts (e.g. follow words left to right, spoken words correlate sequences of letters, letter spacing, upper- and lowercase letters). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
• In Unit 0, Week 1, Day 4, during the Shared Reading portion of the lesson, the teacher reviews book handling by holding the book right-side up and points to the title. The teacher models how the book is right-side up. The teacher turns to page 18 and reads the title aloud and tracks the print. 
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, during the Literature Big Book portion of the lesson, the teacher displays the Big Book cover and reads the title, subtitle, author and photographer’s name aloud. The teacher models directionality and reminds students to read from left to right and top to bottom.
• Students have opportunities to recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters.
• In Unit 0, Week 2, Day 1, during the Write About the Text portion of the lesson, the teacher writes this sentence frame: Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder_____. The teacher models by looking at the poem Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on pages 14–15 of the The Big Book of Rhymes and then fills in the rest of the sentence. The teacher points out the rhyming words star and are in the sentence and tracks the print from left to right and reads the sentence aloud. Students look back at the poem and then complete the following frame: Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the _____. Students name the two rhyming words they hear. (high, sky) The teacher reminds students to read the words aloud as they track the print from left to right.
• In Unit 0, Week 3, Day 1, during Write About the Text, the teacher completes a sentence frame, tracks the print from left to right as the sentence is read aloud and reminds students that each group of letters is a word. 
• Students have opportunities to understand that words are separated by spaces in print.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, during the Literature Big Book portion of the lesson, the teacher opens the Big Book to pages 4–5. The teacher points to a word and explains that this word is always a capital letter. The teacher then points out the spaces between each word on the page and explains that these spaces make the words easier to read.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 1, during the Listening Comprehension part of the lesson, the teacher displays page 4 of the Big Book and reads the page aloud, tracking the print with a finger. The teacher frames the first sentence and points out that words are separated by spaces. 
• Students have opportunities to recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
• In Unit 0, Week 2, Day 2, students identify the letters Kk and Ll on the Alphabet Teaching Poster. 
• In Unit 0, Week 3 Day 1, during the Word Work portion of the lesson, the teacher displays the Teaching Poster and Word-Building Card S and tells students that this is uppercase S. The teacher displays Word-Building Card s and explains that this is lowercase s. The teacher repeats for Tt. The teacher models how to match Ss and Tt on the cards with the letters on pages 22–23 of the Big Book Animals in the Park. The teacher holds up each card and students name the letter. The teacher and students sing “The Alphabet Song” and point to each letter on the poster as students join in. If students need additional practice with letter recognition, have them use Practice Book, page 30.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1, during the Literature Big Book portion of the lesson, the teacher reminds the students that when I stands alone it is a word and should always be uppercase. The teacher explains that the i in like is part of a word so it is lowercase. The students identify other words on page 18 with the letter i and tell if it is lowercase or uppercase.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and gain decoding automaticity and sight-based recognition of high-frequency words. This includes reading fluency in oral reading beginning in mid Grade 1 and through Grade 2.

Instructional materials provide opportunities for students to learn high-frequency words and build decoding automaticity during whole group lessons throughout each unit, week, and lesson of the program. Students have multiple opportunities to practice decoding skills as well as develop fluency. The teacher often models fluent reading with students. Students then are given an opportunity to either chorally, partner, or independently read. Students develop automaticity of grade-level words through multiple reads of decodable readers.

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to purposefully read emergent-reader texts. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 2, during Shared Reading, the teacher reminds students that readers ask themselves questions before, during, and after reading to help them understand what they read. Students turn to pages 74–75 and read the title with the teacher. The students look at the photograph and the teacher asks, "What questions do you have before we begin reading the selection?" The teacher encourages students to ask questions to deepen their understanding about the selection.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 2, during Shared Reading, the teacher sets the purpose for reading Jake and Dale Help!  The teacher reminds students that asking questions before, during, and after reading can help them understand a text. The teacher says, "As you read, you might ask a question about something you don’t understand. Then you can look for the answer as you continue reading." Students read the title and look at the picture. The teacher asks, "What do you want to find out in this story?"

 Materials support students’ development of automaticity and accuracy of grade-level decodable words over the course of the year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 3, during Shared Reading, partners practice reading the story I Can accurately. Students are encouraged to track the print as they read high-frequency words quickly. Students read the story again, this time focusing on rate, reading a bit more quickly and making the text sound more like speech. Students read I Can (pages 1– 6) to practice reading connected text.  
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 3, during Shared Reading, student partners practice reading the selection Tom On Top! accurately. Students track the print as they sound out decodable words and read high-frequency words quickly. Students note punctuation marks to read sentences with the correct tone. Students read the story again, this time focusing on rate, reading a bit more quickly and making the text sound more like speech. The teacher listens in and if students struggle with accuracy, they start again at the beginning of the sentence and correct any errors. If they struggle with rate, the teacher models an appropriate rate and the students repeat.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 2, during Shared Reading, the teacher sets the purpose for reading Jake and Dale Help!  The teacher models reading with accuracy. The teacher reminds students of the importance of recognizing high-frequency words, as well as decoding words in the text correctly. Students practice reading for accuracy with a partner. The teacher listens in and and offers support and corrective feedback.
• Students have opportunities to read and practice high-frequency words. Examples include, but are not limited to:
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, during Work Work, the teacher displays the High-Frequency Word Card the. The teacher uses the Read/Spell/Write routine to teach the word. The teacher points to and says the word the. The teacher says, "This is the word the. Say it with me: the. The bear is my friend. The word the is spelled t-h-e. Spell it with me. Let’s write the word in the air as we say each letter: t-h-e." Student partners create simple phrases using the word. 
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 3, during Word Work, the teacher displays the High-Frequency Word Card you. The teacher reviews the word using the Read/Spell/Write routine. The teacher points to the High-Frequency Word Card you and students read it. The teacher repeats with last week’s word, go. The teacher helps students build fluency with high-frequency words. The teacher writes sentences and students chorally read aloud as the teacher tracks the print. The teacher and students chorally read the Take-Home Book in the Practice Book, pages 169–170. Students reread the book to review high-frequency words and build fluency.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 4, during Word Work, the teacher says the word help and the students write it. The teacher displays the print or digital Visual Vocabulary Card for help and uses the Teacher Talk routine. The teacher builds sentences in the pocket chart using the High-Frequency Word Cards. The teacher uses index cards to create punctuation cards. Students chorally read the sentences as the teacher tracks the print and identify the words help and too. The teacher points out the words to and too in the second sentence and explains the difference.
• Students have opportunities to distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 4, during Word Work, the teacher displays Word-Building Cards p, a, t and points to the letter p. The teacher explains that this is the letter p and it stands for /p/. Students say /p/. The teacher explains that this is the letter a and it stands for /a/. The teacher models how to blend the two sounds together: /paaa/ and has students repeat /paaa/. The teacher explains that this is the letter t and it stands for /t/. The teacher models how to blend the three sounds: /paaat/, pat and has students repeat. The teacher changes p to s. The teacher uses the same routine to blend sat. Teacher writes at, sat, mat, map, tap and has students blend and read the letters to read the words. The teacher points out the words at and sat and asks students which letters are the same. (a, t) The teacher asks them how the words are different. (Sat has the letter s.) The teacher points out that by adding the letter s, you can make a new word. “Continue comparing words, noticing how the sounds and letters are the same and how they are different.” The teacher points out that words with the same ending sounds and letters, such as at, sat, mat or map and tap also rhyme.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 4,  during Phonics and Word Work, Whole Group, the teacher provides guided practice by providing students with Word Building Cards a–z. The teacher uses the cards t, u, and b to form the word tub. Students use the word cards to build tub. The teacher says, "I will change the letter u to a to make the word tab." The teacher reads aloud the new word.  Students continue working with Word Building Cards to make new words. For example, students make the word bat and change the vowel to i to make the new word bit. 
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Day 1, during Word Work, the teacher models that the letters a and e act as a team to stand for the sound /ā/. The teacher writes a_e to make a column head. The teacher reminds children that the letter a can stand for the short /a/ sound. The teacher writes the letter a next to the a_e to make a second column head. The teacher writes the following words in a list: at, ate, bat, cap, cape, came, fan, mad, made, rake, Sam, same. The teacher holds up the photo card for rake and says, “Here is the picture for a rake. Rake has the /ā/ sound. Listen, /r/ /āāā/ /k/. When I hear /ā/, I know that the letters a and e act together to stand for that sound.” The teacher repeats with the letter a and fan. For guided practice, students sort the remaining words by /a/ and /ā/. Students read the word, say the sound in the middle of the word, and tell under which spelling heading the word should be written.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks providing systematic and explicit instruction in and practice of word recognition and analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.

Instructional materials provide multiple opportunities for students to apply word analysis and word recognition skills to connected tasks through the use of decodable readers and the Literature Big Book. During the Literature Big Book lessons, materials prompt teachers to model foundational skills, as well as fluent reading. Decodable readers provide students with an opportunity to decode words with current and past phonics skills, as well as high-frequency words. Students participate in a Shared Writing activity that allows them to apply phonics skills and high-frequency word practice. Students often respond to a prompt related to the text and sometimes are given a sentence frame to help them begin their writings. 

Materials support students’ development to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills (e.g. one-to-one correspondences, syllable segmentation, rime and onset recognition, long and short sounds with common spellings and distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying sounds of the letters) in connected text and tasks. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 2, during Build the Concept, the teacher uses the Essential Question chart, the Big Book, and the Weekly Poem to guide children in discussing the Essential Question. The teacher and students say the Weekly Poem together. The teacher reminds students that they will say the word see in two parts: /s/ /ē/ and blend the sounds: /sē/, see. Teacher directions state, "Have students repeat: /s/ /ē/, /sē/. Tell students that you will say the first part of a word and then the rest of the word. Have them repeat the onset and the rime and then blend them to form a word: /w/ /ent/, went; /d/ /ēp/, deep; /bl/ /ü/, blue; /s/ / ī/, sigh; /b/ /ut/, but." The teacher then guides practice and provides corrective feedback as needed. If students need additional practice blending onset and rime, they can complete Practice Book page 63. 
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2, during Word Work, the teacher places Word-Building Cards P, a, and m in a pocket chart. The teacher points to the letter P and says,  "This is a capital or uppercase letter P. The letter P stands for /p/. Say /p/. This is the letter a. The letter a stands for /a/. Say /a/. This is the letter m. The letter m stands for /m/. Say /m/. Listen as I blend the sounds together: /paaammm/. Now blend the sounds with me to read the word." The teacher uses Word-Building Cards and writes the word map. The teacher points to the letter m and students say the sound. This is repeated with the letters a and p. The teacher tracks with a finger from left to right under the word and students blend sounds to read map. The teacher guides practice and provides corrective feedback as needed. During the Reading/Writing Companion portion of the lesson, students read Pam Can See. Students decode words that contain m, a, and p. 
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 2, during Word Work, students practice blending sounds to make words. The teacher models placing Word-Building Cards b, e, and d in a pocket chart. The teacher points to the letter b and says, "This is the letter b. The letter b stands for /b/. Say /b/. This is the letter e. The letter e stands for /e/. Say /e/. This is the letter d. The letter d stands for /d/. Say /d/. Listen as I blend the three sounds together: /beeed/, bed. Let’s blend the sounds to read the word." The teacher changes the Word-Building Cards to bet. 
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Day 3, during Word Work, the teacher displays Word-Building Cards h, o, m, e. The teacher says, "This is the letter h. It stands for /h/. These are the letters o_e. They act together as a team to stand for /ō/. This is the letter m. It stands for /m/. Let’s blend the sounds together: /h/ /ō/ /m/, /hhhōōōmmm/. The word is home." The teacher repeats with hole and hope. The teacher writes the following words: code, so, hose, go, rope, joke, note, spoke. Students read each word, blending the sounds. The teacher guides practice with the first word. The teacher writes these sentences and prompts students to read the connected text, sounding out the decodable words: We can go to vote. I hope I can get a cone. During the Shared Reading portion of the lesson, the students reread Look! A Home!

