Program Information
- ISBN
- 9781948544016
- Copyright Type
- Proprietary
ELAR
Grade 7Publisher: StrongMind
Copyright: 2019
The quality review is the result of extensive evidence gathering and analysis by Texas educators of how well instructional materials satisfy the criteria for quality in the subject-specific rubric. Follow the links below to view the scores and read the evidence used to determine quality.
Section 1. English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) Alignment
Grade |
TEKS Student % |
TEKS Teacher % |
ELPS Student % |
ELPS Teacher % |
Grade 6 |
80.95% |
80.95% |
100% |
100% |
Grade 7 |
82.54% |
82.54% |
100% |
100% |
Grade 8 |
81.25% |
81.25% |
100% |
100% |
Section 2.
Section 3.
Section 4.
Section 5.
Section 6.
Section 7. Additional Information
Grade | TEKS Student % | TEKS Teacher % | ELPS Student % | ELPS Teacher % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Grade 7 | 82.54% | 82.54% | 100% | 100% |
The materials include some high-quality texts for ELAR instruction and cover a limited range of student interests. Some materials include well-crafted text, representing the quality of content and language, and writing by experts in various disciplines; however other texts contain a similar language complexity and depth, and published texts cycle through the school year. While the materials include some complex, traditional, and contemporary texts, no multicultural diverse text is included.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The materials include classical authors, such as Shakespeare and Walt Whitman, and well-known texts such as “Sonnet 130” and “Oh Captain! My Captian!” The materials include complex traditional texts, but many are excerpts from classical texts such as Alice in Wonderland and The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, which are used throughout multiple study units.
While the materials do include some contemporary texts, most are commissioned texts, not published pieces that represent high-quality works from experts in various fields. Examples of commissioned texts include “Life Goes On,” a contemporary text about growing up, “Dog Days Salon,” a contemporary text published by Key Data Systems, “Electric Vehicles,” which was used with permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, “Let Kids Play Safely and Protect Kids from Harm,” and “A Later Start for Health/Keep Start Times As They Are" which explore topics relevant to teenagers such as concussions in sports and later school start times. These texts are composed with a contemporary style, making them accessible and engaging to students.
In Units 1 through 5, students read excerpts from The Story of My Life, Helen Keller's autobiography, first published in 1903, detailing her early life, especially her experiences with Anne Sullivan.
In Unit 7, students read an adapted excerpt of Black Beauty, an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. The best-selling novel tells the story first-person from the horse’s point of view. Students also read excerpts from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The well-known fantasy novel, written in 1865, is popular with adults and children due to its fantastical characters and events, and imagery.
Unit 11 includes the work of Henry Howard, a 14th-century English Renaissance poet, "Sonnet 8 [Set me whereas the sun doth parch the green]" to illustrate the form and structure of the poetry, specifically sonnets. Later in the unit, historical texts are included for comparison, including three articles from The Evening Star newspaper (dated April 15, 1865), with "Oh, Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, and "Crimea," and "Charge of the Light Brigade by Victorian Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson. This unit’s selections contain archaic language and historical context, increasing its complexity.
In Unit 12, the study of poetic form and figurative language selections includes poems by "Life" by Charlotte Bronte, an English novelist and poet whose novels are classics of English literature, contains lines such as "If the shower will make the roses bloom,/O why lament its fall?" and "The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the most famous American poet in the 19th century, who writes, with rich descriptive lines, "But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;/The little waves, with their soft, white hands.”
The materials include a variety of text types and genres across content that meet the requirements of the TEKS for each grade level and include print and graphic features of a variety of texts.
Examples of literary texts include but are not limited to:
Examples of informational texts include but are not limited to:
Examples of print and graphical features include but are not limited to:
In Unit 2, the texts “Extreme Sports” by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and “What is a Rocket” by David Hitt, NASA Educational Technology Services both include images to support the text in the selection and help readers make connections with the content.
In Unit 3, students explore vicarious media and formats. Students watch a video of President Obama’s inaugural address and analyze how the medium of a text can impact the message.
In Unit 6, students review for the module exam by discussing previously taught skills. The review of figurative language includes two graphics that support figurative language. One image illustrates the phrase “it's raining cats and dogs,” and the other images support a couch potato's imagery.
In Unit 7, the text “A Horse Tale,” adapted from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, includes a digital card with an author's image and biography, which provides context for the reader to increase comprehension of the text, building background knowledge about the subject.
Unit 11 provides a video narration of the poem “Up-Hill” by Christina Rossetti. The video includes the poem's text written over related images. Digital cards of authors, including Rossetti and Shakespeare, include the author's likeness, biography, and interesting facts to provide background knowledge and historical context for the reader to increase comprehension of the text.
The materials include some texts to support students at an appropriate level of quantitative and qualitative complexity. However, a text-complexity analysis was not provided by the publisher.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
In Unit 1, the materials include an excerpt from The Story of My Life, written by Helen Keller. The text’s Lexile level is 1090, which is appropriate for the grade level.
In Unit 5, “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat,” by Winston Churchill has a Lexile level of 1100, appropriate for seventh grade.
In Unit 7, students read an excerpt of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, a Lexile of 1020, appropriate for seventh-grade students. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll has a Lexile level of 850.
Unit 9 has the text “Fishing for Luck” by Stacy Mantle with a Lexile level of 410L‒600L, below grade-level expectations.
Unit 10 includes “Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare, Lexile range 610‒800, and “Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth has a Lexile range of 810L‒1000L the text's complexity increases with archaic terms and complex allusions.
