Stepping Together, Grade 1

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include a scope and sequence outlining the TEKS, ELPS, concepts, and knowledge taught in the course.

• The materials feature a weekly Scope and Sequence covering the entire school year, in "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide. The "Scope and Sequence" "Appendix A" outlines "Phonological Awareness," "Phonics," "Sight Words," and "Comprehension" activities’ focus for each week in every module. For example, the "Phonological Awareness" activity for "Module 3, Week 1, Day 1" includes producing rhymes with a corresponding TEKS of 1.2A.i.
• The materials provide additional "Phonological Awareness" and "Phonics Scope and Sequence" in the Teaching Guide, "Chapter 1," Table 1-2. For example, short vowels /a/ and /o/ are covered in "Module 1, Week 1." Every lesson component includes the TEKS correlation. 
• The materials provide a written description of the TEKS, organized by their correlation to "Phonological Awareness" and "Phonics" activities, as shown in "Appendix B" of the Teaching Guide. 
• The materials outline the ELPS within the scope and sequence, along with the TEKS for each lesson. In Chapter 7, ‘Follow-Up Activities,’ of the Teaching Guide, they also provide tips for teaching English language learners.

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include suggested pacing (pacing guide/calendar) to support effective implementation for various instructional calendars (e.g., varying numbers of instructional days – 165, 180, 210).

• The materials include suggested pacing to support implementation. For example, "Chapter 1" of the Teaching Guide overviews the structure of the weekly lesson plans. It explains that there are seven modules, each with five instructional days of lessons, resulting in a total of 175 lessons taught throughout the year. It states, "On Day 5, students have a chance to reread and revisit shared reading books, and teachers get the opportunity to assess students’ growing literacy knowledge." There is no guidance for varying the number of instructional days.
• The materials do not provide guidance for varying the number of instructional days. The materials provide a detailed scope and sequence within "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide. For every module, the chart details the week/title, "Phonological Awareness" activity, "Word Study" activity, "Phonics" activity, "Sight Word" activity, "Comprehension" activity, and writing focus for each day within the week. The "Phonological Awareness," "Phonics," and "Comprehension" Sections list the TEKS correlation.

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include an explanation for the rationale of unit order as well as how concepts to be learned connect throughout the course.

• The materials include an explanation for the rationale of unit order. The "Scope and Sequence" in "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide outlines the module order and concepts taught. The materials also include a rationale for the progression of the units. The materials also provide a rationale for the structure of a lesson and explain how the concepts across lessons and units connect. 
• The materials explain how concepts connect throughout the course. For example, the Teaching Guide, "Chapter 3, Step 2: Phonological Awareness" activities", describes the correlation between phonology exercises and phonics. For example, the materials state, "The phonological awareness activities within each of the modules develop in a systematic progression, whereby the tasks are sequenced from easy to more difficult…" 

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include guidance, protocols, and/or templates for unit and lesson internalization.

• The Teaching Guide offers detailed guidance and protocols by mapping out the structure of the lessons within dedicated chapters. These chapters include "Phonological Awareness Activities," "Word Study/Phonics Activities," "Shared Reading/Interactive Writing," "Assessments," and "Follow-Up Activities." Teachers are able to internalize the lessons by reviewing detailed explanations of the lesson components, tips on gathering materials for a smooth delivery, and insights on ways to teach the lesson that will make it more effective. For example, "Chapter 3" provides a table with all the "Word Study" and "Phonics" activities embedded within the curriculum, providing the TEKS correlation, the goal, and the materials needed. The materials then provide detailed directions on how to complete the activities with students. 
• The materials provide weekly lesson plans for each module, which outline the instructional objective and supporting strategies. The Teaching Guide provides tables to support teacher internalization of each module. For example, in "Chapter 1," Table 1-2 outlines each module's phonological awareness and phonics scope and sequence. "Chapter 5," Table 5-1, outlines comprehension skills by module and week. 
• The materials provide resources for unit internalization. For example, the "Lesson Modules" guide provides each lesson component's instructional objective and strategies. "Module 1" includes phonological awareness, word study, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, text features, strategic processing, and writing. The guide also includes a vocabulary scope and sequence, materials to gather and prepare, and a weekly book list. 

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance to support administrators and instructional coaches with implementing the materials as designed.

• The materials include resources to support administrators and instructional coaches in implementing the materials as designed. For example, the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website provides a "Fidelity Implementation Checklist" to indicate whether instruction components are "Evident, A Work in Progress, or Not Evident." Administrators and instructional coaches can use this resource to observe how teachers implement the product in the classroom.
• The Stepping Together First Grade Resources website also includes 24 video clips that model instruction, such as "Analogy Charts" and "Breaking Big Words." The materials include explicit guidance for coaches and administrators on the Fidelity Implementation Checklist. For example, it provides coaches with what to do before, during, and after observing a lesson. The materials also provide guidance on what to expect when doing an informal walkthrough versus a formal observation. It also provides the next steps of what the administrator should do after an observation session. 

Evaluation for 1.2a
Materials include comprehensive unit overviews that provide the background content knowledge and academic vocabulary necessary to effectively teach the concepts in the unit.

• In the Teaching Guide, the "Introduction" portion of the chapters provides background knowledge on the concepts of each step in the lesson structure. For example, the "Introduction" of "Chapter 2" explains why exposing children to rhyming text can enhance their awareness of the sound patterns of speech.
• The materials in the "Lesson Modules" resource offer an overview of the instructional objectives and strategies at the beginning of each module and provide details on teaching the concepts in the lessons. For example, at the beginning of "Module 3," the materials provide the following strategies to address phonological awareness: recognize rhymes, blend phonemes, segment phonemes, and substitute rime.
• The "Key Terms" section at the end of the Teaching Guide provides the academic vocabulary to support teachers in effectively teaching concepts in the modules.

Evaluation for 1.2b
Materials contain supports for families in both Spanish and English for each unit with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student.

• The Stepping Together First Grade Resources website includes a "Beginning-of-the-Year" letter for caregivers that offers a detailed explanation of the Stepping Together phonics program, including the daily lesson design and the objectives of the phonics modules. This letter is available in English and Spanish and provides information on how caregivers can create a reading routine at home. Suggestions include reading every night, finding a quiet spot, talking about the story, rereading, and going on a scavenger hunt to find sight words or phonics patterns. 
• Each module (unit) is described in the "Beginning-of-the-Year" letter for caregivers. The activities listed include suggestions for how families can support their student's progress. The materials also include a parent letter in English and Spanish for each Module. These letters explain the phonics elements students study within the module and activities to reinforce student’s learning. 

Evaluation for 1.3a
Materials include comprehensive, structured, detailed lesson plans that include daily objectives, questions, tasks, materials, and instructional assessments required to meet the content and language standards of the lesson.

• The materials provide comprehensive, structured, detailed lesson plans that include tasks, questions, and materials required to meet the content and language standards. For example, in "Module 3, Week 3, Day 1," after students echo, cloze, and chorally read The Hungry Birds, they create questions to ask their partner. After asking and answering questions with a partner, students can share their questions with the group. 
• Each "Module Overview" lists the materials for each lesson in the "Gather" and "Prepare" Sections at the beginning of each module. Then, the materials are specified again within each daily lesson plan. For example, teachers gather the "Stepping Together Letter Cards" for "Module 1" and then utilize it in "Step 3" of the lesson plan for "Day 1, Week 1" of the module.
• The materials provide instructional assessments aligned with the content and language standards within the lesson plans. Day 5 of each weekly lesson includes several assessment options. For example, in "Module 5, Week 3, Day 5," the materials provide guidance on conducting a sight word assessment and phonics assessments over the skills practiced during the week. Students encode and decode words with long vowel patterns /a_e/, /o_e/, and /i_e/ on the phonics assessment. 
• The lesson plans include daily objectives at the top. For example, "Module 6, Week 1, Day 1" phonics focus on "Long a Vowel Team ay." However, the materials do not include daily objectives to meet the content and language standards of the lessons.
• The materials include comprehensive, structured, detailed lesson plans that include questions, tasks, materials, and instructional assessments required to meet the language standards of the lessons. There are also "Tips for ELL" at the end of the lesson plans each week, located after day 5 of each week in the "Lesson Modules" resource.

Evaluation for 1.3b
Materials include a lesson overview outlining the suggested timing for each lesson component.

• The Teaching Guide details that lessons take 20 minutes. The materials recommend allocating "1-2 minutes for the warm-up, 2-3 minutes for phonological awareness, 3-5 minutes for word study/phonics, and 8-10 minutes for shared reading." The materials specify the time allotted to teach each concept in the daily lesson plan. 
• The materials include guidance on the required time for lessons and activities by including a clock picture with the recommended amount of time. For example, "Module 2, Week 1, Day 1, Step 1 will take 1-2 minutes, Step 2 will take 2-3 minutes, Step 3 will take 3-5 minutes, and Step 4 will take 8-10 minutes." Another example states, "Module 2, Week 1, Day 5, Step 1 will take 1-2 minutes, Step 2 will take 8-10 minutes, and Step 3 will take 5-8 minutes."

Evaluation for 1.3c
Materials include a lesson overview listing the teacher and student materials necessary to effectively deliver the lesson.

• The materials include the teacher and student materials needed for every module in the module overview as well as the beginning of each lesson. The two sections, Gather" and "Prepare," list the materials. For example, under "Gather" in "Module 4" overview, the following materials are listed: "ABC poster, a class set of word study cards, Sally the Cow Puppet, Stepping Together letter cards, lapboards with write-on sleeves, dry-erase markers with erasers, pocket chart, pointer, sentence strip roll, marker, scissors, chart paper, white correction tape, paper and pencils, dry-erase boards (optional)."

Evaluation for 1.3d
Materials include guidance on the effective use of lesson materials for extended practice (e.g., homework, extension, enrichment).

