The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics (or, for grades 6-8, topics and/or themes) to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.

Grade 6 materials provide opportunities for students to engage with texts organized into genre studies. Each genre study is a collection of texts that are organized around an essential question and topic. The instructional framework for reading the texts begins with students listening to an interactive read-aloud about the topic to build background knowledge. Then students participate in a shared reading of the topic before completing a close read of the anchor text on the topic. Students also read more texts to support answering the essential question through a paired selection to the anchor text. At times, this paired selection may also be a different genre than the study focus to demonstrate how other types of texts can also help to build knowledge. Differentiated texts for small group instruction are also related to the genre study topic as well. There are also suggested books to put in the classroom library that align to the topic.

Texts are connected by an appropriate topic that helps students answer the essential question of the unit. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Genre Study 2, the essential question is “What was life like for people in ancient cultures?” Students read and write about various cultural practices and what life was like for people in ancient cultures. Some of the texts in this unit to build knowledge include:

  • “The Special Guest” (unknown author): a historical fiction interactive read-aloud about a boy from a wealthy Chinese family living in the Eastern Han Empire during the reign of Emperor Mingdi.

  • “Yaskul’s Mighty Trade” (unknown author): this historical fiction text is a shared read about the importance of trade along the Silk Road in the ancient Kushan Empire.

  • “Roman Diary” by Richard Platt and illustrated by David Parkins: a historical fiction anchor text about the experiences of a young slave girl in ancient Rome.

  • “The Genius of Roman Aqueducts” (unknown author): the paired selection expository text that explains how Romans were able to bring water into their city.

  • Egyptian Diary by Richard Platt and Trouble in Timbuktu by Cristina Kessler: books recommended for independent reading.

• In Unit 4, Genre Study 2, the essential question is “When are decisions hard to make?” Students read dramas and expository text exploring people making hard decisions.

  • “Treasure in the Attic” (unknown author): a shared reading drama “about a decision that two cousins need to make when they discover a long-lost family heirloom.” 

  • “The Case of the Magic Marker Maker” by Rene Saldana: the anchor text which is a drama about a young detective who has to make some tough decisions. 

  • “Dramatic Decisions: Theater Through the Ages” (unknown author): an expository text exploring how drama has been used as a platform for difficult decisions through history. 

  • Mixed Messages (unknown author): a leveled reader that explores a hard decision and is written as a three-act play.

  •  Decisions (unknown author): a leveled reader drama about a girl who has to make a decision about babysitting. 

  • The Missing Swimsuit (unknown author): a four-act leveled reader drama about a missing swimsuit and making a hard decision. 

  • Something Fishy (unknown author): a four-act leveled reader drama that explores the essential question of a character making a hard decision. 

• In Unit 6, Genre Study 1, students focus on informational texts and text features to answer the essential question, “How have people used natural resources?” 

  • “Technology in the Ground” (unknown author): an interactive read aloud that explains how much of our current technology depends on metals found deep in the earth. The text also explains the challenge of retrieving the metals and the growing demand for these elements across the globe. 

  • “The Fortune of Fragrance” (unknown author): the shared read text that explains how humans learned to extract aromas from natural elements to create a successful fragrance market. 

  • “The Story of Salt” by Mark Kurlansky: this anchor text teaches students about the historical importance of salt. It explores how salt helped build ancient civilizations and empires as well as encouraged scientific discoveries.

  • “The Not-so Golden Touch” (unknown author): this satirical myth explores how human judgment and values about resources such as gold can be faulty.

  • The Spice Trade by David Murphy: a leveled reader about the historical supply and demand of the spice trade.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.

Grade 6 materials provide opportunities for students to analyze text through sequenced questioning. Students analyze texts through discussion, writing, and multiple reads. Questions generally begin with a focus on key ideas and details to help students later address the author's use of language or word choice, craft, and structure.

For most texts, students analyze language and/or the author's word choice. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Weeks 1–2, after reading “Into the Volcano” by Donna O’Meara, students answer the question “How do the author’s specific word choices impact the meaning and tone of this section?” Students reread page 19 in the Literature Anthology and answer “How do the author’s real-life experiences and descriptive language broaden your understanding of volcanoes?”

• In Unit 3, Week 1–2, after students read an excerpt of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidtt, the teacher directs the students to go back and reread the excerpt and answer the question, “In Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, what tone did Gary D. Schmidt create by using vivid verbs to describe Turner’s experiences?” 

• In Unit 5, Week 5, students read “Tools of the Explorer’s Trade” from Time for Kids. Students respond to the question, “How does the author feel about the use of the North Star and the astrolabe as a navigational tool?”  Then students discuss how the author’s word choice helps the reader understand the point of view. Materials provide the teacher with specific phrases from the text to monitor the student responses. 

For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 5, students read “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelly and practice the skill of identifying the theme by using key details. To help build the skill, students answer the questions: “What details tell what happened to the statue of Ozymandias?” and “What message do these details help the poet convey?”

• In Unit 3, Week 5, after students read “Make Your City Green” (unknown author), students reread paragraph 2 and answer the questions: “According to the author, what is the difference between modern and outdated buildings?” and “What benefits of a green rooftop does the author include?”

• In Unit 5, Weeks 3–4, students complete a shared read of “Journey to Freedom” (unknown author). During the reading, students stop after specified paragraphs to discuss and track key details as they answer a series of questions including the following: “ Why does father scold Abigail? “How does Abby feel about her meeting with Mr. Carrington?” “Why does Abby tell Mr. Carrington that the herbs were for a cake?”

For most texts, students analyze craft and structure. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Weeks 3–4, students read “Little Blog on the Prairie” by Cathleen Davitt Bell and illustrated by Craig Orback, and answer questions, such as “How does the author use Gen’s text messages to help you understand how she is dealing with her new experience?” 

• In Unit 4, Week 1–2, as students read “She Had to Walk Before She Could Run” (unknown author), they look at a photograph and the table in the texts to respond to the following question: “How does the photograph support the information in the table?” Then students discuss “Why did the author include the table instead of giving the information in a paragraph.”

• In Unit 6, Weeks 3–4, students complete a shared read of “Messages in Stone and Wood” (unknown author). In the Author’s Craft section, students answer the following question: “How [is] this heading formatted differently from the others in the selection?” After students notice the quotation marks in the heading, they then answer this question: “What does this tell you about the author’s purpose for this section?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

Grade 6 materials provide opportunities for students to engage with texts and text-dependent questions that help build knowledge. All lessons include sequenced sets of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge. 

Sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas in single texts across the year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, students read " The Democracy Debate" (unknown author) and answer questions such as: “How did Aristotle believe a democracy should be run?” “How do Cicero’s ideas help you formulate a question that you would like to answer?” Students also answer the following question: “How are Cicero’s ideas about democracy different from those of Socrates?”

• In Unit 3, Week1–2, students read a personal narrative, “Confronting a Challenge” (unknown author) and answer a series of questions including, but not limited to the following:  “What is the narrator’s challenge? How does the author show how the narrator changes from the beginning of the story to the end? How can a role model help someone overcome challenges?”

• In Unit 4, Week 3-4, students read the drama, The Case of the Magic Marker Mischief Maker by Rene Saldana and answer a series of questions including, but not limited to the following:  “What do the stage directions tell you about how Mickey feels? How does the author use what the characters say to create dialogue? Why does Mrs. Abrego say it was easy to jump to conclusions about Buncho? What does Mickey say when Principal Abrego asks him, ‘Can you help me?’ How does the author use what Buncho says to help you understand Bucho’s character?”

• In Unit 6, Weeks 3–4, students read the informational text, “Pharaoh's Boat” (unknown author).  During reading, students answer a sequence of questions, such as: “How does the author help you understand Mallakh’s feeling of history?” and “How does the author help you understand Ahmed’s struggle to rebuild the ancient ship?” After reading, students summarize and analyze what they have read to answer the following question: “Why does the author include the history of pharaohs and their importance to Egyptian culture?”

Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, students read “Into the Volcano” and “The Volcano Lady“ by Donna O’Meara. Students use notes taken from multiple texts to answer the essential question, “How do natural forces affect Earth?” Students discuss what they have learned from each text about how erupting volcanoes continue to change the landscape of planet Earth. Then students write in response to the following prompt that integrates ideas from two texts and a photograph: “How is the way the artist uses color and technique to paint the ocean similar to the way Donna O’Meara uses words and phrases to describe volcanoes in the selections you read this week?”

