HMH Into Reading - Grade 4

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

The materials include high-quality texts that can be used for effective instruction. The texts range in genre and interest to appeal to many students and include increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include many well-crafted and high-quality texts by published authors and experts in various disciplines. The materials include a diverse collection of texts that include books written by authors who are representative of the stories that are written. Examples of this are included throughout the different modules.

In Module 2, some of the high-quality texts are informational texts, such as The Science Behind Sight by well-known children’s author Louise Spilsbury, which builds content-specific vocabulary and contains accurate images and diagrams, and an informational text Apex Predators: The World's Deadliest Hunters, Past and Present by award-winning author Steve Jenkins, which teaches students about predatory animals through beautiful illustrations. This module also includes other quality texts that are not as well known or published, such as Blind Ambition, a personal narrative that tells the story of a boy who was blind and how he overcame many challenges.

The materials provide a variety of texts that are well-crafted and represent the quality of content, language, and writing that is produced by experts in various disciplines. Examples of works detailing traditional cultural norms include The Year of the Rat by Grace Lin and Kitoto the Mighty by Tololwa M. Mollel. In Module 6, some of the high-quality texts included are a literary nonfiction text, Grand Canyon: A Trail Through Time by Linda Viera, and the writing focal text, Coral Reefs by Jason Chin, a children’s book author who writes books focused on science and nature concepts. Other included texts are written specifically for the materials and include poetry, such as Nature’s Wonders: Poetry About Our Amazing Earth by Robert Schechter, X.J. Kennedy, Carol R. Baik, and Steven Withrow, which contains four poems that represent different structural elements of poetry, and an informational text titled Weird and Wondrous Rocks by April Pulley Sayre that contains engaging, real-life photographs of the places it describes. The texts also include vivid pictures, academic language, and content that relates to the current unit of study for grade 4. For example, “Module 7: Tricksters and Tall Tales” includes Thunder Rose. Thunder Rose includes colorful pictures of the setting, characters, and other important elements to the plot of the story. Also, rich language, such as Pa, devastation, and resourceful, is used in the reading material, along with other examples related to the style of tall tales. 

Module 8 includes a diverse collection of realistic fiction like Now You’re Cooking! by Texas author René Saldaña, Jr., about a girl who finds inspiration from her family in Mexico to help her compete in a cooking competition. The recipe for the meal that the main character cooks in the story is included at the end. Also included, Love Will See You Through, a Focal Text biography that artfully reveals six timeless and universal principles that define Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy. It is appropriately written by Angela Farris Watkins, PhD., Martin Luther King, Jr.’s niece. Additionally included is La Mariposa by Francisco Jiménez, the story of a boy who begins first grade and attends a new school in the United States. The story explores his journey of navigating a world he doesn’t understand. Spanish phrases are included throughout the text. 

The materials also include increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts as students progress through each module. The program incorporates Rigby leveled readers focused on both realistic fiction and nonfiction texts like To Stand Forever by Greg Gosdin, a realistic fiction text told in the first person that tells the story of Enrique Esparza and his family who fought in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and Amazing Stories of Survival by Pamela Rushby, that highlights real-life struggles of people caught in dangerous situations, such as being trapped in the desert or the mountains. Survival tips are included. Additionally, Lexile levels range from 540L to 1150L, providing text complexity throughout the year. 

Furthermore, each module includes a variety of reading material to supplement the topic, including informational text, argumentative, fantasy, fiction, and others. Prince Charming Replaces His Bride is an adaptation of a fairytale that includes elements of plot, major and minor characters, and enables students to learn a lesson, a characteristic of fairy tales. There are also diverse texts with culturally diverse characters and concepts, such as Beatbox Brothers, which includes historical and cultural settings. 

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 across content, including both literary and nonfiction/informational texts that are appropriate for this grade level. They also include opportunities for students to analyze the use of print and graphic features of a variety of texts. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include a variety of text types and genres across content that meet the requirements of the TEKS outlined for grade 4. Examples of literary and fiction texts, all of which meet the included genres of folktales, fables, legends, myths, and tall tales for grade 4 per TEK 4.9.A., include: 

• Blind Ambition by Matthew Cooper
• The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich
• Nature’s Wonders: Poetry About Our Amazing Earth 
• Cooper’s Lesson by Sun Yung Shin
• The Brave Warrior’s Lesson by Sally Cowen
• Fractured Tales by Roger Lore
• Why the Moon is Ivory: A Vietnamese Folktale retold by John Manos
• Ten Suns: A Chinese Legend retold by Eric A. Kimmel
• The Golden Bird retold by Jim Howes
• Seven Fables, Seven Truths adapted by Dennis Fertig
• Perseus and the Fall of Medusa retold by Claire Daniel

The materials include a variety of text types and genres across content that meet the requirements of the TEKS. The materials include informational texts outlined for grade 4, such as informational text, biography, and argumentative text. 

• The Parthenon: History in Danger by Sue Bursztynski
• A Nation of Parks by Kristin Cashore
• I’d Love a Puppy by Sharon Parsons
• The Science Behind Sight by Louise Spilsbury
• Grand Canyon: A Trail Through Time by Linda Vieira 
• A New Language Invented by Kids by Charnan Simon
• A Community Cares and Shares by Diana Noonan
• Food We Eat by Debbie Croft

Furthermore, the materials include a variety of print and graphic features that span across content and meet the requirements of the grade 4 TEKS. For example, there are informational texts in Module 2, such as The Science Behind Sight, that include headings, subheads, real photographs, and diagrams. The materials also include narrative nonfiction texts such as The Battle of the Alamo by Amie Jane Leavitt, which features a map, diagram, headings, and vivid illustrations of the Battle of the Alamo. Other examples include Sea Turtles In Danger by Kristin Cashore, which includes photographs of various turtles, captions, headings and subheadings, and tables. The World’s Greatest Trails by Diana Noonan is an informative text with real photos, headings, maps, bold words, captions, a glossary, and an index. To Your Health! is an informational short read featuring graphics, headings, diagrams, and labels to explain healthy eating habits. Ouch! by John Manos includes captions, graphs, a circle graph, a bar graph, and a sequence graphic organizer that helps the reader visualize the steps beginning with the casting of a broken arm and continues through the healing process. 

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 have text-complexity analysis provided by the publisher and are at the appropriate quantitative level and qualitative features for the grade level. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The texts have a text-complexity analysis from the publisher. At the beginning of each module, the “Teacher’s Guide” for each week includes two pages titled “Preview Lesson Texts.” This section provides information on “Guided Reading Level,” “Lexile Level,” and text complexity for the introductory read-aloud and shared-reading texts. Text complexity ratings include “simple, slightly complex, moderately complex, and very complex.” For example, in Module 2, one of the texts is Blind Ambition by Matthew Cooper as told to Rachel Buchholtz. The “Text Complexity” box lists the Lexile Measure for the text as 750L and the Guided Reading Level as J. It then lists the overall rating as “slightly complex” and explains that “the text is in the form of a personal narrative and has a clear purpose. It uses literal and direct language.” In Module 8, the argumentative text Eco-Friendly Food by Cath Senker is rated as “complex” and includes a description that states, “This text uses multiple text structures for its multiple purposes. Its organization of main ideas and entails is highly complex and must be inferred by the reader.” 

The program includes leveled texts that are at the appropriate quantitative level and include qualitative features for the grade level. Quantitative levels are in the “Rigby Leveled Reader Table of Contents” and the “Guided Principles and Strategies for Teaching and Learning” for each grade level, including Level and Lexile. Qualitative features are in the Text Complexity measures of the Guided Principles and Strategies for Teaching and Learning. It includes a “table as a reference for text complexity measures and build across the Grade 4 myBook texts” broken down by module. For example, Module 3 includes Catch Me If You Can with a qualitative measure of “moderately complex,” and Module 7 includes A Pair of Tricksters with a qualitative measure of “complex.” In addition, there are “Guided Reading Coaching Cards” with lessons and activities based on text complexity. In addition, for each grade level, there are “Take and Teach Lessons” for each Rigby Leveled Reader. For example, Unit 9 includes the text How Can We Reduce Household Waste? with a Lexile level of 970 and a Guided Reading level of K. The qualitative features of this informational text include using text evidence to locate facts and text features to help understand the information. The Fishbowl Jungle, Level O, has a Take and Teach Lesson on key ideas and details, while Rain Forest Vacation, Level P, has a Take and Teach Lesson that covers key ideas and details, point of view, and content-area words. Also, there are Guided Reading Coaching Cards based on reading material level, including a plan, tips, and coaching for lessons and includes parts for the teachers and students. For example, for Levels M and N, the students “use a variety of strategies to comprehend new, unfamiliar concepts in nonfiction,” and the teacher supports development by “continuing to work on using text evidence to support analysis and interpretation of the text.”

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 include many activities and tasks that support students in building and integrating knowledge, ideas, themes, and connections within and across texts. There are module-long projects that accomplish this, as well as specific lessons that target these individual skills. Additionally, the materials contain questions and tasks that build conceptual knowledge, are text-dependent, and prompt students to synthesize new information. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials contain questions and tasks that build conceptual knowledge, are text-specific/dependent, target complex elements of the texts, and integrate multiple TEKS using read-aloud texts, independent reading texts, writing tasks, and “Inquiry and Research” projects. Each module includes an Inquiry and Research project. For example, in Module 2, students create an advertisement for a sensory invention in groups. They build background knowledge around sensory disabilities, research the disabilities and possible solutions, and analyze their findings to create the finished product. The project has connections to the texts in this module, such as The Science of Sight and Blind Ambition. The assignment has students practice listening and asking/answering questions, following instructions, speaking, participating in collaborative work, writing, planning, and developing drafts. The project is set up to last through all three weeks of the module.

Additionally, each module starts with an “Essential Question” that connects all learning in the unit and includes a connection to a specific academic content area. For example, Module 6 includes the Essential Question “What makes Earth’s natural wonders exciting and unique?” and a science connection to “Earth’s Natural Wonders.” In this module, students read many nonfiction texts about various natural wonders. 

Each unit has a “Knowledge Map” that helps students “Build a knowledge network.” Module 4 uses the “Knowledge Map” to organize the key ideas from the module. The Essential Question, “What makes someone a hero?” anchors students’ thinking throughout the module, and students refer back to the question and Knowledge Map after each text read. The “Tabletop Minilessons” include questions to “support the application of the concept.” Later in the module, during the Tabletop Minilesson for Who’s a Hero?, the lesson card provides instruction and differentiated practice for visualizing while reading. The teacher asks students, “What do you visualize when you read this sentence in the story?” “Which words help you visualize the story’s setting?” and “What do you picture in your mind when you read this paragraph?” Module 4 uses the Knowledge Map to build background knowledge about what makes someone a hero and identify how this knowledge connects to their lives. Students synthesize the information learned throughout the module “and make connections to self, society, and other texts.”

In Module 8, Lesson 10, “Ideas and Support,” students learn about identifying the facts and opinions within argumentative texts using the text Bug Bites. In the “Apply to Independent Reading” section of the lesson, students apply the learning from the lesson with an independent book and respond to the following questions: “What is the author’s main idea or point?” “How does the author support this idea or point?” and “What is one example of a fact in the text?”