The text selections within the materials include public domain selections within appropriate Lexile measure. However, the usage, syntax, and context for cultural reference texts over 50 or 100 years old are typically more complex than contemporary texts. Other texts are commissioned pieces that do not have a qualified Lexile measure. The materials do not include components to identify points in the instruction that demonstrate qualitative complexity analyses. The publisher does not provide a rationale or suggestions for use.
The materials include questions and tasks that support students in analyzing and integrating knowledge, ideas, themes, and connections within and across texts. Some of the questions and tasks build conceptual knowledge, asking students to use previous learning to complete specific tasks. Many of the discussion board prompts allow students to have opportunities to make connections to personal experiences, other texts, and the world around them. Students also integrate multiple TEKS knowledge when using text evidence to identify and support big ideas, themes, and details.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
Unit 1 begins with a focus on determining literary and informational texts’ central ideas. The materials provide a review of using comprehension skills when reading. The following lesson includes the text “Great Hunters of the Sea” by Key Data Systems, highlighting how understanding the key points in a text supports determining the central idea. Finally, students read an excerpt of Helen Keller’s The Story of My Life and answer, “Which of the following quotes from The Story of My Life are explicit evidence of how Helen felt on the trip to Baltimore?”
In Unit 5, students analyze the figurative language of a text. The materials define the purpose and types of figurative language. Students are to “Read this paragraph from “Life in Mexico.” As you read, pay attention to the figurative language the author uses. Think about how the figurative language helps you understand the text.” Later in the unit, students read an “Excerpt of Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren” and consider “Which statement best expresses how Obama uses tone in this paragraph?” After reading “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat” by Winston Churchill, students analyze “the effect of this repetition” when Churchill repeats: “wage war,” “victory,” and “no survival.”
In Unit 8, materials support students in analyzing and integrating implicit evidence about story characters. The materials advise, “To remember...many aspects of indirect characterization think of 1) speech and dialogue; 2) thoughts, feelings, and beliefs; 3) relationships with other characters; 4) the effect of the character on others; 4) actions and reactions to events; and 5) appearance.” Students complete a writing task, “Describe a moment in your life when you learned an important lesson…” In the discussion board assignment for the unit, students support their points with specific experiences or knowledge.” Writing tasks allow students to connect to personal experiences and the world around them.
In Unit 9, connect to personal experiences, other texts, and the world around them and identify and discuss big ideas, themes, and details. Students note supporting details found in an excerpt from “Between Best Friends “ by Erika Tamar. The lesson explains, “The supporting details do more than explain the subject; they make the story personal.” and “...give the reader a sense of what it might have been like for a teen living during such a dangerous time.” Students make connections to personal experiences and the world around them as they read the passage. In Unit 9, students complete questions and tasks from “Anabel’s Discovery” by D.J. Vanas, including “Sum up the central idea in a few words” and tell “How is the central idea supported with details?”
The materials contain questions and tasks that require students to make inferences, draw conclusions about the author’s purpose and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. The materials also include opportunities for students to evaluate the stated or implied purposes of texts and analyze the author’s choices and how they influence the text’s meaning.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
In Unit 1, students focus on making inferences and using text evidence while reading an excerpt from Helen Keller's Story of My Life. The instructional materials provide explanations and examples of implicit and explicit evidence. One application opportunity is for students to read paragraphs 4 and 5 from Chapter 3 of The Story of My Life and “identify one piece of explicit evidence as well as one piece of implicit evidence about Helen's journey. Then, cite the evidence using the correct punctuation and references.”
In Unit 3, students analyze the author's purpose for crafting a text. After reading Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's “Drexel Commons Brochure/Is Drexel Commons Needed?” students determine “What is the author's purpose in writing this text?” Students then read “The Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Computers for Learning” and answer “Which words or phrases help you identify the author's perspective?”
In Unit 7, students analyze the author's choice for the point of view. The materials provide instruction about first-person, third-person omniscient, and third-person limited. After reading an excerpt of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty, students consider how “the third-person omniscient POV helps the reader understand each character's perspective.” In the following lesson, students analyze how point of view is developed and how different perspectives impact the reader.” Students apply their understanding by choosing a text with multiple perspectives and considering each point of view and why the author included it.
In Unit 10, students study drama structure, comparing drama and narratives. Students read an excerpt of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and two other dramas published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, An Adventure Around the Corner and Backstage Drama. Students study the types, structure, elements, and meaning of drama. After reading Backstage Drama, students answer questions such as “What do these stage directions help the reader understand? and which structure reveals that Malcolm did not originally want to be an actor?”
The materials include opportunities for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary by providing audio and in-context support. The materials do not contain scaffolds and support for educators to differentiate instruction for all learners. Also, materials do not contain a cohesive, yearlong plan for building academic vocabulary or applying words in appropriate contexts and across texts for all learners.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
Each unit contains a lesson overview highlighting the terms covered and a specific vocabulary development lesson. Odd-numbered lessons include a quiz over the vocabulary words. Even-numbered lessons include an additional language development lesson focused on improving students’ vocabulary knowledge. Students make flashcards or take notes for the given vocabulary. Students have access to the pronunciation of the vocabulary words using the audio feature. The lesson ends with multiple-choice questions as a check for understanding. However, the materials do not include a year-long plan demonstrating how the vocabulary builds throughout the year.
