Listos! + Antologias - Grade 5

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

The materials include some high-quality texts for SLAR instruction that cover a range of student interests. Some texts are well-crafted, representing the quality of content, language, and writing that is produced by experts in various disciplines. Some of the materials include increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and multicultural diverse texts.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Teacher Edition” of “Antología 5” includes eight units with three types of text, including leveled books. The leveled books include legends, poems, stories, and informational texts. Stories vary in complexity level in order to address the needs of beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners. For example, for beginners, Unit 1 includes “¿Cómo se llama tu llama?” by Vanesa Perez-Sauquilllo. The play “Reunión de mascotas” is intended for intermediate students. “Vida y sueño” by Arturo Rico is included for learners at the advanced level. These texts vary in their structure and genre.

Antología offers a brief rationale explaining the educational purpose and placement of texts within the three varying levels of Spanish proficiency (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). This rationale is located under the “Teachers and Parents” section found at the beginning of each book. This is the only section that explains that the text is part of “a carefully-curated selection of authentic Spanish literature and informational texts.” Materials also state that these sections were “organized according to geography and theme.” The texts presented in Antología expose students to other cultures, beliefs, biographies, customs, and a variety of children's literature. For example, the informational text “Los alimentos del continente americano” includes a cross-disciplinary connection with social studies. In addition, Antología offers interventions for fifth grade covering genres that include folktales, drama, and poetry. Stories vary based on students’ knowledge of the Spanish language. 

“¡Listos!” does not include increasingly complex texts or texts that are sufficiently content-rich to apply most SLAR TEKS. For example, in Unit 5, Lesson 3, the main selection is a piece of dialogue about a character’s illness. The text is minimally complex and does not provide opportunities for students to apply critical thinking skills. Similarly, in the Unit 6 section “Las estaciones del año,” the materials include an image to compare the four seasons within two given cities. The materials then provide a short dialogue between four characters describing the specific seasons. As such, the materials provide texts that are not at the appropriate reading level for students in fifth grade.

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 some texts that are appropriately challenging and are at an appropriate level of complexity to support students in grade 5. Texts are accompanied by a limited text-complexity analysis provided by the publisher. Some texts are at the appropriate quantitative levels and have the appropriate qualitative features for fifth-grade students.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“Antología” and “¡Listos!” provide limited text-complexity analyses for the teacher to use during planning and instruction. However, due to the leveling system in the program (i.e., “principiante, intermedio, avanzado”) the teacher can select stories that may somewhat align with students’ reading abilities.

¡Listos! has a “Biblioteca Tematica Reading Level Chart” that includes the approximate correspondence of the ¡Listos! “Thematic Library” readers to the Fountas and Pinnel leveling system. For example, under the “Resources” tab, the chart shows that Unit 3 beginning reader texts are equivalent to a C in Fountas and Pinnell; intermediate reader texts equal E; and advanced equal J–K. The chart does not include specific texts from each unit, but rather provides holistic information for the unit. This equivalency may assist teachers in selecting appropriately leveled texts to use with students depending on their level of Spanish language development. Antología includes “Reading Performance Assessments,” which is a quantitative measurement system for Spanish reading. This resource includes a quantitative chart for grades K–5, which provides “a comparative view of [texts’] different levels, their corresponding equivalent grade levels, and their approximate levels according to the Fountas and Pinnell readability system.”

The materials include texts with grade-level-appropriate qualitative features; texts increase in length and complexity as the students advance in proficiency level from beginner to advanced. For example, in Unit 2 of Antología (beginning level), the story “El niño de la alhambra” includes beginning-level vocabulary words such as flores, largo, and gorra. At the advanced level, the story “Un cuento con mucho viento” features the vocabulary words remendada, césped, and tejadas. In Unit 6 of Antología (beginning level), the story “El diario de Anita” includes beginning-level vocabulary words such as mate, tremendas, and bodega. At the advanced level, the text is “Babu,” and vocabulary includes alboroto, arrojaban, esfuerzo. As evidenced, words grow in syllable length and complexity, from common everyday language to more uncommon words with more complex spelling patterns. The texts themselves also grow in complexity. 

However, ¡Listos! does not include grade-level-appropriate texts. For example, in Unit 7, Lesson 1, “La tecnologia en Mexico,” the main text is a short descriptive paragraph that is only five sentences long. This level of text complexity is not appropriate for grade 5, and the text does not include grade-level vocabulary. Similarly, in Unit 8, Lesson 1, “Los dias patrios,” the main text is a dialogue between four characters. It does not include academic vocabulary, appropriate quantitative levels, or appropriate qualitative features.

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

The materials include some text types and genres across content that meet the requirements of the fifth grade TEKS, but they are lacking argumentative and procedural texts. Materials include some print and graphic features in a variety of texts as well as informational texts that are connected to science and social studies topics in the TEKS for grades 3–8. Students have opportunities to recognize and analyze characteristics of multimodal and digital texts. The materials do not include argumentative and procedural texts.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“Antología” includes eight stories, 10 informational texts, one poem, one play/poem, one biography, two plays, and one diary story for three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. For example, Unit 1 (“Nos conocemos, descubre Bolivia”) includes the drama ¿Cómo se llama tu llama? by Vanesa Perez Sauquillo for beginning level readers. Unit 2 (“Cómo vivimos descubre España”) includes the folktale La batalla versión de un cuento folklórico en español for intermediate level readers.

At the advanced level of Antología, units include the drama Vida y sueño, fictional stories such as Un cuento con mucho viento, and informational texts such as El Salvador tierra de volcanes. No other genres are included. 

Antología includes numerous grade-level-appropriate fiction texts. Unit 3 includes “La escuela en El Salvador,” a short informational text about schools in El Salvador. It explains the differences between El Salvador’s educational system and that of the United States, allowing students to compare and contrast. For beginner readers, content-rich informational texts include “Vamos a aprender descubre el Salvador.”

Antología Unit 4 includes the story “Real Rana Saltadora,” which is about a frog who participates in a jumping competition. 

In Unit 5 of Antología, the poem “Hombres de maiz” describes the gods’ attempt to create men with clay, branches, and corn. 

Each unit of “¡Listos!” includes a thematic library with leveled texts (i.e., beginner, intermediate, advanced). However, the materials do not list the genre of these texts.

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

The materials contain some questions and tasks that support students in analyzing and integrating knowledge, ideas, topics, themes, and connections within and across texts. Questions and tasks build conceptual knowledge and integrate multiple TEKS. Some are text-specific/dependent, but few target complex elements of the texts. Questions and tasks often require students to make connections to personal experiences but less frequently to other texts and the world around them. Materials rarely pose questions or tasks that require students to identify and discuss important big ideas, themes, and details.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Every lesson, both in “¡Listos!” and “Antología,” integrates pre-reading questions or guiding questions that target the story being read or the lesson presented. Questions include “¿Cómo nos saludamos y despedimos en español? ¿Quiénes son los miembros de una familia? ¿Cómo eres tú y como son tus amigos?” Although these questions promote discussions and require students to make connections, the questions do not often support students in analyzing and integrating knowledge, ideas, topics, themes, and connections within and across texts, since the materials’ goal is to facilitate students’ study of Spanish and the customs of different Latin American countries rather than their language arts and reading proficiency. 

The materials provide some questions that prepare the students for what they will be reading and allow them to make connections to personal experiences. In all Antología units, the “Antes de leer” section contains questions to activate students’ prior knowledge. In Unit 1, advanced level questions include “¿Cómo te disculpas cuando te enojas con alguien? ¿Qué actividades de aventura te gustaría hacer?” Also in Unit 1, in the “Reading Strategies, Make Connections” section, students connect details from the play to their own experiences. Teachers ask, “¿Han visto alguna vez una mascota abandonada? ¿Cómo creen que se sentía la mascota?” This prepares the students for what they will be reading and helps them make connections to personal experiences but less frequently to other texts and the world around them.

Some well-crafted questions in ¡Listos! lead to student discussions about important big ideas, themes, and details. For example, in Unit 4, the guiding question is “¿Cual es nuestra conexión con los animales en la comunidad?” This question expands on the lesson’s language focus, cultural objectives, and vocabulary. The same unit includes comprehension questions such as “Como se llama la granja? ¿Cuáles son los animales favoritos de Mayra? ¿Dónde están Rafael, Mayra, Sarah y David?” While these questions address comprehension of the text, they do not target important ideas or themes. 

