HMH Into Literature - Grade 7

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

The materials include well-crafted texts of publishable quality, representing the content, language, and writing produced by experts in various disciplines. The materials include well-known authors and well-known texts. These materials also represent traditional, contemporary, and classical texts that lend to the resources’ diversity. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The instructional materials in Grade 7 include high-quality texts ranging from classical Greek literature to folktales, poetry, excerpts from novels, short stories, and drama. Selections include well-known authors, such as Yeats, Poe, Bradbury, Simon, and Hughes, as well as those who may not be known in literary circles but are credible writers in the Age of Information. 

In Unit 1, students read the contemporary short story “Rogue Wave” by Theodore Taylor, an author who “wrote many stories about self-reliant characters who face great challenges.” Taylor explores the topic of “survival.” To build and sustain student interest, the story features “dialogue and visuals.” The story has a Lexile level of 980, which is appropriate for the grade level. Regarding the story’s qualitative complexity, the “Teacher’s Edition” states that the text has “mostly explicit; some difficult vocabulary” and “some implied meaning.” 

Like all units, Unit 2 contains diverse reading selections that target various reading interests. For example, the contemporary short story “Heartbeat” by David Yoo is about positive self-image. The unit also contains the modern magazine article “The Camera Does Lie'' by Meg Ross and the Middle Eastern Folk tale “The Song of Wandering Aengus” by W. B. Yeats. The unit showcases Yeats’s poetry with his poem “The Song of Wandering Aengus.” Additionally, the unit contains an excerpt from the drama “The Governess,” a 19th-century Russian piece about a young woman standing up for herself, written by Neil Simon. 

Unit 4 features the informational passage “Martian Metropolis” written by Lori Calabrese, a TV producer. The Teacher’s Edition asks students about “the colonization of Mars” by discussing “the science and technology required for humans to live on Mars.” The materials also require “outside knowledge,” thus giving it complexity. 

Unit 6 contains a personal essay about child labor in India, “Working Towards Peace,” written by Craig Kelburger. The piece pairs with the documentary “It Takes a Child” by Judy Jackson. The unit contains short stories, poems, history writing, and articles; it ends with an autobiography, “Walking with the Wind” by John Lewis.

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.

The materials include a variety of text types and genres. The materials include short stories, informational texts, historical fiction, poetry, and short stories. The materials contain a variety of text types and both print and graphic features. 

Examples of literary texts include but are not limited to: 

• “The Flight of Icarus Greek” retold by Sally Benson (myth)
• “Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push” by Walter Dean Myers (realistic fiction) 
• “He-y, Come on Ou-t!” by Shinichi Hoshi (mystery) 
• “The Governess from The Good Doctor” by Neil Simon (drama)
• “Ball Hawk” by Joseph Bruchac (short story)
• “Rogue Wave” by Theodore Taylor (adventure story)
• “What If We Were Alone?” by William Stafford (poem)
• “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” by Ray Bradbury (science fiction)
• “Two Legs or One?” by Josepha Sherman (folktale/humor)
• “Sometimes A Dream Needs a Push” by Walter Dean Myers (historical fiction)

Examples of informational texts include but are not limited to: 

• “Martian Metropolis” by Meg Thacher (informative)
• “Challenges for Space Exploration” by Ann Lackie (argumentative)
• “Craig Kielburger Reflects on Working Toward Peace” by Craig Kielburger (personal essay)
• “A Police Stop Changed this Teenager’s Life” by Amy B. Wang (article) 

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

The “Unit Opener” section found in each unit contains a graphic that corresponds with the Unit’s theme, which sets the unit’s mood. Each text selection is also accompanied by a graphic that corresponds to the text and sets the mood.

In Unit 1, the short story “Rogue Wave” by Theodore Taylor includes pictures that connect to the plot and conflicts; the materials also include videos and screencasts that explain concepts, objects, and events found in the story. Additionally, the materials provide interactive “Notice and Note” boxes that ask the students to pause, analyze via guiding questions, and type in their responses to help dissect the story’s elements. 

In Unit 3, the text contains photographs, drawings, and a video clip provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to support the text. Additionally, units from the text include graphic organizers, such as the one seen in Unit 3, “Media Project: Create a Photo Collage.” The text provides a graphic organizer and appealing photographs to guide students and help students maneuver through the selections to accomplish the required tasks. 

In Unit 4, the informational text “Martian Metropolis” by Meg Thatcher contains an abstract visual for the story cover. It also includes interactive boxes, Notice and Note, for students to pause, analyze, and respond to guiding questions. Also included is a glossary of clickable vocabulary words and illustrations that highlight the selection details. 

In Unit 6, students read the documentary text It Takes A Child by Judy Jackson. The text features a paragraph and boxes to explain what the genre is about and how students can understand or view it better, background information, and a “setting a purpose” section before the documentary video itself. 

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 texts that are challenging and appropriately complex for seventh graders. The publisher provides a text complexity analysis that contains appropriate quantitative and qualitative features. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Intro Literature Texas, the publisher provides a text complexity analysis for each reading selection. Each text complexity includes information about quantitative and qualitative measures. The quantitative measure refers to the texts’ Lexile Level, and the qualitative measures provide information on ideas presented, the structure used, the language used, and the knowledge required. Lexile Levels are not available for poetry, drama, and other selections like speeches. The majority of the texts fall in the range 970L–1120L, which is in the seventh-grade Lexile range according to the “Lexile Range for College and Career Readiness” chart. The qualitative features reflect the concepts and skills required for seventh-grade students. 

In Unit 2, for “The Governess from The Good Doctor” by Neil Simon and “from The Governess” by Clackamas Community College, text complexity analysis is provided. Both selections provide quantitative and qualitative measures. The quantitative measure gives the Lexile, which is Not Applicable, since this is a drama piece and a set of images/visuals. Regarding ideas presented, the text complexity states, “Much is explicit but moves to implied meaning.” Regarding text structure, “Clear, chronological, conventional.” Regarding language complexity, “Some unconventional period-specific language.” Regarding knowledge required, “Some unconventional period-specific language.” 

In Unit 5, for “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” by Ray Bradbury, a text complexity analysis is available. For quantitative measure, the Lexile Level for the selection is 540L. For qualitative measure, the text complexity regarding ideas presented states, “Multiple levels, use of symbolism, greater demand for inference.” Regarding text structure, “Clear, chronological, conventional.” Regarding language complexity, “Allusive, figurative language, complex sentence structures.” Regarding knowledge required, “More complexity in theme, experiences may be less familiar to many.” 

In Unit 6, the text complexity analysis for “from It Takes a Child” by Judy Jackson provides both quantitative and qualitative measures. For quantitative measurement, the Lexile Level is not available because the selection is a documentary. Regarding ideas presented, the analysis states, “Simple, single meaning, basic and explicit.” Regarding text structure, “Easily identified structure.” Regarding language complexity, “Explicit, literal, and contemporary language.” Regarding knowledge required, “Requires no special knowledge.” 