• The Teaching Guide provides guidance on extended practice opportunities. For example, the materials state, "At the end of each week of Stepping Together lessons, we offer follow-up activities for students to do during independent work time…" "Follow-up" activities include completing the sentence starter, writing a book, creating an illustration, and a "Super Story" scavenger hunt.
• The materials include educational online activities through the digital learning platforms that offer interactive learning activities to enrich or extend the lesson. For example, there is a downloadable mini-book where students fill in the blanks and share them with their partners.
• The "Beginning of the Year Letter for Caregivers" outlines the scope and sequence for parents. It informs them of concepts they will learn and ways to create a reading routine for their child at home. It shares that students will bring home decodable passages to practice reading after reading these stories at school. 

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include a variety of instructional assessments at the unit and lesson level (including diagnostic, formative, and summative) that vary in types of tasks and questions.

• The materials include a summative assessment provided at the end of each module that measures the comprehension focus, encoding, and decoding of the targeted phonics skills and sight words covered throughout the module. For example, students segment words with their fists, circle the answer to a comprehension question, and read from a pre-made list of words that contain the phonics focus. 
• On the last day of every lesson plan, students take a formative assessment of the concepts taught that week. These formative assessments monitor progress on the phonics focus and sight words. The assessments vary in types of tasks and questions. Students encode words dictated by the teacher that follow the phonics focus of the week, decode sight words and words that follow the phonics focus, and write sight words dedicated by the teacher. For example, in "Module 2, Week 5," students encode the words "with," "push," "bath," and "fish," which match the phonics focus of final digraphs /sh/ and /th/. Students write three to four sight words that the teacher selects from the list: "where, will, down, they, went, and, come, said, here, look." Students read the decodable textChip and Josh Take a Bath while the teacher assesses decoding, retelling, and fluency.
• The materials provide ongoing formative assessments with varying questions throughout the lessons. For example, during the word study/phonics activity, students use cards to create new words to encode and decode while the teacher observes and asks questions. Students demonstrate mastery through various formative tasks, including verbal and written expression. The materials do not provide diagnostic assessments.

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the types of instructional assessments included.

• "Chapter 6" in the Teaching Guide provides the intended purpose of formative assessments, "Progress Monitoring Assessments," and summative assessments, "Module Summative Assessments." For example, the materials state that the formative assessments allow teachers "to monitor progress and help [teachers] plan follow-up small-group and individual lessons." 
• The materials also explain that the "Module Summative Assessments" are available at the end of each module, located on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website, and "target the comprehension focuses, encoding and decoding of the target phonic elements, and sight words from across the entire module." There are no definitions for the types of instructional assessments included.

Evaluation for 2.1c
Materials include teacher guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

• The Teaching Guide includes a script for teachers to administer the formative Progress Monitoring Assessments efficiently. For example, for the "Sight Word" assessment, the teacher would say, "Today you are going to write some sight words we have been learning. I will say one word at a time. You will repeat the word after me. Think about what the word looks like and then write it as best as you can."
• The Stepping Together First Grade Resources website includes instructions for administering and scoring the "Module Summative Assessments" consistently and accurately.
• The "Appendix" of the Teaching Guide includes various checklists, such as "Appendix J" - "Class Progress Monitoring Recording Sheet" (First Grade), that support the teacher in collecting consistent and purposeful data.

Evaluation for 2.1d
Diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments are aligned to the TEKS and objectives of the course, unit, or lesson.

• Teachers can use various tasks and activities as formative assessments throughout the lessons. To align these tasks with the TEKS, teachers must cross-reference the tables provided in the Teaching Guide. For example, Tables 3-1 and 4-1 show how phonological awareness and word/study phonics activities align with the relevant TEKS. The lessons do not include the TEKS. 
• The formative "Progress Monitoring Assessments" at the end of each weekly lesson plan align with each module's instructional objectives and strategies, which align with the TEKS identified in "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide. For example, at the end of "Module 1, Week 2," students encode "fun, mat, hug, and tab," which aligns with the "Module 1 Word Study/Phonics Instructional Objective" to "use sound boxes to hear and record sounds in words."
• The "Module Summative Assessments" align with each module’s instructional objectives and strategies, which align with the TEKS identified in "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide. The "Teacher Administration Directions" for the "Module Summative Assessments" on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website state, "What is assessed in each module will correspond to what was taught in that module." For example, on "Module 1" summative assessment, students blend phonemes in words "hop, tag, lid" and segment the phonemes in "mug" and "set." The assessment aligns with the "Module 1" instructional objectives: "blend phonemes" and "segment phonemes."
• The materials do not include a diagnostic assessment. Therefore, no diagnostic assessments align with the TEKS and objectives of the course, unit, or lessons.

Evaluation for 2.1e
Instructional assessments include standards-aligned items at varying levels of complexity.

• Students take formative assessments on day 5 of each weekly lesson. These assessments focus on encoding, decoding, and sight words. Various assessments require students to write, produce words verbally, choose a multiple-choice answer based on a comprehension question, and read words from a pre-made list. Formative assessments given at the end of each week vary in complexity based on the time of year. For example, the encoding and decoding skills assessed align with the systematic sequence of the phonics skills taught during instruction.
• According to the "Teacher Administration Directions for Module Summative Assessments" found on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website, "summative assessments grow in complexity across the modules to complement the changes in the instruction and learning as the modules progress." The instructional assessments include multiple-choice and open-response items aligned to the standards. Teachers administer some assessment items individually and some to the whole group. For example, on the "Module 1" summative assessment, teachers are instructed to "administer the phonological awareness portion individually to allow for the student's oral response while the teacher conducts the listening comprehension portion to the whole group."

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments and scoring information provide guidance for interpreting and responding to student performance.

• The materials do not include guidance for interpreting student performance. The materials provide scoring guides and recording forms for each module summative assessment. The materials provide explicit directions on how to score and record student assessment data. The materials instruct teachers to use the data to plan for reteaching opportunities but do not provide guidance on how to reflect on proficiency levels.
• The Stepping Together First Grade Resources website provides guidance on responding to student performance on the "Module Summative" assessments in the "Teacher Administration Directions." The guidance instructs the teacher to use summative module data to plan for reteaching and/or small groups. The materials provide strategies to support students based on their assessment proficiency.
• The website also includes "Stepping Together Differentiation Tables: First Grade," which provide activities and corrective feedback for skills students have difficulty with or need enrichment.

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of included tasks and activities to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

• The "Stepping Together Differentiation Tables" on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website provide guidance for responding to student performance and assessment trends. For example, the "Phonological Awareness Differentiation with Corrective Feedback (First Grade)" tool provides scaffolding and enrichment activities for the teacher to administer based on trends in phonological awareness proficiency.
• The "Using Progress Monitoring Assessment Data" resource on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website provides teacher guidance. For example, if a student has not reached proficiency in decoding, the materials suggest to "Use data to determine if there is a pattern to students’ errors in decoding. Modify subsequent lessons to include a targeted review of the phonic element that is not yet controlled." 
• The "Appendixes" section of the Teaching Guide provides guidance for teachers to respond to student assessment trends. "Appendix E: Phonics Differentiation with Corrective Feedback (First Grade)" provides feedback for teachers to give students to either scaffold or enrich instruction based on student performance for different formative tasks, such as explicitly telling students what sound they are listening for in each word to scaffold if a student is having difficulty hearing words that rhyme.

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

• The Stepping Together First Grade Resources website includes a downloadable "Student Data Tracker," allowing students to record and monitor their data on reading phonics (decoding), reading sight words, writing words (encoding), and comprehension skills. The tracker aligns with module summative assessments. Students track their progress after completing the five-week modules. Students begin tracking their progress and growth in "Module 1."

Evaluation for 3.1a
Materials include teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, activities, and/or paired (scaffolded) lessons for students who have not yet reached proficiency on grade-level content and skills.

• The materials include teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, activities, and/or paired (scaffolded) lessons for students who have not yet reached proficiency on grade-level content and skills. Materials include pre-teaching or embedded supports for unfamiliar vocabulary and references in text (e.g., figurative language, idioms, academic language). Materials include teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, enrichment, and extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level content and skills.

Evaluation for 3.1b
Materials include pre-teaching or embedded supports for unfamiliar vocabulary and references in text (e.g., figurative language, idioms, academic language).

• The materials include pre-teaching for unfamiliar vocabulary and references in the text during the "Shared Reading" component of the lesson plans. For example, in "Module 2, Week 1," the teacher explains the concepts of a "shed" and the parts of a dog’s leash to introduce the text "Chap Is Lost."
• At the beginning of each module, a "Vocabulary Scope and Sequence" lists the words to teach for that module. The "Vocabulary Scope and Sequence" also outlines a vocabulary procedure teachers use before reading the book so students can connect to what they already know. 
• The Stepping Together First Grade Resources website also includes vocabulary graphic organizers to support students' vocabulary development. Three graphic organizers, "Vocabulary 4 Square," "Vocabulary Builder," and "Word Connections," are available for download.

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, enrichment, and extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level content and skills.

• The charts in "Appendix D" through "Appendix G" of the Teaching Guide include various options for differentiated instruction and enrichment on phonological awareness activities, phonics activities, fluency, and comprehension. Next to each activity, teachers are provided with directives on differentiating and enriching instruction if a student has reached proficiency. Some examples of differentiation related to phonological awareness are in "Appendix D." If a student successfully hears and produces rhyming words, the teacher tells the student a new onset to substitute and say the new word, and if a student is successfully segmenting onset and rime, the teacher provides the ‘enrich’ activity of having the student segment by phonemes. 
• The "Literacy Center Activities" in "Chapter 7" of the Teaching Guide provide teacher guidance for extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level concepts.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Materials include prompts and guidance to support the teacher in modeling, explaining, and communicating the concept(s) to be learned explicitly (directly).