Materials provide frequent opportunities to read high-frequency words in connected text and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 1, during Word Work, the teacher displays page 22 of the Big Book, The Handiest Things in the World, and reads the sentence, “Flap a hand to make a breeze,” pointing out the high-frequency word a. The teacher then uses the High-Frequency Word Card a with the Read/Spell/Write routine to teach the word. 
• "Read: Point to the word a and say the word. This is the word a. Say it with me: a. I see a rainbow.
• Spell: The word a is spelled a. A is a word with just one letter. Let’s read and spell it together.
• Write: Let’s write the word in the air as we say each letter: we write it: a.
• Point out to children that the word a has a different sound from the /a/ sound in the word am.
• Partners create sentences using the word."
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 3, during Word Work, the teacher writes the following sentences and students chorally read as the teacher tracks the print. This is repeated several times.
• "We are in the den. 
• Ted and Sam are like you.
• Pam and Tim are in. 
• You are in the pen."

The teacher distributes Practice Book pages 223–224 and helps students assemble their Take-Home Books. The students chorally read the Take-Home Book with the teacher. The students reread the book to review high-frequency words and build fluency.

• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 3, during Word Work, the teacher displays the High-Frequency Word Card play. The teacher reviews the word using the Read/Spell/Write routine. The teacher repeats the routine, using the word has. The teacher points to the High-Frequency Word Card play and students read it. The teacher repeats with has, help, and too. The teacher writes the following sentences and students read them aloud several times.
• "He has a bike.
• She can play with the cat.
• I like to play.
• Can the dog play with him?"

The teacher distributes Practice Book pages 405–406 and students assemble their Take-Home Books. The students and teacher chorally read each Take-Home Book. Students read the books again to practice fluency. During the Shared Read, the teacher and students read We Can Play.

Lessons and activities provide students many opportunities to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills while encoding (writing) in context and decoding words (reading) in connected text and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 2, during the Shared Writing part of the lesson, the teacher explains to students that they will work together to write a response to a question or a prompt. The teacher reads the prompt aloud, "How are the words on some pages different from most books? Why do you think the author chose to place them this way? To respond to this prompt, we will reread parts of I Love Bugs! and look for words that are placed in interesting ways." If needed, the teacher models completing this sentence frame: On pages _____ , the words _____. Then they continue with the following sentence frames, sharing the pen as children suggest how to complete them: Some words are different because _______. The author wants to make the words look like ______. The teacher reads the final responses while tracking the print.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 4, during Independent Writing, students edit and proofread their writing. As students edit their work, they check for the following: 
• Complete sentences are formed, and sentences start with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark.
• Words with /i/ i are spelled correctly.
• High-frequency words are spelled correctly.

If students need additional practice with editing and proofreading, they use Practice Book page 126. Partners exchange drafts and take turns reviewing them for each point above. Partners discuss and fix errors together.

• In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 4, during Independent Writing, students edit and proofread their writing. As students edit their work they are checking for the following:
• Verbs are used correctly.
• Words with /g/ g and /w/ w are spelled correctly.
• High-frequency words are spelled correctly.
• All sentences end with an appropriate punctuation mark.

If students need additional practice with editing and proofreading, they use Practice Book page 314. Next, partners exchange drafts and take turns reviewing them for each point listed above. Partners discuss and fix errors together.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials support ongoing and frequent assessment to determine student mastery and inform meaningful differentiation of foundational skills, including a clear and specific protocol as to how students performing below standard on these assessments will be supported.

Instructional materials provide opportunities throughout the entire program on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis to assess students’ mastery of foundational skills and to progress monitor student growth. Students are assessed at the end of each unit using a summative unit assessment of designated skills taught during that unit that include phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, and fluency. Teachers are provided with guidance on how to use the data from the assessment to provide flexible grouping and differentiated learning experiences. Teachers are instructed to use running records every four to six weeks to monitor students’ word reading fluency and application of decoding skills. Teachers are also provided a detailed assessment guide that describes the purposes and uses of all assessments in the program that are available to determine student proficiency. 

Multiple assessment opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence of foundational skills. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Placement and Diagnostic Assessment, page xvii, the materials explain that beyond the initial placement of students into the appropriate Wonders level of materials, students need to be tested periodically to determine whether they are progressing on a grade-level or faster pace. The program suggests that teachers administer these progress monitoring or benchmark tests on a regular schedule throughout the year: fall, winter, and spring, or over a regular period of time, such as every four to six weeks. A chart is provided for general testing scheduling guide.
• In Unit 2, Week 4, Day 3, Summative Assessment, the teacher administers the summative assessment that assesses the following skills taught throughout Units 1 and 2: 
• High-frequency words: the, we, see, a, like
• Phonemic Awareness: phoneme isolation, phoneme blending, phoneme segmentation
• Phonics: /p/-initial and final, /t/-initial and final
• Fluency: Assess fluency using the Letter Naming Fluency (LNF), Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF), and Sight Word Fluency (SWF) assessments in Fluency Assessment.
• Running Records: Use the instructional reading level determined by the Running Record Calculations for regrouping decisions.
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Day 3, Summative Assessment, the teacher administers the Unit 3 and 4 Summative Assessment which assesses: 
• HFW: to, and, go, you, do
• Phonemic Awareness: phoneme isolation, phoneme blending, phoneme categorization, phoneme segmentation, and phoneme identity
• Phonics: /i/i-initial/medial; /n/n-initial/final; /k/c-initial; /o/o-initial/medial; /d/d-initial/final; s-blends-sn, sp, st
• Fluency: Assess fluency using the Letter Naming Fluency (LNF), Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF), and Sight Word Fluency (SWF) assessments in Fluency Assessment.
• Running Records: Use the instructional reading level determined by the Running Record Calculations for regrouping decisions.
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Lesson 5, teachers are provided a progress monitoring assessment to informally assess foundational skills. Informally assessed skills include: Count and Blend Syllables, Phoneme Identity, Phoneme Blending, Phoneme Substitution, long o: o_e, high-frequency words where and look. 

Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information on students’ current skills/level of understanding. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Placement and Diagnostic Assessment, pages viii and ix, the materials explain how to group students based on students' results for the Kindergarten Placement Assessments: Phonological Awareness Subtests and Letter Naming Fluency. For students who score 80% correct or higher on the Phonological Awareness Subtests AND at or above the appropriate benchmark for the Letter Naming Fluency Assessment, the teacher is instructed to begin instruction with Wonders On Level materials. The teacher is to use Beyond Level materials for students who score high on placement assessments and easily complete On Level assignments. For students who score 60–79% correct on the Phonological Awareness Subtests AND at or above the appropriate benchmark for the Letter Naming Fluency Assessment, the teacher is instructed to begin instruction with Wonders Approaching Level materials. For students who score below 60% correct on the Phonological Awareness Subtests OR below the appropriate benchmark for the Letter Naming Fluency Assessment, the teacher is instructed that these students require focused, intensive instruction and that they should place students in Wonders Approaching Level materials and use intervention materials based on placement tests results.
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Day 4, teachers are cued to utilize a running record to determine students’ reading levels and strategies. 

Materials support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in foundational skills. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In every unit, week, and day, there are Small Group Differentiated Instruction lessons for students who are placed in Approaching Level, On Level, and Beyond Level for phonemic awareness, phonics, high-frequency words, and leveled reading.
• In the Assessment Handbook, page 50, teachers are given guidance on how to use the assessment data to make adjustments in instruction for students. For example, in Making Instructional Decisions: How to Make Instructional Decisions, to make sound instructional decisions, "you should do the following: 
• Interpret: Look at the data you have collected from various types of assignments or over time. Draw conclusions based on what you are seeing in the data to interpret the patterns you may notice: “This means that he is comprehending beyond grade level because he is good at using context clues. He figures out what the words mean so fast that he skips over some vocabulary and doesn’t learn it.”
• Decide: What can you do to meet the student’s learning needs?
• Check: As you collect ongoing information about student progress, continue to check this information against your interpretation.
• Modify: Change your instructional decisions if they are not achieving the intended results. Compare results from different assessments:
• Look for corroborating evidence across the different kinds of assessments; use multiple measures. 
• Different sources of information should reinforce your decisions. The types of instructional decisions you need to make include the following: • decisions about grouping (who to teach) • decisions about learning goals and objectives (what to teach) • decisions about materials, methods, and rate of instruction (how to teach)."
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Day 3, during Summative Assessment, the teacher reviews the assessments with students and students correct their errors. Then the teacher is prompted to use available data to guide decisions about providing reteaching and enrichment opportunities for additional support options for students. The teacher can use the online assessment center for the item analysis report and standards analysis report.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks providing high-quality lessons and activities that allow for differentiation of foundational skills, so all students achieve mastery of foundational skills.

Instructional materials provide opportunities for the teacher to differentiate foundational skills lessons through the small group differentiated instruction for each unit, week, and lesson. Students are provided multiple opportunities throughout daily experiences to practice foundational skills and concepts learned throughout the whole group instruction and opportunities to apply learning during small group differentiated instruction. Foundational skills are differentiated with the leveled text selection for each group that include On Level, Approaching Level, Beyond Level, and ELL. 

Materials provide high-quality learning lessons and activities for every student to reach mastery of foundational skills. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 3, during Small Group Differentiated Instruction, students in each level participate in lessons that teach foundational skills that include scaffolding of the skill using I Do, We Do, You Do. In the Approaching Level Group, the teacher reteaches the high-frequency word the. The students participate in a phonemic awareness lesson with a phoneme where they identify which sound is the same in each group of words. Students participate in a picture sort activity where they identify the picture that begins with the sound /m/ and letter m. Students in the On Level group participate in a phonics lesson. For each word said that begins with /m/, the students write the letter m on their boards. Students in the Beyond Level participate in a vocabulary lesson for synonyms. 
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, during Small Group, the teacher displays the net Photo Card and explains to students, "This is net. The first sound is /nnn/. Say it with me. Say net. The first sound in net is /nnn/. Say the sound with me." The process is repeated with the sun Photo Card, emphasizing /n/ in the final position.
• We Do: The teacher says not and students repeat it. The teacher asks, "What is the first sound in not? Say the sound together. What is the last sound in fun?" This process is repeated with nut, nose, fan.
• You Do: The teacher says news, nine, map, and test. Students tell the initial sound in each word and then they tell the final sound in can, pin, bus, and rip.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 2, during Small Group Differentiated Instruction, students in each level participate in lessons that teach foundational skills that include scaffolding of the skill using I Do, We Do, You Do. In the Approaching Level Group, during phonics, students write the initial sounds, including blends, that they hear in words. During phonemic awareness, students name each picture in a set and then say the sound that is the same in the set. During high-frequency word review, students create sentences using the high-frequency words, write the sentences, and then practice reading the sentences with partners. For the On Level Group, students participate in phoneme blending during phonemic awareness. During high-frequency word review, students read high-frequency words both in and out of context. During phonics, students read words with blends. Students in the Beyond Level Group participate in the Read/Spell/Write routine with the high-frequency words.
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Day 1, during Small Group Differentiated Instruction, students in each level participate in lessons that teach foundational skills that include scaffolding of the skill using I Do, We Do, You Do. In the Approaching Level Group, during phonics, students review the spelling patterns for long vowels with magic e. During high-frequency review, students read sentences with the high-frequency words: come, does. During phonemic awareness, students participate in syllable substitution. Students in the On Level Group, participate in a phoneme identity activity with long vowel e. Students in the Beyond Level Group participate in a phonics activity where they write words with long e.