• In Unit 4, Week 5, students read the poem, “Primer Lesson” by Carl Sandburg and the poem, “If I can stop one Heart from breaking” by Emily Dickinson. When reading “Primer Lesson” students answer this question: “How does the descriptive language...help you understand the poem’s message?” Then while reading  “If I can stop one Heart from breaking” students respond to the following question: “How does the language indicate the speaker’s feelings?” After reading both poems, students answer these questions: “What are these two poems saying about responsibility?” and “How are these poems similar to others you have read about being answerable for your actions?” 

• In Unit 5, Week 2, students complete reading the anchor text, Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann and complete a writing prompt about how the author uses text features to help the reader understand the importance of the innovation of maize. Then, students read the paired selection, “Looking Back to Move Forward,” which focuses on how ancient medicinal practices can inform modern science and innovation. After answering a series of questions that highlight key details in the paired selection, students analyze and compare the texts through the lens of the essential question, “How do people benefit from innovation?” Then, students use the notes they took to demonstrate how both texts are similar and different.

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

Culminating tasks provide opportunities throughout the program for students to show what they know and are able to do. Students complete writing prompts or similar tasks after reading the shared read and anchor text in each Genre Study. At the end of each Genre Study, students complete a Show What you Learned task to make connections across all the readings in that study. Students discuss the prompt with a partner, find text evidence, and finally demonstrate their knowledge on an independent writing task.

Culminating tasks of quality are evident across a year’s worth of material. Tasks are supported with coherent sequences of text-dependent questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, the Genre Study focuses on realistic fiction that helps answer the essential question, “How do new experiences offer new perspectives?” Throughout this Genre Study, students read realistic fiction texts, such as “Little Blog on the Prairie,” “Cow Music,” and “The Writing on the Wall” to respond to this essential question. Students answer text-based questions and complete tasks such as graphic organizers that help them better understand how characters interact and authors use imagery. For the culminating task at the end, students make text connections between the anchor text and the paired text by answering the question, “How is the sculptor in the photograph using art to share a perspective in the same way that the characters do in ‘Little Blog on the Prairie’ and ‘The Writing on the Wall’?” Using a checklist as a guide for a successful presentation, students are expected to rehearse their presentation, present ideas in a logical sequence, speak slowly and clearly using persuasive tone and expression, and engage directly with the audience by making eye contact and answering questions. 

• In Unit 3, Week 5, the Genre Study focuses on argumentative texts to answer the essential question, “What steps can people take to promote a healthier environment?” Students read several argumentative texts throughout the unit to answer this question and engage in discussing the texts with a partner and writing about them. Students read texts with environmental themes including, but not limited to the following:  “Make Your City Green,” “Stewards of the Environment,” and “Modern Transit for an Ancient City.” As students read “Make Your City Green,” students discuss questions to support the essential question including, but not limited to the following:  “Why are native plants good for the environment?” and “How are citizens of green cities solving the problem of imported plants?” Students write a response to the prompt, “How does the author try to persuade the reader that it is possible to create a modern green city?” Students write a persuasive article of their own about an environmental topic of their choosing. The culminating task in the Show What you Learned section requires students to write a final response that synthesizes knowledge about what steps they can take to promote a healthier environment.

• In Unit 5, Weeks 1–2, the Genre Study focuses on expository informational text and text features to answer the essential question, “How do people benefit from innovation?” Students read texts about ancient technology and innovating moves that changed the world. These texts include “The Science of Silk,” Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491,” and “Looking Back to Move Forward.” After studying how text features help the reader in “The Science of Silk,” students answer the prompt, “How does the author help you understand how people benefited from innovations in sericulture and silk production?” Then students read the anchor text, Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 and use cause and effect to identify how the development of maize impacted the growth and culture of ancient Mesoamericans civilizations. After a series of questions during reading, students respond to the prompt, “How does Charles C. Mann use text features and organization of this selection to help you understand how people benefited from the innovation of maize?” Students then read the paired selection text, “Looking Back to Move Forward” and work more independently on analyzing how text features support reader comprehension. Then, to wrap up the unit, students use the anchor text as a model research report to begin planning their own research report on another innovation from a historical civilization. In the Show What You Learned section, students also demonstrate what they have learned about innovation across the Genre Study. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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. 

Grade 6 materials provide students the opportunity to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts and contexts. Students interact with vocabulary through practice exercises, reading in context, word families, and affixes. The Teacher Edition offers daily recommendations in the Expand Vocabulary Students to help students engage with the unit vocabulary. Students also keep track of their vocabulary words in Build Your Word List in their Writing Notebook. Students complete vocabulary tasks in the Reading Writing Companion and End-of-Unit assessments on the vocabulary strategy. Materials provide teacher guidance in the form of videos, articles, and a handbook. Materials introduce different academic vocabulary and other vocabulary words during the week. Materials also provide a vocabulary development component in the Tier 2 Intervention Vocabulary Teacher Edition booklet. This booklet includes Teach/Model sections to help support vocabulary instruction and also suggests routines found in the Instructional Routine Handbook.

Students complete vocabulary tasks before reading, while reading, and after reading. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Instructional Routine Handbook, teacher guidance includes a three-step routine, Define/Example/Ask, that can be used throughout the year to utilize the Visual Vocabulary Cards. Visual Vocabulary Cards are used in each unit. 

  • Use the Visual Vocabulary Cards to introduce new vocabulary words. Follow the instructions on the back of the card. For example,

    • 1. Define: Define the word in simple, student-friendly language.

      • To cooperate is to work together to get something done.

    • 2. Example: Provide an example of how the word in a meaningful sentence, relevant to students’ lives.

      • I cooperate with my sister to clean our room.

    • 3. Ask: Ask questions that require students to apply the word. They can give an example or explanation, or identify a synonym or antonym.

      • How do you and your family cooperate to get jobs done?

• In Unit 2, Week 3, students read “Yaskul’s Mighty Trade.” (unknown author) The teacher introduces words in context and provides instruction for identifying the denotation and connotation of words. On Day 1, students work in pairs to decide whether the connotation of tossed, little, and shrewd from “Yaskul’s Mighty Trade” is more positive or negative. On another day, students talk about targeted vocabulary words, such as exotic and write about the exotic animals they might find at a zoo.

• In Unit  3, Week 1, the teacher uses the Visual Vocabulary cards to introduce a set of eight vocabulary words to students. Students then practice using context clues to figure out the meaning of each word. Throughout the unit, students complete a daily vocabulary task with these words. For example on Day 6, the teacher displays the words context and achieve. After defining and discussing these two words, the teacher displays the word context and contextual. Students then work with a partner to look up additional words with the same root and discuss their meaning. 

• In Unit 4, Weeks 1–2, as students read Seeing Things His Own Way by Marty Kaminsky, students add the words blizzard and treacherous along with a definition to the Build Vocabulary section in their Writer's Notebook. 

• In Unit 6, Week 5, during Day 2 of the Expand Vocabulary section, teachers “help students generate different forms of this week’s words by adding, changing, or removing inflectional endings.” The suggested process for teachers is as follows:

  • Draw a T-chart on the board. Write incentive in the first column. Then write incentives in the second column. 

  • Have students share sentences using each word form. 

  • Students can add to the chart doing the same for horizons, and then share sentences using the different forms of the word. 

  • Have students copy the chart into their Writer's Notebook.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan to support students’ increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.

Grade 6 materials provide students the opportunity to write and respond to texts throughout the year. Within each unit, teachers prepare students for a specific writing task. Students read texts in the same genre as the writing task to prepare for their own writing. In addition, throughout the unit, students take notes and respond to questions by analyzing texts in the Reading/Writing Companion and in the Writer’s Notebook. Students write in their Writer’s Notebooks each day. Students respond to prompts, check their writing during independent time and make necessary revisions, write pieces they choose themselves, use freewriting and mapping to generate ideas, and write responses to reading to deepen their understanding. A digital writer’s notebook is offered as well.  As students progress through the units, they write longer pieces with more complex prompts that meet grade-specific standards as they work through the steps of the writing process. Materials include supports, such as student models and instructional videos. Guidance also encourages teachers to review students’ work and give feedback at any time.