• The Lesson Modules resource features scripted lesson plans with prompts for teachers to model and explain the explicitly taught concepts. For example, in Module 3, Week 5, Day 3, Step 2, the teacher says, "I am going to say a word. We will break the word apart by listening for all the sounds." The lesson plan provides guidance on how to model stretching out and isolating sounds in the word ‘swim’ while using hand motions.
• The Teaching Guide also provides guidance on phonological awareness instruction in Appendix C: Explicit Instruction of Sounds. This tool provides guidance for the teacher to model, explain, and communicate explicit instruction of sounds. For example, the tool explains how students should form their mouths to make the /h/ sound and that it's unvoiced. It also provides possible corrective feedback for teachers to give students on articulation. The Teaching Guide also provides a routine to guide and support teachers in modeling and explaining Shared Reading/Interactive Writing in Chapter 5. The chapter includes Table 5-2: Teaching Points for Shared Reading, which provides teaching points on demonstration and instruction to support teachers. 

Evaluation for 3.2b
Materials include teacher guidance and recommendations for effective lesson delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches.

• The materials include teacher guidance and recommendations for effective lesson delivery using a variety of instructional approaches, such as active participation, hands-on activities, and hand motions. In Module 2, Week 1, Day 4, Step 2, students use hand movements to practice substituting onset digraphs /ch/ and /sh/. The materials provide the teacher with a script to guide students through the motions. In Step 4 within the same lesson, teachers dictate a sentence during Interactive Writing practice, and then students use a hands-on approach with the Cut Up Sentence portion of the lesson.
• The materials include teacher guidance and recommendations for effective lesson facilitation by providing instructions and procedures for components within each lesson. For example, the Teaching Guide includes a procedure for the daily Warm-Up to guide teachers in facilitation. The procedure specifies the time needed and how to employ various scaffolds for learning. 
• The lesson plans in the Lesson Modules resource provide guidance for facilitating multiple instructional approaches, such as questioning, modeling blending using Sally the Cow puppet, making words with letter cards, shared reading, sorting using picture cards, and student discourse. For example, when teaching students how to use sound boxes, the teacher is given the following guidance: "Distribute Word Study Cards and dry-erase markers. Dictate the following words: slept, swept, print, spent, and blend. Have students say each word slowly and write one sound in each box. Check the letters by saying the word as you run your finger under the boxes."

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials support multiple types of practice (e.g., guided, independent, collaborative) and include guidance for teachers and recommended structures (e.g., whole group, small group, individual) to support effective implementation.

• The lesson plans and resources support multiple types of practice for students, such as the literacy center activities outlined in Chapter 7 of the Teaching Guide that teachers use to reinforce concepts taught. These literacy centers can be completed independently or in pairs. For example, the Writing with Sight Words activity allows students to practice their sight words individually, while the Sight Words Tic-Tac-Toe activity allows students to practice in pairs. The daily lesson plans include guided practice in various forms. In Module 2, Week 5, Day 3, Step 4 of the same lesson includes a discussion in the Shared Reading component for students to work with a partner to write a sentence using a picture from the book's glossary. On Day 5 of the same week, students will practice independently by reading a book from the shared reading basket.
• The scripted lesson plans outlined in the Lesson Modules resource provide guidance and instruction for teachers to teach the routines necessary to achieve effective implementation. For example, in Module 4, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher models how to blend the sounds in words using the Sally the Cow puppet, and then students have an opportunity to practice with different words in guided practice with the words: s-ĕ-n-t, sent; p-l-ă-n-t, plant; s-l-ă-n-t, slant; and k-ĕ-p-t, kept. The Stepping Together First Grade Resources website also includes a downloadable guide called ‘How to Facilitate Effective Discussions’ that explains how to teach, model, and practice implementation of structured conversations.
• The Lesson Modules resource provides instruction for the whole group, small group, and individual during the lesson plans in each module. Whole-group lessons and assessments inform instruction for small-group and individual instruction. Follow-up activities, outlined in Chapter 7 of the Teaching Guide, are provided "for students to do during independent work time" as well as "suggestions for literacy center or independent/small-group practice" to revisit skills previously taught during whole-group instruction, such as Rereading Shared Reading Books.

Evaluation for 3.3a
Materials include teacher guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

• The materials do not provide teacher guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency. "Chapter 7" of the Teaching Guide provides teachers with background knowledge on how to support emergent bilingual students, stating, "This includes providing context for concepts and vocabulary, using gestures to convey meaning, implementing sentence frames or stems to support the development of cognitive academic language, and providing repetition where appropriate." 
• The "Tips for ELL" Section of the lesson plans provides general guidance for emergent bilingual students, such as using gestures to support students’ understanding of specific vocabulary. However, the materials do not provide guidance for linguistic accommodations according to ELPS standards for varying levels of language proficiency. 

Evaluation for 3.3b
Materials include implementation guidance to support teachers in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs.

• The materials do not provide implementation guidance for effectively using them in a state-approved bilingual/ESL program. However, the materials provide a "Tips for ELL" Section on day 5 of each lesson plan. For example, the tip in "Module 1, Week 1", states, "To support the inferring comprehension focus, provide oral language sentence stems such as: I think Bella feels _____. I think Bella does that because _____." It also suggests allowing emergent bilingual students to rehearse the language before writing the dictated sentences.

Evaluation for 3.3c
Materials include embedded guidance for teachers to support emergent bilingual students in developing academic vocabulary, increasing comprehension, building background knowledge, and making cross-linguistic connections through oral and written discourse.

• Each module begins with a "Vocabulary Scope and Sequence" and a vocabulary routine to implement. The materials do not include strategies to support emergent bilingual students in building academic vocabulary. The "Shared Reading" component of the lesson pre-teaches some concepts to build background knowledge and support comprehension, but these supports are not specifically for emergent bilingual students.
• The end of each weekly lesson plan includes "Tips for ELL" students to support emergent bilingual students with academic vocabulary and comprehension. For example, "Module 2, Week 5" suggests using real objects to support the understanding of concepts and vocabulary through oral discourse. "Module 1, Week 4" suggests using gestures to support comprehension. However, the materials do not include embedded guidance for teachers to support emergent bilingual students in building background knowledge and making cross-linguistic connections through oral discourse.
• However, the materials do not provide guidance for teachers on supporting emergent bilingual students with background knowledge, or cross-curricular connections through written discourse, or comprehension through written discourse. 

Evaluation for 3.3d
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

• Materials are not designed for dual language immersion programs.

Evaluation for 4.1a
Materials include systematic and sequenced instruction of phonics (sound-symbol correspondence) and foundational skills.

• The materials do not include systematic and sequenced instruction of phonics. "Table 1-2: Phonological Awareness and Phonics Scope and Sequence" in "Chapter 1" of the Teaching Guide outlines the phonics skills taught by module and week. However, the skills do not indicate a sequenced or systematic progression. For example, "Module 1" begins with a review of the short vowel sounds learned in grade K but does not include a review of consonant letters. The materials introduce vowel-r combinations /ar/ and /or/ in "Module 6, Week 5," but the materials do not include /er/, /ir/, or /ur/ within the scope and sequence. The materials do not include instruction on inflectional endings -es, and -s,, or the consonant trigraph -tch.
• Materials include systematic and sequenced instruction of foundational skills. "Chapter 3" of the Teaching Guide explains that the phonological awareness tasks "are sequenced from easy to more difficult and are organized so that the same type of activity occurs on the same day every week." Table 3-1 delineates each week’s phonological awareness routine for "Module 1" through "Module 4": "Day 1" focuses on rhyme, "Day 2" focuses on blending phonemes or onset-rime, "Day 3" focuses on segmenting to stretch phonemes or onset-rime, and "Day 4" focuses on for substituting onset or rime. 
• Table 3-2 delineates each week’s phonological awareness routine for "Module 5" through "Module 7": "Day 1" focuses on rhyme, "Day 2" focuses on blending phonemes, "Day 3" focuses on segmenting to stretch phonemes, and "Day 4" focuses on substituting rime.

Evaluation for 4.1b
Materials include explicit (direct) and intentional daily opportunities for phonics (sound-symbol correspondence) and foundational skills.

• The materials provide intentional daily opportunities for phonics. The "Lesson Modules" resource recommends "spending 3-5 minutes on daily Word Study/Phonics instruction during Step 3 of each lesson." Table 4-1 in the Stepping Together Teaching Guide First Grade provides an overview of the seven activities students will experience during this component of the lesson. These activities include "Name Game, Picture Sorting, Letter Detective, Making Words, Sound Boxes, Breaking Words, and Decoding Words in Decodable Text." 
• The materials do not provide explicit phonics instruction. The "Word Study/Phonics" component of the "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities for teaching phonics, but these activities do not provide explicit instruction on sound-symbol correspondence. "Chapter 4" of the Teaching Guide states, "Students learn sounds during Picture Sorting." "Chapter 4" of the Teaching Guide describes the steps of the "Picture Sorting" activity. The teacher introduces multiple letters or sounds and then instructs students to sort the "Stepping Together Picture Cards" based on whether they hear the sound in the word the picture card depicts. For example, in "Module 2, Week 1, Day 3, Step 3," the "Lesson Modules" resource states, "Gather the Stepping Together Picture cards for initial digraphs ch and sh. Put the Stepping Together Letter Cards ch and sh in the pocket chart. Together let’s say the picture word on this card, the initial sound, and the first two letters. Put the Stepping Together Picture Card under the correct letters." The scripted part of the lesson, indicated by the italics, does not require the teacher to explicitly model or explain the sound-symbol correspondence for the letters introduced.

Evaluation for 4.1c
Materials include practice of phonics skills both in isolation and through decodable texts.

• The "Lesson Modules" resource details opportunities for students to practice phonics skills in isolation in step three of each lesson. For example, in "Module 3, Week 1, Day 2," students make or read the words "lot, plot, plop, prop, prom, prim, rim" using the "Stepping Together Letter Cards": Ii, Ll, Mm, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt, and an extra Pp. 
• Decodable texts, called Super Stories, are introduced in "Module 1," with a new text presented each week. "Chapter 4" of the Teaching Guide states that "[Super Stories] contain the high-frequency word and phonics elements that were taught during the week." For example, in "Module 4, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3," students will read the "Super Story" Camping, focusing on decoding final blends /nt/ and /pt/ in connected text. The phonics skills were taught in isolation on days one, two, and three earlier that week.