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 contain questions and tasks that support students in analyzing and integrating knowledge, ideas, themes, and connections within and across texts. The questions and tasks target complex text elements, such as character traits, big ideas, themes, and connections. Additionally, the publisher’s questions are text-specific/dependent, target complex aspects of the texts, and integrate multiple TEKS.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Teacher’s Edition” provides lessons for each unit that contain a list of TEKS for each selection. Each unit has an “Essential Question” related to the unit’s central theme. The Essential Questions guide students from the beginning to the end of the lesson by having students revisit the question during reading and use their response log to gather information about their ideas. 

In Unit 2, students read Heartbeat by David Yoo; the Essential Question “What can blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not?” helps students build conceptual knowledge. As students read Heartbeat, they think about the main character, Dave’s thoughts, words, and actions, and what they reveal about him. In the lesson’s research section, students research the “different behaviors that help boost self-esteem and self-confidence.” Students generate questions and record their answers in a chart to guide them through the research. The research continues with students creating an infographic to visually represent their information and write several paragraphs about the “benefits of rejecting negative thinking,” which adds to the assignment’s elements’ complexity. The materials provide the targeted grade level TEKS for the Teacher’s Edition lesson. 

Unit 3 contains texts that occur in various settings and time periods. For example, “Trash Talk” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration settings are oceans and beaches, modern times. The unit also contains “Unbowed” by Wangari Muta Mathaai, which takes place in Kenya during modern times.

In Unit 4, the unit theme is “The Terror and Wonder of Space.” In Lesson 3, “Challenge for Space Exploration,” the Essential Question “Why is the idea of space exploration both inspiring and unnerving?” connects students to the central unit theme and thematically links other selections in the unit. To help students connect between selections throughout the units, students complete a reading log at the end of each reading selection. 

In Unit 5, students read Ball Hawk by Stephen Bruchac. The unit introduces the text’s complexity with the Essential Question “How do sports bring together friends, families, and communities?” In the “Note and Notice Signposts” section, students use the text to answer text-dependent questions. For example, students infer, “How does Mitchell’s attitude toward baseball help characterize him?” Students annotate words and phrases that characterize Mitchell to support their response. To help students connect to the text, QuickStart asks students, “Have you ever struggled to do something that you thought would be easy?”

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 contain questions that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. The materials also include various tasks and questions to study the language, key concepts, details, craft, and individual text structure. Students analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, students read “Rogue Wave” by Theodore Taylor. The “Notice and Note Signposts” section asks students to make inferences. Students annotate and highlight details that describe rogue waves. Students analyze the plot by highlighting the names of main characters and making a prediction about “What might be important to the plot that these characters are in two different settings?” Students also highlight repeated words and predict “Why the author has chosen to repeat the words and how they add suspense to the story?” to analyze the author’s use of language. 

In Unit 3, students read “Ode to Enchanted Light” by Pablo Neruda and ”Sleeping in the Forest” by Mary Oliver. After reading both selections, students compare and contrast “the stated or implied purposes of different authors’ writing on the same topic” through the Essential Question “What helps people rise to face their difficulties?” students then present their findings. Students further analyze the poem’s organization by answering questions in groups: “How do they differ? Is the organization of each poem appropriate to its content? Explain.” Additionally, students also interpret the poem and its relation to the theme: “How would you describe the central image presented in each poem? How does the speaker’s central idea relate to each poem’s theme? 

In Unit 5, students read “Ball Hawk” by Joseph Bruchac. The materials provide a “Think-Pair-Share” activity that asks students to answer the question “How do sports and sporting events help individuals and communities?” To help students understand concepts that may be unfamiliar to them, the “Cultural Reference” section provides definitions for words such as “goth (paragraph 2): a style of dress and music, related to punk-rock, that is a teen subculture” and “buffaloed (paragraph 6): a verb meaning intimidated and/or baffled.” Also, the lesson highlights literary elements such as “Point-of-View” through the mini-lesson and the digital annotation boxes. 

In Unit 6, students focus on the author’s experience as a young activist and “pay attention to how he describes his experiences” when they read “Craig Kielburger Reflects on Working Toward Peace” by Craig Kielburger. 

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 place for students to interact with and build essential academic vocabulary in and across the texts. The academic vocabulary is taught and reinforced using available resources and specific activities contained in each lesson. Additionally, the materials use scaffolds and differentiate vocabulary development for all learners.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide year-long opportunities for students to build academic vocabulary and use the appropriate language. A “Vocabulary Studio” is present for each unit and grade level, except for independent reading selections and some poetry selections. The Vocabulary Studio contains a “toolkit of vocabulary strategies” that includes using context clues, analyzing word structure, common roots, prefixes and suffixes, understanding word origins, synonyms and antonyms, and denotation and connotation. Additionally, within the “Reading Studio,” a Multilingual Glossary contains academic vocabulary and critical vocabulary of English terms side-by-side with many different languages, such as Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Vietnamese, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Tagalog, and Urdu. 

Unit 4, titled “The Terror and Wonder of Space,” begins with an Academic Vocabulary section. This section introduces the vocabulary words that students will learn and practice throughout the unit. For this unit, the vocabulary words are “complex, potential, rely, stress, valid.” For each vocabulary word, a Word Network is available in the form of a web diagram. The diagram contains the definition, synonym, antonym, word root, and related words. Students then create a Word Network for the remaining words. To further build their vocabulary skills, at the end of the unit, students write a peer review that requires them to use vocabulary words. 

Unit 6, “Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push” by Walter Dean Myers, contains a Vocabulary Strategy section that provides vocabulary help that focuses on context clues. In this section, after encountering an unfamiliar word, students use context clues or hints from the surrounding words, sentences, or paragraphs to determine the meaning. Students then use the context clues to define the terms equipped, arc, and dejected, found in the selection. 

Furthermore, the publisher provides a “Cultural References” section in the units that clarifies culture-bound (or culture-bias) academic words and concepts that “may be unfamiliar to students.” For example, in “The Governess from The Good Doctor” by Neil Simon and Production Images by the Theater Arts Department, Clackamas Community College provides references such as uplifting (paragraph 1): inspiring, coming along (paragraph 11): how something is going, and financial matters (paragraph 45).

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 clear plan to support and hold students accountable as they participate in independent reading. The materials additionally contain protocols, procedures, and supports for both teachers and students. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide students with a process for selecting texts for reading. The unit’s beginning includes a section labeled “Reader’s Choice.” This section guides the students on choosing a text to read by “Setting a Purpose.” The “Essential Question” is located in the same area to help students focus and follow the unit’s theme. At the end of the unit, students reflect on all their readings by answering questions that connect them to both the theme and the Essential Question. Finally, each selection comes with a “Selection Test” section in both digital and printable formats to hold students accountable. 