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

• In Unit 3, students read realistic fiction texts and write a realistic fiction narrative. Students write in their Reading Writing Companion while reading in response to questions and tasks. Examples that support their development as writers include:

  • In Week 1, Day 1, students engage in a shared reading, “Facing the Storm” (unknown author), and respond to the reading by summarizing the text and “including details about how Isabel changes by the end of the story.” 

  • In Week 1, Days 3–6 students read an excerpt from Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt. While reading students collect text evidence on a Theme Chart that they use to answer “How does Gary D. Schmidt use Turner's encounter with the whale to help you understand the message of the story?”

  • In Week 1, Day 5, students examine a model and create an anchor chart of a realistic fiction story and begin planning their own story on Day 6 and Day 7. 

  • In Week 1, Days 7–8, students read “Confronting a Challenge” (unknown author) and write about how the setting of the story advanced the plot.

  • In Week 2, Days 8–9, students begin to draft their realistic fiction story. Materials include writing lessons on narrative elements, including point of view and developing characters. 

  • In Week 3, Day 6, students participate in a lesson on word choice and receive time to read and revise their draft. Materials provide students with some questions to evaluate their draft for word choice and mood. 

  • In Week 3, Day 7 students peer edit by using a routine for peer editing. Students also use the Revision Checklist in the Reading/Writing Companion.. 

  • In Week 4, Days 8–9, students edit and proofread their work using the Edition Checklist in the Reading/Writing Companion. 

  • In Week 4, Day 10, students present their writing by creating a class anthology of their stories. 

• In Unit 5, Weeks 5–6, students read and analyze argumentative texts and practice analytical writing to write their own opinion essay. Students write in their Reading/Writing Companion while reading and responding to questions and tasks. Examples that support their development as writers include:

  • In Week 5, Days 1–2 students complete a shared read of “Tools of the Explorer’s Trade.” After summarizing the text, students analyze the use of text features and the author's point of view in the text before responding to the writing prompt, “How does the author use text organization and text features to convey how navigational technology has evolved over time?” 

  • In Week 5, Day 3, students read the anchor text, “Out of this World” by Time for Kids, again focusing on analyzing the use of text features and the author's point of view. They respond to the prompt, “How does the author use text features to help you understand the evolving technology used in the space program?”

  • In Week 5, Day 4, students read the paired text selection, “Space Shuttles on the Move” by Time for Kids. As they analyze the text structure, students focus on a series of questions, such as the following:  “How does the author present a solution to the problem posed in the first paragraph?” and “How does the second paragraph convey this solution was a good idea?” Then, students connect the text features with the question, “How does the caption offer further support for the solution?”

  • In Week 5, Days 4–5, students study “Save our Planet” from the Literature Anthology as an expert model to help them plan their opinion essay about who they believe should be in charge of space exploration. They then begin planning and writing the draft. 

  • In Week 6, Day 3, students edit and proofread their opinion essay. 

  • In Week 6, Days 4–5, students publish and present their essays as well as evaluate their own writing using their Presenting Checklist in the Reading/Writing Companion.

Instructional materials include well-designed lesson plans, models, and protocols for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 4, Day 6, students conduct a peer review with a four-step routine. Materials provide sentence starters, such as the following: “I enjoyed this part of your draft because...” or "To clarify this idea, you could add supporting details that…” The routine, which is an important aspect of the writing process, engages students in providing constructive feedback and involves the following steps:

  • “Step 1: Listening attentively as the writer reads his or her work aloud.

  • Step 2: Beginning feedback with a positive comment about the writing.

  • Step 3: Asking a thoughtful question to get the writer to think critically about the writing.

  • Step 4: Offering suggestions that will help strengthen the writing.”

• In Unit 3, Week 4, Days 7–10, the Reading/Writing Companion includes a Revision Checklist and an Editing Checklist for students to use to improve their writing. Materials also provide rubrics, and students evaluate their own writing using the rubrics. 

• In Unit 6, students plan, draft, revise, and publish a research report. At the end of Week 2, students use their Reading/Writing Companion to help them plan their topic. Materials include a Topic/Example/Detail Graphic Organizer to guide students’ planning. Students then review the assignment rubric so that they know what features are important to write an effective research report. During the planning, students also examine page 124 of their Reading/Writing Companion, which shares a list of questions students should ask when evaluating sources.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.

Research projects are sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills appropriate for the grade level. Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge on a topic via provided resources. The Instructional Routines Handbook states that the Research and Inquiry Lessons have a suggested outline to use for projects throughout each unit/Genre Study. This routine includes:

1. “Set Research Goals: Introduce the project and clearly identify the research focus and end product. During this time, students may generate inquiry questions, assign roles to group members, and/or create a research plan.

2. Identify Sources: Brainstorm and identify reliable sources, such as texts read in class, digital media, print sources, and interviews with experts.

3. Find and Record Information: Guide students as they search for relevant information from their sources. Ensure they take notes from various sources, find answers to their inquiry questions, and record information so they can cite their sources.

4. Organize: Help students review and analyze the information they have gathered. They should identify the most useful information by annotating or highlighting their notes, using a graphic organizer to sort and clarify categories of related information, and identifying any areas where they need further information.

5. Synthesize and Present: Guide students to synthesize their information and create the research product. Then have them plan how to best present their work and they may include audio and/or visual displays to enhance presentations. Before presenting, students check that key ideas are included in the presentation and they rehearse the presentation.”

Specific examples of research projects throughout the year as well as the skills taught include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Genre Study 3, students create a news report about a major economic downturn in U.S. history. This research project focuses on learning to generate and clarify questions about a topic. The project lasts for two weeks and includes details about the causes and effects of the downturn, as well as how the crisis was resolved. Students discuss their research plan and shared responsibilities. 

• In Unit 2, Genre Study 2, students learn how to distinguish between credible and noncredible sources of information by finding relevant information directly connected to the topic they are researching in those sources. Students create a journal entry of a person from an ancient civilization. In this two-week research project, students combine facts from their research about the civilization with creative ideas about the person’s feelings and point of view, using appropriate pronouns. Groups discuss their research plan and shared responsibilities.

• In Unit 3, Genre Study 2, students begin a research project in order to demonstrate the synthesis of a topic. The teacher models with the text, “Jewels from the Sea.” Then each pair or group selects a “craft made by a cultural, ethnic, or geographic group of people.” The final product is a formatted, foldable pamphlet. Students use a research process to complete this project: Step 1: Set Research Goals, Step 2: Locate Relevant Information, Step 3: Record Information, Step 4: Synthesize, and Step 5: Present. 

• In Unit 4, Genre Study 3, students conduct research into a volunteer organization that interests them and use that research to practice using proper conventions in writing a formal email. Students brainstorm and research with a partner, gather and record their findings, and then craft a formal email asking for more information from the organization and how to join it. 

• In Unit 5, Genre Study 2, students research the National Museum of African American History and Culture and select an exhibit from the museum. Over a two-week period, students practice the skill of paraphrasing as they plan, create, and revise a pamphlet with visual elements about the exhibit they chose. 

• In Unit 6, Genre Study 1 and 2, students study an expert model of a research report to prepare to write, revise, and publish one of their own. In Genre Study 1, after reading multiple texts on how people have used natural resources past and present, students choose a spice to research. After choosing their sources, students then plan and write a rough draft. During Genre Study 2 students complete peer conferences, edit and proofread their work, and then, publish and present their work to their peers. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

Grade 6 materials provide opportunities for students to read independently in and out of class. The materials include accountability in the form of independent reading responses and a reading log. In addition, there are also steps for an independent reading routine that provides guidance for teachers. There are many opportunities for independent reading to occur throughout the day. The publisher suggests that students spend a total of 30–40 minutes participating in independent reading each day, and this includes both whole class texts, as well as independent book choices during small group time. Materials provide a bibliography in each unit and genre study for independent reading book choices that align to the topic and/or genre that students are reading in whole group lessons. In addition, materials include a School-To-Home letter each week that provides information for families on children reading at home.

Examples include, but are not limited to: 

• In the Instructional Routine Handbook, materials provide an independent reading routine for students to follow while the teacher works with groups or confers with individuals. The steps in the routine include:

  • “Select a book that interests you. Check the book to make sure it is the one you want to read (teachers should teach students the five finger rule to help students determine if the book is just right).

  • Read the book each day during Independent Reading time. Use the skills and strategies that you have been working on.