Evaluation for 4.1d
Materials include opportunities for cumulative review of previously taught skills.

• The "Scopes and Sequences" in the Teaching Guide outline the review of previously taught skills. For example, Table 1-2 in "Chapter 1" instructs teachers to begin teaching the digraph /sh/ in "Module 2, Week 1" and then review the skill during "Module 2, Week 2" through "Module 2, Week 5." 
• The "Lesson Modules" resource also includes a variety of instructional routines that serve as ongoing reviews by connecting previously taught phonics skills to new ones. For example, students review long vowel patterns while reading the decodable "Super Story" A Snake for Pip in "Module 5, Week 2, Day 4." This decodable connects previously taught initial blends /sn/ and /sl/ to the recently taught long vowel patterns /a_e/, /o_e/, and /i_e/ for students to decode words such as "snake’ and "slope." Earlier in the week, on Days one, two, and three, students made, read, wrote, blended, and segmented words with these same letter sounds.

Evaluation for 4.2a
Daily lessons include explicit (direct) instruction with teacher modeling.

• The materials do not provide explicit phonics instruction. The "Word Study" and "Phonics" component of the "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities for teaching phonics, but these activities do not provide explicit instruction with teacher modeling. For example, in "Module 5, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3" of the "Lesson Modules" resource, the teacher is directed to "model decoding strategies for the first few words. Then have students finish reading the sentences" of the "Super Story" Time to Bake. Although the materials include a suggestion to model, they do not provide the teacher with a script, specific language, or strategies for delivering direct instruction through modeling.

Evaluation for 4.2b
Daily lessons include opportunities for explicit (direct) guided instruction and immediate and corrective feedback.

• While there are opportunities for students to practice skills with the teacher as a group, the "Lesson Modules" resource does not provide any script or specific terms and phrases the teacher can use for explicit guided instruction. For example, in "Module 1, Week 2, Day 2, Step 3," the "Lesson Modules" resource states: "Have students stand at the front of the classroom holding the following Stepping Together Letter Cards: a, f, g, n, r, and u. Make the word rag. Say a new word for students to make (encode), or tell them the letter(s) to change and have them read (decode): rug. Have students make or read these words: run, ran, fan, and fun." The scripted part of the lesson, indicated by the italics, does not include guided instruction on how the students should encode or decode new words. 
• The Teaching Guide contains "Appendix E: Phonics Differentiation with Corrective Feedback," which includes activities to scaffold or enrich instruction with corrective feedback for phonics skills. However, the materials do not provide immediate or corrective feedback within the daily lessons to support explicit guided instruction.

Evaluation for 4.2c
Daily lessons include a variety of opportunities for students to practice through collaborative learning and independent practice.

• Daily lessons include opportunities for students to practice independently during "Follow-Up Activities." For example, "Chapter 7’ of the Teaching Guide offers numerous ideas for activities suitable for students to work on independently, such as the "Super Story" Scavenger Hunt, wherein students "find and color any word in the story that contains the phonic element" that was the focus of instruction for the week. Other opportunities for independent practice occur during the daily lessons. For example, in "Module 1, Week 4, Day 3, Step 3," the Lesson Modules resource describes students writing words dictated by the teacher (ten, red, hop, box, met) to practice encoding words with short /e/ and short /o/ vowel sounds. 
• Daily lessons include an opportunity for students to practice through collaborative learning during "Literacy Center Activities." In "Module 5, Week 1, Day 5", the "Lesson Modules" resource suggests having "students read the Time to Bake Super Story to a buddy" as a "Literacy Center" option to practice decoding words with the long vowel pattern /a_e/. The materials only provide collaborative learning opportunities through "Literacy Centers."

Evaluation for 4.3a
Materials include intentional cumulative review and practice activities throughout the curriculum.

• The decodable "Super Stories" are available weekly for intentional cumulative review by increasing complexity over the year. For example, the "Super Story" Shooting Hoops in "Module 7, Week 2" focuses on the recently taught vowel team /oo/ while also including a cumulative review of the digraph /sh/ (introduced in "Module 2"), initial blend /br/ (introduced in "Module 3"), and vowel team /ee/ (introduced in "Module 6").
• "Chapter 5" of the Teaching Guide describes how intentional practice of the taught phonics skills through interactive writing occurs on days two and four of each week within the "Lesson Modules." The sentences used for interactive writing include newly taught sight words, the weekly phonic focus, and words with easy-to-hear sounds. The sentences sometimes have previously taught sight words and phonic skills for cumulative review. For example, in "Module 5, Week 1, Day 4, Step 4" of the "Lesson Modules," the teacher dictates the sentence, "After we take the cupcakes out of the oven, it is time to frost them." Students share the marker with the teacher to "help write any consonant and short vowel sounds and familiar sight words," review the sight word "after," and use "Sound Boxes" to encode the words "take" and "time." This activity is an opportunity to practice encoding words with the newly taught long vowel pattern /a_e/ and a cumulative review with encoding consonants (taught in kindergarten) and short vowels (reviewed in "Module 1").

Evaluation for 4.3b
Practice opportunities include only phonics skills that have been explicitly taught.

• The materials do not provide explicit phonics instruction; instruction only happens through practice opportunities. For example, in "Module 4, Week 1, Day 1," students learn the final blends /nd/, /nt/, and /pt/ by making words using "Stepping Together Letter Cards." The teacher instructs students to make the word "end." This repeats for words "sent, went, wept, swept, kept." The materials do not provide direct instruction on blends. 
• In "Module 4, Week 1, Day 4," students read the decodable "Super Story" Camping. This book contains the words "camping, dark, slept, hoot, tree, owl, ghost, tent, crept." Students practice reading words with the current phonics focus of final blends /nd/, /nt/, and /pt/ by reading the words "slept" and "tent." By this point in the year, students have not had experience with suffix -ing, r-controlled vowel /ar/, vowel team /oo/, long vowel team /ee/, diphthong vowel team /ow/, or silent letter /gh/.

Evaluation for 4.3c
Decodable texts incorporate cumulative practice of taught phonics skills.

• Due to their increasing complexity over the course of the year, the decodable "Super Stories" are available each week for intentional cumulative review. For example, the "Super Stories" Shooting Hoops in "Module 7, Week 2" focuses on the recently taught vowel team /oo/ while also including a cumulative review of the digraph /sh/ (introduced in "Module 2"), initial blend /br/ (introduced in "Module 3"), and vowel team /ee/ (introduced in "Module 6").
• Decodable texts incorporate the cumulative practice of taught phonics skills. For example, in "Module 3, Week 3," the "Super Stories" The Flea focuses on the recently taught phonics pattern initial blends /fl/, /fr/, and /sn/ while also including a cumulative review of short vowels from "Module 1." Students read words such as "duck, flew, pond, flap, wings."

Evaluation for 4.3d
Lessons include an instructional focus with opportunities for practice in isolation and connected text.

• he "Lesson Modules" resource details opportunities for students to practice phonics skills in isolation in step three of each lesson. For example, in "Module 3, Week 1, Day 2," students make or read the words "lot, plot, plop, prop, prom, prim, rim" using the "Stepping Together Letter Cards": Ii, Ll, Mm, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt, and an extra Pp. The short vowels practiced in this lesson were the instructional focus during "Module 1," and the initial blends /pr/ and /pl/ were the instructional focus for "Module 3, Week 1."
• Decodable texts called "Super Stories" are introduced in "Module 1," with a new text presented each week. "Chapter 4" of the Teaching Guide states that "Super Stories contain the high-frequency word and phonics elements that were taught during the week." For example, in "Module 4, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3," students read the "Super Story" Camping, focusing on decoding final blends /nt/ and /pt/ in connected text. This skill was taught as phonics skills in isolation on "Day 1," "Day 2," and "Day 3" earlier that week. The final blends /nt/ and /pt/, were the instructional focus during "Module 4, Week 1."

Evaluation for 4.4a
Materials include a variety of assessment tools that are developmentally appropriate.

• The materials include a summative assessment at the end of each module that measures the comprehension focus, encoding, and decoding of the targeted phonics skills and sight words covered throughout the module. For example, students segment words with their fists, circle the answer to a comprehension question, and read from a pre-made list of words that contain the phonics focus. 
• On the last day of every lesson plan, students take a formative assessment of the concepts taught that week. These formative assessments monitor progress on the phonics focus and sight words.
• The materials provide ongoing formative assessments with varying questions throughout the lessons. For example, during the word study/phonics activity, students use cards to create new words to encode and decode while the teacher observes and asks questions. Students demonstrate mastery through various formative tasks, including verbal and written expression.

Evaluation for 4.4b
Materials include clear, consistent directions for accurate administration of assessments.

• There are clear and consistent directions for accurately administering the "Module Summative Assessments," called "Teacher Administration Directions: Modules 1-5" and "Teacher Administration Directions: Modules 6-7" on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website. These directions include guidance on when to administer portions of the assessment individually versus when to administer in a whole-group setting, as well as the steps, materials, and a scoring recording form. For example, for the "Writing Words" component of the "Module Summative Assessments," teachers are directed to, "Begin by dictating the words from the Teacher Assessment Script one at a time and ask students to write them. Remind students to write only one word on each line." This guidance ensures consistency throughout the administration of all "Module Summative Assessments."

Evaluation for 4.4c
Materials include progress monitoring tools that systematically and accurately measure students’ acquisition of grade-level phonics skills.