An “Independent Reading Preview Gallery” provides a visual section where students survey the selections they can choose. This section reminds students to utilize reading strategies they learned during class reading selections. A “Collaborate and Share” section has students find a partner and discuss what they learned from at least one of their independent readings. A list of steps is given to students to help guide their discussions: “Give a brief synopsis or summary of the text. Describe any signposts that you noticed in the text and explain what they revealed to you. Describe what you most enjoyed or found most challenging about the text. Give specific examples. Decide if you would recommend the text to others. Why or why not?” Additionally, each independent reading selection provides a “Background” section with the author’s picture, a visual connection to the topic, or both. Each independent reading selection also provides a section called “Setting A Purpose,” which includes a paragraph to open the selection. 

Unit 1 selections include “Chemistry 101” by Marilyn Nelson, “It Couldn’t Be Done” by Edgar Albert Guest, “from Young Arthur” by Robert D. San Souci, and “Perseus Gorgon’s Head” by Ann Turnbull. 

Unit 3 selections include “Watcher: After Katrina, 2005” by Natasha D. Trethewey, “The Day I Didn’t Go to the Pool” by Leslie J. Wyatt, “Tuesday of the Other June” by Norma Fox Mazer, “In Event of Moon Disaster” by Bill Safire, and “Ready: Preparing Your Pets for Emergencies Makes Sense” by Ready.gov. 

Unit 6 selections include “Difference Maker: John Bergmann and Popcorn Park” by David Karas, “Walking with the Wind” by John Lewis, “Dori Is Coming” by ZZ Packer, and “Seeing Is Believing” by Mary Morton Cowan.

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 support for students to develop composition skills for a variety of purposes and audiences. There are opportunities for students to write literary texts to express their feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students write informational texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students also write argumentative texts to influence a particular audience’s attitudes or actions on specific issues. Additionally, students write correspondence in a professional or friendly structure. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Each unit in the materials contains a “Writing Studio” that offers flexible writing support targeting diverse compositions in different genres. The Writing Studio includes resources for each grade level with an essay prompt and an “Interactive Writing Lesson.” The Interactive Writing Lessons target various skills such as Conducting Research, Process Writing, Writing Arguments (with support, reasons, evidence, persuasive techniques, etc.), and Student Writing Models: Using Textual Evidence, Writing Arguments, Writing Informative Tests, and Writing Narrative. The Writing Studio also includes writing assessments that consist of different prompts for skills such as conducting research, evaluating sources, using textual evidence, and writing as a process.

In Unit 1, students write an informational essay “explaining the qualities that are most important for overcoming obstacles and achieving a goal.” To gather background information for the paper, students review their “Response Log” to formulate an argument. The unit provides “Women in Aviation” by Patricia and Frederick McKissack as a mentor text to serve as a reference. The Writing Studio offers additional guidance for the assignment, such as providing graphic organizers with planning. Students plan, revise, and edit their essays before submission in the Writing Studio. 

In Unit 3, students write a short personal narrative about an “experience you had in nature or a lesson you learned from observing the natural world.” Students use “Mississippi Solo” by Eddy Harris as a mentor text on how to write a personal narrative. 

In Unit 4, students write an argumentative essay, “Whether human space travel is necessary.” The unit provides guiding questions such as “What are the short- and long-term consequences of space exploration? Are the risks worth the effort and the cost?” to help students brainstorm. Students use their Response Log from the unit’s reading selection “Challenges for Space Exploration” by Ann Leckie to help build their argument. The Writing Studio provides additional guidance for the assignment, such as giving a graphic organizer. The Writing Studio also requires students to plan, draft, revise, and edit their essays before submission. 

In Unit 5, students write a short story that “portrays some aspect of sports or game-playing.” Students use the short story “Ball Hawk” by Joseph Bruchac as a mentor text. In their story, students express their ideas and feelings about a real or imagined person or event. 

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 include tasks requiring students to be clear and concise with information and use well-defended text-supported claims to demonstrate the knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis of the texts. The materials also allow students to respond to questions and justify their responses with evidence from the text.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Each unit contains a “Writing Studio” section that provides students with opportunities to practice “making explanations and examples.” The Writing Studio explains to students that strong evidence to include in their essay could be “Quotations, summaries, and paraphrases; Statistics and examples; Information from multiple sources; Internal citations; and A Works Cited list.” The Writing Studio also contains a section for “studying and utilizing Synthesizing Information; Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting text evidence.” 

In Unit 1, students read “Women in Aviation” by Patricia and Frederick McKissack. After reading, students write an essay about the “female aviator other than Bessie Coleman.” Students make a connection to the text by considering questions such as “how the aviator [they] chose seems similar to Bessie Coleman.” To help students work directly with the text, they discuss with a partner, “What conclusions can you draw about these aviators?”

In Unit 3, students write a personal narrative after reading “Mississippi Solo” by Eddy Harris. The materials instruct students to “read a memoir and then express their ideas and how humans, particularly themselves, interact with nature.” The activity allows students to demonstrate what they learned from the text. 

In Unit 5, students read the short story “Ball Hawk” by Joseph Bruchac. After reading, students write an “epilogue or concluding section in which you describe Mitchell’s views of baseball a year after the story ends.” For this task, students refer back to the selection to find text details and evidence to support their ideas. 

In Unit 6, students write a historical fiction piece based on the information they learned from the reading selection “Frances Perkins and The Triangle Factory Fire” by David Brooks. For their narrative, students use evidence from the text: “Choose a situation related to the fire; establish a point of view: a first-person narrator or third-person narrator; review information from the selection and your research to gather details; and list key events in chronological order.” The steps available to students help them utilize their knowledge from the reading selections. 

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.

Composition convention skills increase in complex contexts, with opportunities for students to publish their writing. Additionally, punctuation, grammar, and the writing process are skills covered throughout the resources. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

At the end of each unit, the materials provide a writing task that guides students through the full writing process: plan, draft, revise, edit and publish. Each unit also contains a Grammar Studio in the online grammar textbook. The modules cover sentences, parts of speech, usage, and spelling. Lessons are systematically and explicitly explained and practiced in isolation. 

In Unit 2, students work with a partner to create a multimodal presentation that “demonstrates and explains certain illusions and the techniques used to create them.” Students follow the writing process of planning, editing, revising, and publishing to prepare for their presentation. Additionally, the materials review subject-verb agreements using text examples from “Heartbeat” by David Yoo. For instance, during the “Respond” part of the lesson, examples of subject-verb agreements are shown from the text, and students practice finding verbs that agree with the subjects. 

In Unit 3, students write a personal narrative where “they share an experience in nature or a lesson they learned by observing some part of the natural world.” As in previous units, students follow the complete writing process. The materials offer guidance on organizing their ideas through discussion groups and provide graphic organizers to support students. 