  • Think about what you’re reading. Use Thinking Codes to record your thoughts or write about them in your Writer’s Notebook.

  • 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 of the Instructional Routines Handbook. Using a Reading Log is just one way suggested by the publisher. 

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

  • Begin again! Time to pick a new book!”

Additionally the Instructional Routine Handbook provides guidance on holding Book Talks with students about their Independent Reading selections. The steps in the routine include:

• “Summarize the story. 

• Talk about the parts you liked best.

• Talk about interesting words you found. As I was reading, I wrote down the word, avalanche. It is an interesting word, and at first I didn’t know what it meant. I read on and used context clues to figure it out.

• Take turns asking and answering questions.

• Illustrate your favorite part of the story and tell why it is your favorite part.

• Use the “Steps in a Book Talk” and “Rules for your Book Talk” posters on pages 95 and 96 in the online Teacher Resource Book.”

The Teacher Resource Book also includes a tracking system that provides reading response forms for various genres, such as nonfiction and poetry. Students can also respond in their Writing Notebook without using this form.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.

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. Each unit contains three genre studies and a Unit Overview, which supports the teacher as they plan for instruction. Each unit includes teacher guidance throughout each lesson on implementation of before, during, and after readings and activities, while providing 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. Each individual lesson follows the same structure. For example, for each Genre Study, the lesson cycle begins with key features, a Reading Workshop that includes an essential question, academic vocabulary, a comprehension section that describes strategies and skills, and a phonics and fluency section. There is also a red checkmark notation that lets the teacher know that a particular skill will be tested. 

The Instructional Routines Handbook states, “In Wonders, the routines follow the same sequence of steps every time and slowly transfer the responsibility of the task to the students.” Routines effectively organize instruction, help set clear expectations for students, help teachers scaffold instruction, minimize instructional time and teacher talk, and maximize student participation. Many of the instructional routines are included in the online Model Lessons Video Library.

For each new text, students engage in an interactive read-aloud, a shared read, and an independent read of an anchor text. Lessons, questions, and prompts are sequenced so that the students interact with the text in increasingly more sophisticated ways, moving from a more literal first read to grasp the meaning of the text, followed by a reread with questions about craft and structure, and finally, synthesis and evaluation of ideas and information when reading the Anchor Text with a Paired Text. The questions and prompts are tied to the standards. Students write and collaborate using their Reading/Writing Companion while reading texts. Discussion routines and writing routines are regularly employed throughout each lesson. For example:

• In Unit 4, Genre Study 1, Essential Question: “How do people meet personal challenges?”

  • Interactive Read Aloud: Going the Distance, the teacher models the comprehensive strategy, Reread. The teacher posts the Think Aloud Master 4: “When I read____, I had to reread…” to reinforce how to use the Reread strategy to understand the content. During reading the teacher models this strategy by stating, “I’m not sure what it means to be an endurance runner, I’ll reread this paragraph to find clues about what kinds of races Diane entered.” 

  • Shared Reading: “She Had to Walk Before She Could Run,” after reading paragraphs 2–3, students reread the two paragraphs and answer, “What did Rudolf do after the Olympics?” and then discuss, “...why the author decided to include these details.” 

  • Anchor Text: Seeing Things His Own Way, the teacher models the comprehension strategy, rereading. “The author describes some of the challenges that all mountain climbers face. One way I can check my understanding of these challenges is by rereading.” The students complete a Stop and Check by rereading and answering the question, “How did both planning and practice help Erik to work out the problems his lack of vision caused while mountain climbing.” 

  • Paired Text: “Get Fit for Fun,” students answer the questions: “What simple steps can kids your age take to meet the challenge of staying fit?” and “Why is it important for athletes to follow the rules of good nutrition?” 

• Units and lessons include structures and resources for both whole group and small group differentiated literacy instruction. The lessons and supports for small groups link to the whole group lessons. Leveled Readers and Differentiated Genre Passages are provided at four levels—Approaching, On Level, Beyond, English Language Learners—and students practice applying the skills they used with the Shared and Anchor Text. An example follows:

  • In Unit 4, Genre Study1, On Level Text: Against the Odds (Lexile 940) “Reread to find answers to these questions: What big decision did Jim have to make when he was 18 years old? What did Jim decide?” Students complete a graphic organizer to help them “summarize how Jim Abbott met a personal challenge.”

• In the Plan tab under the Weekly Planner, materials suggest time limits that help the teacher plan for that specific section. Buttons on the right side provide the standards for the day and the objectives. Some of the tasks include suggested time designations next to the headings of the selection in the lesson. For example in Unit 4, Week1, Lesson 1, materials suggest 10 minutes for the Introduce the Genre section of the lesson; however, there is no time suggestion for the Shared Reading section of the lesson.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

For Grade 6 materials, the suggested amount of time and expectations for teachers and students of the materials are viable for one school year as written and would not require significant modifications. The materials include six units, and within each unit are three genre studies. Each unit is designed to span six weeks of instruction and align with approximately 180 instructional days. The sixth week in each unit provides time for review, extension, and assessment opportunities.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1:

  • Genre Study 1: Narrative Nonfiction: Weeks 1–2

  • Genre Study 2: Realistic Fiction: Weeks 3–4

  • Genre Study 3: Argumentative Text: Week 5

  • Week 6: Opportunities for students to review, to extend the learning, and to assess the skills taught in Unit 1.

• In Unit 5:

  • Genre Study 1: Expository Text: Weeks 1–2

  • Genre Study 2: Historical Fiction: Weeks 3–4

  • Genre Study 3: Argumentative Text: Week 5

  • Week 6: Opportunities for students to review, to extend the learning, and to assess the skills taught in Unit 5.

• The Teacher Edition for each unit includes a core option called Suggested Lesson Plan that helps teachers and students focus on the key standards that have to be covered by the end of the year; this pathway ensures that the standards will be covered. The optional pathway includes other standards that can be covered if time allows. Materials include a video that teachers can view that explains the Core Pathway option. The teacher types “core pathway” into the search bar and clicks on the “Using the Core Pathway” video. The User’s Guide assists teachers in understanding both pathways.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.)

Grade 6 materials provide students with opportunities to review and practice, including the Reading/Writing Companion, note takers, leveled readers, anchor text, paired text, graphic organizers, model texts, writing rubrics, checklists, student practice worksheets, additional student reads, suggested library titles, book titles, reading responses, and student learning goals and rubrics.

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

• In Unit 2, Week 1, students learn the compare and contrast reading strategy. Students practice implementing the strategy while students read texts in the Reading/Writing Companion and the Literature Anthology. While reading “The Democracy Debate” (author not cited), a Compare and Contrast call-out in the Reading/Writing Companion includes the following question: “How did Aristotle’s views on democracy differ from Socrates?” Additional questions and tasks regarding the implementation of the compare and contrast strategy appear in the following pages. Additionally, students practice and apply the skill by comparing and contrasting Plato’s and Aristotle’s ideas about government in “The Democracy Debate.” Students use a provided Venn Diagram to help them organize information. While reading “Who Created Democracy” by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge in the Literature Anthology, the teacher supports students to compare and contrast by asking questions, such as: “How were the concerns of poor ancient Greeks similar to those of American colonists? (Both groups were angry over taxes.) How were they different? (Greeks were angry because they had to borrow money if they couldn’t pay their taxes. If they couldn’t pay back their debts, they often had to sell family members into slavery. Colonists were angry that they had to pay taxes without having representation in Parliament.) Compare and contrast the two groups in your organizer.” On Day 3, the Teacher Resource Book provides: 

  • Decodable passages (16–20 titles per unit)

  • Spelling word cards

  • Student Reader Responses

  • Book Talk

  • Speaking and Listening Checklist

• The Practice Book includes materials for students to practice weekly skills (organized by unit) in grammar, phonics, spelling, vocabulary, handwriting. 

• Each unit includes a Shared Read Writing Frames ELL organized by genre. 

• Graphic Organizers for reading and writing include a Venn Diagram, concept map, cluster/word web, compare-contrast matrix, and problem and solution chart.

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

• In Unit 1, Week 4, Day 6, reference aids are labeled correctly. Pages 46–47 of the Reading/Writing Companion include two graphic organizers for students to provide text evidence. The first organizer on page 46 is correctly labeled based on the task directions as Column 1 “Dialogue,” Column 2 “What Happens,” and Column 3 “How Characters Feel.” The task directions are as follows: “What words and phrases tell you how the characters feel? Cite and explain text evidence.” 

