Scott Foresman Texas myView Literacy Grade 2

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

The materials include well-crafted texts that are of publishable quality. Many texts are written by published authors, while some are written for the program. Materials include texts that are appealing and engaging for Grade 2 students, including illustrations and graphics. Materials include increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Amazing Migrations: Butterflies, Bats, and Birds by Cheryl Willis Hudson is an informational text that provides science content and domain-specific vocabulary. The text includes bright images of butterflies and draws students’ attention to butterfly migration.

A Home on the Prairie by David C. Lion is an informational text with an image of a rattlesnake on its front page. This engaging content is relevant to residents of Texas.

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone is a narrative nonfiction text. Graphics in the text help students relate to the text and may even be amusing. For example, the illustration shows a girl holding onto a tree branch; the chair underneath her has fallen over. Her brother had played a prank on her. On the next page, an illustration shows the girl holding a boy over her head. Not only is this an interesting illustration, but many students might be amused by the text that is related to the picture: “This was a girl who had once carried her brother over her head until he backed down from their fight.”

Kids Can Be Big Helpers by Kenneth Braswell is a persuasive text that uses graphics and text features such as text boxes with bulleted lists. There are vocabulary words alongside the main text as well as pictures. Each text element is well-crafted and of high quality.

Rocks! by Christopher Cheng is an example of scientific text using language representative of the discipline. This is an example of language in the text: “That’s because Earth is made of rock. Rock is the building block that makes up our planet. Rock lies under every bit of land. There is rock at the bottom of every ocean. Rock is everywhere!”

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

The materials include a variety of text types and genres across content areas that meet the demands of the Grade 2 English Language Arts and Reading TEKS. The materials provide opportunities for students to analyze the use of print and graphic features within a variety of texts.

Examples of literary texts include but are not limited to:

How Many Stars in the Sky by Lenny Hort (realistic fiction)
Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell (realistic fiction)
You Can’t Climb a Cactus by Derrick Barnes (realistic fiction)
“Pete At The Zoo,” “Keziah,” “Rudolph Is Tired of the City,” and “Lyle” by Gwendolyn Brooks (poetry)
Where Do They Go in Rain or Snow by Melissa Stewart (drama)

Examples of informational texts include but are not limited to:

A Green Kid’s Guide to Watering Plants by Richard Lay (informational text)
Kids Can Be Big Helpers by Kenneth Braswell (persuasive text)
Amazing Migrations by Cheryl Willis Hudson (informational text)
Building on Nature by Rachel Rodriguez (biography)

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

Print and graphic features are represented throughout the informational texts, including the use of tables of contents, captions, subtitles, maps, glossaries, and indexes in titles like A Home on the Prairie, Introducing Landforms, The Abenaki, and Amazing Migrations.

In Unit 2, with A Home On The Prairie by David C. Lion, students analyze text features when the teacher draws their attention to the picture caption—“Prairie dogs get their name from the loud barking noise they make”—and asks them to underline the part of the caption that tells where prairie dogs get their name from.

In Unit 3, with The Abenaki by Joseph Bruchac, students analyze text features when the teacher draws their attention to the heading—“What is life like for the Abenaki today?”—and asks them, “What questions do you expect to have answered in this paragraph?” Students write two questions of their own about how the Abenaki live today and look for the answers to their questions as they read that section of the text.

Evaluation for 2.3
Texts, including read-aloud texts in K-2 and shared reading in Grade 2, are appropriately challenging, and are at an appropriate level of complexity to support students at their grade level.

The materials include appropriately challenging texts at an appropriate level of complexity to support students at their grade level. The materials provide text complexity analyses including quantitative, qualitative, and reader-and-task considerations of the texts. In addition, read-aloud and shared-reading texts are above the complexity level of what on-level students can read independently.

Examples include but are not limited to:

A text complexity chart is available in the online resources located in the “Accessible Student Home Pages.” This chart includes all texts in the unit, including read-alouds and shared-reading texts, and includes Lexile levels, word frequency, and word count; it also provides a qualitative analysis of the text structure, levels of meaning, and knowledge demands of the text. The document is broken down by unit/week and is very helpful for the teacher in understanding the qualitative and quantitative measures of what’s recommended for students who might need support.

In Unit 2, What’s in the Egg, Little Pip? by Karma Wilson has a Lexile level of 550. Qualitative features include the level of meaning: medium range with “details about penguin life cycles and survival practice provide context for discussion,” and students are expected to notice details and compare them to their own experiences; text structure: written in the third person and follows a predictable chronological structure; language conventionality and clarity: “largely explicit and easy to understand,” the sentence structure is simple and uses conversational dialogue students should be familiar with; knowledge demands: simple, with references to “common family life experience, such as welcoming a new sibling.”

In Unit 3, The Frogs at the Rainbows End by Arnold Lobel has a Lexile level of 550, which is grade-level appropriate and meets the complexity level of what students should be able to read independently. The stated theme is found in the moral. “The story is simple and short and has familiar elements of a traditional tale, including repetitive dialogue and a pattern of three similiar episodes leading to the unexpected ending.” Language is easy to understand and key academic vocabulary, such as hopes and disappointments, is appropriate for Grade 2 learners. Students may also connect this to other stories that have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

In Unit 4, Building on Nature: The Life of Antoní Gaudí by Rachel Rodriguez has a Lexile level of 570, with adult reading expected during the first reading. The nonfiction narrative (biography) uses context and vocabulary that is appropriate for adult-introduced literature. The author’s purpose is easily identified, simple, and follows a predictable chronological order. Illustrations support the text, and text structure is simple, with implicit connections between ideas. The language can get complex, as there are many examples of abstract and figurative language. For example, “mountain peaks jag against the sky” and unfamiliar vocabulary (metalsmiths, monastery), which require guided assistance for comprehension. Due to complex and sophisticated themes, the knowledge demands are near the very complex range.

Evaluation for 3.a.1
Materials contain questions and tasks that support students in synthesizing knowledge and ideas to deepen understanding and identify and explain themes.

The materials contain quality questions and tasks that support students in synthesizing knowledge and ideas to deepen understanding and identify and explain themes. Conceptual knowledge and literacy skills are built through text-dependent questions and tasks that support the synthesis of knowledge and ideas. Questions and activities are included throughout to support students as they identify and explain themes. Most tasks and assignments are text-dependent, requiring close attention to meaning and inference making. Students evaluate and discuss information from multiple places within a text to demonstrate their comprehension.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Each unit begins with an “Essential Question” that ties to the unit’s theme. Throughout the unit, “Weekly Questions” return to this theme. Students synthesize their learning by making connections across texts within the unit.

In Unit 2, students deepen their understanding of topics through the Essential Question “What patterns do we see in nature?” Next, a more specific Weekly Question for Amazing Migrations: Butterflies, Bats, and Birds connects back to the Essential Question: “What migration patterns do we see in some animals?” The associated infographic helps students build conceptual knowledge of why some animals migrate. In When Animals Do Not Migrate, students continue to explore these same Unit and Weekly Questions. By discussing facts and focusing on one detail, students continue to build an understanding of informational text.

In Unit 3, with Your Food, My Food, students explore the value of food in traditions, which is tied to the Unit 3 theme. The text is realistic fiction, and there are two associated procedural texts (recipes). The read-aloud How To Make Glitter Slime suggests that students should listen carefully to understand the sequence, then list steps for making slime. One “Close Read” activity asks students to independently underline the sequence steps for making salsa. Another Close Read activity asks students to infer the meaning of the term Shabbat using context clues. Yet another Close Read activity asks students to evaluate a heading to determine what they will be reading about. All of these tasks further students’ understanding of the topic.

In Unit 4, students demonstrate their understanding by identifying the type of text (biography) and finding the main idea of the text they are reading. Some important questions that lead students to this understanding include:

• Who is the biography about?
• Is the biography about part or all of the person’s life? How do you know?
• What are the main ideas?
• What are the supporting details for the main ideas?

In Unit 5, within a vocabulary lesson, students write the meaning of words found in the selection Introducing Landforms. During the “Guided Reading” section, students discuss how graphic features better help them understand what a word means. Students then explain what a vocabulary word tells them about the topic of the text. Students also discuss using context clues to better understand vocabulary words. These tasks help students better understand the topic.

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

The materials contain questions and tasks that require students to evaluate the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. Students use text evidence to analyze the author’s word choices to understand the author’s purpose and the message of a text. By comparing and contrasting texts within and across genres, students are able to explore the various choices authors make to influence and communicate meaning, with adult assistance. The materials provide students with opportunities to read, listen, and respond to texts from various cultural, historical, and contemporary backgrounds.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, teachers introduce parallel structure with the text Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell. Teachers point out the beginning of sentences in a paragraph (he gazed; he looked; he held). Teachers explain that the author writes each sentence in the same way, and “the author uses this structure to help readers follow the man’s actions.” Later, during the “Reading-Writing Bridge,” teachers explain sequencing by telling students: “Authors use certain words to show the order of events in a text. The words that tell the order of events are called sequence words.” Teachers and students reread the text Maybe Something Beautiful, and teachers ask students to retell the story using sequencing words (first, next, then, last, and finally).

In Unit 2, students read the text How Do Baby Animals Grow? and analyze the author’s purpose. They return to the text, skim through evidence, and then highlight the author’s purpose between three choices: “To entertain the reader about baby animals, to inform the reader about baby animals, and to persuade the reader to like baby animals.” They then “talk with a partner about what helped [them] figure out the author’s purpose.” During the reflect-and-share portion of this lesson, students think back to other texts they have read and “compare the author’s purpose to the author’s purpose of How Do Baby Animals Grow?” In their writing, students make sure to include examples from each text and “explain how the examples support [their] ideas.”

In Unit 3, teachers use the text The Legend of the Lady Slipper to evaluate the author’s purpose and language when they answer these questions from the “Close Read” activity: “What word tells when the story takes place? Does it tell about a specific date or time?” and “Underline the word in the text that the author uses to show the story takes place at an unknown time in the past.” Students analyze the use of simile when they use “fast as a fox” and “strong as a bear” to help them write their own description of the brother in the text. In another Close Read of this selection, teachers point out the word choices the author uses to describe how the heroine moves through the snow (lashed, rattling, stalked, talked, charged) and ask students to explain how each word helps them imagine how the girl moved.

In the Unit 5 text Introducing Landforms, students stop multiple times during reading to close read for language, details, or author’s choice. At the end, students return to these close reading notes to support their understanding of key ideas. Prompts include:

• Underline the words in paragraph 3 that tell what shapes the land.
• Underline sentences that describe how rivers and lakes are connected.
• Highlight the words that help you think about something you may have done that relates to the topic of this section.
• Highlight the words that the picture helps you understand.

