In Tandem, Grade K

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

• The In Tandem Handbook includes a 48-lesson scope and sequence that outlines the phonics storybook, phonics skill, sight word, leveled reader, and instructional focus. "Appendix A: In Tandem Scopes and Sequences" does not include the ELPS. 
• The "In Tandem TEKS Student Expectations by Lesson" scope and sequence provides the TEKS for each component of the lesson for all 48 lessons. These components include phonological and phonemic awareness, reading words in isolation, phonics activities, phonics standards in reading, phonics standards in writing, PA/phonics standards in teaching point 1, and PA/phonics standards in teaching point 2. This lesson-level scope and sequence does not include the ELPS.
• Table 4-1 in the In Tandem Handbook provides a continuum of learning for specific phonic elements. For example, the table displays short vowels taught in lessons 7, 9, and 12 - 26.

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 a "Lesson Framework and Instructional Outlines" Section in the In Tandem Handbook, which outlines the structure for lessons 1-12 and 13-24. This guidance outlines the four steps to complete each day of the week. For example, the materials break lessons 13-24 into days 1-2, days 3-4, and day 5. On day 5, teachers assess students on skills learned during the week.
• The materials include a pacing guide in "Appendix A" of the In Tandem Handbook that outlines the phonics storybook, phonics skill, sight word, leveled reader, and instructional focus. Each lesson encompasses five instructional days for a total of 240 instructional days. 
• The materials do not include a pacing calendar to support implementing varying instructional calendars. The In Tandem Handbook recommends administering a beginning-of-the-year assessment to create small groups. It provides a pacing calendar after the assessment but does not include a yearly pacing guide.

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 In Tandem Handbook begins with research-based evidence supporting the importance of starting reading instruction with phonemic awareness. It emphasizes the need for explicit, strategic teaching to achieve fluency and comprehension. It includes a table titled "Ehri's Phases of Reading and the Phonics Continuum" that guides teachers through the phases of phonics instruction, ensuring effective reading development. Skills are taught in isolation and later applied to reading and writing contexts. This section provides the rationale of the unit order.
• "Chapter 3" in the In Tandem Handbook defines key terms related to phonemic awareness and underscores its role as a predictor of early reading success and fluency. 
• "Chapter 4" in the In Tandem Handbook introduces phonics and its role in building students' ability to process written language, laying the groundwork for fluent reading and writing. It explains how each phonics skill builds upon the last, supported by Table 4-1, which outlines the phonics elements covered in K-2 lessons in a structured sequence.
• The materials are divided into units that are structured in accordance with the Tandem Handbook’s rationale for the organization of the course and units. 

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

• "Chapter 3" in the In Tandem Handbook details the seven grade K-2 phonemic awareness activities. This chapter details how each activity works with other activities, provides explicit directions, includes photos of required materials, shows script samples from lesson cards, "Teacher Tip" boxes with ideas for teachers to prevent common errors, and QR codes to videos showing the activity in action. 
• "Chapter 4" in the In Tandem Handbook details the six grade K-2 phonics activities. This chapter details how each activity links with other activities, gives explicit directions, includes photos of required materials, shows script samples from lesson cards, features a "Teacher Tip" box for supporting students, provides a QR code to videos showing the activity in action, and a supplemental embedded technology box, when applicable.
• The materials provide weekly lesson plans with the four steps outlined for each day. The lesson cards provide the teacher with the teacher's support in implementing each lesson portion. "Lesson Card 17, Day 2" breaks down Step 1 into two activities. These activities include identifying sounds and letters, Bella and Rosie letter book, and letter formation. The card instructs teachers on how to complete the activity. 
• The materials do not provide guidance, protocols, or templates for unit internalization.

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 material as designed. For example, the "In Tandem Fidelity Implementation Checklist" supports administrators and coaches in monitoring the implementation of the product. The checklist components include scoring scale indicators of evident, work in progress, and not observed. There is also a section where observers can write notes. The checklist breaks down the components by logistics, Days 1-4 and Day 5. The lesson component checks are broken down into corresponding steps of the lesson and provide the evaluator with specific items to look for. For example, on Day 5, Step 1, "Partner Read," one indicator states, "Teacher is monitoring and encouraging appropriate listening skills or assessing decoding skills one-on-one with students." 
• The In Tandem Handbook provides guidance for coaches to support instructional coaches with implementing the materials as designed. Table 2-2 suggests using the "In Tandem Fidelity Implementation Checklist" as "a tool for coaches to provide feedback to teachers. Also, a tool for teachers to self-reflect."
• Administrators and instructional coaches can utilize teaching video tutorials found in Online Professional Learning Resources, downloadable resources, tool-kit materials, and QR codes. The materials include explicit guidance for coaches and administrators on the In Tandem 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.

• The materials do not break the lessons into units. However, they do provide "Getting Started Cards" for each grade-level kit. Each card provides the scope and sequence, materials, lesson framework, and components of each lesson. However, it does not provide background content knowledge or academic vocabulary. 
• The materials provide a digital Academic Language Glossary, which defines the academic vocabulary necessary to teach the concepts effectively. 
• The In Tandem Handbook provides summaries of chapters, including background information on specific concepts within each chapter. It outlines skill sets across phases such as pre-alphabetic, partial alphabetic, full alphabetic, and consolidated alphabetic. Table 1-1 correlates these phases with the phonics continuum.  

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 materials provide four letters for caregivers with suggestions on supporting student progress. They section the letters for lessons 1-12, 13-36, 37-43, and 44-48. The top of the letter provides the learning objectives for the upcoming lessons. The bottom of the letters include the same five activities to reinforce the learning. These include rereading, scavenger hunt, sight word tic-tac-toe, drawing and labeling pictures of items containing the phonics pattern, and writing a sentence with targeted skills. The materials provide the letters in English and Spanish. 
• The materials provide "In Tandem at Home" letters to be sent home after day 2 of the lesson plan. The guide instructs the teacher to fill out the take-home letter with the current phonics focus, review phonics focus, sight words, take-home story, digital reader (paired book), and activities. The letter includes a list of activities for the teacher to highlight for students to complete, or they can allow parents to select the activities they want to complete. The letter includes activity descriptions on the back to assist parents. The materials provide the letter in English and Spanish. 

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 structured, detailed lesson plans, which include questions, tasks, and materials required to meet the content and language standards. For example, "Lesson Card 13, Day 1, Step 1" provides instructions and materials for the "Letter Formation" activity. The guidance states, "Have students turn to page 49 in their activity books and trace the letter i with their pencil." Also, on "Lesson Card 6, Day 3, Step 1," the materials provide the teacher with directions on having students remove a letter from the easel while saying the sound. The lesson progresses to students tracing and writing the letter Dd in their activity book.
• The materials provide detailed, structured lesson plans which include instructional assessments aligned with the content and language standards. For example, on day 5 of every lesson plan, the teacher assesses students based on the content learned on days 1-4. While the teacher assesses students individually, the materials provide the rest of the class with an activity to complete. For example, on "Lesson Card 18," the materials give teacher guidance such as, "While students are rereading books, assess students one-on-one using Where Is the Hen?" The materials also provide a whole-class progress monitoring assessment.
• The materials do not provide daily objectives within the lesson plan, but they do provide an instructional focus. For example, on "Lesson Card 6," the "Phonics" focus is on initial consonants Ff and Hh. Every lesson card places the focus in a purple circle in the middle of the card.