Throughout each module, several lessons are specific to big ideas, themes, and details. In Module 8, students use “Notice and Note Signposts” from the anchor charts and texts in the modules. Students use “Anchor Chart 38: Words of the Wiser” to read Now You’re Cooking. As students are reading, they answer the signpost question, “What’s the life lesson, and how might it affect the character?” They must use text clues as they read to formulate their answer. 

The “Ask and Answer Questions” section focuses on questions before, during, and after reading to make predictions, clarify concepts, and think deeply about the text. For example, Module 7 Ask and Answer questions include “Who is the main character?” and “What problem does the main character face?” Also, there are paired texts within the modules that provide opportunities for students to make connections to the text and connect elements within the reading to the theme. “Retell” focuses on retelling to gain a solid understanding of a story. For example, questions include: Who is the main character, and what problem does the main character face? 

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 include questions and tasks that support students’ analysis of the literary/textual elements of texts by asking students to evaluate, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the author’s purpose, compare and contrast purposes of the author’s writing, analyze the author’s choices, and study words and language of texts to support their understanding. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Leveled Reader Take & Teach Lessons” provide opportunities for students to analyze the author's craft. For example, Carnivorous Plants: Plants that Eat Insects by Katie Sharp has the question “How do the author’s word choices draw attention to important ideas?” There is instruction for the teacher to guide students through questions that allow them to analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions based on the author’s purpose, such as “Which phrases in the text help you imagine an active trap?” There are also text evidence sentence starters for potential answers to the questions for additional guidance. Also, there is a “Tabletop Minilesson” for “Author’s Purpose and Craft,” including an anchor chart and questions to apply to the text. For example, questions for Author’s Craft include “What is the mood of this story?” and “Why does the author use sensory language here?”

Additionally, there are opportunities to analyze text structure. In Module 2, the teacher shows a text structure anchor chart and explains how language can help a reader determine the structure of a text. Students practice looking for transition words and other languages that would be clues as to the structure of the text in The Science Behind Sight by Louise Spilsbury. 

The materials ask students to study the language within texts to support their understanding. In Module 4, the “Teaching Pal” directs teachers to “use the vocabulary routine and the Vocabulary Cards to introduce the Critical Vocabulary react, astounded, luscious, and culinary.” The teacher guides students to interact with the Critical Vocabulary by answering questions and then making personal connections to each word.

In Module 4, Lesson 4, students “make inferences and share their understanding of the author’s message” of the fairy tale Prince Charming Misplaces His Bride by Christopher Healy. For the “Independent Practice: Reading,” students determine the “theme of Ella’s letter, finding clues that lead them to inform the theme.” 

The materials analyze the author's choices and how they influence and communicate meaning (in single and across a variety of texts). They use “Notice and Note” anchor charts and directions written by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst to help students understand the author's reasons for writing a certain way. Also, students study the author’s use of text structure in Module 4, Lesson 7. Students begin by reviewing “Anchor Chart 18: Text Structure” to learn how “authors use different text structures for different purposes,” including “comparison/contrast, chronology, cause/effect” and “problem/solution.” The “Connect and Teach” portion of the lesson has the teacher explaining how “identifying text structure can help them better understand an author’s purpose.” In Smokejumpers to the Rescue! by Laurie Toupin, students identify the text structure and explain the author’s purpose for using the structure. 

There are more opportunities to analyze the author’s use of text structures in Module 6 with a close read of Weird and Wondrous Rocks, paying close attention to the cause-and-effect text structure, and in Module 10 with a close read of The History of Communication, with a focus on analyzing how text structures help students understand a text better.

In the “Tabletop Minilesson: Make Connections,” students analyze the “Make Connections Anchor Chart” and understand that “Readers make text-to-text connections by recognizing how information in a text is the same or different from the information in another text.” The teacher supplies a new or familiar text and guides students to consider the following questions: “How is this story similar to the story we read before? How is it different? Which version do you like better? Why? What does the information in this text make you think about? Does it remind you of anything in your own experience?” Students “compare and contrast the text to another they have read about a similar topic,” and “explain how making specific connections deepened their understanding of the text’s central idea and details or theme.”

In Module 8, Lesson 15, students review the “Anchor Chart 30: Make Connections.” Students return to the module title, quote, and Essential Question to “discuss the module as a whole, explaining how the selections they read connect to the module topic, quote, and essential question.” 

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 year-long plan for building academic vocabulary, including ways to apply words in appropriate contexts. They also include scaffolds and supports for teachers to differentiate vocabulary development for all learners. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The program includes a year-long plan for building academic vocabulary. In each module, there is “Teaching with Instructional Routines: Vocabulary.” This routine explicitly teaches “the meaning of academic and topic-related words, provide examples and practice using words in context.” Each week includes specific vocabulary lessons related to the concept and theme and academic vocabulary, generative vocabulary, and vocabulary strategies. Teaching with Instructional Routines reminds the teachers of all the routines used throughout the lessons. The vocabulary routine is as follows: “1. The teacher says the target vocabulary word and has students repeat the word. 2. The teacher explains the meaning of the word using the student-friendly definition listed on the back of the vocabulary card provided by the materials. 3. The class discusses examples of the vocabulary word using the image on the front of the card and other real life examples.” These instructions are consistent throughout all vocabulary lessons throughout the entire year. The teacher introduces vocabulary during an earlier lesson each week, and vocabulary is reviewed several other times throughout the same week.

The materials provide scaffolds and supports for all learners and include a vocabulary routine that enables teachers to differentiate instruction. For example, there is a “Learning Mindset, Seeking Challenges” insert that guides teachers to model the way they approach unknown words when reading. “I’ve never seen this word before, I’m going to take my time and figure it out. I will look for word parts and read each part.”

Additionally, there is also a vocabulary center in the literacy centers section of each week’s lesson plans. One activity, “Super Six Words,” is used on specific lesson days. Students use a printable, Super Six Words, to make a list of vocabulary words from the vocabulary list and then select the six they think are most important or interesting. The students write a sentence for each word, and the teacher tells them they will revisit the list at the end of the week.

There are Vocabulary Cards with each lesson. They offer visual and instructional support for the Critical Vocabulary Words in the modules. This resource features academic words with visual representations, student-friendly definitions for the words, its part of speech, sentences using the word in context, collaborative discussion prompts, and tasks for the students. An example of a task might be “use the word thrifty in a sentence and brainstorm other words that come to mind when you hear thrifty.” The cards provide a scaffold for teachers to teach and develop vocabulary instruction for all learners.

In Module 2, the vocabulary words for one week are luminous, transparent, reflect, illuminate, and judge. The materials include a list of Spanish cognates to support ELLs, such as illuminate - iluminar. Then the materials have the teacher introduce the vocabulary using the standard vocabulary routine. Afterward, the class has a discussion using the words that starts with the teacher asking questions such as “If a piece of paper were transparent, could you hide something under it? Explain.” There are more suggestions for follow-up questions to scaffold this learning below the scripted questions in the text, such as “Ask students to name things that are luminous, transparent, or that reflect.” Following the discussion, students apply their knowledge by working independently, then have an opportunity to turn and talk about the vocabulary words and prompts. There are no additional scaffolds or differentiations for this part of the lesson. All of the other vocabulary lessons in all other modules follow the same format.

Vocabulary lessons also include “Teacher Tips” that support some differentiation. For example, in Module 2, the Teacher Tip is for the teacher to “encourage authentic vocabulary usage” in the classroom by creating a game out of students using new vocabulary words in regular conversations.

In Module 4, within the “Academic Vocabulary: Introduce Critical Vocabulary,” teachers use the three-step gradual release model: Introduce the Words, Guided Practice, and Apply. Lesson 6 includes the following words from the text Smokejumpers to the Rescue!: timid and strenuous. The teacher is to “ask students to share something that makes them feel timid. Have them name an activity that they think is strenuous.” In the sidebar “English Learner Support,” there are teacher accommodations for students at varying levels of English: “Beginning: Have students draw an animal that is timid. Intermediate: Have students list synonyms for the word timid. Advanced/Advanced High: Have pairs write an original sentence with the word timid.”

In Module 6, the Teacher Tip is to give students a category based on the text selections they are reading and have students name a word that describes the natural wonders in that given category. 

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 procedures and protocols, along with adequate support to guide teachers through implementation, that foster self-sustained reading as appropriate. Materials provide a plan for students to self-select texts and read independently for sustained periods of time, including planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Guiding Principles and Strategies: Grades 3-5” resource provides teachers with ideas for “Supporting Reading Independence,” including information about the following topics: “Organizing Your Classroom’s Reading Center, Self-Selecting Books, and Setting Goals and Responding to Reading.” The manual includes a circle graph showing teachers a 45-60 minute time frame for the reading workshop.

The materials provide a plan for students to self-select texts and read independently for a sustained period of time, including planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals. Each week, each module includes information for independent reading during the “Reading Center” in the information on Literacy Centers. The guidance for this center remains relatively the same throughout the materials, including having the teacher alternate between displaying the anchor chart, “Choosing a Book,” or “Respond to Text.” When at the reading center, students self-select or read in their previously selected book. The teacher guides students to set a purpose for reading and use the “Reading Log” provided to hold themselves accountable for their learning. The Reading Log includes the following components: “Title, Author, and Genre; Independent Reading Record: Date, Time Spent, Pages Read; Summary: This text is about...; Questions for Discussion: What was your favorite part of the text? What did you enjoy about the author’s writing? Was there something you did not understand? What was it? Would you recommend this text to a friend? Why or why not?” Additionally, there is teacher suggestion and instruction for the teacher to help students interact with their books, such as using Mixed-Ability Groups and Word Puzzle. Also, within the lesson plans for the modules, there is a section for setting reading goals and conferring, which helps students achieve reading and skill goals. There is a printable “Exit Ticket” for student accountability. The students check which center they were in and what they learned while in the center when completing the Exit Ticket.

In addition, there are procedures/protocols for the teacher to form guided reading groups and skill and strategy groups. The materials include an “Options for Independent and Collaborative Work” section, which includes activities using a book from the “Student Choice Library” or the “Rigby Leveled Library.” Teachers choose between the “Apply Reading Skill” and “Apply Language Skill” sections for possible student independent work activities. Each section provides a focus skill and a printable for students to complete while reading independently. For example, Module 4, Lesson 2 directs students to apply the reading skill, “Visualize,” by completing the “Printable: Reading Graphic Organizer 6,” and apply the language skill, “Infer,” by completing the “Printable: Language Graphic Organizer 7.”

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 across multiple text types for a variety of purposes and audiences. The materials provide students with opportunities to write literary texts to express their ideas. They provide students opportunities to write informational texts, argumentative texts, and correspondence in a professional and friendly structure. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide students with opportunities to write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Each module includes a “Writer’s Workshop” component with a mentor text, writing prompt, and the details to take students through the writing process. At the end of “Module 1: What Makes Us Who We Are?” students write a story answering the Essential Question, “How do our experiences help shape our identity?” Students consider the following prompt: “Think about the stories you read in this module. Imagine that your class is writing a book of superhero adventures for the class library. Write a story that tells how Ulysses and Kitoto work together to solve a problem. Be sure to include details from Flora & Ulysses and Kitoto the Mighty.” The student “myBook” then proceeds to guide the students through the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising and editing, and publishing. 

The materials provide students opportunities to write informational texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. At the end of “Module 2: Come To Your Senses,” students write an informational article answering the Essential Question, “How do people and animals use their senses to navigate the world?” Students consider the following prompt: “Think about what you learned about the five senses in this module. Imagine you are in the Science Club at school and have volunteered to write an article for the club’s newsletter. Use evidence from the texts and video to explain how one sense helps people and animals to survive and navigate the world.” The student myBook then proceeds to guide the students through the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising and editing, and publishing. 