Materials provide guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support each student’s needs. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 1, during Writing Process, there are specific ways to differentiate the writing activity to support ELL students. For example, the materials state, "Use these scaffolds with the Analyze the Student Model. 
• Beginning: Point to and read aloud the title of the model. Use frames to help children describe the topic: Hanna wrote about the caterpillar.
• Intermediate: Point to the speech bubble: Hanna wrote a nonfiction text. Nonfiction texts have facts. Point to the title of the student model. What did Hanna write about? She wrote about the caterpillar.
• Advanced/Advanced High: Provide frames to help children describe the student model: Hanna wrote a nonfiction text. The topic is the caterpillar. It tells facts about the topic."
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, during whole group phonemic awareness instruction, students isolate the phoneme /h/ at the beginning of words. During Small Group Differentiated Instruction, for students in the Approaching Level Group, the teacher models counting and blending syllables. The teacher guides students to count and blend syllables and the students count and blend syllables independently. Students in the On Level Group  participate in an activity where the teacher reviews isolating initial phonemes. The teacher guides students to isolate initial phonemes and students practice isolating initial phonemes independently. 
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1, during whole group high-frequency instruction, the teacher uses the Read/Spell/Write routine with the words help and too. During Small Group Differentiated Instruction, students in the Approaching Level, On Level, and Beyond Level read Leveled Readers that include these words. 
• Approaching Level reads Let Me Help You 
• On Level reads How Can Jane Help?
• Beyond Level reads I Used to Help, Too

Students have multiple practice opportunities with each grade level foundational skill component in order to reach mastery. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, students in the Approaching Level, On Level, and Beyond Level have the opportunity to practice reading the word the both in and out of context on Day 1 through Day 4 during Small Group Differentiated Instruction. 
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 1, during Phonemic Awareness, the teacher can refer to the tab at the far right of the page called English Language Learner. When the tab is opened, the teacher is given guidance on how to support ELL students during this phonemic awareness activity to offer extra practice. For example:
• "Phonemic Awareness, Guided Practice/Practice, Encourage children to say the phoneme /d/ several times. Point to a card and ask children to name it. Help them self-correct by modeling pronunciation. Then help children identify the initial sound using a sentence frame. For example: Deer begins with the sound /d/."
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Day 1, during Small Group Approaching Level, the teacher displays Word-Building Cards one at a time and says the letter name and the sound it stands for. For example: "Letter r, /r/. Repeat for b, e, f, h, l, c, and k and then bl, cl, fl, and sl."
• We Do: The teacher displays Word-Building Cards one at a time and together says the letter name and the sound that each letter stands for.
• You Do: The teacher displays Word-Building Cards one at a time and students say the letter name and the sound that each letter stands for.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, students in the Approaching Level, On Level, and Beyond Level have the opportunity to practice reading the words are, he, is, little, my, she, was, and with both in and out of context on Day 1 through Day 4 during Small Group Differentiated Instruction. 
• In Unit 10, Week 2, students in the Approaching Level, On Level, and Beyond Level have the opportunity to practice reading the words come and does both in and out of context on Day 1 through Day 4 during Small Group Differentiated Instruction.

The instructional materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students knowledge and vocabulary which will over time support and help grow students’ ability to comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.

Instructional materials provide students with the opportunity to build knowledge and vocabulary, and the ability to read complex texts throughout the school year around various topics. Each week, students are introduced to a big idea and focus on a topic that answers an essential question. Each week’s topic is supported by texts that connect to the topic and enrich student’s abilities to gain knowledge and vocabulary about the topic. The topic is explored throughout all texts during the week, including Literature Big Books, Paired Texts, Shared Reading, Interactive Read-Aloud, and the Small Group Leveled Readers. 

Texts are connected by a grade-level appropriate topic. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, students answer the essential question, “How do baby animals move?” Texts read during this week include the Literature Big Books Pouch by David Ezra Stein and “Baby Animals on the Move” (unknown author), Shared Reading texts “We Can” and “I Can, We Can,” which are about animals that can move, and Leveled Readers about animals moving, such as We Hop! by Ruth Montgomery and We Can Move by Carolyn Lee. 
• In Unit 2, students learn about what they can find out when they use tools. Topics include: Week 1 - Tools We Use, Week 2 - Shapes All Around Us, and Week 3 - Bugs. In Week 1, students learn about tools and answer the essential question, “How do tools help us to explore?”  Some examples of the texts connected to the weekly topic include the Literature Book Book The Handiest Things in the World by Andrew Clements and the Paired Text “Discover with Tools” (unknown author). Students also read the Interactive Read-Aloud “Tanimoto,” which is a Japanese tale about a character who uses tools to overcome obstacles and the Shared Reading texts, “Pam Can See” and “We Can See” (unknown authors), which are about tools that help people see. 
• In Unit 3, Week 1, students learn about the importance of rules and answer the essential question, “What rules do we follow in different places?” Examples of texts connected to the weekly topic include the Literature Big Book How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and the Paired Text, “Be Safe!” Students also hear the Interactive Read-Aloud “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and read the Shared Reading texts “Can I Pat It?” and “Tim Can Tip It” (unknown author). 
• In Unit 4, students learn about their neighborhood. In Week 1, students answer the essential question, “What do people use to do their jobs?” In Week 2, students answer the question, “Who are your neighbors?” and in Week 3, students answer the question, “How can people help to make your community better?'' Texts that students read to build knowledge include the Literature Big Books, Roadwork by Sally Sutton and “A Community Garden” (unknown author). Texts used in small group reading that are organized around this topic include We Clean! by Ellen Danlhort, Can You Fix It? by Quinn Baker, and Helping Mom by Terry Miller Shannon. 
• In Unit 5, Week 3, students learn about things that grow on a farm. Texts that help build knowledge around this topic include An Orange in January by Dianna Hutts Aston and “Farmers Market” (unknown author). Students also listen to the Interactive Read-Aloud “Farms Around the World” (unknown author). Leveled Readers for small group instruction include The Farmer by Carolyn Lee, Let’s Make a Salad by Franke Hartley, and Farm Fresh Finn by Kathy Pargang. 
• In Unit 6, students learn about weather and spend the first week reading about the four seasons, the second week about the weather, and the third week about stormy weather. In Week 1, students answer the essential question, “How are the seasons different?” Texts around this topic include Mama, is it Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure and “New Snow” (unknown author). The Interactive Read-Aloud is called “A Tour of the Seasons” (unknown author), and the Shared Reader is called “Is it Hot?” (unknown author).
• In Unit 7, Week 3, students learn about where animals live. Students listen to the Literature Big Book, Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, along with the Paired Text, “Animal Homes” (unknown author). The Shared Reading is called “A Vet in a Van” (unknown author), and the Interactive Read-Aloud for the week is the tale “Aunt Nancy” (unknown author). The Leveled Readers also teach about where animals live and are  We Want Water by Frankie Hartley, A New Home by Suzanna Fallen, and Bird’s New Home by Lori Mortensen. 
• In Unit 8, students focus on the big idea, “Where can you go that is near and far?” In Week 1, students learn about what can help them move places. In Week 2, students learn about the country, and in Week 3, students learn about what they see in the sky. In Week 3, students hear the Literature Big Book, Bringing Down the Moon by Jonathan Emmett, along with the Paired Text, “Day and Night Sky” (unknown author). The Shared Reading is “Up! Up! Up!” (unknown author), and the Interactive Read-Aloud is called “A View from the Moon” (unknown author). 
• In Unit 9, Week 3, students learn about how nature can be used to make new things. The Literature Big Book is Bread Comes to Life by George Levenson and  the Paired Text is “Nature Artists” (unknown author). Students read “Look! A Home” (unknown author) for the Shared Reading and listen to “Nature’s Art Fair” (unknown author) for the Interactive Read-Aloud. 
• In Unit 10, students learn about how new ideas can help people. In Week 1, students focus on what can happen when people work together and in Week 2, students focus on the ways things are alike and different. In Week 3, students focus on ways to protect the Earth. In Week 1, students learn about solving problems and answer the essential question, “What can happen when we work together?” Some of the texts around this topic include the Literature Big Book, “What’s the Big Idea Molly?” by Valerie Gorgachev and the Paired Text “Working Together!” (unknown author). The Interactive Read-Aloud is “The Elves and the Shoemakers” and the Shared Reading is “Good Time for Luke!” (unknown author).

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

The materials provide opportunities for students to identify key ideas, details, and analyze structure and craft in every unit. Students are given retelling cards to retell and answer questions for the Literature Big Book story. Students are introduced to the Strategy and the Skill that they will be working on throughout the week. These strategies and skills contain questions and tasks that helps students to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

For most texts (read-aloud texts K-1 and anchor texts in Grade 2), students are asked to analyze words/phrases or author’s word choice (according to grade level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Listening Comprehension, My Garden by Kevin Henkes, the teacher states, “Morning glories are a kind of flower. Have a volunteer point them out on page 25. Can you make a picture in your mind of flowers shining like stars? Tell what you imagine.” 
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 2, Teacher Edition, Listening Comprehension, Hen Hears Gossip by Megan McDonald, the teacher begins by asking the students to reread the big book pages 12–15. Then the teacher has partners talk about what happens by asking the questions,  "What does Goose tell Turkey? What does Turkey tell Hen?" Students draw what Goose and Turkey say. Did either animal hear correctly? Why do the animals say these things? The teacher guides the children to understand that each animal hears and repeats the wrong words. Students then answer the question on page 36 using the Reading/ Writing Companion.

For most texts (read-aloud texts K-1 and anchor texts Grade 2), students analyze key ideas and details, structure, and craft (according to grade level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Literature Big Book, Key Details, What About Bear? by Suzanne Bloom, the teacher asks the questions:
• "How does Bear feel? How do you know? 
• What new game does Fox want to play?
• What game are the animals playing? 
• How does this game help them solve a problem?"
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Days 1-5, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Literature Big Book, My Garden by Kevin Henkes, the teacher discusses how characters in realistic fiction are like real people. Students are reminded what character, setting, and events are and to look for clues and details as they read. On Day 2, the teacher models by reminding students what character, setting and events are and then uses the strategy of think-aloud to demonstrate how to process the characters, setting and events in the text.  Using Reading/Writing Companion pages 12-13, students answer the questions: 
• "Who are the characters? Have children point to the characters in the art. 
• Where does the story take place? What does the girl’s imaginary garden look like? Have children use clues from the text and illustrations to describe the setting.
• What happens in the girl’s make-believe garden? Have children write the characters and the setting on pages 12– 13. Ask them to draw an event that the girl imagines happening in her make-believe garden on page 13." 
• In Unit 10, Week 3, Day 1, Teacher Edition, Whole Group, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, Panda Kindergarten by Joanne Ryder, the teacher asks, “What key details did you learn from the text? What does the photograph show?” Students respond to the text using the Reading/Writing Companion. On Day 2, the text is reread and students are asked to write three key details on the graphic organizer on page 57. 

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

Throughout the year, students are provided with opportunities to engage in questions and tasks that are text-based and help build knowledge across single texts and across multiple texts. Each weekly text set centers around a topic with questions and tasks that ask students to refer back to the text to find information and support answers to questions in order to complete tasks. Questions and tasks require connected knowledge and ask students to connect ideas between multiple texts. In addition, at the end of each week, students wrap up the week by making connections between multiple texts. 

Students are asked sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, students learn about how senses help them learn. Throughout the week students are asked questions to help build knowledge, including, “What senses is the girl using to learn about the flower? What other sense could she use? How does a fluffy towel feel? What else feels fluffy? What are the five senses that we learned about in the book?,” while listening to Senses at the Seashore by Shelley Ratner.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, students learn about how tools help us explore and listen to the book, The Handiest Things in the World by Andrew Clements. Questions to build knowledge while students listen to the book include, “The boy in the picture is holding up his hands. What is he using them to do? How do you know? What things in the picture help to stop the sunlight from going in the boys’ eyes? What is another type of tool that can help to stop sunlight from going into our eyes? What does a girl do to make her hair tidy? What tools is the girl using to make music?”
• In Unit 4, Week 3, students learn about how people in a community can make it better and listen to the book Roadwork by Sally Sutton. Students are asked questions while listening to the book to build knowledge, including, “What are the steps for painting the lines on the road? What steps do the workers do after they plant the trees in the ground? What are some things the workers need to do before the road is ready to use?”
• In Unit 5, Week 2, students learn about how living things change as they grow and listen to the text A Grand Old Tree by Mary Neweel Depalma. Students are asked, “Where does the bird take the seed?” and are given sentence starters, such as, “An important fact is...” and “The most important part is...”. 
• In Unit 7, Week 1, students learn about animals and listen to the text, ZooBorns! by Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland. Students are asked questions to build knowledge such as, “How is the baby gorilla the same as the baby orangutan? How is it different? How is the wombat like the fennec fox? How will the baby beluga be like its parents?” 
• In Unit 9, Week 3, students learn about how things in nature can be used to make new things. Students listen to the text Bread Comes to Life by George Levenson and are asked, “What happens after the seeds grow? What ingredients does the baker use to make the dough? What is the last step to make the bread?”