These close reading prompts support students’ analysis of the author’s choice, craft, and language to make inferences and draw conclusions. During a “Check for Understanding,” students directly answer a question related to the author’s choice: “Many of the words in this text are in bold print. Why do you think the author did this?” Right below, a student reminder prompts students to remember, “The author or Introducing Landforms used headings to tell me what the paragraph under each heading is about.” To close out, students provide text evidence from their close reading notes to support their understanding of these key ideas: “rivers and lakes,” “wide, flat plains,” and “mountains of lava.” In the next week, students transition into a study of natural disasters by comparing the text How Earthquakes Shape the Earth with How Water Shapes the Earth. Students compare these different authors’ implied purpose, going as far as comparing the purpose of specific paragraphs: “Now look back at paragraph 5 in How Water Shapes the Earth. Compare and contrast ways water and earthquakes shape the Earth.” To recap, students compare the authors’ intention behind using section headings: “Why did the authors of both texts use section headings?”

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

The materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary in and across texts. Each unit begins with a vocabulary overview, and instruction follows a regular and predictable routine for students and teachers. Lesson plans offer teachers opportunities to differentiate vocabulary development for students who are either struggling or ready to work on vocabulary independently.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Explicit vocabulary instruction for Grade 2 begins in Unit 1. According to the “Teacher Edition,” teachers use an “Academic Vocabulary Word Wall” to list vocabulary words related to the unit as they are encountered. Academic Vocabulary follows a consistent structure, beginning with “Preview” prior to “Shared Reading,” “Develop” after the second Shared Read, and “Formative Assessment” at the end. Each formative assessment includes two options for teachers to differentiate according to student ability: One option is tailored to struggling students, while the other option is for students who are ready to work independently. Also, the Shared Readings provide definitions as text additions as students read. The “Small-Group Reading Workshop” lesson plans further allow for differentiation, with options that include strategy groups, “Reading Workshop” conferences, and leveled readers connected to the main selection.

In the “Project-Based Inquiry” section of each unit, students use the vocabulary they have been learning in the previous weeks to “Turn and Talk” and research and write projects. At the end of each unit, there is a “How To Use a Glossary” section or a “How To Use Digital Resources” section, with a “Mini-Lesson” as well as a unit glossary.

In the “Assess and Differentiate” section, students continue to practice using a dictionary or using word definitions found in the margin. The teacher assists struggling readers or conferences with independent readers. As independent readers read their texts, they create a graphic organizer using the model that was completed as a whole group. Materials include prompts for teachers to use while conferencing with students, including asking students to explain how they found the meaning of unfamiliar words and if students’ definitions matched the definition found in the dictionary.

The “Language Awareness Handbook” provides support for differentiated instruction. In Part 1 of the Handbook, each unit and each week within the unit has scaffolded support for all lessons in the Reading Workshops, including vocabulary. In Part 2 of the Language Awareness Handbook, there are lessons that are specific not to units, but to language learning and vocabulary.

In Unit 1, students are taught to use academic vocabulary to understand characters’ actions or feelings in the selection Maybe Something Beautiful. Students learn to use vocabulary words to understand the main idea of the text and how vocabulary words are used to express thoughts and feelings in a poem.

In Unit 2, students learn how to use a glossary. Students work with the teacher to look up a word in the glossary, and students continue looking up words in the “Student Interactive,” writing their definitions. During small-group instruction, the teacher guides students on using context clues; students who demonstrate proficiency create their own glossaries. Students preview vocabulary words for The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by listening to the teacher use the words and define them as needed. The teacher prompts students to ask questions about the vocabulary words while reading the story: “As you read the words in the text, ask ‘Why are these words important in the story?’” Later, in the “Vocabulary” lesson, teachers model and discuss how authors add affixes and how affixes change the meaning of the word. Students then complete sentences to demonstrate understanding and write complete sentences using vocabulary words in the Student Interactive.

In Unit 4, the teacher leads students through academic vocabulary development in an oral language activity by modeling the use of the phrases. The materials indicate steps to be followed by the teacher to remind the student of the definition of the word. Students actively practice oral language by discussing or conversing about topics of interest learned during the week while using the key academic vocabulary words from the week: discuss, connect, responsible, equal, improve. Students respond in writing to a prompt found in the Student Interactive, using academic vocabulary. The Assess and Differentiate section provides teachers with guidance for small-group instruction to assist students who might be struggling with coming up with their own definitions for unfamiliar words and support independent readers by reminding them to come up with their own meaning for unfamiliar words before looking them up in a dictionary, then having students make a list of unfamiliar words, make up their own definitions, and check their definition with the actual word meaning.

In Unit 5, the “Reading-Writing Bridge” section provides students with an opportunity to use context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Students practice using a dictionary and use definitions found in the margin in the “Develop Vocabulary” lesson. During the whole-group lesson, students choral read the definition for lava found in the margin of the Student Interactive, and the teacher writes the definition in their own words. Students are then prompted to find other words to define the word; students practice using a dictionary.

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

The materials provide a clearly defined plan to support and hold students accountable as they engage in self-sustained reading on a daily basis. Materials provide support for teachers on implementing procedures and protocols to foster self-sustained reading in their classrooms. Each unit provides a plan for students to self-select text, read independently, and complete a reading response log to demonstrate accountability.

Examples include but are not limited to:

“Small-Group Independent Reading” procedures allow students to choose to reread a previously selected text, select a different trade book tied to the theme, reread or listen to the “Shared Read,” or partner-read a text with another student. Materials provide supports for teachers on each daily “Small-Group Strategy” plan, including how to help students choose material and “Literacy Activities” tied to a student’s choice of independent reading. “Reading Workshop Small Group” plans in the “Teacher Edition” always have an “Independent Reading” subtitle with several bulleted statements that suggest what a student could choose to read.

The “Student Interactive” research describes how students can improve their reading ability through independent reading: “What can you do to become a good reader? Read, read, and read some more!” The materials also provide steps to help students select a book they will enjoy reading on their own. For example: “1) Ask: What is my purpose for reading? For fun? To learn something? To read something by my favorite author? 2) Select a book. Open it to any page and read it.” The materials provide steps to help students select a book throughout the Reading Workshop Small Group. For accountability, a reading log is included for students to record titles and their responses to those titles; students track the date, the title of the book, minutes read, pages read, and their rating.

In Unit 1, the teacher reviews with students how to self-select a book using the 5-finger rule to find a book of appropriate difficulty. The teacher also shows or reviews with students the use of a reading log where they will record the time they spend interacting independently with texts. Students have the option of either reading a collection of self-selected poetry, rereading or listening to a previously read leveled reader or self-selected poem, or beginning to read the “Book Club” selection. Teachers guide students through goal setting for their independent reading. Additional supports and resources for goal tracking can be found in the “Small-Group Guide.”

In Unit 2, instructions for Independent Reading include prompts to help students track what they are reading and set a purpose for reading: “Have students choose texts by favorite authors, about interesting topics, or in certain genres, establish a purpose for reading self-selected texts, and spend increasing periods of time reading independently….”

In Unit 3, students must complete a chart ensuring they understand the author’s purpose while reading independently. The “Independent/Collaborative” section suggests students can “reread and listen to The Legend of the Lady Slipper, read a self-selected trade book, [or] retell an independent-reading book to a partner.”

In Unit 4, students use sticky notes during independent reading to explain why their book is a narrative nonfiction text, which ensures students are held accountable to what they are reading. Then during small-group instruction, teachers ask guiding questions, such as “Could this be a retelling of a true story?” and “How are the events in the story organized?” These are used while conferencing with students about their independent reading. Later, students have the option of rereading or listening to Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors?, reading a self-selected trade book or their “Book Club” text, or partner-reading a text, coaching each other as they read. The additional option to partner-read and coach provides students with a new and grade-level-appropriate structure to foster self-sustained reading.

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

The materials provide sufficient support for students to compose across text types for a variety of purposes and audiences. Students have multiple opportunities to write personal narratives, poetry, correspondence, and different types of informational texts. Students display comprehension of personal narrative through both speaking and writing, and tasks prompt students to convey their thoughts and feelings about an experience.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, students explore poetry through a lesson discussing how poets use “specific words to make the reader have specific kinds of feelings.” Students identify words such as lonely, gone, and shout. Students continue into composition when they create a picture in their minds and write sentences that make readers feel happy and scared. During the unit’s “Project-Based Inquiry,” students refocus their writing towards persuasive texts. They “write and present a persuasive paragraph about a favorite place in [their] community.” After comparing persuasive texts, exploring their characteristics, and conducting research, students write persuasive paragraphs.

In Unit 2, students focus on writing informational texts, particularly informational list articles. Students explore the structure, graphic features, text features, and author’s purpose of lists before writing. The assessment prompt for Unit 2 asks students to write an informational list article about a topic they know well and to include a title, introduction, conclusion, and a simple graphic. During the unit’s Project-Based Inquiry, students work with a partner to research and write about patterns seen in tree bark. After exploring exemplar texts, learning how to use library databases and books, and brainstorming, students use a “Tree Bark Research Plan” to write their reports. To conclude, students create a poster image that supports their writing. Opportunities to write reports and conduct research continue in Unit 3.

Unit 3 focuses on aspects of writing poetry: use of similes, alliteration, word choice, sensory details, and sound. In Week 1, students write their own poem and apply different lessons to this poem throughout the unit. Students work in groups to “create alliterative stanzas of poetry” after being given a beginning sound. They further this new understanding by applying it to their own topic-generated poem. They continue applying their understanding when they review different poems and “consider how the words will affect the sound.” Students then review and edit the poem they are writing for the unit. The assessment prompt for Unit 3 asks students to write a new eight-line poem about a family tradition, including two similes, two alliterations, rhymes at the end of the line, and sensory details. During the Project-Based Inquiry, students write an opinion letter to their principal about a tradition they believe the school should celebrate or recognize. In partners, students compose correspondence in the form of a thank-you note to the principal.

In Unit 4, students focus on writing personal narratives. Students learn about characters, setting, plot, problem and solution, and narrative structure. A specific lesson is dedicated to narration (the writer) and composing a personal narrative about oneself; this lesson helps students understand that authors write conclusions that show how they felt about an experience, what they learned, and why the experience was important. Students then apply these concepts to their own writing with the assessment prompt for Unit 4; students write a personal narrative about a person who has positively inspired them. Over the course of a week, students take notes in their writer’s notebooks and think about topics for personal narrative. They brainstorm and plan their personal narrative, and then write and edit. Towards the end of the unit, focus shifts to writing friendly letters, similarly to Unit 3. During the Project-Based Inquiry for this unit, students create a time capsule and write a letter to themselves.