In Module 3, students have the opportunity to write an opinion essay.  The mentor text is Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park. The students write an opinion essay based on the writing prompt: “Write an opinion essay about why it’s important to rely on friends when faced with a challenge.”

Module 5 is an expository essay writing module. The mentor text is Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis. To write a successful informational essay, students ponder, “People are extraordinary, then think about an artist you know about.” Finally, the students write an expository essay based on the writing prompt: “Write an expository essay about that artist. Use facts and details to show how that artist is talented.” 

Materials provide students opportunities to write argumentative texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. At the end of “Module 5: Art Everywhere,” students write an argumentative essay answering the Essential Question, “How far can your talents take you?” Students consider the following prompt: “Think about what you learned about the different types of art and artistic expression in this module. Imagine that your school orchestra wants to take a school trip to hear the local professional orchestra. You have been asked to write an argument saying why the trip will be good for the school orchestra. Use evidence from the selections about why art and music are important to support your argument.” The student myBook then proceeds to guide the students through the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising and editing, and publishing. 

Materials provide students opportunities to write correspondence in a professional or friendly structure. In Module 6, students write a letter as the Writer’s Workshop focus, based on the mentor text, Coral Reefs by Jason Chin. Students write a letter to an expert in that field of study asking for more information. The students “use formal language and show that you already have some knowledge on your topic,” and students use the focus statement “Earth’s natural wonders can teach us a great deal.” Students write to respond to the prompt: “Think about a natural wonder you are interested in. Write a letter to an expert in that field of study asking for more information. Use formal language and show that you already have some knowledge on your topic.” Once students have identified their topic, they work to provide details that convey their thoughts by using the “Writer’s Notebook 6.1-6.10” to work through the writing process. The teacher assists by teaching students about the different types of correspondence and providing students with information on the parts of a formal letter. Students have opportunities to draft, revise, edit, and publish their compositions.

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 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 program includes a variety of tasks that require students to use information and text evidence to demonstrate in writing what they have learned.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide opportunities for students to demonstrate in writing their learning through reading and listening to texts. Each module includes a section of the Teacher’s Guide entitled “Literacy Centers.” Each Literacy Center includes a “Writing Center,” enabling students to write about what they read and learn. For example, Module 7 includes a writing center with an activity: write a blog post and peer conference. 

In addition, students demonstrate in writing their learning when they work on a piece of writing or choose between writing a type of imaginative literature or listing possible plot events during Writer’s Workshop. There are also opportunities within the “Options for Differentiation” section and the “Inquiry and Research Project.” The Options for Differentiation includes questions to apply to reading, such as “What is the problem that the characters face?” The Inquiry and Research Project includes “Write and Create” in Week 2, where students write and create a literary magazine of fables and trickster tales. 

The materials provide opportunities for students to use evidence from texts to support their opinions. For example, in Module 3, students write an opinion essay. They read the focal text, The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park, in which two Korean boys overcome challenges through friendship, then write “an opinion essay about why it’s important to rely on friends when faced with a challenge.” 

The materials provide opportunities for students to use evidence from texts to support their claims. In Module 8, Lesson 4, after reading Eco-Friendly Food, students identify an idea or claim that they find persuasive. Students then write the claim and provide the reasons and examples to support it by identifying the text evidence. Students share their work in small groups. In Module 10, the class reads Cooper’s Lesson. After finishing the text, the “myBook” prompt has students “imagine that the author has asked readers to offer ideas for what might happen next in Cooper’s life.” Students must use what they know about Cooper from the text to think about and predict what else may happen next in his life.

Students have another opportunity to use evidence from texts to support their opinions. In Module 8, Lesson 15, students “Imagine that your town wants to change the school lunch program. Write an editorial for your local newspaper to explain your opinion about this topic. Use evidence from the texts to support your opinion.” The “Teaching Pal” prompts teachers to “guide students to think about what they have learned about healthy food in this module and how their town might change the school lunch program to make it healthier.” Students use evidence from what they have previously read to help them draft the opinion essay. The program also includes a “Choose Appropriate Support” section in the Writing Workshop Teacher’s Guide. Students share the type of support a writer should provide depending on the text’s audience and purpose. There is also a supplemental Writer’s Notebook sheet titled “Organizing My Opinion Writing” that students use to organize their opinion and claims. 

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 opportunities over the course of the year for students to apply grade-level standard English conventions to their writing. This includes opportunities for the practice and application of the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing, including punctuation and grammar. Grammar, punctuation, and usage are taught systematically, both in and out of context. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In the “Writers Workshop” section of each module, the teacher addresses speaking and writing. Students have an opportunity to participate in both a peer review conference and a one-on-one teacher conference. Students also “orally share ideas” before prewriting. After each module, students share their written pieces, which is another way to practice speaking. Additional resources, such as The “Revision Checklist” anchor chart, prompt students to substitute words or sentences for better ones when needed. Students refer to the chart when making changes in grammar. The “TAP” anchor chart also serves as a resource for students as they write. This chart lists the purposes for writing and reminds students to always “keep their audience in mind.”

Grammar, punctuation, and usage are taught systematically, both in and out of context, and materials provide editing practice in students’ own writing as the year continues. The resource maps out the grammar instruction for the year, broken down by topics and then skills within each topic. There are “Grammar Minilessons” throughout every week in every module. Grammar lessons move in a systematic sequence for grade 4 with sentences, nouns and pronouns, verbs, modifiers, negatives, quotations and punctuation, and spelling. The Grammar Minilesson Table of Contents includes increasingly rigorous lessons within a system that has a “Connect and Teach” portion with a “Think Aloud” and an “Engage and Apply” section with a “Printable Practice” sheet for each lesson. In Lesson 1.1.1, students identify the simple and complete subject and predicate after the teacher explains the concept using this sentence: “Adventurous Katie swam in the ocean.” In Lesson 1.3.3, students practice writing a complete sentence with a complete subject and complete predicate. In Lesson 1.4.5, students practice using complete and compound sentences using the printable 1.4.4 “Review Compound and Complex Sentences.”

The materials facilitate students’ coherent use of the elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Each module contains information about the writing workshop model, which includes time for independent writing where students research and generate ideas, engage in prewriting, drafting, writing, revising, and editing, then finally publish their work. This goes on throughout the three weeks of each module. The materials contain a Writing Workshop Teacher’s Guide, which lays out lessons for teachers to take students through the writing process. Each module includes lessons on prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing and focuses on different types of writing and different aspects of revising and editing. For example, at the end of “Module 1: What Makes Us Who We Are?” students write a story answering the Essential Question, “How do our experiences help shape our identity?” The student “myBook” provides a prompt and guides the students through the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising and editing, and publishing. For the “Plan” portion, students gather details by using a character details word web. For “Draft,” students write a strong beginning, middle, and ending for the story that “tells how the characters solve the problem and save the day.” Students revise and edit their work by working individually and with a partner “to find ways to improve it.” Finally, the teacher guides students through the publishing steps to “create a finished copy.” Also, within each module, under Writing Workshop, there is a circular map that provides an overview for the teacher of what that instructional time should look like and include. 

The materials also include worksheets for the “Writer’s Notebook” to help students with the steps in the writing process. The worksheets for Module 2 include a prewriting “Animal Topic List” to help students identify amazing animals they may want to write about, an audience and purpose T-chart to help students “think about who will read your description and what you want those readers to learn or understand from it,” and an Identifying “Details Web” that allows students to capture details about their animals before they begin drafting. There is also a Revision Checklist that has students consider questions such as “Did I use sensory details?” and “Do adjectives and adverbs show how my animal looks and acts?” Additionally, each unit includes a graphic with explicit instructions based on the writing process. The graphic depicts how students independently generate ideas, prewrite, draft, write, revise and edit, and publish. 

The resource includes a Grammar section as part of the writing workshop with a focus on conventions. For example, Lesson 1.1.3, “Subject-Verb Agreement,” located within the Grammar Minilessons resource, teaches students about subject-verb agreement. Teachers use “Display and Engage: Grammar 1.1.3” to provide example sentences to model how to determine which present-tense form to use. Students complete “Printable: Grammar 1.1.3” to practice using the subject-verb agreement. Also, the “Editing Checklist” anchor chart is a reminder to students to capitalize and punctuate as needed. The heading reminders include Capitalize “the first word in a sentence” and Punctuate “question marks at the end of a question.”

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

The materials include appropriate practice for students to write legibly in cursive. However, there is no explicit instruction in cursive handwriting, and the materials provide reminders to write in cursive as opposed to supporting a systematic plan for teachers to assess students’ handwriting development. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include instruction in cursive handwriting for students in the appropriate grade(s). The “Writer’s Workshop Teacher’s Guide” includes opportunities for students to write in cursive. The publishing stage of the guide provides instruction for teachers to facilitate students with the opportunity to write in cursive. The Teacher’s Guide includes a “Handwriting” section that provides instruction and practice for the students in cursive handwriting. It appears the materials include a page on “Handwriting” in the Writing Workshop Teacher’s Guide for grade 4, but the link is broken, or there is no access to this resource.

Also, there are opportunities for students to write in cursive with various foundational skills activities focused on spelling, such as “Spelling: Words with Short and Long A.” The Teacher’s Guide includes a Handwriting section that provides instruction and practice for the students in cursive handwriting. 

The materials include Handwriting plans within the “Resources” section. The plans include information about the following: “Explain Stroke and Letter Formation, Teach Writing Position, Reinforce Directionality, Develop Handwriting, Write in Cursive, Slant Letters Correctly, Letter Spacing, Word Spacing, Join Uppercase and Lowercase Letters, Answer Questions, Write Sentences, and Write a Paragraph.”

The materials also include “Anchor Chart 36: Cursive Handwriting” and a “Handwriting: Cursive Alphabet” (including arrows) for teacher and student use. It provides a pictorial and colorful representation of what cursive handwriting is and some tips for successfully writing in cursive. It states that “in cursive writing, all letters are connected.” The “Handwriting Teacher’s Guide “ is included, but the site is not active during the materials review. The site states, “This page seems to be on a break.” There are several strategies that the materials list to help students of varying handwriting abilities, including helping students slant their cursive letters correctly, understanding the letter spacing and word spacing in cursive handwriting, making sure that uppercase and lowercase letters are joined, giving students opportunities to write five sentences in cursive or an entire paragraph depending on their ability, and answering questions in cursive. The materials also include a cursive alphabet example. However, there is no information on how these tips should be taught in the structure of other lessons.

The materials include a plan for teachers to assess students’ handwriting skills within the Resources section by “reviewing samples of their written work. Note whether they use correct letter formation and appropriate size and spacing.” Students must write legibly in cursive “when writing messages, notes, and letters, or when publishing their writing.” The Teacher’s Guide includes resources with additional information. There is a two-page spread on “Handwriting.” In this resource, there is one paragraph titled “Assess Handwriting.” In this paragraph, the materials guide teachers to review samples of students’ written work to assess their handwriting skills. It instructs teachers to pay attention to their letter formation and size and spacing, as well as if they follow the conventions of print and if the writing is legible when they publish their compositions. 