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

• The "Lesson Frameworks" and "Instructional Outlines" section of the In Tandem Handbook provides suggested timing for each lesson component. The materials include detailed timing for each lesson step in parenthesis for days 1-4, for example, "Step 2: Developing Phonics Skills (3-5 minutes)." 
• The "Fidelity Implementation Checklist" outlines the suggested timing for each step from days 1 to 4. For example, step 1 should take 1-2 minutes, step 2 should take 1-2 minutes, step 3 should take 6-9 minutes, and step 4 should take 6-9 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 on the lesson cards for every lesson. For example, in Lesson 2 for grade K the following materials are listed: "Materials needed for each student: ABC chart card, write-on sleeve, dry-erase marker, Sound Box card, three pennies, pencils, magnetic letter trays with letters. Materials needed for the teacher: magnetic easel, magnetic letters, dry-erase marker, sentence strip, scissors, assessment recording form for Lessons 1–12."

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

• The materials feature a "Next Steps" section in the weekly lessons that includes suggestions for students to continue activities beyond the school day. For example, "Lesson Card 31, Day 2," states, "Remove the copy of Jen’s Pet Hen from students’ activity books and send it home with them to read to family members."
• An "In Tandem at Home" letter provides suggestions for families on practicing at home. Sight word hide-and-seek is an example of an activity included on this list. The activity description states, "Write the new and review words on index cards or sticky notes and hide them around the house. Your child will have fun searching for them. Have them read the word when they find it." The teacher provides the sight words to practice on the front of the letter.

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 "Phonics Survey" comprises three main assessments: letter knowledge and sounds, decoding, and encoding. These assessments vary in the types and tasks students complete. They determine the lesson students begin within the program. While students take this assessment at the beginning of the year, the materials state that the "Phonics Survey" can be given at any time if students progress and need to advance lessons.   
• The materials include formative assessments at the lesson level. Each weekly lesson card contains a progress monitoring activity, which is a formative assessment for the weekly objective. These assessments vary in the types of tasks and questions they include. For example, in Lesson 46, students read words in the book The Pond that contain the initial fl- blend. Then, they read one to two pages in a book while the teacher takes notes. Students also write words using the phonics pattern for the week and sight words. 
• The materials include summative and formative assessments at the unit level that vary in types of tasks and questions. For example, the Unit 2 assessment assesses students on phonological/phonemic awareness skills, decoding of words containing the phonics skill and sight words, and encoding words, sentences, and sight words.  

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

• The "Phonics Survey"  states in the first paragraph of the introduction sheet, "The data collected will help determine a starting place in the lesson sequence and provide information to guide you in supporting individual students during instruction." 
• "Chapter 8" of the In Tandem Handbook describes "Progress Monitoring" throughout the program. It states, "The goal of progress monitoring in these lessons is to assess whether students are grasping the decoding and encoding skills, sight word knowledge, and reading behaviors necessary for successful reading and writing."
• On day 5 of each lesson, teachers monitor students' progress on the weekly objectives. During the progress monitoring component, students reread a familiar book so teachers can track fluency and accuracy.

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

• The In Tandem Handbook provides guidance on how to deliver instructional assessments. For example, the "Letter Sound Assessment" specifies eight procedures the teacher should follow while administering the assessment. The assessment also states what the teacher should say, "Now we are going to look at the letters again so you can tell me what sound each letter spells. Point to the first lowercase letter in the first row. Start here and tell me the sound of each letter you know."
• "Chapter 1" in the In Tandem Handbook provides the procedures for all diagnostic assessments. The materials needed to complete each assessment are clearly labeled. The guides provide step-by-step directions as well as "Teaching Tips." The directions are explicit to ensure consistent and accurate administration. For example, the "Decoding Inventory" guides the teacher to tell the student, "Please read this word." Still, it also gives the teacher moves, including marking the word incorrect and moving on to the next word if the student takes more than five seconds to respond. An example of a tip includes, "To be correct, the student must give the natural pronunciation of the word without teacher support." 

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

• The materials do not include diagnostic assessments aligned with the TEKS, but they do include assessments aligned with the course objectives. For example, the "Phonics Survey" includes inventories testing specific instructional objectives, such as students' decoding of CVC words. The materials include a phonic elements assessment chart by grade level. For example, in grade K, the materials assess CVC words, words with digraphs, and blends. 
• The materials do not explicitly list the TEKS for the formative assessments at the end of each lesson. Still, they do list the TEKS for the whole lesson on the "Kindergarten TEKS Student Expectations by Lesson" chart in the In Tandem Handbook. 
• The materials provide summative assessments aligned to the objectives of the course. The summative assessments assess phonological/phonemic awareness skills, sight words, encoding, and decoding over the focus objectives throughout the unit. The materials do not provide TEKS alignment for the assessments.

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

• Instructional assessments do not include standards-aligned items at varying levels of complexity. The materials do not provide TEKS alignment to the diagnostic or formative assessments, but the formative assessments do align with the weekly focus. The assessment questions do not include items at varying levels of complexity. 

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

• "Chapter 1" in the In Tandem Handbook provides explicit instructions for interpreting the results of the diagnostic surveys provided. After administering the "Letter-Sound Assessment," the grade K "Phonics Survey" guide provides explicit guidance on whether students should receive the following assessment. For example, "If students can name more than 40 letters and at least 8 of the 26 sounds, then administer the CVC Decoding and Encoding Inventories." Teachers use the assessment results to place students in lesson groups. The materials provide scoring matrices to determine which lessons students should begin with. For instance, if a student scores a three-four on encoding accuracy and a two on decoding accuracy, it is recommended to start at lesson 25. 
• On the "Encoding Inventory Recording" sheet, a reflection column is provided for teachers to record observation notes. The form also provides guidance, such as "Circle those sounds that need to be taught during phonics instruction." The teacher uses this form to address weaknesses in the instruction. 

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 materials provide guidance on how to respond to student trends in assessment performance. After students take the "Letter-Sound Assessment," the materials provide teacher guidance based on their letter/sound knowledge. Students receive small group instruction with activities on their instructional level. 
• The In Tandem Handbook recommends activities for students who know fewer than 20 letter names and only a few sounds. It suggests including pre-alphabetic activities at the beginning of the lesson to help students learn phoneme-grapheme correspondences. These activities include the "Trace the Alphabet Book", "Name Puzzles," "Rainbow Writing," "Clap Syllables," "Work with Rhymes," and various letter-matching activities.
• Materials include guidance on responding after students complete the weekly progress monitoring assessment on day 5 of the lesson plan. Table 8-1 in the In Tandem Handbook provides guidance on using progress monitoring assessment data. The table breaks up into three sections of support: decoding, reading, and encoding/spelling. If a student does not achieve proficiency in decoding, one recommended suggestion is to "Reteach the phonic element using a different book." 