Students are also asked to make connections between texts in order to build knowledge. Some examples include:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, students listen to Pouch by David Ezra Stein and the poem “The Little Bird” (no author). In their Reading/Writing companion, students compare how the little bird moves with the way Joey moves in Pouch. Students are provided with the sentence frames “The little bird can ____.  Joey can_____.”
• In Unit 3, Week 3, students make connections about different texts including, “Field Trips” (unknown author) and Please Take me for a Walk by Susan Gal. Students talk with a partner to compare the selections by answering the question, “What kind of neighborhood workers were in both selections?” For the final project of the week, students work with a partner to compare Please Take me for a Walk and “A Neighborhood” (unknown author). They discuss how the texts are alike and different and how they help to answer the essential question. 
• In Unit 5, Week 2, students learn about how living things change as they grow. They integrate knowledge across texts throughout the week. On Day 3, students work with a partner to integrate ideas between “The Pine Tree” (unknown author) and A Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell DePalma. Students discuss the ways both stories describe the life of a tree. They focus on how the stories are different and how they are alike. For the final task of the week, students compare A Grand Old Tree to “From a Seed to a Tree” (unknown author). Students discuss how the texts are alike and different and how they help answer the essential question. 
• In Unit 9, Week 1, students listen to Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats and the poem “My Grandma Says” (unknown author). Students compare the child in the poem to Peter in Peter’s Chair in their Reading/Writing companion. 

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

Instructional materials provide students opportunities to complete culminating tasks that are related to the text they are reading. Culminating tasks integrate reading, writing, speaking and listening skills and provide opportunities for students to show their knowledge of a topic. 

Culminating tasks are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) at the appropriate grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to: 

• In Unit 1, the Essential Question states, “How can your senses help you learn?” Students complete research about one of the five senses and are asked to present their research.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Research and Inquiry, students discuss other tools that help scientists explore and then choose one to learn about. Students then write a question about how scientists use this tool.  In Step 3, students are encouraged to look at books or use the Internet. Then they draw a picture about what they have learned and decide how they will present their work.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 5, Reading Writing Companion, Integrate Ideas: Research and Inquiry, the Essential Question for the week is, “What places do you go during the week?" Using pages 82-83 of the Reading/Writing Companion, students research places in their school. The teacher models completing the pages by going through the research process. 
• Step 1: Choose a topic: “The project is to research one place in school that I want to learn about. First I need to choose a place. I like the cafeteria, I will choose that.”
• Step 2: Write your Question: “I need to decide what I want to find out about the cafeteria. I would like to know how much food it takes to feed the entire school.”
• Step 3: Find Information: “To find the answer to my question, I need to do research. I can do research by visiting the cafeteria and talking to the people who make our lunch.”
• Step 4: “Now that I know how much food it takes to feed the school, I can draw a picture that shows how all of the food in the cafeteria is stored and how much is used each day.”
• Step 5: “I am going to make a map of the cafeteria. I will show the kitchen on my map. I will also show where they store the food and how much is used."
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Research and Inquiry, students discuss different kinds of weather and then choose one that they would like to learn about. Students then write a question about this kind of weather.  In Step 3, students are encouraged to look at books or use the Internet. Then they draw a picture and write about what they have learned and decide how they will present their work.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. 

Instructional materials provide limited opportunities for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts.  Occasionally, academic vocabulary supports the text, but most of the time the academic vocabulary is related to the text structures and strategies. Vocabulary presented during the Oral Language portion of the lessons do not always connect to the texts students are listening to or reading. Guidance is provided to teachers in the form of videos, articles, and a handbook. The online weekly planner does not provide guidance for teachers to adequately develop academic vocabulary.  Many different academic vocabulary and other vocabulary words are introduced during the week with no consistent and cohesive learning essential to building text vocabulary. Many times academic vocabulary is provided as a list of italicized words on the side of the menu under Academic Vocabulary. Materials do provide a vocabulary development component in the Tier 2 Intervention booklet.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the
• Instructional Routine Handbook, page 77, teachers are guided through a four-step routine that can be used throughout the year to introduce vocabulary. 
• Step 1: Introduce (Explain the vocabulary routine.) 
• Teacher example, “Today we will learn new vocabulary words. I will say a vocabulary word, define it, and use it in a sentence. Then, I will ask you to use the word in a sentence. The more we practice using the new words, the better readers and writers we will be.”
• Step 2: Model (I Do): Define/Example/Ask
• Teacher example, “I am going to say the vocabulary word so you can hear the correct pronunciation. Then I am going to define it and use it in a sentence.”
• Step 3: Guided Practice (We Do): Students are given opportunities to use and apply words.
• Teacher example, “I am going to describe some things. If what I describe is an example of people cooperating, say cooperate. If it is not, do not say anything. • Two children setting the table for dinner • Two children grabbing the same book • Two children putting crayons back in the box.”
• Step 4: Independent Practice (You Do): ) “Individual turns allow you an opportunity to assess each student’s skill level and provide additional practice for those students who need it. Near the end of each week, students should write sentences in their word study notebooks using the words.”
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Literature Big Book, Senses at the Seashore by Shelley Rotner, Academic Vocabulary: senses, the materials ask students to, “Reread pages 12–13. The author tells the story by using words and photos that tell about what the children experience at the seashore using their senses. In the photograph on page 12, what do you see the fishermen using to catch the fresh fish? (a net)” In Independent Writing, using the story, “Sam Can See”, “Describe how Sam is using his other senses. What might he feel, smell, and hear? Have children read their drafts to see if they responded to the prompt.” In Speaking, children discuss what they have learned this week about how they use their senses to learn. Students use page 142 of their Reading/Writing Companion and discuss with a partner how they can use their senses to learn about the flowers in the picture.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Academic Vocabulary, Day 1, students connect the vocabulary to the concept by introducing the word fiction through the learning of the genre.  The teacher discusses the word with the students, “Tell children that How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? is fiction. How do we know a story is fiction? (made-up, has characters and events) Fiction also has a setting. Setting is where the story takes place.”  Students then review the fiction anchor chart. While listening to the Literature Big Book, How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? the teacher thinks aloud, “I know that fiction is a made-up story that has characters and events. The character is the dinosaur. The event is the dinosaur racing up the stairs. Dinosaurs do not exist in real life. These details tell me the story is fiction.”   Continuing further into the text, the teacher asks the students how they know that the text they are reading is fiction. On Day 2, the Literature Big Book is used for the teacher to remind students that this text is fiction and the fiction anchor chart is reviewed. The other texts contained within the week do not feature the academic vocabulary introduced in the first two days. 
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 1,Teacher Edition, Talk About It, students are presented oral vocabulary words, country and travel. Students use the Define, Ask, Example routine to build a deeper understanding of the vocabulary. Using the Reading Writing Companion, pages 30-31, students are asked, “Why is this statue important to our country? Explain that the statue stands for freedom, and the United States was built on the idea that it is important to protect people’s freedom.” Students write a fact they know about our country. On Day 2, the Define/Example/Ask routine is used again to review the oral vocabulary words country and travel. Students are prompted to use the words in sentences. On Day 3,  students are reminded that they learned the words country and travel. The teacher asks, “What is a country? What does travel mean?” The Define/ Example/Ask routine is used to introduce three additional vocabulary words careful, purpose, and connect. On Day 4, the teacher uses the Define/Example/Ask routine on Visual Vocabulary Cards to review the oral vocabulary words country, travel, careful, purpose, and connect. Students use the words in sentences.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher uses the read-aloud text Peter’s Chair to model how to use prefixes to understand the meaning of a word. The teacher uses the following Think Aloud,  “The word painted is in the sentence: ‘That’s my cradle,’ he thought and they painted it pink. Using sentence clues we can tell that the cradle used to be a different color. If we add the letters re to the beginning of the word, it makes a new word, repainted. The word part re means again so repainted means painted again.”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a year-long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts. 

Materials provide frequent opportunities for students to respond to writing prompts on a variety of texts. Scaffolded instruction is provided through a series of instructional supports that include sentence frames, class discussions, and shared writing as well as teacher think-alouds. The teacher guides children to respond to a prompt, using sentence frames as needed. In Independent Writing, students start by reviewing a student writing sample that includes the weekly writing skill. Students then respond independently to a new prompt as they practice the skill. 

Materials include writing instruction aligned to the standards for the grade level, and writing instruction spans the whole school year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Reading Writing Companion, Research and Inquiry, students discuss how to be a good friend and write about what a good friend might do.  Students talk with classmates and ask them to answer the same question. Students then draw what they learned.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 2, Shared Writing, teachers use a sentence frame to support students. For example, “Some words are different because _______. The author wants to make the words look like ______.” The teacher provides the sentence frame “On pages _____ , the words _____.” to guide the students in citing text evidence.
• In Unit 4, Reading Writing Companion, students respond to the text Whose Shoes? by Stephen Swinburne, by discussing an important fact they learned and an interesting part of the text. They draw a “worker who wears special clothes” and then write a sentence about the clothes they wear.
• In Unit 6, Reading Writing Companion, students discuss ideas and characters for a realistic fiction story.  They draw a story idea and write the name of the character. Students write about an event, using an exemplar of a draft of a realistic fiction story to help write their story.  Sequence is shown to the students so that they can incorporate it into their realistic fiction. At the end of this task, students share and evaluate by presenting their work to a partner and taking turns. Students use a Writing and Grammar checklist of yes/no to answer statements such as, “I wrote a realistic fiction story” or “I wrote about a character who acts like a real person.”  Students self-evaluate their work by writing what they did well in their writing and what they need to work on.

Writing instruction supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2, Shared Writing, the teacher introduces the prompt and leads the students to review the text for evidence. The prompt is, “Why does the author call this book The Handiest Things in the World?” The teacher instructs the students to use words from the prompt to create the first sentence. “The handiest things in the world are our hands.” Then the teacher provides action words as students form sentences.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Shared Writing, Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure, the students and the teacher work together to write a response to a prompt. “Look at pages 28–31 of Mama, Is It Summer Yet? Do you think the author did a good job showing what season it is? Why or why not?”  During Days 3, 4, and 5 students write to the prompt, “Did the author do a good job at showing what fall and winter are like?” for Independent Writing on the text, Is It Hot?
• In Unit 9, Week 1 Day 1, Shared Writing, the teacher instructs students on answering the prompt, “Write a journal entry from Peter’s point of view telling how he feels about his baby sister, Susie.” The teacher says, “To respond to this prompt, we need to tell about Peter’s feelings as if he were writing the journal entry. We need to look for clues that help us understand how Peter feels in the story Peter’s Chair.” The teacher uses shared writing to compose the first sentence with the class. Then the teacher provides sentence frames for students that make connections between texts and self. 
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Day 1, Shared Writing, after students read All Kinds of Families by Mary Ann Hoberman, they respond together to the prompt, “What types of families did the author write about?” On Day 2, students find text evidence on pages 34-35 of the Reading Writing Companion. After students reread the story, they write the key details from pages 34 and 35 of the text.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.

The materials provide opportunities for students to participate in research projects using a five-step research guideline. The first step is to choose a topic; the second step is to write a question; the third step is to find information;  the fourth step is to draw and/or write about what they learned; and the final step is to present the research. Each week beginning in Unit 1, Week 1, students are provided with one research and inquiry opportunity. The research projects help students further develop their knowledge and understanding of the topic explored throughout the week. The teacher is provided support and guidance in the Instructional Routines Handbook for how to present the research process to students. A scoring rubric is also provided to the teacher in the Instructional Routines Handbook. 