Questions and tasks integrate multiple TEKS. For example, in ¡Listos! Unit 5, the class discusses a text about how we take care of ourselves. The “Multiple Intelligences Logical/Mathematical” section guides teachers to display a “Mi plato” graphic from the USDA website. Using this graphic, students write a list of foods they will eat for each meal. In ¡Listos! Unit 7, “La tecnologia en Mexico,” for the “Culture Comparison/Social Studies Connection,” students compare and contrast different public transportation systems. Teachers ask, “¿Tiene nuestra ciudad/nuestro pueblo un sistema de metro? ¿Qué sistema de transporte público tenemos? ” In Unit 8, “La mitad del mundo,” in the “Social Studies Connection,” students use a world map or globe to identify, for instance, the equator and the hemispheres. These opportunities allow students to connect multiple TEKS across content and literacy.

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

The materials contain some questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. Some questions and tasks support students’ analysis of the literary/textual elements of texts by asking students to analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the author's purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. The materials do not include comparing and contrasting the stated or implied purposes of different authors’ writing on the same topic. Materials minimally include the author's choices and how they influence and communicate meaning (in single and across a variety of texts). The materials also include minor opportunities for students to make and correct or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures with and without adult assistance. Materials sometimes ask students to study the language within texts to support their understanding.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“¡Listos!” includes passages that guide readers to learn a second language accompanied by discussion questions that connect with the Spanish language, customs, and language structures but do not necessarily support students’ analysis of the literary/textual elements of texts. For example, in Unit 2, guiding questions include “¿Qué ropa llevas durante las vacaciones? ¿Qué haces en la casa? ¿Cómo son las comunidades?” With these questions, students discuss the unit topic of communities; they do not analyze the literary/textual elements of texts.

“Antología” includes questions that can be answered by referring directly back to the text. For example, at the beginning level in Unit 7, under “Comprendo lo que lei,” students answer, “¿Qué descubrió David Stuart sobre los mayas? ¿Que son los logogramas?” In Unit 7 at the Intermediate level “Comprendo lo que lei” includes the questions “¿Por que quería Ruperto ser un superheroe? ¿Por que se horrorizo una rana al ver a Ruperto?” Examples of questions at the Advanced level under the same section in Unit 8 include “¿En qué países se origina la música andina? ¿Cual es instrumento nacional de Ecuador?” The questions help ensure students' comprehension of the text. 

Antología includes opportunities for students to engage in some literary analysis that targets the author’s purpose, text-to-text connections, and text structures. For example, in the Unit 8 section, “Descubre Ecuador,” students come to understand the author’s purpose by answering questions such as “¿Por que la autora usa la palabra ‘guitarrilla’ para referirse al charango? ¿Cuál es el mensaje de la autora? ¿Qué afirma la autora en su texto? ¿Qué detalles o hechos respaldan la afirmación de la autora? ¿Cómo conecta la autora las ideas en cada uno de los párrafos con el tema?” However, Antologia also provides some questions and tasks that do not foster textual analysis through meaningful classroom discussion. For example, under the “Analiza” (Analyze) section of this same text one of the questions provided reads, “¿Qué tan importante es la música en las celebraciones de tu comunidad?” Even though this provides an opportunity for classroom discussion, this question does not require textual analysis. The materials minimally include the author's choices and how they influence and communicate meaning (in single and across a variety of texts). 

Additionally, Antología provides minimal opportunities for students to make predictions; students consistently predict what a text might be about but do not often make predictions within texts. In Unit 8, the section “El mercado y las fiestas de Otavalo,” guides the teacher to “Read the title and the author’s name and ask students to look at the illustrations.” Students discuss what they think El mercado y las fiestas de Otavalo is about. The teacher writes students’ answers on the board, and they confirm or adjust their predictions after reading the text.

Neither Antología nor ¡Listos! includes questions and tasks that require students to study specific language within the texts. 

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 do not include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build vocabulary in and across texts. The materials include some scaffolds and supports for teachers to differentiate vocabulary development for all learners, but the vocabulary development is for basic Spanish words, not text-based academic vocabulary.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Every lesson in “¡Listos!” includes a vocabulary list of basic Spanish words that directly correlate to the lesson being taught. For example, Unit 2, Lesson 1, is “Los colores y la ropa.” The vocabulary is presented in sub-categories such as “La ropa: botas, calcetines, camisa, etc.; Los colores: amarillo(a), azul, gris, etc.; Structures: tu/su, jugar, nadar, Me gusta, etc. Additional: casa, montaña, playa.” The vocabulary is previewed on Day 1, and teachers “display photo cards that show colors to present and review color vocabulary.” Students locate items around the classroom, and the teacher asks, “¿Donde hay algo verde?” or “¿De que color es...?” On day 2, new vocabulary such as “botas, camisa, sueter,” are introduced. The teacher displays a photo card, and students name the article of clothing. On day 3, vocabulary is reinforced as students answer questions such as “¿Qué ropa necesitas para ir a la montaña?” “¿Qué ropa necesitas para ir a la playa?” The same format is followed in every subsequent lesson until the end of the year; however, as previously mentioned, vocabulary is not of academic nature.

To help differentiate instruction, lessons in ¡Listos! include a “Differentiated Instruction” section. For example, Unit 5, Lesson 2, “Fiestas para celebrar y comer,” includes a strategy to help students learn new vocabulary by listening to the vocabulary words and then repeating them aloud. The materials guide teachers to “show photo cards or magazine photos to help students identify the new vocabulary words.” However, the vocabulary these scaffolds pertain to is not text-based academic vocabulary.

Some sections in “Antología” instruct teachers to “Introduce highlighted vocabulary, adding any additional terms you predict will be difficult for students. Word definitions can be found at the end of the book…” However, no further explanation or examples are given for these highlighted vocabulary words. The materials do not include any additional suggestions for the use of academic vocabulary in Antología. There is no sequence in the use of the vocabulary words included.

Additionally, Antología does not include scaffolds and supports for teachers to differentiate vocabulary development for all learners. Although there are different vocabulary words for beginners, intermediate, and advanced readers, the material does not include supports for the teacher. The materials do include visuals that correspond to vocabulary; however, since the words are basic Spanish words, there is no differentiation included. 

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 do not include a clearly defined plan to support and hold students accountable as they engage in independent reading. Procedures and/or protocols, along with adequate support for teachers, are not provided to foster independent reading. Materials do not provide a plan for students to self-select texts and read independently for a sustained period of time; they do not provide planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Neither “Antología” nor “¡Listos!” incorporates guidance to foster independent reading, and neither explicitly includes independent reading time in the daily teacher schedule. The materials do not contain procedures and/or protocols to foster independent reading, and there is no planning or accountability for achieving independent reading goals. While “Antología” provides several reading strategies, students do not specifically use them while reading independently since there is no mention of independent reading in “Antología.”

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 some support for students to develop composition skills across multiple text types for a variety of purposes and audiences. Materials provide students some opportunities to write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. The materials provide students opportunities to write informational texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Materials do not provide students opportunities to write argumentative texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. Materials do not provide students opportunities to write correspondence in a professional or friendly structure.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials offer limited student opportunities to write literary and informational texts. Neither “Antología” nor “¡Listos!” offer opportunities for students to write argumentative texts, nor do they provide students with opportunities to write correspondence in a professional or friendly structure. The ¡Listos! section titled “¡A escribir!” includes a four-step writing process activity at the end of each lesson in the unit. The steps included in the process are as follows: “1. Planifica, 2. Escribe, 3. Revisa, and 4. Presenta.” These steps are meant as a guide to help students move from their brainstorm writing exercise to their final published writing piece. In Unit 1, the prompt is “Mi familia.” The materials guide students to write about their families by creating a table that has four columns where they write their name, age, and words that describe them. This presents a limited opportunity for students to engage in writing, as students are only guided to present their pictures and read the words and sentences out loud. The materials do not provide any additional guidance in the writing process for this lesson. In ¡Listos! Unit 5, “Cuidamos la comunidad,” states: “Have students read the line ‘Tema: Una vida saludable.’ Explain to students that in the next few lessons, they will write about a healthy life.” However, when looking closely at the steps that students need to follow, the prompt does not include any guidance nor instruction for students to write about a healthy life.

In Unit 3 of ¡Listos!, students write informational compositions. Students compare and contrast El Salvador with the United States using a Venn diagram provided in their workbook. This writing task asks learners to describe “los horarios de clases y los útiles de los niños en los dos países.” The graphic organizers for this writing piece offer some support for teachers and students, but no other guidance is provided for the educator. Students follow the previously learned writing steps, “1. Planifica, 2. Escribe, 3. Revisa, and 4. Presenta.” Much like the literary writing section, this section on informational text offers students some opportunity to move through the writing process. However, there is no other teacher support offered for educators to scaffold or assist students through the process of writing an informational text.