The materials include appropriate practice for students to write legibly in cursive. However, there is no explicit instruction in cursive handwriting, and the materials provide reminders to write in cursive as opposed to supporting a systematic plan for teachers to assess students’ handwriting development. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include instruction in cursive handwriting for students in the appropriate grade(s). The “Writer’s Workshop Teacher’s Guide” includes opportunities for students to write in cursive. The publishing stage of the guide provides instruction for teachers to facilitate students with the opportunity to write in cursive. The Teacher’s Guide includes a “Handwriting” section that provides instruction and practice for the students in cursive handwriting. It appears the materials include a page on “Handwriting” in the Writing Workshop Teacher’s Guide for grade 4, but the link is broken, or there is no access to this resource.

Also, there are opportunities for students to write in cursive with various foundational skills activities focused on spelling, such as “Spelling: Words with Short and Long A.” The Teacher’s Guide includes a Handwriting section that provides instruction and practice for the students in cursive handwriting. 

The materials include Handwriting plans within the “Resources” section. The plans include information about the following: “Explain Stroke and Letter Formation, Teach Writing Position, Reinforce Directionality, Develop Handwriting, Write in Cursive, Slant Letters Correctly, Letter Spacing, Word Spacing, Join Uppercase and Lowercase Letters, Answer Questions, Write Sentences, and Write a Paragraph.”

The materials also include “Anchor Chart 36: Cursive Handwriting” and a “Handwriting: Cursive Alphabet” (including arrows) for teacher and student use. It provides a pictorial and colorful representation of what cursive handwriting is and some tips for successfully writing in cursive. It states that “in cursive writing, all letters are connected.” The “Handwriting Teacher’s Guide “ is included, but the site is not active during the materials review. The site states, “This page seems to be on a break.” There are several strategies that the materials list to help students of varying handwriting abilities, including helping students slant their cursive letters correctly, understanding the letter spacing and word spacing in cursive handwriting, making sure that uppercase and lowercase letters are joined, giving students opportunities to write five sentences in cursive or an entire paragraph depending on their ability, and answering questions in cursive. The materials also include a cursive alphabet example. However, there is no information on how these tips should be taught in the structure of other lessons.

The materials include a plan for teachers to assess students’ handwriting skills within the Resources section by “reviewing samples of their written work. Note whether they use correct letter formation and appropriate size and spacing.” Students must write legibly in cursive “when writing messages, notes, and letters, or when publishing their writing.” The Teacher’s Guide includes resources with additional information. There is a two-page spread on “Handwriting.” In this resource, there is one paragraph titled “Assess Handwriting.” In this paragraph, the materials guide teachers to review samples of students’ written work to assess their handwriting skills. It instructs teachers to pay attention to their letter formation and size and spacing, as well as if they follow the conventions of print and if the writing is legible when they publish their compositions. 

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

The materials provide opportunities for students to listen actively, ask questions, and demonstrate comprehension. There are consistent opportunities for students to use clear and concise information and well-defended text-supported claims to demonstrate the knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis of texts.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Tabletop Minilessons” include opportunities for speaking and listening with activities fitting into the two domains based on the tabletop theme. For example, “Synthesize” includes prompting the students to look at an image and listen to the read-aloud, and the teacher explains certain words are synthesized to understand a topic. Students then explain that when speakers synthesize words, they are combining ideas and details, and they work in small groups to practice synthesizing and share their synthesis. There are “Literacy Centers” for each week of each module. Some literacy centers provide listening opportunities focused on the text(s) being studied in class, such as the “Digital Station.” At this station, students choose to listen to either a Leveled Reader or to one of the selections that were read in class that week. As they listen, they may use a printable “Listening Log” to write down the listening skills used, a summary of the text they listened to, and any questions they have about the selection they just heard. 

Speaking and listening opportunities are focused on the text(s) being studied in class, allowing students to demonstrate comprehension. Each Module has a “Speaking and Listening” lesson. This lesson is in “Independent and Collaborative Work.” In Module 1, students discuss the essential questions using “Engage and Respond.” The question for discussion is “How do your experiences shape your identity?” Students read Yes! We are Latinos by Alma Flor Ada and refer to the anchor chart “How to Have a Discussion.” The students work together as partners and take turns listening to one another as they share what they read. They must stay on topic. Teachers can display Anchor Chart 33, which states that students can “follow up to clarify what you heard.”

Most 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 of texts. For example, in Module 1, students read Why Art Centers Matter using the “Read for Understanding Routine,” where they distinguish facts from opinions. The teacher encourages the students to “use text evidence to analyze the author’s argument.” Partners use the “Think-Pair-Share” routine to demonstrate what they learned from the selection. The teacher has students share their thinking with their partner, then choose a few to share with the class. In Module 4, Lesson 6, students practice the skill, Synthesize, while reading Smokejumpers to the Rescue! by Laurie Toupin. The “Teaching Pal” directs teachers to remind students that their thinking can change after they have learned new information by synthesizing. The materials provide the teacher with a think-aloud to model the process of synthesizing. It then directs teachers to have students synthesize paragraph 6. Students look back at “Anchor Chart 8: Synthesize” to help them “determine how they can use new information to change their thinking, and as a result, form new ideas.”

The “Collaborative Discussion” component of the Teaching Pal provides the opportunity for students to complete oral tasks with text support. For example, Module 7 provides students with the opportunity to look back over their pre-read page for the story Rent Party Jazz by William Miller and use it to discuss questions with classmates. Students use details to support their answers. An example of a question is, “How does Smilin’ Jack help solve Sonny and Mama’s problem?” Also, there are listening and speaking tips for students, such as “listen carefully and wait your turn to share.” The teacher’s guide includes a section entitled “Communication.” Within this section is a “Speaking and Listening Minilesson,” including formal and informal language, where students actively listen and participate in responses and, in the end, synthesize topic knowledge of historical nonfiction.

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 by providing consistent opportunities for students to engage in student-led discussions. Students have opportunities to practice grade-appropriate speaking skills using the standard conventions of the English language. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include literacy center instructions every week in each module. Some of the centers provide opportunities for students to participate in performances, such as “Reader’s Theater,” where students can practice speaking in a clear and concise manner. 

The materials provide guidance and practice with grade-level protocols for discussion to express their own thinking. Each module has a section called “Independent and Collaborative Work.” This section provides options for students to work in collaboration while the teacher works with small groups. For example, in Module 1, students use the “Think-Pair-Share” routine as they discuss central ideas, and students refer to the “Central Idea” anchor chart. They add sticky notes to the anchor chart and “tell what their notes say and explain why they added the note.” Also, each module has an “Academic Vocabulary” section in which students share ideas with partners by discussing questions. In Module 1, a question for discussion is “What might happen to a person who acts in defiance of the rules?” The teacher encourages students to pace themselves as they speak. 

The materials provide opportunities for students to give organized presentations/performances and speak in a clear and concise manner using the conventions of language. The “Inquiry & Research Project” at the beginning of each module provides the opportunity for students to express their thinking within the project. In the Module 4 Inquiry & Research Project, students research a traditional story in which they act out a fairy tale from a different culture. Within the “Practice and Present” portion, teachers direct students to rehearse their plays or skits. Students “speak clearly and use facial expressions and gestures to convey their character’s personality and feelings.” Listening students are “to be attentive and respectful.” In Module 5, the Inquiry & Research Project is “Working on an art project for the school and giving an argument as to why the project should be implemented.” There are sentence stems that help students with conventions of the English language: “One kind of art project that could work for our school is....” “This project could work inside/outside in the....” As students present, the teacher reminds others to “listen attentively” and reminds the presenter to “make eye contact.”

At the end of some “Reading Workshop” lessons, there is a small text box, “Speaking and Listening.” Module 6 guides the teacher to have partners discuss the “Collaborative Discussion Questions” and refers to where this can be found in the materials. There is also a sidebar, “Wrap-Up: Share Time,” which lists several activities to wrap up the lesson, some of which include opportunities for discussion and expression of thinking.

In Module 8, Lesson 6, within the “Engage and Respond” portion of the lesson, students review the “Anchor Chart 32: How to Have a Discussion” and use the “Collaborative Discussion” routine. After viewing the Kids Rock Nutrition in the Kitchen, students use the routine to answer the following “Collaborative Discussion: Respond to the Text” questions: “What does the dietitian suggest about how to prepare a fish or chicken packet? What do students learn about the steps for making a fruit parfait? Review the video segment from 01:00 to 01:15. What key points about chicken and fish does the dietitian share?” The teacher provides “Listening and Speaking Tips” to help enhance communication. 

Each module also contains a series of “Writing Workshop” lessons. Different lessons within the Writing Workshop give students opportunities to work and discuss in teams or groups. In Module 10, there are several different examples of this, including an activity called “Small Group Conferences.” In this activity, students use a Revision Checklist while listening to one group member read their writing two times over. During the second reading, listeners take notes. After the readings, the group discusses the writing and makes comments and suggestions using the “Display and Engage: Conferencing” information from the materials. When the whole class comes together again, there is a whole class discussion where students answer questions such as “What have you learned about writing essays?” and “How is writing an expository essay different than writing a personal narrative?”

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 contain inquiry processes to provide students with opportunities to work with various resources, analyze topics, and organize and present their ideas throughout each module.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials support the identification and summary of high-quality primary and secondary sources. The materials include a resource titled “Current Events,” which provides links and access to several different additional resources that provide students with access to high-quality primary and secondary resources. The following resources are available for teachers. “DOGOnews” is a news website with articles written for students. The front page of the website features current events. This resource includes a search function which students can use to find articles specific to their research interests and topics. The news articles are secondary sources. “Kiddle News” is a search engine that is titled “Safe news search for kids.” This resource allows students to search for relevant resources for their research projects and may allow them to find both primary and secondary sources. “Newsela” is a news website with articles written for students. These articles can be sorted by text level to ensure that students find articles they can read and comprehend. There are many articles on many different topics, many of which appear to be secondary sources reporting on various events. “StarDate Online” is an online database with articles and photos from space exploration. All of the resources here are related to space. This database includes primary sources, such as photographs, as well as secondary sources with articles. “TIME for Kids” is a website containing articles, all from TIME for Kids, which can be sorted by grade level and/or topic. Some articles include primary-source interviews, while others are secondary sources. “TTJunior” is a resource created by the Smithsonian. It contains articles on many topics, which can be accessed at different Lexile Levels. “Youngzine,” the tagline for this resource is “News + more for the young.” It contains world news, science articles, technology articles, articles about Earth, history articles, society/arts articles, and blogs/op-eds.

The materials support student practice in organizing and presenting their ideas and information in accordance with the purpose of the research and the appropriate grade level audience. For example, each module includes an “Inquiry and Research Project” that is an opportunity for sustained inquiry over the three weeks of the module. In this project, students have opportunities to practice organizing and presenting their ideas per the purpose of the research. For example, in Module 2, the purpose of the research project is to create an advertisement for a sensory invention. During Week 1 of the research process, the teacher introduces the topic to students and shares examples of print and digital ads. In groups, students research, create an “Idea Board,” and use different resources, such as their “myBook” selections, as well as “informational or medical websites, magazine articles, encyclopedias, online news videos, interviews, and advertisements.” The teacher also has students take notes as they research so they remember and can use the information that they find. During the second week of the inquiry project, students begin to organize their research into a draft, making sure to consider the audience for the ad and to think about how the visuals they include enhance their ad. The following week, students practice and finally present their research projects to the class. The teacher reminds them to “speak clearly and at a comfortable pace, to use gestures, and to make eye contact with their audience.” There is also an opportunity to reflect on the research process and project they created.