In Unit 5, students focus on how-to writing, or procedural text. First, the teacher uses “Mentor Stacks” to help students identify the elements and structural components of procedural texts. Students then list instructions for their how-to book and brainstorm ideas that help them decide on a topic. Lessons focus on graphics, commands, instructions, and procedural structure. One mini-lesson shows the different ways an author might give steps in sequence, then provides practice for students to apply to their writing. The assessment prompt for Unit 5 asks students to write a how-to book explaining how to conserve water or clean up trash. Using a graphic organizer, students plan their how-to books before moving towards writing and publishing.

Evaluation for 3.b.2
Materials engage students in the writing process to develop text in oral, pictorial, or written form.

The materials facilitate student use of the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, and sharing. During the drafting stage, students utilize drawing and brainstorming. During the writing stage, students plan and organize by writing, based on an idea and details. In Grade 2, the program follows a sequential pattern of writing instruction and application.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In “Front Matter,” the publishers describe the “Instructional Model” for writing instruction. The “Writing Workshop” model includes direction and resources for “Mini-Lessons,” “Mentor Stacks,” “Independent Writing,” “Stapled Books,” “Portfolios,” and “Writing Clubs.” Each unit follows a consistent format of “Immersion/Introduction” in Week 1, “Developing Elements” in Week 2, “Developing Structure” in Week 3, “Writer’s Craft” in Week 4, “Publishing, Celebrating, and Assessing” in Week 5, and a “Project-Based Inquiry” collaborative project in Week 6. Each lesson has a daily writing plan that includes mini-lessons, independent writing, and share-out options. In Writing Clubs, students meet to conference about their writing and then share their writing upon completion.

In Unit 1, students learn about voice, dialogue, and tone so they can increase reader engagement in their own writing. During the first week of writing instruction, there is an overview of the writing process with a focus on what good writers do. They complete this overview with the following goal: “I can plan, draft, and publish my writing.” After a rapid review of the most important aspects of the writing process, students apply these lessons to their own writing. By Week 2, students create their own “Writer’s Notebook” and brainstorm ideas for writing. The lessons follow the consistent pattern of “Mini-Lesson,” “Independent Writing,” and “Share Back.” Between these lessons, students revise drafts by deleting words, editing drafts to include subjects and predicates, and editing sentences to ensure subject-verb agreement.

In Unit 2, students explore the sequential steps of writing a procedural text. After being introduced to list articles, students generate ideas and plan topics they could write about. They look at an exemplar text that shows how to organize details, and then they create their own written plan for a list article. In their planning, they consider which types of graphic features to include in their writing and how to share ideas with peers. Students are taught to begin with an introduction housing the main idea, include details and graphics in the body, and end with a conclusion. They then “apply their knowledge of informational texts to write a list article.” Students “think about their main idea for their own list article and details that will support the main idea of their list article.” Then, they come up with a title for their article and develop a written first draft. During the editing stage, students look for, and make sure to include, possessive nouns in their writing. Finally, students develop their drafts by organizing their ideas in their Writer’s Notebook and sharing with a peer. Students follow their piece through to publishing, allowing time for reflection on the final product, writing behaviors, and outcomes.

In Unit 3, students first think of a topic for a poem and then draw pictures to represent their ideas. Next, students complete the planning step of the writing process by planning a topic, thoughts or feelings, and specific words for their poem. During this step, students utilize a thinking map to help with idea generation and a checklist to help decide which topic to focus on. These steps utilize a combination of drawing and writing to brainstorm and plan the poem. The writing process is assessed again in this unit during Week 6, when students research and write an informational list for their culminating unit project. During this assessment, students complete the full writing process: Moving through research and writing before culminating with publishing, sharing, celebrating, and reflection.

During the Unit 5 Project-Based Inquiry project, students choose a topic to “persuade the audience to agree with their opinions about the most exciting way Earth changes.” After examining the exemplar text, Player One, students discuss “how they will convince an audience to agree with their ideas.” Before students start their research for the infomercial, the teacher checks in with each student one on one to ensure they are on the right track. Students then practice taking notes and paraphrasing while conducting research. From there, students review a sample infomercial script, practice citing sources, and apply what they learned to their own writing. In this assignment, students independently write their first draft, then use a checklist to revise and edit their scripts.

Evaluation for 3.b.3
Over the course of the year, students are provided opportunities to apply grade-level standard English conventions to their writing.

The materials provide opportunities for students to practice and apply grade-level standard conventions in their writing. The materials provide opportunities for the practice and application of the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing, including punctuation and grammar, both in and out of context.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Over the course of the year, the materials systematically include the “Reading-Writing Bridge,” “Language and Conventions” section, which focuses on conventions of the English language (i.e., singular and plural nouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions). In addition, through the “Writing Workshop,” students explore and practice applying punctuation and grammar in their own writing (i.e., capitalization, end sentence punctuation). The program components also list “Language and Conventions Online Student Resources” as an additional support for teachers. The “End Matter” section provides a scope and sequence for “Conventions of Language,” including spelling, grammar and usage, and capitalization and punctuation.

In the Unit 3 Writing Workshop, students explore descriptive adjectives and articles by first learning how to use them correctly in writing. After discussion, students “should continue to work on their poems while examining their own use of articles.” Students complete a page in the “Student Interactive” workbook to practice editing for adjectives.

In the Unit 4 Reading-Writing Bridge, the teacher models using commas in dates and letters; students practice by editing a letter in the Student Interactive workbook. Students check their own writing in the Writing Workshop “for the correct use of commas in dates and letters.” In another Writing Workshop, students explore capitalization and commas through demonstration and guided discussion, using text from the Mentor Stack and then a page from the Student Interactive workbook. Students complete an exercise at the bottom of the page in the Student Interactive workbook to practice editing for capitalization and commas. During “Independent Writing,” students “review their writing, focusing on correct use of capitalization and commas.”

In the Unit 5 Reading-Writing Bridge, students explore replacing letters in a word with an apostrophe to create a contraction. Students review a chart that lists contractions in the Student Interactive workbook and then edit a paragraph at the bottom of the page to create contractions. During the Writing Workshop, students work to “write an apostrophe in the place of missing letters” where there are contractions in their writing.

Evaluation for 3.b.4
Materials include practice for students to write legibly in print (K-1) and cursive (Grade 2).

The materials include instruction and practice for students to write legibly in print. Plans and supports are present for teachers as they instruct students, and teachers have adequate guidance to assess students’ handwriting development.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials provide weekly practice for students to write legibly in print. Students can model their letters after both the “Manuscript” and “D’Nealian” models. The handwriting lessons exist in the “Reading-Writing Bridge” of the instructional model and proceed throughout the year to provide a plan to support teachers as they instruct students. This resource includes instruction on writing posture, paper positioning, and pencil gripping techniques.

Handwriting instruction is embedded within the units, and the materials provide opportunities in the “Phonics/Phonological Awareness” instruction section in the “Foundational Skills” section of the “Reading Workshop.” Students practice writing the letters introduced in the section. As students practice letter sounds, they practice writing the letters in the air as well as tracing them and then independently writing them in the “Student Interactive” workbook. Handwriting instruction also occurs in the Reading-Writing Bridge section of each unit. In addition, there are “Handwriting Models” found at the end of each unit. In the “Front Matter” section, the program components list “Handwriting” practice in online student resources. The “End Matter” section provides a scope and sequence for teachers to use as they teach handwriting. Students practice independently writing letters and words, and then teachers revisit the skills for struggling and independent levels during small-group instruction. Handwriting instruction is embedded throughout the materials, and instruction, support, and guidance for assessment can be found in the curriculum “Assessment Guide.” Additionally, the materials provide teachers with direction on how to model proper techniques for handwriting development through the “Getting Started” or “Resource Download Center.”

In the Grade 2 Assessment Guide, teachers receive a summary of the “Writing Strategy Assessment Checklist” describing the document, explaining its use, and directing teachers how to utilize it. The Writing Strategy Assessment Checklist is an observation form meant for teachers to observe students’ writing ability at the beginning and throughout the year. With this document, teachers can assess whether students can hold their pencil and position paper correctly, write all letters of the alphabet (both uppercase and lowercase), and write necessary words like their name. Teachers can utilize the “Writing Behaviors Observational Assessment Guide” (in the “Assessments and Practice” section within “Teacher Resources”) to note and track student writing progress.

In Unit 2, the weekly Reading-Writing Bridge features two lessons on handwriting and two student practice pages from the “Resource Download” page as in all units. In Week 2, the Reading-Writing Bridge “Handwriting Lessons” begin cursive instruction, with two lessons about cursive “swing ups” and “loops.” The student practices with two pages from the Resource Download page.

In Unit 3, as in all weeks, the weekly Reading-Writing Bridge follows the same format of Handwriting Lessons in the “Teacher Edition” and practice from the Resource Download page. The topic titles for the unit include cursive letters f and k and cursive letters r and s. Teachers show students how to write words in cursive; then, students practice writing words in cursive on a Handwriting page from the “Resource Download Center.”

In Unit 4, Reading-Writing Bridge, teachers show students how to write proper nouns in cursive using appropriate uppercase letters; then, students practice writing proper nouns in cursive on a Handwriting page from the Resource Download Center.

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

The materials support students’ listening and speaking about texts. Each unit provides multiple opportunities for students to listen actively (i.e., “Read Aloud”/“Think Aloud”), respond to questions to demonstrate understanding (i.e., discussion of the unit’s goals and academic vocabulary after watching unit introduction videos), and engage in teacher-led discussions to share information and ideas about the topics in each unit (i.e., “Turn and Talk,” “Turn and Talk and Share,” “Reading Workshop” and “Small-Group Instruction,” “Writing Club,” and “Book Club”). Throughout the materials, students consistently have opportunities to interact with the content, gather ideas, and communicate those ideas via listening and speaking.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Each unit contains several Turn and Talk opportunities. During the Reading Workshop, students discuss texts they are reading; during reading conferences held during small-group instruction, students explain to the teacher their understanding of various texts read either independently or during guided reading.

In Unit 2, in the “First Read Strategies” weekly routine, teachers prompt students: “Read to understand the author’s message, Look and examine illustrations to see how they help clarify the text, Ask questions that help them understand what the text is about, and Talk with a partner about the author’s message.” Also in Unit 2, students participate in a Book Club with their peers. In this Book Club, students respectfully collaborate with their peers, and the materials provide sentence stems students can use to articulate their thoughts. The materials also provide a discussion chart for the teacher to guide instruction.

In the Unit 3 Book Club, with guidance from the teacher, if needed, students discuss with their groups the teacher-selected text Celebrating the New Year. Questions students discuss in their groups include “What facts do you learn from the words in the book?” and “What information is provided in the photographs and drawings?” Other prompts for students to discuss in their groups include “What did you notice about the meanings of New Year’s foods?” and “What are some traditions that Ethiopians use to celebrate the New Year?” To discuss their book, students also use sentence stems like “I notice….” “I don’t agree with…because….” “Why do you say that?” “What can we agree on?” Students can partner to read a text and discuss the author’s purpose, completing the chart in their textbook.

