Amplify Education CKLA Grade 4

Evaluation for 2.1
Materials include high-quality texts for ELAR instruction and cover a range of student interests.

The materials include a variety of high-quality, well-crafted texts. The diverse texts include contemporary and classical texts and represent expert writing across various disciplines.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Excerpts from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. These short satirical stories were written around 1400 to portray English society.

Excerpts from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This text, published in 1984, is a coming-of-age novel written by a Mexican American author, which won an American Book Award.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. This ghost story is a classic example of early American fiction.

Excerpts from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. This adventure tale about buried gold includes pirates, sailors, and the young son of an innkeeper.

Excerpts from Kalila and Dimna by Bedba. This collection of Indian fables was written as early as the third century BC.

Evaluation for 2.2
Materials include a variety of text types and genres across content that meet the requirements of the TEKS for each grade level.

Across all materials, the program includes a variety of text types and genres as well as print and graphic features. The selections include literary texts, such as myths, dramas, and poetry, and informational texts, such as historical nonfiction. The materials do not include examples of argument, tall tale, or fairy tale texts.

Examples of literary texts include but are not limited to:

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes (poem)
“Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer (poem) “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving (classic tales)
“Scheherazade Recounts the Tale of the Three Apples” adaptation by CKLA Staff (fable) “Mythic Volcano Spirits” (Hawaiian myth)
“Kalila and Dimna,” “The Crane and the Crab,” and “The Three Apples” (folk tales) Excerpts from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (legend/adventure) Excerpts from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (realistic fiction) Learn from Last Season: Bad Collaboration by the CKLA Staff (drama)

Examples of informational texts include but are not limited to: “The Crusades” by the CKLA Staff (historical nonfiction)

“Earth’s Fiery Volcanoes” by Rebecca L. Johnson (scientific informational) When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago (memoir)
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret (Personal Narrative) “Bills to Pay” by Matt Davis (persuasive essay)
“Welcome to the Middle Ages” by the CKLA Staff (expository essay)
“Airplane” by the CKLA Staff (manual)

Examples of print and graphical features include but are not limited to:

Unit 2 includes graphic features, including maps: Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire, Diagram of Medieval Feudal Society, and Diagram of a Castle with Labels.

Unit 8 includes illustrations that depict what a ship would have looked like in the 1700s, diagrams of the ship described in the story, and diagrams of the different areas of the ship.

Evaluation for 2.3
Texts are appropriately challenging and are at an appropriate level of complexity to support students at their grade level.

The materials include appropriately challenging texts with grade-appropriate quantitative and qualitative features. The texts within this grade band contain increasingly complex qualitative demands, including multiple interpretations, meaning, and complex language. The student readers also provide Lexile levels within the appropriate grade band.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Unit 2 Student Reader contains the text “The Crane and the Crab” with a Lexile level of 910. Each animal folktale in Kalila and Dimna speaks of friendship, leadership, and other human traits, as does “The Crane and the Crab.” The language in this text is appropriate for this grade level. Background knowledge about the structure of folktales supports student understanding.

The Unit 5 Student Reader contains the text “The Changing Earth” with a Lexile level of 900L. This nonfiction text “focuses on the composition of the Earth and the forces that change Earth’s surface.” Students study plate tectonics and other geological processes. This text includes complex subject-specific language. Text features include photos, maps, and diagrams that support student understanding of the text.

The Unit 7 Student Reader contains the texts “The Road to Independence” and “Trouble is Brewing” with Lexile levels of 950L. Both texts focus “on important events and people that led to the colonists’ decision to declare independence from the British government.”

The Unit 8 Student Reader contains the text Treasure Island with a Lexile level of 770. The text is a work of fiction written in the first person. It is an abridged version of the original novel. “After joining forces with a doctor and squire, Jim travels in search of treasure on a distant island.” The complex language is supported through illustrations, building background knowledge about life aboard a ship, and other terms related to living near the sea.

Evaluation for 3.a.1
Materials contain questions and tasks that support students in analyzing and integrating knowledge, ideas, themes, and connections within and across texts.

The materials build conceptual knowledge through text-specific/dependent questions that target complex elements of the texts. The questions and texts also require students to make connections to personal experiences as well as to other texts, big ideas, themes, and details.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, students discuss the main idea and the big ideas of the text “A Good Lie.” The materials ask students to find the main points in different parts of the text. Students also connect the ideas from mentor personal narrative texts to their specific backgrounds. For example, students consider their own memories of school and use these brainstormed memories to consider what makes strong personal narratives before writing their own personal narrative.

In Unit 2, during the comprehension check of “To the Manor Born,” students make personal connections as they discuss a time when they were loyal to someone or when someone was loyal to them.

In Unit 4, the materials build knowledge of important people through different biographies. After reading the Ruth Wakefield biography, students answer the questions “Why does Wakefield feel the need to ‘clear up some untruths?’” “Why do you think the false stories about the chocolate chip cookie were so widespread?” and “As a researcher, how do you think you can avoid being misled this way?” The material includes challenge cards that allow students to analyze each inventor and pick one to ask for help as they build the challenge on the card.

In Unit 5, the graphic organizer compares big ideas across three different stories spanning different genres as well as cultures.

In Unit 6, several lessons focus on determining theme and building upon theme. The initial lesson introduces theme and in each subsequent lesson students refer back to the original theme to consider new themes and make connections. The materials also provide questions requiring understanding of the text. Students read an excerpt from “A Smart Cookie” and answer literal/inference questions forcing them to dive deeper into the text. “What is the shame to which Esperanza’s mother refers?” “Does this remind you of anything Esperanza has felt in other vignettes?” After reading “My Name,” students list the positive, negative, and neutral words and phrases the narrator uses to describe her name. Students use this information to answer questions and provide text evidence to support their answers: “Does Esperanza want the same life as her great-grandmother?” and “Can you provide a quote from the text as evidence for your last answer?”

Evaluation for 3.a.2
Materials contain questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.

The materials provide questions and tasks that support students’ analysis of literary and textual elements by asking students to analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the author’s purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts. Students study language within text to support their understanding. The materials support student analysis of author’s choice and how authors influence and communicate meaning. The materials provide opportunities to compare and contrast texts on a variety of topics; however, the materials do not explicitly compare and contrast the stated or implied purposes of different authors’ writing on the same topic.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, students analyze what structure the author uses in Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family: “Does the author use chronology to structure the passage? What other structure does the author use?” Students read an excerpt from “How to Eat a Guava” and answer questions about the author’s perspective and word choice: “Does the author like eating green guavas?” “What other words does the author use to describe eating a green guava?” “Does the author think castor oil tastes good?” “The author writes, ‘It smells faintly of late summer afternoons and hopscotch under the mango tree.’ What does ‘it’ refer to?” Students also discuss “What is different about the way the firsthand account [‘The Diagnosis,’ a personal narrative from someone diagnosed with polio], and the secondhand account [‘Introduction to Polio,’ an informational text that provides factual information about polio] support the main ideas?” This activity expects students to compare and contrast the two texts about the polio disease, but it does not directly address the authors’ purposes in the two texts.

In Unit 3, students study the author’s use of repetition and alliteration in “Ask Aiden” and “Wishes.” Students then use their Poet’s Journal to practice using both repetition and alliteration. Questions within the challenge section of a listening and speaking lesson include “Ask students to think about why the author selected the emphasized words” and “Why are they the poem’s most powerful words?”

In Unit 4, the materials require students to analyze different biographies so they can make predictions and inferences. The materials include challenge cards that allow students to analyze each inventor and to better pick which person they would ask for help in building whatever the task demands.

In Unit 5, students answer the question “How does the author’s choice of wording help explain what many geologists believed about Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift?” Students are also asked about the author’s use of an idiom and what that idiom means in context.

In Unit 6, the materials provide a line from the text and asks students why the author introduced the character without using her name first: “Why do you think the author is still not revealing the character’s name?” This provides students an opportunity to analyze the choices of the author as well as make inferences based on the information learned thus far.