In the Instructional Routines Handbook, teachers are provided information on how to guide students through the Research and Inquiry process. A sample rubric is also provided that includes a 4-point rating scale.  The research process routine instructs the teacher to:

• Set research goals and introduce the project, as well as clearly identify the research focus and end product.
• Identify sources such as texts read in class, digital media, print sources  and/or interviews with experts.
• Find and record information by guiding students as they search for relevant information from sources.
• Organize and help students review and analyze the information they have gathered. Students should identify the most useful information, use a graphic organizer to sort and clarify categories of related information, and identify any areas where they need further information.
• Synthesize and present research by planning how to best present their work. Students may include audio and/or visual displays to enhance presentations, check that key ideas are included in the presentation, and rehearse the presentation.

Research projects are sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, students learn about friendship. Students are guided through a five-step process for research. Step 1 is to choose a topic. The teacher models an example of this, “The project is to learn about how to be a good friend. I like to share with my new friends, so my topic to research will be sharing.” In Steps 2 through 5, the teacher continues with modelling by writing a research question, finding information, drawing and/or writing what they learned, and then choosing a way to present the work.  Students begin the project by talking with a partner about what good friends do before coming up with a research question. 
• In Unit 2, Week 1, students develop a plan that helps scientists explore the world. Students use pages 30-31 of the Reading/Writing Companion to talk about tools that scientists explore and then choose one to research. Students go through the five-step research process. For Step 5, students select a way to create their final project. They can choose between drawing and labeling a picture, creating a  poster, making a model, and/or putting on a dramatic presentation.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, students research rules they follow for safety either at home or school. Students complete their research either in books or the internet. 
• In Unit 4, Week 2, students learn about what neighbors do throughout the week-long unit. Students research to learn more about what neighbors do. The teacher models the five-step process of research before students complete each step. For Step 3, the teacher models by saying, “To find the answer to my question, I need to do some research. I can do research by interviewing my classmates and recording their answers.”  Students then apply these skills themselves.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, students conduct research to learn more about animal habitats. The teacher models using polar bears and the Arctic and models his/her thinking before students begin. For example, the teacher says, “I need to decide what I want to find out. My question will be: What makes the Arctic a good home for polar bears?” 
• In Unit 8, Week 2, students learn about America. Starting on Day 4, students research to learn more about Americans who helped our country. The teacher continues to model the five-step process and then students apply the research skills in their Reading/Writing Companion. 
• In Unit 9, Week 2, students learn how to be a good citizen and research ways to be a good citizen. Students use some of the texts from the week such as Hen Hears Gossip by Megan McDonald and We can Play (no author) to complete their research.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

Kindergarten materials provide opportunities for students to read independently in and out of class. The materials include routines for choosing a book, how to build classroom and school libraries, independent reading journals, teacher and student conferences, as well as rubrics. Many opportunities for independent reading and books for students to read independently are included within the reading class time. Materials include a School-to-Home letter each week that provides information for parents to have their children read.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, pages 109-127, teachers are provided with support on how to foster independent reading routines in the classroom. This section of the handbook gives routines for how to choose a book, how to build a classroom library, independent reading journals as well as teacher and student conferences. On page 112, a teacher-student conference is routine is presented.
• "Make a positive observation about the student’s reading or book choice. Regularly conferring with students about their Independent Reading is a great way to informally assess their progress, model social-emotional learning skills, build your classroom culture, and instill habits of learning. 
• Talk about how the reading is going. Why did you choose this particular book or genre? Why did you abandon this book? How is your current book going? Are you using Thinking Codes and are they helping? What strategies are you using and what ones do you need help with? How are you solving problems as you read? Who is your favorite character and why? What is your favorite part so far and why? 
• Ask the student to read aloud for a minute or two. This will help you assess their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. 
• Highlight a student strength. I really like the way you used context clues to figure out what that word means. And adding that word to your writer’s notebook is a good idea. 
• Suggest a specific goal the student can work on. When you have an opinion, make sure to find text evidence to support it.
•  Record notes from your conference. Conference forms to use with the students are provided on pages 121-122."  
• In the Instructional Routine Handbook, page 111, a six-step procedure is given to the teacher to guide students through the independent reading process. The handbook states on page 110, that a Kindergarten student should be reading for 10-15 minutes independently each day.

1. "Select a book that interests you. Check the book to make sure it’s the one you want to read. See the Five-Finger Rule on page 120 as one way to help students check how difficult a book is. See the Additional Strategies on pages 113–119 for more ways to help students choose a book. 

2. Read the book each day during Independent Reading time. Use the skills and strategies you’ve been working on. 

3. Think about what you’re reading. You can use Thinking Codes to record your thoughts or write about them in your writer’s notebook. 

4. Record what you’ve read at the end of each Independent Reading session. Keep track on your Reading Log. There are many suggestions for keeping students accountable for their independent reading in the Additional Strategies section. Using a Reading Log is just one way. 

5. Share your opinion of the book when you’re done. Tell a friend, write a review, make a poster, or ask your teacher for ideas. 

6. Begin again! Time to pick a new book!”

• In the Instructional Routine Handbook, a Reading Log is provided. The log asks students to document the date they read a book, title, genre, their opinion of the book using three faces (smile, straight, sad faces),and  how hard the text was to read on a scale of C: Complex, E: Easy to me or JR: Just Right. The final column asks students to put a check mark if they are still reading, an A if they abandoned the text, or an F if they finished. 
• The curriculum includes a Running Records/Benchmark Books that enables the teacher to track students’ reading level throughout the school year. It suggests that a running record should be completed every four weeks.  It also states that teachers should set aside time to conduct one running record per day as an ongoing assessment.
• On the ConnectED Student Edition, there is a section labeled School-to-Home Link. Within this section, there are family letters for each week that support students’ comprehension and vocabulary with different activities. For example, the comprehension section states, “Ask your child to tell you some details of the selection and how these details can help in understanding the main idea. Then, have your child match the mother to her baby animal.” Also on this site, students have access to the leveled readers that they could read or have read to them. These range in level from BR-110L-190L.
• The School-to-Home Connection is a letter sent home with students each week. For example:
• In Unit 4, Week 4, Resources: School-to-Home, Family Letter “Comprehension: Text Structure: Sequence. Read a short story to your child. Then ask your child to order the story’s pictures by writing first, next, or last under the pictures. Invite your child to retell the story.”
• In Unit 5, Week 1, under the resources tab, students use a My Learning Goal worksheet in which they check off whether or not they met the goal of rereading to better understand the story and identify the characters, setting, and events in a story.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.

Kindergarten materials are designed to immerse students in all areas of the standards and provide explicit lesson structure with embedded teacher direction, as well as recommendations for supporting all learners. There are 10 units in Kindergarten, and each unit contains a Unit Overview which supports teachers as they plan for instruction. Each unit instructs the teacher throughout each lesson on its implementation before, during and after the readings and activities, as well as recommendations for scaffolded support. At the beginning of each unit there is a Unit Introduction followed by a weekly overview that maps out the daily content being covered. Pacing for each lesson is appropriately allocated. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The materials contain daily opportunities for whole group and small group instruction. The materials for each week contain a daily routine consisting of a Unit Opener which discusses the Big Idea for the Unit. A social-emotional skill is taught on Day 1; then the essential question is introduced. Small group learning takes place daily and includes a focus on skills within the leveled reader along with phonics instruction, phonemic awareness, and high-frequency words. The materials contain a weekly planner which outlines the various skills for the week. Each day is clearly listed and contains lesson plans with directions and materials needed for the lesson within a Lesson Resource box. Routines are listed within the Instructional Routines Handbook and contain an explanation and recommendations for carrying out research-based practices. 
• In Unit 1, Week 1, there is a lesson on naming words. The phases of the lesson are: 
• Modeling: Explain that a noun is a naming word. The teacher says, "A noun names a person, place or thing" and then shows photo cards for farm, girl and table. The teacher adds, “Read the word farm aloud, say that farm names a place."
• Guided practice: The teacher shows photo cards of boy and house. The teacher and students work together to identify the photo cards.
• Independent practice: Students draw and label pictures of things they share at school that are naming words. 
• Collaborative practice: Teacher has student partners work together to discuss people, places and things they see during the day.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, the high-frequency word the is introduced. 
• Model: Teacher uses the read, spell, write routine. 
• Read: "Point to the word the and say the. This is the word the; say it with me. The bear is my friend." 
• Spell: "The word is spelled t-h-e. Spell it with me." 
• Write: "Let’s write the word in the air, as we say the." Partners create simple phrases using the word the. 
• Guided Practice/Practice: The teacher writes the following phrases: the berries, the water and has children point to the word the. The teacher gives corrective feedback as necessary.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Weather for All Seasons and the Big Idea, “How do weather and seasons affect us?”, the Week 1 topic is the four seasons and the Essential Question is, “How are the seasons different?” A three-week unit overview is provided. A unit introduction is provided for students to develop an understanding of the content they will be learning. On T294, a Making Learning Visible page is provided where the texts students read are visible at a glance. There are subsections listed for Active Engagement and Student Outcomes that show what students will be learning in each area of focus. For example, Foundational Skills-Phonological/Phonemic Awareness lists the following skills students will be learning, “Segment and blend onset and rime in spoken words, recognize spoken alliteration in groups of words and identify, blend sounds in words and segment words into individual sounds." A suggested lesson plan is provided for a five-day span and includes small group instruction, Beyond Level, English language learners, as well as social-emotional learning. Within each lesson an objective is stated, academic language is listed, and digital tools are provided. Teacher modeling is evident throughout each lesson. On Day 1 of each unit students listen to the Literature Big Book, then they move into word work, Language Arts, shared writing and independent writing. On Day 2, students build the concept, participate in a Shared Read and Shared Writing. On Day 3, students again build on the topic, read the interactive read-aloud, engage in word work, a Shared Read and an independent writing. On Day 4, the concept is extended, students listen to another Literature Big Book, complete word work, continue their independent writing, and start the Research and Inquiry task. On Day 5, the lesson starts with word work, Independent Writing, and Integrate Ideas with text connections. A weekly wrap-up is provided that reviews the essential question. Differentiated Instruction is provided for students approaching level, on grade level, and beyond grade level. 

The pacing of individual lessons is appropriate. Each day has several parts to the lesson, which also have approximate time indications. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2,
• Build the Concept/Oral language: 10 minutes 
• Listening Comprehension/Literature Big Book: 10 minutes
• Listening Comprehension/Literature Big Book/Reread: 10 minutes
• Word Work/Phonemic Awareness: 5 minutes
• Word Work/Phonics: 5 minutes
• Word Work/High-Frequency Words: 5 minutes
• Shared Read: 10 minutes
• Language Arts/Shared Writing: 15 minutes
• Grammar: 5 minutes
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1, 
• Introduce the Concept: Talk About It: 10 minutes
• Listening Comprehension: Literature Big Book: 20 minutes
• Word Work: Phonemic Awareness: 5 minutes
• Phonics: 10 minutes
• Work Work: Handwriting: 10 minutes
• High-Frequency Words: 5 minutes
• Language Arts: Shared Writing: 15 minutes
• Grammar: 10 minutes within 85 minutes of literacy instruction. 

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

Kindergarten materials include 10 Units. Units range from three to five weeks to complete, with days of instruction ranging from 15-20 days, for a total of 180 instructional days. Review, Extend, and Assess are also included in these instructional days.

The suggested amount of time and expectations for teachers and students to complete the materials are viable for one school year as written and would not require significant modifications. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Unit 0 is designed to be a “Start Smart” unit to support teachers in building classroom routines. Review, Extend, and Assess are also included in these instructional days.
• Each unit comes with the flexibility for the teacher to choose what they are teaching and when they are teaching. Teachers can adjust lessons as needed. These lessons are intended to be completed daily including reading, writing and small group instruction, if the teacher chooses.
• The Wonders User Guide notes that, “student and teacher choice are at the heart of Wonders. Wonders was designed to support you and your entire classroom as you teach your way—whether you follow our suggested pathway of instruction or create your own workshop lessons using our resources.”