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

• The materials provide a student-friendly tracker students use to track their progress. The student data sheet allows students to track their progress on progress monitoring assessments across several lessons. Students record the lesson number and their scores from one to four. They track progress and growth in reading retelling, reading fluency, phonics spelling, and sight word spelling. 

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 structure lessons by using small group instruction. The program recommends regrouping frequently to ensure students receive the instruction they need. 
• The materials in the In Tandem Handbook include guidance for differentiated instruction, activities, and/or paired (scaffolded) lessons for students who have yet to reach proficiency in grade-level content and skills. They provide general guidance for grades K through 2. 
• "Table 4-4" in the In Tandem Handbook provides guidance for differentiating phonics activities within the lesson. The table uses an if-then format to match teacher observations to student behaviors to provide corrective feedback and lesson differentiation. For example, if a student struggles with making words with different phonics elements, it suggests only focusing on words with the target phonic element. 
• "Table 3-2" in the In Tandem Handbook provides guidance for differentiating phonemic awareness activities within the lesson. The table uses an if-then format to match teacher observations to student behaviors to provide corrective feedback and lesson differentiation. The materials provide scaffolds for letter sound identification, letter sorting, blending, segmenting, adding/deleting, and substituting.

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 supports for unfamiliar vocabulary in text. For example, they provide a "Vocabulary Scope and Sequence" that provides the words used within the program and a procedure for introducing new vocabulary words. The procedure prompts the teacher to provide a student-friendly definition, connect the word to something familiar, describe the word's usage in the text, and have students orally use the word in a sentence.
• The materials provide graphic organizers to support students’ vocabulary development. Students write the unfamiliar word, define it, write a synonym/antonym, and draw a picture representing the word. They use these during centers and independent time. 

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 In Tandem Handbook recommends frequent regrouping of instructional groups to ensure that instruction meets the needs of all students. Students receive different levels of instruction depending on their assessment and observation data.
• Materials include teacher guidance for enrichment activities for students proficient in grade-level content and skill. "Table 4-4" in the In Tandem Handbook provides teacher guidance on extending activities with students based on observational data during phonics activities. When students write words with the correct letters to spell each sound fluently, the table suggests, "Have the student produce and write an additional word containing the phonic element." 
• Materials include teacher guidance for extension activities for students proficient in grade-level content and skill. "Table 4-4" in the In Tandem Handbook provides teacher guidance on extending activities with students based on observational data during phonics activities. When students make words, if they can successfully select the correct letters to represent sounds, the table provides two suggestions for extending the lesson. For example, "Add blends and or digraphs to a series that contains only CVC words (e.g., sap, sat, mat, map, cap, CLAP)." 
• "Table 6-2" in the In Tandem Handbook provides guidance on differentiation with comprehension. For example, if students ask and answer literal questions, they should also ask and answer inferential questions. 

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 materials include prompts and guidance to support teachers in modeling. For example, on "Lesson 13, Day 1," students learn the new sight word, "and." The materials state, "Model for students by saying the word, counting the sounds, and mapping the letters." After the teacher models this, students make the word. The graphic provided for this routine includes steps such as "Say the Word, Count the Sounds: 3, Map the Letters."  
• The In Tandem Handbook offers prompts and guidance to help teachers explain concepts. Table 3-3 provides explicit instruction on sounds. The table provides information on the sound, spelling placement in words, articulation movements, and possible corrective feedback. For example, for sound /a/, the table provides articulation movement guidance such as, " Your mouth is open and relaxed. Turn your voice on to make this sound. That means you will be able to feel your throat vibrate. This is a sound that can be stretched out (voiced, continuous)." It also provides guidance on supporting students who struggle with the sound. For example, it states, "Show the student how to let their tongue rest on the bottom of their mouth with a low arch." 
• The lessons include prompts and guidance to help the teacher communicate the concepts. For example, all lessons include "Step 3" on day 1, which states, "New Sight Word: Before we read the book, we are going to learn an important word that we will see in many stories." After the teacher introduces the word, students repeat the new sight word. 

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

• The materials guide and recommend effective lesson facilitation by offering active student participation, manipulatives, and engagement opportunities. For example, in "Lesson 46, Step 2," students actively move letters to spell words such as "red." They continue manipulating letters to create new words with different initial or final sounds. 
• The materials include guidance and recommendations for effective lesson delivery in small groups. For example, the In Tandem Handbook recommends using assessment data to form groups for small-group instruction. It provides guidance, such as keeping the group size between three and five students and not exceeding six. It also recommends keeping the group size smaller with students who need extra support or are not meeting grade-level expectations. 
• The In Tandem Handbook includes a detailed instructional outline of each lesson's four days. The guidance lists the lesson component, teacher actions, student actions, and the time allotted. For example, on "Step 2" of each day, students develop phonics skills. This takes three to five minutes. It states, "Students practice the week’s phonics skill using engaging activities that combine multiple modalities of learning." During this component, the teacher provides corrective feedback. 

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.

• Materials support guided, independent, and collaborative structures to support effective implementation. For example, on day 5 of the lesson, while the teacher assesses students individually, students read a familiar book with a partner. Throughout the week, students read independently using soft voices as the teacher works with individuals. During the "New Sight Word" component of the lesson, the teacher guides students through the routine of learning a new word. The teacher models saying the word, counting the sounds, and mapping the letters before students attempt this. 
• Materials include guidance for teachers to support effective implementation. The materials recommend delivering instruction in small groups. For example, the In Tandem Handbook explains the power of working with students in a small group as an opportunity to provide individual attention. Within the lessons, students work in small groups, with a partner, and individually. 

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 to engage students in increasing academic language. However, they do include general tips in the In Tandem Handbook section called "English Language Learners." 
• The Tandem Handbook provides general guidance that applies to all lessons and grade levels. An example of support includes: "To enhance oral language skills during book discussions, provide sentence starters to help EL students construct complete sentences. For further assistance, encourage students to use specific pages with illustrations or photographs as visual aids while discussing the book."

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 to support teachers in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs. The materials do not reference the ELPS within the curriculum and only include general guidance on supporting English Language Learners in the In Tandem Handbook.  
• The materials do provide guidance on implementing phonemic awareness with English language learners. For example, they suggest, "Adding gestures to the phonemic awareness activities such as tapping the table or using your fingers to count each phoneme will help students better hear sounds in words." 
• The materials also recommend adding additional time for demonstrating phoneme-grapheme correspondences by mapping letters with their sounds.

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.

• The materials do not include embedded guidance for teachers to support emergent bilingual students in developing academic vocabulary, creating comprehension, building background knowledge, and making cross-linguistic connections through oral and written discourse. The materials in the Tandem Handbook provide generic guidance for supporting emergent bilingual students. 
• Chapter 10, "Teaching English Language Learners," provides a section on vocabulary development. The vocabulary development section is divided into four categories: high-frequency, tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 words. The materials provide recommendations for supporting English Language Learners with reading and understanding these words. For example, when students encounter tier 1 work, it suggests using pictures, adding gestures when teaching the words, and having students talk about the pictures. 