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Day 1, page 90 of the Student Practice Book includes clear directions for the spelling pretest. “Fold back the paper along the dotted line. Use the blanks to write each word as it is read aloud.  When you finish the test, unfold the paper. Use the list at the right to correct any spelling mistakes.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.

Grade 6 materials provide Common Core State Standards alignment documentation in the Teacher Edition under “Plan: Weekly Standard.” Each lesson notes standards and includes links to the standards addressed. Additionally, the sequence of questioning and tasks in each lesson are labeled by a CCSS reference such as Key Ideas and Details, Author’s Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, Language, Speaking and Listening, and more. In the Online Assessment data section, teachers have access to multiple assessments including, but not limited to, screening assessments, benchmark assessments, and unit assessments. The Answer Key tables for each of these assessments include the question number, correct answer, content focus, CCSS correlation, and the level of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge for each assessment question and task.

Standards alignment documentation is provided for instruction, questions, and tasks. For example:

• The Online Teacher Edition Resources include a Plan tab, which links to weekly standards. This resource includes the weekly standards that are being taught, including the lesson in which each standard can be found. Standards include Grade Level 6, Language, Reading History/Social Studies, Reading Informational, Reading Literature, Speaking and Listening and Writing. 

• In Unit 1, Week 5, standards alignment links for the lessons include: L.6.4b “Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).” (9 lessons). RH.6-8.3 “Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).” (3 lessons). RI.6.6 “Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.” (27 lessons). RL.6.1 “Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.” (19 lessons). SL.6.1 “Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.” (1 lesson). W.6.4 “Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.”  (2 lessons)

• In Unit 4, Week 4, standards alignment links for the lessons include, but are not limited to: L.6.5a "Identify figures of speech (e.g., personification) in context." (2 lessons) RI.6.1 "Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text." (6 lessons) SL.6.5 "Include multimedia components (e.g. graphics, images, music, sound, and visual displays in presentations to clarify meaning." (1 lesson).

• The Grade 6 Benchmark Assessments Answer Key for Test 3 provides the standards aligned to the Performance Task.  The Narrative Performance Task contains 4 extended questions that are aligned to the following standards: RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.8, RI.6.9, W.6.2, W.6.3a-e, W.6.4, W.6.7, W.6.1, and L.6.2.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

The Teacher Edition is accessible in an interactive format online and in PDF files and provides ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the Student Edition and ancillary materials. The digital Teacher Edition is organized by units, weeks, and days. The Teacher Edition PDF files are grouped by genre studies. Online files needed for presentation, as well as student materials and ancillary materials, are easily accessible in the interactive online Teacher Edition. The Teacher Edition provides direct quotes for the teacher to use in think-alouds and student explanations. Suggestions for implementation and correct answers for student questions and tasks are also found there as well as recommendations labeled Digital Tools that indicate how teachers can incorporate specific digital resources from the publisher. The Teacher Edition also provides guidance labeled Classroom Culture that provides strategies or reminders on building a respectful learning environment.

Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Weeks 1–2, teachers display the online Student Learning Goals for this genre study and read the key concept: Dynamic Earth. Teachers tell students that “they will read expository texts that focus on volcanoes” and “explain that they will explore how natural forces affect Earth and its people and will also talk and write about these effects.” Teachers read the “Essential Question on page viii of the Reading/Writing Companion” and “explain that movement below Earth’s surface affects what happens on the surface of Earth.” Teachers discuss “the photograph of the lava sprays with students” and “explain that volcanic eruptions are dynamic, which means they have forceful energy.” 

• In Unit 3, Weeks 3–4, the teacher introduces the Genre Study through these teacher instructions:  

  • Display the online Student Learning Goal.

  • Tell students that they will read narrative nonfiction that focuses on what can happen when people work together for a cause.

  • Explain that they will explore why working together as a team can be very rewarding and productive, and they will also talk and write about this concept.

  • Have students read the Essential Question. Discuss the photograph with students. 

  • Explain that these volunteers are inspired to use their time and energy to build homes for people who can’t afford them on their own. 

• In Unit 5, Week 1, while reading the anchor text, Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann, materials provide a Connect to Content box in the margin which helps teachers support student inferences and text connections about their learning about maize. Teacher guidance includes, “Maize changed societies around the world. Students may have inferred that the nutritional value of maize and the need for humans to care for its cultivation encouraged the growth of settled societies in Mesoamerica and became a key to their economic life. Students learn that maize changed societies in Europe and Africa. Maize became an important food source, but it also changed economies—and in a way that returned to affect the Americas, as well.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.

The materials provide clear explanations and examples for the teacher to support his/her content knowledge and pedagogy. For example, teachers can access the Instructional Routines Handbook and Teacher Glossary of Terms for adult-level explanations of instructional strategies, routines, literary elements, and other instructional terms. Additionally, assessment concepts are defined in adult terms in the Assessment Handbook. Materials also include a Start Smart Guide which uses Unit 1 in each grade level to help teachers understand the overall lesson structure and purpose for instructional routines that are used throughout the other units. These additional resources provide information to deepen the teacher’s understanding of literacy concepts.

Examples include:

• Adult-level definitions of assessment concepts are provided at the end of the teacher resource titled Assessment Handbook. For example, the following definition for a norm-referenced assessment is found on page 68: “An assessment for which a student’s performance is compared with the performance of other students. Norm-referenced scores do not tell how well or poorly a student did something, just how they did in relation to others. See the example under ‘criterion-referenced assessment.’”

• The Teacher Glossary of Terms provides “...linguistic, grammatical, comprehension, and literary terms that might be helpful in understanding reading instruction. An example definition for close-reading is “a careful rereading of a text to deepen comprehension.”

• The Professional Development category under the Resources drop-down menu, includes a Wonders Basics, Digital Quick Start, Manage Small GroupTime, and Start Smart online component for teachers that explains the aspects of the program. Wonders Basics provides an overview of Wonders. The key components include:

  • Curriculum Design

  • Structure and Resources

  • Classroom Set-up

  • Teacher Materials

• Get to Know Your StudentsThe Start Smart section provided in the Teacher Edition of Unit 1 further explains literacy concepts in adult language. For example, page S10 of the Start Smart section states the following about academic vocabulary to deepen teacher’s understanding: “Using a consistent vocabulary routine ensures students gain the knowledge they need to successfully comprehend texts. Teaching academic vocabulary improves students’ ability to access complex text. General academic vocabulary is composed of words and phrases found in academic texts. Domain-specific academic vocabulary is usually related to a particular field of study.”

  • In Unit 3, Weeks 3–4, students engage in a lesson on voice and tone. The Teacher Edition provides a script for teachers as they explain, model, and engage in guided practice.

  • Explain—Share with students the characteristics of narrative nonfiction. The Teacher Edition provides three characteristics of narrative nonfiction for the teacher to use, “...tells information about real places, and events,... tells the story of a region’s economics…, expresses an author’s point of view or perspective, through a particular voice or tone.”

  • Model—“Point out evidence that shows the author is sympathetic and respectful of the women and their efforts.” Then a section of text evidence is provided for the teacher to use as a model. “Life...had often been hard for them. He also tells how responsible they were.” 

  • Guided Practice—Have students work with a partner to reread paragraph 2 on page 35 and find text evidence that will help them describe the author’s tone and point of view.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

Materials provide references to the standards and lists, including where to locate the standards within the program. Standards are addressed in the Weekly Standards section with links to corresponding lessons. A summary of key research and demonstration of program alignment to the standards is also provided in the Research Base Alignment resource which provides in-depth explanations of how the materials address specific literacy skills and standards within and across grade levels. Publishers indicate that Wonders is designed to meet literacy standards aligned to these key areas: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language, and Media and Technology. Publishers also offer a 5-day and 10-day Priority Instructional Content Guidance which explains how standards and skill categories are met through each type of schedule.