In Unit 4, the First Read Strategies prompt students to talk about the facts and details they found most interesting after reading a biography of Antoni Gaudí. Teachers guide students through a mini-lesson on biographies, using an anchor chart, and students Turn, Talk, and Share about a real person in their own life.

Evaluation for 3.c.2
Materials engage students in collaborative discussions.

The materials provide consistent opportunities for students to engage in collaborative discussions and practice grade-level-appropriate speaking skills using the standard conventions of the English language.

Examples include but are not limited to:

During the “Weekly Launch” in each unit, students explore and discuss an infographic related to the unit’s theme. During the culminating end-of-unit project, students practice speaking using the conventions of language and practice rules for discussion during the “Writing Workshop.” Teachers remind students to “practice taking turns reading, show consideration as they listen, ask questions to provide helpful feedback.” Ideas for teachers to encourage students’ discussion include sharing their writing ideas and plans and using the feedback to strengthen their writing.

In the Unit 2 introduction, students discuss what they noticed about places in the video through a “Turn, Talk, and Share” with a partner. Later in the unit, students practice disagreeing respectfully after a mini-lesson in which the teacher models “careful listening and responding respectfully.” Students practice disagreeing respectfully about Amazing Migrations: Butterflies, Bats, and Birds or an independent text. Students orally present their “Project-Based Inquiry” projects to another student pair and reciprocate as listeners. Teachers remind students of the rules for speaking and listening, including responding with more than one word to a question and actively listening and asking questions of a speaker to ensure understanding.

In Unit 2, “Writing Bridge: Academic Vocabulary,” the teacher models a conversation with a student using vocabulary words from the unit. Students then work with a partner or in small groups to discuss favorite topics or interesting information they learned. After completing a vocabulary page in the “Student Interactive” workbook, students “Turn and Talk” with a partner using their favorite vocabulary words from the unit.

In Unit 3, students collaborate on how to share information and, in doing so, review ways to be an active presenter and listener. They review an extensive list of effective-use aspects of listening and asking questions to share, understand, and gather information. Examples of questions students answer in collaborative discussion include:

• How are Wabanaki ways of travel of long ago and today alike? How are they different?
• What things did the Wabanaki make in the past?
• What do the Wabanaki still make today?
• How do the Wabanaki celebrate? What do you think they celebrate and why?

Also in Unit 3, the teacher gives a mini-lesson on discussion rules to build on grade-level-appropriate discussion; these include letting others have a turn to talk and making an apology if a student interrupts someone else, then letting them finish. Students practice these discussion protocols while connecting their own experiences with traditional foods to the food selections they have just read about; they talk with their partner to explain how a food they enjoy is prepared.

In Unit 4, students pair up to discuss how each person in the unit’s introductory video can make a difference, connecting to the unit’s “Essential Question,” “Why is it important to connect with other people?” As part of the unit’s research presentations, students practice active listening as others present projects, after which they offer appropriate contributions or ask questions based on what they have heard. Students also learn conversation etiquette for sharing their opinion and respecting the opinions of others, including sentence stems for sharing and responding to opinions. Sentence starters for students to use as they state their opinions are provided under “Targeted Support” and include “This text feature is…, it shows/tells me…. I think the author used this text feature because….”

Evaluation for 3.d.1
Materials engage students in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for different purposes.

Materials engage students in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for different purposes. They provide support for students to ask and generate questions, generate and follow a research plan, identify relevant sources based on their questions, and provide practice to understand, organize, and communicate ideas and information that reflect the purpose of the research.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Students complete a research project in each unit. The lessons, tasks, and activities include components such as inquiring, exploring and planning, conducting and refining, and collaborating and discussing. Through these activities, students receive guidance and practice independently; they ask and generate questions, find sources and gather information, take and refine notes, work with a partner and conference with the teacher to revise and edit, and share their research with the class.

In Unit 1’s “Project-Based Inquiry,” students research and write a persuasive essay about a favorite place in their community. Collaborating with a partner, students read a paragraph that describes a museum and then discuss a favorite place in their community. Teachers tell students they will generate questions for inquiry to “list what you want to know and what you need to research.” Teachers walk students through a list called “Favorite Place Research Plan” found in the “Student Interactive” workbook to generate a research plan. Students then “check off a step on the list by generating and writing questions for research” in order to follow that research plan.

In Unit 2’s Project-Based Inquiry, students explore and practice finding information in a library and books. Students look in a library database and write which book would provide the information they are seeking and why in the Student Interactive workbook. Students discuss their explanation with a partner.

In Unit 4’s Project-Based Inquiry, students analyze a student model for informational writing. Students then draft lists for their time capsule using information previously gathered online. Students conduct research online for their time capsule lists, explore primary and secondary sources, and complete a chart in the Student Interactive workbook. Students identify whether the sources they found are primary or secondary.

Evaluation for 3.e.1
Materials contain interconnected tasks that build student knowledge.

Throughout the units, the interconnected questions and tasks are designed so that students build and apply knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking. Tasks integrate these components, including vocabulary, comprehension, and syntax, to provide opportunities for increased independence.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Each unit has sections for students to listen, read, write, and think about texts. These sections include “Foundational Skills,” “Academic Vocabulary,” “Listening Comprehension,” “Small-Group Instruction,” “Book Club,” and the “Writing Workshop.” For example, during Listening Comprehension, students are asked to consider informational texts and, after “Think Alouds,” to compare and contrast them in a teacher-led discussion. The exploration of informational texts, including graphic features and language, continues when students use an exemplar text, an anchor chart, and an opportunity to “Turn and Talk.” They practice those same skills when they preview the main selection’s text headings and photographs and determine two things they want to learn as they read the text. During the “Project-Based Inquiry,” students integrate knowledge and skills that allow them to gather and present their information. Students read, listen, and discuss to gather information; they also share information via writing and oral presentations, including video and audio texts for multimodal presentations.

In Unit 1, Foundational Skills, students practice making rhyming words and decoding consonant blends. Students review the rules for high-frequency words. Then the teacher reads the words, and the students read the words. To practice consonant blends, students then write words that name a picture.

In Unit 3, Academic Vocabulary, students work with a partner to complete sentences using academic vocabulary words; students then use the academic vocabulary words to discuss traditions. Later in the unit, through a mini-lesson, the teacher models using context clues to determine a word’s meaning; students complete a page in the “Student Interactive” to practice using context clues.

In the Book Club section of Unit 4, students discuss how the book they will read in groups is connected to the unit’s theme and genre. During group discussions, students use sentence frames to build on one another’s ideas. When the class is brought back together, groups help fill out a class discussion chart.

In Unit 5, students listen, think, and talk about the “Weekly Question” “How do natural events change the Earth?” and its relationship to the “Unit Question” “How does the Earth change?” The teacher leads a discussion with prompts to think about the infographic of the Grand Canyon, and students Turn and Talk about the connection between the river and the canyon walls with a partner.

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

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

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials describe the interrelated nature of the “Reading Workshop,” “Writing Workshop,” and “Reading-Writing Bridge” and support modeling and practicing throughout each component. Within each “Mini-Lesson,” students are prompted to read, reflect, share, respond, and write. At the start of the year, the materials focus on “Phonological Awareness,” “Print Awareness,” and “Listening Comprehension,” including an introduction to a “Book Club” and a “Writing Club.” Throughout the year, the Reading-Writing Bridge and culminating project at the end of each unit provide opportunities for review, scaffolding, and integration of previously taught skills. Distributed practice exists within the course of units and also over the course of the year; it includes mini-lessons, main selections, and small-group strategy lessons.

In Unit 2, students spend the majority of the unit reading informational text, with mini-lessons and small-group strategy lessons about cause and effect; text features and graphics; text features/headings and graphics again; and main idea, details, facts, and graphics. Students revisit informational text in Unit 3 and have an opportunity to practice using headings in informational text to learn more facts and details about a topic. In Unit 4, to wrap up the unit, students write an informational text as part of their “Project-Based Inquiry” week. Teachers remind students that informational texts are built around one main idea and have key details that are specific to that idea. In Unit 5, students spend the majority of the unit reading informational text. They are guided through mini-lessons and small-group lessons on topics like facts and graphics, including charts and diagrams; author’s use of interesting photos and details in informational text; and determining main idea and details from the features of the informational text.

In Unit 1, realistic fiction is introduced in the read-aloud. Students further their knowledge of realistic fiction in a whole-group mini-lesson and with an exemplar text and anchor chart. English Learner (EL) “Targeted Support” is also provided for the mini-lesson in the “Teacher Edition.” Small groups meet to clarify their understanding of realistic fiction; then, students read the realistic fiction main selection as a shared read and close read. A mini-lesson on describing and understanding setting follows the main selection; small groups again meet to analyze the main selection’s setting and its importance to their understanding of the text. An intervention lesson on describing setting and characters is available in the “myFocus Intervention Teacher’s Guide” to further support students.

In the Unit 2 Reading Workshop, students demonstrate understanding of previously learned sounds through a teacher-led discussion, where teachers add and remove sounds in words and show students how and why the words sound different. Students then identify which sounds have been removed in words called out by the teacher. In addition, at the beginning of the week’s lesson, teachers model how to form contractions and then, through a mini-lesson, model and have students practice decoding and writing contractions. At the end of the week, teachers review forming and writing contractions through a spiral review in the “Language and Conventions” section.

In Unit 3, the “Essential Question” for the week is “Why do we like poems?” The question is connected to the unit’s Essential Question, “What makes a tradition?” Students read two nursery rhymes as an introduction to the topic, then explore rhyme and rhythm. Teachers use an anchor chart and mini-lesson and delve deeper into poetry with three traditional poems that are the focus of the Reading Workshop. Small-group lessons include identifying poetry by its form and focus on rhyme and rhythm, following the whole-group mini-lesson on the same topic.

In Unit 5, drama is explored in the read-aloud. Students further their knowledge of drama in a whole-group mini-lesson and with an exemplar text and anchor chart. EL Targeted Support is also provided for the mini-lesson in the Teacher Edition. Small groups meet to clarify their understanding of drama; then, students read the drama selection as a shared read and close read. A mini-lesson on the elements of drama follows the main selection, and small groups again meet to identify drama to scaffold their understanding of a drama. An intervention lesson on identifying drama is available in the myFocus Intervention Teacher’s Guide to further support students.

Evaluation for 4.1
Materials provide explicit instruction in print concepts and opportunities for student practice (K-1 only).