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

Kindergarten materials offer students opportunities to demonstrate thinking and learning through a variety of tasks such as reading texts, drawing and writing responses, finding text evidence, completing Beginning, Middle, and End diagrams, and the Research and Inquiry process. Students are able to demonstrate knowledge of content through writing, speaking and drawing. The student materials for each unit are clearly labeled and provide clear directions for each activity. 

Student materials include ample review and practice resources. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Reading/Writing Companion, page 12, the definition of a key detail is listed at the top of the page. “Key details tell important information that helps you understand the story.” Students then listen to a part of the story, How do Dinosaurs Go to School?, talk about the key details in the story, and write two key details. 
• In Unit 4, Week 3, Literature Big Book, Road Work by Sally Sutton, Anchor Chart, the materials state, “Display and review the nonfiction anchor chart. Ask children what new information can be added to the chart.” Concepts of Print: The teacher displays the Big Book cover and is asked to “Say the author’s and illustrator’s names and have children repeat. Have them tell the role of each person. Then model reading from left to right with return sweep.”
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Reading/Writing Companion, page 56, the text states, “most stories have a problem and a solution, the problem is what the character wants to do or fix, the way the character solves the problem is the solution.” Students listen to the story. After they listen to the story, they write about Mole’s problem, steps to the solution, and the solution. 

Student materials include clear directions and explanations, and reference aids are correctly labeled. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, students complete the practice page, Comprehension-Key details. The directions are as follows: “Let’s read about different kinds of tools people use. When we are done I want you to point to each tool and tell me a detail about how it is used. Then we can act out how each tool is used.”
• Unit 3, Week 1, Reading/Writing Companion, page 8, the essential question is presented, “What rules do we follow in different places?” A picture of children playing soccer is on the page. Students are asked to talk with a partner about the game these children are playing, draw themselves playing the game and write a rule about the game, 

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

Kindergarten materials provide Common Core State Standards alignment documentation in the Teacher Edition under Plan: Weekly Standard. Standards are noted for each lesson and are linked to the lesson. The Assessment and Data tab in the online materials lists several printable resources; however, under the Standards tab, it indicates “no standards associated with this resource.” 

Alignment documentation is provided for all questions, tasks, and assessment items within the Teacher Edition. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 0, Week 1, the teacher models how to identify uppercase and lowercase Aa. Students listen to Animals in the Park and match letter word building cards to the letter in the big book. The standard alignment states, RF.K.1d, "recognize all lowercase and uppercase letters of the alphabet."
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 2, the lesson objectives are stated on the top left of the Teacher Edition. The following objective is stated, “Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts. Sort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.” The Common Core State Standards were not listed next to the lesson objectives. 
• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 3;
• Build the Concept/Oral Language: L.K.5c
• Listening Comprehension, Interactive Read Aloud: RL.K.5; RL.K.9
• Work Work/Phonemic Awareness: RF.K.2d; RF.K.3a
• Work Work/Phonics: RF.K.2d; RF.K.3a
• Work Work/Phonics Picture Sort: RF.K.3a, RF.K.3c
• Word Work/High Frequency Words: RF.K.3a, RF.K.3c
• Shared Read: RF.K.1a, RF.K.1c, RF.K.4
• Language Arts/Independent Writing: W.K.2, L.K.2a, L.K.2b
• Language Arts/Grammar: W.K.2, L.K.2a, L.K.2b
• Each day also contains the standards relating to the material in a drop-down menu on the right hand side of the lesson titled, “STANDARDS.”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that the visual design (whether in print or digital) is not distracting or chaotic, but supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject.

Kindergarten materials contain many visual aids to support student learning, including graphic organizers, response sheets, and real images that accompany the text related to the content in each unit. Illustrations and clip-art in the Reading/Writing Companion are uncomplicated and appealing to the eye. The design of the materials is simple and visually appealing to a Kindergarten student. The font, margins, and spacing provided for student work areas are also appropriate. 

The materials include, but are not limited to:

• Information on each page of the Reading/Writing Companion is clear and consistent.
• Enough space is provided for students to draw and write responses effectively.
• Student pages are labeled clearly allowing students to easily follow a teacher’s direction.
• The fonts and margins are reasonable.
• Anchor charts describing procedures and protocols are clear and easily understandable for students to refer back to throughout the year.
• Units are comprised of materials that display a simple blue design and include adequate space. The font, size, margins, and spacing are consistent and readable.

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

Kindergarten materials provide clear annotations for teachers on how to present content to students. For each unit, an overview is provided for the teacher. A student outcome page that displays what the students will be learning is also present. Throughout the lessons, italicized questions and explanations are included to support teachers in how to present materials to both support and challenge students, including ELL students. Each unit also includes Approaching Level, On Level, and Beyond Level differentiated instruction. During Research and Inquiry, the teacher models the task; however, some statements provided are vague and do not provide enough guidance to teachers. There is minimal guidance and support for the use of embedded technology.

Content knowledge is included, where needed, and is accurate, understandable, and gives true assistance to all educators using the text. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• A model for an anchor chart is provided for teacher’s use in the classroom. 
• An explicit systematic instruction chart is also provided that guides teachers through the word work process. The Teacher Edition states to do a ”daily review to review prior sound-spellings to build fluency.  After each day’s lessons, check that children are on track and ready to move forward. Follow up with: Differentiated Instruction to strengthen skills, provide targeted review and reteaching lessons to meet children’s specific needs.”
• Next steps are also shown that help guide the teacher in making informed decisions. 
• Kindergarten, Resources Tab, Professional Development link, Overview: Filter Instructional Routines and Assessment: Managing Small Groups: A How to Guide and Instructional Routines Handbook, provides information to teachers about how to structure lessons in a differentiated classroom. 
• In Unit 0, Week 2, Literature Big Book, Concepts of Print, the materials state, “Display the ABC Big Book cover. Say: I hold the book right-side up so we can read the title. Track the print and read aloud the title and the author/illustrator. Then invite a volunteer to come up and demonstrate holding the book right-side up. Remind children that the title page shows the name of the book and the names of the author and illustrator. Then have children identify the front cover, the back cover, and the title page of a book.”  The Teacher Edition further guides the teacher that if students are needing additional practice with concepts of print, have them use Practice Book page 15.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, the materials explain the reread strategy. “Remind children that if they don’t understand a fact or idea while they are reading, they can go back and reread the text. Explain that rereading can help them understand what they read.”
• In Unit 7, Week 3, the Checks for Success are presented on T221, “Can children identify characteristics of fantasy? Can children identify cause and effect?” 

There is minimal guidance and support for the use of embedded technology. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Digital Quick Start Guide provides assistance on how to get started using the digital tools provided by Wonders.
• Unit 7, Week 2, Research and Inquiry, suggests the use of technology to make a video for a presentation of the research idea, but does not give any other information to support the use of technology to enhance student learning. The Reading/Writing Companion, Research and Inquiry Step 3, states “Look at books or use the internet,” and contains a reference to the use of technology but does not provide further guidance or support for the technology.  Games and activities are provided on the Student Edition site, but no link from the Teacher Edition is provided.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher Edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.

Kindergarten materials provide detailed explanations for each instructional lesson for the teacher to explain to the student, including information on the lesson’s  purpose. Each unit of the Teacher Guide also contains alignments to the Common Core State Standards. The User Guide and Instructional Routines Handbook, which are separate handbooks located in the Teacher Resource Library, are designed to provide guidance on the delivery of the Reading Curriculum and serve as a resource to build professional knowledge in the areas of research-based best practices.  Training videos for different instructional routines, including coaching conversations and examples from the classroom, are also included in the teacher materials. Teachers can access information on a variety of topics, such as writing, access to complex text, and foundational skills.

More advanced concepts are consistently explained and will improve a teacher’s deeper understanding of the content. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Kindergarten, Resources Tab, Professional Development link, tab: Author & Coach Videos, Filters provided: Foundational Skills, Close Reading, Access to Complex Text:
• Under the filtered options for Foundational Skills are videos such as “Long Vowel Awareness.” Through a coaching video, teachers learn how to show students the difference between long and short vowels. 
• Under the filtered options for writing are videos such as: “Writing Across Text Types and Genres with Dr. Doug Fisher.”
• In the User Guide, beginning on page 6, teachers are provided information on an instructional approach used within the program, Balanced Literacy Classroom: What Does It Look and Sound Like?  This information also includes 21st Century College- and Career-Ready Inspired Shifts in Balanced Literacy. 
• In the User Guide, on page 16, teachers are provided with guidance on Guided Reading Instruction. This information informs teachers as to what guided reading looks like and what happens before, during and after reading.
• In the User Guide, on page 26, close reading information is provided.  Information detailing the importance of identifying a purpose for reading, determining the author’s purpose, and schema and considerations for developing a close reading program is provided. 
• In the User Guide, on page 37, the concept of rereading is explained, “When one’s schema on a topic has significant gaps, the reader must devote cognitive resources to constructing a mental model on which to attach this new information (Kintsch & van Dijk, 1978)." "A chief way you accomplish this is by rereading. You slow down your pace, review a previous passage, and look back to the text in order to find information.”
• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, beginning on page 19, several routines, such as collaborative conversations, are explained and established.

Explanations are accessible to all educators. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Resource Library tab, Professional Development, provides resources in each unit that explain more advanced concepts. It shows demonstration videos about how to introduce vocabulary and small group instruction.
• Videos are available to all teachers who have access to online materials under the professional development tab. The videos are short and easily viewed, although the videos do not appear to have a closed captioned version.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher Edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

Kindergarten materials provide references to the standards, including lists and where to locate the standards within the curriculum; however, the role of the specific standards in ELA are not provided in the context of the overall curriculum. Standards are addressed in the Weekly Standards section with links to corresponding lessons. A Research-Based Alignment Handbook is also provided and details a summary of key research and demonstration of program alignment to the standards.  

Limited explanations of the role of the specific course-level content in the context of the overall materials are offered in each unit. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, page 7, the Wonders curriculum is “built around the new standards.”  References to the standards are located in the Wonders CCSS Correlation pdf and also within the Weekly Standards tab located under the Plan tab online in the Teacher Edition.
• The Wonders CCSS Correlation pdf contains each grade level, the CCSS code, the CCSS, and the Wonders Page References, which provides the location of where the standard can be found within the curriculum. (Example: Kindergarten, RL.K.1 "With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text." Teacher Edition: Unit 1: T22-T26, T38-T39, T47, T119-T122, T133, T143, T251)
• In Unit 4 Week 2, L.K.1f: "Produce and expand complete sentences in shared language activities."  [8 lessons]  For each lesson, a Standard tab is located on the right-hand side of the page. When selected, it provides no explanation except a listing of the CCSS. 

Explanations provide connections among multiple course levels. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Research Based Alignment Handbook, Introduce vocabulary instruction in Kindergarten and progress to academic vocabulary in the later grades states, “Research In Kindergarten and Grade 1, exposure to new words begins with oral vocabulary development. The Talk About It weekly openers help develop oral vocabulary and build background knowledge about the weekly theme. New oral vocabulary words are introduced with the Visual Vocabulary Cards. The words are incorporated and repeated throughout the week to provide multiple exposure and understanding in context. New vocabulary is also introduced through the Literature Big Books and the Interactive Read-Alouds.”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain an explanation of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.

Kindergarten materials provide a User Guide that discusses the research behind a balanced literacy approach, guided reading instruction, vocabulary and foundational skills, social-emotional learning, and writing. The Instructional Routines Handbook explains more about the research behind the curriculum, as well as modeling routines, collaborative conversations, word work, reading, writing and grammar, and research and inquiry. This handbook also explains the educational approaches and routines for English Language Learners. 