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.

• The Tandem Handbook provides general guidance that applies to all lessons and grade levels. An example of support includes: "To enhance oral language skills during book discussions, provide sentence starters to help EL students construct complete sentences. For further assistance, encourage students to use specific pages with illustrations or photographs as visual aids while discussing the book."
• This curriculum is 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 include systematic and sequenced instruction of phonics (sound-symbol correspondence) skills. Table 4-1 in the In Tandem Handbook outlines the "Kindergarten Phonics Scope and Sequence." The materials introduce consonants Cc, Nn, Pp, Ss, Mm, and Vv in the first six lessons, then progress to short vowel /a/ and consonant Ss in "Lesson 7." The materials continue introducing the rest of the short vowels and consonants before a short vowel review in "Lesson 36." In "Lesson 37," the materials introduce blends and consonant digraphs.
• The materials include systematic and sequenced instruction of foundational skills. "Appendix B" in the In Tandem Handbook outlines the phonological and phonemic awareness TEKS by lesson. For example, in "Lesson 1," students identify the beginning sounds in the words "cat," "can," and "cup," and by "Lesson 48," students are substituting sounds in words. For example, students change the /sl/ in the word "slice" to /sp/ to create "spice." 

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

• The materials include intentional daily opportunities for phonics instruction. The In Tandem Handbook provides a "Lesson Framework" and "Instructional Outline" with time suggestions for each lesson step. Every lesson consists of four steps, but the focus of the step varies by day. On days 1 and 3, "Step 1" focuses on "Learning Letters" and "Fostering Phonemic Awareness," while on days 2 and 4, it focuses on "Reading Words." This step should take 1-2 minutes. "Step 2" focuses on "Developing Phonics Skills," "Step 3" involves "Reading Books," and "Step 4" centers on "Building Writing Skills." "Step 2" should take 3-5 minutes, "Step 3" should take 6-9 minutes, and "Step 4" should take 6-9 minutes.  
• The materials do not include explicit opportunities for phonics (sound-symbol correspondence). The phonics concepts are taught through guided activities and do not provide explicit explanations. For example, In "Lesson 6, Day 1," to introduce the letter Dd, the teacher says the words "dog, dish, Daisy." The teacher says, "Now let’s say these words together and listen for the sound at the beginning: dog, dish, Daisy." The teacher then asks students to identify the sound they hear at the beginning and then the letter name. The materials do not provide explicit instructions on the phonic concept.

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

• The materials include the practice of phonics skills in isolation. Students use "Sound Boxes" to segment words by sounds. For example, in "Lesson 6, Day 1," students segment words by sounds by pushing a chip into a box for each sound in the word dictated. Students then isolate the beginning sound. The teacher dictates the words "dish, dug, dot." 
• The materials include the practice of phonics skills through decodable texts. For example, in "Lesson 17, Day 1," students located short /u/ words in the decodable book The Bug before reading it independently. Students read words such as "bug, hut, cup, jug, mud, mug."

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

• The materials include opportunities for cumulative review of previously taught phonics skills. For example, in "Lesson 13, Day 1," students encode the words "dim" and "win" using "Sound Boxes." Students practice the lesson’s current phonics focus of the short vowel /i/ and the letter Dd from "Lesson 6" and Ww from "Lesson 8." 
• In "Lesson 48," students practice making words with letter magnets. The teacher instructs the students to pull down the letters Pp, Oo, and Tt from the provided letter magnets. Students read the word "pot." The teacher has the students change the word to "spot." The teacher continues to give clues on how to change words to make the words "spat, spit, spin, spun." These words continue the current lesson’s focus on the initial /sp/ blend while reviewing the short vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/ and the letters Tt and Nn. 

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

• Daily lessons do not include explicit instruction with teacher modeling. The materials give suggestions for modeling activities. For example, in "Lesson 44, Day 1," the materials provide teacher guidance such as, "Say the following words, emphasizing the initial blend: dress, drum, drip. Now let’s say these words together and listen for the sounds at the beginning: dress, drum, drip. What sounds do you hear at the beginning of these words? Say the sounds: /d/-/r/."
• The daily lessons do not include scripted, explicit instruction with the teacher modeling the instructional objective. For example, in "Lesson 6, Day 1," the teacher receives the following guidance, "Say the following words slowly one at a time: dish, dug, and dot. Model how to say each word slowly, pushing a penny or chip into a box for each sound." Students then say each word as they push a penny into each box before they isolate the beginning sound. The teacher models the activity students complete, not instruction on the phonics skill.  

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

• Daily lessons do not include explicit guided instruction, but the materials provide suggestions for guided instruction. For example, in "Lesson 26, Day 1," under the "Teaching Point," the only explicit instruction includes, "Turn to page 6. Listen as I read this page. Two words on this page sound and look similar." The rest includes teacher-suggested moves such as, "On the easel, write the words pig and dig. Run your finger under the words, linking the sounds with the letters. Point to the first letter and say the sound. Then have students read the two words. Remind them as they read to get a word started with the first sound and then look all the way through the word."
• Daily lessons do not include opportunities for immediate or corrective feedback. Lessons do not include embedded feedback, but the materials provide several tables in the In Tandem Handbook that offer general guidance for grades K -2 on providing corrective feedback. Table 4-4, provides corrective feedback for phonics activities. For example, if students struggle isolating phonemes while using sound boxes, the materials suggest, "Model how to say a word slowly, stretching the sounds while running your finger under the boxes. Have students repeat the process." 
• The materials do not embed immediate and corrective feedback within the lessons. However, Table 6-1 in the In Tandem Handbook provides five forms of corrective actions. The materials describe each type and provide an example of how it would sound in action. An example of "Explicit Correct Answer Feedback" includes, "You made a mistake here. The word is ball. Run your finger under the word and say the sounds." 

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

• Daily lessons include various opportunities for students to practice through independent work. For example, in "Lesson 28, Day 4," students read the book What’s for Dinner? independently. Students also independently write a sentence dictated by the teacher. For example, students write, "The dog food is not for you." Students circle the words with a short /o/ pattern in the sentence. 
• Daily lessons do not include a variety of opportunities for students to practice through collaborative learning. The materials do provide whole-group activities. For example, in "Lesson 3, Day 1," students echo-read page 2 of the book, Who Is in My Van? together. After students independently locate words that start with the letter Mm in the book, they echo-read words that begin with the letter Mm together. Students then echo-read the book together.

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

• The materials include intentional cumulative reviews throughout the curriculum. For example, students are introduced to the short vowel /i/ in "Lesson 12" and revisit this concept as a main focus in "Lesson 13," "Lesson 20," and "Lesson  23." 
• The materials include intentional practice activities throughout the curriculum. For example, in "Lesson 15, Day 1," students encode the words "box, fox, wax, tax" with magnetic letters. The lesson focuses on the letters Oo and Xx. Students previously learned the letters Bb in "Lesson 4," Ff in "Lesson 5," Ww in "Lesson 8," and Tt in "Lesson 6." 