In Unit 5, following the complete writing process, students write a short story “about a character who is involved in a team or individual sport, or a game played by one or more people either with a positive view or a critical view of the sport or game.” Students learn about the punctuation of dialogue and apply what they learn to their short stories. In Lesson 5, students read “It’s Not Just A Game” by Lori Calabrese. Students learn about complex sentences and subject-verb agreement. The lesson systematically covers grammar, punctuation, and usage, both in and out of context. 

Unit 6 contains two writing tasks related to the paired readings “Frances Perkins and The Triangle Factory Fire” by David Brooks and “The Story of the Triangle Factory Fire” by Zachary Kent. The first writing task is writing an ode that is “inspired from the history reading.” The students complete the writing process of planning, editing, revising, and publishing their ode. For the second writing task, students connect to the story to create a graphic novel page. Students “adopt the courtroom scene described in paragraph 2 of ‘The Story of the Triangle Factory Fire’ into a page for a graphic novel.” Also, in Unit 6, students read “Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push” by Walter Dean Myers. For this reading, students learn about using verbs correctly by using examples from the text.

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

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

The materials support students’ listening and speaking about texts by providing opportunities that focus on the text(s) studied in the class. The oral tasks require students to use clear and concise information and well-defended text-supported claims to demonstrate the knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 2, students read “The Camera Does Lie” by Meg Ross. The teacher conducts a “Jigsaw,” dividing the article into sections and assigning students a different section to read. After reading, students demonstrate comprehension by working in a group to discuss the text with students who read the section. Students are reshuffled into new groups with a representative from each section and discuss the article. 

In Unit 3, students participate in a Think-Pair-Share activity that allows them to demonstrate their knowledge after reading “Mississippi Solo” by Eddy Harris. To prepare students, they read and analyze the text individually. Simultaneously, the teacher provides guiding questions, such as “What would be the most challenging thing about taking a solo trip down the Mississippi? Why?” Students take notes and then prepare to share with their partners and then the whole class. 

In Unit 4, students write an argumentative essay about “whether human space travel is necessary.” To help gather text evidence and knowledge gained from the readings, students refer back to their “Response Log” they completed at the end of each reading. Additionally, students work in groups to prepare and present a podcast explaining “one aspect of space travel.” Students work together to research, write a script, and create a podcast. Afterward, students present their podcasts. The audience members provide feedback and summarize key points. 

In Unit 5, students create a team song that could be used to introduce a sports team. They use their response log to back up their presentation with text evidence and information gleaned from reading each text in the unit. Students share their team song with the class by performing original music and lyrics or by singing lyrics to an existing tune with a group of classmates. Students then ask their peers for their reactions. 

In Unit 6, after reading “Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push” by Walter Dean Myers, students participate in various “Small Group Options.” For this lesson, the options are “Pinwheel Discussion” and the “Double-Entry Journal.” For “Pinwheel discussion,” students rotate in a circle, and for each rotation, the teacher provides questions such as “Why does Chris’s dad grumble?” and “What do you think happens after the story ends?” to guide students through the discussion. For “Double-Entry Journal,” students work in a small group to discuss and create a T-chart and “record significant or perplexing passages in the left column” and “write their interpretations, summaries, questions, and restatements opposite the quoted material.” 

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

The materials engage students in productive teamwork and student-led discussion in formal and informal settings. Grade-level protocols for discussion are available. Additionally, students have opportunities to give organized presentations/performances and speak clearly and concisely using language conventions. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide a “Speaking and Listening Studio” in each grade level. The Studio offers resources, tips, and mini-lessons to prepare students for presentations and discussions. The resources work as a guide for students to use when they speak and listen. The Studio includes a section titled “Participating in Collaborative Discussion,” with a mini-lesson for students to hone their collaborative discussion skills. This section comes with an interactive activity on “What Makes A Strong Discussion” and “What Does Collaborative Discussion Sound Like?” It also creates scenarios using dialogue in collaborative discussion. 

In Unit 1, students read “Rogue Wave” by Theodore Taylor; they participate in “Think-Pair-Share.” After reading, students partner up and think about the question, “What qualities did Scoot have that helped her save herself?” Students pair up to discuss their ideas and then share them with the class. Students are also given other informal discussion opportunities after reading “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes and “A Police Stop Changed this Teenager’s Life” by Amy B Wang. In groups after reading each selection, students “discuss similarities and differences about how Mrs. Jones supports Roger and how Corporal Keffer supports Jourdan.” Additionally, students research a community group that helps young people write a news bulletin and then present it to their peers. 

In Unit 3, students read “Never Retreat” by Paul Fleischman. After reading, students write a letter to the author “requesting information about his decision to write about the environment.” Students prepare for the writing assignment by working in small groups to discuss “how [their] school or community promotes sustainability of the environment.” The materials guide students in their group discussions by providing text-related questions, such as “How well do their approaches to sustainability seem to be working?” and “What other ways to improve or expand those efforts would you suggest?” Additionally, the materials provide guidelines for students, such as “Stay focused on the discussion topic” and “ Be prepared to share your thoughts with others in the group.”

In Unit 4, after reading “Martian Metropolis” by Meg Thacher, students create a timeline. To prepare, students work in pairs to combine their research to create an informative timeline report about the “Mars missions.” There are protocols for the discussion: “Review the research you both conducted on Mars explorations and work together to determine key events that are most important to include in your timeline.” When complete, they present their timeline to their peers. 

Unit 6, students read It Takes a Child by Judy Jackson. After reading, students participate in a “Think-Pair-Share” activity. Students individually answer questions such as “How inspired do you have to become a change agent?” and take notes. In pairs, students share their answers and then share with the whole class. Afterward, students create a podcast with a partner, reviewing the documentary clip and “assessing whether viewers should see the entire documentary.” Students have guidelines for their recording, such as “speaking in a conversational tone and enunciating clearly.” Then they share their podcast with the class. 

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 processes to confront and analyze various aspects of a topic using relevant sources. The materials support the identification and summary of high-quality primary and secondary sources. Students practice organizing and presenting their ideas and information in accordance with the purpose of the research and the appropriate grade level audience. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials contain different modules that focus on primary and secondary sources. For example, in “Conducting Research: Types of Sources,” students view a mini-lesson and discuss primary and secondary sources, engage in interactive activities, and practice. The materials also contain “Level Up Tutorials” that are specifically titled “Primary and Secondary Sources.” The module contains interactive practice activities for the students to hone “key skills covering literature and informational text, reading skills and strategies, vocabulary skills and strategies, writing and revision, and conventions.” Additionally, the materials contain modules that focus on primary and secondary sources called Level Up: Primary and Secondary Sources Practice. The modules include practice tests for students. All the modules mentioned can be found under general resources for each grade level.