Explanations of the role of the specific standards in the context of the overall curriculum include:

• On page 4 of the Research Base Alignment resource includes this information: Scientific evidence has identified several key processes that should be addressed in literacy programs:

  • Text Comprehension

  • Speaking and Listening

  • Phonological Awareness

  • Phonics and Word Recognition

  • Fluency

  • Vocabulary and Language

  • Conventions of English

  • Writing

  • Social Emotional Learning

• The introductory material of the Instructional Content Guidance documents indicates “Wonders Genre Study in grades 2–6 provide in-depth focus in comprehension skills and strategies with recursive focus on close reading, analytical writing, and critical thinking with specific regard to citation of text evidence between multiple text. This research-based and recursive instructional path provides regular interaction and engagement with text through the gradual release of responsibility model and developmentally appropriate questions, tasks, and outcomes on grade-level standards as well as Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. Wonders explicitly addresses priority standards for Foundational Skills, Informational Text, Literary Texts, Speaking and Listening, and Language through every week of instruction.”

• In the Teacher Edition, each Genre Study begins with an overview of Student Outcomes for each of the standards-aligned sections of instruction also identified in the Research Base Alignment document. For example, on page T205 of Unit 5, Genre Study 3, materials share this list of outcomes, including but not limited to: 

  • Comprehension/Genre/Author’s Craft

    • Cite relevant evidence from text. 

    • Make inferences to support understanding.

    • Identify the author's point of view.

    • Summarize text to monitor comprehension.

    • Analyze author’s use of text structures.

    • Identify and use text features, such as sidebars and graphs.

  • Writing

    • Plan and draft an opinion essay.

    • Write responses that demonstrate understanding.

  • Speaking and Listening 

    • Engage in collaborative discussions.

    • Paraphrase portions of “Where in the World Am I?”

    • Present Information about the development of tools used for space exploration.

  • Language Development

    • Acquire and use academic vocabulary [application, catastrophic, computations, deployed, elevating, magnetic, obsolete, subsequently].

    • Determine the connotation and denotation of words.

    • Compare with good and bad.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research based strategies.

A detailed User Guide that discusses the research behind a balanced literacy approach, guided reading instruction, vocabulary and foundational skills, social-emotional learning, equity and access, and writing is included in the materials. The User Guide includes research and descriptions of the instructional/educational approaches implemented in the program. The Instructional Routines Handbook explains more about the research behind the program and models evidence-based routines for collaborative conversations, word work, reading, writing and grammar, and research and inquiry. This handbook also explains the educational approaches and routines for making learning accessible for students with diverse learning needs and English Language Learners. Additionally, there are resources located in the Professional Development section addressing Equitable Access to Instruction, Universal Design for Learning, and Guiding Principles for Supporting English Learners, and Social Emotional Learning: Five Guiding Principles.  

Examples of instructional approaches and research-based strategies include, but are not limited to:

• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, routines and instructional approaches that align with the research-based literacy practices are described. For example, to support making learning visible, the Instructional Routines Handbook lists the rationale for the use of rubrics and checklists. The materials state, “Rubrics and checklists are great ways to access your students’ learning and make learning visible. A rubric is a tool that helps you evaluate the quality of your students’ responses by listening skills and criteria for different levels of achievement. It also helps students see what is expected of them. In Wonders, there are online rubrics and checklists. You can also create your own rubrics at my.mheducation.com.”

• In the Professional Development section of the online materials, there is a chart demonstrating the alignment of the Wonders 2020 program to research-based comprehension practices in the Research Base Alignment resource, located in the Research Base and Whitepapers tab. This alignment resource provides a thorough explanation and annotation of the research supporting the following literacy components: text comprehension, speaking and listening, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, fluency, vocabulary and language, conventions of English, writing, and social-emotional learning. 

• The Professional Development section also includes a Universal Design for Learning resource in which strategies for students with ADHD are listed, including, but not limited to, “Keep instructions short. Repeat in a different way only as needed,” and “Arrange the class to minimize distractions.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.

The materials provide ongoing opportunities for assessing students’ knowledge and skills both digitally and in print form. The digital teacher resources include links to the Genre Study assessments, as well as screening, diagnostic, and benchmark assessments. Materials also include Running Records that allow teachers to evaluate oral reading and reading levels. Publishers also provide an Assessment Handbook that assists teachers in delivering and scoring assessments and using the data to inform instruction including tracking data for progress monitoring.

For more formative assessment options, students use the Reading/Writing Companion to record quick writes, summaries, answers to questions, and opportunities to collaborate about the standards/skills being taught. The teacher can use this to assess and respond to student progress.

Examples of regular and systematic assessment include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Unit Assessments, students read the passage, “Desert Holiday.” Afterwards, students answer prompts, such as, “Mark one box next to each event to show the correct sequence of events in the text” and “How do Manny’s feelings about the trip change over the course of the text?” These questions reconnect to the formative assessment. 

• In Unit 2, Week 4, Practice Book, students answer the prompt, “Read each of the following excerpts from the passage, ‘Kush, A Land of Archers.’ Then explain how the tone of the sentence would change if the word in bold were replaced by the word in parentheses.” 

• In Unit 3, as students work to revise their writing the teacher is instructed to read these three questions to help students evaluate their writing for word choice and mood. 

  • Do my word choices help readers imagine what my characters do, say, feel, and look like?

  • Do I use thoughtfully to convey a distinct mood?

  • Do I use words that keep the mood consistent? 

• In Unit 4, Unit Assessments students complete an assessment and a performance task. For the assessment, students read three texts including the drama text, The Beech Tree. Students answer questions, such as: “What is the most likely reason the lights should fade out as FATHER steps towards the tree?” and “Read the eight words from the text. Two of the words are homophones of one another. Mark one box to show one pair of homophones.” This connects to the standards taught in Unit 4.

• On pages 2–5 of the Assessment Handbook, materials provide a table titled Assessment Options that explains how and when to use the assessment components from grades K–6. 

• In the Benchmark Assessments book, materials include two assessments that simulate a standardized test. Materials provide additional benchmark performance tasks for narrative, explanatory and argumentative tasks. All benchmark assessments include Answer Keys and rubrics. 

• In Classroom Observations, materials encourage systematic observations including noting topics of interest for reading, cooperative work among students, the types of texts that interest them, and other observable reading behaviors. This allows the teacher to help match students with texts that provide appropriate challenge and engagement. 

• Students use rubrics to self-assess their writing. Teachers can also find suggestions for differentiating the writing instruction at the beginning of each instructional sequence. Included is a variety of digital tools to support instruction, including graphic organizers, student models, draft, revised, and edited, checklists for editing and peer conferencing, and videos for skills, such as taking notes and evaluating sources.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

The materials provide multiple ways to assess students throughout each unit, including formative assessments, comprehension assessments within each unit’s Genre Study, and end-of-unit assessments (summative). The Assessment Handbook provides support for formative and informative assessments, screenings, diagnostics, and running records that are all aligned to grade-level content//skills. For example, weekly assessments, writing and research, essential questions and student learning goals are designed around weekly standards and skills embedded in each unit. The User Guide states that Unit Assessments are aligned to standards; these standards are highlighted in the answer keys for each assessment. 

For each assessment In the Assessment folder, the teacher has access to answer keys with CCSS correlations for Benchmark Assessments, Progress Monitoring Assessments, and Unit Assessments. The Answer Key tables include the question number, correct answer, content focus, and the level of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge for each assessment. These keys also denote the standards addressed by each question. Answer keys for the Selection Assessments are also available. These answer keys provide the standards aligned content or skill focus for each question, but the specific standard is not referenced. 

For example, denotation of the standards includes but is not limited to: 

• In the Grade 6 Benchmark Assessment Answer Key, a table is provided for Test 1. The columns of the table are Question, Answer, Content Focus, CCSS, and Complexity. A question is labeled as follows: 

  • Question: 1A

  • Answer: C

  • Content Focus: Character, Setting, Plot: Sequence

  • CCSS: RL.6.3

  • Complexity: DOK 3

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.

The materials provide a number of assessments to provide information on student performance. Rubrics and checklists offer teachers insight into student follow-up. The Teacher Edition offers suggestions on key skills for later small group time. The Assessment Handbook offers teachers guidance on drawing conclusions based on the data to interpret student patterns and guide further instruction. The supporting materials for each type of assessment include Answer Keys that support teacher scoring and analysis. Performance task rubrics and anticipated responses are also included. Materials also provide rationales for correct and incorrect responses for some questions to further support teacher analysis.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Data Dashboard collects student data on assessments, games, rubrics, and practice work. Guidance in the Teacher Edition instructs teachers to “Use the Data Dashboard to filter class, group, or individual students data to guide group placement decisions.” 