Antología also contains a section titled “¡A escribir!,” but it does not guide students in the steps of the writing process. In Unit 8, “Nivel intermedio,” the section guides teachers to discuss with students the purpose of the celebration read in the class text and then have students “write their paragraph on a separate sheet of paper.” The materials do not include any additional guidance on writing for teachers or students. 

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 do not contain written tasks that 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. Materials provide limited opportunities for students to use evidence from texts to support their opinions and claims. Materials provide minimal opportunities for students to demonstrate in writing what they have learned through reading and listening to texts.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide limited opportunities for students to use evidence from texts to support their opinions and claims. For example, in Unit 2, Nivel Intermedio, students read “La Batalla” and then answer the following writing prompt: “Por no saber cooperar, el zollo y el grillo se declaran la guerra. ¿Qué pueden hacer para evitar una guerra en el futuro? Escribe un párrafo.” This task does not require students to go back to the text and look for evidence to support their claim. Similarly, under the “Analiza” section of the following lesson “Las fiestas y celebraciones de el Salvador,” the question reads, “¿Hay fiestas de tu comunidad que sean similares a las celebraciones de El Salvador?” Even though this question does provide the opportunity to refer back to the text, students do not necessarily need to use textual evidence to provide an answer.

Materials provide minimal opportunities for students to demonstrate in writing what they have learned through reading and listening to texts. For example, in Unit 3 of Antologia, students read “Las fiestas y celebraciones en El Salvador.” The writing prompt asks teachers to tell students to imagine they are at one of the parties in El Salvador. Students answer: “¿En qué fiesta participas? ¿Cómo te diviertes? ¿Escribe un párrafo?” Even though this prompt does relate to the celebrations that students read about, it does not provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learned, nor does it require them to return to the text.

Similarly, ¡Listos! does not provide opportunities for students to use evidence from the text to support their opinion or claims. The majority of the activities simply require fill-in-the-blank answers. 

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.

Over the course of the year, composition convention skills are not applied in increasingly complex contexts, and students have few opportunities to publish their writing. Materials do not facilitate students’ coherent use of the elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose multiple texts. In addition, materials do not provide opportunities for practice and application of the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing, including punctuation and grammar. Grammar, punctuation, and usage are not taught systematically, neither in nor out of context, and materials do not provide editing practice in students’ own writing as the year continues.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“¡Listos!” has a writing process composed of four steps: Plan, draft, revise, and publish. However, it is very low rigor for a SLAR student because it is intended for students engaging in Spanish language acquisition and not Spanish-speaking students who are developing Spanish Language Arts and Reading skills. For example, in Unit 2 lessons 1-4, the materials call for students to engage with step 1 (plan). Teachers are instructed to “Ask students to think of fun activities they like to do at the beach and at the mountain.” For step 2 (draft), students “take out their Arana de palabras and write in another one of the spider’s legs the activities they enjoy doing around the house.” For step 3 (revise), students “write what fun activities they like to do in a city and where they do them. Students exchange their work with a peer for editing and “correct and rewrite as necessary.” For step 4 (publish), students review their draft and then present their work to the class. Although there is a clearly established writing process, each phase is presented through a task that is targeted for students engaging in Spanish language acquisition and not for core SLAR instruction.

In “Antologia,” students are not encouraged to follow the steps listed in the indicator (planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing) in order to complete their writing tasks. The materials do not provide opportunities for students to write in a variety of genres, and most writing prompts only state “write about.” For example, in Unit 3, under the “A escribir” section, the materials guide the teacher to “ask students how many languages they speak and how they learned them. Have students write their paragraph a separate sheet of paper.” No further guidance is provided.

Antologia does not provide multiple and varied opportunities for students to practice the application of the convention of academic language when speaking and writing. However, the materials do include minimal opportunities to practice punctuation and grammar in isolation. For example, under the “A escribir” section in Unit 5, the materials provide minimal explanation for students, stating, “Use correct verbs and punctuation.” The materials do not include additional guidance or mention of punctuation or editing practice.

Antología does not have a systematic approach to grammar, punctuation, and usage. This type of instruction is not found in or out of context. In addition, there is not a clear year-long plan for studying grammar and conventions. The materials do not provide editing practice in students’ own writing as the year continues.

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

The materials do not include practice for students to write in cursive. Materials do not include instruction in cursive handwriting for students in the appropriate grades. Materials do not include a plan for procedures and supports for teachers to assess students’ handwriting development.

Evidence includes but is not limited to

Neither “Antología” nor “¡Listos!” includes any instruction in cursive handwriting. Neither resource includes a plan for procedures and supports for teachers to assess students’ handwriting development in cursive.

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

Materials support students' in listening and speaking about texts; however, opportunities are not focused on the text(s) being studied in class, allowing students to demonstrate comprehension. Some oral tasks require students to use clear and concise information but do not require students to use well-defended text-supported claims to demonstrate the knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis of texts.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“Antología” contains some speaking and listening opportunities that encourage students to demonstrate comprehension of the text. After reading “Descubre Bolivia” in Unit 1, for example, students use text clues to answer the questions such as “¿Que ayudó a Edmundo reflexionar?” ¿Por qué Edmundo compara el sueño con un maestro? ¿Que pueden inferir de ese comentario?” Although these questions provide some speaking and listening opportunities about the text, the materials do not specify whether students answer these questions in written or oral form. Additionally, questions are not wholly focused on the text(s) studied in class, but rather students listen and speak in Spanish on a specific topic provided to develop Spanish language skills.

“¡Listos!” provides some speaking and listening opportunities focused on the text being studied in class. For example, Unit 3, “Las vacaciones de verano,” includes some dialogue. The teacher starts the text by reading the first line of dialogue, and then students read it again by themselves. The teacher asks volunteers to role-play the dialogue. This activity allows the students to practice speaking and listening, but it does not support students’ listening and speaking about texts.

The oral tasks that are present in Antología are vague and do not provide readers with enough evidence to have the opportunity to create well-defended claims. For example, in Unit 5, the text “Descubre Guatemala,” elicits the following questions: “¿Qué cultivo le seguía al maize en importancia? ¿Qué hicieron los habitantes para producir los frijoles que hoy conocemos? ¿Quiénes cultivaron primero el tomate?” While the reader can return to the text to find the answers to these questions, the questions do not allow students the opportunity to develop well-supported claims based on text evidence. While the reader can return to the text to find the answers to these questions, the materials do not specify whether the students answer these questions in written or oral form. Additionally, ¡Listos! includes oral tasks that help students develop Spanish language skills, but not text-supported claims to demonstrate the knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis of texts. For example, in Unit 8, after reading the text “Las celebraciones familiares,” students “compare and contrast family celebrations in Ecuador with those in their families.” Students write a short paragraph and volunteer to share their work with the class orally. This task helps students practice the Spanish vocabulary learned (e.g., “costumbre”) but does not have students think critically about the text nor demonstrate knowledge gained through analysis or synthesis.

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

The materials provide some opportunities for students to speak, but they do not provide guidance and practice with grade-level protocols for students to express their own thinking. The materials provide some guidance for students to develop social communication skills, but not appropriately so for the grade level. Materials provide limited opportunities for students to give organized presentations and performances and to speak in a clear and concise manner using the conventions of language. The materials do not provide guidance for students to use nonverbal communication when presenting before an audience.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide some guidance for students to develop social communication skills, but these skills are not appropriate for fifth-grade students. For example, “¡Listos!” Unit 1, Lesson 4 is titled “¿Como somos?” During the first part of this lesson, students learn how to properly describe others by using previously introduced adjectives. The teacher writes the guiding question “¿Cómo son tus padres?” on the board and asks for volunteers to answer the question. Students take turns with their peers, asking “¿Como es la madre, ¿Como es el padre?” Aside from this initial lesson, the materials do not provide further guidance to develop students’ social communication skills. Additionally, this lesson’s primary purpose is Spanish language acquisition, not instruction in grade-level-appropriate social skills.

The materials do not provide guidance and practice with grade-level protocols for discussion for students to express their own thinking. All grade levels limit speaking to having students answer questions verbally or participate in some speaking tasks, but the materials do not provide structured collaborative activities or gradual release. For example, in ¡Listos! Unit 3, Lesson 3, “Una invitación,” students have the opportunity to roleplay. Under the “Challenge/Roleplay” section, the materials note: “Motivate pairs of more advanced students and/or heritage speakers to role-play a dialogue in which one friend invites another to a birthday party. Have the invitee ask questions about the party, while the birthday boy or girl answers. Ask students to present their dialogues to the class.” Students act out conversational dialogues; however, the materials do not provide grade-level protocols for discussion in which students can express their own thinking. 