Explanations of the instructional approaches and research-based strategies of the program are provided. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Instructional Routines Handbook, page 3, the I Do, We Do, You Do, Routine is shown. “I  Do:This is where you explain and model to your students what it is they are learning to do. We Do: In this step, you and your students work together and share the instruction. Students get to practice while you guide and teach. You Do I Watch: After students have had the chance to practice with you, it's time for them to practice on their own. This is where you observe and offer corrective feedback as students collaborate and practice. You Do It Alone: After modeling, showing, guiding, and allowing them to practice, it's time for your students to work independently.” 
• The Research-Based Alignment Handbook provides the key research findings that support the Wonders curriculum. For example, the research document states that students should be supported in the use of identifying organizational text structures to aid in close reading. The Wonders curriculum offers this through genre studies and the Literature and Informational Big Books.
• The User Guide, page 4, provides the research behind independent reading. “Providing students with the opportunity to choose their own books to read empowers and encourages them. It strengthens their self-confidence, rewards their interests, and promotes a positive attitude toward reading by valuing the reader and giving him or her a level of control. Readers without power to make their own choices are unmotivated.”
• The User Guide, pages 7-8, provides information on balanced literacy and the alignment of 21st century skills. “When considering increased 21st century college and career requirements,.... 7 viable approaches in response to the demands of more rigorous standards and expectations, but provide a balanced, scaffolded framework for helping students prepare for critical thinking, collaboration and becoming college- and career-ready.” 
• The User Guide, page 24, provides connections between specific tasks in the curriculum and research-based best practices. “The Reading/Writing Companion asks students to search for specific text evidence in short passages they’ve already read. Collaborative Conversation prompts urge students to work with a partner, employing new strategies, using text evidence and academic language, and comparing responses and text evidence.” 
• The User Guide, “Guided Reading Instruction” by Kathy Rhea Bumgardner, M. Ed., discusses what guided reading is and how to prepare and teach guided reading.  Research-based approaches, such as scaffolding are referenced. “The term ‘scaffold,’ as applied to learning situations by Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976), refers to a framework and process by which teachers use support strategies to help students complete tasks they are unable to do independently at their current stage of learning.”  References are listed at the close of this article.  
• Resources Tab, Professional Development link, Filter: Research Base and Link to Whitepapers, includes documents that provide an explanation of the link between research and the program.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents or caregivers about the ELA/literacy program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.

Kindergarten materials provide a Take Home Letter each week that reinforces the main lesson objectives, vocabulary, and content knowledge. Family Letters are available in several languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Hmong, Korean, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese. The letter includes the weekly concept and essential question. A checklist is provided, enabling students and families to mark off any learning goals they complete. A Word Workout that includes word activities for families and students to do at home is given. A comprehension passage that has a specific area of focus is also included each week. The weekly spelling list and correlating fun activities for families to help practice spelling words are also included. In the Wonders ConnectEd Student Edition, leveled readers and games are provided to support students at home.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 4, Week 2, the School-to-Home Connection Letter states,”We will be reading about different cultures that make up the communities around the world. Your child is learning how to appreciate the different customs that people share.”  A link to the students’ learning goals are provided and families are asked to check the ones the student completes. Words to Know includes high-frequency words the students are working on, along with phonics and category words. The comprehension skill the students are learning about is also included with a suggestion. “Read a story about a child from a different culture. Then invite your child to draw pictures of the main character, the setting, and an important event that happened in the story.” A section called Sesame Time is included. This section includes portions titled Watch Together, Talk Together, and Breathe Together with ideas in each one.  Resources are provided on the side for the students to work on their comprehension skills or their Word Workout.

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

Kindergarten materials provide multiple assessment opportunities. There is an online assessment center that links to all Unit and Benchmark Assessments. Unit Assessments are given at the end of each unit. Screening/Placement and Diagnostic Assessments, such as Phonological and Phonemic Awareness, Letter Naming and Sight Words, and Phonics and Decoding, serve as an initial screening that can be assigned throughout the year to monitor student progress and pinpoint students’ strengths and weaknesses. Checks for Success are provided throughout each unit throughout a variety of days. Progress Monitoring Assessments are used to guide instruction and may be administered every week, every two weeks, or every six weeks, depending on the test selected. In the Benchmark Assessment Handbook, students are given two benchmark assessments. The first is given after students complete Units 1-5 and the second is given after students complete Units 6-10.

Materials provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities for assessment. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Inventories of Developmental Spelling (K–6+), Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 21. This assessment can be administered any time of the year.  “Students’ skills can be classified as falling into particular developmental stages of spelling.”
• Comprehension Tests (K–6), Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 23, “Administer this test at any time of the year to provide a quick check or recheck of a student’s instructional reading level.”
• Unit Assessments (K–6), Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 27, These assessments are completed after each unit of study.  “Unit Assessments include literary and informational texts with questions that focus on the main skills taught in each unit of Wonders. Test items cover reading comprehension skills, literary elements, text features, vocabulary strategies, and English language conventions.” Each unit includes a writing prompt that students use to showcase their understanding of a genre that has been previously taught.  “These assessments provide information to make instructional decisions and to place students into small skill-based groups.”
• Benchmark Assessments (K–6), Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 28. These assessments are completed “at discrete points throughout the year to gauge student progress through the curriculum and readiness for state-mandated end-of-year assessments.”
• Portfolio Assessments, Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 31. Portfolios  showcase a collection of the student's work. A Reflection piece is included. Two portfolio options are presented: “a developmental portfolio and a best work portfolio. There is also a Portfolio Rubric to use when evaluating students’ portfolios.”
• Informal Assessments, Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 45, “In reading, you can do this in an informal way throughout instruction.”  Examples include teaching students to monitor their own comprehension by asking questions, retelling, and monitoring their own progress.

Materials genuinely measure student progress. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 0, Week 1, the Assessment tab offers a Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Screener and progress monitoring for students in Kindergarten. This includes recognizing rhyming words, syllables, phoneme segmentation, and phoneme deletion.
• In Unit 2, Assessment, students are assessed on phoneme isolation, initial t and p, and key details.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

Kindergarten materials provide multiple ways that students are assessed throughout each unit, including formative assessments. The User Guide states that Unit Assessments are aligned to standards; however, there is no evidence to support that any standards are specifically listed in assessments.

Materials include limited denotations of the standards being assessed in both types of Assessments. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Unit Guide, page 60, explains that unit assessments are aligned to standards, stating that assessments “ensure valid assessment of student performance and progress, [are] aligned to standards, and [measure] against grade level rigor.”
• Each unit has weekly Common Core standards present; however, standards listed in specific assessments or within the Teacher Edition or teacher’s script for administering assessments were not present. 

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.

Kindergarten materials provide teachers with guidance for administering assessments, ways to scaffold assessments, and how to interpret student data. Teacher scripts are provided with answers for all Unit Assessments and Diagnostic Assessments.  The answer keys have the correct answer and content focus for each question and answer. Suggestions on how to reteach content is provided to teachers. 

 Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Page vii of the Placement and Diagnostic Assessment indicates that Kindergarten placement decisions are provided after Phonological Awareness, Letter Naming Fluency or Listening Comprehension tests are administered. Students who score 80% or higher are instructed to begin the Wonders On Level or Beyond Level Instruction. Students who score a 60-79% are instructed to begin with the Approaching Level materials. Students who score below a 60% are instructed to start in the Approaching Level and use intervention materials as needed.
• After each Unit assessment in the Teacher Edition, there is a Track for Success Progress Monitoring. For example in Unit 6, Week 3, Making the Most of Assessment Results explains the assessed skills, how the teacher checks for success, and gives reteaching opportunities.
• Kindergarten, Teacher Edition, Assessment and Data Tab, Printable Assessments, Filter to Assessment Handbook. Assessment Handbook, page 32, The Assessment Process Guide to Using Multiple Measures to Assess Student Progress provides an overall graphic on how assessments could be used in a classroom. 
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Whole Group, Progress Monitoring, Check for Success, Reteaching Opportunities with Intervention Online PDFs, Assessed Skills, Phonemic Awareness, Check for Success, it is asked, "Can children isolate and blend the targeted sound? If not . . ., Reteach, tested Phonemic Awareness skills using Lessons 16–17 and 27–29 in the Phonemic Awareness PDF."

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

Kindergarten materials provide routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress. There are informal Checks for Success that help collect evidence of student progress, as teachers observe students working and provide guidance for differentiation of instruction moving forward. Formative assessments are integrated within every unit by using end-of-unit assessments. Screening and Diagnostic Assessments, as well as Comprehension Assessments, offer guidance to inform instructional decisions.

Materials include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 5, Teacher Edition, the Check for Success asks, “Can children segment words into sounds and read words with /k/? Can children read and recognize high-frequency words?” The teacher is then able to differentiate instruction based on this Check for Success. Develop pages and Reteach page numbers are given for the teacher to provide further instruction. 
• In Unit 4, Week 4, the Teacher Edition gives the teacher two different choices on how to monitor student progress. The choices are to review and reteach skills and strategies from the unit or to give students the opportunity to complete the Reading/Writing Companion as an informal assessment.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 5, Progress Monitoring, teachers are instructed to use Check for Success observations and some assessments listed on the chart to evaluate children’s progress in key areas. For example: 
• Informally Assessed Skill: Phonological Awareness, Onset and Rime Blending/ How Assessed: Practice Book
• Informally Assessed Skill: Comprehension, Main Topic and Key Details/ How Assessed: Reading/Writing Companion
• Instructional Routines Handbook, Teacher-Student Conference Routine, page 119, states, “Regularly conferring with students about their Independent Reading is a great way to informally assess their progress, model social-emotional learning skills, build your classroom culture, and instill habits of learning.”
• Instructional Routines Handbook, Retelling Routine, page 98, states that, “Retelling allows you to monitor comprehension.”  Model, Guide, and Discuss Retelling are the three steps within the Retelling Routine.
• Instructional Routines Handbook, Students monitor their progress, page 173, Students monitor their progress through the following ways:
• Track Your Progress in the Reading Writing/Companion asks students to evaluate their progress on key skills that they have learned.
• Opportunities to give feedback to students during weekly Teacher and Peer Conferences on their writing are provided.
• Writing Rubrics, Student Models, Listening and Speaking checklists help students reflect on the quality and completeness of their work.
• Progress bars on online games help students track their progress.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials indicate how students are accountable for independent reading based on student choice and interest to build stamina, confidence, and motivation.

Kindergarten materials recommend 10-15 minutes of independent reading daily. The materials offer students a variety of texts, including anchor texts, shared texts, Time for Kids, suggested classroom library titles, and online titles to access. The Instructional Routines Handbook provides an ample amount of opportunities for students to show accountability for their reading, including reading routines, reading logs, response pages, journaling, and conferences. Students are provided a routine for how to self-select a book of their interest to build stamina.  A Five-Finger Rule is taught about selecting books and teacher monitoring of reading, reading logs, and conferencing helps students build confidence and motivation for independent reading.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 3, students self-select a fiction story and are encouraged to read for ten minutes. Students set a purpose for reading, which is to identify the characters, setting and events in the story.
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Teacher Edition, Self-Selected Reading, students select a nonfiction text with photographs for sustained silent reading and are encouraged to read for fifteen minutes. The teacher reminds students to set a purpose for reading, find out some facts as they read and reread to understand the text better. For more practice with concepts of print, they can use Practice Book page 503. Before reading, the students draw three boxes. The teacher explains that in each box they should write or draw an important fact they learned from the text. After reading, students share their boxes. The teacher has them explain how writing or drawing about some important facts helped them understand and remember the text.