Not Scored in Grade 2

Evaluation for 4.2
Materials provide explicit instruction in phonological skills and opportunities for student daily practice (e.g., rhyming, syllabication, blending, segmenting, manipulation) (K-1 only).

Not Scored in Grade 2

Evaluation for 4.3
Materials provide explicit systematic instruction in phonetic knowledge and opportunities for students to practice both in and out of context (K-2).

The materials provide explicit systematic instruction in phonetic knowledge, including grade-appropriate phonics patterns, high-frequency words, and spelling as addressed in the Grade 2 English Language Arts and Reading TEKS. The materials provide opportunities for students to practice and apply phonetic knowledge both in and out of context in order to achieve grade-level mastery. 

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, foundational skills awareness activities are first taught through a whole-group lesson where teachers point to pictures and decode words with the CVCe spelling pattern. Students first listen and then identify long and short vowels in words; then, they practice decoding words.  Students write words with long vowels, and teachers conclude the lesson by creating a chart, with students listing words with the long vowel sounds spelled a_e, i_e, o_e, and u_e.  During small-group instruction, in a section titled “Assess and Differentiate,” teachers provide extension and intervention activities in decoding words with the CVCe spelling pattern. For example, in the “Word Work Strategy Group” section, teachers use a “Sound Spelling” card to review a long vowel sounds spelled CVCe and then assist students in finding words with long vowel sounds in the “Student Interactive” workbook.

In Unit 3, the “Teacher Edition” includes the routine sequence of lessons for a typical week. Teachers teach whole-group mini-lessons on decoding words with -r controlled vowels -er,-ir, and -ur with sound-spelling cards, and students follow along in the “Student Interactive” workbook. On the second day of the sequence, students write and decode words with the same -r controlled vowels on a practice page in the Student Interactive workbook. On the next day, with a partner, students sort words into -r controlled vowel categories using word cards as a review. On days four and five, students read the decodable passage Perfect and practice identifying as well as using the -r controlled vowel sounds they have been studying. The “Word Work Strategy Group” includes an opportunity for teachers to continue to teach the sound-spelling of -r controlled vowels -er, -ir, and -ur.  The lesson includes teachers using the sound-spelling card for the word fern and asking students to generate lists of words that have the same sound and then identify the correct spelling. In addition, students return to a previous passage in the Student Interactive workbook and in it identify the words, and their spellings, that have the same -r controlled vowel sound. A second lesson on syllable patterns is available for struggling students in the “myFocus Teacher’s Intervention Guide” and includes teachers teaching common syllable types, syllables with C -le, and VCCCV patterns. Independent practice pages for students to demonstrate understanding of each syllable type are also part of the lesson.

In Unit 4, the materials include spelling lessons with a daily focus for each day of the week. For example, one week focuses on the following letter combinations involving a silent letter: kn, wr, gn, mb, lf. The materials include resources for the teacher on modeling, assessing, and providing additional practice opportunities. For example, Lesson 3 includes a review of the letter combinations with additional teacher modeling and student practice spelling the words.

In Unit 5, the teacher models and practices the high-frequency words toward, against, and numeral. Students use the words in sentences, and the teacher leads them in chanting the letters of the words as a variation of spelling practice. Students then read and write the words, copy them, and use them in sentences in the Student Interactive workbook. Student partners read the sentences, and students practice writing the words numerous times as a method to remember and learn them. 

Evaluation for 4.4
Materials provide frequent opportunities for students to practice and develop fluency while reading a wide variety of grade-level texts at the appropriate rate with accuracy and prosody. (Grades 1-2 only)

Materials provide frequent opportunities for students to practice and develop fluency while reading a wide variety of grade-level texts at the appropriate rate with accuracy and prosody. The materials include explicit instruction on fluency as well as opportunities and routines for teachers to regularly monitor and provide corrective feedback on fluency, including rate, accuracy, and prosody.

Examples include but are not limited to:

“Cold Reads for Fluency and Comprehension” exist throughout the materials: “This book contains three Cold Read tests for each week. They are intended to be used independently from the “Reading Workshop” text selection in myView Literacy. Each test includes a ‘Cold Read’ leveled selection and related comprehension items that assess the weekly comprehension focus, associated TEKS, and previously learned skills. Each test also includes items that are TEKS Test formatted to help students practice and prepare for state-wide tests. These items use language and a format similar to those found on the state-wide test. Across each unit’s Cold Read selections, high-frequency words are strategically placed within the text to give students an additional opportunity to practice reading these words in context for meaning and fluency.” The materials provide charts for tracking individual student fluency results and class results, as well as support for interpreting those results. As an example, they suggest that teachers consider this: “If a student’s reading rate is lower than the suggested rate for his or her grade level, your notes on the student’s miscues may help you determine why the rate is low. Does the student make errors that indicate his or her decoding skills are poor? If so, further instruction in phonics may be needed. Do the errors reflect a lack of comprehension or limited vocabulary? If so, instruction in comprehension strategies and exposure to more vocabulary words may help. A lack of fluency may indicate a lack of exposure to models of fluent oral reading. It may also mean the student is not reading enough material at his or her reading level. Encourage the student to read more books or children’s magazine articles at an accessible or comfortable level of reading for him or her.” They also caution teachers, in a section named “Fluency and Qualitative Measures,” that reading rates are the result of stronger fluency, not vice versa, and that as students become stronger readers, fluency results are a measure of prosody and syntax. The resource provides a four-point rubric for assessing fluency with these categories: “Volume and Expression,” “Syntax/Prosody,” “Accuracy,” “Rate.”

In Unit 1, Reading Workshop, there is a “Word Work” section that focuses on decoding words with consonant blends. The teacher can conduct mini-lessons that include working on fluency and rate within a spiraled review that also allows the teacher to work on long vowels (CVCe). Following this lesson, the materials instruct the teacher to focus on fluency during the read-aloud text. The teacher reads aloud a short section of the text, asking students to pay attention to the rate at which they read, emphasizing that fluency is about reading for meaning at an appropriate rate.

In Unit 2, Reading Workshop, the materials provide the teacher with options on how to work with students on fluency. Lessons that focus on prosody and oral reading rate and accuracy are designed to guide students to build fluency. For example, the instructions direct the teacher to guide students to choose a short excerpt to read with appropriate phrasing and expression. In addition, the teacher puts students in pairs to practice reading pages within their books; the teacher uses the “Fluency Progress Chart” to track students’ progress. In the fluency lesson, the “Teacher Edition” instructs teachers to assess two to four students during small-group time using the Cold Reads for Fluency and Comprehension resource. The purpose of cold reads in the program is to “track student progress each week using fresh reading passages,” to assess comprehension and fluency. The materials include protocols to check for oral reading rate and accuracy: “A fluency test measures a student’s reading rate, or the number of words correctly read per minute (wcpm), on grade-level text the student has not seen before. Although the speed at which a student reads is part of determining fluency, it is not the only measure. When students read fluently, they read aloud as they would speak conversationally. Appropriate expression, prosody, reading rate, and comprehension are all part of reading fluently.” Students work in pairs to practice reading the passage accurately. The next day, teachers assess another two to four students during small-group time, again assessing for reading rate and accuracy, while other students pair to practice reading accurately with their leveled readers. Teachers are advised that reading rates should not be too fast or too slow, and that they should pause at commas, and stop at periods.

In Unit 4, Reading Workshop, teachers ask student pairs to read pages from the unit’s selection during the Shared Read. Teachers guide students to read dialogue with appropriate feeling and tone. Teachers remind students to change their pitch when asking a question while reading. During small-group instruction, teachers have students read “a short passage with a partner at an appropriate rate.” Teachers assess and track progress using the pages from the online supplement Cold Reads for Fluency and Comprehension.

In Unit 5’s Reading Workshop, during the Shared Read, teachers have students read with a partner, using a page from the Student Interactive workbook to practice reading fluently with accuracy. Teachers then have partners reread the unit selection aloud several times to “practice reading grade-level texts with accuracy.” During small-group instruction, with a partner, students read short passages from a leveled reader with accuracy.

Evaluation for 4.5
Materials include placement (diagnostic) assessments and provide information to assist in foundational skills instruction (K-2).

Materials include placement assessments and provide information to assist in foundational skills instruction. Materials include support and direction for teachers to assess students’ growth in and mastery of foundational skills. Assessments yield meaningful information for teachers to use when planning small-group instruction and differentiation.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The “Assessment Guide” provides information on all of the assessments found in the online resources for the program. Assessments listed in the guide include baseline tests, “Cold Reads,” “Progress Check Ups,” unit tests, middle- and end-of-year tests, and “Project-Based Inquiry.” The materials provide guidance on which assessments teachers should use based on the type of data they are seeking, and the guide gives teachers information on how to use the data to make instructional decisions. In the Grade 2 Assessment Guide, the materials follow what they have done previously in Kindergarten and Grade 1. Chapter titles include “Chapter 1, Assessment and Data,” “Chapter 2, Building Blocks of Literacy,” “Chapter 3, Benchmark Assessment and Instructional Grouping,” “Chapter 4, Ongoing Assessment.” The publisher provides scenarios, rationales, specific methods for collecting and interpreting data, and ways to plan for instruction in foundational skills in differentiated ways for small groups and for individuals.

The Progress Check Ups support instruction in that they provide ways for teachers “to measure students’ progress based on the high-frequency words, phonics, comprehension, and writing taught in each week of instruction.” Progress Check Ups are meant to be given at the end of an instructional week. The guide lists exactly what concept or skill is being assessed and which lesson teachers should use to provide remediation. The materials provide a variety of charts to assist the teacher in using data to differentiate and plan for small-group instruction. When planning to organize small groups, the teacher can utilize the small-group guide. The writing scoring guide found in this resource provides a rubric and lists items teachers should see in “top-level responses.” The materials state, “If a student receives a low score on a Progress Check-Up or shows a lack of adequate progress during the year, use myFocus Intervention, Level A to provide the student with additional opportunities to practice high-frequency words, phonics, comprehension, and writing. This can be done through large-group, small-group, or individual instruction. Alignments between individual assessment items and lessons in myFocus Intervention are provided on the Item Analysis Charts.”

The “Summative Assessment Guide” provides guidance for teachers to administer baseline assessments to help teachers “determine students’ instructional needs at the beginning of the school year and to establish a starting point for students.” The guide helps teachers after scoring the baseline assessments by providing guidelines “to determine how best to help improve students’ areas of need and build upon students’ areas of strength.” The guide also offers unit and middle-of-year assessments to help teachers evaluate progress, as well as an end-of-the-year assessment.

Each unit includes a summative assessment with teacher scripting on what to say to the student during the assessment to track student growth. Each unit also includes a scoring and rating rubric with directions at the end of the assessment on how to score the student record chart and class record chart. Students are assessed on high-frequency words, phonological awareness, phonics: letter-sound correspondence, writing, and listening comprehension.