In the Module 4 Inquiry and Research Project, students research a traditional story in which they act out a fairy tale from a different culture. Teachers guide students through the following using the “Printable: Project 4.3,” which lists Prepare and Rehearse, Deliver Presentations, Reflect, and Celebrate. The teacher evaluates the fairy tale using a rubric in the following categories: Speaking and Listening, Writing, Collaboration, and Presentation. 

In Module 6, Lesson 15, “Performance Task,” students write an editorial by gathering information from sources to use in writing. Teachers direct students to look back at the texts from the module to decide which ones they may want to use as a model or as resources for their drafts. 

Also, the materials include “Research Report” assignments that review what a primary and secondary source is and include it in the research steps of the assignment. For example, Module 9 includes a research report assignment where students research facts and details using primary and secondary sources. Research Report 9.4 defines what a primary and secondary source is with examples and includes steps on how to evaluate sources on 9.5.

There are also opportunities for students to practice short-term inquiry skills in daily lessons. For example, each daily reading lesson focuses on a comprehension skill, such as “Making Inferences” in Module 10. After the mini-lesson, students have opportunities to engage in independent work where they apply the skill, then have opportunities to share through the Solo Chair Routine, a Think-Pair-Share, or adding sticky notes to an anchor chart. All of these opportunities allow students to gain short-term practice in organizing and presenting their ideas related to a specific topic.

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

The materials contain interconnected tasks that build student knowledge. They 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. The tasks integrate reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking and provide opportunities for increased independence. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Each module contains an “Inquiry and Research Project” that helps students build and apply knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, and language. Students “collaborate to generate ideas, research, complete, and present an inquiry-based project.” The beginning of Module 4 introduces an Inquiry and Research Project. Students “act out a fairy tale from another culture” in groups. The lesson plans are broken down by weeks. In Week 1, teachers Clarify Project Goals, Build Background, help students Begin Group Work and Research. Using the Printable Project 4.1, students work together to review different fairy tales, choose their favorite, and turn it into a script. In Week 2, teachers support students as they Plan and Draft, Identify Costumes and Props, and Revise and Edit Drafts. Using the Printable Project 4.2, students work together to review their drafts making revisions and edits. In Week 3, teachers remind students to “speak clearly and use facial expressions and gestures to convey their character’s personality and feelings” while presenting the plays. Teachers also remind listeners to “be attentive and respectful.” 

The 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. For example, a “Reading Workshop” mini-lesson follows a coherent sequence to teach students using shared texts. In Module 6, there is a mini-lesson that teaches students how to synthesize information while reading. The “Teaching Pal” gives the teacher a series of questions to help students gain knowledge through the lesson. Before reading, the teacher has students think about the title of the informational text, Mariana Trench by Michael Woods & Mary B. Woods. The class reads the text together. The teacher stops to model some thinking as the class reads. After reading, students discuss with a partner two things they learned from the reading. Then, they answer several other questions using text evidence, which all have to do with having students synthesize information. These questions include, “What comparisons do the authors use to explain size and depth of the Mariana Trench?” “What makes creatures that live in the Mariana Trench unusual?” and “What are some of the ways that scientists have explored the trench? Why is it difficult to do research there?” After the students have an opportunity to apply the skill to the shared reading text, there is an opportunity for a collaborative discussion in which students discuss their answers to the questions in small groups.

The materials include tasks to integrate reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking and include components of vocabulary, syntax, and fluency. In turn, these tasks provide opportunities for increased independence. For example, the “Listening Comprehension” section of the modules includes tasks that integrate these multiple domains and components such as vocabulary, syntax, and fluency. For example, Module 7 includes the read-aloud informational text, Anaya. The teacher introduces the text, reminds the students of the genre informational text, and has the students set a purpose for listening. The teacher reads the story modeling fluency and asks questions while reading. Questions include “Who told Rudolfo Anaya stories of Mexican Americans when he was a child,” and “Why didn’t Rudolfo Anaya see any Mexican American heroes in the books he read when he was a child?” Students need to listen, think, and speak using vocabulary and proper syntax to complete the task. Also, the “Options for Independent and Collaborative Work” includes the opportunity for students to build independence. Students complete literacy activities while the teacher meets with small groups, such as selecting a book from the Student Choice library and completing either the Reading Graphic Organizer or Language Graphic Organizer. After the reading block, there is time to share with the solo chair or think-pair-share.

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

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

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include a “Scope and Sequence” for grammar. Several lessons review concepts that were previously taught to contribute to distributed practice over the course of the year. For example, one week in Module 1 is dedicated to teaching students about quotations, including lessons on quotation marks with direct speech, split quotations, quotations from the text, and using quotations in writing. In Module 2, the materials include a lesson on reviewing quotations to spiral in the content again. There is an additional review/spiral opportunity about quotations in Module 11.

The materials support distributed practice over the course of the year through spiraling concepts and presenting them more than just once. In the “Scope and Sequence - Grade 3 - Foundational Skills” document, the skills taught each week regarding decoding, high-frequency words, fluency, and spelling are listed out. The fluency skills repeat. For example, “Expression” is taught in Modules 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, and 11. The skill of “Intonation” is first introduced in Module 4, then spiraled and reviewed in Modules 5, 7, 9, 10, and 11. 

The “Leveled Reader Take & Teach Lessons” provide distributed practice over the course of the year. For example, Level P: Rivers in Our World by Clare Scott, Level Q: I’d Love a Puppy by Sharon Parsons, and Level R: The World’s Greatest Tails by Diana Noonan all focus on Key Ideas & Details, and Levels Q and R also both focus on Text Graphic Features. Questions for the varied texts build comprehension and require text evidence, such as “How can rivers be different from one another,” “What do puppies learn at ‘preschool,’” and “What sights do people see along the Pennine Way?” As the level of the reader increases, the concepts continue with distributed practice throughout the school year.

In Module 4, Week 1, students discuss characteristics of informational texts and fairy tales. As the teacher instructs on the text and graphic features, visualization, point-of-view, and theme, the teacher also reviews previously taught comprehension skills and strategies. 

In spelling, each week focuses on a new spelling pattern. However, the materials always include “review words,” which are words from previous weeks. For example, one week in Module 5 contains the review words traced, spinning, dancing, and escaped, which were all on Module 4’s Basic Words spelling list.

Design includes scaffolds for students to demonstrate integration of literacy skills that spiral over the school year. Each lesson within each module includes an “Options for Differentiation” section to “Scaffold and Extend” the lesson. For example, in Module 3, for students who are “Almost There,” the teacher reminds “students what author’s craft is,” and for students who are “Ready for More,” the teacher has “students list examples of the author's craft throughout the text.” Module 7 scaffolds for students who are Almost There to make a list of clues to identify the theme; for students Above Level, the teacher prompts the students to write a sentence to explain the theme, and for students “Ready for More,” the teacher instructs the students to write a paragraph about the theme of their selections. Students also have an opportunity to practice skills taught during “small group mini-lessons, Tabletop Minilessons, and through the use of related graphic organizers.”

In Module 8, Week 1, students discuss characteristics of informational texts and informational/argumentative texts. As the teacher instructs on the text and graphic features, monitor and clarify, author’s purpose, and ideas and support, the teacher also reviews previously taught comprehension skills and strategies.

Additionally, in Module 10, there is a lesson on making inferences. The materials include scaffolds for students who are Almost There, guiding the teacher to “help students identify important information from the text.” Additional scaffolds for students include having students use information in the text to make inferences. There are also upward scaffolds for students who are Ready for More, which include having students think about their background and previous knowledge on the topic that the text is about. There are also opportunities for students to integrate the literacy skills already taught during the mini-lesson into their independent reading. For example, while reading independently, students can answer, “What do you know about this text, other than what is clearly stated?” “How did you use clues from the text to make these inferences?” and “How did you use previous knowledge to make these inferences?”

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 materials provide systematic instruction and practice of foundational skills, including opportunities for phonics and word analysis skills, a research-based sequence of grade-level foundational skills instruction, and opportunities for sufficient student practice to achieve grade-level mastery. The materials include resources that specifically attend to supporting students in need of effective remediation. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include a research-based sequence of grade-level foundational skills instruction and opportunities for sufficient student practice to achieve grade-level mastery. The materials include introductory pages titled “Guiding Principles and Strategies for Grades 3-5.” It states materials are “a comprehensive literacy solution based on science and informed by teachers.” It notes the various embedded research-based supports throughout the materials. For example, there are blue boxes titled “Professional Learning,” which contain “Research Foundations” tips, or research-based rationales for teaching certain skills or using a certain instructional approach that is present in the lesson. In the “Grade 4 Teacher’s Guide,” the authors and advisors are listed at the beginning. They include several nationally-recognized education researchers such as Nathan Clemens, Ph.D., Anne Cunningham, Ph.D., Shane Templeton, Ph.D. (also the author of Words Their Way), Julie Washington, Ph.D., and Elena Izquierdo, Ph.D. Furthermore, there is a research-based sequence of foundational skills in phonics, word analysis, and word recognition. Students in grade 4 can read “Blend-it Books,” which are highly decodable texts starting with letters m, s, t, a, and progressing through the final stable syllable /le/. “Foundational Skills and Word Study” lessons start with “What is a Word” and progress through lessons teaching the digraphs th and wh. The materials include an “Into Reading Alignment Chart,” which provides a Scope and Sequence for decoding instruction in each module. For example, Module 4 includes “Week 1 Decoding: More Vowel + /r/ Sounds /ûr/, /Ôr/,” “Week 2 Decoding: Regular and Irregular Plurals,” and “Week 3 Decoding: Root Words.”

The materials systematically develop knowledge of grade-level phonics patterns and word analysis skills as delineated in the TEKS for grades 3-5. Each module includes a Phonics page broken into three parts: Introduce the Skill, Guided Practice, and Apply. For example, in Module 2, decoding lessons include teaching students about the difference between short o and long o, various syllable division patterns (VCCV, VCV, VV), and the vowel sounds /u/, /yoo/, and /oo/. The learning objectives for a decoding lesson in Module 2 include “differentiate the short and long o sounds” and “recognize the spelling patterns for the long o sound, including the CVe pattern.” The teacher teaches the short o sound using the word block. The teacher discusses the long o sound in the word, scold, as well as showing examples of how this sound can be made by “o,” “ow,” “oa,” and “o_e.” The teacher gives examples of the long o sounds in a chart and reads the example words aloud. Students read them aloud on their own. 

The materials provide opportunities for students to practice grade-level word recognition skills to promote automaticity. Each week, the materials provide high-frequency words for students to learn and practice in the context of passages during fluency lessons. Module 4, Lesson 1, includes the fluency lesson, “Phrasing.” The “Printable: Fluency 4.1 includes words that contain this week’s decoding element. Teachers use the passage to monitor whether students can accurately and fluently read specific grade-level words.” The passage also includes the following high-frequency words: single, bear, fight, speed. The Leveled Readers include some high-frequency words, which provide more opportunities for phonics practice and reading spelling words in isolation. The materials in each module also include lessons in prefixes and suffixes as part of the word analysis study. 