The materials provide opportunities for students to use audio support and practice the vocabulary words in context. The vocabulary and language skills lessons include the dictionary and translation options. However, each lesson has the same structure and no scaffolds or supports explicitly for teachers to differentiate the lessons based on learners' needs.
In Unit 1, the vocabulary words are hypnotize, jilt, latter, quench, and surge. Students Have access to the definition, part of speech, etymology, and use in sentences. The word quench is defined as a verb “to satisfy; to put out or extinguish” that is “from Old English -cwencan; similar to Old English -cwincan, “to vanish.” A photograph of a man drinking from a water bottle accompanies the sentence, “He had run more than two miles before he first stopped to quench his thirst.” A vocabulary quiz follows the lesson. Later in the units, students complete a lesson on Greek and Latin roots and a quiz.
In Unit 4, the words are gigantic, hinder, mourn, pastime, and utensil. As with every other unit, students have access to the definition, part of speech, etymology, an image, and use in sentences. Students make flashcards or take notes for the vocabulary words provided. Students again have access to the pronunciation of the vocabulary words using the audio feature. The language skills lesson discusses prepositions and subject-verb agreement with prepositional phrases.
In Unit 10, after introducing the vocabulary terms, there is a lesson on using indefinite pronouns in the three cases: subjective, objective, and possessive. The materials provide examples of partitives, universals, quantifiers, and sentences exemplifying correct usage. Students complete a quiz on the use of indefinite pronouns.
The materials do not include a clearly defined plan to support and hold students accountable as they engage in independent reading. Procedures and/or protocols, along with adequate support for teachers, are not provided to foster independent reading. Materials do not provide a plan for students to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time and do not include planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
Materials do not include a clearly defined plan to support and hold students accountable as they engage in independent reading. Procedures and/or protocols, along with adequate
support for teachers is not provided to foster independent reading. The materials include reading selections to complete assigned tasks but do not include independent reading expectations. In Unit 1, students focus on determining the central idea. The selections include Chapter 1 of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, “Origami,” and “Bored? Get a Board on Wheels!” both published by Key Data Systems. Students read the selection independently, but there are no protocols or procedures other than determining each selection's central idea.
Materials do not provide a plan for students to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time and do not include planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals. In Unit 4, students analyze an author's opinion and determine the text’s audience. The selections provided include Chapter 14 of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller and two selections published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, “Life without Libraries” and “Early to Bed, Early to Rise: The Importance of Sleep.” Students are expected to read all selections; no self-selection options are provided, and no accountability resources.
The materials provide support for students to develop writing skills across multiple text types throughout the course of the year. Students engage in writing tasks for a variety of purposes and audiences. Students have opportunities to write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Materials provide students opportunities to write informational texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Materials allow students to write argumentative texts, including research support, to influence a specific audience's attitudes or actions on specific issues. Materials provide students with opportunities to write correspondence in a professional structure.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
In Unit 2, students study the key ideas and details of informational texts by reading Chapter 6 of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. After analyzing informational texts' structure, students begin to write a five-paragraph researched, informational essay describing a historical figure they consider the most inspiring. The task includes providing a short history, a description of their life, their accomplishments, and explaining why they are inspiring. Students must use MLA style to properly cite three to five sources in the text and on a Works Cited page. Students begin by developing a topic and research questions.
In Unit 4, students write a multi-paragraph researched argument essay taking a position that reality television does or does not offer value to society. Students must provide a claim, three reasons to support the claim, and evidence from multiple sources. The essay must also address a counterargument and use MLA style to properly cite three to five sources both in the text and on a Works Cited page. The materials include lessons on building a claim, including developing an opinion, identifying support, and determining how to address a counterargument. Each part of the draft includes guidance on how to develop the writing. For example, students develop the introduction by creating a hook, background, and thesis statement. Before submitting the final draft, students revise for word choice and tone.
In Unit 5, students compose the essay started in Unit 2 in a series of steps, focusing on the introduction, body, and conclusion before revising and editing. The materials include support to help students develop their drafts. For example, before students build their body paragraphs, the materials provide details about topic sentences and supporting details. Students read informational texts throughout each step and apply their understanding while developing their draft. Additionally, in Unit 5, students apply their knowledge of claims and arguments to write a letter to a business, using formal style and a polite, respectful tone considering the purpose and audience for the chosen topic. Students either write a letter to their favorite potato chip company requesting a new flavor of a potato chip or to a television network to voice a complaint about the cancellation of a show they enjoyed. The letter must support the complaint with reasons and anecdotal evidence. The materials do not include specific lessons on developing a letter.
In Unit 8, students study the narrative elements of a plot when reading an excerpt of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Later in the unit, students apply their understanding of narrative elements by crafting a plot that follows the plot diagram. Students determine the main conflict in the writing activity and begin to organize the plot. Students consider where the story will begin, the main events, the climax, and the ending.
In Unit 10, students compose a sonnet about a time when they felt love, fear, or jealousy, focusing on one emotion using vivid, descriptive language. The sonnet must include the format and structure, figurative language, graphic elements, and meter.
The materials include written tasks that require students to respond using text evidence to support their ideas. Students demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge gained through analysis and synthesis of texts and justify their responses.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
In Unit 1, the materials focus on developing students' reading comprehension and response skills. Students learn about inferences and text evidence and implicit and explicit evidence in informational texts. Students choose one of two prompts to develop a personal response or reflection at the unit’s end. Prompt one is "tell about a time when you were able to convince a friend or family member to do or to believe something by using strong evidence in support of your position. Be sure to explain the evidence you used." Prompt 2 is to choose their favorite of the informational texts read within the unit. Students must write a response including reasons they liked this selection and offer evidence from the work to support them.