In the Cold Reads, an “Item Analysis Chart” provides a section of “Developing, On-Level, and Advanced” scoring for the teacher to use to assess by week and by unit. “Fluency” and “Individual Fluency” progress charts/assessments are also provided within this booklet for the teacher to assess students’ fluency growth over time.

In Unit 1, “Reading Workshop: Word Work,” teachers formatively assess students’ ability to decode words with consonant blends by asking students to complete a page in the Student Interactive workbook. Students work with a partner to read words with consonant blends and underline the consonant blend in each word. Students then write words with beginning and ending consonant blends. Teachers continue assessing students’ understanding by having students work with a partner to make a list of words with consonant blends that teachers have listed on a chart.

In the Unit 3 Reading Workshop, teachers have two options to assess students’ knowledge of vowel diphthongs using the Student Interactive workbook. The first option has students underline words with the target diphthongs as they can and identify the spelling of the sounds in each word. For the second option, after reading a decodable story, teachers ask students to write four vowel diphthongs from the story. While reading the lesson’s text selection, teachers ask students to identify diphthongs in the story and brainstorm words spelled with the diphthong ou. Additionally, in the “Teacher Edition” phonics lesson on decoding and writing words with -r controlled vowels -er, -ir, and -ur, a “Quick Check” formative assessment suggests that teachers will decide if students are struggling and revisit a small-group lesson again from their Teacher Edition or extend the lesson for students who have mastered the work from the same small-group lesson resource.

In Unit 4, in the phonics lessons on closed syllables that are VC/V, teachers model and practice the syllable pattern orally, and then students complete a page in their Student Interactive workbook to demonstrate understanding. Teachers notice which students are struggling and which students can extend the lesson, and are directed to a small-group page in the Teacher Edition to use with both groups of students. Struggling students work with their teacher to identify words with the VC/V syllable pattern orally and again in their Student Interactive workbook, while on-level and advanced students build VC/V words with their letter tiles or play the “Letter Tile” game in the “myView Literacy” online component.

In Unit 5, Reading Workshop, teachers assess students’ ability to remember high-frequency words by asking student partners to “read and spell the words and use the words in oral sentences.” Teachers then have students use high-frequency words in sentences to discuss events such as what happened at school yesterday or what products they like to eat (happened and products being high-frequency words). Students complete sentences using the high-frequency words and work with a partner, using the words and speaking in complete sentences to respond to question prompts.

Evaluation for 4.6
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress as indicated by the program scope and sequence (K-2).

Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress as indicated by the program scope and sequence. The materials support teachers with guidance and directions to respond to individual students’ literacy needs. The materials include opportunities to assess student understanding of print concepts, phonological awareness, phonetic knowledge, and reading fluency.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials provide summative assessments, “Progress Check Ups,” and small-group guides, through which the teacher is able to address individual students’ literacy needs. These assessments embody balanced literacy. For example, within the Progress Check Up, students are assessed on high-frequency words, phonics, listening comprehension, and writing throughout each week of each unit. The Progress Check Up lists provided are separated by sections, depth-of-knowledge levels, focus/skills (i.e., high-frequency words, plot, consonant digraphs), and remediation opportunities. In addition, phonological awareness is assessed through the exercises that are provided in the “Summative Assessment Booklet.” A baseline assessment item analysis chart and how to interpret the results are provided so that the teacher can know what focus/skills are assessed and the correlated TEKS. Unit, mid-year, and end-of-year assessments item analysis charts are provided to give the teacher “myFocus Remediation” opportunities; lessons for intervention are listed. The “myFocus Intervention Guide” provides lessons “that cover the spectrum of students’ intervention needs, from foundational skills to reading literature, reading informational text, writing, and language.”

Formative assessments in the daily routines of the “Teacher Edition” include the following: “Quick Check,” “Assess and Differentiate,” “Assess Prior Knowledge,” “Assess Understanding,” “Observational Assessments,” “Conferencing Checklists,” and “Rubrics.” An example of a “Reading Conferencing Checklist” for a student has these categories: “Sets own purpose for reading”; “Predicts and asks questions”; “Retells/summarizes”; “Reads fluently”; “Understands key ideas”; “Uses decoding strategies”; “Makes text connections”; “Other.” A summative assessment section titled “Comprehension Check” in the Teacher Edition is found at the end of each week’s lesson and consists of tasks and writing activities for teachers to check students’ understanding of the text selection for that week.

In Unit 4, the phonics lessons are tied to closed syllables that are VC/V; teachers model and practice the syllable pattern orally, and students complete a page in the “Student Interactive” workbook to demonstrate understanding. Teachers assess which students are struggling and which students can extend the lesson, and are directed to a “Small-Group” page in the Teacher Edition for both types of students. Struggling students work with their teacher to identify words with the VC/V syllable pattern orally and again in their Student Interactive, while on-level and advanced students build VC/V words with their letter tiles or play the “Letter Tile” game in the “myView Literacy” online component.

“Cold Reads for Fluency and Comprehension” in the “Downloadable Resources” provide assessment in fluency and next steps for teachers when addressing gaps in fluency and comprehension. Questions for teachers to consider after assessing include “Does the student make errors that indicate his or her decoding skills are poor? Do the errors reflect a lack of comprehension or limited vocabulary?” The materials make suggestions based on the answers to those questions to assist teachers in addressing the gaps through small-group intervention activities.

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

Materials provide planning and learning opportunities (including extensions and differentiation) for students who demonstrate literacy skills above that expected at the grade level. Resources include a “Leveled Readers Library” with leveled books according to students’ instructional level, suggested activities for small-group instruction, and independent extensions.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, within the “Project-Based Inquiry” section provided within the “Teacher’s Guide,” “targeted support” is provided to the teacher to assist students who are advanced/advanced high. Activities are more rigorous and include different tasks for students to synthesize. For example, “Have students name the pictures at the bottom of the page and manipulate words that rhyme with each other.”

In the Unit 3 “Writing Workshop,” teachers present a mini-lesson to students based on their writing levels. For independent writers, the lesson will take place during “Writing Conferences” where teachers use if-then prompts to guide students. One example of a prompt is “If students show understanding, then have them add an article and an adjective to a line of poetry.”

In Unit 5’s Project-Based Inquiry, after reading the article “The History of Advertising,” extension activities include having student pairs work with another pair and begin to generate their own questions of inquiry about not only their possible topics, but the topics of others. During the “Conduct Research” section after a lesson on taking notes and paraphrasing research from a media source, students who are advanced “view and take notes on 3 videos and then compare these sources by writing brief summaries of each source.”

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

Materials provide planning and learning opportunities (including interventions and differentiation) for students who demonstrate literacy skills below that expected at the grade level. Resources include a “Leveled Readers Library” with leveled books according to students’ instructional level, suggested activities for small-group instruction, and various intervention activities that can be done throughout the units.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In the “Front Matter,” “Component Array,” there are two resources for supporting students with literacy skills below that expected at the grade level. Those resources are the “myFocus Intervention Teacher’s Guide” and “myFocus Reader Online Teacher Support.” The Component Array also includes “Formative Assessment” and “Progress Check-In” guides to identify, verify, and monitor grade-level proficiency and learning gaps.

The materials provide resources for teachers to support students who demonstrate below-grade-level literacy skills. Resources include a Leveled Readers Library with leveled books according to students’ instructional level, suggested activities for small-group instruction, and various intervention activities that can be done during the “Reading Workshop,” “Writing Workshop,” and the “Project-Based Inquiry” sections. In addition, the “Language Awareness Handbook” found in the “End Matter” section of the “Teacher Edition” provides guidance for teachers to support struggling writers. Through the “Accessible Student Home Page,” teachers have access to resources such as the “Leveled Readers Teacher’s Guide,” “Intervention” section, “Small-Group Guide,” and online games, to address the needs of students who demonstrate below-grade-level literacy skills.

In Unit 1, within the Project-Based Inquiry section provided within the “Teacher’s Guide,” the teacher receives “Targeted Support” to assist students who are at the beginning or intermediate stages of learning. Targeted Support is provided to assist students who are struggling to decode syllable patterns. Instructions are provided for teachers to assist students; for example, “Write the word hamster. Clap the syllables as you read it and have students to repeat. Then divide the word ham/ster and circle the blend. Continue to practice decoding.” In addition, within the Reading Workshop “Word Work” section, Targeted Support is provided for the teacher to assist beginning or intermediate students with long and short vowels. Instructions are provided to help the students understand the concept of long- and short-vowel sounds. Students are instructed to clap, draw, and orally practice long and short vowels within this lesson.

In Unit 2, “Formative Assessment Quick Check,” teachers listen to students “Turn, Talk, and Share” what they have learned about informational text, to decide whether they are struggling or on task. If students are struggling, teachers provide a small-group lesson on informational text from the Teacher Edition.

In Unit 3, Writing Workshop, teachers present a mini-lesson to all students and do a “Think Aloud” to model creating a mental picture from imagery in a poem. During “Writing Conferences,” teachers use if-then prompts to guide students performing below grade level. One example of a prompt is, “If students need additional support, then read a poem together pointing out sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and physical sensations.”

In Unit 5, Writing Workshop, as in all units, conferencing prompts for students who are struggling to write a “How-To” book include providing a Mentor Stack and pointing out titles, lists of materials, subheadings, sequential steps, and graphics. If students continue to struggle with steps in a How-To text, then the teacher and student read another Stack text and focus on how one step follows another. If students struggle to add an introduction and conclusion to their How-To text, teachers prompt them with this question: “Why should readers perform the procedure you are describing?” As in all Project-Based Inquiry weeks in each unit, the “Differentiated Support” in the Teacher’s Edition asks teachers to meet with student pairs in small groups; they generate lists that show ways that the Earth changes and generate questions from that list. Teachers are also asked to provide sentence frames for the main idea and details, which students can use to generate questions about their research topic, and to provide a script template for students to fill in as they write a play about their topic.

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

Materials include supports, such as scaffolding questions, background information, visuals and vocabulary enhancements, for English Learners (ELs) to meet grade-level learning expectations; materials provide high-quality instruction to teachers to better assist ELs with vocabulary and language support. Materials include accommodations that are commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPS.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials provide guidance, activities, and resources for teachers to provide targeted support for ELs, which can be found in various sections throughout the materials. Throughout the “Reading Workshop,” there is a box labeled “ELL” (English Language Learner) “Targeted Support.” This section contains instructions for supporting ELs at the “Beginner,” “Intermediate,” “Advanced,” and “Advanced High” levels, as well as ELPS alignment denoting to which specific ELPS the strategies are aligned. The “Reading-Writing Bridge” also contains the ELL Targeted Support section. The “Language Awareness Handbook” is designed to provide “integrated reading and writing support in whole- and small-group instruction during Reading or Writing Workshop.” The materials also provide online resources found in the “Accessible Student Home Page,” such as “Professional Development Resources” and a “Dual-Language Program Planning and Implementation” guide, which assist dual-language teachers in developing and implementing English Language Arts instruction in both English and Spanish. The “Dual-Language Program Planning Guide” (DLPPG) provides planning and pacing tools for Language Arts and Reading instruction in English and Spanish with an aim for biliteracy and “complete standards coverage of literacy standards in both languages.”