The materials include building spelling knowledge as identified in the TEKS. Each module includes a spelling page for each week of instruction in the Teacher’s Edition. Each week focuses on a different spelling pattern and builds spelling knowledge as identified in the TEKS. Module 4, Lesson 1 includes the “More Vowel + /r/ Sounds /ûr/, /Ôr/” lesson. Teachers “revisit the review words” and reference the “Printable: Dictation Sentences 4.1” and display the spelling cards on “Printable: Spelling Word Cards 4.1.” Teachers model their thinking about a word containing a vowel + /r/ sound. Students help sort the word into the correct category on a class anchor chart. The spelling list has 28 words, including Basic, Review, and Challenge words.

The materials specifically attend to supporting students in need of effective remediation. The fluency lessons follow the “I do, We do, You do” gradual release model to support students. When students are working independently or in pairs, the materials instruct teachers to monitor students and provide support as needed. Specific strategies are not listed. Decoding lessons contain a “Correct and Redirect” section at the bottom of the page that lists tips for teachers when students are having trouble. For example, in Module 6, students learn to decode words with the /k/, /ng/ or /kw/ sounds. The materials guide the teacher first to correct the error the student is making, then model how to decode the word nutcracker. Finally, the materials instruct the teacher to “guide students to decode other multisyllabic words.” Then, the teacher checks for understanding with the word inkjet and can also reinforce if needed with the word mechanic. The materials include the resource called Foundational Skills and Word Study Studio Teacher’s Guide, by Program Consultant: Dr. Martha C. Hougen. It “provides targeted intervention for students who need practice in the critical areas of print concepts, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, word recognition, and fluency. The studio includes instruction and practice at multiple grade levels, enabling teachers to bring students gradually up to grade level.” The materials include an “Into Reading Alignment Chart,” which provides a scope and sequence for possible intervention using the Foundational Skills and Word Study Studio.

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 materials include a variety of diagnostic tools and provide opportunities to assess student progress and mastery, with an interval schedule and suggested timeline included. There is support for teachers in both how to administer the assessments, how to analyze the data, and ways to best support student instruction.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include tools to support and direct teachers to assess students’ growth in, and mastery of, foundational skills (e.g., skill gaps in phonics and decoding) both in and out of context. For example, they include an “Assessment and Differentiation” resource that shows teachers how to assess their students throughout the year. This resource includes a suggested timeline for administering assessments and provides a detailed explanation of each of the different types of included assessments. There are three subheadings: foundational skills, strategic intervention, and small-group inclusion. This resource also includes information for teachers on how to determine the appropriate level of support for Tier I, II, and III interventions. 

The materials include formative assessments that help teachers assess mastery of skills. The formative assessments include both weekly and module assessments that have a reading and writing section to assess comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills. There are options to administer these tests on the computer or with paper and pencil. There are also instructions for teachers to use the data to determine “flexible groups for foundational skills instruction.”

The materials include the “Intervention Assessments” to “provide screening, diagnostic, and progress monitoring assessments to identify students who are at risk for reading difficulties and provide recommendations on the amount of support students are likely to need during reading instruction,” and include screening assessments, oral reading fluency assessments, diagnostic assessments, and progress monitoring assessments. Oral reading fluency assessments are for grades 1-6. These tests focus on fluency, accuracy, and rate and provide important information about the student’s decoding strategies by using specific grade-level targeted vocabulary. The diagnostic assessments for grades 3-5 include Print Concepts Inventory, Letter-Sound Correspondence, and Phonological Awareness Inventory. The progress monitoring assessments provide biweekly checks on students’ progress. These oral reading tests are administered individually and assess students’ growth or problems in pre-reading/reading skills throughout the school year. In addition, they take 3-5 minutes to complete and help measure student growth, identify gaps, monitor progress, and enter or exit students from intervention. The materials also include a “Benchmark Assessment Kit” for assessing guiding reading levels. This kit is specific to Grades 3-5 and contains a fiction and nonfiction paired Benchmark Leveled Reader set for levels J-W. The kit includes the “Into Reading Benchmark Evaluation Guide,” which provides opportunities to observe reading behaviors, students’ approximate reading levels, and information to help plan for instruction. Each leveled Benchmark Evaluation Guide provides teacher directions, a running record, retelling instructions, a comprehension quiz, answer key, and information about “determining a student’s reading level.” 

The materials support teachers with guidance and direction to respond to individual students’ literacy needs, based on tools and assessments appropriate to the grade level. Each module includes “Ongoing Formative Assessment Tools” to be used during and after the module. The diagnostic tools include running records and 1:1 observation records. The weekly planning guide for each module includes a “Week at a Glance,” which lists the activities and stories for each day. In the left-hand side margin under the subheading “Intervention,” teachers are recommended to access the online resource the “Foundational Skills and Word Study Studio Teacher’s Guide.” This resource “provides targeted intervention for students who need practice in the critical areas of print concepts, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, word recognition, and fluency.” In the Week at a Glance section of the teacher guide for each module, the teacher accesses the online Word Study Studio “for students needing strategic intervention” and “additional support.” 

In a “Take and Teach Lesson,” there are opportunities to work with students on self-monitoring, using context to confirm or self-correct understanding, and employing rereading when appropriate. For example, the Take and Teach Lesson for Rivers in Our World by Clare Scott, a Level P text, gives teachers prompts to help build comprehension of the text. There are instructions to reread specific pages to point out details that build understanding around how rivers can differ. 

The materials also include information on documenting students’ growth through portfolios. The portfolios contain formal and informal assessments, as well as work samples from students. The materials instruct teachers to collaborate with the students when choosing work samples for the portfolio, so they can have ownership over it and demonstrate mastery.

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 include many opportunities for students to practice and develop fluency throughout various lessons. There are lessons for practice with various grade-level appropriate texts, including fluency passages, and the explicit fluency lessons teach phrasing, intonation, expression, and accuracy.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include a Scope and Sequence for fluency lessons that includes lessons on “Accuracy and Self-Correction,” “Expression,” “Reading Rate,” “Phrasing,” and “Intonation.” These skills spiral throughout the year. For example, Module 2 has accuracy and self-correction, reading rate, and expression. Module 6 has accuracy and self-correction, reading rate, and intonation. Module 10 has intonation, accuracy and self-correction, and reading rate. Each week, there is one fluency lesson that teaches the designated fluency skill. All fluency lessons follow the same routine and structure. Each lesson, regardless of skill, includes a printable handout containing a fluency passage that is used during explicit fluency instruction. For example, in Module 2, the teacher teaches the students about reading with accuracy and using self-correction. The teacher explains that readers get more accurate the more they read aloud and that it is also important to monitor themselves and correct mistakes to ensure that what they are reading makes sense. The teacher gives the students the printable, Fluency 2.1, which contains the fluency passage titled “A Cool Eyeful.” Students follow along as the teacher reads the third sentence in the first paragraph, hesitating and modeling what it looks like to have trouble decoding a word. Then, the teacher rereads the sentence fluently, modeling accuracy. The teacher purposely makes a mistake, then models self-correction. The class discusses how they can do this on their own. Then, the teacher finishes reading the passage. Following the reading, the class reads together using the choral reading routine. Students have a chance to apply their knowledge in small groups or partners, using the partner reading routine to read the passage aloud.

The materials provide students opportunities to read grade-level texts as they make meaning and build foundational skills. Each module consists of a “Fluency” section with learning objectives focused on providing students with opportunities to read with fluency and accuracy and comprehend texts. Students read various passages to build foundational skills through decoding. They also work with high-frequency words in the passage to work toward more word recognition and improved fluency. For example, Fluency Passage 7.6, “Grasshopper and Ant,” focuses on “Multisyllabic Words with VCCV Syllable Division Pattern and High-Frequency Words.” There is explicit instruction for the teacher to introduce the skill. The teacher explains the reading rate of good readers, models reading the first paragraph of the Fluency Passage at a slow rate and then an appropriate rate, pointing out how he/she decoded the words by using the three-letter blends, and then has the students chorally read the passage. Students then work in pairs using the “Partner Reading Routine.” Additionally, the Learning Objectives for Module 4, Lesson 1, “Fluency: Phrasing,” includes “Read orally with expression. Read aloud grade-level text with fluency and accuracy. Apply decoding skills when reading connected text.” Students read the Printable: Fluency 4.1, “Heroes Come in All Shapes and Sizes,” to practice reading with appropriate phrasing. Students use the Partner Reading Routine to read this passage aloud with their partners. Students utilize the “Student Choice Library” and find additional selections, such as Coral Reefs by Jason Chin and Love Will See You Through by Angela Watkins. As students read the novel, the teacher focuses on a specific skill during the week, and students discuss with partners. Also, other opportunities include reading selected grade-level appropriate texts in “myBook” that align with the comprehension and meaning-making skills being learned during “Reading Workshop.” Texts include The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich (Guided Reading Level K) in Module 2, Weird and Wondrous Rocks by April Pulley Sayre (Guided Reading Level S) in Module 6, and Cooper’s Lesson by Sun Yung Shin (Guided Reading Level O) in Module 10.

Each fluency lesson instructs the teacher to monitor students for appropriate fluency by listening for expression, accuracy, intonation, and phrasing depending on the specific lesson and text. The passage is read by the teacher as a model read, then chorally as a class, and finally, as a partner read. The passage contains the word count and numbers in the margin to match the number of lines in that paragraph, which can be used by the teacher to monitor and mark any mistakes and self-correction the student makes. For example, in Module 4, Lesson 1, “Fluency: Phrasing,” the teacher monitors students for phrasing while they are reading the passage using the Partner Reading Routine. Teachers “note especially how students divide longer sentences into phrases.” For the high-frequency words, teachers “Print and distribute Word Cards 4.38-4.41, which feature this week’s high-frequency words, and have students work independently or in pairs to read and complete the activities for each word. For struggling readers, walk through the notes for one or two words before they continue working with a partner.”

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

The materials include supports for students who demonstrate proficiency above grade level. Guidance provides planning and learning opportunities, including extensions and differentiation. While most extensions are framed for the general classroom population, extension and differentiation opportunities successfully support students who demonstrate literacy skills above grade level. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include supports for students who are above grade level during reading lessons. Each daily lesson includes “Options for Differentiation,” and activities to extend learning for advanced learners can be found in the “Scaffold and Extend” section. A teacher scaffolds student understanding through a visual symbol, such as an arrow that guides teachers through suggested activities for students who are “almost there” to those who are “ready for more.” This scaffolding layout supports teachers in determining if students are ready for above-grade-level work. 

In Module 1, using the short read The Story of You, students working above grade level write an explanation for how the details in the text support the central idea. Another example found in the “Respond and Extend” section gives students the option to respond in writing after reading the fable The Golden Bird L920. In Module 2, students learn about summarizing using the text The Science Behind Sight. The scaffold and extend activities for students ready for more include using steps on an anchor chart independently to summarize a different part of the text.

In Module 3, using the short read Never Give Up, students working above grade level identify the claim and supporting evidence in their selections. Another example supporting students working above grade level can be found in Module 4. Using the text Prince Charming Misplaces His Bride, students think about previously read text, identify the themes, and provide evidence to support thinking.

In addition, Module 5 has an activity for students who are ready for more. This activity can be found under Options for Differentiation, which “guides students to make a two-column chart, placing an idea found in the text in the left column and support for the idea in the right column.” The text is Art Everywhere. There is a “Take and Teach Lesson” that provides opportunities for teachers to guide students through reading Rigby leveled readers up to reading level, such as Working High and Low L1030, which is a nonfiction test. 