• The Assessment Handbook provides support for Portfolio Assessments. For example, there is a detailed explanation of the reasons for building a portfolio, which is “a collection of student work organized for a particular purpose.” They include:

  • “Portfolios are used to show development and show best work. 

  • A portfolio that shows development contains examples of the writing process and samples from the beginning, middle, and end of the year. 

  • Portfolios that are filled with the student’s best work are used primarily for showcasing what the student has learned. For example, this kind of portfolio may be on display when parents visit the school for an ‘open school night.’ 

  • Portfolios can be used to connect students’ learning from unit to unit. Students are asked to choose certain pieces of work from the previous unit, and then reflect on them. This reflection can take the form of a note attached to the work or a more formal journal-style entry.” 

• The Assessment Handbook also provides support for instructional decisions based on assessment. For example, on page 45, instructions include:

  • "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. 

  • 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."

• The Teacher Edition also includes formative assessment guidance within lessons. For example, in Unit 4, Weeks 3–4, students choral read a passage. The Check for Success prompt is as follows: “Can students read words with Greek and Latin prefixes? Can they read fluently?” Materials provide teachers with guidance on how to differentiate the small group instruction. For example, if the answer is “Yes” then the teacher is provided with both an On-level lesson and an Extend lesson. If the answer is “No” there is a Reteach lesson available as well as an ELL lesson.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

The Teacher Edition provides frequent opportunities during instruction to monitor student progress. For example, materials include regular checkpoints such as the Access Complex Text and Stop and Check sections. In addition, the Assessment Handbook and digital assessment materials offer guidance on how to track and utilize student progress to inform instructional decisions. This includes data charts, conferencing, rubrics, and guidance on student portfolios.

Examples of student progress monitoring include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Genre Study 3, Week 5, Teacher Edition, Access Complex Text, teachers explain to students that the “cause-and-effect text structure shows why currency changed over time. The chronological sequence of events describes each historical phase from long ago to current times.” Teachers ask, “What happened when societies began to make currencies made of metals?” and “What effect did this have on currency?” On page T237B, there is a Stop and Check section that offers teachers a way to monitor student understanding. For example, students use the rereading strategy to confirm the answer to the question “How does supply and demand affect an economy?” 

• In Unit 3, Weeks 3 and 4, as students read the anchor text, “The Pot that Juan Built” by Nancy Andrews-Gobbel, after reading page 198, the teacher asks the students, “What does the author tell you about Mata Ortiz and its citizens?” The teacher completes a Stop and Check after reading page 206. “Make, Confirm, Revise Predictions: How do you think the success of Juan’s pots will affect the future of Mata Ortiz?” 

• In the Benchmark Assessments, Test 1 provides teachers with assessment data on the skills taught in Units 1–3, and Test 2 covers skills taught in Units 1–6. Scoring expectations are for students to perform at 80% or higher. Suggested use is that Test 1 be given as a summative mid-year assessment and Test 2 as a summative end-of-the-year assessment. Guidance directs teachers to use Tier 2 Online PDFs for students that do not meet Benchmark expectations. 

• Running Records/Benchmark Books help the teacher “identify a student’s reading level, style, and strategy use. They help determine a student’s independent, instructional, and frustrational reading levels, as well as comprehension and accuracy, error, and self correction rates.” It utilizes a cueing system that identifies types of errors and can help you recognize “patterns of effective and ineffective strategy use.” The Benchmark Levels of the Running Records align with DRA, Guided Reading, and Reading Recovery levels. Materials prompt teachers to administer the assessment with the following directions: 

  • There are 30 Benchmark Books for levels REBUS through 28, and sixteen Running Records passages for levels 30 through 80. 

  • Read along silently as the student reads the text but do not prompt the student in any way. 

  • Mark each word read accurately and note substitutions, omissions, and self-corrections using the conventions provided on the recording form. 

  • Total the number of miscues and self-corrections; then calculate the student’s error rate by dividing total number of words read by total number of errors made. 

  • Use the Conversion Chart to identify the accuracy rate and to determine a student’s reading level. 

  • Use the Retelling Rubric to determine a general comprehension level.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.

The materials include many strategies for teachers to use. Examples of strategies include teacher think-alouds, modeling, questioning techniques, sentence stems, differentiated leveled passages, and readers organized under the small group instructional routines in the Teacher Edition, including Approaching, On-level, Beyond, and ELL groups. A shared read and anchor text provide access to the grade-level text through additional supports including read-alouds, graphic organizers, student collaboration, Access Complex Text strategies, and Spotlight on Language sections for ELL supports.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Teacher Edition, the Data Dashboard is used to filter class, group, and/or individual student data to guide group placement decisions. It provides recommendations to enhance learning for gifted and talented students and provides extra support for students needing remediation.

• In Unit 2, Genre Study 2, Weeks 3 and 4, the teacher introduces the Historical Fiction genre by telling students, “they are going to hear a story about a boy from a wealthy Chinese family living in the Eastern Han Empire during the reign of Emperor Mingdi (c. 57–75).” They explain to students that “the story shows how one family in that ancient society prepared for a special day.” The teacher previews historical fiction by explaining to students, “the story you will read aloud is historical fiction.” They discuss features of historical fiction as having “fictional plot that takes place in a real time and place in history,” as possibly referring to “refer to real people from the past,” and includes “details, such as foreign words, that reflect the setting.” After teachers start a historical fiction anchor chart, they “ask students to add characteristics of the genre” and explain that they “may want to add characteristics to the chart as they read more historical fiction texts.” Thereafter, teachers preview Story Structure by pointing out that “understanding text structure makes it easier to comprehend historical fiction texts.” They explain, “literary elements such as characters, setting, and plot are used within historical fiction” and describe how “text structure can help readers identify the theme of a story.” The teacher guides students to read and respond to text by reading the text aloud to them. They direct students to preview the comprehension strategy by making, confirming, revising predictions by “using the Think Alouds on page T121” as they read. As teachers guide students to respond to reading, they use Think Aloud Clouds to display the sentence starter, “Think Aloud Master 3: I predicted ____ because ____” in order to support how they use the “Make Predictions strategy to understand content.” Teachers explore the features of the genre with students by discussing “the elements of the Interactive Read Aloud that let them know it is historical fiction.” 

• In Unit 4, Weeks 3 and 4, Day 1, Shared Read, Reading/Writing Companion, “She Had to Walk Before She Could Run” (author not cited) , for additional support, teachers use the extra prompts located in the ACT or Access Complex Text section in the Teacher Edition. These additional supports fall into prior knowledge and purpose. For example, “As needed, provide additional information on polio. Polio reaches epidemic levels during the first half of the 1900s.” Students may have difficulty distinguishing the author’s point of view from his or her purpose in providing factual information.” 

• In Unit 6, Genre Study 1, Week 1, students are learning about Latin roots in the Vocabulary section of the lesson. In the Teacher Edition, the small group instruction sidebar provides the following guidance for additional support:

  • Approaching Level and ELL- Preteach the words before beginning the Shared Read.

  • On Level-l Have students use the online Visual Glossary.

  • Beyond Level- Pairs work to write additional context sentences for the vocabulary.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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.

Grade 6 materials provide opportunities for students to access grade-level texts with support in activating prior knowledge through photographs and videos that help supply or initiate recall of background knowledge and collaborative graphic organizers for recording ideas. Materials embed scaffolded supports within instruction and teacher guidance materials. Graphic organizers allow teachers and students to highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships (e.g., use outlines to emphasize important ideas or draw students’ attention to critical features). Materials also guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation (e.g., provide explicit prompts for each step in a sequential process). These supports also include routine small group instruction with specific guidance on differentiations within lessons and in small groups.  Materials provide instruction for cross-curricular connections students make as they answer the Essential Question through the Connect to Content features. The Instructional Routines Handbook also includes teacher guidance on supporting students with Dyslexia or other learning needs and English Language Learners.