The materials provide a limited amount of opportunities to give presentations, but these are not organized, do not contain guidance, and do not take into consideration the conventions of language. For example, In ¡Listos! Unit 5, Lesson 4 (“Cuidamos la comunidad”), the section “¡A escribir! Presenta stage” guides students: “Presenta tu trabajo sobre como llevar una vida sana. 1. Haz una última revisión de tu trabajo. 2. Presenta tu trabajo final. 3. Lee en voz alta.” The materials provide no further guidance on how to organize the presentations nor on how to present them.

In “Antología,” “Nivel Avanzado,” Unit 6, “Descubre Uruguay,” “Teaching Tips” state: “Reread ‘El diario de Anita’ aloud. Then have students read the story together in a choral reading. Make sure to demonstrate proper fluency and inflection for students to mimic. Ask students to pay attention to when your tone of voice changes.” Even though this activity allows for some modeling of speaking in a clear and concise manner, the intent is to develop fluency and not to provide opportunities for students to give presentations or performances.

Neither ¡Listos! nor Antología provide guidance for students to use nonverbal communication when presenting before an audience.

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

The materials engage students in short-term inquiry processes. The materials do not engage the students in sustained recursive inquiry processes to confront and analyze various aspects of a topic using relevant sources. Materials do not support the identification and summary of high-quality primary and secondary sources. Materials provide some support for student practice in organizing and presenting their ideas and information in accordance with the purpose of the research and the appropriate grade level audience. Materials provide minimal guidance to use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“¡Listos!” provides some opportunities for students to engage in short-term inquiry and research. The end of each unit in Listos! Includes a section called “Investiga la Cultura.” These sections provide information and activities that further the engagement with the country studied throughout each unit. For example, at the end of Unit 2 of ¡Listos!, students learn about Bolivia. In the “Investigate and Share” section, the materials instruct the students to “research one of the indigenous languages mentioned in the Cultural Comparison or the Culture box and present findings to the rest of the class.” The students work in groups to research an indigenous language, but the materials provide no further guidance for students to complete their research or to write about what they learned.

Materials provide minimal guidance on an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results. In Unit 3 of ¡Listos!, after learning about Puerto Rico, the “Culminating Activity” explains that students are now at the “Presenta” stage. The materials guide the teacher to have students “draw a picture of their animal along with their finished description.” Students “present their final work,” and the teacher asks the class to “guess the animal being described [and] display the drawings and writings in the classroom.” There is no additional guidance on how to present the information to their classmates.

Materials do not support the identification and summary of high-quality primary and secondary resources. For example, in “Antología” Unit 7, at the beginner level, the materials tell the teacher to “Have students look again at the illustrations and photos from the reading to generate possible investigations.” Even though the materials require the students to look at sources, there is no guidance for teachers to support students in choosing the most qualified and relevant sources. There are no examples of high-quality primary or secondary sources.

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

The materials do not contain interconnected tasks that build student knowledge and provide opportunities for increased independence. Questions and tasks are designed to help students learn Spanish and not necessarily to build and apply knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, and language. Materials contain some coherently sequenced, high-quality, text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts but not across multiple texts. Tasks attempt to integrate reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking but do not include components of vocabulary, syntax, and fluency, as needed. Tasks provide few opportunities for increased independence.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“Antología” includes questions that provide some opportunities for students to apply knowledge in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. For example, at the “Intermediate Level,” in Unit 3, for the text “Las fiestas y celebraciones en el Salvador” under the “Reading Strategies, Main Idea” section, the materials guide the teacher to “Help students identify the main idea of the first paragraph by asking ¿Cual es la idea principal de este párrafo? ¿Qué detalles apoyan la idea principal? Cuenta qué detalle te pareció el más importante.” 

The materials include some questions and tasks designed to help students build and apply knowledge and skill in reading, speaking, listening, and thinking about a piece of text. For example, Antología Unit 4 states: “Help students identify the order of events in the story by asking: ¿Me pueden decir qué pasó al principio, en el medio y al final del cuento? ¿Cuál fue el propósito de la autora en este cuento: explicar, entretener o informar?” Students have the opportunity to respond orally and listen to each others’ answers but are not required to provide evidence of understanding for these types of questions or engage in any other integrated activities associated with these questions.

The materials do not follow a coherent sequence of text-focused tasks. Most tasks involve learning about different cultures and their customs along with using the Spanish language in context. In ¡Listos!, there are no text-dependent questions or tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas in the texts. Antología attempts to analyze texts with only 5-6 comprehension questions that do not push students to apply, analyze, or synthesize their knowledge. For example, questions include, “¿Puedes recordar…?” or “¿Cuándo paso eso?” However, neither provides opportunities for increased independence. The material does not contain interconnected or multifaceted tasks that allow for increased independence.

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

The materials provide spiraling and scaffolded practice. Materials distributed practice over the course of the year. Materials are designed to include 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 in “¡Listos!” support distributed practice over the course of the year. The Language Arts Scope and Sequence of ¡Listos! includes a legend that marks introduced skills with an “(I),” skills reviewed with an “(R),” and skills maintained with an “(M).” This shows the teacher how the skills spiral throughout the year. For example, in Unit 1, a reading strategy is to “use ideas to make and confirm predictions (I).” The (I) indicates that this concept is being introduced. In Unit 2, under “Reading Strategies,” this same objective is shown but now with an (R) for review (i.e., it is being spiraled). Because this concept is continued in all units, there is an (M) for Units 3–8 (i.e., the concept was introduced, then reviewed, and will continue to spiral and be maintained throughout the units). 

“Antología” also includes guidance for distributed practice over the course of a year. The Antología “Scope and Sequence” lists the theme, language functions, structure, and culture to review in each unit. The content in Antología also varies by Spanish language level: beginner, advanced, or intermediate. This organization provides scaffolding for the teacher to use based on each student’s individual level of Spanish language development but not based on the Spanish Language Arts and Reading TEKS explicitly.

Antología includes questions that spiral skills (e.g., main idea, inference, prediction) repeatedly as students engage with the reading passages. For example, in Unit 2, “Nivel Avanzado,” students preview and predict in the “Reading Strategies Preview and Predict” section. Materials state: “Read the title and the author’s name and ask students to look at the photos. Discuss what they think and write their answers on the board to confirm or correct their predictions after the reading.” The students integrate reading, speaking, and listening through this initial activity at the beginning of each reading passage. Similarly, in Unit 7, “Nivel Avanzado,” under “Reading Strategies Preview and Predict,” students read “the title and the author’s name” and “look at the images.” They discuss “what they think the text is about” and “write their answers on the board to confirm or correct their predictions after the reading.” Even though this skill spirals throughout the year, it does not increase in rigor, as it asks students to predict in the same format over the course of the various units.

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 orthographic rules and patterns).

Materials provide some systematic instruction and practice of foundational skills, including opportunities for phonics and word analysis skills. The materials include a research-based sequence of grade-level foundational skills instruction and some opportunities for student practice to achieve grade-level mastery. The materials provide some regular practice for decoding and encoding words. The materials include systematic instruction of orthographic rules and patterns. The materials provide teacher guidance for students who need additional support or remediation with foundational skills. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide a research-based scope and sequence that aligns with foundational skills instruction. “¡Listos!” includes a Language Arts Scope and Sequence that denotes foundational skills addressed in the second lesson of each unit. For example, Unit 1, Lesson 2, introduces students to “the vowel sounds,” while in Unit 2, Lesson 2, students work to “identify vowel sounds and segment/combine syllables.” However, due to the frequency of the lessons, foundational skills are not addressed as often as needed to achieve grade-level mastery. The instruction is very basic because the purpose of these materials is Spanish as second language development. 

The material’s instruction is not explicit in foundational skills, and the activities and tasks provide some opportunities for students to practice. For example, in ¡Listos!, Unit 2, Lesson 2, the teacher is guided to, “Explain to students that this is choosing a rhyme, like ‘Eeny, meenie, minie, mo’ in English. Have the students form small groups and tell them to practice rhyme.” The teacher also writes a rhyme on the board and has students underline the rhyming letters in the words. Students proceed to use the same words to break down into syllables. The syllable practice is continued in the student workbook.

Materials attempt to systematically develop knowledge of grade-level phonics patterns and word analysis skills; however, skills are not delineated for the TEKS for grades 3–5. For example, “Antología” provides a scope and sequence for the instruction of phonics and word recognition. This scope and sequence can be found under the section titled “Phonics, Spelling, and Structures.” In Unit 2, students learn about “the sound of que and qui,” while in Unit 3, the students learn about “ the sounds of ja/jp/ju vs. ga/go/gu.” Antología also includes a section called “Asi se dice” and “Asi se escribe” that includes phonics practice. For example, in Unit 7, the lesson reviews “palabras que se forman con raíces, prefijos y sufijos del antiguo idioma griego.” The students complete a table and use the reading to identify the roots and affixes.