• "Appendix J: Class Progress Monitoring Recording Sheet" in the Teaching Guide provides a progress monitoring tool to systematically and accurately measure students’ acquisition of phonics skills by assessing students’ encoding and decoding of the targeted phonics skills over the year. Teachers record the number of words spelled correctly, the number of words assessed, and the incorrect spelling if a student misspells the word. The materials instruct the teacher to "Record errors on words containing the phonic element by writing the attempt over the actual word in the text." For example, in "Module 5, Week 1, Day 5, Step 3," the teacher assesses encoding of the long vowel pattern /a_e/ by dictating the words "make, plane, shape, crate," and assesses decoding of the same vowel pattern by having reread the decodable "Super Story" for the week.

Evaluation for 4.4d
Materials include assessment opportunities across the span of the school year aligned to progress monitoring tools.

• Progress monitoring happens weekly through formative assessments on day five of each "Lesson Modules." These assessments align with the "Class Progress Monitoring Recording Sheet" ("Appendix J" of the Teaching Guide). Additionally, these tools align with the "Module Summative Assessments." For example, the "Module 3 Summative Assessment" requires students to read the words "grin, snug, flash, stem, drop." By the end of "Module 3," teachers have recorded student progress in encoding and decoding words with initial blends.

Evaluation for 4.5a
Materials include data-management tools for tracking individual student progress to make appropriate instructional decisions to accelerate instruction.

• The materials include a "Class Progress Monitoring Recording Sheet" in "Appendix J" of the Teaching Guide. This data management tool tracks individual student progress. Teachers make appropriate instructional decisions to accelerate learning based on student progress by utilizing these checklists and Table 6-1: "Using Progress Monitoring Assessment Data." The table provides instruction decisions for students who have reached proficiency and those who have not. They provide general suggestions for both decoding and encoding. For example, if students have not reached proficiency in decoding, a suggestion is to "Regroup students as needed."

Evaluation for 4.5b
Materials include data-management tools for tracking whole-class student progress to analyze patterns and needs of students.

• The "Teacher Administration Directions: Modules 1-5" and "Teacher Administration Directions: Modules 6-7" on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website provide teachers with a whole-class data-management tool to analyze the needs of students in phonemic awareness, reading words, listening comprehension, writing words, and writing sentences in "Module 1" through "Module 5." It also tracks writing words and sentences, comprehension, phonemic awareness, and reading words in "Module 6" through "Module 7." However, this tool does not support teachers in interpreting the data to find and analyze patterns.

Evaluation for 4.5c
Materials include specific guidance on determining frequency of progress monitoring based on students’ strengths and needs.

• The "Lesson Modules" resource includes formative assessments at the end of each week (on day five) to monitor progress. However, since every student completes these assessments, progress monitoring is not tailored to individual students' strengths and needs. There is no specific guidance on determining the frequency of progress monitoring based on students’ strengths and needs.

Evaluation for 4.5d
Materials include guidance on how to accelerate learning based on the progress monitoring data to reach mastery of specific concepts.

• "Appendix E" in the Teaching Guide provides general guidance on scaffolding or enriching each type of phonics activity ("Picture Sorting," "Letter Detectives," "Making Words," "Sound Boxes," "Breaking Words," and "Decoding Words" in "Decodable Text"). An example of a scaffold to support students in selecting the correct letter(s) to represent sound is to "Model how to blend the sounds in the word." However, the materials do not explain how to use progress monitoring data to accelerate learning so students can master specific concepts.

Evaluation for 5.B.1a
Materials include explicit (direct) and systematic instructional guidance on developing oral language and oracy through a variety of methods (e.g., modeling, guided practice, coaching, feedback, and independent practice).

• The materials do not include explicit and systematic instructional guidance on developing oral language and oracy. They do provide opportunities for students to practice oral language and oracy. For example, in "Module 1, Week 2, Day 3, Step 4," students are prompted to discuss why there are holes in a duck’s beak based on the information in the text. In "Module 5, Week 1, Day 3, Step 4," the teacher allows students to discuss the text, Making Cupcakes, saying, "Work with your partner to retell how to make cupcakes. Take turns using the key details on the chart." However, the materials do not provide explicit and systematic instructional guidance, such as expectations and procedures for students' engagement with a turn and talk.
• After "Module 1, Week 1, Day 5," in the "Tips for ELL" section, the teacher is instructed to do the following: " To support the inferring comprehension focus, provide oral language sentence stems such as I think Bella feels _____. I think Bella does that because _____." While this provides more specific guidance, it is not for all students.
• The Stepping Together First Grade Resources website provides a tool, "How to Facilitate Effective Discussions," that describes examples of oral language. For example, the chart describes ‘Explain Your Thinking’ as "Using evidence to support your thinking" and "Adding on to your thinking." However, the chart provides generic teacher guidance rather than explicit and systematic guidance to develop oral language and oracy.

Evaluation for 5.B.1b
Materials include opportunities for students to engage in social and academic communication for different purposes and audiences.

• The "Lesson Modules" provide opportunities to engage in both social and academic communication. For example, in "Module 4, Week 3, Day 1," students engage in academic conversation about the text Acorn the Pony by discussing questions about the main character (i.e. "What does Emma do?" and "How does Emma feel at the end of the story?") to support their comprehension of the text. In the same lesson, students also engage in social communication with partners by discussing their answers to questions such as, "Have you ever gotten something you really wanted? How did it make you feel?" This activity allows students to share personal connections with the character of the text they read earlier in the lesson.
• The "Lesson Modules" provide opportunities for students to communicate with different audiences. For example, in "Module 3, Week 1, Day 1, Step 4," the teacher prompts students to think of a question about the referenced page of Sally Wants to Play and to turn and ask their partner the question they have brainstormed. In "Module 3, Week 5, Day 1, Step 4," students make predictions and share their ideas about the text based on the title and cover photo with the teacher.

Evaluation for 5.B.1c
Materials include authentic opportunities for students to listen actively, ask questions, engage in discussion to understand information, and share information and ideas.

• The Lesson Modules resource provides opportunities within lesson plans for students to listen actively to understand and share information and ideas. For example, in Module 5, Week 1, Day 3, Step 2, students listen to all sounds to segment phonemes. To show that they understand phoneme segmentation, they repeat the hand motions while stretching the sounds as they tap their head, shoulders, and knees. In Step 3 of the same lesson, they apply this understanding of phonemic awareness by listening to the teacher dictate words, isolating the vowel sounds, and then sharing whether the word belongs in the short a or long a column of an Analogy Chart.
• The Lesson Modules resource provides opportunities within lesson plans for students to ask questions to understand and share information and ideas. For example, in Module 1, Week 2, Day 1, Step 4, students are prompted to ask ‘What?’ questions about the text Ducks, using the information in the picture glossary. In Module 6, Week 4, Day 1, Step 4, students practice creating their own ‘Why?’ questions about the story The Fourth of July. Students share and respond to their questions with partners. 
• The Lesson Modules resource provides opportunities within lesson plans for students to engage in discussion to understand and share information and ideas. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 1, Step 4, students engage in discussion to better understand the text Bella Goes Sledding by sharing detailed information about the main character’s actions. In Module 5, Week 1, Day 3, Step 4, students share ideas with a partner about how they like decorating cupcakes to understand the text better, Making Cupcakes.

Evaluation for 5.C.1a (grade K only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing letter names and their corresponding sounds. (PR 2.A.1)

Evaluation for 5.C.1b (grade K only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for teaching and developing student automaticity in the identification of the 26 letters of the alphabet (upper and lowercase) and their corresponding sounds. (PR 2.A.1)

Evaluation for 5.C.1c (grade K only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct and systematic instruction for letter formation for the 26 letters of the alphabet (upper and lowercase). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

Evaluation for 5.C.1d (grade K only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources (including the use of memory-building strategies) for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) alphabet knowledge both in isolation and in the context of meaningful print. (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

Evaluation for 5.C.2a
Materials explicitly (directly), and systematically introduce letter-sound relationships in an order that allows for application to basic decoding and encoding. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not provide explicit instruction on letter-sound relationships that allow for application to basic decoding and encoding. The "Word Study" and "Phonics" components of the "Lesson Modules" resource provide activities for teaching phonics, but these activities do not provide explicit instruction on letter-sound relationships. For example, in "Module 2, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3," the "Lesson Modules" resource states, "Gather the Stepping Together Picture cards for initial digraphs ch and sh. Put the Stepping Together Letter Cards ch and sh in the pocket chart. Together let’s say the picture word on this card, the initial sound, and the first two letters. Put the Stepping Together Picture Card under the correct letters." The scripted part of the lesson, indicated by the italics, does not require the teacher to explicitly model or explain the letter-sound relationships for the digraphs introduced. Without this explicit instruction, students may struggle to apply letter-sound relationships to basic decoding and encoding.
• Table 1-2: "Phonological Awareness and Phonics Scope and Sequence" in "Chapter 1" of the Teaching Guide outlines the letters/patterns taught by module and week. However, the skills do not indicate a systematic progression of letter-sound relationships. For example, "Module 1" begins with a review of the short vowel sounds learned in grade K, but it does not include a review of consonant letters. The materials introduce vowel-r combinations /ar/ and /or/ in "Module 6, Week 5," but do not include /er/, /ir/, or /ur/ within the "Scope and Sequence." The materials do not include instruction on inflectional endings -es, -s, -ed, or the consonant trigraph /tch/. This inhibits students from applying knowledge of letter-sound relationships to basic decoding and encoding.

Evaluation for 5.C.2b
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction focused on connecting phonemes to letters within words with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. (PR 2.A & 2.A.2)

• The "Lesson Modules" resource outlines lesson plans that do not script the teacher’s direct and explicit instruction to connect phonemes to letters within words. Students only engage in activities such as "Making Words" and "Sound Boxes" to practice connecting phonemes to letters. 
• The materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction focused on connecting phonemes to letters within words with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. The materials provide feedback support in "Appendix E: Phonics Differentiation with Corrective Feedback" in the Teaching Guide for each of the seven activities. The guidance includes support in scaffolding or enriching the activities instruction using corrective feedback. For instance, if a student needs scaffolding with isolating phonemes using sound boxes, the teacher models by slowly saying the word and stretching the sounds while running a finger under the boxes. However, the materials do not provide explanatory feedback for students based on common errors or misconceptions in relation to each lesson.