Unit 1, students read “Women in Aviation” by Patricia and Frederick McKissack. Students use primary sources to conduct an “in-depth research on the achievements and importance of” one of the women aviators in the text they read. As students research, they organize their questions/ideas using question words such as “who, what, why, and how” to form their inquiry. Students also have a chart to record and organize their questions and answers based on their research. After their research, students discuss how information in “Women in Aviation” helps readers understand “the challenges women face in the early 20th century” in small groups. 

In Unit 3, students read the memoir “Into the Lifeboat, from Titanic Survivor” by Violet Jessop. In the “Analyze the Text” section, students research high-quality primary and secondary sources to find other Titanic survivors. They choose one and research further using primary and secondary resources. Additionally, students read “The Drought” by Amy Helfrich. In pairs, students research the effect drought has on the environment and economy. The materials support students by providing a graphic organizer to record their findings and contribute different tips for students about what they should consider when conducting research. 

In Unit 4, students read “Martian Metropolis” by Meg Thacher. Students research “what scientists already know about colonizing Mars and the ‘challenges and dangers’ in doing so.” After researching, students use their information and create and present an “annotated timeline for Mars mission” with a partner. The pair presents their joint research in a small group. Guidelines and reminders are available to students for this activity. 

Unit 6, the “Essential Question” is “What inspires you to make a difference?” Students read stories about change agents. At the end of the unit, students research with a partner to find two examples of young activists and the problems they are working to solve. 

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

The materials are interconnected and build student knowledge. Questions and tasks are designed to help students build and apply knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, and language. Materials contain a coherently sequenced set of high-quality, text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts as well as across multiple texts. Tasks integrate reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking; include components of vocabulary, syntax, and fluency, as needed; and provide opportunities for increased independence.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, The Flight of Icarus by Sally Benson helps students build and apply knowledge and skills through questions and tasks. Within the text, students write a response to “How do you think Daedalus plans to solve the problem? Why do you think so?” Throughout the text, to build language skills, students annotate and interpret comma usage; for example, in paragraph 7, “What does the comma in that example tell you about those adjectives?” After reading, students complete a writing assignment explaining, “People today may refer to someone ‘who flew too close to the sun’ as a cautionary tale.” Students then share their explanations in small groups while listening respectfully to their peers. Also in Unit 1, students compare and analyze the selections “Thank You, M'am” by Langston Hughes and “A Police Stop Changed This Teenager's Life” by Amy Wang. As students read, they analyze the setting by annotating the selection for “evidence of the setting in the story.” To study conflict, students answer the question, “How does the setting influence the woman’s external conflict with the boy?” After reading, students answer questions and support their answers with evidence from the selection: “What details does the author provide to show that Jourdan Duncan and his parents have a caring relationship?” “What similarities do you see between the actions of Mrs. Jones in the short story and Corporal Keffer in the article?” As Unit 1 continues, tasks demand increased student independence. Students read “Rogue Wave” by Linda Sue Park; after reading, students write a short description of “how the short story should be adapted into a film.” The materials provide little direction; students complete the project on their own. 

In Unit 3, students read “Allied with Green” by Naomi Shihab Nye. The after-reading activities are a series of tasks that asks students to apply knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, and language. The lesson begins with students researching the “environmental movement and what it means to lead a green-focused lifestyle.” Students then connect their research to the poem’s main character, Lucy, and “how she was focused on green living.” As they write the poetry in the “Create and Discuss” section, they “Use story details to make inferences about Lucy’s character.” Students have the opportunity to work in a small group and discuss their opinion about Lucy: “Is she an idealist, who dreams about a world that will never happen? Is she an activist who has the will and the power to make changes in the world? How would you characterize her?” After discussing as a group, students work to combine responses into a sentence or two to share with the class. The lesson also provides text-dependent questions in the “Check for Understanding” section, for example, a question such as “Early in the story, the statement ‘That’s how everything starts’ is meant to show that....” Following are “Analyze the Text” questions, which take students to a higher level of thinking, with questions such as “What is the theme of “Allied with Green”? Give examples of how the author develops the theme.” 

In Unit 4, students read “Challenges for Exploration” by Ann Leckie. After reading, students answer high-quality text-dependent questions that require analyzing the integration of their knowledge and ideas. There are questions placed throughout the selection, such as “How does the author’s use of repetition help her support her claim?” to help students comprehend and make connections to the text. Students also read “Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed” by Ray Bradbury. The materials provide critical vocabulary words “convivial, subtly, idle, forlorn, recede, pendulum, muse” and determine how many they know and use them in complete sentences. Additionally, the lesson contains syntax and fluency in language conventions that focus on consistent verb tenses. 

In Unit 6, students read “Frances Perkins and the Triangle Factory Fire” by David Brooks. This lesson also provides opportunities for students to learn vocabulary, syntax, and fluency. The “Critical Vocabulary” section frontloads words that students will encounter in reading the text: lobby, fatal, distinguish, and indifferent. After reading, students come across these words through the “Practice and Apply” activity that requires them to “Identify the Critical Vocabulary word that is most closely related to the boldfaced word in each question.” Afterward, a mini-lesson on the vocabulary strategy “Latin Roots” has students “identify the word with the Latin root sting or its variation ting. Write what each word means. Use a print or digital dictionary to check your ideas.” The “Language Conventions” section targets “Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement” and asks students to “Write 4 or 5 sentences that summarize this piece of history writing. Try to use different pronouns. As you do, check to make sure that the pronouns agree with their antecedents.”

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

The materials provide spiraling and scaffolded practice. Materials support distributed practice over the course of the year, and the design includes scaffolds for students to demonstrate integration of literacy skills that spiral over the school year.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Each unit begins with shared instruction lessons, guided application lessons, and independent practice. Each unit focuses on an “Essential Question” that students learn and respond to in response logs. During “Analyze & Apply,” students receive direct instruction in analyzing, annotating, and applying the “Notice & Note” protocol and other standard instructions. Throughout “Collaborate & Compare,” students work in groups, using their annotations, Notice & Note signposts, and reflections on comparing texts and drawing conclusions about the unit theme. Through “Unit Tasks,” students demonstrate their understanding of the unit topic by synthesizing their ideas and text references in oral and written responses. The unit culminates with a writing task and presentation incorporating aspects from the entire unit. 

The “Grammar Studio” provides practice opportunities that are scaffolded through interactive grammar lessons for the year. There are modules for each skill that increases in depth and complexity as the year progresses. For example, students learn about sentences in the first module, and the module consists of 5 lessons. For the first sentence lesson, the publishers offer students opportunities to identify and distinguish between complete sentences and sentence fragments. In the following lesson, students learn that run-on sentences are two sentences that are punctuated as one sentence. The lessons continue scaffolding complexity until all ten are complete for the skill. 

Speaking and listening practice opportunities are distributed throughout the lessons and follow the same structure throughout the year. There is a “Small Group Option” at the beginning or during the lesson, so students can practice in a smaller setting, then a whole group project with discussion and presentation activity at the end of the lesson, where they speak and listen to a bigger audience. 