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 "Lesson 3, Day 1," the materials provide a suggested lesson scripted for the teacher to introduce the letter Mm. It instructs the teacher to "Say the following words, emphasizing the beginning sound: mom, mat, mug. Now let’s say these words together and listen for the sound at the beginning: mom, mat, mug. What sound do you hear at the beginning of these words? Say the sound: /m/. Say the letter name: m." 
• In "Lesson 13," students read the books Tim the Pig and Marvin’s Friends. These books feature words with skills that teachers have not introduced yet, such as "lick," "likes," "friends," "rabbit," and "princess."

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

• The decodable texts incorporate the cumulative practice of taught phonics skills. The materials alternate between students reading the phonics storybook and leveled readers during "Step 3" of each lesson. The lessons do not indicate whether the book is a phonics storybook or a leveled reader, but the scope and sequence indicates this. For example, in "Lesson 40, Day 1," students read the leveled reader Chip Likes to Chew and read sentences such as, "It will be fun to chew on a shirt! It will be fun to chew on a shoe!" Students practice reading words that follow the "Lesson 40" phonics pattern, such as the digraph /sh/ and /ch/. Students practice reading CVC words with short vowels and consonants previously learned in lessons 1-36. The students also read words with unfamiliar patterns, such as the r-controlled vowel /ir/ and the vowel team /oe/.  
• The decodable texts incorporate the cumulative practice of taught phonics skills. For example, in "Lesson 15," students read the decodable book Who Can Hop. They read words such as "can," "hop," "mom," "yes," "no," and "too." Students practice the current lesson focus of short /o/ by reading the words "hop" and "mom." Students also practice previous phonics concepts, such as the letter Mm in "Lesson 3" and Hh in "Lesson 5."  

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

• Lessons include an instructional focus with opportunities for practice in isolation. For example, "Lesson 22, Day 1" provides instruction on short vowels /e/ and /o/. Then, students build words using these vowels using letter magnetics. Students make the words "wed," "wet," "let," "log," and "leg." After this, students use sound boxes to write teacher-dictated short /e/ and /o/ words. Students encode the words "let" and "box." 
• Lessons include an instructional focus with opportunities for practice in connected text. For example, in "Lesson 22, Day 1," students read the connected text, Where is Ben? while decoding words that match the lesson’s instructional focus of short /e/ and /o/. These words include "bed," "Ben," "jet," "box," "not," "pot," and "socks." 

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

• The materials include a variety of developmentally appropriate assessment tools. For example, the "Phonics Survey" includes several assessments, including the "Letter-Sound Assessment," "Decoding Inventory: CVC," and "Encoding Inventory: CVC." The materials suggest using other inventories if students reach mastery of these assessments. Students take this assessment at the beginning of the year to determine their lesson placement within the curriculum sequence. These assessment tools are developmentally appropriate. For example, on the "Letter-Sound Assessment," students name the uppercase and lowercase letters and say the sounds of each letter. 
• The materials include formative assessments on day 5 of each "Lesson Card." The assessments assess the phonics skills taught during days 1-4. For example, the phonics focus for "Lesson 48" is initial blend /sp/. On "Day 5," the teacher assesses students' decoding of words with the initial blend from the book Quack and the Fox. The teacher also assesses students' encoding of words such as "sped, spin, spot, spam."   

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

• The materials include clear, consistent directions for accurate assessment administration for the "Phonics Survey" assessments. The "Letter-Sound Assessment" provides a script of what to ask students. For example, "Step 2" states, "Can you tell me the name of some of these letters? Start here and tell me the names of the letters you know." The materials also provide teacher guidance, such as where to point before giving students directions. 
• The materials provide clear, consistent directions for accurately administering the weekly formative assessment on day 5 of the lesson card. For example, in "Lesson 38," when the teacher assesses students on decoding the materials, the directions are, "Point to a few words in the book containing the initial ch and ask them to read the words." The materials do not provide the words students should decode in the book.

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

• The progress monitoring tools do not systematically and accurately measure students’ acquisition of grade-level phonics skills. For example, in "Lesson 16," the materials prompt the teacher to "Point to a few words in the book containing short u and ask them to read the words." The weekly progress monitoring formative assessments do not assess students over the short /u/ vowel, which would connect to the "Letter-Sound Assessment" from the beginning of the year. The progress monitoring tool measures different concepts on each iteration, making it difficult to track student progress with discrete skills

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

• The materials include recommendations for formally assessing students at least three times during the school year: at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. The material provides the "Phonics Survey" to assess students three times a year. They also embed assessment opportunities at the end of each lesson to determine whether students are progressing adequately with the instruction provided. However, the day five assessments measure different concepts throughout the year. The "Phonics Survey" does not align with the weekly progress monitoring tools. After students take the assessment, the materials do not guide which progress monitoring tools to use and the frequency at which students should be progress monitored.

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 data-management tools for tracking individual student progress to make appropriate instructional decisions to accelerate instruction. "The Kindergarten Phonics Survey Tracker Form" allows teachers to record the results from all assessment components for the year's beginning, middle, and end. The teacher records the score for letter names, letter sounds, decoding CVC, encoding CVC, decoding initial/final digraphs, encoding initial/final digraphs, decoding initial blends, and encoding initial blends. The teacher also records the lesson placement at the bottom of each section. The teacher uses the provided "Scoring Matrix" to find the lesson placement depending on student assessment results.    

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

• The materials include tools for tracking whole-class student progress to analyze the patterns and needs of students. The materials include a "Forming Groups" chart allowing teachers to record students' names, placement, phonics focus, and notes. Teachers use this form to list the students in sequential order on lesson placement based on "Phonics Survey" results. 
• The materials also include a "Whole-Class Data Tracker" to input results from the "Phonics Survey." The teacher records the phonics skill placement, decoding, and encoding scores for the beginning, middle, and end of the year. 

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

• The materials do not provide guidance on determining the frequency of progress monitoring based on students' strengths and needs. The materials recommend giving the "Phonics Survey" at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. In the In Tandem Handbook, under the "Ongoing Progress Monitoring" section, it suggests reassessing students with the "Phonics Survey" if they have mastered targeted skills and need to advance in the lesson sequence. 
• The materials provide weekly formative assessments to assess skills taught during the week, but these skills track different concepts over time. For example, in "Lesson 36," the teacher assesses students on encoding and decoding CVC words; in "Lesson 37," the teacher assesses students on encoding and decoding CCVC words.    