Evaluation for 5.C.2c (grades 2 and 3 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode one syllable and multisyllable words in isolation and decodable connected text. (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

Evaluation for 5.C.2c (grades K and 1 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode one syllable words in isolation and decodable connected text. (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode one-syllable words in isolation. For example, in "Module 5, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3," students develop their understanding of letter-sound correspondence by decoding one-syllable words, "cape, gape, tape, made," with the newly introduced long vowel pattern /a_e/. Students subsequently practice letter-sound correspondence for the long vowel pattern /a_e/ on "Day 2, Step 3," in which students decode one-syllable words with the same vowel pattern ("shame, blame, frame"). Cumulative review can be found in "Module 5, Week 4, Day 1, Step 3," in which students practice applying letter-sound correspondence for long vowel pattern /a_e/ to decode the one-syllable words "mate" and "slate" in addition to decoding words with the more recently taught long vowel pattern /u_e/.
• The "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode one-syllable words in decodable connected texts (known as "Super Stories"). For example, in "Module 2, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3," students develop letter-sound correspondence by decoding one-syllable words with the initial digraph /sh/ in the "Super Story" A Toy for Chip. Students review this skill by reading the same text in the decoding assessment on "Day 5, Step 3" of the same week. The following week ("Week 2") of the same module, students continue to review one-syllable words with the initial digraph /sh/ in connected text when they read the "Super Story" A Ship at the Park. Practice through cumulative review occurs in "Module 7, Week 2," in which students can practice decoding one-syllable words with the initial digraph /sh/ when reading the "Super Story" Shooting Hoops (i.e., "shot" and "shoot").

Evaluation for 5.D.1a (grades K–2 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing phonological awareness activities in accordance with gradelevel TEKS that begins with simple skills and larger units of sound (e.g., identifying and producing rhyming words, recognizing spoken alliteration, identifying the individual words in spoken sentences) and gradually transitions to more complex skills and smaller units of sound (e.g., adding, deleting, and substituting syllables). (PR 2.A.1)

• According to Appendix A of the Teaching Guide, students engage in activities practicing recognizing rhymes, blending and segmenting phonemes, and substituting rime within the first four days of Module 1. Specifically, in Step 2 of Day 1, Week 1, Module 1, students distinguish the word that does not rhyme from a group of words. In Step 2 of Day 2 (the same week), students blend phonemes to say hop, bat, pot, and sad. On Day 3, students segment phonemes in the words dad, van, job, wag, and box. On Day 4, students orally substitute rime (such as changing fax to fox). In Module 2, students go from blending and segmenting at the phoneme level to blending and segmenting onset and rime. Therefore, the materials do not include a systematic sequence or align with all grade-level TEKS.

Evaluation for 5.D.1b (grades K–2 only)
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction for teaching phonological awareness skills with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. (PR 2.A & 2.A.2)

• The Lesson Modules resource outlines lesson plans that do not script the teacher’s direct and explicit instruction on phonological awareness. For example, in a lesson on producing rhymes in Module 4, Week 1, Day 1, Step 2, the following guidance is provided: "I am going to say a word, and we are going to create a series of three to five rhyming words. Encourage students to supply words with initial or final digraphs or blends. Say a word: back. Have students repeat the word. Now say more words that rhyme with back: shack, track, crack, snack." The scripted component is in italics. However, the guidance does not provide specific language for explicit instruction on how to produce rhyming words.
• The materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction focused on phonological awareness with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. The materials provide feedback support in Appendix D: Phonological Awareness Differentiation with Corrective Feedback in the Teaching Guide for Rhyming, Blending, Segmenting, and Substituting activities. The guidance includes support in scaffolding or enriching the activities using corrective feedback. For instance, if a student needs scaffolding while "producing rhyming words," the teacher can "provide an example." However, the materials do not provide explanatory feedback for students based on common errors or misconceptions in relation to each lesson.

Evaluation for 5.D.1c (grades K–2 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources (including the use of memory-building strategies) for students to develop, practice, and reinforce phonological awareness skills connected to grade-level TEKS (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The Lesson Modules resource includes activities and resources to develop and practice phonological awareness skills. For example, students develop the skill of blending phonemes in Module 1, Week 1, Day 2, and Step 2. In this lesson, the teacher models blending the sounds in the word ‘tap’ using Sally the Cow Puppet and then engages the students in guided practice to blend the phonemes in the words hop, bat, pot, and sad. In Module 1, Week 2, Day 2, Step 2, students practice blending phonemes. Again, the teacher models blending the sounds in a CVC word (in this case, mug), followed by guided practice (blending the sounds in the words zap, bus, pup, and rat). 
• Activities and resources in the Lesson Modules resource include memory-building strategies such as body movements and gestures, poems, songs, chants, and the Sally the Cow Puppet. For example, in Module 5, Week 3, Day 4, Step 2, students use their fists as the substitute rime to make new words (such as changing ‘plane’ to ‘plate’). In Module 6, Week 1, Day 3, Step 2, students will touch their heads, shoulders, and knees as they segment phonemes. In the ‘Warm Up’ (Step 1) of each lesson, teachers "read a familiar nursery rhyme, song, poem, or chant" to reinforce their practice skills.

Evaluation for 5.D.2a (grades K–2 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing phonemic awareness activities that begins with identifying, blending, and segmenting phonemes, and gradually transitions to more complex manipulation practices such as adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes. (PR 2.A.1)

• According to Appendix A of the Teaching Guide, the first days of instruction (Module 1, Week 1) on Days 2, 3, and 4 include phonological awareness activities blending phonemes, stretching to segment phonemes, and substituting rime, respectively. Step 2 of Day 2 focuses on blending the phonemes in CVC words (the teacher models with the word tap and then leads the students through guided practice). Step 2 of Day 3 focuses on segmenting phonemes in CVC words. 
• This pattern (Day 1 focusing on rhyming, Day 2 focusing on blending phonemes, Day 3 focusing on stretching to segment phonemes, Day 4 focusing on substituting ‘rime’) continues throughout all of the weeks in Module 1. Therefore, the sequence for introducing phonemic awareness activities does not systematically and gradually introduce more complex manipulation practices.

Evaluation for 5.D.2b (grades K–2 only)
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction for teaching phonemic awareness with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. (PR 2.A & 2.A.2)

• The Lesson Modules resource outlines lesson plans that do not script the teacher’s direct and explicit instruction on phonemic awareness. For example, in a lesson on blending phonemes in Module 1, Week 1, Day 2, Step 2, the following guidance is provided: "Model: I am going to say the sounds in a word. We are going to put the sounds together to make the word. Use the Sally the Cow Puppet to say the sounds in the word t-ă-p. Have students repeat the sounds. Put the sounds together to make the word: tap." The scripted component is in italics. However, the guidance does not provide specific language for explicit instruction on how to blend phonemes.
• The materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction focused on phonemic awareness with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. The materials provide feedback support in Appendix D: Phonological Awareness Differentiation with Corrective Feedback in the Teaching Guide for Rhyming, Blending, Segmenting, and Substituting activities. The guidance includes support in scaffolding or enriching the activities using corrective feedback. For instance, if a student needs scaffolding while "blending phonemes," the teacher can "use hand motions." However, the materials do not provide explanatory feedback for students based on common errors or misconceptions in relation to each lesson.

Evaluation for 5.D.2c (grades K–2 only)
Materials include explicit (direct) guidance for connecting phonemic awareness skills to the alphabetic principle, to support students in the transition from oral language activities to basic decoding and encoding. (PR 2.A.1)

• According to Table 1-1: Five-Day Weekly Plan in Chapter 1 of the Teaching Guide, each lesson for Days 1 through 4 in the Lesson Modules resource includes a Step 2 Phonological Awareness Activity followed by a Step 3 Word Study / Phonics Activity. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 2, students blend phonemes in Step 2 (the phonological awareness activity has the teacher model blending the sounds in the word tap and then lead the students through guided practice) and encode or decode words in Step 3 (the phonics activity has students make the word top and then either "make or read" the words: tap, tag, bag, bog, and bop). However, the lesson does not provide explicit or specific guidance to connect the oral activity in Step 2 to the decoding or encoding activity in Step 3. 
• In Module 1, Week 1, Day 3, students segment phonemes in Step 2 (the phonological awareness activity has the teacher model segmenting the phonemes in the word dad and then lead the students through guided practice) and encode in Step 3 (the phonics activity has the teacher dictate the words cap, mom, fan, not, and dog while students write the sounds in sound boxes). However, the lesson does not provide explicit or specific guidance to connect the oral activity in Step 2 to the encoding in Step 3.

Evaluation for 5.D.2d (grades K–2 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce phonemic awareness skills (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The Lesson Modules resource includes various activities specifically designed to help students develop and practice their phonemic awareness skills within the lesson plans. Activities incorporate gestures, body movements, and other kinesthetic activities (including Sally the Cow Puppet) to help students practice phonemic awareness skills. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 2, Step 2, the students develop the skill of blending phonemes. The teacher uses the Sally the Cow Puppet to model blending the phonemes in the word tap and then leads students through guided practice. 
• The materials include a variety of resources for students to develop and practice phonemic awareness skills. In Module 1, Week 2, Day 2, Step 2, the students practice blending phonemes. The teacher uses the Sally the Cow Puppet to model blending the phonemes in the word mug and then leads students through guided practice. Also, students use Sound Boxes throughout the materials to segment the sounds in words before encoding.