In Unit 7, students consider questions such as “When George Washington wrote to the Continental Congress in December 1777 describing the state of the army, what was morale like? What evidence from the text leads you to that conclusion?” Students also consider the phrase “a force to be reckoned” in reference to the Continental Army and what the phrase suggests about the army.

In Unit 8, students analyze the text by examining the characters and character choices and summarize important events and the purpose of a fight between two groups. Students are introduced to foreshadowing: “When authors give details that refer to future events, it is called ‘foreshadowing.’ In this chapter, details suggest there might be some trouble for the voyagers in the future. What clues in the text suggest this?” The materials also provide opportunities for students to examine the “hook” in Treasure Island and prompt them to apply similar strategies in their own writing. In Chapter 8 of Treasure Island, students answer questions about an author’s choice of words and their meaning: “In the second paragraph on page 72, how does the phrase to feed the fishes contribute to the meaning of the passage in which it is used?” “The text says that Jim has a hard time sleeping while Silver does not. What is being conveyed about these two characters?” and “In the conversation between Silver and Jim Hawkins, dialogue is used to show rather than tell what happens. What do you learn from that conversation?”

Evaluation for 3.a.3
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary in and across texts.

The materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary in and across texts. Throughout the materials, students interact with vocabulary within context as well as in their writing. The materials include scaffolds and supports for teachers to differentiate vocabulary development for all learners. Throughout each lesson, students record the meaning of vocabulary words in their notebooks using their own words. The vocabulary is rich, tiered, and allows students to make connections to their everyday lives.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Teachers are provided a list of words for each lesson, along with their definitions and other forms of the word. The lists include a breakdown of “core vocabulary” and “literary vocabulary” depending on the words used during the specific lesson. The literary vocabulary list includes academic words.

The Program Guide states: “Immediately following most reading lessons, there is a five-minute activity called Word Work, based on the work of Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2002). This activity allows for in-depth focus on a specific word from the Reader text. Students will review the word, its meaning, its part of speech, and an additional context for using the word. Finally, students will complete a follow-up activity to extend their understanding of the targeted word.”

During the “Word Work” portion of each lesson, teachers follow a common routine for vocabulary instruction used throughout the year. The materials focus on one word from the lesson vocabulary list. The materials include scaffolds and supports divided into three categories: “required modes of participation,” “language supports,” and “timing/immediacy.” Teachers can utilize these supports to adjust pacing, implement targeted instruction for vocabulary, and provide support for understanding syntax. The Teacher’s Guide includes white asterisks in a blue circle labeled as “Support.” This provides guidance for the teacher on areas where students may have difficulty comprehending or where misconceptions may occur.

In Unit 3, the materials include a number of core vocabulary words: “aardvark,” “crave,” “lack,” “newt,” and “steed.” Additionally, there are a few literary words as well: “alliteration,” “dedication,” “repetition” and “slant rhyme.” During a Check for Understanding at the end of the lesson, students answer the question “What are repetition and alliteration?”

In Unit 5, teachers are given suggestions for ELL students. For “Entering/Emerging” students, they are taught the prefix un- means “not.” The teacher then writes the words “happy,” “clean,” and “finished” on the board and adds the prefix to the beginning of each. Teachers explain how the prefix changed the meaning. For “Transitioning/Expanding” students, teachers do the same as above only students then use the words to make sentences. For “Bridging” students, they are asked to use the words in sentences and brainstorm more words that begin with the prefix un-.

In Unit 7, the materials state: “Using close reading strategies, students will deepen their understanding of the colonists’ growing discontent and anger toward Great Britain by studying vocabulary and idioms contained in lesson text.” Students read “Trouble is Brewing” and answer questions regarding idioms and their meanings. In one of the Word Work sections, students participate in a Making Choices activity using the word “morale.” Students consider a set of sentences that would produce either high or low morale and respond to each statement by identifying either “high” or “low.” A lesson on the Declaration of Independence states: “Students will consult reference materials to find the pronunciations and clarify the definitions of words from the Declaration of Independence.” There is also a Word Work lesson where students focus on the words “tyrant” and “perfidy.” Students study the prefixes im- and in-. Within the activity pages, students create sentences using words with these prefixes. Throughout the materials, students also study the suffixes -y, -ly, -able, -ible, -ful, and -less.

In Unit 8, students preview the vocabulary for the chapter. The teacher tells them the first word is “squire.” Students find the word in the reader and discuss how words will be bolded. The words are listed in a chart as Tier 3 and Tier 2. At the end of each lesson there is a Word Work lesson. For example, the teacher reads the sentence from the text with the word “driving” in it. They define the word as a class and find other things that could be driving. The class discusses how the word is a multiple-meaning word. The unit also examines the homophones “two,” “to,” “too”; “four,” “for”; “eight,” “ate”; “they’re,” “there.” Within the Lesson at a Glance section, the materials provide Spanish cognates for the words “analogy,” “figurative language,” and “inference.”

Evaluation for 3.a.4
Materials include a clearly defined plan to support and hold students accountable as they engage in independent reading.

The materials include a plan to support students in independent reading. Each unit contains reading recommendations related to the content of the unit. The materials also provide an Independent Reading Guide that supports students’ self-selection of texts and provides suggestions for reading for sustained periods of time. The materials include reading logs that ensure accountability to independent reading goals.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The CKLA 3-5 Program Guide and Independent Reading Guide recommend teachers model book selection and create an anchor chart for students to reference throughout the year. It also directs teachers to conference with students about their self-selected text and to guide them in text selection. Teachers guide students’ thinking about their decisions and how those decisions affect their reading experience. The material also directs the teacher to create a designated time, place, and routine for independent reading. During independent reading time, teachers can utilize activities such as book talks, discussion circles, journaling, book reviews, and multisensory experiences. The Independent Reading Guide suggests reading logs and book reviews are available to print and use to help measure the amount students are reading and keep them accountable. Students also set SMART goals (S-specific, M-measurable, A- achievable, R-relevant, T-time bound). The CKLA 3-5 Program Guide also mentions a home component. Through a letter sent home with students, teachers communicate with parents about the student’s goals and suggested discussion topics to use at home.

Evaluation for 3.b.1
Materials provide support for students to develop composition skills across multiple text types for a variety of purposes and audiences.

The materials provide students opportunities to write literary texts including personal narratives, short stories, and poetry to express ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students also write informational texts to communicate ideas and specific information for specific audiences and purposes. Students write argumentative texts to influence the attitudes or actions of specific audiences on issues, and some correspondence texts.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, “Students write a paragraph about a memory of school” and an opinion paragraph “describing what makes a good friend.” Students also write a paragraph using a “cause and effect structure” to describe “how someone changed you or how you changed someone else.” By the end of the unit, students write a personal narrative that must include literary devices such as similes and metaphors.

In Unit 2, students write an informative paragraph about the life of a lord during the Middle Ages.

In Unit 3, students compose various poems. Each lesson covers a different poetic device before students transfer learning into their own poetry: students write their own question-and-answer poem using Harryette Mullen’s “Ask Aden” as a model, and they read “Words Free as Confetti” by Pat Mora before composing poems that include alliteration and description based on the five senses.

In Unit 4, students write a letter to explain how failure can be a useful tool when inventing. The purpose of this writing task is to convince network executives to change their decisions about canceling “Eureka!” Students also compose a letter to Jacques in order to correspond about a

science lab rule: “Prove to Jacques that you were paying attention. Pick one rule and write him a letter explaining how you used that rule during the building activity.” In addition, students compose a letter to Thomas Edison: “Write a letter to Thomas Edison extolling the virtues of the light bulb. Your letter should be about two paragraphs long. That means you might not have time to cover all the arguments and evidence you gathered earlier, so choose your material judiciously. Think about the story of the light bulb you want to tell. As you develop your letter, you may also want to think about the information you learned about Mr. Edison’s personality and life from his inventor card.”