Materials specifically attend to supporting students in need of effective remediation. ¡Listos! includes activities for students who may be struggling with their foundational skills in a section titled “Differentiated Instruction/Benchmark” that helps guide the reader with different skills. For example, in Unit 7, Lesson 2, the materials offer students assistance with the “accent mark.” This “Intensive” section focuses on students struggling with pronouncing words and breaking them up into syllables. The materials guide the teacher to “provide students with the complete words on strips of paper and have students pronounce words with you and then break them into syllables.” These sections in each unit and lesson provide several opportunities for students to practice and master the content.

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 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 some 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. Materials offer minimal support for teachers to respond to individual students’ literacy needs based on tools and assessments appropriate to the grade level. Materials do not include support for the teacher to work with students to self-monitor, use context to confirm or self-correct understanding, and employ rereading when appropriate.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“Antología” includes some tools to support and direct teachers to assess students’ growth and mastery of foundational skills. For example, “A Reading Performance Assessment” under “Teacher Resources” in the online materials allows an instructor to measure students’ reading ability as they read a passage from a book. There are eighteen assessments included in this program, the equivalent of three for each grade level, K–5. Levels are easily identified by color: Magenta, Yellow, Orange, Red, Green, and Blue. These Reading Performance Assessments include both fiction and nonfiction passages taken from Antologías: Lecturas culturales. The materials state, “We recommend to administer the Reading Performance Assessments three times during the year, beginning at the start of the year; however, a teacher may opt to assess individual students as often as he/she deems necessary.” Antología also includes assessments after every unit. For example, in Unit 1 at the advanced level, comprehension questions include, “¿Por que estaba enojado Edmundo? ¿Qué hace Edmundo cuando se da cuenta de sus errores?” Foundational skills questions include, “Encierra en un círculo la palabra correcta, Escoge la palabra que mejor completa la definición, Encierra en un círculo los sustantivos. ”

“¡Listos!” includes some assessments of foundational literacy skills throughout all the units and in the separate workbook “Cuaderno de práctica anotada.” These are quick assessments to gauge if the student has grasped the concept. For example, in Lesson 6, Unit 3, students match the word for the mode of transportation to its picture. Similarly, in the “Cuaderno de práctica anotada,” students fill in the blank with the mode of transportation that correctly completes the sentence and matches the picture.

¡Listos! also includes the section “Evaluaciones.” However, these assessments do not focus on mastery of foundational skills. They assess students in four areas: “A escuchar” (Listening), “A conversar” (Speaking), “A leer” (Reading), and “A escribir” (Writing). The section “¡A escribir!” requires students to demonstrate writing production in three different formats: “writing a word to match an image prompt (Section A), writing a phrase to complete a sentence that matches an image prompt (Section B), and writing a complete sentence to match an image prompt (Section C).” 

Materials include diagnostic tools and provide opportunities to assess student mastery. ¡Listos! includes an initial assessment administered at the beginning of the year and a post-assessment used at the end of the year. The materials also include unit assessments. The materials note: “Levels A to F offer assessments for both Separate Domains and Integrated Domains. For Separate Domains, the unit assessments consist of a battery of tests that evaluate levels of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. For Integrated Domains, a holistic approach is used to evaluate comprehension and production.” The Separate Domains rate students in the four domains of communication. Listening, reading, and writing are administered in a group setting, while speaking is administered individually. Additionally, the materials include informal assessments used at the end of each lesson, culminating activities at the end of each lesson, and cooperative activities throughout the units. The materials note: “Combined, they offer teachers, administrators, and parents a comprehensive overview of how students are performing at different stages of the Spanish acquisition process, as well as documenting progress over time.”

Antología includes placement tests and unit quizzes by level (beginner, intermediate, advanced). The quizzes consist of three comprehension questions. It also includes sections titled “Asi se dice” that assess phonics; “Asi se escribe” that assess grammar; and “escribir,” where students write four to five sentences about a given topic. 

Materials do not include support for the teacher to work with students to self-monitor, use context to confirm or self-correct understanding, and employ rereading when appropriate.

Most readings in both ¡Listos! and Antología are read by the teacher while students repeat after the teacher. Because the text focuses on students learning Spanish as a second language, there is no emphasis on self-correction or self-monitoring.

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

The materials provide some opportunities for students to read grade-level texts as they make meaning and build foundational skills. The materials include minimal explicit instruction in fluency, including phrasing, intonation, expression, and accuracy. Materials provide minimal opportunities and routines for teachers to regularly monitor and provide corrective feedback on phrasing, intonation, expression, and accuracy.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide some opportunities for students to practice and develop reading fluency while reading grade-level texts. For example, in “Antología,” Unit 1, “Nivel Avanzado,” in the text “Un cuento con mucho viento,” the materials guide the teacher to “Encourage some students to read the selection aloud and ask their classmates to follow along.” The teacher is also guided to “have students repeat selected words and sentences” after the teacher. The materials also recommend the teacher “avoid correcting students immediately” and instead “gather common errors and practice correct pronunciation with the whole class.” Similar guidance is found throughout the other level units of Antología. However, Antología does not include any other explicit guidance to have students develop oral and silent reading fluency. 

“¡Listos!” includes minimal explicit instruction in fluency, including phrasing, intonation, expression, and accuracy. For example, in Unit 6, Lesson 3, “Como viajaste,” the section titled “Echo Read” guides the teacher to “read the dialogue out loud and have the students follow along. Conduct an echo read of the text, having students gradually repeat words, phrases, and then sentences after you.” Similar guidance is found throughout the various units, with no other explicit instruction on fluency mentioned.

Antología provides minimal opportunities and routines for teachers to monitor fluency regularly. The “Reading Performance Assessment” in the Resources section allows the teacher to evaluate students’ decoding and comprehension skills; however, this opportunity is not explicitly to assess fluency, though it is measured. The teacher’s guide notes that the “...purpose of these Reading Performance Assessments is primarily to evaluate the decoding and comprehension skills of students in a quick, effective, and ongoing fashion.” The guide does provide directions on how to administer the assessment and how to calculate the words-correct-per-minute (WCPM) and accuracy. For example, the materials state, “In order to calculate a student’s accuracy rate and a percentage, the total number of errors must be subtracted from the total words read and then divided by the total number of words read. The result must be multiplied by 100.” The materials provide five comprehension questions at the end of each passage designed to “check the comprehension level of students who have decoded the passage at 90 percent or better.” These questions are divided into five levels, “Beginning, Early Intermediate, Early Advanced, and Advanced,” which align to the five WIDA levels: “Entering, Emerging, Developing, Bridging, and Expanding.” The materials do not provide a suggested time to perform the evaluations and to provide feedback to students. 

Evaluation for 5.1
Materials include developmentally-appropriate diagnostic tools (e.g. formative and summative progress monitoring) and guidance for teachers, students, and administrators to monitor progress.

The materials include some developmentally appropriate diagnostic tools (e.g., formative and summative progress monitoring) and guidance for teachers but do not contain guidance for students and administrators to monitor progress. Materials include diagnostic tools that are developmentally appropriate (e.g., observational, anecdotal, formal). Materials provide guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of diagnostic tools. Materials do not include tools for students to track their own progress and growth. Materials do not include diagnostic tools to measure all content and process skills for SLAR, as outlined in the SLAR TEKS.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include a variety of diagnostic tools that are developmentally appropriate, which include formative and summative assessments used to measure students' language development and reading in Spanish. For example, in “¡Listos!,” the “Evaluación de Ubicación” is a pre-test used when students enter the program, and “Evaluación Final” is a post-test used at the end of the school year. The complete battery of assessments includes four distinct tests: “A escuchar (Listening), A conversar (Speaking), A leer (Reading), and A escribir (Writing).” These summative assessments provide information on general Spanish language development as well as specific skills. Additionally, “Antología” contains a resource titled “Reading Performance Assessments.” The materials note: “A Reading Performance Assessment allows an instructor to measure a student’s reading ability as he/she reads a passage from a book. There are eighteen assessments included in this program, the equivalent of three for each grade level, K–5.” The assessment guides the teacher to fill out the observation form to assess accuracy and comprehension while the student reads a passage from the Antología. 