In Unit 1, “Taking Action,” students write “an informational essay about people in the real world overcoming obstacles.” The materials provide scaffold steps to help guide students. Students choose a movie, plan their presentation, practice with a partner, and then deliver their presentation to the class. 

In Unit 2, Lesson 2, “The Camera Does Lie” by Meg Ross, the materials scaffold vocabulary learning for students. At the beginning of the lesson, “Critical Vocabulary” introduces words essential to understanding the text through a word bank and a digital activity with sentence frames that put the words in context: bogus, elaborate, accelerate, hoax, obsess, continuity, ruse. As students read, these same words are embedded in the text as glossary entries that provide the meaning, pronunciation, and part of speech that students can click on as they read (e.g., bogus (bō´gəs) adj. Somet.). The scaffolding continues in the “Practice and Apply” section at the end of the lesson when they answer multiple-choice questions using the vocabulary words in complete sentences. These vocabulary practice activities and structure and lesson design are provided in different lessons throughout the year. Also, speaking and listening practice opportunities are distributed throughout the lesson and follow the same structure throughout the year in this material. There is a Small Group Option at the beginning or during the lesson so students can practice in a smaller setting, then a whole group project with discussion and presentation activity at the end of the lesson where they speak and listen to a bigger audience—most of the time the entire class. For this lesson, students start the small group discussion through a “Think-Pair-Share.” In the Think-Pair-Share, students discuss the following prompt: “When are fake images and videos acceptable and when are they unacceptable or even illegal?” After students have read the text, they think about the question independently and then work with a partner to discuss their ideas and later share with the class. These small group discussion activities serve as good practice when the students create and present a multimodal presentation at the end of the lesson. Students work with a partner or group to make a brief multimodal presentation about forged images and videos in this activity. The materials provide guidelines or protocols for the students to observe as they prepare and present their presentations. Students prepare and present to the whole class. 

The concept of preparing students for large presentations is spiraled throughout other lessons as well. In Unit 2, Lesson 4, students read paired selections, “The Song of Wandering Aengus” by W.B. Yeats and “El Dorado” by Edgar Allan Poe. Students participate in “Numbered Heads Together” to answer “Why do people go on quests? If you went on a quest, what would you search for?” The small group activity works as a scaffold to prepare students for a presentation that requires them to compare and contrast both poems’ moods. Students work in a small group. 

The Essential Question is prominent throughout all units and works as a spiraling activity through all units and lessons. In Unit 6, The Essential Question is “What inspires you to make a difference?” Students read “Frances Perkins and the Triangle Factory Fire” by David Brooks and “The Story of the Triangle Factory Fire” by Zachary Kent. After reading, students add their annotations and notes to their response logs. Students complete response logs at the end of every reading to connect to the unit’s readings and the Essential Question.

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

The materials support students who demonstrate proficiency above grade-level. The materials provide planning and learning opportunities for students who demonstrate literacy skills above expected for grade 7.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide extensions for students who demonstrate above-grade-level proficiency. Materials provide extensions, such as independent readings, creating multimodal presentations, group work, and writing assignments, throughout.

In Unit 1, Lesson 5, the extension has students use a graphic organizer to guide them in researching Harlem, the New York City that became a community for African Americans in the early 1900s. The students investigate why “people moved to Harlem and how its social and cultural environment nurtured writers and artists.” Another extension activity for this lesson is to write a letter of request to research an organization that “promotes intergenerational leadership and mentorship.” In Lesson 11, students plan and present a critique over a film of their choice; students present their critique to the class. In Lesson 12, students create a vlog (video blog) entry to share with their peers about “how people face extreme challenges--without giving up.” In addition to the video vlog, students create a storyboard and edit their vlog. 

In Unit 3, students read a selection from “Mississippi Solo,” and the extension activity has students research the Mississippi River’s importance. After researching, students discuss “ways in which they could use maps, other visuals, and film interviews to share what they found the most interesting.” Furthermore, students write a literary analysis essay and create a short podcast that explains the use of figurative language by Harris in his memoir. 

In Unit 4, the extension activity is in the unit opener: students research the planet Mars and create an annotated Mars Mission timeline. Secondly, while engaging with “Terror and Wonder of Space,” students unveil, “Why is the idea of space exploration both inspiring and unnerving?” In Lesson 3, the extension activity requires students to work with a partner to research and explain, “What is the role of engineers and scientists in reducing particular risks?” For the end product, students write a poem in which an astronaut shares risks and sacrifices they face on a space mission.

In Unit 6, the extension activity requires learners to research and report about a person they read about in the unit. It should be a person the student would like to learn additional information about and a person they admire. Once the students complete their research report, they use their report’s writing process.

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 include supports for students who perform below grade level to ensure they meet literacy standards. The materials provide planning and learning opportunities (including extensions and differentiation) for students who demonstrate literacy skills below that expected at the grade level.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide diverse activities allowing students to learn and practice regardless of their literacy level. Materials include but are not limited to “Close Read Screencasts,” “Peer Coach Videos,” “Interactive Texts,” and adaptive texts. The activities are also thematically organized, allowing students to make connections among each unit’s lessons. For each unit, the materials contain “Editable Lesson Plans.” The Editable Lesson Plan includes a differentiated instruction section. This section offers planning support for students who demonstrate literacy skills below the expected grade level “When Students Struggle.” 

In Unit 2, students read Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Eldorado.” After reading, students check for understanding and analyze the text. Students work on comparing mood in the text using a graphic organizer. Students who are performing below grade level receive more support utilizing a graphic organizer to help them process, summarize, and keep track of their learning as they read.

In Unit 3, students read the short story “Allied with Green Planning” by Naomi Shihab Nye. For this reading, students performing below grade level use the “Discuss Unit Theme Related Section.” In this section, the students generate a list of urban places, things, and natural places that the teacher places on the board. Then the teacher writes a list of adjectives, and students are to connect the adjectives to the areas. As a whole class group, students discuss whether they agree with connections. Additionally, photographs are provided for the passage to help literacy level students with visualization. 

In Unit 6, students read the short story “Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push” by Walter Dean Myers. Students who need additional help with vocabulary receive context clues in the vocabulary studio during the reading. After reading, students write an informative article about wheelchair basketball. Students performing below grade level receive additional support from the Writing Studio. 

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

The materials include accommodations for linguistics commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPs. The materials provide scaffolds for comprehensible input. The materials offer activities, strategies, and resources to develop the second language strategically and enhance vocabulary. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

A “Text X-Ray” section precedes each lesson throughout the unit for all readings except independent readings. The Text X-Ray section is a planning section to help support English Language Learners at various proficiency levels by providing scaffolds. All four strands of standards (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing) are addressed and offer guidance from Beginning to Intermediate to Advanced to Advanced High. The Text X-Ray also introduces the selection to be read and review any cultural references. 