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

• The materials include guidance on accelerating learning based on the progress monitoring data to reach mastery of specific concepts. They include diagnostic assessments to determine students' small-group and lesson placement. The In Tandem Handbook suggests reassessing students using the "Phonics Survey" to see if they have mastered targeted skills in their group.  
• Table 8-1 in the In Tandem Handbook provides general guidance on using progress monitoring assessment data. The table includes two main components: guidance for students who have yet to reach proficiency and guidance for students who have reached proficiency. It also provides instructional guidance for decoding, reading, and encoding/spelling. For example, if a student has not reached proficiency in decoding, one recommendation is to "Regroup students as needed within the lesson sequence." 

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. The materials provide opportunities to engage in discussions but do not provide scripting to encourage students to take turns, listen politely, or learn how to build upon the ideas of others. For example, in "Lesson 19, Day 3, Step 3," students engage in a book discussion and include teacher guidance on questions to ask. Examples of questions include, "Where is she?" and "What is she doing?" The materials include discussion prompts but lack systematic and explicit guidance for oral language development.
• The materials do not include explicit and systematic instructional guidance on developing oracy. They allow students to discuss after reading books but do not provide scripted guidance on modeling, speaking audibly, clearly, and politely conversing. 
• The materials include a digital resource, "How to Facilitate Effective Discussions," which describes oral language examples. 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 materials provide opportunities for different purposes to engage in social and academic communication. For example, in "Lesson 6, Day 1," after reading A Tiny Dog, the materials prompt the teacher to have students identify their favorite page in the book and discuss it. On "Day 2," students discuss "What are the tiny things Daisy has?"
• The materials provide opportunities for students to communicate with different audiences. For example, in "Lesson 36, Day 3," the materials prompt the teacher to have students discuss their favorite page in the book The Firefighter with a partner. Students engage in all other discussion questions during "Step 3" of the lesson in a whole group. 

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 materials provide opportunities within lesson plans for students to listen actively to understand information. For example, in "Lesson 45," students engage in a "Thumbs-up, Thumbs-down" routine to identify whether the beginning sounds are the same or different. Students listen to the words the teacher says, then put their thumbs up if they are the same and down if they are different. The materials do not provide prompts or guidance to ensure students listen actively to share information or ideas. 
• The materials provide opportunities within lesson plans for students to ask questions to understand information. In "Lesson 22, Day 4, Step 3," the materials prompt students to create what or how questions from the specified page. The materials do not provide prompts or guidance to ensure students ask questions to share information or ideas. 
• The materials provide opportunities within lesson plans for students to engage in discussion to understand and share information and ideas. For example, in "Lesson 13, Day 1, Step 3," students independently read a book titled Tim and the Pig, and then they share ideas and information about the characters by answering the questions: "What are some things Tim and the Pig like to do? What do you think their favorite thing to do is?" In "Lesson 20," students discuss identifying which vehicles travel by water, land, and air after viewing the "Glossary" of the book How Do We Get There?

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)

• Materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing letter names and their corresponding sounds. The materials do not teach a few consonants and a vowel, so students can quickly use letters to build and read words.  For example, in grade K, lessons 1-6 span six weeks, in which the teacher introduces a total of 12 consonants (letters Cc, Nn, Pp, Ss, Mm, Vv, Bb, Rr, Ff, Hh, Dd, and Tt) before introducing short vowel /a/ in "Lesson 7." Lessons 8-11 introduce the letters Ww, Qq, Gg, Kk, Ll, Jj, Xx, and Zz. The materials introduce the short vowel /i/ in "Lesson 12" with the consonant Yy. 
• In early lessons, students work with words like "map" before introducing the short vowel /a/. The materials cover 24 days of instruction before introducing short vowels to students. The lessons include six decodable books with vowel sounds before introducing them in "Lesson 7." While students only chorally read these books during days 1-4, they reread them with a partner. 

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)

• Materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction for teaching the identification of the 26 letters of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds. The materials provide teacher guidance on introducing the lowercase letters of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds, but they are not explicit. For example, in "Lesson 4, Day 1," the teacher uses the Bella and Rosie Letter Book: Bb to introduce the new letter. The materials guide the teacher to "Say the picture. Point to the first letter in each word and have students say the sound /b/ and then the letter name: b." 
• The materials provide another activity to connect letters to sounds. However, the materials do not include explicit instructions. In the "Identifying Sounds and Letters Routine" of "Lesson 4, Day 1," teacher guidance includes, "Say the following words, emphasizing the beginning sound: bag, bat, bed. Now let’s say these words together and listen for the sound at the beginning: bag, bat, bed. What sound do you hear at the beginning of these words? Say the sound: /b/. Say the letter name: b." The teacher does not explicitly teach letter names and sounds with this introductory activity.     
• The materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction for developing student automaticity in identifying the 26 uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds. The materials do not state or identify automaticity as a goal. Also, all letter representations in the lessons are lowercase, not uppercase.

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)

• Materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction for letter formation for the 26 upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet. The In Tandem Handbook provides verbal pathways for teachers to state when providing letter formation for all 26 letters. For example, guidance for uppercase "C" states, "Pull back and around." Lowercase "c" states, "Around like a c." The letter formation guidance does not provide specific, precise terms and phrases to clearly articulate the expectations for proper letter formation. The teacher's guidance does not include directions on where students should start writing on the paper or where they should end writing on the paper.
• The lesson plans do not provide explicit, systematic instruction for letter formation. The materials lack guidance on how to model, practice, and evaluate letter formation and do not include guidance on how to incorporate and practice fine and gross motor skills. Students engage in a letter formation activity after introducing a new letter. For example, In "Lesson 5, on Day 1," students engage in the "Letter Formation" activity where they trace the letter Ff with their finger in the activity book. The teacher's script states, "Around, down, across." The script does not provide explicit letter formation instruction. 

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)

• Materials include various activities for students to develop and practice alphabet knowledge in isolation and meaningful print. For example, "Lesson 8" includes activities guiding students to listen to the beginning sounds of words and identify the common beginning sound. Then, students say the sound they hear and the letter that makes that sound. Next, teachers read Bella and Rosie’s ABC Book: Ww while naming the picture on each page, pointing to the first letter in each word, and having students say the letter name and sound. Students then engage in a letter formation activity. Before reading Wag in the Zoo, students find words that start with the letter Ww. 
•  Cumulative review is embedded within the In Tandem lessons by the inherent nature of the lesson design. The phonics skills are taught in layered opportunities. For example, there is a lesson for short /a/, then another lesson for short /i/, then a lesson with both short /a/ and /i/ to cumulatively review those two short vowels.
• In Tandem lessons are designed to include multi-modal activities for the purpose of being memory-building strategies. For instance, the inclusion and use of the "ABC Chart Card" incorporates colorful pictures to create a sound-letter link. Magnetic letters are also used in various activities as a tactile memory-building strategy.