In Unit 1, students learn about central ideas, key details, and using text evidence. Students then choose one of the reading selections in this lesson, read the text to determine the central ideas and key elements of the text, and then use the skills learned earlier to write a three- to five-sentence objective summary.
In Unit 3, the materials address an author's purpose and perspective after reading an excerpt from The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. Students complete a discussion board post, considering either Hellen Keller's perspective or her teacher, Anne Sullivan. In a short paragraph, students explain that individual's view by considering the character's struggles and how they see the world. Students must use specific examples or textual evidence from research, the readings in this class, or their own experiences and knowledge.
In Unit 4, students analyze the author's perspective after reading The Story of My Life by Helen Keller and two informational texts focusing on determining how the author tries to persuade the reader. Students focus on reading and analyzing argumentative texts, compose a short paragraph explaining their interpretation of one of two quotations. Responses must include the student's opinion of what the quote means and why the author or character wrote or stated it. Specific examples of textual evidence from research, the readings in this class, or the student's own experiences and knowledge to support their response are required.
In Unit 4, students look for evidence as to whether a claim is supported in texts such as "Electric Vehicles" and "The Editor Speaks Out against Unfair Entertainment Fees." As students read, they consider types of evidence and how the authors use it to support their arguments. Students in the writing activity construct a thesis statement by stating their claim and three reasons to support the claim.
In Unit 9, students read about admirable people such as Lewis Carroll, Helen Keller, and The Brothers Grimm. Students write a short paragraph explaining why the person is admirable, including specific things the person did to make them worthy, the impact the person still has on the world today, and how they impacted them. The response must include specific examples or textual evidence from research, the readings in this class, or your own experiences and knowledge.
Writing skills and knowledge of conventions are applied in somewhat increasing complexity over the course of the year, with opportunities for students to publish their writing. Materials allow students to engage in the writing process elements (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text, provide practice opportunities, and apply academic language conventions in writing. Students do not have opportunities to engage in speaking tasks using the conventions of academic language. Grammar, punctuation, and usage skills are taught in and out of context, and materials provide editing practice in students' writing as the year continues.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
Throughout the materials, students engage in lessons learning about grammar, usage, and mechanics. The language skills portion of the lesson provides information about the focal grammar concept of the unit. In Unit 2, students learn how to use commas in restrictive and nonrestrictive elements, capitalization rules, and punctuation for quotations. Students then complete a language skills check, applying their understanding of the concepts. At the end of the unit, students edit their compositions for sentence variety, word choice, capitalization, and punctuation. In Unit 4, students learn about simple and compound sentences, and in Unit 5, the materials introduce subordinating conjunctions to provide support for composing complex sentences. At the end of the unit, students edit their essays, applying their knowledge of sentence structure.
Throughout the materials, all writing lessons are provided in a series of steps, allowing students to focus on demonstrating proficiency in one portion of the task at a time. Throughout Unit 4 and Unit 5, students compose an argumentative essay. To support students in understanding the components of an argumentative essay, the materials include reading skills lessons focused on analyzing claims and arguments, the author’s purpose, and supporting evidence. The writing skills lessons include brainstorming, building a claim, finding evidence, and outlining their information. Once students begin drafting the composition, the materials present the writing tasks in parts such as introduction, body, and conclusion to highlight the aspects of each part of the writing. After composing the draft, students revise for a thesis statement, paragraphs, sentences, transitional words and phrases, academic, formal style, and precise word choice. Students then edit for subject-verb agreement, verb tense, capitalization, and spelling.
In each unit, students engage in writing tasks and respond to multiple discussion board posts applying their understanding of academic language conventions. In every discussion board task, the directions for engaging in the discussion board are for students to “Remember that this is an academic discussion board. Stay on topic and use correct spelling and grammar.” For example, in Unit 5, students learn about commas and semicolons and the use of conjunctive adverbs. This allows students the opportunity to apply their understanding of when revising sentence structure in their argumentative essay. In Unit 9, students learn about misplaced and dangling modifiers in a two-part lesson. Then they complete a checkpoint with multiple-choice questions to assess their understanding of the concept.
In Unit 10 and Unit 11, students analyze poetry and compose their poems. After learning about the various mediums, students begin drafting a sonnet. One of the lessons in Unit 11 revisits figurative language, previously addressed in Units 5 and 10. After students have the structure for the sonnet, the materials include a lesson on meter, allowing students to compose their poems in steps to learn about and apply each component independently to ensure understanding of the poetic elements and an ability to use them in their writing.
The materials reviewed for grade 7 do not meet the criteria for this indicator. Opportunities for listening to text are minimal, with no opportunities to speak about the texts included. Students have opportunities to engage in the discussion board feature throughout the materials, commenting on their peers' posts and asking clarifying questions or extending the conversation. However, the materials do not include students' opportunities to engage in oral tasks, defending their claims with text evidence.
Evidence Includes but is not limited to:
The materials include an audio feature that allows students to listen to the texts; however, this is a general feature of the program, not specifically designed to address the texts being studied or as a means for students to demonstrate comprehension. The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in a discussion board throughout each lesson in the materials. They have the opportunity to share their opinions supported with text evidence and respond to peers; however, the materials do not include oral tasks for students to complete using text-supported claims.