In Unit 5, “students will use their paraphrased notes to draft an informational pamphlet about tsunamis.” The lessons include a discussion about the intended audience for an informational pamphlet: “Students will describe an informational pamphlet and identify a specific pamphlet’s purpose and intended audience.”

In Unit 6, the materials prompt teachers to “remind students that as they are reading the personal narrative created by Sandra Cisneros, they will be writing their own personal narratives. The next activity is writing a personal reflection.” As students begin planning, they have the choice of writing in a fiction or nonfiction format.

In Unit 7, students write an informative essay written in cause and effect format about what lead to the American Revolution. Students gather evidence from Chapters 2 and 3 of “The Road to Independence.” The unit also includes a writing task: “students must respond to a prompt about the Boston Tea party and whether it was right for the Sons of Liberty to dump the tea into the harbor. Students must include text evidence and both sides of the argument.”

In Unit 8, students read the original adventure story Treasure Island. Early in the unit, students study the features of an adventure story, such as the setting, action-based plot, and dangerous elements; whether it has a quest, mystery, or task; and common themes among adventure stories. Students then spend the remainder of the unit writing their own adventure story.

Evaluation for 3.b.2
Most written tasks require students to use clear and concise information and well- defended text-supported claims to demonstrate the knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis of texts.

The materials provide opportunities for students to use evidence from texts to support their opinions and claims. Specifically, the CKLA materials provide many opportunities for students to demonstrate this skill through writing. Throughout and across units, students use clear and concise information and well-defended text-supported claims to demonstrate knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis of texts.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 2, students use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast the life of a serf and a lord. Students write “an informative paragraph about the life of a serf during the Middle Ages that includes a topic sentence, detail sentences, transition words, and a concluding sentence.” Students then draft an informative paragraph about the life of a lord during the Middle Ages. Later in Unit 2, students use text evidence to write a persuasive essay: “Students will plan a persuasive paragraph by stating their opinion and supporting it with facts from the text.”

In Unit 3, students read a variety of poems. Students demonstrate what they learn from poems through writing tasks in the Poet’s Journal. Students read the poem and then answer questions about the speaker, changes, and the narrator. Students provide evidence to support their answers. For example, when students read “Little Red Riding Hood,” they write about the question “Based on the words in the poem, why do you think the speaker called Miss Riding Hood something different from before?”

In Unit 4, students answer questions in their Inventor’s Notebook about the Reader “Eureka! Files,” such as this question about the lightbulb: “How did this invention change things? Give two examples and include quotes from the article as evidence.” Students also read biographies and, based on the text, write about each inventor in their Inventor’s Notebook.

In Unit 5, during the writing lessons, students use texts from the unit to draft an informative pamphlet about tsunamis, write a wiki entry, and create a descriptive paragraph. To prepare for the writing lessons, students complete activity pages focused on text-dependent questions in which they provide page numbers for their evidence.

In Unit 6, the overview states that students will practice opinion writing backed by clear evidence. Students read Vignette 1 from The House on Mango Street. The corresponding activity page includes a series of words used to describe how the narrator feels about different places. Students choose the word they think is most appropriate and provide text evidence to support their choice. Students begin writing an opinion statement based on the close reading of Esperanza that day: “I think Esperanza’s mood went from…to…in this scene.” Students also respond to the prompt “Do you think Esperanza is more happy or less happy at the end of the vignette? Why? Use evidence.”

In Unit 7, students compose a cause and effect paragraph about how the French and Indian War eventually led to the Stamp Act and colonial protests. Students use their Reader to find text evidence to support their reasons. In the cumulative writing project, students “record key information from vignettes corresponding to the causes of the American Revolution. These activities will lead to the development of a five-paragraph cause and effect essay.”

Evaluation for 3.b.3
Over the course of the year, composition convention skills are applied in increasingly complex contexts, with opportunities for students to publish their writing.

The materials provide instruction in composition and convention skills over the course of the year. Within each unit, there is systematic instruction and reinforcement of the five steps of the writing process. Students practice and apply the conventions of academic language both in and out of context. During grammar lessons, students orally respond and practice the writing convention being taught and then apply the skill in the editing process using their own writing. Students utilize revision and editing checklists that remind them to check for correct capitalization, punctuation, and grammar.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Program Guide states the five steps of the writing process expand to include sharing and evaluating. Beginning in fourth grade, the writing process is no longer “conceptualized as a series of scaffolded, linear steps”; rather, students move through the steps flexibly, similarly to experienced writers.

In Unit 1, students learn to punctuate dialogue using transition words. Students review basic rules of capitalization, punctuation, and paragraphs for dialogue and then they play a Dialogue Telephone Game in which they write dialogue for different sentence starters. Students then revise their narrative in order to include dialogue. Students also learn about transition words to support the chronological part of their narrative. At the end of the unit, students write a personal narrative about a memory. Students brainstorm narrative topics to choose a memory to write about. As part of the brainstorming students consider questions such as “What have the personal narratives we’ve read so far been about?” and “What are other topics or types of memories that would make a good personal narrative?” Students then spend the rest of the unit writing and revising their personal narrative.

In Unit 2, students learn about the relationship between nouns and adjectives and prepositions and prepositional phrases. Students then write a paragraph about life as a lord or a serf.

Students compile notes on a graphic organizer and refer back to the organizer when writing their paragraph. The materials remind students their notes are written in fragments and must be transformed into complete sentences. The teacher models how to take the fragment and write it as a complete sentence including a subject and a predicate.

In Unit 6, students work with a partner to create their own story based on Esperanza’s story. They create three characters and develop their perspective while “driving” through the neighborhood. Students revise descriptions based on feedback from the teacher and check their revisions with a partner. After reading “The Three Sisters,” students examine an excerpt from the text. Using a chart to organize, students identify the dialogue in the text and write it in the left-hand column. In the right-hand column, students name which of the three sisters spoke. Students then write their dialogue using quotation marks.

In Unit 8, the students write an adventure story. Students plan using a plot line, after a discussion of its components, and then write an introduction after a teacher model of an introduction. As students write, they focus on one element of the introduction at a time. Students then draft the body of their story using focusing questions: “What is the problem/conflict in my story? Are there at least three examples of Rising Action? How can I create suspense in the story?” During the grammar lessons, students work on the verb “to be.” Students refer to the “Subject to be Verb Agreement” poster and “Modal Auxiliary Verbs” poster. Students are reminded of linking verbs and “to be” verbs from the American Revolution Unit. Students refer to the chart for examples of plural subjects and singular subjects. Students apply the knowledge from the chart when creating their own sentences and orally sharing with the class. Students follow the same format when learning modal auxiliary verbs. Students apply what they learned to activity pages in class and at home. Students also review pronouns in this unit by labeling sentences and examining definitions of relative pronouns.

Evaluation for 3.b.4
Materials include practice for students to write legibly in cursive. (Grades 3-5 only)

The materials include opportunities for students to learn, practice, and write legibly in cursive; however, the Scope and Sequence includes no time for handwriting and the Program Guide states the materials do not provide a comprehensive resource for teaching cursive.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Unit 1 includes 14 lessons on instruction in cursive handwriting. The 14 lessons are identical to the lessons used in third grade. The Program Guide provides a rationale for this by stating that this “provides a refresher for experienced students and a solid introduction to those new to cursive.” These lessons are not designed to be completed in Unit 1. Teachers are encouraged to “proceed at a pace that is right for their classes.” Once students learn all the letters, teachers should encourage students to practice by completing select writing assignments in cursive.

In Unit 1, the materials introduce cursive writing through the Declaration of Independence. The teacher draws attention to the signatures at the bottom and then writes John Hancock’s signature in print before asking students to compare the two. Next, the teacher holds a discussion on the difference between print and cursive, provides a definition of cursive, and describes when it is used.