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 systematically introduce letter-sound relationships in an order that allows for application to basic decoding and encoding. The grade K "Scope and Sequence" shows a slow progression of consonant sounds in lessons 1-6. Each lesson includes four instructional days and one day for progress monitoring. Students learn two consonants a week for 12 consonant letters in the first six weeks of instruction. In "Lesson 7," students learn the short vowel /a/ and apply the letter-sound relationships to the basic encoding and decoding of VC and CVC words.
• The materials do not explicitly introduce letter-sound relationships for applying basic decoding and encoding. The materials provide guidance through activities for students to learn letter-sound relationships. For example, "Lesson 1" states, "Distribute the Sound Box Cards. Say the following words slowly, one at a time: cub, cut, and cat. Model how to say each word slowly, pushing a penny or chip into a box for each sound. Then, have students say each word slowly as they push a penny or chip into each box. Ask them to isolate the beginning sound in each word. Link the sound to the letter on the ABC Chart Card if they need help." The materials do not provide explicit instruction on consonant Cc. 

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 plans do not script the teacher’s direct and explicit instruction to connect phonemes to letters within words. Students only engage in activities such as Bella and Rosie Letter Book, "Making Words," "Breaking 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 Table 4-4 in the In Tandem Handbook, which provides general guidance for students who struggle with phonics skills. For example, if students struggle to select the correct letter to represent the sound, the chart suggests that the teacher "Reference the ABC Chart, Vowel Chart, or Digraph-Blend Chart." Additionally, the materials lack a recommended script for teachers to use.   

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)

• Materials include various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode one-syllable words in isolation. In "Lesson 29, students develop their understanding of decoding one-syllable words during Day 1, Step 2." In this step, students use letter magnets to create words with short /u/. During the activity, the teacher instructs the students to "Change the b to r and read the word: rag." Students practice decoding words in isolation during "Day 2, Step 2." The teacher writes the word "gum" on the easel, and students create it with their magnet letters. Students break the word at the vowel and read each part before putting it back together and reading the complete word. Students engage in these activities weekly to reinforce through cumulative review their previous letter-sound correspondence knowledge and practice new ones. 
• Materials include various 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 text. In "Lesson 41," students develop their letter-sound correspondence skills by locating the word "both" in the book The Moth in the Woods and framing the part of the word that says /th/. Students continue to develop their skills by reading the book independently. Students decode words such as "moth, path, Beth." Students then practice this skill by reading the list of words with digraph /th/ from the book and locating them within it. Students engage in these activities weekly to reinforce through cumulative review their previous letter-sound correspondence knowledge and practice new ones.

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)

• The materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing phonological awareness activities in accordance with grade-level TEKS, but they do include a systematic sequence for introducing rhyming. For example, in the first 12 lessons, five lessons include the opportunity for students to identify if a set of words rhymes. Then, seven lessons include opportunities for students to produce rhyming words. The materials then blend the rhyming skill with phoneme substitution and connected print. The materials do not include a systematic sequence for syllable awareness. The materials only include five-syllable awareness activities. Students do not identify syllables. Students blend syllables in lesson 13, segment syllables in lessons 3 and 7, and manipulate syllables in lessons 16 and 28.

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 materials do not include explicit instruction for teaching phonological awareness skills with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. For example, in lesson 6, day 2, step 3, students identify if words rhyme by putting a thumb up to indicate that the words rhyme. The materials do not guide teachers in providing explanatory feedback to address student errors and misconceptions about identifying rhymes. 
• The materials do not include explicit instruction for teaching phonological awareness skills with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. For example, in lesson 14, day 1, step 1, guidance states, "Say the following words, emphasizing the beginning sound: on, octopus, otter. Now let’s say these words together and listen for the sound at the beginning: on, octopus, otter. What sound do you hear at the beginning of these words? Say the sound: /o/. Say the letter name o." The materials do not provide feedback on addressing student misconceptions and errors with spoken alliteration.

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 materials do not include various activities to develop, practice, and reinforce phonological awareness skills connected to grade-level TEKS. The materials only include one rhyming activity in five lessons, allowing students to produce rhyming words. This activity occurs in lessons 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18. The materials include activities to address blending onset-rime in lessons 20, 22, 23, and 24. The materials do not include syllable or sentence awareness activities. 
• The materials do not include resources, including memory-building strategies, for students to develop, practice, and reinforce phonological awareness skills connected to grade-level TEKS. They do not include kinesthetic movements, manipulatives, stories, or other memory-building resources to support students in developing, practicing, and reinforcing phonological awareness 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)

• The materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing phonemic awareness activities. In Lessons 1-12, students identify initial phonemes. The materials introduce blending phonemes in lesson 13. In lesson 25, students substitute the rime of words. In lesson 32, students segment phonemes in words.

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 plans include phrasing and statements for teachers to use during instruction. For example, in kindergarten, lesson 14, day 3, step 1, blending, guidance states, "Model blending /t/ op, top. Have students blend the sounds to say the whole word: /h/ op, /b/ og, /m/ op, /h/ og." The lessons suggest activities for phonemic awareness rather than providing specific terms, phrasing, and statements for teachers to use during instruction. The materials do not include feedback for students based on common errors, and misconceptions students might have with blending phonemes. 
• The materials include phrasing and statements for teachers to use during instruction. For example, in lesson 40, day 1, step 1, substituting, guidance states, "Model substituting by saying: chin, change /ch/ to /sh/, shin. Repeat the process with the following: ship, change /sh/ to /ch/, chip. Cheer, change /ch/ to /sh/, sheer." The materials do not include feedback for students based on common errors, and misconceptions students might have about substituting phonemes.

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)

• Materials include explicit (direct) guidance for connecting phonemic awareness skills to the alphabetic principle to support students transitioning from oral language activities to basic encoding and decoding. The materials provide phrasing and statements that teachers can use during core instruction for connecting phonemic awareness skills to the alphabetic principle to support students in the transition from oral language activities to basic decoding and encoding. For example, in lesson 29, day 1, step 1, the guidance states, "I will say two words, and we will listen to the middle vowel sound of each one. If the vowel sounds are the same, put your thumb up. If the vowel sounds are different, put your thumb down. Model with the first pair of words. Repeat these words after me: bud, bad (minimal contrast words used here so that the student is required to auditorily discriminate between the medial vowel sounds). Let’s repeat these words, stretching the middle vowel sound: b-uuu-d, b-aaa-d. Put your thumb up if the vowel sound is the same. Put your thumb down if it is different. Repeat with the following pairs of words: (cub, tub), (bug, big). The lesson continues in step 2 with having students make words, "Have students remove the following letters from their trays: a, b, g, i, n, r, and u. Pull down the letters b, u, n and read the word (this requires students to decode). Make the word: bug. Change the u to i and read the word: big (NOTE: these words were practiced in the step immediately before in the PA Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down activity) Make the word: bag. Change the b to r and read the word: rag. Make the word: rug."

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)

• Materials include a variety of activities and resources to develop and reinforce phonemic awareness skills. For example, students develop blending skills in lesson 13, step 1. The teacher says the sounds and students blend to make the word. Students continue to practice this skill in lesson 14 using the same activity. Students reinforce this skill through the activity Building Writing Skills. After students encode words in the sound box, they run their fingers under each letter, say the sounds, and read each word. During lesson 4, day 4, students read decodable words by segmenting each phoneme and blending them to read each word.
   