In Unit 2, students choose one of the two people they have read about, Jane Goodall and Jack London, and explain why they are admirable in a short paragraph. Students must use specific examples or textual evidence from research, the readings in this class, or their own experiences and knowledge. While students are defending their opinion with text evidence, the response is submitted in written form; students do not have the opportunity to engage in actual discourse with their peers.
In Unit 11, students listen to the podcast “Promposals: When Teens Compete for Most Extravagant Prom Invitations” by Natalie Bettendorf and an excerpt from the speech “Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform” by President Barack Obama. However, the lesson's focus is on various forms of information and the specific characteristics and purposes of audio.
Also, in Unit 11, students engage in a lesson about listening to text audio. Students listen to “Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform” by Barak Obama and “Promposals: When Teens Compete For Most Extravagant Prom Proposals” by Natalie Bettendorf. However, the activity does not require students to participate in meaningful discourse.
While the materials provide guidance for engaging in discussion with peers, the tasks are limited to an online discussion board, so students have no opportunities to actively engage by speaking and listening during discussions. The materials do not include opportunities for students to engage in oral tasks, defending their claims with text evidence.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
Throughout the materials, students have an opportunity to engage in the discussion board feature, commenting on their peers' posts and asking clarifying questions or extending the conversation. The materials include guidance for students to post and respond to their peers' posts via the online discussion board. In each lesson, students practice composing multiple posts and responding to peers. Each discussion board prompt provides specific directions for the initial response and commenting on their peers' posts.
In Unit 1, students practice writing an objective summary. They choose one of the reading selections in the lesson to write a three- to five-sentence objective summary of the text to submit on the online discussion board. Later in the unit, students write responses to classmates' posts. They are encouraged to build on ideas, pose questions, or politely agree or disagree while supporting their response with evidence from the readings in this class or personal experiences and knowledge. Although guidance is provided for engaging in discussion with peers, the task is limited to an online discussion board, so students have no opportunities to actively engage by speaking and listening during discussions.
The materials do not include opportunities for students to give presentations or engage in performances.
The materials engage students in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry tasks and include identifying and summarizing high-quality primary and secondary sources. The research opportunities within the materials do not grow in complexity as the year progresses. While the materials support students in organizing their ideas and information, there is no guidance or opportunity for presenting the research to the appropriate grade-level audience.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The materials include specific lessons on differentiating between primary and secondary sources. In Unit 1, the materials state, “a primary source offers firsthand information about something. This means that the information comes directly from that source. Primary sources include eyewitness accounts, professional studies, interviews, and historical documents.” The materials define a secondary source as one which “relays information from a primary source. Secondary sources are not the original sources for information. Instead, they usually comment on or offer their view of the primary source’s information. Secondary sources include newspaper or magazine articles, encyclopedias, and school textbooks.” This information assists students in deciding which evidence is best to include in their research paper. In Unit 1, students begin learning general skills such as information sources, credible and accurate sources, paraphrasing information, and citing sources using MLA format to write a research paper. Students apply those skills in Unit 2 and Unit 3 to compose an informative essay describing an inspirational figure from history. Students determine the impact of television on society in a research-based argument essay in Unit 4 and Unit 5.
In Unit 2, students practice choosing a topic and composing a research question related to describing the historical figure they consider the most inspiring. Later in the unit, students are taught about various organizational structures and take a checkpoint quiz to assess their understanding. The following lesson requires students to develop their thesis statement and create an outline for their essay. In the next unit, students receive instruction on drafting the essay in small parts (introduction, body, and conclusions) before revising, editing, and submitting their essay. Students do not have opportunities to present their ideas to an audience.
The materials contain interconnected tasks that build student knowledge through questions and tasks that increase complexity throughout the year. Students build and apply knowledge and skills in reading and writing while using the discussion board as an opportunity to engage in academic discussion. Texts and tasks are coherently sequenced, requiring students to integrate ideas in individual texts and across multiple texts using evidence. Opportunities for increased independence are evident in the writing tasks, which include vocabulary, syntax, and fluency components.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
In Unit 1, the materials provide a review on using comprehension skills when reading. Students read “Great Hunters of the Sea” by Key Data Systems; the materials provide examples highlighting how understanding the key points in a text supports determining the central idea. Then students read an excerpt of Helen Keller’s The Story of My Life and answer, “Which of the following quotes from The Story of My Life are explicit evidence of how Helen felt on the trip to Baltimore?” Students focus on determining a topic in this unit, choosing credible sources, paraphrasing, and quoting to prepare them to begin drafting their research-informational essay in the following unit. In Unit 2, students begin applying their understanding of these writing skills to develop an informational essay supported with research. The unit focuses on students using their analytical skills to determine which graphics and media to incorporate and outline their ideas in an effective organizational structure. In Unit 3, students begin drafting the essay. The essay is composed to support students in developing a coherent, well-written essay for publication.
In Unit 5, students analyze the author’s use of figurative language in a text. The materials define the purpose and types of figurative languages, such as allusion, hyperbole, metaphor, and personification. Students read a paragraph from “Life in Mexico,” considering the author’s figurative language and how it helps the reader understand the text. Later in the unit, students apply their understanding after reading an excerpt of “Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren” and considering “Which statement best expresses how Obama uses tone in this paragraph?” After reading “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat” by Winston Churchill, students analyze the effect of the repetition when Churchill repeats: “wage war,” “victory,” and “no survival.” Students analyze connotation, word choice, and tone before applying those techniques to their argumentative essay when revising for content and style.