Additionally, the materials include a Multilingual Glossary that contains academic and critical vocabulary in ten additional languages (Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese). 

In Unit 2, “Heartbeat” by Davide Yoo provides summaries in English and Spanish. The selection also contains group activities such as “Three Before Me” to make peer editing interactive and for ELs to practice their language skills. The Text X-Ray targets different skills for various linguistic levels and ELPS components. For example, for speaking, students discuss the conflict from the reading and create an infographic for writing students. 

Unit 3, “Mississippi Solo” by Eddy Harris, has an introduction section; the Text X-Ray discusses figurative language. The Text X-Ray explains to students the different types of figurative language, and students practice creating figurative language in small groups using sentence stems, “like a” and “as a.” The cultural reference section explains words and phrases that are unfamiliar to students, such as “If you only get sunshine… desert. (paragraph 1): a way of saying that too much of a good thing can be harmful” and “idle chatter (paragraph 2): casual, empty talk.” Additionally, the unit provides scaffolds for students at various language proficiency levels and the four domains (Speaking, Listening, Writing, and Reading). For example, for speaking, beginner/intermediate speaking students “repeat the sentence and then the word splintery after the teacher.” Advanced students “work in pairs and read paragraph 11 to each other. While reading, students take note of each other’s rate, pronunciation, and expressiveness.” Advanced High students “work with a partner and read aloud using expressive intonation paragraphs 10–12. After reading the paragraph, students discuss if the use of figurative language was effective in the paragraph.” The unit also provides a summary to help scaffold the selection to students; the summary is available in English and Spanish. 

As previously mentioned, all units provide vocabulary assistance for each reading selection except for independent reading. In Unit 5, students read “Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video Game Design” by Aaron Miller. The unit focuses on context clues and provides a method to determine its meaning. After learning how to use context clues, students practice independently by “Finding the sentence containing the word undetected in paragraph 13 of the selection. Then, use the context clue strategy steps above to determine the word’s meaning.”

Unit 6, “A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long,” by Nikki Giovanni provides clickable vocabulary footnotes that explain words and concepts embedded in the poem. At the end of the lesson, materials provide a word bank of academic vocabulary for students to use in their writing. 

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 include assessments and guidance for teachers and administrators to monitor progress, including interpreting and acting on data yielded. The assessments are aligned in purpose, intended use, and TEKS emphasis. The assessments and scoring information provide sufficient guidance for interpreting and responding to student performance. The assessments are also connected to the regular content to support student learning. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide assessments and scoring information that provide sufficient guidance for interpreting and responding to students’ performance. For example, the “Bridge and Growth Pathway” provides guidance for interpreting and responding to students’ understanding. The “HMH Growth Measure” is an assessment that can be administered three times a year to measure a student’s Lexile level and proficiency. The HMH Growth Measure can also be assigned in the middle and at the end of the school year to help the teachers “gauge students’ progress, growth, and areas of greatest need.” Additionally, materials provide individual and class reports on student performance.

In Unit 2, “The Camera Does Lie” by Meg Ross includes formative and summative assessments. Students work on a summative assessment that requires them to record their ideas based on what they read and their research in the two columns during the reading. After students read the text, they fill in a chart with two columns: “Hoax” and “Deceptive Techniques.” At the end of the lesson, the materials provide a summative assessment in the form of a “Selection Test” available in print and digital formats. At the end of the unit, a summative assessment connects to the unit’s “Reality Check” theme. The assignment is a multimodal presentation where students “Create and deliver a multimodal presentation to demonstrate and explain certain illusions and the techniques used to create them.” Students use the writing process to help organize their presentation and consider the author’s craft and genre characteristics in the mentor text “The Camera Does Lie.” Finally, students deliver their presentations to the class. A rubric is provided for teachers to evaluate and score the presentation.

In Unit 5, for “It’s Not Just A Game” by Lori Calabrese, a formative assessment is available in the “Notice and Note” activity. In this activity, students answer critical-thinking questions such as “In paragraph 9, the author tells readers, “[P]lay to have fun and you’ll automatically win!” Do you agree with this statement? Why?” At the end of the entire lesson, the materials provide a summative assessment in the form of a selection test found in print and digital versions. The answer key includes information on the TEKS and Depth of Knowledge for each question. At the end of the Unit, a summative test connects to the unit's “More Than a Game” theme.

In Unit 6, students read and analyze “A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long” by Nikki Giovanni, which uses a freestyle verse structure. In “Respond: Analyze the Text,” students write a free verse poem that pays tribute to a person they admire.

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 include a year-long plan and help teachers identify students’ needs. They provide differentiated instructions to meet the needs of a range of learners to ensure grade-level success. Comprehensive plans are included for teachers to engage students in multiple grouping (and other) structures. The Teacher Edition materials include annotations and support for engaging students in the materials and support for implementing ancillary and resource materials and supporting student progress components. Annotations and ancillary materials provide support for student learning and assistance for teachers. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The Teacher Edition provides lessons for all selections that include differentiated support via the “Text X-Ray Component.” The section outlines the text and/or genre background, cultural references, and language skills reinforcement via differentiated activities in speaking, listening, reading, and writing at different language levels: beginning, intermediate, advanced, advanced high. The Teacher’s Edition provides a year-long comprehensive plan that attends to differentiation to support students through many learning opportunities. The lessons throughout the units develop gradually from easy to complicated and offer differentiated opportunities to engage students in multiple grouping structures. 

In Unit 2, Lesson 3, students read “Two Legs or One?” By Josephine Sherman. In the “Planning, Small Group Options,” students work in pairs on a “Triple-Entry Journal” activity and in a small group in a “Sticky Notes Review” activity. In Lesson 4, “The Song of Wandering Aengus” by W. B. Yeats and “Eldorado” by Edgar Allan Poe, in Planning, Small Group Options, students work in a “Numbered Heads Together” activity and a “Think-Pair-Share” activity. In Lesson 5, students read “The Governess” by Neil Simon. The materials provide small group options to support both reading and writing via discussions and student interactions. In the Think-Pair-Share, the teacher gives the text-based questions (e.g., “Did the Mistress’s lesson work?”) 

In Unit 4, students read “What If We Were Alone?” By William Stafford. The publisher provides annotations through the “signposts” to help students stay engaged while reading and assist teachers in their teaching. For example: Analyze Graphical Elements, Annotate—the students have to highlight the dashes in line 15 and understand how poetry elements work. 

In Unit 5, students read “Ball Hawk” by Joseph Bruchac. The materials provide an adapted version of the text that contains background information, a summary, and sections that chunk and highlight specific parts of the text. Additionally, the adapted version features a “Turn and Talk” section to discuss the text elements. The lesson itself provides small group options such as Think-Pair-Share and “Send a Problem.” The Teacher Edition provides ELL Support via its Test X-Ray component. 