Materials provide guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of diagnostic tools. ¡Listos! includes an “Administration” manual that provides teachers with an overview of the assessment and its components and guides the teacher into understanding each of the parts contained in the summative unit tests called the “Evaluación de Ubicación,” and “Evaluacion Final.” The “Evaluación de Ubicación” and “Evaluación Final” are administered and scored in the same way as the unit assessments, allowing for consistent administration across various assessments. There is also a “Manual del maestro” under the section “Evaluaciones” that contains instructions to administer the test by providing step-by-step guidance for administering each of the four domains, “A escuchar,” “A conversar,” “A leer,” and “A escribir.” For example, to administer the domain “A escuchar," the materials guide teachers to “[r]ead the following instructions to the group. Repeat instructions and examples as needed. Assist students as necessary.” The materials also contain a scoring rubric titled “Separate Domains Assessment Rubric” for teachers to evaluate answers provided by the student on the conversational component of the test. 

Neither Antología nor “¡Listos! includes tools for students to track their own progress and growth or includes guidance for administrators to monitor student progress. Materials do not include specific SLAR TEKS in the diagnostic tools used for assessment.

Evaluation for 5.2
Materials include guidance for teachers and administrators to analyze and respond to data from diagnostic tools.

The materials include some guidance for teachers, but little for administrators, to analyze and respond to data from diagnostic tools. Materials provide some support to teachers with guidance and direction to respond to individual students’ needs in all domains, based on measures of student progress appropriate to the developmental level. Diagnostic tools yield minimal meaningful information for teachers to use when planning instruction and differentiation. Materials provide few resources and teacher guidance on how to leverage different activities to respond to student data. Materials provide little guidance for administrators to support teachers in analyzing and responding to data.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide some support to teachers with guidance and direction to analyze and respond to data from diagnostic tools based on individual students’ needs. For example, “¡Listos!” includes a Reading Performance Assessment that allows an instructor to measure a student’s reading ability as they read a passage from a book. There are eighteen assessments included in this program, the equivalent of three for each grade level, K–5. Levels are easily identified by color: Magenta, Yellow, Orange, Red, Green, and Blue. This color-coding allows the teacher to see the student level to provide differentiation. Similarly, “Antología” includes the “Evaluación de Ubicación,” a pretest used for initial assessment and placement. This assessment can also be used as a posttest for year-end evaluation of progress. This assessment is divided into four sections: “Escucha (Listen), Lee (Read), Escribe (Write), and Conversa (Speak).” This test informs teachers if a student is a “beginner, intermediate, or advanced.” Although the materials include these diagnostic tools, they target Spanish language development and not Spanish language arts. 

Both ¡Listos! and Antología include some guidance that supports the teacher in planning, differentiating, and scaffolding instruction based on the student’s demonstrated aptitude level within each literacy skill. Antología includes a “Spanish Reading Performance Assessment” located under the section “Reading Performance Assessment” in the Resources tab. In this reading assessment, students read a passage while the teacher follows along and fills out the form that includes the passage the student is reading. Using this data, teachers form guided reading groups. Materials state, “Depending on students’ instructional level as determined by their assessment, teachers may use stories from the Antologías for the lower grades, or other stories from lower grades, in order to adapt to these students’ needs. Similarly, teachers may elect to use stories from the Antologías in the higher grades and/or from the advanced sections in order to meet the needs of students reading above their grade level.” This component provides a recommendation for placing students in the correct level, beginner, intermediate or advanced. 

¡Listos! includes the assessments “Evaluación de Ubicacion” and “Evaluación Final,” which help the teacher calculate the student’s Spanish level. After the educator has given the test in small groups or one-on-one for the speaking component, teachers go to the section “Interpreting the Results” on the “Resources” tab. In this section, teachers calculate “the score for each assessment (and) use the charts to convert the numerical scores into proficiency levels.” After determining the proficiency level, there are “general descriptions of skills at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels for each of the four domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.” This assessment, however, is used to measure a student’s Spanish level and is not TEKS-based.

Materials provide some resources and teacher guidance on how to leverage different activities to respond to student data. For example, ¡Listos! includes the sections “Differentiated Instruction” and “Scaffold and Apply” within each lesson to offer additional support for students who may need more practice to grasp the content. In Unit 4, Lesson 2, “Animales que viven en Puerto Rico,” students learn about animals that live in Puerto Rico. The “Differentiated Instruction” section includes “Strategic” and “Challenge” portions. The “Challenge” section guides teachers to “Instruct students to create an informational poster about a Puerto Rican Animal.” These sections offer an opportunity for teachers to use different strategies to respond to the data.

The materials include minimal guidance for administrators to support teachers in planning for instruction to respond to data. For example, the available data reports yield individual student levels but do not offer overall information on classroom performance or grade-level performance as a whole. In addition, the materials do not provide guidance to support administrators in analyzing data to design targeted programmatic and professional development. 

Evaluation for 5.3
Materials include frequent, embedded opportunities for monitoring progress.

The materials include frequent, embedded opportunities for monitoring progress throughout the units. Materials include routine and systematic progress monitoring opportunities that accurately measure and track student progress using a rubric. The frequency of progress monitoring is appropriate for the age and content skill assessed.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The Teacher's Edition of “¡Listos!” includes frequent, embedded opportunities for monitoring progress. The materials include performance tasks, formative assessments, or informal assessments throughout each lesson and unit. The Unit planner for each of the eight units includes differentiated summative performance tasks such as interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational. The “Summative Performance Tasks” support the teacher's ability to assess students’ use of language in context, application of the language structures learned, and provide an opportunity to use multiple intelligences. A “Lesson Planner” is included for each of the unit’s four lessons. The lesson planner includes formative assessments to be administered using online practice, “cuaderno de practica,” close activities, and “hojas de actividad.” The lesson planner also includes summative performance assessments through the use of “album de recuerdos, actividades, and aplica” sections. Formative assessments include but are not limited to the “I Can Statements,” where students and teachers review the objectives for the day. At the end of each day, students complete a close activity by completing individual or group tasks. On day four of each lesson, the materials support the teacher in providing informal assessments in the “Apply” section. 

The “Individual Student Record” sheet is also used to keep track of each child’s performance on the “Separate Domains and Integrated Domains Assessments” throughout the school year. In this form, all possible scoring information may be recorded, such as all unit assessments, closing activities, summative performance assessments, or summative performance tasks. The materials also provide an “Individual Integrated Domains Assessment Rating” sheet, which is an observational tool teachers use to record information about students’ performances. For example, the “Integrated Domains Assessment” allows teachers to rate the student’s ability to comprehend and produce Spanish. Teacher guidance states, “For this process, rely on teacher observation notes and a child’s writing sample (if appropriate) produced by the activity.” “¡Listos!” also includes pre- and post-assessments: “Evaluación de Ubicación” and “Evaluación Final.” The forms only indicate the basic levels of language proficiency established by the ACTFL; however, there is no indication of grade-level SLAR TEKS.

“Antología” includes routine and systematic progress monitoring opportunities that accurately measure and track student progress. The materials include recommendations that students be “assessed three times during the year, beginning at the start of the year; however, a teacher may opt to assess individual students as often as he/she deems necessary.” The materials include pre- and post-assessments for each of the eight units. Each unit includes formative assessments in the form of quizzes for decoding, print awareness, and reading comprehension at the end of each lesson. The materials support the teacher by providing an answer key for each quiz, including instructions and ELAR TEKS addressed for each item. However, there is no indication of grade-level SLAR TEKS provided.

Evaluation for 6.1
Materials include guidance, scaffolds, supports, and extensions that maximize student learning potential.

The materials include guidance, scaffolds, supports, and extensions that maximize student learning potential. Materials provide recommended targeted instruction and activities for students who have not yet mastered the content in addition to students who have mastered the content. The instructional materials provide enrichment activity opportunities for all levels of learners.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials in “Antología” support students who have not yet mastered the content. The “Principiante, Intermedio y Avanzado” readings found in Antología offer scaffolds and support to students of all levels. Antología’s Teacher Edition notes: “Each reading comes with comprehension questions to support the development of crucial literacy skills such as meaning, inference making, critical reading, and vocabulary development.” Materials include grammar and spelling activities to help learners construct meaning in different contexts. Additionally, there are various practice activities to support students who have not yet mastered the content. 

The table of contents outlines each lesson as either “beginner,” “intermediate,” or “advanced.” The questioning before the read-aloud is differentiated based on the student’s current level. Leveled readers are available for grades 3-5; these offer more challenging questions and literacy activities, ultimately offering further development for advanced students who have mastered grade-level content. For example, in the “¡Listos!” section, “¿Cómo viajaste?,” there is a challenge activity that states: “Have more advanced students and/or heritage speakers write a riddle about, or a description of, a means of transportation for their classmates to guess. Have students share their riddles or their descriptions with the class.” These types of challenges have been found in all D-F levels of ¡Listos! and target students who have already mastered the content. 