Using the text Grand Canyon in Module 6, students who are ready for more make inferences independently using their text and background knowledge. Another example of this support can be found in Module 7, where students complete a story map for their texts and write several sentences to describe each part of the map after reading Thunder Rose. Above-level opportunities are also available in Module 9, which involves using the text Global Guardians, where students write about how “facts support or validate ideas and opinions found in the text.”

In Module 10, students learn about asking and answering questions before, during, and after viewing the video Dolphin Dinner. The students who are ready for more come up with their own questions to ask that will support understanding of a text they are reading or extend learning about a text. 

In Module 11, which is a Nonfiction unit, the teacher meets the needs of students above grade level by utilizing each Guided Reading book’s Take and Teach Lesson, “choosing appropriate sessions by need” and “extend learning with suggested supporting activities.” The leveled readers also provide planning and learning opportunities for students who are above grade level. They include Respond and Extend sections for students who are “ready for more.” For example, after students read The Brave Warrior’s Lessons, they learn about a Native American who lives in their area by researching, using library books and the internet to present the information they found. 

The materials include access to the Rigby Leveled Library, which contains leveled readers for students. This allows for students reading above grade level to access books on their level and progress higher as needed. For example, one text, Mr. Lawson Proves His Point, is a Level T reader, which is above grade level for grade 4. The text comes with a “Take and Teach Lesson” that includes a Respond and Extend section for teachers to extend learning. The options to extend include researching items that are made of recycled materials and explaining how it was made through an illustration and caption, responsive writing to the character of Mr. Lawson in the text, and planning a persuasive presentation to bring recycling to a larger scale, not just the school as the text described, and giving that presentation to the class.

Another example in this section can be found after reading Tuckers’ Gold. Students write a diary entry that a main character might write based on what has been learned when reading. Students research how the Gold Rush changed California. 

There are no specific supports for scaffolding or extensions in writing workshop lessons, but there are opportunities for individual writing conferences. There are not explicit extensions for above-level learners in spelling and fluency minilessons either. 

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 are meeting the grade level literacy standards. They provide planning and learning opportunities (including extensions and differentiation) for students who demonstrate literacy skills below grade level. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Tabletop Minilessons” teacher resource provides additional guidance on adjusting instruction as needed. In the “Author’s Craft” lesson, students working below grade level are directed to “name the mood of the text” and “find an example of hyperbole and tell how it supports the central idea or them” within a new or familiar text. The materials move students through this continuum of activities toward being “Ready for More” with any particular skill. 

The materials also include access to the “Rigby Leveled Library,” which contains leveled readers for students. This allows for students reading below grade level to access books on their level and progress as needed. The materials include instructions for teachers to “choose just-right books” and show an arrow beginning with O and moving to T to showcase levels that students in grade 4 may be on. Some of the texts for below-grade-level readers are the Level O texts Sea Turtles in Danger, an informational text, and Triple Word Score, a realistic fiction text.

The materials provide planning and learning opportunities (including extensions and differentiation) for students who demonstrate literacy skills below the expected grade level. In Module 1, the “Almost There” activity instructs teachers to remind students that the central idea is connected to the supporting details.

The materials include support for students who perform below grade level to ensure they are meeting the grade level literacy standards. Each daily lesson includes a “Scaffold and Extend” section where there are activities to help reinforce concepts for students who are Almost There. This is demonstrated by an illustration of an arrow pointing down that has Almost There at the top and Ready for More at the bottom. This scaffolding layout supports teachers in providing scaffolds and differentiation for students who are below grade level. Some examples of differentiation for these learners are in Module 2, when the materials guide the teacher to help students identify central ideas of the texts being read and help them connect text details to the central idea in order to support it. 

In Module 6, differentiation for below-level learners includes the teacher reviewing transition words with students and showing them which transition words are associated with different types of text structures. 

Students who are below grade level use evidence to explain how they reached a new understanding of the text in Module 7. There are graphic organizers that can be used as additional resources for students. The leveled readers, including titles What Do I See? and In the Woods, also provide planning and learning opportunities for students below grade level. They include activities for students who are Almost There. For example, after students read a new or familiar text, they list sensory words and draw a picture of what they visualized while reading.

In Module 10, there is also a suggested review activity for the students Almost There as the materials instruct the teacher to review “how an author’s choice of language, setting, and characters contributes to the plot” during a lesson on plot.

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

The materials consistently include supports for English Language Learners throughout the materials. There are accommodations for various levels of English language proficiency, appropriate scaffolds and native language support, and differentiated instruction to support these learners. Strategic use of students’ first language as a means to improve students’ development in English is also present. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include a glossary with 48 pages. The glossary includes cognates, Pictionary dictionary, maps, academic vocabulary for parent, teacher, and student use. For example, the dictionary has a picture of a boy and the word boy. Each Rigby leveled reader has a text to speech feature to provide scaffolds for ELs. 

There are weekly Vocabulary Cards to introduce vocabulary from the literature. The front of each card displays the word and a photo that depicts the word. The back of the card includes the instructional strategy, “Collaborative Discussion,” to further support word meaning. In addition, each module includes an academic vocabulary section in the Teacher’s Guide. 

The materials also include “Tabletop Minilessons: English Language Development.” The introduction provides information and background knowledge for teachers. The minilessons are 15-20 minutes and “are designed to be used daily, focusing on one language function per week.” The lessons in these resources introduce, practice, and reinforce key language functions. Each lesson includes practice for each of the four language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. 

The materials include accommodations for linguistics for various levels of English language proficiency through all modules and lessons. At the beginning of each module, there is general information on the “Reading Workshop” component of the lessons. There is a brief summary about English Language Development that recommends teachers work with ELs in small groups to help support and develop their language skills. The support is broken down into their level: Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, Advanced High with aligned support. Throughout the lessons in each module, there is a purple heading titled “English Learner Support” in the “Options for Differentiation” section of the Teacher’s Guide that lists different supports for students depending on their English language proficiency as defined by the ELPs. In Module 2, a lesson includes support to “elicit participation” from students. The support for Beginning ELs is to ask them probing questions, such as “What are the five senses?” The support for Intermediate ELs is to provide them with a sentence frame, “The girl could use her sense of...to understand what the lizard feels like.” The support for Advanced/Advanced High ELs is to ask them more open-ended questions, such as “What would happen if…?” During the shared reading or close read, there are additional EL supports to facilitate discussion. In Module 6, there is EL Support to support comprehension of the shared reading. The support is for “All Levels.” The materials instruct the teacher to make some statements and have students respond with a thumbs up or thumbs down if the statement is true or false. The materials guide the teacher to repeat and provide additional examples if something seems unclear to students. In Module 4, Lesson 2, the lesson “Academic Vocabulary: Introduce Critical Vocabulary” includes “English Learner Support: Build Vocabulary.” For All Levels, teachers “allow students to demonstrate understanding of vocabulary words by telling stories or making gestures. Provide sentence frames for students to begin practice using descriptive language, ‘I sulked when I.... I scowled when I....’” In Module 8, Lesson 5, accommodations for ELs are in the “English Learner Support: Support Comprehension” for the text Eco-Friendly Food. For students at the Beginning level, the teacher is to “guide students to complete this sentence stem for each text or graphic feature, ‘This is a....’ Guide students to describe what each one does.” Teachers use the following stems with students at the intermediate level: “This feature is a...and it helps me understand....” With students at the Advanced/Advanced High levels, teachers “have students identify a feature on a page of the selection and explain how it relates to and supports central ideas” in small groups. 

In every spelling lesson, the materials also include a list of cognates for Spanish-speaking English Learners. In Module 10, an example of some of these cognates included in a spelling lesson are hospital for hospital, historia for history, presidente for president. The materials suggest working with EL students to make sure they understand the meaning of all spelling words and dictation sentences and to have students practice reading the spelling words aloud after they grasp their meanings.

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 multiple types of assessments, along with guidance for teachers and administrators on how to assess students and interpret the data yielded, as well as act on it to be responsive to student needs.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include both formative and summative assessments that are aligned in purpose, intended use, and TEKS emphasis. However, the materials do not specifically state that any assessments are summative but do provide a comprehensive network of assessments in the formative category that cover both progress monitoring and mastery of skills. Each module contains weekly and module formative assessments. The purpose of these assessments is to “measure students’ understanding of major comprehension, vocabulary, and writing/grammar skills at the end of each week and module.” Also, the materials provide benchmark assessment books to determine the students’ reading levels and growth over time. The “Assessment & Differentiation Teacher Resource” provides assessments for the beginning, middle, and end of the year, broken down for each module in a school year. In addition, this resource details all of the different types of assessments within the materials and explains their purpose, how to use them, and what skills are assessed or monitored. For example, there is a reading and writing assessment based on comprehension and revising and editing. The aligned TEKS are in each assessment; for example, the Week 2 assessment covers 4.3C, 4.8A, 4.3B. Module 11, Weeks 1-3 have weekly assessments with the TEKS and cover comprehension and grammar skills taught within the week. 

The materials include assessments with TEKS emphasis for daily formative assessments, weekly assessments, intervention assessments, module assessments, guided reading benchmark assessments, and diagnostic assessments. Daily formative assessments include selection quizzes then support extended learning during small group instruction. Weekly assessments (36 provided) assess student understanding of what was taught during the week. Intervention assessments include beginning-of-the-year screeners and follow-up diagnostics as needed for identified students. Module assessments happen 12 times per year, at the end of each module, and assess reading comprehension, vocabulary strategies, writing, and grammar taught in that module and include TEKS in the key. Guided reading benchmark assessments happen at multiple points throughout the year and routinely monitor guided reading groups. They assess growth and reading levels. Diagnostic assessments test letter and sound correspondence and word recognition for students who score below expectation on initial screening assessments.

The online platform contains a “Data Reports” section where teachers can “analyze gaps and gains, form groups for differentiated instruction, and locate resources to target students’ needs.” Teachers can view data. The “Assessment Report” shows class scores for each assessment so that a teacher can analyze student proficiency data. The “Standards Report” shows students’ progress in standards proficiency. This report provides access to teacher resources that will support student learning in the specific skills they show gaps in. The materials also include the resource titled “Module Assessments Grade 4,” and it includes information about scoring and interpreting the results. It provides information to help the teacher score each of the assessments. It also provides information to help teachers interpret the scores by providing a “Summary Record Form: Module Assessments.” Teachers use these data reports to determine if students are meeting the learning objectives weekly or at the end of each module. There is the “Multiple Tiered System of Supports” (MTSS), where teachers use data to make instructional decisions. Teachers should screen, diagnose, and progress monitor as needed in a recursive process. The model describes Tier 1 as core instruction, Tier 2 as structured intervention, and Tier 3 as an intensive intervention. There are lessons for each level of MTSS, such as “Tabletop Minilessons” for Tier 2 students. In addition, there is guidance for conferring with writers, including rubrics in both “Writing Workshop” and “Inquiry and Research Projects” that contain a “How to Use” resource that provides the teacher with step-by-step instructions beginning with how to print the rubric, then how to review the criteria, record the score, average the score, and share the information with students and parents.

Furthermore, the materials contain assessments connected to the regular content to support student learning. The materials include weekly assessments, “which test students’ understanding of the major Reading and Writing Skills in each week.” For example, Module 4 includes “Performance-Based Assessments,” where students synthesize what they have learned from the module’s text set and demonstrate their topic knowledge by completing one of the module’s culminating activities. 