The materials do not provide any plan for procedures and supports helping teachers assess handwriting development. It is noted in the Unit Introduction that “lessons and activity pages do not comprise an exhaustive handwriting program, and teachers may wish to consult other sources for information on topics such as writing posture, pencil grip, and differentiated instruction for left-handed students.”

Evaluation for 3.c.1
Materials support students’ listening and speaking about texts.

The materials provide speaking and listening opportunities focused on the texts being studied in class. Throughout the units, students demonstrate knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis of texts. The materials allow students to demonstrate comprehension of text through oral tasks requiring students to use clear and concise information and well-defended text- supported claims.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Program Guide states: “Speaking and Listening activities in Grade 4 focus on engagement with Read Alouds: students hear and discuss complex texts that the teacher reads aloud, encountering and practicing sophisticated conversations using an ever-expanding vocabulary.” In the Reading portion of all lessons, students are posed a question and asked to read a page or more to find the answer. Upon finishing, the teacher asks the question again and students answer orally.

In Unit 1, students listen to Six Word Memories, a challenge where students use six words to share a story or memory before making inferences. After they have listened to these stories, the teacher asks evaluative and inferential questions, including “Do you think the narrator is showing or telling?” Students answer with what the text is saying by providing evidence to back up their claims. In a later lesson, students work in pairs on a Predicting Effects activity, following these directions: “Try this with your paragraphs. Read the part of your paragraph that describes ‘cause’ to your partner, but do not read the part that describes ‘effect.’ After you both have read, try to predict your partner’s ending by answering the following questions about your partner’s paragraph and listing your evidence.” The activity closes with partners sharing their paragraph endings.

In Unit 3, the teacher reads the poem “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.” Students discuss if they have previously heard a version of the tale. As students listen, they should see if they notice differences in this version and ones previously heard. Students then work in pairs to describe, in their own words, what happened between the grandmother and the wolf. The class then outlines the events in the first part of the poem. In a later lesson, students read a biography poem about Nick Giovanni. Students discuss questions about the poem and provide evidence to back up their answers. The directions tell students to “underline the words and details that help you develop your answers.” Students also read the poem “She Had Some Horses” together with the teacher. After reading through the poem once, students answer comprehension questions about the poem and its elements.

In Unit 7, students are paired up during the rereading of “Trouble is Brewing” to read and discuss. Students are reminded to think about the Big Question from before the reading. Students discuss their questions from the activity page together and then with the teacher. After students read “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” silently, they answer the following question in a class discussion: “How do you predict the colonists in Massachusetts responded to these new laws? Support your answer with information you have read in earlier chapters.” During a read aloud of “Heroes and Villains,” students follow along in the Reader. As the text is read aloud, the teacher pauses and asks questions, such as “What evidence does the text give that George Washington was one of the greatest heroes on the American side of the American Revolution?” “How does the text on this page suggest what the meaning of the word ‘heroine’ is?” and “Find evidence in the text to support the claim that Benedict Arnold was a villain in the American Revolution.” The lesson concludes when students “Discuss the Chapter” focused on the question “In what different ways did individuals prove to be heroes of the Revolution? Cite examples from the text to support your answer.”

Evaluation for 3.c.2
Materials engage students in productive teamwork and in student-led discussions, in both formal and informal settings.

The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in productive teamwork and in student-led discussions. Throughout the school year, students learn to use discussion protocols and give organized presentations. The Teacher’s Edition provides scaffolds, such as sentence starters, to support students’ use of clear and concise language.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Program Guide suggests ways to ensure students receive equal opportunities for listening and speaking, such as creating sticks with students’ names printed on them. When a discussion question or topic is proposed in class, the teacher chooses sticks to call on students to respond.

In Unit 1, students learn “Rules for Discussion,” a set of expectations for partner and group discussions. The handout states students should take turns speaking and only one person at a time is allowed to speak. Everyone has a chance to share their opinions. Students are to be respectful of others’ opinions. On-task behavior is expected of all students. At the end of the lesson, during the Check for Understanding, students are asked to share with the class how their group followed or did not follow the rules for discussion. During a writing lesson, students share a food narrative event. Students choose one topic, brainstorm, and list events that made their food experience. The materials then provide guidance on working with a partner. The materials have students work with a partner, take turns being the speaker and listener, and describe their experience. The listener writes down the details from the speaker’s experience they found most interesting and parts where they want to know more.

In Unit 2, students participate in a close read and reenact activity based on the text “The Battle of Yarmouk.” The materials provide group roles to assign to students. The students then work in groups to develop pantomimes for the battle day they are assigned. “Tell students that in the presentations they prepare, the narrator should read the text aloud, and the rest of the students should pantomime the action of the characters they were assigned. Tell them that the pantomimes should show the troop movements of the day and the generals planning and reacting to the troop movements.” Teachers remind students that the only person in the group who gets to speak is the narrator.

In Unit 3, students listen to a poem titled “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf,” by Roald Dahl. They are instructed to listen and think about the differences between the poem and the story version of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Students are partnered and asked to describe, in their own words, what happened between the wolf and the grandmother. One student describes what the grandmother did or said and the other describes what the wolf did or said. Students then share what they remembered of the poem in pairs. The materials provide students instructions on how to offer feedback to their partner. The teacher reviews tips and instructions for reading aloud. The materials provide opportunities for students to read in turns. Students read passages from Joy Harjo’s “She Has Some Horses” following their assigned roles when speaking in and to groups. This lesson consists of a 15-minute Read Aloud and a 30-minute Whole Class Close Reading. Every student says a line or a phrase from the poem.

In Unit 7, students are paired up during the rereading of “Trouble is Brewing” to read and discuss. During a review of their cause and effect essay draft, students receive guidance on speaking, listening, and responding to expectations. As speakers, students are expected to speak loud enough for group members to hear and slow enough for listeners to visualize. As a listener, students are expected to keep their body still, make eye contact, and use appropriate nonverbal responses. When responding, students are expected to start with compliments and be respectful. Students use the expectations in the lesson to share their writing.

Students also perform a vignette as an accompanying activity to the cumulative “Cause and Effect Essay”: “In preparation for drafting their first body paragraph, they will review the content by performing a vignette, or short scene, from history.” At the end of the unit and in groups, students share their cause and effect writing that they have been working on in previous lessons. Listeners are expected to give feedback to their peers. Students use this feedback to set revision goals for their writing.

Evaluation for 3.d.1
Materials engage students in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes to confront and analyze various aspects of a topic using relevant sources.

The materials engage students in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry; however, the materials do not explicitly engage students in identifying primary versus secondary resources.

The tasks within the thematic units build upon one another, allowing students ample opportunities to organize and present their ideas and information to grade-level-appropriate audience.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 4, students read informational texts about inventions, inventors, and creation with the purpose of competing in a game show hosted by the teacher and other famous inventors.

During the “Quest,” students understand key skills such as collaboration, research, pitching, knowledge, documentation, and failure. Students also use their research skills to gather evidence on inventions. One such invention is the light bulb, and students use the information they have gathered to write a persuasive paper about Thomas Edison. The materials provide questions to guide students’ research, such as “How does this invention change things?” “What does the invention do?” and “What came before then invention?”

In Unit 5, students use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast three texts about volcanoes. The texts include a secondary source and primary sources (oral history). Using the primary and secondary sources, students demonstrate comprehension of the materials.

Students engage in several short writing projects including drafting an informational pamphlet about tsunamis using paraphrased notes from “The Changing Earth.” Students are reminded about the previous Middle Ages unit, about how to take notes, and how to paraphrase. Teachers then model and guide students through the process of transforming notes into sentences.

In Unit 7, students write a cause and effect paragraph using the information from a text about the French and Indian War. Additionally, the Teacher’s Guide states that teachers should “encourage students to use another source in addition to the Reader to inform their writing. Ask them to cite their sources.” In the Reader, students answer questions about both primary and secondary texts: “When George Washington wrote to the Continental Congress in December 1777 describing the state of the army, what was morale like? What evidence from the text leads you to that conclusion?” From several vignettes read in class, students also record key information on a graphic organizer about the causes of the American Revolution. This practice with information ends with a five-paragraph cause and effect essay. Students are guided through the research and writing process as they complete their essay.