In Unit 1, during the “Reading Workshop Launch,” teachers help ELs use visuals to understand a text. For Beginning ELs, teachers “read aloud a short paragraph about firefighters and then point to each piece of gear that is labeled on a diagram on the page and say each word aloud as they point to it.” Intermediate ELs work in pairs to discuss how the gear keeps the firefighters safe and then take turns pointing to different pieces of gear and explain how it keeps firefighters safe. Advanced and Advanced High ELs write sentences for the visuals on the page. Students “add another example...telling how firefighters’ gear keeps them safe and another example telling why firefighters need to stay in shape.”

In Unit 2, in the Reading-Writing Workshop Bridge, “Language and Conventions” section, teachers support ELs’ understanding of spelling patterns for long /e/: ee, ea, ey, and y. For Beginning ELs, teachers display the words each, street, and key and underline the letters that make the long /e/ sound. Students repeat the word and write the word. For Intermediate students, the teacher has partners “scan texts to find words that contain the long e sound and use the spelling pattern ee, ea, et, and y.” Students write the words and check one another’s spelling for accuracy.

In Unit 3’s “Language Transfer,” Reading Workshop, “Listening Comprehension,” students listen as the teacher reads aloud the fable The Lion and the Mouse using the read-aloud routine. For ELs, the materials add the EL “Language Transfer” activity, identifying the cognates in the story, such as lion/león, jungle/jungla, promise/promesa. The teacher prepares the students for an oral reading of The Lion and the Mouse by reading a brief summary, using very simplified and direct sentences that include the main aspects of the story; teachers include little to no elaboration in order to provide the students with a scaffold of the events in the story that they will hear. Also in Unit 3, additional visual support is provided with the “Teacher’s Guide” in the “Whole-Group Weekly Launch.” Background information on the text is provided for the teacher. The teacher is instructed to scaffold by asking questions, creating an anchor chart, and using visuals and contextual evidence to confirm understanding.

In Unit 5, within the “Teacher’s Edition,” “Reading Workshop,” “Word Work” section, materials provide EL support to assist students with double consonants; materials instruct teachers to show students how to break words into syllables. In addition, within the Reading-Writing Workshop Bridge, there is EL Targeted Support on “time relationships.” Teachers are instructed on how to assist students in learning new language structures.

Throughout all units, prior to reading selections, the text provides EL scaffolds, such as short summaries to learn key elements for comprehending the story; teachers scaffold vocabulary, pointing out cognates to connect known vocabulary to new vocabulary through transfer. Also, students have opportunities to focus on new vocabulary that is key to understanding the text. The digital resources available for all students from this publication include, but are not limited to, audio recordings for all main selections and assessments, sound-spelling cards, picture cards for vocabulary, videos to introduce the unit, video learning games for sounds, and audio recordings for leveled readers.

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

Materials include assessment and guidance for teachers and administrators to monitor progress, including how to interpret and act on data yielded. Formative and summative assessments are aligned in purpose, intended use, and TEKS emphasis. Assessments are connected to the regular content to support student learning, and scoring information provides sufficient guidance for interpreting and responding to student performance.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials include baseline tests to determine the level of proficiency in concepts of print, letter recognition, listening comprehension, and phonological awareness. Each unit consists of a unit test to monitor skills and standards taught in the unit; skills and standards include high-frequency words, listening comprehension, phonics, phonological awareness, and writing. A middle-of-the-year test monitors skills and standards taught through Unit 3. The end-of-the-year test provides a final progress update for these same skills and standards. The data-driven assessment guide provides guidance, strategies, and tools for all types of literacy assessment. Teachers can also use the “Pearson Realize–Online Assessment” to prepare customized digital assessments by material, skills, and standards. The Student/Class/District “Data and Reports” section gathers and tracks usage and growth for on-grade-level knowledge and skills, based on TEKS.

In the first chapter of the “Assessment Guide” handbook or in “myView,” the guide suggests that there are three different types of assessment available to teachers: “Within the myView Assessment program, there are assessments from three different categories, each with a focus on gathering different types of information.” The handbook provides student and class progress monitoring charts, an overview of assessed items each week with TEKS correlation, teacher scripts for each assessment, and reproducible copies of each weekly assessment. The online version is editable and could be used to create digital reports for student, class, and district data. The Assessment Guide explains how to collect data from assessments in the program, where assessment tools are located within the program, and how to make instructional decisions based on the data gathered. Additional chapter headings in Part One include “Building Blocks of Literacy,” “Benchmark Assessment and Instructional Grouping,” “Ongoing Assessment,” “Assessing Writing,” “Project-Based Inquiry and Other Performance Assessments,” and “Guide To Conferring.” The Assessment Guide has four parts and provides tools and tables, support for English Learners, support for conferring with families, test preparation guidance, and teacher reflection.

In Unit 1’s “Reading Workshop,” after a phonics mini-lesson on reading and writing words with Aa, teachers have students complete a page in the “Student Interactive” workbook to practice tracing and reading the letter Aa. Later, students practice reading and writing the letter s and teachers evaluate students’ ability to read and write words with s. After both mini-lessons, the “Notice and Assess” section provides guidance for interventions or extending instruction for students.

The Unit 2 Test, also available in myView as assignable, printable, and editable, or in the “Summative Assessment” handbook, is aligned to the literary, vocabulary, foundational, conventions, and writing skills studied in the unit. The test includes phonics, high-frequency words, reading comprehension, conventions, and writing tasks. Additionally, an informational text mini-lesson accompanies the formative assessment routine with two options. In option 1, students “Turn, Talk, and Share” to identify why an exemplar text is informational. In option 2, students use their independent informational texts to create a T-chart organizing text features/graphics and the page number they are located on. The teacher also uses the “Quick Check” routine at this time to monitor student understanding of the genre. Materials also offer a specific small-group lesson about informational text to students who struggle and provide a different lesson to extend understanding to students who grasp the concept.

In Unit 3, Reading Workshop, the materials include formative assessment options and check-for-understanding options. They are aligned to the objectives and TEKS: “Discuss the author’s purpose for writing text.” The options have students identify key details within the close read that help them identify the author’s purpose. Quick Checks are provided to intervene if the students struggle or enrich if they demonstrate understanding.

In the Unit 4 “Writing Workshop,” students write independently and teachers assess students’ ability to correctly use punctuation marks, action verbs, and pronouns. Afterward, materials guide teachers through additional supports or extensions to offer students. For example, teachers “read a text from the mentor stack and ask students to identify the punctuation mark in sentences or ask students how a sentence would be different if a punctuation mark was changed.” In the Reading Workshop, teachers review Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? with a mini-lesson focused on vocabulary. The materials then provide formative assessment options 1 and 2 in response. In formative assessment option 1, students “Turn and Talk” to apply newly acquired vocabulary, then work in pairs to Turn, Talk, Share, and complete the activity using the vocabulary. In formative assessment option 2, students use an independent text to find words with shades of meaning and list these examples in their reading notebooks.

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

The materials include year-long plans and supports for teachers to identify the needs of students, engage students in multiple structures, and provide differentiated instruction to ensure grade-level success by meeting the needs of a range of learners. The “Teacher Edition” and ancillary materials provide overarching year-long support for differentiation, student engagement, and implementation of material.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials provide five comprehensive unit plans, with six weeks of instruction, that include differentiation for students demonstrating proficiency above and below grade level, along with annotated support for English Learners at four ELPS levels. The units are based on a theme within which skills are presented and practiced at continuing levels of complexity. Additionally, some skills build upon others as needed. Thematic practice of knowledge and skill culminates within each unit with a project based on the activities and material completed. This continues through all five units of material.

A “Small-Group Guide” teacher handbook provides rationale, discussion of issues, and implementation instructions for creating multiple grouping structures throughout the year. This document includes online support and covers the following five topics: “Small Groups in myView, Forming and Organizing Groups, Managing Small Groups, Small Groups in Action, and Independent and Collaborative Work in Action.” The Small-Group Guide is referenced weekly in the Teacher Edition to support teachers as they provide differentiated instruction in this portion of the instructional model.

Sections in the Teacher Edition are color coded, and a “Quick Start” guide explains how the resources are designed and implemented. The “Small-Group Instruction” section found within each unit includes support for “Guided Reading, Strategy Groups, Intervention, On-Level and Advanced Activities, ELL [English Language Learner] Targeted Support, Conferring, Fluency, and Independent and Partner Activities.” Prior to small-group instruction, teachers refer to the “Assess and Differentiate” section for guidance in intervention and extension opportunities. The section includes sub-sections titled “Strategy Group,” “Intervention Activity,” “On-Level,” and “Advanced.” Ancillary materials and support are directly related to each unit’s theme and content taught during the unit. The materials include an online downloadable teacher’s guide for intervention, which can be accessed through the “Accessible Student Home Page.” The guide “is designed to help teachers target and address students’ intervention needs, whether students require minor or intensive remediation.”

In Unit 1, “Reading Workshop: Word Work,” teachers use sound-spelling cards as support within the phonics lesson. Additional practice pages within the “Student Interactive” workbook are also recommended for teachers to implement as differentiation. Targeted support is also provided for students to practice making rhyming words.

In Unit 2, a small-group mini-lesson on setting and plot in fiction has students reread the shared-read text with the teacher. Students who demonstrate proficiency generate questions about the setting and plot, while students who struggle to understand relearn concepts using the setting lesson from the “myFocus Teacher’s Intervention Guide.” English Learner targeted support is also provided in the “Language Awareness Handbook” for the same lesson. On-level and advanced students identify words that describe the setting, in their leveled reader.

In Unit 3, the “Project-Based Inquiry” culminating assignment comes with two differentiation options. Students who need intervention work with the teacher to make two different lists about school traditions. Students who are ready to extend their understanding broaden their discussion of family and community traditions, then generate inquiry lists based on their discussion.

In Unit 4, during the “Reading-Writing Bridge,” students practice writing words with suffixes -ly, -ful, -er, -less, and -or. Teachers read sentences aloud and ask students to spell the words. Students then practice writing words with suffixes in the Student Interactive workbook. For additional practice, students complete a worksheet from the “Downloadable Resource Center” on the “Student Accessible Home Page.”