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

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include the same structures and supports throughout each module to make a consistent, year-long plan for engaging students in different grouping formats and structures. For example, at the beginning of each module, there is information on how to create the “Reading Workshop.” It includes information for teachers on how to form small groups in regards to different student needs. A teacher creates Guided Reading groups using the running records from the “Benchmark Kit.” Teachers can use the Rigby Leveled Library books with each small group. The grade 4 Rigby readers are organized by modules with at least 13 books per module. Each reader also includes a list of the grade-level TEKS. The grade 4 readers include levels O-T, but teachers can assess readers from any grade level to support all learners. The materials also include “Take & Teach lessons,” which can be used with the leveled readers to practice different reading comprehension skills and extend learning. There are online printables available throughout the materials to reinforce skills. The materials include the resource “Guiding Principles and Strategies” (GPS), which includes the “Assessment and Differentiation” section. This resource helps teachers “learn how to use Into Reading assessments and access information about differentiating instruction for all learners, including English learners, special populations, and accelerated learners.” It provides information about “Assessing Students Throughout the Year,” “Daily Formative Assessments,” “Selection Quizzes,” “Weekly Assessments,” and “Module Assessments.” The Scope and Sequence presents the 12 modules for the year, and each module includes the essential question, module focus, learning mindset, text sets, and writing form. Also, the foundational skills Scope and Sequence breaks down the three-week lessons for each module, covering decoding, high-frequency words, and fluency. 

The Teacher’s Guide includes detailed lessons for foundational skills, reading, and writing. Throughout the modules and lessons, the materials include various types of annotations and supports, as well as information for teachers on when to implement ancillary or resource materials and student progress checks. There is a timeline for when to give assessments, such as “Formative Assessments” each week. There are also directions within the resource for teachers to use other resources, such as the “Benchmark Evaluation Guide” and writing rubrics. During Reading Workshop lessons, there is an annotation titled “Link to Small-Group Instruction.” In Module 2, this tells teachers to “reinforce central idea.” The materials direct the teacher to use a specific lesson on page T222. Also, each comprehension skill has an anchor chart. For example, the “Retell” anchor chart depicts word bubbles with arrows that show students the order in which they should go when retelling. It also gives students a tip to “Think about who, what, but, and how to help you retell a story.” There are also wording tips, such as reminding students to use sequence words such as “first, next, then, later, finally.”

The materials include annotations and ancillary materials that provide support for student learning and assistance for teachers. For example, the “Tabletop Minilesson” is a flipchart to support differentiated small-group instruction. The flipchart includes a visual on one side for students to look at, while the teacher looks at the instructional strategies on the back side of the flipchart for use during small-group lessons for reading and English language development. Each lesson includes embedded support to help teachers provide scaffolds for English learners and extension opportunities for students’ use after reading. The Tabletop Minilesson for “Module 3: Identify Claim” instructs the teacher to follow five key points to “Guide students to explore the visual, emphasizing.” It also provides prompts for the students, which supports not only the teacher but also the students’ learning through various skills covered thus far and based on the reading material. Also, there is a place for differentiation with teacher guidance, a student printable, and additional support.

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

The materials include implementation support for teachers throughout a school year’s worth of literacy instruction. The materials are accompanied by a TEKS-aligned Scope and Sequence outlining the essential knowledge and skills that are taught in the program and the order in which they are presented. The module topics that are the organizing structure for the program demonstrate similar topics that grow across the grades, and the grade-level Scope and Sequence documents show evidence of skills that build across grade levels. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide an overarching year-long plan for teachers to engage students in multiple grouping (and other) structures. Plans are comprehensive and attend to differentiation to support students via many learning opportunities. There are 12 modules, each with three weeks of instruction. For each week, the materials list the TEKS that correspond with daily lessons, as well as the genre and text titles to be taught and the strategies and routines incorporated into the week’s lesson plans. The standards connect from week to week. Modules contain “Essential Questions,” “Learning Mindset,” “Build Knowledge and Language,” “Reading and Vocabulary,” “English Language Development,” “Foundational Skills,” “Inquiry and Research Project,” and “Writer’s Workshop.” 

There are different TEKS-aligned Scope and Sequences. The Scope and Sequence goes module by module, outlining the Reading Workshop texts, comprehension skills, vocabulary, speaking and listening, English Language Development, foundational skills (decoding, spelling, fluency, and high-frequency words), and writing skills in the module. The corresponding TEKS are next to each objective or skill. The “Grammar: Scope and Sequence” has an introduction section that informs teachers that during the fourth lesson each week, there is a spiral review that will review a topic from earlier in the same year or a previous grade. Following the introduction, there is a Scope and Sequence for each week with links to where a teacher can find the grammar lessons. 

There are resources to support teachers in implementing the materials, such as the “Teacher’s Guide,” which is a daily and weekly framework for instruction that provides more detail on the program components. The “Professional Learning Guide” covers routines and classroom management, teaching and planning, and assessment and opportunities for professional development, such as webinars for both teachers and administrators. For example, a “Getting Started Leadership Webinar” for administrators provides an overview of the program’s organization, lesson design, and support resources. There are additional links and information on where to find embedded support for teachers who need more help, such as the “Teacher Tips” within the lessons or classroom videos found on “Online Ed” that show teachers modeling different routines included in the materials. There is also a professional learning “Teacher’s Corner” with live events and resources added by teachers with helpful hints. The materials do not include explicit additional supports to help administrators support teachers in implementing the materials as intended. However, there are resources that the administration could use to assist teachers, such as the Scope and Sequence for the year, the “Guiding Principles and Strategies” resource, and the “Professional Learning” section of the materials. In the materials” digital platform, “Ed: Your Friend in Learning,” administrators have access to materials that teachers and students are using. While administrators do not have access to creating assignments or assigning grades, they do have permission to create and share plans, create assessments, and access data reports. Also, administrators can access growth reports that can be used to evaluate the efficacy of the program across a grade level or specific teachers. Administrators have access to features such as importing data files, setting rostering permissions for teachers, adding students to classes, and adding teacher accounts. 

The materials include 12 modules that are each three weeks in length and 36 weeks of lesson plans. There are five full days in each week’s lesson plans, for a total of 180 days of instruction. Each week contains multiple focal texts. For example, Module 2 includes four texts during Week 1, two texts in Week 2, and two texts in Week 3. This would also allow for extending materials for longer instructional schedules if needed. The materials do not include a 220-day schedule, but the materials have enough depth to extend learning. Certain program resources, such as the “Tabletop Minilessons: Reading,” can be used flexibly with any text in the program or classroom library books, and the “Foundational Skills and Word Study Studio” component contains foundational skills lessons that extend beyond a grade-level Scope and Sequence if needed to expand to a 220-day schedule. Using the suggested times for the reading and writing workshop, the 180-day instructional time could be implemented over 220 days. The materials also include realistic time frames for the various components included in the Guiding Principles and Strategies teacher resource. The whole-class instruction includes 10-15 minutes daily of Build Knowledge and Language and/or Vocabulary, 20-30 minutes daily of Reading Workshop, 15-30 minutes daily of Foundational Skills and/or Communication, with a note that foundational skills can be taught using flexible grouping to accommodate different instructional schedules, 30-45 minutes daily of Writing Workshop, 5 minutes daily of Whole Class Wrap Up and Share, 45-60 minutes of Teacher-Led Small Groups, Independent Practice, and Collaborative Work.

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

The materials include appropriate use of white space and design that supports and does not distract from student learning. Pictures and graphics are supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting. The visual design of the student edition is neither distracting nor chaotic. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The student materials, “myBook,” include colorful pages and appropriate use of white space and other designs. The white space is adequate between paragraphs, pictures, and columns, making the page easy to navigate and read. The book has ample open space on each page to allow for students to annotate as they interact with the textbook. For example, there are highlighting and notes features built into the platform. Within the “More” button, students can choose to toggle between one page or two pages while interacting with the online textbook. Students can also zoom in and out to access the text better. Each text has “notes” spaces, which encourages students to jot down their thoughts as they read. 

In Module 1, students read Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo from “My eBook.” They respond to questions in writing. There is a rectangle after each question with room for a student to record the answer. Also, the text itself has numbered paragraphs, white space on each perimeter, and additional white space for students’ notes on the edge of the page. There are several types of fonts and font sizes used within the page, making the layout visually interesting. 

Instructions for students and other important information is in bold or in text boxes to draw the students’ eyes to it. The colors on the pages do not distract from student learning. The materials also include organized tables to display information, such as vocabulary words and their meanings and sentences using the words in context. myBook includes text selections that have colorful and engaging illustrations. The text that needs to be read is clear and separate from the illustrations, so there are no visual distractions. For example, in Module 2, to draw students’ attention to words they need to understand as part of their vocabulary, such as luminous in the text The Science Behind Sight by Louise Spilsbury, the word is highlighted. Underneath the paragraph that contains the highlighted word, there is a small text box, enclosed in color to draw students’ attention to it, that defines the word in context for students.

The pictures contain kid-friendly images that draw the reader’s interest and include illustrations from award-winning illustrators such as Kevin Hawkes. Illustrations support and extend the text. The art is consistent from page to page, with effective use of line, color, texture, and white space. For example, Rent Party Jazz by William Miller includes pictures with vibrant colors that match the culture of the story, such as the characters and characteristics of the jazz genre. The pastel background boxes for text make it easy to read and engage students as the colors match with the colors of the illustrations. In addition, there are boxes that contain a vocabulary word and its definition for student understanding. The graphics capture attention and support student learning and engagement. 

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

The materials include technology components that are grade-level appropriate and support learning. The supports enhance learning, and there is appropriate teacher guidance. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

All of the technology within the material supports and enhances student learning through engagement, ease of use, quick feedback, and access to all materials, whether in school or at home. Within the student online “Ed: Your Friend in Learning” dashboard, tabs to support navigation are included, such as “My class,” “Create,” “Discover,” and “Professional Learning.” These tabs provide students with a quick view of their assignments, connected programs, and recent scores. For example, the Discover tab provides students with access to the online version of each module within the “myBook,” “the Rigby Leveled Library,” “Anchor Charts,” “Practice & Application,” “Student Choice Library,” “Multimedia,” and “Current Events.” All materials are available online for the teacher and student, with access to PDF versions. A teacher or student can use Current Events, online assessments, “Writable,” and the Rigby Leveled Library to enhance learning, interact with texts online, and add annotations. The student-facing material, myBook, is available entirely online. This contains text selections, pre- and post-reading activities and prompts, and an end-of-module performance task. Students have opportunities to respond to text-dependent questions. The Current Events section of the materials includes links and access to many online resources, such as Kiddle News, Newsela, and TIME for Kids. Assessments are available online to support creating small groups and to inform instruction. Writable is the materials’ online platform for writing assignments, which allows students to construct various writing assignments via technology rather than pencil and paper. Rigby Leveled Readers are a collection of readers organized by grade level and Lexile level and include a short five-question quiz to be taken after reading.

In addition, the technology provides teacher guidance through the information needed to implement and execute various aspects of the material, including modules and instruction within the modules. When clicking on professional learning, Ed leads to the teacher’s edition for each module, as well as more tabs such as “Writer’s Workshop,” “Intervention,” and Rigby Leveled Library. The online materials match the printed materials. Teachers can click on Professional Development and find live sessions and instruction ideas organized by topics, such as “Virtual Learning.” The search tool serves as quick access to aid in finding resources.