Evaluation for 3.e.1
Materials contain interconnected tasks that build student knowledge and provide opportunities for increased independence.

The materials provide meaningful, interconnected tasks that build student knowledge. The questions and activities are text-focused and provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their comprehension. During each unit, students are immersed in texts through reading as a whole group, independently, or in small groups. Questions and activities build student knowledge and culminate with writing activities that require students to incorporate knowledge learned in order to demonstrate their understanding of the content. Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are integrated throughout the lessons and units.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 6, instruction centers around vignettes selected from The House on Mango Street. The theme of aspiration is discovered through teacher-led discussion and a graphic organizer. This theme is the focus of lessons and activities throughout the unit. In order to discover the theme, students focus first on the narrator’s emotions and how they change over time. With the teacher’s assistance, students plot these emotions on a graph. Students then determine the theme utilizing the graph and questions such as “What do you notice about the narrator’s mood as time moves from the past to the imagined future? What theme could this graph be showing us?” Students also collaborate on a theatrical presentation of Vignette 1. Students take on the roles of director, Esperanza, and the nun. Students reread the vignette, annotate the dialogue and action, and then practice before presenting to the class. Afterwards, students write an opinion statement answering the question “How did Esperanza’s mood change through the scene with the nun?” Near the end of the unit, students write a personal narrative on the theme of aspiration wherein the students write their own story of aspiration.

In Unit 8, students read an abridged version of Stevenson’s Treasure Island, focusing on literary devices including character development, setting, and plot. During a reading lesson, students answer the question “How does Jim describe Long John Silver?” In the subsequent writing lesson, students work in small groups to develop a character, while incorporating descriptive language, to be used in their adventure story later in the unit. During a later lesson, students read a chapter and focus on “determining or clarifying the meaning of descriptive words and phrases and identify figurative language that helps create a memorable plot and interesting characters.” The class answers the following questions: “When Long John Silver calls Jim ‘smart as paint,’ what do you think he means? Why might Jim be so pleased with Long John Silver’s compliment? What does this portray about each character’s personality?” Students then draft a character sketch using the information gathered in previous lessons on the “My Character Chart.” Near the end of the unit, students begin drafting their adventure story. The teacher explains that the story Treasure Island is a model for how their story will be organized. Students may refer back to the “Shape of a Story Chart” taught in previous lessons. Students identify examples from the mentor text that exemplify introduction, problem/conflict, and rising action. Climax/turning point and resolution are also discussed, but no examples are given since students have not read that part of the text yet. Students use their character stories from earlier lessons, add action, and develop main events, before completing the story.

Evaluation for 3.e.2
Materials provide spiraling and scaffolded practice.

The materials provide students with interconnected tasks distributed throughout units of study. These tasks build student knowledge and allow for increased independence. Units are designed with an emphasis on students understanding content in early lessons. Then, using the knowledge gained, students complete a writing project encompassing not only the content taught, but the skills as well. Students are supported through teacher modeling and numerous questions asked during Read Alouds and Reading portions of the lessons. Teacher modeling and these questions also serve as comprehension checks for the teacher. The units integrate reading, writing, speaking and listening and several integrate these in the final writing project.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Program Guide states “CKLA is a tightly integrated program that builds intentionally over time. Skills and knowledge introduced in one lesson and unit are built upon in the next and later units.” The Scope and Sequence is provided for teachers. This document outlines the student expectations for each unit and individual lesson. The introductory paragraph included for each unit summarizes the concepts addressed.

In Unit 2, students read in order to learn about the relationship between lords and serfs, focusing on the question “How were the lives of serfs and lords different from one another?” As students independently read this chapter, they answer, in a whole class discussion, questions that pertain to the text: “What are some of the things privileged girls and boys learned to do?” “What does the author tell us is the primary responsibility of serfs?” “Based on what you just read, who do you think had more power and freedom in the Middle Ages—serfs or lords? Why?” Students use the handout “The Feudal System Hierarchy” as a reference. The take-home activity provides a text connected to the class reading: “Write one sentence for each of the four images to describe what the serf might be doing in each image. Refer to the text ‘If You Were a Boy Serf’ to find evidence to support your response. Incorporate vocabulary words from the text when possible and use complete sentences.” Later in the unit, students create a graphic organizer that compares and contrasts the life of a lord and a serf. Then, using notes from these lessons, students begin drafting an informative paragraph about lords and then serfs. The unit culminates with students learning how to write a persuasive paragraph.

In Unit 5, students examine the Big Question “How did people’s understanding of what was happening on Earth’s surface change over time?” Students complete an “Evidence Collector’s Chart” as it relates to the Big Question. Students then study a cause in more depth. The materials instruct the teacher to “tell students that, after examining the cause statement, they will review the information in the chapter to determine what effect the cause produced. Tell students evidence represents the effect of a cause.” Students will use the images from an activity page as evidence for the “Evidence Collector’s Chart” by pasting it into the “What evidence is there?” section. Students then write some keywords about the image and cite the chapter from which the information was collected. The teacher explains that students must identify evidence about Pangaea in the chapter. Students look through the chapter to find the textual evidence. “Tell students that there will be many examples of evidence and causes in each chapter, but that they will focus on information most closely related to the Big Question in each chapter.” Students use the Take Home page about Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis to complete the evidence chart: “using information from the excerpt, write five pieces of evidence that support Wegener’s hypothesis.”

In Unit 8, students analyze the elements of a story, using Treasure Island, during read alouds and reading lessons. Students work in Think-Pair-Share partner groups to answer text-based questions. Questions focus on characters and the language an author uses to develop these characters. Notes are taken on graphic organizers about main characters. Students use what is learned to write their own adventure story and then share their stories with the class. The audience is expected to give feedback, which is returned to the students for examination.

Evaluation for 4.1
Materials provide systematic instruction and practice of foundational skills, including opportunities for phonics and word analysis skills (e.g., examination of grade-level prefixes and suffixes, decoding of multisyllabic words by using syllabication, and automaticity with grade-level regular and irregular spelling patterns).

The Grade 4 materials provide practice with decoding multisyllabic words and the study of prefixes and suffixes through the Language section of each lesson, which includes spelling and morphology work. The supplemental Assessment and Remediation Guide used for students who demonstrate deficiencies provides most of the systematic instruction of the six syllable types, decoding compound words, contractions, abbreviations, and syllable division patterns within the fourth grade TEKS. The materials also provide remediation for students not performing at grade level in the areas of fluency, decoding, and encoding. There are sufficient opportunities for students to use their word recognition and word analysis skills. The materials provide ample reading texts of words explicitly taught throughout the foundational skills, or language lessons. The Program Guide explains the words are explicitly taught and then included in the readers to give students opportunities to read connected texts and apply their new skills. The lessons also include out-of-context reading practice and morphology comprehension checks.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials provide a Research Guide describing the research and evidence behind the CKLA program. The Research Guide states: “With regard to the written code, research shows that phonics instruction is not simply present or absent, but rather exists in degrees.