Materials embed scaffolded supports for ELL students. Teacher materials also include a Newcomer Teacher’s Guide, and the Teacher Edition contains purple text boxes such as Spotlight on Language or Newcomers which are directly designed for guidance on teaching ELL students.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The lessons in the Teacher Edition include orange sidebars in the margins which recommend differentiated or small group instructional approaches including students who are below or approaching grade level. The majority of lessons include these recommendations which range from reteaching material to providing additional scaffolds for students. For example, in Unit 1, Genre Study 2, students are reading “Cow Music” (unknown author).  The Check for Success section in the orange sidebar prompts teachers: “ Use your online rubric to record student progress. Are students able to compare and contrast Celia’s feelings about city and country life?” If students are not, materials recommend that teachers do a reteach for approaching students using modeling and the “I Do, We Do, You Do” strategy in a small group lesson on how to compare and contrast elements in a story. 

• In the Newcomer Teacher's Guide (Grades 3–6), materials include leveled reader resources that the teacher can use as a resource for ELL students. Its components are specifically created to help students “build their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English.” These components help newcomers acquire and “develop oral language by creating frequent opportunities for students to engage in conversations with their classmates.” The Newcomer Teacher's Guide describes teaching strategies for newcomers, specifically building oral language. The guide explains, “To progress academically, newcomers must have access to basic, high-utility vocabulary from which they can build English language skills. Much of this vocabulary will become a part of their everyday speech when they are given opportunities to converse with their classmates.”

• In Unit 2, Week 5, Genre Study 3, English Language Learners Scaffold, teachers use the following scaffolds to help students to identify personification in poetry:

  • For students at the Beginning level: “Review with students how to identify personification in poetry. Read the second stanza on page 159. Explain to students that tutor means teacher. Remind them to look for descriptions of nonhuman things that could be applied to a human. Then have partners reread the first two lines and discuss how the poet describes a book like a person using: The book is like a teacher. The book teaches people everywhere.”

  • For students at the Intermediate level: “Discuss with students how to identify personification in poetry. Have students read the second stanza on page 159. Ask: Which line personifies books? “Those books were tutors glad to share. Then have partners discuss how the figurative language helps them understand the poet’s idea using: The line personifies books as teachers that feel glad to share their words.”

  • For students at the Advanced/Advanced High level: “Have students discuss how personification can help readers relate to ideas in a poem. Then have them read the second stanza on page 159 and find an example of personification. Have partners discuss how the figurative language helps them understand the poet’s idea using the term personification.”

• In Unit 3, Genre Study 3, students are analyzing an expert model of a persuasive article to write their own. During the topic selection phase for the writing, materials provide teacher recommendations for differentiated writing. For students who are approaching grade level, teachers are instructed to “give students a topic that they already have some knowledge about or provide links to appropriate online sites they can use for research.”

• In Unit 5, Genre Study 1, students read the text, Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles Mann. In the Respond to Reading section, the Teacher Edition provides scaffolds for varying ELL proficiency levels as follows; 

  • Beginning—Read the prompt with students and clarify the meaning of benefited. Review students’ charts on pages 14–16 and discuss the text features the author uses. Remind students that the text is organized in time order. Then help partners respond using: The author organizes the text in time order. This helps me understand how people benefited from the development of maize. The author uses text features, such as photographs and maps.

  • Intermediate—Review the prompt with students. Have partners review their charts on pages 14–16. Remind students that the text is organized in time order. Then help them write using: The author organizes the text in time order to help me understand how people benefited from the development of maize. The text features, such as photographs, sidebars, and maps support the information in the text.

  • Advanced/Advanced High—Have partners read the prompt and review their charts on pages 14–16 to describe text features the author uses. Then have them discuss how the author organizes the text and respond using the sentence starters on page 17 to write their responses.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.

Grade 6 materials provide opportunities for students to interact with text in extension activities including, leveled small groups (advanced), Talented and Gifted recommended lessons, author studies, book talks/chats, research/writing, and independent book titles for student choice reads. In the Teacher Edition, extended or advanced tasks are labeled in green with the word Beyond in reference to students who are categorized as advanced in small group instruction.

Examples and teacher directions for above grade level students include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 6, Genre Study 2, in the small group instruction guidance of the Teacher Edition, the Beyond section includes vocabulary and comprehension work. The vocabulary section looks at Greek roots. This section highlights an extended tasks for Gifted and Talented students: 

  • Model: Read aloud the second paragraph of the Beyond Level online Differentiated Genre Passage, “Ancient Threads Reveal Early Weavers,”page B1.

    • Think Aloud—I know that archeologists study ancient cultures, but I’m not sure what paleontology is. I know that the Greek root paleo means “prehistoric.” That knowledge and this paragraph’s context help me figure out that paleontology has to do with the study of prehistoric life forms.

    • With students, discuss how the Greek root logos (“reason”) helps them figure out the meaning of logic in the same paragraph.

  • Apply: Have pairs of students read the rest of the passage. Have them use Greek roots to determine the meanings of the words technique and telescope on page B2.

  • Gifted and Talented: Analyze Have partners discuss what they’ve learned by considering this week’s Essential Question. Then have them use the words intriguing and methodical to write and share a response to the question as it relates to the Differentiated Genre Passage.

• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, Author Study, students form an independent study group and choose an author to study. “Have students choose two pieces of work by the author and read the selections independently. Students should have collaborative conversations about their reading each week in which they can choose a character and compare their traits; compare and contrast themes; compare the author’s purpose; compare text structures; compare poetic devices or the use of figurative language and the effect it has on the mood of a text. Remind students to use text evidence to support their ideas.”

• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, Support for Advanced Learners, students engage in a variety of independent reading study pages/routines. “Ask students to create a two–three minute movie trailer for their books that provides enough plot details to captivate the viewer without spoiling the end. Students can use video editing software applications to create their trailers." Book Club Chat: "Have students choose an exciting, interesting, or descriptive passage to read aloud to the group. The passage should reveal something interesting about a situation in the text and/or provide some insight into a main character." Concept Study: "Have students do a research report on a topic related to their independent reading. Students may choose to study one of the following topics: a specific time-period from a text, a specific concept or idea from a text, a specific person in history, the pros and cons of a controversial subject. Have students decide on how to present their ideas at the end of the study. If they need support, make the following suggestions: write a research report including an organizational structure that supports the research, create a historical timeline of a subject or person, write a biographical sketch of a person, write a persuasive article for a newspaper, create a PowerPoint presentation for any of the above.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

Throughout the materials, there is evidence of support and notations of which grouping strategies should be used and when to implement them in the lesson planning. Lessons indicate where pairs, collaborative conferences, small group or individual groupings are utilized for instruction. The Instructional Routines Handbook, Data Dashboard, and Assessment Handbook provide teachers with suggestions for grouping students. Teachers also group students by student interest and teacher observation.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Teacher Edition, differentiated instruction using small group lessons on vocabulary and comprehension is available at four different levels: Approaching, English Language Learners, On Level, and Beyond Level. Phonics/Decoding and fluency lessons are also provided for the Approaching Level. In the Teacher Edition, each Genre Study is also accompanied by topic-related Leveled Readers and genre passages for small group instruction at the four levels, as well as instructional support for each of them. As they teach small groups, teachers can search the Leveled Reader Library at my.mheducation.com for more leveled titles to use. The library is searchable by Keyword, Theme, Genre, Skill, Text Feature, Grade Range, as well as Guided Reading, Lexile, and DRA Levels. 

• The Assessment Handbook and the Data Dashboard at my.mheducation.com provide more information on assessments that teachers can use to form small groups. The Running Records/Benchmark Books resource provides leveled passages and recording forms for determining students’ independent, instructional, and frustrational reading levels, as well as comprehension and accuracy, error, and self-correction rates. The leveled passages used in the Running Records/Benchmark Books resource also utilizes a cueing system that identifies types of errors and can help teachers to determine patterns of effective and ineffective strategy use. Teachers use the Data Dashboard to filter class, group, and/or individual student data to guide group placement decisions. It provides recommendations to enhance learning for gifted and talented students and provides extra support for students needing remediation.

• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, materials include teacher guidance on Peer Conferences: “Provide your students with consistent opportunities to discuss with another student what they are reading. This allows them to exchange ideas about what they are learning and how they are growing as readers. In addition, it offers a valuable chance for you to listen in to students sharing their thinking about their reading with others. Pair two (or three) students. You might want to group students who are reading the same text or texts on the same topic or theme. Rehearse with students what these collaborative conversations should look like and sound like. By using a gradual release of responsibility, you can ensure that students will be focused when they are meeting with a peer to discuss their reading. Provide students with specific guidelines to ensure that students will use the time productively. Use the Peer Conferencing handouts on pages 126–128 to model with students.”