Evaluation for 5.E.1a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level sound-spelling patterns, as outlined in the TEKS. (PR 2.A.1)

• Table 1-2: Phonological Awareness and Phonics Scope and Sequence in Chapter 1 of the Teaching Guide outlines the phonics skills taught by module and week. However, the skills do not indicate a sequenced or systematic progression for introducing grade-level sound-spelling patterns. For example, Module 1 begins with a review of the short vowel sounds learned in grade K but does not include a review of consonant letters. The materials introduce Vowel-r Combinations ar and or in Module 6, Week 5 but do not include er, ir, or ur within the scope and sequence. The materials do not include instruction on inflectional endings -es, -s, or the consonant trigraph -tch.

Evaluation for 5.E.1b
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for grade-level sound-spelling patterns. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not provide explicit instruction on grade-level sound-spelling patterns. The Word Study/Phonics component of the Lesson Modules resource provides activities for teaching sound-spelling patterns, but these activities do not provide explicit instruction. Chapter 4 of the Teaching Guide states, "Students learn sounds during Picture Sorting." Chapter 4 of the Teaching Guide describes the steps of the Picture Sorting activity. The teacher introduces multiple letters or sounds and then instructs students to sort the Stepping Together Picture Cards based on whether they hear the sound in the word the picture card depicts. For example, in Module 2, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3, the Lesson Modules resource states, "Gather the Stepping Together Picture cards for initial digraphs ch and sh. Put the Stepping Together Letter Cards ch and sh in the pocket chart. Together let’s say the picture word on this card, the initial sound, and the first two letters. Put the Stepping Together Picture Card under the correct letters." The scripted part of the lesson, indicated by the italics, does not require the teacher to model or explain the sound-spelling patterns explicitly.

Evaluation for 5.E.1c
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce grade-level sound-spelling patterns (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A.1)

• The Lesson Modules resource includes activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce grade-level sound-spelling patterns. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 2, Step 3, students develop the sound-spelling patterns for short vowels a and o. In this ‘Making Words’ activity, students use the Stepping Together Letter Cards a, b, g, o, p, and t to make or read the words tap, hop, bad, pot, and sad. This skill is practiced the next day (Day 3) in Step 3 when students participate in the ‘Sound Boxes: Short Vowels a and o activity. In this activity, students use Sound Box Cards and dry-erase markers to write the letters in the words cap, mom, fan, not, and dog as the teacher dictates each word. The materials reinforce this skill through cumulative review in the Phonemic Awareness and Reading Words portion of the Module 2 Summative Assessment (found on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website), during which students must read the words shop and chap among other words, with previously taught sound-spelling patterns.
• Other activities for developing, practicing, and reinforcing grade-level sound-spelling patterns include ‘Decoding Words in Decodable Texts’ (such as in Module 4, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3), assessing the phonics focus through encoding and decoding (occurring on Day 5 of any given week in the Lesson Modules resource), ‘Breaking Words’ (such as in Module 2, Week 4, Day 3, Step 3), ‘Breaking Big Words’ (such as in Module 6, Week 2, Day 2, Step 3), and ‘Analogy Charts’ (such as in Module 5, Week 1, Day 3, Step 3).
• The decodable texts, called Super Stories, are additional resources for developing, practicing, and reinforcing grade-level sound-spelling patterns. For example, in Module 1, Week 2, students practice the sound-spelling pattern for short a and short u when reading Fun with Dad

Evaluation for 5.E.1d
Materials provide a variety of activities and resources to support students in decoding and encoding words that include taught sound-spelling patterns, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The Lesson Modules resource includes various activities and resources to support students in decoding words that include taught sound-spelling patterns, both in isolation and decodable connected text called Super Stories. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3, students are introduced to the sound-spelling pattern for the short vowels ‘a’ and ‘o’. On Day 2 of the same week, students have the opportunity to decode words that include the sound-spelling pattern for the short vowels ‘a’ and ‘o’ in isolation using the Stepping Together Letter Cards a, b, g, o, p, and t (top, tap, tag, bag, bog, and bop) in the ‘Making Words’ activity. On Day 4 of the same week, students decode words in decodable connected text when they read the Super Story: The Dog in the Bog. 
• The Lesson Modules resource includes various activities and resources to support encoding words that include teaching sound-spelling patterns, both in isolation and in decodable connected text. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3, students are introduced to the sound-spelling pattern for the short vowels ‘a’ and ‘o’. On Day 2 of the same week, students have the opportunity to encode words that include the sound-spelling pattern for the short vowels ‘a’ and ‘o’ in isolation using the Stepping Together Letter Cards a, b, g, o, p, and t (top, tap, tag, bag, bog, and bop) in the ‘Making Words’ activity. In the Module 1 Summative Assessment (found on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website), students apply encoding knowledge of previously taught sound-spelling patterns (the materials review all short vowels throughout Module 1) in connected text when they complete the Writing a Sentence portion of the assessment. The assessment provides the sentence to dictate for students to encode: "Come and look at the kid run."

Evaluation for 5.E.2a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials lack a coherent sequence for introducing regular and irregular words that align with the sound-spelling patterns taught in phonics. According to Appendix A of the teaching guide, sight words are introduced starting in module 1, with the words look, here, said, come, and. Four words are irregular high-frequency words because students can partially decode based on regular sound-spelling correspondences. According to Table 1-2 of the teaching guide, students focus on short vowel sounds in module 1, so there is no correspondence between the high-frequency words and the sound-spelling patterns taught in phonics. In module 2, the sight words introduced are went, they, down, will, and where, but the phonics instruction is focused on the digraphs ch, sh, and th. The materials introduced the final blend nt (as found in the word went) in module 4, week 1. The materials introduce the diphthong ow (as seen in the word down) in module 6, week 3.

Evaluation for 5.E.2b
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. (PR 2.A.1)

• According to chapter 5 of the teaching guide, sight words are introduced on day 2 and reinforced on day 4 of the typical weekly lesson plans provided in the lesson modules resource. Day 2 includes the Map the Letters, What’s Missing, and Mix It and Fix It activities. Day 4 consists of the activities Rug Writing and Write and Retrieve. Chapter 5 of the teaching guide outlines the directions for these activities, but the lesson plans do not provide detailed script instruction on teaching sight words. The lesson modules resource does not provide details or guidelines for the high-frequency words taught at the lesson or unit level. 
• The lesson modules resource does not include any scripts or explicitly defined strategies, nor does it include guidance about regular or irregular high-frequency words and how to apply decoding strategies (either to the whole word or parts of words).

Evaluation for 5.E.2c
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills to decode and encode regular and irregular high-frequency words (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The materials include various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) skills to decode regular and irregular high-frequency words. According to chapter 5 of the teaching guide, students develop sight words on day 2 of the typical weekly lesson plans in the lesson modules resource through the activities Map the Letters (in which students make "a line on the easel for each sound" and "write the letters spelling the sound on the lines"), What’s Missing (in which students are shown a high-frequency word with a missing letter and must tell the teacher which letter is missing) and Mix It and Fix It (in which students make the word using the Stepping Together Letter Cards included in the high-frequency word). The teaching guide directs teachers to "direct students’ attention to any irregular spellings (in this word, ai spells /e/)." For example, module 1, week 1, day 2, step 4 directs teachers to engage the students in Map the Letters, What’s Missing, and Mix It and Fix It for the sight word look. Day 4 of the lesson modules resource typically includes the activity decoding words in Decodable Text, in which students practice reading the sight word introduced the day prior. For example, module 1, week 1, day 4, step 3 directs teachers to "practice reading the sight word: look" within the Super Story The Dog in the Bog. The materials include reinforcement through cumulative review in the module assessments, in the "Phonemic Awareness and Reading Words" section, in which students must read all the high-frequency words introduced within the module. For example, students must read the sight word look in the module 1 summative assessment, and the words come, here, said, and and. Students develop, practice, and reinforce through cumulative review for regular high-frequency words (such as the sight word and in module 1) and irregular high-frequency words (such as the Sight Word said in module 1). 
• The materials include various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) skills to encode regular and irregular high-frequency words. As previously described, students develop encoding sight words on day 2 of the typical weekly lesson plans in the lesson modules resource through the Map the Letters, What’s Missing, and Mix It and Fix It activities. On day 4 of the typical weekly lesson plans in the lesson modules resource, students practice encoding the previously taught sight Word through Rug Writing (in which students use their index finger to "write" the sight word on the rug) and Write and Retrieve (in which the students write the sight word at the bottom of their ABC chart). For example, in module 1, week 1, day 4, step 4, students engage in Rug Writing and Write and Retrieve for the sight word look. The materials are reinforced through cumulative review through the module assessments in the "Writing a Sentence" section, in which students must write the high-frequency words introduced within the module along with encoding words that contain taught phonics skills. For example, students must write the sight word look in the module 1 summative assessment in the sentence "Come and look at the kid run." Students develop, practice, and reinforce through cumulative review for regular high-frequency words (such as the sight word and in module 1) and irregular high-frequency words (such as the sight word come in module 1).

Evaluation for 5.E.2d
Materials include a variety of activities and resources (including the use of memory-building strategies) for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in connected text (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A.1)

• There are a variety of activities and resources (including memory-building strategies) for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation in the lesson modules resource. Students recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation while participating in the Map the Letters, What’s Missing, Mix It and Fix It, Rug Writing, and Write and Retrieve activities (utilizing the Stepping Together Letter Cards, ABC chart, the rug, dry erase boards, etc.). For example, in module 1, week 1, students participate in Map the Letters, What’s Missing, Mix and Fix, Rug Writing, and Write and Retrieve with the sight word look. 
• There are a variety of activities and resources (including memory-building strategies) for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in connected text in the lesson modules resource. Students recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in the connected text while participating in the Decoding Words in Decodable Text, Dictated Sentence, Cut-Up Sentence, and Writing a Sentence (found in the modules summative assessments) activities (utilizing sentences to dictate, chart paper, sentence strips, Super Stories, etc.). For example, in module 1, week 1, students participate in Decoding Words in Decodable Text (using the Super Story The Dog in the Bog), Dictated Sentences, and Cut-Up Sentences (using the sentence "Look at the hat on the dog", chart paper, sound boxes, and sentence strips) with the sight word look.