What research suggests is that the degrees may matter—substantially—to children’s outcomes. Effective phonics instruction includes: (1) systematic ordering of phonetic targets that progress in number and complexity over time; (2) systematic practice in which children have intentionally designed opportunities to apply and use the sound-spellings they are taught (DeGraaff et al., 2009); and (3) systematic instructional planning whereby methods of instruction are consistent and progress depending on students’ learning (Bodrova and Leong, 2006; DeGraaff et al., 2009).” The Research Guide also states the materials teach a blended approach to word reading (word recognition skills): synthetic phonics (letter-sound correspondence) and analytic phonics instruction (words have patterns, such as onset rime). The research demonstrates that as children's word attack skills mature, they will use both methodologies interchangeably depending on what the specific word necessitates. It is important to note that as children move away from learning to read to reading to learn, they will use their word recognition skills in conjunction with word analysis in order to decode and comprehend. “In the Skills strand, time is dedicated to building decoding and word-level automaticity within controlled, decodable texts. The decision to split the instructional focus in the earliest grades is based in recent developmental models of reading that refute the notion that decoding and reading comprehension develop sequentially (Catts et al., 2012; Kendeou et al., 2009; Scarborough, 2005; Storch and Whitehurst, 2002)...in Grades 4 and 5, where instruction moves away from the two-strand model toward a single, integrated language arts block. By Grades 4 and 5, the focus is on fluent reading for meaning-making and the emphasis, instructionally, is on increasing efficiency and skill in the integration of word- and text-level skills, as occurs with proficient readers (Perfetti, 2007). Although Grades 4 and 5 do not have two distinct strands of materials, the premise of the CKLA design—building both knowledge and skills—is consistent across all grade levels.”

The Grade 4 materials provide teachers with an additional resource titled “Decoding and Encoding Remediation Supplement.” The purpose of the supplement is to “provide additional instruction and remediation to students who enter Grades 4 or 5 with gaps in their code knowledge and fluency.” Teachers use assessment data gathered in Unit 1 to inform guided instruction in areas of decoding where students are deficient.

The Grade 4 materials also provide teachers with another resource titled “Assessment and Remediation Guide.” The purpose of this supplement is to “provide additional instruction and remediation to students who enter Grade 4 with gaps in their code knowledge and fluency.” The guide is for students who have mastered most of the letter-sound correspondence but are not yet fluent readers. The guide includes assessments that can be used as pre-tests or post- tests for each unit.

In Unit 1, a foundational skills lesson practices decoding multisyllabic words with the syllable -le. The materials refer to this syllable as vowel team -le and include a final stable syllable review of -dle, -ple, and -tle. Students practice syllable division with the words and then read them. Then students play a game of “baseball” in which the teacher draws a baseball field on the board and picks words from a set of cards; as each team of students successfully reads the words, she draws a line. The team that gets to home base first wins.

Unit 5 contains a syllabication/pronunciation chart to introduce specific syllable types within spelling words. For example, the chart has closed, open, and r-controlled syllables.

In Unit 8, students use the homophones “their,” “there,” and “they’re” in the context of a sentence. They also review previously learned homophones “two,” “to,” and “too”; “for” and “four”; and “ate and “eight.”

Unit 10 contains a morphology lesson for the prefixes: over-, mid-, and under-. The teacher introduces the prefixes and their meanings and reviews the ways these prefixes can change the part of speech of a word.

Evaluation for 4.2
Materials include diagnostic tools and provide opportunities to assess student mastery, in and out of context, at regular intervals for teachers to make instructional adjustments.

The Grade 4 materials provide teachers with tools to assess students’ growth and mastery of foundational skills. The assessments provided also include guidance on evaluating a student’s performance and how the teacher can respond to the student’s data. Additionally, the Program Guide and the Fluency Supplement include instructions on supporting, differentiating, and remediating students performing below grade level. However, the materials do not contain support for the teacher to work with students in self-monitoring.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials require students to take beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year (BOY, MOY, and EOY) assessments. The purpose of these assessments is to provide teachers with data to assess students’ gaps as well as growth in foundational skills. Within the units that contain the BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments, a lesson is designated for Assessment Analysis. This is at the end of the unit and provides teachers with a set of criteria that designates students as having “adequate,” “strong,” or “outstanding” preparation for Grade 4. Students who fall into the “poor” preparation category are advised to receive support outside of the classroom. Otherwise, teachers should use the Assessment and Remediation Guide to support students who show gaps in foundational skills.

The materials contain an Assessment Remediation Guide that addresses all units to help students who enter grade four with gaps in “code knowledge and fluency.” The guide includes assessments at the end of each unit that can be used as pre-tests or post-tests. The guide also includes a placement test to know where to begin with a student. A flow chart guides the teacher’s decision based on the results of the assessments.

The Grade 4 materials also provide teachers with the additional resource titled “Decoding and Encoding Remediation Supplement.” This purpose of the supplement is to “provide additional instruction and remediation to students who enter Grades 4 or 5 with gaps in their code knowledge and fluency.”

Unit 1 also provides guidelines and procedures to follow when BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments are given. An assessment has three components: reading comprehension, grammar, and morphology. The materials include an “assessment summary,” a tool that gives the teacher guidance on where students should fall to have achieved grade-level attainment. Teachers use this assessment along with two others to determine if students should be regrouped into “an earlier point of instruction in the CKLA grade level materials.”

At the end of each unit, students take a unit assessment covering skills taught during the unit. This provides teachers with data to determine if students mastered or require remediation for specific unit skills. Pausing Points are given with each unit to provide time for remediation.

Evaluation for 4.3
Materials provide frequent opportunities for students to practice and develop oral and silent reading fluency, while reading a wide variety of grade-appropriate texts at the appropriate rate with accuracy and expression to support comprehension.

The materials provide some opportunities for students to develop fluency and accuracy but lack explicit instruction around phrasing, intonation, and expression. The materials include a Fluency Supplement that is optional, and materials provide limited guidance for routines to regularly monitor and provide feedback. The materials include fluency within the unit assessments, but the questions are listed as optional.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Assessment and Remediation Guide provides “assessment, instruction, and practice for students’ specific needs in code knowledge and fluency.” It states: “Students who perform below the 50th percentile on Fluency Assessments may benefit from specific remediation designed to improve fluency. While it is beyond the scope of this Guide to provide detailed suggestions for improving fluency, the following best practices are highly recommended: Model fluent reading for students by reading passages aloud with expression, demonstrating how to use punctuation as a guide for pauses. Provide opportunities for students to reread passages, after corrective feedback on any decoding errors has been provided. Pairing students for partner reading and using Reader’s Theater are both strategies that can be used to encourage rereading. Occasional choral reading may also be effective.”

The Fluency Supplement is for both Grades 4 and 5. The diverse texts included are of numerous genres and contain a large number of literary and informational texts. The fluency probes are designed for students to read independently and practice at home during the week. At the end of the week, students are expected to read the probe with fluency and expression.

The unit assessments contain a fluency assessment. The Teacher’s Edition lists this section as “optional.” Teachers are given an additional passage to use for this assessment. Comprehension questions accompany the assessment, along with a copy on which to perform a running record. Included with the fluency assessment are instructions for teachers to score the students’ oral fluency. It is suggested that students who score 10 words above or below the 50th percentile should be interpreted as normal.

In Unit 2, the Caravan Paragraph writing activity located in the “Writing” support margin has “Transitioning/Expanding” guidance that states, “Have students work in small groups for the portion of this activity when students read their paragraph aloud; teacher first models reading with expression.”

Evaluation for 5.1
Materials include supports for students who demonstrate proficiency above grade-level.

The materials provide some opportunities to support students demonstrating above-level proficiency. Sidebars note opportunities to differentiate; however, the majority of sidebars focus on scaffolds rather than enrichment. Teacher notes suggest pairing/grouping students based on their levels. The materials also include Pausing Point days within each unit to provide time for extension and enrichment for students who have “mastered” the unit materials; however, most suggestions focus on reading extra books or completing extra tasks similar to those in the unit.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Program Guide describes opportunities for student enrichment; some lessons “offer opportunities for independent and small group research that can be extended by asking for alternative sources or deeper analysis.” The guide also provides examples of what advanced students can do to enhance their writing, such as using more complex and unusual descriptive vocabulary, figurative language, complex sentences, longer and richer text, and text features such as headers and bullets.