In Unit 8, students read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter III: “A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale,” Part 1, by Lewis Carroll, “Mayan Adventure” by Stacy Mantle, and “Benito's Ugly Bowl” by Joann Mazzio. While learning about the plot elements, the materials reference the previously read selections to increase students' understanding of plot, climax, conflict, setting, and character. Students compare narrative elements such as character motivation and interaction in multiple texts. Students read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter IV, “The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill,” Part 1, by Lewis Carroll, the short story “A Big Move,” and the teleplay “Uncharted Galaxies.” In the next lesson, students begin to apply their understanding of narrative elements by composing a narrative responding to the prompt “Write a personal narrative that describes a moment in your life when you learned an important lesson. Focus on a very small slice of your life, like one event or one day.” Later in the unit, students study Greek and Latin prefixes and roots. After learning about how prefixes work, some commonly used prefixes, and how prefixes change the meaning of words, students are asked to “Try adding one of the prefixes you learned to a word you know. What is the result? Is the new word the same part of speech or different?” Later in the unit, students complete a discussion board task responding to two prompts. One prompt is, “It is important to understand how to change words and use them in new ways that can make you a better reader and writer. Understanding how to properly use roots and affixes is one such skill that can improve your English language mastery.” Students compose a short paragraph, agreeing or disagreeing with the prompt and supporting their opinion with researched facts or statistics (include the source), information from the readings in this class, or specific experiences or knowledge.
In Unit 9, students read Chapter 5 of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and “Between Best Friends” by Erika Tamar to apply their learning to literary and informational genres. Students learn about the theme and supporting details. Students read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter V: Advice from a Caterpillar, Part 2, by Lewis Carroll, “Names Count” by Joann Mazzio, and “Every Picture Tells a Story” by Angela Shelf Medearis. The materials build on the previous lesson by asking students to determine the topic, central idea, supporting details, and the universal message or theme being communicated by the central idea and supporting details. At the end of the lesson, the checkpoint asks students to understand the central idea and theme. Questions include “One central idea in “From the Heart” is seen in the father’s words “a hearth has a heart.” Which details support that central idea?” and “A theme in “Satya and the Monkey” is that acts of kindness are often returned. How does the author of “Satya and the Monkey” develop the theme throughout the story?”
In Unit 11, the materials include lessons on various literary texts, including analyzing media. Students compare historical and fictional accounts of texts by reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 9, “The Mock-Turtle's Story,” and “The Brave William Tell,” and listening to “The William Tell Overture” by Gioachino Rossini. Students analyze media techniques and implicit and explicit details to determine the text's message. Later in the unit, students read and listen to Christina Rosetti's poem “Uphill” and the 1915 film version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and compare it to Chapter 8: “The Queen's Croquet-Ground,” Part 2. Students watch a film based on a book and determine what elements the filmmakers changed. Students consider why the changes were made and if they improve the story or not. Students compose a discussion board post responding to one of the following prompts: Explain your impression of the audio piece in “The Brave William Tell” and describe whether it helped you better understand the story. If it did not, explain your reasoning as well.”
The materials provide spiraling and scaffolded practice opportunities by supporting distributed practice over the course of the year. Most tasks require the integration of literacy skills that increase in independence.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The instructional materials include twelve units, each consisting of five lessons. Each of the first four lessons of each unit includes four paths: vocabulary and language, reading, writing, a checkpoint, and the last lesson of each unit includes a review and a unit exam. Each unit also includes a discussion board, where students communicate with peers. The sixth and twelfth units of the course are review units, which revisits the last five instruction units’ skills. The instructional units’ structure provides scaffolds for students to demonstrate proficiency in integrating literacy skills. For example, in reading, students begin the year reviewing reading comprehension and response skills. Students then apply their understanding of those skills as they read selections in subsequent lessons.
In Unit 1, students review reading comprehension skills such as asking questions while reading, making inferences, visualizing, synthesizing information, and monitoring comprehension. The materials include a graphic organizer to help students analyze texts in the materials and their independent reading. Students are encouraged to use the organizer throughout the year. Students apply their understanding of key ideas and details to compose an objective summary using the unit’s discussion board. In the following unit, students build on their knowledge of comprehension skills by analyzing the author's text structure and graphics and media in informational texts. In Unit 3, students continue analyzing informational texts' elements, including the author's purpose and the use of graphics and media, while drafting their research-based informational essay.
In Unit 1, students read texts focusing on identifying key ideas in the text, making inferences, and using text evidence. These skills are then applied when students understand key ideas and text evidence to compose a summary in Unit 2. In Unit 3, students engage in the writing process steps by composing their informational composition in a series of scaffolded steps. The materials provide a writing activity lesson before each section of the composition to support students in understanding how to draft the essay.
Throughout the materials, students have opportunities to engage in the writing process. In Unit 4, students analyze the art of persuasion by looking at texts and determining the author's claim and evaluating reasoning and evidence. In Unit 5, students begin to draft their argumentative essay building on the claim, evidence, and research support gathered in Unit 4.
In Unit 8, students analyze literary texts, focusing on the point of view, character, plot, setting, and theme. Students draft a literary narrative throughout Units 8 and 9 employing the elements discussed in Units 7 and 8. In Unit 10, students analyze the elements of poetry and draft their poems. Students also compare poems and compare historical events to fictional texts within Unit 11.