Materials provide recommended targeted instruction and activities for students who have not yet mastered the content. Throughout every lesson in ¡Listos!, there is a “Differentiated Instruction” section with scaffolds that teachers can use to support students who have not yet mastered the content. For example, in Unit 3, the materials guide the teacher to “assist students who are having difficulty with the school supplies vocabulary by having them create flashcards with a picture.” The teacher is also guided to place the students in pairs or small groups to practice the vocabulary. In Unit 4, the “Differentiated Instruction” section provides the teacher with additional activities to support students who are having difficulty with diphthongs. The materials guide the teacher to have students isolate diphthongs in words, read them in sentences, and then complete sentences with the corresponding diphthongs. This additional targeted instruction provides students with opportunities to master the content. 

In order to target students who have mastered content, ¡Listos! lists extension activities that involve technology. Students “use digital book creators with no audio to record students’ role-plays” and “use map sites to help students learn about their own and other communities and locate places of interest and describe how to get there.” 

In addition, ¡Listos! Unit 4, contains a section titled “Tarjeta postal.” Here, students create a postcard describing their experience at the Mayaguez Zoo. Students “include the animals they saw, what was different about the zoo, and what they liked about their visit.” In the lesson planner, the materials guide the teacher to expand this task. This is an example of an extension activity that is available for all learners. 

Materials provide additional enrichment activities for all levels of learners. Under the Challenge heading in Unit 7 of ¡Listos!, the teacher has “groups of more advanced students and/or heritage speakers create their own dialogues about when they get up in the morning and start school.” Unit 8, “El carnaval,” guides teachers to “assist students who experience difficulty sequencing the events in the dialogue by having them use the graphic organizer ‘Hoja de actividad 6.” This activity has students review “first, then, next, and last.” Students look for these cues as the teacher reads the dialogue and writes it in the appropriate place in their graphic organizers. This differentiated instruction targets students in need of support. 

Evaluation for 6.2
Materials provide a variety of instructional methods that appeal to a variety of learning interests and needs.

The materials provide a variety of instructional methods that appeal to learning interests and needs. Materials include a variety of instructional approaches to engage students in mastery of the content. Materials include support of developmentally appropriate multimodal instructional strategies (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, etc.). Materials support some flexible grouping (e.g., whole, small, individual). Materials support multiple types of practices (e.g., guided, independent, collaborative) and provide guidance and structures to achieve effective implementation.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

To reach all learners, the materials provide a variety of instructional methods through a leveled approach. “¡Listos!” and “Antología” both follow a format that encourages direct instruction and student repetition. All stories follow a pattern of predictions, questions, and cross-cultural connections. Reading passages provide opportunities for students to work collaboratively using a discovery approach. For example, under the section “Expansion of Agapito, el coqui trovador,” students “...research in small groups these musical instruments used by trovadores: cuatro, guiro, bordonua, and tiple.” Since the story includes Puerto Rican music, students work in groups to learn additional information. 

The materials engage students through various instructional approaches. In ¡Listos! Unit 5, the teacher guides students through a discovery approach: “Explain to students that they will create a postcard for their family describing meals and traditional foods in Guatemala.” Students collaborate through direct instruction under the Interpersonal Activity: “Ask students to form groups to complete the survey about a healthy life. Ask them what their results are.” Collaboration is seen in the “Teaching Suggestions” of the same lesson. Teachers “divide the class into two teams; ask students to listen as you read several statements and decide whether they are true or false; have students correct false statements; address one team at a time.” Participation is encouraged through questions that refer back to the Guiding Question from the previous lesson: ¿Cuáles son tus alimentos favoritos? Teachers write the question on the board, create a sentence strip, read the questions, and have students repeat it.

The materials support flexible grouping. Each unit of ¡Listos! includes a “Summative Performance Assessment” section that engages students in different tasks, including collaborative partnerships. For example, in Unit 7, the materials guide the teacher to “have students work in small groups to research and write a short report about a famous Mexican inventor.” Students work collaboratively to discuss the inventor, what they invented, and why they think the invention is important. “Students [then] present the reports to the class.” This activity provides students with the opportunity to work collaboratively and engage in a combination of kinesthetic, auditory, and visual multimodal strategies to learn the lesson objective.

Evaluation for 6.3
Materials include supports for English Learners (ELs) to meet grade-level learning expectations.

The materials do not include support for English Learners (ELs) to meet grade-level learning expectations. Materials do not include accommodations for linguistics (communicated, sequenced, and scaffolded) commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency.

Materials do not encourage strategic use of students’ primary language as a means to develop linguistic, affective, cognitive, and academic skills in the target language (e.g., to enhance vocabulary development).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include no evidence that supports English Learners in meeting grade-level expectations. “¡Listos!” is designed for learning Spanish, and no section of the book was designed for students to be more proficient in English. The intent of ¡Listos! and “Antología” is to use English as a bridge to learning Spanish; consequently, the materials are focused on the usage and development of the Spanish language and not the English language. 

No evidence was found in either resource that addresses any particular strategy for English Learners (ELs). The materials are for students learning Spanish. Therefore, the materials do not encourage the strategic use of Spanish to develop English. Instead, they encourage some strategic use of English to develop Spanish.

Evaluation for 7.1
Materials include year-long plans with practice and review opportunities that support instruction.

The materials include year-long plans with practice and review opportunities that support instruction. Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan to build students’ concept development but do not consider how to vertically align instruction that builds year-to-year. Materials provide some spiraled review and practice of knowledge and skills in all domains throughout the span of the curriculum.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“Antología” and “¡Listos!” include a year-long plan which builds students’ concept development but does not consider how to vertically align instruction that builds year to year. Antología’s scope and sequence includes reading strategies, objectives, oral and written conventions, vocabulary development, sentence structures, and media literacy. Each unit has a big idea, essential questions, objectives, and activities. Additionally, Antología includes a Scope and Sequence from K-5 organized by grade level. These are separated, limiting the program’s vertical alignment. There are no clear connections between grade levels showing the progression of skills over time. ¡Listos! includes a separate scope and sequence at the beginning of the materials. This resource lists “Themes, Language Functions, Structures, and Culture” as the major headings and corresponding content covered through the year. 

Materials provide some spiraled review and practice throughout the span of the curriculum. ¡Listos! has a second scope and sequence found in the appendix of each level. The “Language Arts Scope and Sequence” is divided into thematic Units 1 through 8, named after a Spanish-speaking country such as “Bolivia, España, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Uruguay, Mexico, and Ecuador.” Each thematic unit includes four lessons divided into four days of instruction for “reading strategies, vocabulary development, oral/written conventions, phonics, and print awareness.” Each standard is labeled with a letter “I, R, or M” indicating “(I) for introduce, (R) for review, and (M) for maintain,” allowing teachers to know which standards are taught for review or for maintenance. For example, under “Reading Strategies,” in Unit 1, “use ideas to make and confirm predictions” is listed as “I” for “Introduce,” and in Unit 2, the same skill is listed as review. Since the materials support the development of Spanish as a second language, each level is unique and separate. The levels were not created to build on each other and therefore lack vertical alignment. The teacher’s guide includes this information by stating “each level is self-contained.” It is important to note that none of the scope and sequence documents include the TEKS, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards. 

Evaluation for 7.2
Materials include implementation support for teachers and administrators.

The materials partially include implementation support for teachers and administrators.

 Materials are not accompanied by a TEKS-aligned scope and sequence outlining the essential knowledge and skills that are taught in the program, the order in which they are presented, and how knowledge and skills build and connect across grade levels. Materials include support to help teachers implement the materials as intended. Materials do not include resources and guidance to help administrators support teachers in implementing the materials as intended. Materials include a school year’s worth of instruction, including realistic pacing guidance and routines.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include some support to help teachers implement the materials as intended. The planner section in “¡Listos!,” for example, includes “lesson objectives that provide guiding questions, vocabulary for the lesson, and “I Can Statements.” The section titled “Evidence of Learning” provides teachers with formative and summative performance assessments, along with “Expansion” suggestions. In Unit 4, Lesson 2 section, “Animales de Puerto Rico,” the expansion suggestion under “Summative Performance Assessment” instructs teachers to “have students make another poem about an animal they like in their own community.” Students compare and contrast the animal poem they created with the poem that the materials provide. The planner also includes a section titled “Meeting the Standards,” which includes communication and culture, connections, comparisons, and communities. At the end of the planner, there is a section titled “Additional Components,” which includes a list of print and online materials that students can use during the lesson. The planner also includes suggestions for additional books and resources to support instruction; however, it does not include a comprehensive materials list for preparation.