In each unit throughout the year, the materials include time for a Pausing Point to provide additional activities and the reading of more complex text. The Pausing Points include enrichment activities from which teachers can choose to challenge students performing above grade level. At the beginning of each description of the enrichment activities, it is mentioned that if students have mastered the skills in that particular unit, teachers may enrich their experience of the concept by using the activities. For example, in Unit 5 a Pausing Point suggests students read the enrichment selections “The Rock Towns of Cappadocia,” “Violent Vesuvius,” and “A Deep-Sea Detective Story” contained in the Reader and complete pages out of their Activity Book with questions about the readings, such as “Why do scientists monitor Vesuvius so closely?” “How are most hoodoos formed?” and “Why did early Christians settle in Cappadocia?” Students could also “Write a letter from the perspective of a scientist who is going on an underwater expedition to explore hydrothermal vents” or “Write a myth about ancient ocean fossils on Mount Everest.” In Unit 7’s Pausing Points, students can read “Points of View” to learn about different perspectives during the American Revolution and then match descriptions of historical persons from that era with their name or “Create a vignette with two enslaved Africans in the 1770’s. Include the following characters: an enslaved boy who is offered his freedom if he fights with the British and an enslaved man who decides to fight for the colonists alongside his master. Their dialogue should describe reasons for the two differing points of view.”

The lessons contain support notes about modifying instruction to accommodate student needs; however, few focus on students already mastering the skills within the unit. In Unit 1, the class is asked to “write a paragraph describing how someone changed you or how you changed someone else.” As a “Challenge” suggestion, teachers can ask students to “think abstractly by choosing a memory about a time someone changed them personally, so they gained or lost a character trait.” In Unit 3, after the teacher reads the poem “Ask Aden,” students answer the questions “The speaker of the poem has chosen a subject in each line. What do all of the subjects have in common?” and “Why might this person be asking all these questions?” As a Challenge question, students can answer “Why might the speaker’s questions be unanswered?”

Evaluation for 5.2
Materials include supports for students who perform below grade level to ensure they are meeting the grade-level literacy standards.

The materials provide some supports for students demonstrating literacy skills below grade level, such as images, graphic organizers, and sentence frames/starters. The Teacher’s Guide provides guidance for teachers on supporting students performing below grade level in sidebar notes labeled “Support”. The teacher can decide which supports are necessary for students based on the students’ knowledge and skills. Pausing Points in each unit provide time to review, reteach, and differentiate instruction. The Decoding and Encoding Supplement provides advice for grouping based on skill support needs.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Decoding and Encoding Guide states the Guide is “not intended for use with students who are significantly below grade level. The Guide is intended for use with students have mastered some or most of the letter-sound correspondences in the English language, but who are not yet fluent readers because they lack specific decoding skills and/or have not had sufficient practice in reading decodable text.” At the end of each section in the Guide are assessments which may be used for both pre-tests and post-tests. It is suggested that teachers always administer a post-test following any remedial instruction to document student progress or lack thereof. Teachers receive instructions as to how to use the Guide and assessment results.

The Pausing Points included throughout the units serve as an opportunity for reteaching, remediation, and extension related to Content, Reading Comprehension, Fluency, and Writing. Sample guidance Content includes referring back to the lessons in the unit for elements in need of reteach or remediation. Teachers are advised to focus more heavily on the questions labeled as “support.” Sample guidance for Reading Comprehension includes advising teachers to consult the Decoding and Encoding Remediation Supplement. For Fluency, the guidance suggests teachers give multiple opportunities for students to reread a particular text from either the Reader or from the Fluency Supplement. The Writing guidance refers teachers to individual lessons in which particular skills are addressed. Teachers can create specific writing prompts targeting the particular skill in which students need additional practice.

Every lesson contains support notes about modifying instruction to accommodate student needs. For example, in Unit 2, Lesson 2, students are directed to read “To the Manor Born.” Before reading, students are reminded of the strategies to use to define unfamiliar words. The support given about th

question is asked about privileged boys and girls. The support on the side asks the additional question “Were most people privileged or serfs?” to help students understand privileged and serf. When introducing the chapter, the materials review meaning of words presented in the text. In Lesson 12, students read “Henry II and Law and Order” and discuss the idiom “William ruled with an iron fist” used in the first paragraph of chapter 7. The support suggests reviewing the concept of an idiom.

Evaluation for 5.3
Materials include supports for English Learners (EL) to meet grade-level learning expectations.

The materials provide some support and scaffolding for English Learners. The Teacher’s Guide provides guidance for teachers on specific strategies for emerging, transitioning, and bridging language learners. The materials do not include support commensurate with the various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPs (beginning, intermediate, advanced, and advanced high); rather, these supports are differentiated into three levels. The materials provide Spanish Readers in the online Second Edition website and some support with cognates. The Student Readers include images to support comprehension of text, and teachers have access to a digital version for projection. Bilingual dictionaries and thesauri are not mentioned in the materials. There is no evidence of a strategic use of students’ first language to enhance vocabulary development.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Under “Language for ELD and Universal Access,” the Program Guide states: “A range of supports and additional practice are provided in the program to provide access to academic and domain-specific language taught in the core lessons” and “Spanish cognates are provided in parentheses and italics next to vocabulary words in most units.” In addition, the “core lessons, as written, provide a high degree of scaffolding.” The Program Guide explains that in the sidebar of the Teacher Guide, there are differentiated supports for students with linguistic needs. These supports provide scaffolds for students to access the learning at their language ability. They are broken down into three ability levels: “entering/emerging,” “transitioning/expanding,” and “bridging,” listed from greatest need for linguistic accommodations to least support.

For example, an “entering/emerging” scaffold might ask for students to draw their answer, a “transitioning/expanding” might ask students to add labels, and a “bridging” may ask students to complete the activity with no modifications. The intention of the scaffolds is to “bolster reading comprehension and effective expression in writing.” Another linguistic accommodation from the Program Guide mentions providing different methods for responding. “Students are

given a wide range of response methods in lessons, including oral responses, shared class responses, individual written responses, and small group work. Small groups are structured to allow students who need help to be given targeted support, and sidebars provide further advice on how to work with individuals, pairs, and small groups.”

Access Supports listed in a sidebar in each lesson are represented with a hand in a circle. In the Program Guide it states these supports provide guidance “to adjust pacing of instruction, providing more specific explicit instruction for Tier 2 (broadly academic) and Tier 3 (domain- specific) vocabulary words, and offering deeper support for syntactic awareness.” For example, the reading lesson lists the vocabulary words in a tier chart, and cognates are listed for the words that have them. For example, the Tier 3 words “basalt,” “lava,” and “plate tectonics” have cognates.

The majority of the lessons also include a Word Work section focused on a specific word. Throughout Read Alouds, students receive support via pictures or props with attention being paid specifically to vocabulary.

In the Teacher’s Edition, the section Advance Preparation contains information on universal access. This section provides teachers with advice on what to prepare in advance specifically for English Language Learners. Within the lessons, the materials provide sentence frames and starters for writing and speaking tasks and numerous graphic organizers and other tools that promote the activation of background knowledge. Spanish Readers are also provided in both e- book and PDF forms for most Grade 4 Readers. It is noted that, “due to licensed text, select Grade 4 units have been excluded.” Texts in five out of eight units include a Spanish version.

The digital component of the materials offers a mode of presenting images from the text and the text itself to support learning, noting that “Images used during instruction connect to the text and support comprehension.” All units have a glossary at the end of the Teacher’s Edition, and the words in the glossary are bolded in the student reader, helping the student recognize that the word needs special attention.

In Unit 1, the writing component of a lesson involves a memory paragraph activity. The sidebar includes guidance for linguistics accommodations for English Language Learners. The entering/emerging students draw their memory, and then the teacher asks questions about the picture to help them generate sentences; transitioning/expanding students use provided sentence frames throughout the paragraph; and bridging students use sentence frames only for the introduction and conclusion.

Evaluation for 6.1
Materials include assessment and guidance for teachers and administrators to monitor progress including how to interpret and act on data yielded.