Throughout the materials, all writing lessons provide a series of steps, which allows students to focus on demonstrating proficiency in one portion of the task at a time. Throughout Units 4 and 5, students compose an argumentative essay. To support students in understanding the components of an argumentative essay, the materials include reading skills lessons focused on analyzing claims and arguments, the author's purpose, and supporting evidence. The writing skills lessons brainstorming, building a claim, finding evidence, and outlining their information. Once students begin drafting the composition, the materials present the writing tasks in parts such as introduction, body, and conclusion to highlight the aspects of each part of the writing.
In Unit 11, students analyze poetry and compose their poems. After learning about the various mediums, students begin drafting a sonnet. One of the lessons in Unit 11 revisits figurative language addressed in Unit 5. After students have the sonnet structure, the materials include a lesson on a meter, allowing students to compose their poems in steps to learn about and apply each component independently to ensure understanding of the poetic elements.
The materials do not include supports for students who demonstrate proficiency above grade level, such as planning and learning opportunities for students who demonstrate literacy skills above that expected at the grade level.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in workbook tasks, discussion boards, and lesson checkpoints for specific grade-level skills. However, The materials do not contain guidance for teachers to extend or differentiate learning opportunities for students who demonstrate literacy skills above grade level proficiency. Each unit consists of four lessons focused on specific grade-level language, reading, and writing skills. The fifth lesson in each unit contains an exam prep review, followed by a unit exam. All learners progress in the same sequence, with the same assignments, with no opportunity for extension or optional variation.
For example, In Unit 1, the materials begin with an introduction stating that students will focus on vocabulary development using Greek and Latin roots, determining a text’s central idea, and learning research methods for composing informational texts. The vocabulary lesson includes the words acute, anguish, improvise, humane, and torrent, followed by a lesson on Greek and Latin root words. The materials do not include additional words or tasks for students who are performing above grade level proficiency. Students then read three selections, an excerpt of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, and two informational articles with the purpose of finding the central idea. Additional selections are not provided to extend or differentiate for above-grade-level learners. The writing lesson focuses on determining a research question and understanding different sources. The materials do not suggest specific tasks designed to extend the learning to meet the needs of students performing above grade level proficiency.
The materials do not contain guidance for teachers to extend or differentiate learning opportunities for students who demonstrate literacy skills below grade level proficiency.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in workbook tasks, discussion boards, and lesson checkpoints for specific grade-level skills. However, The materials do not contain guidance for teachers to extend or differentiate learning opportunities for students who demonstrate literacy skills below grade level proficiency. Each unit consists of four lessons focused on specific grade-level language, reading, and writing skills. The fifth lesson in each unit contains an exam prep review, followed by a unit exam. All learners progress in the same sequence, with the same assignments, with no opportunity for differentiation or optional variation.
For example, in Unit 5, the materials begin with an introduction, which states that students will focus on vocabulary development by using context clues to determine a word’s meaning, identifying different types of figurative language, and drafting the introduction of their argument essay. The vocabulary lesson includes the words civics, contrast, gauge, intention, and punctuation, followed by a lesson on context clues. The materials do not include additional words, tasks, or strategies for students who perform below grade level proficiency. Students then read three selections, an excerpt of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, an autobiographical letter, and an informational article to analyze the author’s use of figurative language. The materials do not include additional selections to differentiate for below-grade level learners. The writing lesson focuses on composing an introduction for a researched, argumentative essay. The materials do not provide suggestions for specific tasks designed to scaffold the learning to meet the needs of students performing below grade level proficiency.
The materials provide some support for students to increase their English proficiency and development. The materials provide limited scaffolds, such as pictures to accompany some selections, footnotes, and an English dictionary. However, the materials do not include adapted text, native language support, cognates, summaries, realia, glossaries, bilingual dictionaries, and other modes of comprehensible input. The materials do not make strategic use of students' first language to linguistic, affective, cognitive, and academic development in English. Vocabulary is developed in connected discourse through the discussion board feature.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
Each unit consists of four lessons focused on specific language, reading, and writing skills. The unit begins outlining the unit's skills, followed by a series of alternating workbook lessons, a discussion board, and a checkpoint at the end of the task. Each unit’s fifth lesson contains an exam prep review, followed by a unit exam. All lessons are provided for all students without specific linguistic accommodations for various English language proficiency levels. Each lesson in the unit includes vocabulary development lessons and reading and writing skill supports that focus on developing academic vocabulary. Students engage in written discussion with their peers using academic vocabulary by responding to each lesson's discussion board posts.
The materials include audio support for many selections, allowing students to listen to the English texts, but native language support, adapted texts, and summaries are not available. The materials include an embedded translation option for 17 languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, German, Dutch, and Latvian. The embedded dictionary allows students to highlight and define words using an English dictionary, but a bilingual dictionary is not available.
The materials contain language and writing assignments that support an emerging awareness of English grammar, including sentence structure required by the ELPs. In Unit 1, materials address complex sentence structures such as appositive phrases, prepositional phrases, and adverb phrases. There is an opportunity for continued student practice for each language skills lesson. Also, Unit 1 provides instruction on Greek and Latin roots that include some cognates such as “graph” (write ), “aqua” (water), and “viv” (live), but do not include native language support or strategic use of students’ first language.
In Unit 2, students read chapter 6 of Helen Keller’s The Story of My Life. The materials include a brief background to provide a context for the current reading and hyperlinked footnotes for terms such as traverse, idiom, amenities, and verbatim. However, no native language support, pictures, cognates, or photos are included.