In Unit 5, teachers deploy strategies during a vocabulary mini-lesson meant to help students use context clues to learn a word’s meaning. Students complete a page in the Student Interactive workbook to practice using context clues, then complete an additional assignment measuring their understanding of the text and features of informational texts.

Students read texts and answer questions during one week; then, the next set of texts and questions build upon and connect to previous learning in order to explore further. The knowledge learned in one area provides students with what they need in order to go deeper into the next. Week 1 opens with questions about the Earth’s changing features. Week 2 follows with how natural events change the Earth. Week 3 questions how weather changes the Earth. Week 4 addresses how a volcanic eruption can change the Earth. In Week 5, building on these descriptions of how the Earth changes, students explore what rocks can reveal about the changes in the Earth. Week 6 allows students to draw upon all the content they have learned; they engage in a project-based learning project, telling about the most exciting ways the Earth changes. Students create and perform an infomercial meant to persuade their audience of their opinion.

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

The materials include a TEKS-aligned scope and sequence that outlines important details about the program. Additionally, there are many supports to help teachers implement the materials as intended as well as additional supports to help administrators support teachers in this implementation. There is a school year’s worth of literacy instruction with realistic pacing and routines for a 180-day schedule.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The “Teacher Edition” contains a TEKS correlation section that includes the unit(s) where specific TEKS are taught both in the printed materials and online resources. Each unit has a “Planners” section containing a scope and sequence for the unit and provides an explanation of content taught each week. This section also lists what standards are covered and where they are found in the unit.

The “Accessible Student Home Page” contains online resources for teachers to implement the program. Online resources include a guide to accessing and using both the print and online resources. This resource includes a program overview, program components, a video guide to access the printed and online resources, and guides for providing interventions and supporting English Learners. Online resources also include all resources mentioned in the Teacher Edition: a “Leveled Reader Library,” decodable texts, “Book Club” trade books, interactive games, a “Dual Language Implementation Guide,” and small-group and intervention guides.

The “Scope and Sequence” in the Teacher Edition provides an overview of program components and the reading and writing skills taught in each unit. Sections include foundational literacy skills (i.e., print concepts and phonological awareness) and reading comprehension topics such as genre characteristics and text analysis.

The Teacher Edition includes a daily plan and a literacy instructional model for teachers to follow. At the beginning of the “Reading Workshop,” there is a small-group instructional model that includes the student and teacher actions. During subsequent weeks of study, the materials provide a weekly focus, weekly plan, and objectives. The “Introduction” into the “Writing Workshop” provides teachers specific resources so they can understand all materials relevant to instruction. Within the Writing Workshop, there is an outline of the instructional resources, so teachers can provide support to students. At the beginning of each unit, there are sections titled “Unit of Study,” “Unit Overview,” “Skills Overview,” and “Unit at a Glance: Workshop Overview.”

The materials include an overview of the Leveled Readers Library. Within this section, there is a sub-section for teaching support. A teacher’s guide explains guided reading, differentiation, guided writing, and suggested plans for the Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop. For support, each unit begins with a weekly overview that includes daily plans, steps to getting students to write independently, mini-lesson support for the teacher, a week-at-a-glance, and a suggested weekly plan.

The “Front Matter” of the Teacher Edition includes information to orient teachers to the materials: “Component Array, Instructional Models, Assessment, Writing Workshop, Letter Recognition, and Content.” In the Content section, there are two pages devoted to the “Quick Start Guide,” reminding teachers that they can navigate the materials using the color coding system for the different “Instructional Components,” a “Weeks 1–5 Overview,” a “Week 6 Overview,” and a “Planning and Pacing Overview,” with features of the “Workshop Overview” and the “Weekly Plan” detailed. A section called “Additional Supports” reminds teachers that they will regularly see references in the Teacher Edition to other support components found in print or online, including the “Small-Group Guide,” the “Language Awareness Handbook,” the “Assessment Guide,” the “myFocus Intervention Guide,” and the “Leveled Reading Lesson Plans.” The Assessment Guide, specifically, can be used by administrators and teachers to analyze and synthesize data to drive instructional decisions and deliver the materials of the program as intended.

The “End Matter” of the Teacher Edition and “myView Literacy Digital Resources” include a “Scope and Sequence Chart” providing an outline of knowledge and skills taught in the program and the grade levels in which they are taught. The Scope and Sequence Chart is organized by the material’s “Instructional Model,” including color coding for Reading Workshop (“Foundational Skills, Reading Comprehension”), “Reading-Writing Workshop Bridge” (“Vocabulary Acquisition, Analyze Author’s Craft, Develop Writer’s Craft, Conventions of Language”), Writing Workshop (“Foundational Skills For Writing, Composition”), Oral Language (“Speaking, Listening”), “Project-Based Inquiry” (“Collaboration, Research Skills and Process, Test Preparation”).

The myView Literacy Digital Resources include a comprehensive introductory system called “Getting Started,” which includes both video and print materials in the following categories: “Program Overview,” “How-To,” and “Planning Resources.” Program Overview, alone, has these titles: “Program Over, Program Components, Digital Resources, Digital Walkthrough Realize (Online Platform), Digital Walkthrough Realize Student (Online Student Edition), and ELL [English Language Learner] Support.” Other important documents for the program are available in this section, including but not limited to “TEKS Correlation Charts, ELPS Corrections Charts, Text Complexity Charts, Using Examview, Customizing myView Literacy, and Google Classroom Integration.”

Additionally, there are administrator-specific resources in the myView Digital Resources, including on-demand training, live webinars, and live chats with educational specialists. Through “Pearson Realize,” administrators can customize and differentiate their dashboard, focusing on teacher support. Among other things, these options allow educators to view standards mastery and usage across classroom, create teacher PD and training plans, and streamline school data analysis.

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

The visual design of the “Student Edition” (whether in print or digital) is neither distracting nor chaotic. The materials include appropriate use of white space and design that supports student learning without distraction. Pictures and graphics are supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The materials use pictures (illustrations; drawing; and pictures of real objects, people, and environments) and graphics such as charts to support student learning and engagement. Most unit images are colorful, do not contain text, and are not distracting. Images do not crowd the page and are familiar to young children. Graphic organizers and words on practice pages support student learning, and spacing is adequate, including an appropriate use of white space.

The decodable readers and trade books are simple and clear, with no distractions noted. The “Student Interactive” downloadable practice pages provide clear handwriting lines with enough space for students to respond to the required task.

Each unit in the Student Interactive workbook has a reading log at the beginning and contains a chart with rows and columns titled “Date,” “Book,” “Pages Read,” and “My Ratings.” “Happy” (smiling face), “Okay” (straight face), and “Sad” (unhappy face) title each row for students to rate books they are reading.

In the leveled reader Freeze Frame, a digital resource, the opening pages include the title page on the right side of the screen and a “Before You Read” page on the left side. The Before You Read page includes a video link at the top for a video to build knowledge. The 58-second video introduces the reader to the game of ice hockey, using pictures and vocabulary from the book; it also introduces the conventions of using quotation marks to indicate dialogue as well as new paragraphs to show that a new speaker is speaking. The left side also introduces vocabulary, including attached, expands, and layer. The theme, word count, and text level are also on the page. Each section is divided by a blue line and is easy to recognize. The actual book uses illustrations and text on each page, with ample white space. The book is followed by a “Sequence Chart” for students to retell the events of the book. There is white space around three sides of the screen during the video and in the leveled reader.

In Unit 1, in the Student Interactive workbook, the “Unit Goals” page contains simple text at the top of the page: “In this unit you will, read realistic fiction, begin to write in your Writing Club, learn about different places.” Below this, there is a chart listing the goals and a thumbs-up or thumbs-down in each row for students to indicate whether they did or did not meet the goal, therefore supporting student learning.

In Unit 3, in the Student Interactive workbook, an infographic is used to launch the unit (traditional tales), and the text is broken into short paragraphs with illustrations (cartoons) at the end of each paragraph. Additionally, on the “Academic Vocabulary” page, the materials provide four words at the top of the page, followed by one paragraph. A picture at the bottom of the page illustrates words in the paragraph for students to discuss.

In Unit 5, in the Student Interactive workbook, the “Shared Read” selection includes photographs that match the text. The print is in inset text boxes in the middle of either the left or the right page, superimposed on the photograph. The text box is white, with a teal-colored border and heading, and the print is black, making reading easy and without distraction. There is a close-read instruction box on either the left page or the right page in a vertical format that does not distract from the illustration or the text. These boxes appear routinely in selections in the Student Interactive workbook, so teachers and students would know how to predict their use. In addition, the “Reading Workshop” exhibits the coded color green in a band across the top of the page, with the words Close Read and Reading Workshop embedded in it for identification. The (recurring) pencil icon for “My Turn” appears right below that paragraph and instructs students to use the underlined text from the Close Read instructions to complete a compare-and-contrast table. The table is three columns, in black, and has the headings “Water,” “Both,” and “Earthquakes.” There is ample white space for students to record at least two bullets for each heading in the table. The lines in the table are not perfectly straight on the edges, demonstrating that children who make their own table might not have to be as precise as a machine-generated image. There are no other illustrations. At the bottom of the page, there is a small Texas icon with the verbage for the associated TEKS.

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

The materials include online resources that support and enhance student learning, with appropriate teacher guidance. The “Accessible Student Resources” section has age-appropriate navigation options and interfaces for early learners.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The “Pearson Realize Teacher Digital Resources” include a wide range of online supports for teachers to guide student learning, such as “Getting Started with myView”; customizable and flexible content arrangement from the “Teacher Edition”; customizable assignments for the whole group, small groups, and intervention groups; and “Examview.”

Accessible on any device, the “Accessible Student Resources” section includes the “Student Edition Selection,” which provides audio versions of all readings and texts found in each unit, including decodable texts and “Student Edition” PDFs.

Each unit has “Unit Launch Videos,” videos used along with the Teacher Edition to introduce each unit. Online reading selections also have introductory videos to build content and topic knowledge with which students may not be familiar. Students are also able to access videos for their project-based inquiry assignments.

Student resources also include “Word Work Phonic Practice” (PDF, printable blank practice sheets to extend phonics instruction from each unit), “High-Frequency Word Practice” (PDF, printable practice sheets to extend high-frequency word instruction from each unit), “Spelling Practice,” and “Speaking and Listening Practice” (to assist teachers as they guide students’ collaborative conversations). These practice sheets detail whole-class, small-group, and paired discussion.

Student resources also include “School to Home Connection” and “Reading Spot.” School to Home Connection grants students access to digital assignments and games for off-campus use, while Reading Spot grants students access to a collection of “thousands” of digital books.