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)

• The materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level sound-spelling patterns, as outlined by the TEKS. The materials include phonics lessons that lack a sequence from simple to complex skills and concepts across the school year. For example, the materials introduce the first vowel in Lesson 7. Each lesson includes four instructional days, which means it takes 28 days of instruction until students encode and decode words with short vowels that they know. Also, the materials introduce the letter q in Lesson 9 but don’t introduce the short vowel u until Lesson 16.

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)

• Materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for grade-level sound-spelling patterns. The materials teach sound-spelling patterns through activities rather than explicit instruction. For example, in Lesson 44, Day 1, Step 2, the teacher guides students to create cvc and ccvc words using letter magnets. The teacher guide instructs the teacher on the letters to change to create new words. For example, "Make the word: rig. Change the g to b and read the word: rib." Then, in Step 4, the guidance states, "Distribute the Sound Box Cards. Dictate the following words: drum and drip. Have students say each word and write one sound in each box. After they write each word, have students check the letters with the sounds by saying the word slowly as they run their finger under the word." However, the script does not provide explicit instructions about the spelling pattern.

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 materials include activities for students to develop and practice sound-spelling patterns. Students develop sound-spelling patterns during the Making Words activity of each lesson. Students start by creating the word the teacher dictates with letter magnets and change a letter to create a new word based on teacher directives. For example, in Lesson 25, Day 1, students create the word tad and change the letter d to n to create tan. Students continue to practice this skill in the Building Writing Skills component of the lesson. Students use Sound Boxes to encode the words the teacher dictates. For example, in Lesson 25, Day 1, students encode the words tax and cab. 
• Students engage in these activities weekly to reinforce through cumulative review their previous sound-spelling patterns and practice new ones.

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 materials include various activities and resources to support students in decoding words, including taught sound-spelling patterns in isolation and connected text. Students practice decoding words in isolation by reading decodable words in the Student Activity book. For example, in Lesson 37, students read words such as hut, shut, hack, and shack. Students decode words in connected text by reading a decodable reader with taught-sound spelling patterns. For example, after learning the initial digraph sh, students read the decodable reader, Shoo, Cat, Shoo! 
• Materials include various activities and resources to support students in encoding words that include taught sound-spelling patterns in isolation and connected text. Students practice encoding in isolation through the Making Words and Building Writing Skills activities. In the Making Words activity, students use letter magnets to manipulate letters to create new words. In the Building Writing Skills activity, students use Sound Boxes to encode words that the teacher dictates. Students also practice encoding with connected text during the Building Writing Skills component. Students encode a dictated sentence from the connected text in the Student Activity book. Students then circle the targeted pattern. For example, in Lesson 37, Day 4, students encode the sentence, "Oliver went to nap in the shed." Then, they circle words with the initial sh.

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

• Materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing regular high-frequency words. The materials lack a coherent sequence for introducing regular words that align with the sound-spelling patterns taught in phonics. For example, the materials introduce the sight word, at, in lesson 6 but do not teach short vowel a until lesson 7, making this sight word irregular for students. 
• Materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing irregular high-frequency words. No background knowledge/guidance or alignment to the phonics focus suggests a systematic sequence. For example, the materials lack a coherent sequence for introducing irregular words that align with the sound-spelling patterns learned in phonics. For example, the materials introduce the sight word is in lesson 4, but don’t introduce the short vowel i until lesson 12. This does not allow students to use their knowledge to identify the regular parts in irregular high-frequency words.

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)

• Materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for decoding and encoding irregular high-frequency words. The materials include sample scripts and explicit activities for encoding and decoding irregular high-frequency words. For example, in lesson 24, the New Sight Word activity states, "Model for students by saying the word, counting the sounds, and mapping the letters. Have students make the word here out of magnetic letters." The materials provide the number of sounds for the teacher but do not provide explicit instruction for connecting the sounds to letters. There is no indication or background knowledge for the teacher about the specific features of the word and if it is irregular for the student within the sequence of the curriculum. 
• Materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for decoding and encoding regular high-frequency words. The materials use sight words, and the sequence correlates with the decodable readers so some regular high-frequency words are considered irregular to students. Chapter 6 of the In Tandem handbook, regarding procedures for the New Sight Word activity, states, "After students make an irregularly spelled high-frequency word with magnetic letters, have them use their index fingers to frame the ‘tricky part’ or parts that are irregularly spelled." However, this guidance appears outside the lesson cards, and there is no indication for teachers when the word is irregular for the student at that point in the sequence of skills taught.

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)

• Materials include various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills to decode and encode irregular high-frequency words. For example, the materials introduce sight words on day 1 by modeling mapping the sound to words. Students develop the skill by using manipulative letters to build, break, and rebuild the sight word to read it. A picture supports the teacher’s knowledge of how to map the word. The word is practiced again in the Book Introduction activity; students find and read the word. On day 4, students read and write sight words new and previous sight words in the student activity book. Also, students write sight words in the dictated sentences routine.
• Materials include various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills to decode and encode regular high-frequency words. The materials follow the same routine used for irregular high-frequency words. For example, in In Tandem lesson 14, the phonics skill is short o, and the sight word that is explicitly taught is the word got. Students have learned consonants g and t. The materials introduce sight words on day 1 by modeling mapping the sound to words. Students develop the skill by using manipulative letters to build, break, and rebuild the sight word to read it. A picture supports the teacher’s knowledge of how to map the word. The word is practiced again in the Book Introduction activity; students find and read the word. On day 4, students read and write sight words new and previous sight words in the student activity book. Also, students write sight words in the dictated sentences routine.

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)

• Materials include various activities and resources for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation (e.g., word lists). For example, the New Sight Word activity supports recognition and reading the word in isolation by building it with manipulatives. Students practice encoding and decoding high-frequency words in isolation in the Read and Write Sight Words activity on day 2. Students chorally read the sight words in the student activity book and encode the sight words dictated by the teacher. 
• Materials include various activities and resources for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in connected text (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). The decodable text and dictated sentence activities support students in recognizing, reading, writing, and focusing on high-frequency words in context. For example, in lesson 25, students read the sight word look in the decodable text Wag is a Yappy Dog. Students encode sentences from the text, such as, "Look at Wag. Wag can see Dad and the cat."

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)

• This guidance is not applicable to the grade level.

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)

• This guidance is not applicable to the grade level.

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)

• This guidance is not applicable to the grade level.

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)

• This guidance is not applicable to the grade level.

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)

• Materials include various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills for decoding and encoding one-syllable words. For example, in Lesson 18, students develop the skill of encoding and decoding words during the Making Words component, in which they use letter magnets to create, manipulate, and read words such as hem, hen, pen, and pet. Students practice decoding words such as hen, pen, and net in the decodable reader. Students practice encoding sentences with one-syllable words in the Student Activity Book. Students engage in these activities weekly to reinforce these skills.

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)

• This guidance is not applicable to the grade level.

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)

• This guidance is not applicable to the grade level.

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)

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)

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)

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)