In unit 4, students consider two quotes, and they have to explain their interpretation of the quotation. Later in the unit, students respond to their peers’ interpretations by finding someone with a similar opinion, an interesting perspective, or a question without accommodations for linguistics at various English language proficiency levels as defined by the ELPs. Students are encouraged to use academic language and to be respectful and open-minded.
In Unit 9, students read literary and informational texts focusing on determining the central idea. The materials include a definition, explanation, and examples of the subject and supporting details in a text and determine the central idea. The lesson consists of pictures of a depiction of the Boston Tea Party, highlighting how historical events can be the subject of a text and a chef cooking fry bread to support students’ understanding of a previously read excerpt, “Annabel’s Discovery.” No additional linguistic support or scaffolds are provided to help English learners engage in the lesson.
The materials include assessments but do not include guidance for teachers and administrators to monitor progress or interpret and act on data yielded. The formative and summative assessments align with purpose and intended use but are not aligned to the TEKS. While the assessments align with the instructional content to assess student learning, the scoring information does not provide guidance for interpreting and responding to student performance.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
Each unit includes four lessons with a lesson checkpoint and a unit exam. The lesson checkpoints include multiple-choice questions to assess students’ understanding of vocabulary, language and usage, reading skills, and writing skills. For example, Unit 1, Lesson 2, includes questions about the vocabulary terms vigorous and agony, analysis of text evidence to support a central idea, and how to compose an objective summary. The unit exam is similar in structure to the lesson checkpoints, but it covers the materials taught throughout the unit, not just a lesson. Units 6 and 12 contain a review and midterm and final exam. The midterm exam has a writing section and an objective portion. The midterm writing assessment is a 90-minute timed response where students will write an argumentative paragraph taking a position on whether technology makes people feel more alone. The end-of-course writing exam is a personal narrative. The content of the objective portion of the midterm and end-of-course exams was not accessible.
The lesson checkpoints and unit assessments provide information about student accuracy on each question; however, there is no information about interpreting the results or responding to increased student mastery.
The questions on the lesson checkpoints and assessments are aligned to the unit’s instructional content; however, there is no information provided about how the questions specifically align with the TEKS.
The materials do not include support for teachers to identify or provide differentiated instruction to students to promote grade-level proficiency. The materials include only student-facing lessons and tasks. No support or guidance for teachers is included.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The materials do not include year-long plans for teachers to provide differentiated instruction to meet a range of learners' needs to ensure grade-level success. The materials do not provide guidance for teachers to engage students in multiple grouping (or other) structures. Teacher support is not included; reviewers found no evidence of differentiation to support students through multiple learning opportunities.
The materials are student-facing and do not include a teacher's edition or any annotations or support for engaging students in the materials or implementing ancillary and resource materials; reviewers found no student progress components.
The materials do not include annotations or ancillary materials as support for student learning or assistance for teachers.
The materials are student-facing and appear to be an independent study format. They do not include implementation support for teachers or administrators. A TEKS-aligned scope and sequence is not provided, nor do the materials include additional supports to help administrators support teachers in implementing the materials. Materials appear to include a year of instruction, but there is no pacing document to explain how to implement the materials based on a 180- or 220-day schedule.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The materials do not include a TEKS-aligned scope and sequence to assist teachers or administrators in implementing the materials. While the materials are arranged in sequential order, there is no explanation or rationale to explain the instructional design.
No additional support to assist teachers in implementing the materials is provided.
No additional support to assist administrators in facilitating teacher implementation of the materials is provided.
The materials reviewed did not include a pacing guide to support instructional schedules.
The visual design of the student edition is neither distracting nor chaotic. Materials include appropriate use of white space and design that supports and does not distract from student learning. Pictures and graphics are supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The materials are accessed through an online platform. The organization is very linear, with a sequential order to the presentation of the lessons. The materials contain a Dashboard that allows the user to access specific components of the platform. The Modules button gives students access to the lesson materials, quizzes, and assignments. The Syllabus button allows students to see all tasks required for completion of the course. Each module is organized by unit, and each task contains a hyperlink to allow students to access the content directly. The materials' actual layout includes a navigation bar across the left, allowing students to access the calendar, email, or help features easily. The content is centered on the page, and the right side of the screen includes appropriate whitespace to balance the content on the left.
All pictures and graphics are embedded within the lesson context and used as visual support to enhance students' understanding of the content. Each unit that includes vocabulary contains images for words that can be supported visually. For example, in Unit 1, students study the concept of a central idea. The materials include an embedded image of a graphic organizer that is a cluster map to determine a text's main idea. In Unit 4, when students read about claims and arguments about a topic on snacks at school, the materials include an image of students eating in a school setting. This allows students to build a context and make a connection with the materials. Examples similar to this are embedded throughout the materials.
The technology components included are appropriate for grade-level students and provide support for learning. The technology supports and enhances student learning as appropriate.
Evidence includes but is not limited to:
The digital materials support and enhance student learning. Students can access lessons, read assigned texts, complete exams, post responses within a discussion board, and type essays electronically. All components are clearly labeled within the structure of the module. The materials include hyperlinks to audio support in various languages as well as an embedded dictionary. The embedded audio and video clips are easy to access by simply pushing play. The navigation bar at the bottom of the screen allows students to toggle between tasks and quickly move between the assignments within a unit. The discussion board feature allows students to engage with peers in a virtual environment and even suggests using the “reply” feature to build on one another’s comments. The “Inbox” tab allows students to contact their teacher for support or assistance. No specific teacher guidance is provided to support teachers in utilizing the technology.
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