The textbook offers multiple resources that align with the units’ themes. The materials appear as a 14–15 page study guide consisting of Teacher Notes, Study Guides, Assessments, and Answer Keys. The following are only a few of the selections: The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper is a suggested title for “Into Literature” Unit 4. It connects to the unit’s theme and shares the unit’s Essential Question: “Why is the idea of space exploration both inspiring and unnerving?” Baseball in April and Other Stories by Gary Soto is a suggested title for Into Literature Unit 5. It connects to the unit’s theme and shares the unit’s Essential Question: “How do sports bring together friends, families, and communities?” Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff is a suggested title for Into Literature Unit 5. It connects to the unit’s theme and shares the unit’s Essential Question: “How do sports bring together friends, families, and communities?”

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

The materials include implementation support for both teachers and administrators. A TEKS-aligned Scope and Sequence outlines the essential knowledge and skills taught in the program. The materials also include a school year’s worth literacy instruction, including realistic pacing guidance, routines, and support for a 180-day schedule. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide a TEKS-aligned Scope and Sequence for each grade level and each unit. The units begin with an Essential Question, Academic Vocabulary, the TEKS the unit implements, Independent Reading and TEKS, and Unit Tasks with TEKS. The materials divide the Scope and Sequence into the following categories: Analyze and Apply, Collaborate, and Compare. It also provides the teacher with a clear instructional process aligned with the mastery of skills required by the state of Texas. The objectives are arranged based on their arrangements in the units and lesson. The standard/TEKS accompanies each activity in the Scope and Sequence. For example, in Unit 1, Analyze How Character Develops Plot: 7b, 8A; Analyze Setting and Character: 5E, 7D; Parts of Speech: 2A, 2B, 6F. Finally, this Scope and Sequence document shows how the knowledge and skills spiral and connect across each grade level. 

In the Teacher’s Edition, the following resources at the beginning of each unit provide overviews of what the unit contains: “Instructional Focus, Resources, EL Support, Differentiated Instruction, Assessments.” The Teacher’s Edition also includes a “suggested pacing” guide to cover 30 days of instruction per unit. This pacing guide assigns each lesson a certain number of color-coded days that are at the bottom of the page of the “Instructional Overview and Resources” section. 

The materials support administrators by providing a Professional Learning Tab and Analyze Reading Growth Measure reports. The Student Growth report shows a student’s overall assessment results at a glance, with details about the domain performance levels and each Growth Measure test administration. The Administrator report shows overall results for each grade level, broken down by performance level, as well as at-a-glance comparisons between data from the Beginning-of-Year, Middle-of-Year, and End-of-Year tests.

The publisher provides a school year’s worth of literacy instruction, including realistic pacing guidance and routines. The materials divide the school year into six units with 10-13 lessons each. Each lesson follows a pattern: Pre-Reading section, Get Ready, the actual text and signposts, Read, post-reading activities, Check Your Understanding, and Respond: Analyze the Text.

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

The digital version’s visual design is not distracting nor chaotic. The materials include appropriate white space and design that supports and does not distract from student learning. Pictures and graphics support students’ learning engagement without being visually distracting. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials use simple color schemes, such as shades of yellow, blue, and red. Students can highlight text to draw attention to words or phrases; the highlight is yellow, which is not overwhelming to students. The materials’ primary colors are a white background with black print; sometimes, the print is in bold back font. The visual design is neither distracting nor chaotic. Charts and tables use light borders that separate them from the text but do not distract. Pictures are clear, with neat lines and sharp colors. Each unit opens with a cover picture that connects the students to the “Essential Question” and illustrates the unit’s main idea. 

In Unit 2, the text “Way Too Cool” by Brenda Woods includes a stark white bronchial inhaler on top of two colorful leaves on the ground. The next photo is a profile of a handsome teenage boy, and the photo after that is an emergency vehicle racing down the street.

Unit 3, “Inspired by Nature,” starts with a picture of a butterfly in pale yellow tones on a green background and a purple flower. In “Allied with Green” by Naomi Shihab Nye, the title is written at the top of the page in big, bold white font against a blue background, providing immediate visibility. Below the title is a photo of a pile of cinder blocks, with some weeds growing in between the spaces; there is also a light blue band containing the author’s information and headshot. The “Notice and Note” digital signpost activities are banded with orange and yellow lines to capture student attention.

In Unit 4, “Let’s Aim for Mars,” astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s argument includes the famous first selfie taken on the moon; it shows Aldrin, the American flag, and a land rover. Next, students see a photo of Aldrin as a young astronaut and one in his later years. The images engage students to wonder what Aldrin’s article is going to debate.

In Unit 6, the title of “Craig Kielburger Reflects on Working Toward Peace” is written in big, bold white font against a blue background on top of the page, providing immediate visibility. Directly underneath is a visual (photograph) of hands stacked together, signifying unity; there is also a light blue band containing the author’s information and headshot. The visuals embedded in the text are photographs and videos related to the story.

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

The technology components included are appropriate for grade-level students and provide support for learning.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

This overview provides opportunities for teachers to see the full range of resources included in the product, the formats in which they are available, and where to find them online in HMH Ed. Guidance is provided to students and teachers with the modules found on each grade level’s main page. Some examples of these modules are “Bridge and Grow; The Studios: Reading, Writing, Grammar, Speaking, and Listening; Vocabulary; Editable Lesson Plans; Intervention, Review, and Extension; Digital Graphic Organizers; Remote Teaching Quickstart.” The teacher and student editions promote and enhance student participation through the interactive activities and digital response components embedded in the lessons. Students are given opportunities throughout lessons to type in or select answers and get immediate feedback.

The technological design of the platform is uniform across the lessons, units, and grade levels, thereby giving students the same routine to navigate (e.g., CFU questions in digital boxes, clickable glossary items, embedded “Notice and Note” response boxes in the text, charts, diagrams). An “i” symbol in the margins provides more information for bits of text (examples include a word list to choose for fill-in-the-blank answers). Students easily navigate page to page with a side arrow and click on underlined words to view glossary entries. 

In the Notice and Note sections, students jot their thinking for various tasks and questions. Information that might need more explanation includes a blue hyperlink that navigates students to supplementary materials (such as “Writing Studio”) for further teaching and examples. At the top of each page is a “note” section that includes a sidebar for students to annotate their thoughts. The option to print notes is a feature offered by the materials. 

Each unit consists of texts that offer an electronic audio version and a “Read-Along Highlight.” This helps students listen to the text at their own pace and better grasp the English pronunciation. In Unit 4, the publisher offers both a hard copy and an electronic copy of the text Martian Metropolis by Meg Thatcher. There is a microphone icon labeled “Play Audio”; when the students click on it, they can listen to the text and follow along. If the students choose, they can also use another feature, “Read Along with Highlight,” to annotate important ideas. Next to the microphone/Play Audio icon, another icon, “Note,” guides teachers while reading and analyzing the text.