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

Kindergarten materials provide modeling, formative assessments, language and visual supports, and background knowledge in each lesson to ensure student understanding. Materials also provide differentiated instruction to strengthen skills, provide targeted review and reteaching lessons to meet student’s specific needs.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 4, Whole Group, Shared Read, Reread, I Can by Author Unknown, Respond to Text Instructions has students use a sentence frame “The boy can see the…..” to focus a discussion. ELL scaffolds are provided for a range of abilities: “Use the following scaffolds with Respond to the Text. For example:
• Beginning: Point to the photos and ask: What can the boy see? Help partners name items in the image and help them answer using a sentence frame.
• Intermediate: Provide a model: The boy can see the mop. Have partners point to the image and describe using: The boy can see the mop.
• Advanced/Advanced High: Have partners name all of the things the boy can see. Have them use complete sentences while speaking and point to the text to show evidence."
• Unit 2, Week 2, Enrichment Opportunities for Gifted and Talented Students, Beyond Level, small group lessons include suggestions for additional activities in the following areas to extend learning opportunities for gifted and talented students: Evaluate - ”Have children think of other kinds of art that could be included in a book about shapes. Ask them to think about what shapes they would see in the art.” Extend - ”Have children share with partners their idea for another kind of art that uses shapes.”
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. These suggestions are provided to meet the range of learners: 
• Students examine the genre.
• Use skills of visualization. “Think Aloud: I read that the dinosaur might make a big fuss. I see his big feet and tail in the picture. I picture in my mind the dinosaur running and yelling to catch the bus. I imagine that he is loud and so heavy that the ground shakes! Now I can see how he makes a big fuss.”
• Find key details. “Identify key ideas and details about following rules.” 
• Use an anchor chart to record ideas.
• ELL - “pages 6–7, Make a big fuss: Point to the picture of the dinosaur. Act out how the dinosaur is making a fuss by stomping. Say: I am making a fuss. Have children join you in the action and say the phrase.”
• ACT (Access Complex Text) “The book is divided into two parts: questions and statements. Point out that on pages 5–24 all the sentences are questions. The questions are asking if the dinosaurs are behaving badly at school. “No” is the answer to all of these questions. The rest of the book tells about how the dinosaurs really act at school.” 
• ELL - focus on language both figurative and literal with a connection to student’s daily life. (e.g., “right ahead of the bell” and “interrupt”). 
• Finding key details using illustrations - “How does the teacher feel? (The teacher is angry that the dinosaur is roaring out of turn.) How do you know? (She has an angry face in the illustration.) Encourage children to look for clues in the illustration to support their response.”
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 1, Teacher Edition, oral vocabulary routines provide visual vocabulary cards to assist visual learners. 
• In Unit 7, Week 2, ELL Scaffold, provides a guided practice of using category vocabulary words in a sentence. The teacher uses the photo card to model comparing two pets. The materials state, “A turtle has a shell, a mouse does not have a shell. Both a turtle and mouse have four legs.” The Teacher Edition prompts the teacher to have students use their pet word in a sentence.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Teacher Edition, along the left side column “teach in small group” is listed as an option of the teacher to teach the word work in a small group.

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

Kindergarten materials provide opportunities for all students to engage with grade-level text. Sidebar supports are provided to ensure that students are supported during lessons. ELL scaffolding and support is provided throughout all the units. Lessons also provide additional instruction on new skills at the end of each unit for small group work, reteaching, and differentiated instruction. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, Teacher Edition, after students are presented the Talk About It lesson, ELL scaffolding is provided. The teacher asks partners to tell what they see in the photo as they point to it. The teacher models by saying: “I see a drum.” For intermediate support, the teacher asks partners to describe what the children are doing. “What is the boy doing? He is playing a drum.” This process is repeated for the words girl and maracas. For Advanced/Advanced High students, the teacher encourages partners to use complete sentences as they talk about the photo. “What kind of sound does a drum make? Is it loud or soft?”
• In Unit 4, Week 3, Day 2. English Language Learner Scaffold. Beginner ELL - The teacher reviews the position word on by demonstrating the crayon on the chair. Intermediate ELL - Partners demonstrate the word up by moving the crayon up. The teacher calls out another position word for partners to demonstrate. Advanced ELL - Students describe how they move the crayon.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 1, Small Group/Differentiated Instruction, Approaching Level, Leveled Reader, The Rain by Frankie Hartley,  includes the following lesson:
• Preview and predict skill - Students look at the illustrations and “describe what they see. Ask: What kind of weather is it? How do you think the children feel?”
• Set the purpose for reading - Remind children of the Essential Question: "What happens in different kinds of weather?” 
• Use think-alouds to model the skill for the students. “Think Aloud: As I read pages 2 and 3, I see that the rain starts out as a few drops on page 2. On page 3, there are more drops. The text tells me that the dog and the chick are fast. I will keep reading to see what happens next.”
• Use the retell strategy to make connections with the text. “Retell: Have children take turns retelling the story. Help them make a personal connection by asking: Have you ever been caught in the rain? What happened?”

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

Kindergarten materials provide options for extensions and more advanced opportunities. The small group/differentiated instruction section provides lessons with a leveled reader appropriate for the group’s needs. Checks for Success are present throughout each unit. The teacher is then given guidance on extensions for students who are On Level or Beyond Level. Beyond level differentiated instruction is provided for small group instruction. Sidebars are provided for Gifted and Talented Learners to further advance instruction.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Small Group, Beyond Level, Leveled Reader, I See a Bug! by Susanna Fallon, Evaluate: The teacher has students recall the different bugs in the story. Ask: "Which are bugs you know about? What do you know about them? Where have you seen these bugs?” The teacher then “challenges children to think of other bugs they might find in a backyard setting.” Extend: The teacher has “children make a chart of bugs they know about. Have them include the name of each bug, a short description, and a picture they’ve drawn.”
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Gifted and Talented tab, students read the leveled reader, Cal’s Busy Week. Evaluate: The teacher has children think about the places they visit during the week. Children are challenged to explain what the week is like for them. Extend: Children create a comic strip of things they did on each day of the week.
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 3, Teacher Edition, Checks for Success are provided. “Can children blend phonemes to form words and match /d/ to Dd? Can children read and recognize the high-frequency word?” For students who are able to master this task, an On Level or Beyond Level extension is provided. For On Level students the teacher is instructed to review pages T474-T476. For students who are Beyond Level, the teacher is guided to extend the concept using page T480.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, the teacher introduces synonyms to advanced students using the gradual release method. The teacher models with the words safe and celebration. The teacher and students write sentences using the new words, safe and celebration. Then partners write a short poem about an animal family using the words safe and celebration. Extend: The teacher has students plan and act out short plays about staying safe in bad weather.

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

Kindergarten materials provide opportunities for students to collaborate and communicate about the topic and tasks at hand. There are a wide range of whole class tasks, but there are also many opportunities for small group and partner work to help students have collaborative conversations.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Whole Group, Literature Big Book, Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep! Listen to the City by Robert Burleigh, teachers are able to group students according to their levels of reading for reading groups.  Differentiated Reading for Approaching Level and English Language Learners: After reading, have children listen to the selection to develop comprehension.” Directions for Beyond Level students were not provided. Students meet in their groups for small group instruction.  Small groups can be organized by four levels that are determined based on the formal and informal assessments: On-level, Approaching Level, Beyond Level, and English Language Learner. In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 2, Grammar, Talk About It , partners work together to orally generate sentences with adjectives. Encourage them to describe objects in the classroom.
• In Unit 7. Week 1, Day 1, Listening Comprehension, the whole class reads the Literature Big Book, Zooborns. The teacher asks story comprehension questions.
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 2, Whole group, Grammar, Students work in pairs using target vocabulary to write sentences. “Have children work with partners to generate sentences about where they eat, sleep, play, ride their bikes, read, watch TV, go for walks, and so on. Encourage them to use the words in, out, on, off, and by in their sentences.”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that digital materials (either included as supplementary to a textbook or as part of a digital curriculum) are web-based, compatible with multiple internet browsers (eg. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.), “platform-neutral” (ie., Windows and Apple and are not proprietary to any single platform), follow universal programming style, and allow the use of tablets and mobile devices.

Kindergarten materials are web-based, compatible with multiple browsers and are platform-neutral. The digital materials function without incident on Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Safari. Apple products and Window products can access the digital materials. Mobile devices are also able to open and access the functionality of the digital materials. Games were not accessible on mobile devices. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, page 14, “there are digital tools that can enhance and support student learning as well. Program core texts, such as the Shared Read, authentic Anchor Texts, Paired Texts, and Leveled Readers, are all provided in a multi-sensory eBook format that includes audio to support struggling readers and mark-up tools to support students in interacting with the text.”
• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, page 103, there is a picture of a student using an iPad. The materials mention that students can record Super Summaries digitally.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials support effective use of technology to enhance student learning, drawing attention to evidence and texts as appropriate. 

The materials contain digital documents of the Teacher Editions, Reading/Writing Companion, Readers, Vocabulary  Image Cards, and Games. The Resource Library includes projectable classroom materials for use during lessons. Also included in the digital section are Fluency Packets multimedia support for each unit. The Teacher Edition includes references of when digital tools are available and how they can be used within a lesson. The materials for each lesson are Smartboard compatible and the links for the digital version of the students’ Reading/Writing Companion can be found in each lesson. This allows the teacher to annotate and model how to use the text. Cloud Reader, a digital platform for the Leveled Texts, Literature Anthologies, and Reading/Writing Companion, also allows teachers to model annotating text.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that digital materials include opportunities for teachers to personalize learning for all students, using adaptive or other technological innovations.

Kindergarten materials include technological innovations that allow for teachers to customize weekly lessons for whole group instruction and for individual students. Teachers set the school calendar in the online platform which determines what students access in their online dashboards each day. Teachers can customize beyond that for individual students by assigning specific practice pages and texts at specific reading levels to individual students to access online.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Digital materials include a digital planning guide that provides step-by-step lesson plans and online materials that include additional support in differentiated instruction. Units combine reading, writing, speaking, and listening in a digital environment that engage students. There are also digital guides for assessment, remediation and supplemental materials to personalize learning for students.
• Texts that are in the Reading/Writing Companion and the Interactive Read-Aloud have audio features that the teacher can play for the students. 
• Teachers are able to edit their class assignments by English Language Learner, On Level, Beyond Level, and Approaching Level.
• Beginning readers are able to use a pictorial login.
• In the Assignment Manager digital tab on the website, teachers can create assignments for students tailored to what the students need. Teachers can edit and copy existing assignments and monitor student submissions. The teacher can create student mailboxes to manage student assignments.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials can be easily customized for local use.

Kindergarten materials provide Teach it Your Way to customize the resource. This resource can be used if the focus of the district’s instructional plan is to include other research-based practices not explicitly followed in the Wonders materials. Teachers and/or the school district can also determine if lessons will follow a Core Pathway option, due to time constraints or other needs. The Core Pathway is an abbreviated version of the curriculum that covers all tested skills but omits some optional lessons. Teachers and or school districts can determine the order of lessons, the number of days used to teach each genre study, and what practice materials are available to students online. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Wonders Teach it Your Way format is referenced in the digital support videos and in the teacher resources entitled Teach It Your Way Daily 5, Teach It Your Way Blending Learning Station Routine, and Teach It Your Way Workshop Reading/Workshop Writing. These resources provide tips and templates to customize the Wonders program to fit these instructional frameworks. 
• Teachers have the ability to customize their lesson plans by moving and removing lessons or adding their own resources. This is done from the Weekly Planner view of the Resource Library.
• Teachers can automatically activate the Core Pathway by going to the Planner Options button in the middle of the screen. A gear icon in the lesson title can restore individual lessons after activating the Core Pathway. The printed Teacher Edition clearly shows which parts of the lesson plan are core and which are optional. 
• The digital lesson planner allows for teachers to customize lesson plans. For example, the teacher can drag and drop lessons on the planner to move them forward to another day or use the gear icon to move lessons to the Holding Bin and decide later when to use them. Teachers can also add their own digital resources as well as add their own notes to lessons. In the center of the Weekly Planner, teachers can select the Customize drop-down menu and select Add Note to insert notes.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials include or reference technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other (e.g. websites, discussion groups, webinars, etc.).

Kindergarten materials provide routines and opportunities for students to collaborate and discuss with peers. Teachers can create Talk About it discussions for students’ collaboration in the student digital materials, by posting discussion questions to which students post responses.  The materials provide students with daily opportunities to work together and discuss their choices through the use of online interactive lessons.   

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 5, Week 2, Grammar: Pronouns, students work together to complete the interactive grammar activity on pronouns.  There are four sentences that the students complete before checking their answers. “Listen to each sentence. Then listen to each word. Choose the pronoun that completes the sentence. ______ go to school.”  Student choices are I or Walk. Within the To Do section of the Student Edition, assignments for students to complete appear once the teacher has assigned them. The binder includes a student work area for notes, resources, writing notebook, audio recordings, response to reading, worksheets, and worktext, when assigned by the teacher.