In addition, ¡Listos! sections like “Program Components” and “Program Walkthrough” are essential in supporting teachers in the first steps of using the product. Both of these resources explain all of the sections contained in the book and provide an easy synopsis for teachers. This material also has a “Lesson Overview” prior to each unit, which outlines the main components that will be taught throughout the unit. 

“Antología” describes the resources that it contains under Unit Walkthrough. This section contains “pre-reading questions and tips [to] foster communication and activate student’s prior knowledge; teaching tips, cultural notes, and reading strategies [to] support instruction; phonics, spelling, and vocabulary development activities, etc.” “Reading Comprehension Skills and Strategies,” meanwhile, offers teachers additional information for each of the 3-5 grade level books. Antología also includes tools to support teachers with navigating resources. This includes a table of contents and color-coded pages to easily identify the content on that page. For example, each of the lessons is a different color (pink, purple, orange, and blue), and the unit overviews are green. 

The materials include a school year’s worth of instruction, including realistic pacing guidance and routines. ¡Listos! includes a “Five-Day Pacing Guide” for each lesson under the Resource section. The pacing guide includes routines such as “warm-up, present, practice, communicate, and close” to guide the teacher through the lesson cycle for classes that meet for longer than 120 minutes. The materials state that “the pacing suggestions are based on 30 minutes per instructional session or class, with five sessions per lesson, for a total of 150 minutes of instruction per lesson.” The materials also include an alternate “Three-Day Pacing Guide” for classes that meet for less than 120 minutes per week. 

The materials are not accompanied by a TEKS-aligned scope and sequence, and the material does outline the essential skills that are taught in the program nor the order in which they are presented. For example, ¡Listos! is accompanied by a “Language Arts Scope and Sequence” in the appendix. The scope and sequence does not directly denote what TEKS are being addressed, nor does it include all TEKS. The materials do not include a list or any type of chart that directly relates lessons in these materials with the SLAR TEKS.

The materials do not include resources and guidance to help administrators support teachers in implementing the materials as intended.

Evaluation for 7.3
Materials provide implementation guidance to meet variability in programmatic design and scheduling considerations.

The materials provide implementation guidance to meet variability in programmatic design and scheduling considerations. Materials provide guidance for strategic implementation without disrupting the sequence of content that must be taught in a specific order following a developmental progression. Materials are designed in a way that allows LEAs the ability to incorporate the curriculum into district, campus, and teacher programmatic design and scheduling considerations.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials provide guidance for strategic implementation without disrupting the sequence of content that must be taught in a specific order following a developmental progression. 

In the “Resources” tab on “¡Listos!,” teachers find a “Five-Day Pacing Model” and another document titled “Alternate Pacing Suggestions.” Their resources provide guidance for strategic implementation. For example, the “Five-Day Pacing Model” is designed for classes that meet more than 120 minutes per week. “Pacing suggestions are based on 30 minutes per instructional session or class, with five sessions per lesson, for a total of 150 minutes of instruction per lesson…” This pacing guide is for classes that meet regularly during the week. ¡Listos! also contains a “Three-Day Pacing Guide,” designed for classes that meet three times a week and 40 minutes per class. This implementation resource is organized in a table format and tells the teacher exactly which lessons to combine or skip in order to be able to follow the progression of the program. “Antología” can also be taught out of order due to the nature of the spiraling skills and the varied reading levels available at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Similarly, ¡Listos! identifies the progression of content skills in order to ensure that students are supported and that the instruction is able to meet their individual needs. The “Language Arts Scope and Sequence” section includes guidance for when the grade-level skills will be taught, but it does not necessarily review the previously taught material. The “Cuaderno de Práctica,” however, does include additional practice for students to review the material learned throughout the unit. 

Both Antología and ¡Listos! are designed in a way that allows LEAs the ability to incorporate the curriculum into district, campus, and teacher programmatic design and scheduling considerations. If districts follow a specific pacing guide, lessons can be taken out of the pacing guide or out of order to be used according to the district's needs. Since the materials are designed to teach the Spanish language, they contain minimal program design that can be adjusted to align with district curriculums. Even though reading and writing skills are presented in the materials, they do not have the TEKS listed and do not address the skills the depth and rigor needed. 

Evaluation for 7.4
Materials provide guidance on fostering connections between home and school.

The materials provide some guidance on fostering connections between home and school. Materials provide some support in specifying activities for use at home to support students’ learning and development. Materials provide minimal support in the development of strong relationships between teachers and families.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

“Antología” includes a letter to parents and teachers that describes the program’s structure and the different instructional components. For example, a section of that letter that is called “Habilidades de Competencia Lectora y Estrategias” defines each of the reading skills and then explains how to help students to master them. The skills included are point of view, author’s purpose, cause and effect, compare and contrast, drawing conclusions, reading aloud, problem and solution, main idea and details, making inferences, making connections, retelling, sequencing, summary, and visualization. Additionally, the letter explains how parents and teachers can encourage students to use reading skills after reading a story or piece of text.

Materials specify activities for use at home to support students’ learning and development. “¡Listos!” includes a parent letter for each unit. The letter provides a brief description of what students are learning in Spanish; it also provides expansion activities to complete at home. For example, in Unit 3, “El Salvador,” the parent letter advises parents to “Ask your child what he or she is learning to say in Spanish at school. Encourage your child to act as if he or she is your teacher. Ask: ¿Cuál es tu clase favorita? What is your favorite class? ¿Qué útiles necesitas para la clase de arte? What supplies do you need for art class?” HoHome activities that support students’ learning and development include using a world map to “ask your child where El Salvador is located,” and to ask them to “write a few paragraphs on if they think uniforms are a good idea.”

In Unit 7, students explore the country of Mexico. The letter advises parents that students “will learn vocabulary associated with professions, Mayan inventions, and contemporary Mexican inventions. In addition, your child will learn to use Spanish descriptive words when talking about Mayan culture.” Additionally, the letter includes questions parents can ask their children and additional suggested activities that include asking your child to “write a couple of paragraphs about what he or she thinks life might be like in the future. Encourage your child to be as creative and descriptive as possible using as much Spanish as possible.” These activities allow parents to support their children in their learning and development.

Though the parent letters in Antología and ¡Listos! are helpful to start building relationships between teachers and family, these are the only resources available. They thus provide minimal support in the development of strong relationships between teachers and families.

Evaluation for 7.5
The visual design of student and teacher materials (whether in print or digital) is neither distracting nor chaotic.

The materials include a visual design of student and teacher materials that are neither distracting nor chaotic. Materials include appropriate use of white space and design that supports and does not distract student learning. The pictures and graphics are supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include appropriate use of white space and design that supports and does not distract from student learning. For example, the “¡Listos!” teacher’s guide design allows teachers to easily locate important information for lesson planning and implementation. ¡Listos! supports teachers through the use of color-coded or tabbed pages that quickly identify content on each page of the different units. The unit planner also includes “Unit Overview, Summative Performance Tasks, Literacy Center, Culture Connections, Technology Integration, and Pacing Suggestions.” The components are well designed without being distracting, and everything is well organized and easy to find. The educator sees the same content in the same place throughout the book. ¡Listos! has clear and designated spaces for educators to quickly see and locate important information. 

“Antología’s” teacher book is divided into three levels, “Nivel Principiante, Nivel Intermedio, and Nivel Avanzado.” Each “Nivel” is color-coded and includes eight units for each. The teaching instructions are bolded in pink throughout the pages. The subheadings include “Vocabulary development, Echo Read, Differentiated Instruction, Practice and Apply, and Scaffold and Apply.”

Additionally, Antología includes pictures and graphics that are supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting. Tables, charts, and visuals included are clear and concise. There are many pictures in each story to help readers comprehend and grasp the meaning of new words. 

Similarly, ¡Listos! includes photographs and illustrations that are supportive of student learning and engagement. These visuals add to the students’ understanding of the skill at hand. The student materials of both Antología and ¡Listos! are designed with appropriate use of white space; the workbooks, texts, worksheets, and digital components are neither distracting nor chaotic. For example, photo images to teach the unit vocabulary online are clear and utilize appropriate colors. The images are real pictures that support the stories and vocabulary that are taught. For example, in Antología, Unit 3, Lesson 3, the “El Salvador Tierra de Volcanes” supports the learning of the vocabulary word “crater” by including a graphic that shows what a crater is. Additionally, it includes real pictures of various volcanoes found in El Salvador. The stories also include characters who interact in dialogue, and sentences are often accompanied with a visual in order to assist emergent readers with comprehension.