Evaluation for 5.E.3a (grade 1 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types, as outlined in the TEKS. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials lack a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types and do not address syllable types. The only mention of syllables within the lesson modules resource is in modules 5, 6, and 7, in the Instructional Objectives and Strategies section in which teachers are alerted that students will "Blend sounds in each syllable to read a two-syllable [or multisyllabic] word."

Evaluation for 5.E.3a (grades 2 and 3 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types and division principles, as outlined in the TEKS. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials lack a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types and do not address syllable types. The only mention of syllables within the lesson modules resource is in modules 5, 6, and 7, in the Instructional Objectives and Strategies section in which teachers are alerted that students will "Blend sounds in each syllable to read a two-syllable [or multisyllabic] word."

Evaluation for 5.E.3b (grade 1 only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for applying knowledge of syllable types to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not provide teachers with guidance, terms, or phrasing about decoding and encoding one-syllable words by applying knowledge of syllable types. Students read and spell words without learning the syllable types. For example, in module 6, week 2, day 2, step 3, students make long vowel team ee words; however, there is no explicit instruction based on syllable types. The lesson states, "Have students step apart to break off the ending, then at the vowel: m-eet-ing. Hold your hand above students’ heads as they read the three parts."

Evaluation for 5.E.3b (grades 2 and 3 only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for applying knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not provide teachers with guidance, terms, or phrasing about decoding and encoding one-syllable words by applying knowledge of syllable types. Students read and spell words without learning the syllable types. For example, in module 6, week 2, day 2, step 3, students make long vowel team ee words; however, there is no explicit instruction based on syllable types. The lesson states, "Have students step apart to break off the ending, then at the vowel: m-eet-ing. Hold your hand above students’ heads as they read the three parts."

Evaluation for 5.E.3c
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice and reinforce skills to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The lesson module resource includes various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) skills to decode one-syllable words. For example, in module 5, week 1, day 1, step 3, students develop the skill of decoding one-syllable words (cape, gape, tape, and made) with the newly introduced long vowel pattern a_e in the Making Words activity. Students utilize the Stepping Together Letter Cards: a, c, d, g, e, m, p, and t to build and decode the words. Decoding one-syllable words with the same vowel pattern (a_e) is practiced the same week on day 4 in step 3, in which the students participate in Decoding Words in Decodable Text utilizing the Super Story Time to Bake. Reinforcement through cumulative review can be found in module 5, week 4, day 1, step 3, in which students practice applying letter-sound correspondence for the long vowel pattern a_e to decode the one-syllable words mate and slate in addition to decoding words with the more recently taught long vowel pattern u_e.
• The lesson module resource includes various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) skills to encode one-syllable words. For example, in module 1, week 1, day 2, step 3, students develop the skill of encoding words that include short vowels a and o using the Stepping Together Letter Cards a, b, g, o, p, and t (top, tap, tag, bag, bog, and bop) in the Making Words activity. Students practice this skill on day 3 of the same week in the step 3 activity, Sound Boxes. In this activity, students utilize Sound Box Cards and dry-erase markers to encode the words cap, mom, fan, not, and dog. In module 1, the summative assessment (found on the Stepping Together First Resources website), students reinforce this skill (through cumulative review) by completing the assessment Writing a Sentence portion. The assessment provides the sentence to dictate for students to encode: "Come and look at the kid run."

Evaluation for 5.E.3d (grade 1 only)
Materials include a variety of activities for students to practice decoding and encoding one-syllable or multisyllabic words, using knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles, in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The materials do not include various activities and resources for students to practice decoding and encoding one-syllable words using knowledge of syllable types in isolation and decodable text that builds on previous instruction. The lesson modules resource provides opportunities for students to decode and encode one-syllable words in isolation and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction; however, there is no instruction on the syllable types. Therefore, students do not have the opportunity to apply knowledge of syllable types to decode or encode one-syllable words. For example, in module 5, week 1, day 1, step 3, students decode and encode one-syllable words (cape, gape, tape, and made) in isolation using the Stepping Together Letter Cards: a, c, d, g, e, m, p, and t in the ‘Making Words’ activity. On day 4 in step 3 of the same week, students decode one-syllable words in a decodable connected text when they read the Super Story Time to Bake. In the Module 5 Summative Assessment (found on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website), students encode one-syllable words in the connected text when they complete the Writing Sentences portion of the assessment by encoding the sentences "There is a snake with a stripe right there. Do not chase after it."

Evaluation for 5.E.3d (grades 2 and 3 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to practice decoding and encoding one-syllable or multisyllabic words, using knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles, in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The materials do not include various activities and resources for students to practice decoding and encoding one-syllable words using knowledge of syllable types in isolation and decodable text that builds on previous instruction. The lesson modules resource provides opportunities for students to decode and encode one-syllable words in isolation and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction; however, there is no instruction on the syllable types. Therefore, students do not have the opportunity to apply knowledge of syllable types to decode or encode one-syllable words. For example, in module 5, week 1, day 1, step 3, students decode and encode one-syllable words (cape, gape, tape, and made) in isolation using the Stepping Together Letter Cards: a, c, d, g, e, m, p, and t in the ‘Making Words’ activity. On day 4 in step 3 of the same week, students decode one-syllable words in a decodable connected text when they read the Super Story Time to Bake. In the Module 5 Summative Assessment (found on the Stepping Together First Grade Resources website), students encode one-syllable words in the connected text when they complete the Writing Sentences portion of the assessment by encoding the sentences "There is a snake with a stripe right there. Do not chase after it."

Evaluation for 5.E.4a (grades 1–3 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level morphemes, as outlined in the TEKS. (PR 2.A.1)

• Appendix A: Scopes and Sequences of the teaching guide provides a scope and sequence of concepts taught throughout the year. However, it does not include instruction on the affixes -s, -ed’, or -ing. The lesson modules resource includes instruction on the affixes -ed and -ing, but not -s. The activities in the lesson modules resource do not introduce morphemes in a systematic sequence from least to most common and complex.

Evaluation for 5.E.4b (grades 1–3 only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for supporting recognition of common morphemes and using their meanings (e.g., affixes, roots, and base words) to support decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not include direct and explicit instruction for supporting recognition of common grade-level morphemes and their meanings to support decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension. The lesson modules resource does not include grade-level morpheme -s instruction. The lesson modules resource includes instruction with words that include grade-level morphemes -ed (such as in module 5, weeks 3 through 5 and module 6, week 1), and -ing (such as in module 1, weeks 4 and 5; module 2, week 4; module 3, week 4; module 5, week 1; module 6, weeks 1 through, and module 7, weeks 1 through 5). However, this instruction is implicit and does not support decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension. For example, in module 5, week 3, day 1, step 4, students are introduced to a word with the morpheme -ed. In this lesson component, the teacher points to the word started and says, "We can use a word we know to read a new word. What is a word you know that has the letters ar in it (car)? What letters are the same in these two words (ar)? Now let’s break this word and say each part: st-art-ed. What’s the word?". The morpheme -ed, included in the word started, is not addressed to support decoding, encoding, or reading comprehension. 
• The materials do not include direct and explicit instruction for supporting recognition of common grade-level morphemes and their meanings to support decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension. Another example is in module 1, week 4, day 1, step 4, in which students encounter the morpheme -ing. In this component of the lesson, the teacher points to the word sleeping and says, "This word has two parts: sleep and -ing. Let’s clap the word as I show you the parts. You will see the -ing ending on lots of words. What other words end in -ing (going, looking, seeing, playing)?". While included in the word sleeping, the morpheme -ing is not addressed to support decoding, encoding, or reading comprehension.

Evaluation for 5.E.4c (grades 1–3 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce grade-level morphological skills (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The materials lack evidence that students develop, practice, and reinforce grade-level morphological skills (affixes -s, -ed, and -ing). For example, in module 5, week 3, day 1, step 4, students are introduced to a word with the morpheme -ed (started), but they are not taught how the morpheme affects the word's meaning. Students practice and reinforce solving words with the suffix -ed ending without explicit instruction to develop the skill, such as in module 6, week 1, day 2, step 3 activity Breaking Big Words, in which students must read the words swayed and strayed. Students do not have the opportunity to practice or reinforce morphological skills (in this case, application or recognition of the meaning of the morpheme -ed).

Evaluation for 5.E.4d (grades 1–3 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to decode and encode words with morphemes in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The lesson modules resource includes an activity called Breaking Big Words in which the students utilize the Stepping Together Letter Cards resource to decode words in isolation. An example of students participating in Breaking Big Words with morphemes occurs in module 7, week 2, day 2, step 3, in which students decode blooming, swooping, and smoothed. 
• The lesson modules resource includes an activity called Analogy Charts in which the students utilize the Word Study Cards resource and dry-erase markers to encode words in isolation. An example of students participating in Analogy Charts with words with morphemes occurs in module 6, week 2, day 3, step 3, in which students encode sweeping, swaying, and spraying.
• The lesson modules resource includes an activity called Decoding Words in Decodable Text in which the students utilize the Super Stories resources to decode words in decodable connected text. For example, in module 6, week 2, day 4, step 3, students decode the word sweeping in the Super Story called Speedy Sweepers. 
• The materials include various activities and resources for students to encode words with morphemes in context. The lesson modules resource includes an activity called Dictated Sentences in which the students utilize the provided dictated sentence, chart paper, and sound boxes to encode words in decodable connected text. For example, module 2, week 4, day 2, step 4 includes the word shouted in the dictated sentence: "‘Shhh! You will wake up the lion if you jump on him,’ they shouted." The Stepping Together first-grade resources website also includes summative assessments. The writing sentences portion of the summative assessments includes the opportunity for students to encode words in decodable connected text. In module 6, the summative assessment, students encoded the word laughed in the sentence, "The old brown car had many spots of mud on it. Max saw the car and laughed."