The materials provide assessments and guidance for teachers to monitor student progress. Teachers are given instructions on how to interpret and act on any data found through the assessments. While the assessments are aligned in purpose and use, they are not aligned to the TEKS. The materials provide instructions and multiple charts on which to track and disseminate data. BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments are provided for placement of students based on need. Formative assessments occur throughout every unit and lesson in the form of worksheets in the Activity Book as well as Checks for Understanding built into the lessons. The assessments are connected to the regular content and support student learning.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials include BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments. The BOY assessment occurs in Unit 1 and consists of five components: written assessment of reading comprehension, grammar, and morphology; and oral assessment of word reading in isolation; and a fluency assessment. These assessments are used for initial placement of students and identification of needed remediation. The MOY assessment occurs at the end of Unit 5, and the same five components are tested as in the previous assessment. The EOY assessment occurs at the end of Unit 8 and tests the same five components.

Each unit not containing a BOY, MOY, or EOY assessment contains a unit assessment assessing the primary focus for each component of the unit. Unit assessments include comprehension and vocabulary questions about the text, in addition to grammar and morphology. Students also complete performance tasks and writing assessments throughout the units. The materials provide rubrics to score and analyze student assessments.

Formative assessments occur throughout the Student Activity Books to keep track of students’ progress toward the objectives of each lesson. Teachers are provided with an answer key or rubric for all formative assessments, which can be found within the Teacher Resources section at the end of every unit.

Evaluation for 6.2
Materials include year-long plans and supports for teachers to identify needs of students and provide differentiated instruction to meet the needs of a range of learners to ensure grade-level success.

The materials provide a year-long plan for teachers to provide differentiation. The Program Guide and Supports noted in the sidebar of the Teacher’s Edition and integrated into the lessons provide suggestions for differentiation and grouping structures. The Lesson at a Glance also includes the amount of time needed for each portion of the lesson and how students should be grouped. Ancillary materials include instructions for implementation and use.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Program Guide provides information on how to support students who are at different levels. Within the guide, a section titled Supporting All Students outlines the ways the materials provide support: drawing on background knowledge, modeling and focusing on meaning-making, vocabulary and grammar, discussions, reading and rereading, use of appropriate tools, and scaffolded writing. The materials build on background knowledge specifically for children who have been taught with these materials in previous grades. In the unit introductions of each Teacher Guide, a section outlines which units in previous grades correlate with the one being taught. The materials embed modeling throughout the reading lessons. The supports in the sidebar provide guidance to support students with comprehension. Specific close reading lessons provide students opportunities to reread a text with teacher guidance. The materials also include Pausing Points within the reading where the teacher is prompted to either ask a question or point out a vocabulary word. Graphic organizers throughout the activity pages offer additional scaffolds to support students. Supports for writing assignments include sentence frames, graphic organizers, prewritten discussions, and content-specific word lists.

The Assessment and Remediation Guide, Encoding/Decoding Supplement, and Fluency Packets are online resources and contain activities covering phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency and comprehension. Teachers use the assessments included in these ancillary materials to determine areas where students need remediation and create small groups based on this data. These materials include instructions for implementation and use. Teachers use assessment data to determine a student’s individual needs.

The materials are divided into units, and each unit has 15 to 20 lessons. On average, there are three to four Pausing Point lessons in each unit. Pausing Points provide the teacher an opportunity to reteach, enrich, and master the information learned in the unit. These lessons address enrichment and/or remediation in reading comprehension, speaking, listening, language, vocabulary, and writing.

Supports provided in the teacher materials titled “Access, Support and Challenge” are represented by an icon located in the sidebar, and those for use during daily instruction are in the form of questions and activities. In Unit 3 Lesson 2, the Support sidebar suggests reviewing the definitions of “line,” “stanza” and “rhyme” before the Read Aloud of “Ask Aden.”

Evaluation for 6.3
Materials include implementation support for teachers and administrators.

The materials include a grade-specific scope and sequence outlining the skills taught in the program and the order in which they are taught. The Scope and Sequence is not aligned with the TEKS. Each individual unit includes an introduction that shows connections to prior CKLA learning. Teacher implementation supports include summaries provided at the beginning of each unit and lesson. Teachers also receive additional support in the Teacher Resource section located at the end of every lesson and via other resources located on the Amplify website. No evidence was found of support for administrators to support implementation. The materials include pacing guidance and routines to support a 180-day schedule but not a 220-day schedule.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Scope and Sequence is located online on the 2nd edition website under each grade level. It is not aligned to the TEKS. The Scope and Sequence begins with a description of the components of each unit, including lessons, unit assessments, and Pausing Points. Each unit includes a summary of the theme of the unit. A chart displays each component of the lesson: text analysis/comprehension, speaking and s, and writing; these are charted by lesson. Students expectations for each lesson are listed.

The materials include a Unit Introduction for each unit that provides a summary of the theme of the unit, how long the unit should last, and if it contains Pausing Points. The skills taught during the lesson are summarized, and each skills component of the lesson includes the expectations of the unit. A section also explains why the unit is important and lists the prior CKLA knowledge students should be bringing based on learning in previous grades. The materials describe Writing, Performance Tasks and Assessments, and Fluency. The academic and core vocabulary for the unit is listed in a chart and by lesson.

On the Amplify website, a tab labeled Resources to Help Teachers contains a Program Guide, Research Guides, Pacing Guides, Standards Alignment, Scope and Sequence, Professional Learning Resources, Independent Reading, Social Emotional Learning, and Multimedia Resources. The Program Guide gives an overview of the whole program, including philosophy, how the lessons work, and more. The Research Guide details the research behind CKLA and its philosophies. Under Professional Learning Resources, different titles are available based on specific resources a teacher might need. For example, there is a webinar on skills as a supplement. The resources also have many titles for initial training.

At the beginning of each lesson, there is an overview provided for teachers. The Primary Focus of the Lesson section provides student expectations for each component of the lesson along with a hyperlink to the description of state standards that fits that expectation. Formative assessments for the lesson include hyperlinks to the activity page where the assessment in question can be located. The Lesson at a Glance chart shows the lesson components: Speaking and Listening (Read Aloud), Reading (activities are linked to Read Aloud), Foundational Skills, Language, Writing, and Spelling. There is also a materials list, with hyperlinks when available.

At the end of each unit, there is a Teacher Resource section. Included are links to a glossary and to an answer key. The resources available depend on the unit and what is being taught and assessed. In Unit 1, this resource section includes Dialogue Starter Pages, a Speaking and Listening Observational Checklist, and Story Slips.

In addition, the materials provide a teacher planner available for all grade levels. The planner contains a year-long pacing guide and lesson-planning pages. The online pacing guide on the 2nd-edition website shows each unit in weeks to create a visual of how long each unit should last. Pausing Point days are also included. As noted in the Program Guide and indicated on the pacing guide, the materials are designed for 180-185 days of instruction including Pausing Point days.

Evaluation for 6.4
The visual design of the student edition (whether in print or digital) is neither distracting nor chaotic.

The materials for Grade 4 include image cards, student workbooks, texts, and photographs simply designed to not distract from learning. Graphic elements are maintained across the materials. Each unit utilizes white space to support students in finding and understanding information. Student Readers, Student Workbooks, and Flip Books use bold print and photographs that are centered on the page to enhance readability. The graphics and white space on the pages ensure that the student can readily find the information they need without distraction.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 2, the Activity Book called “The Empires in the Middle Ages” contains photographs centered on every other page surrounded by white space. The photographs enhance the story and do not distract from it.

In Unit 4, the Inventor Cards used during the lesson contain graphics of different inventors, which fill the entire card.

In Unit 7, the Student Reader called “The American Revolution Road to Independence” contains white space around the text and photographs to showcase the text and photographs.

In Unit 8, the Reader “Treasure Island” contains centered photographs on topic with the text.

Evaluation for 6.5
If present, technology components included are appropriate for grade level students and provide support for learning.

The materials do not include student-facing technology components.