Kindergarten - Gateway 3
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Usability
Gateway 3 - Partially Meets Expectations | 76% |
|---|---|
Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports | 8 / 9 |
Criterion 3.2: Assessment | 8 / 10 |
Criterion 3.3: Student Supports | 3 / 6 |
Criterion 3.4: Intentional Design |
Materials include guidance to assist teachers in presenting the student and ancillary materials, providing sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions within the context of specific learning objectives. While the materials include this general teacher guidance, they only provide limited adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level concepts that the teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject; however, they do not contain adult-level explanations and examples of concepts beyond the current course. The Teacher Tools includes explanations of the instructional approaches for the program, including references to the research behind them and bibliographic credits connected to the research. The materials include correlation information for the ELA standards addressed throughout the grade level in both regular content and assessments. There are various types of assessments in the program, including unit content assessments, formative and summative assessments. While an answer key is provided for all assessments, there is insufficient guidance for interpreting student performance beyond the answer key. The materials do not offer accommodations for the assessments. Materials include general support throughout the program for all students; however, the materials do not share specifically which supports would benefit or target specific special populations. In addition, there are opportunities provided for grouping students. Still, the groupings do not vary in type and take place at the same part of each lesson, as the variation of the structure in lessons is limited. The program does not include digital technology or interactive tools for students to interact with. Although the teacher materials are presented in a digital manner, student materials are printed materials. Because the materials for students are printed, teacher guidance on incorporating technology is limited.
Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports
The program includes opportunities for teachers to effectively plan and utilize materials with integrity and to further develop their own understanding of the content.
Materials include guidance to assist teachers in presenting the student and ancillary materials, providing sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions within the context of specific learning objectives. While the materials include this general teacher guidance, they only provide limited adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level concepts that the teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject; however, they do not contain adult-level explanations and examples of concepts beyond the current course. The Teacher Tools includes explanations of the instructional approaches for the program, including references to the research behind them and bibliographic credits connected to the research. The materials also include correlation information for the ELA standards addressed throughout the grade level. The Unit Prep section contains a list of the standards covered in each unit and in each lesson for teacher use. Materials and lessons provide a list of texts needed for the unit. In every unit folder, the materials provide student handouts for all instructional activities. The materials do not include provisions for informing parents, students, or caregivers about the ELA program.
Indicator 3a
Materials provide teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials to support students' literacy development.
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 3a.
The materials include guidance to assist teachers in presenting the student and ancillary materials, providing sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions within the context of specific learning objectives. In each unit, links in the Enhanced Lesson Plan allow teachers to download student materials for use in the lessons. These materials include a vocabulary package and the option to turn the Target Task into student handouts. The Enhanced Lesson Plan also includes specific suggestions for how to incorporate materials within the lesson plan, including when to stop and ask questions. Each lesson contains one or more objectives for students to meet and a list of core and supporting Common Core Standards covered in the lesson.
Materials provide comprehensive guidance that will assist teachers in presenting the student and ancillary materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
A Unit Launch is included in each unit to help the teacher understand the unit. The Unit Launch includes five steps including, Introduction, Understanding the Text, Unit Essential Content, Key Reading Standards, and Working Toward Mastery.
Lessons offer guidance for teachers to support all students by Building Background and Accessing Prior Knowledge, and providing additional questions teachers can ask students to support them with the Key Questions.
Each non-writing lesson includes a five-minute Building Background and Engagement section to introduce the book and provide the necessary background knowledge.
Each Unit Summary includes a comprehensive list of the vocabulary for the unit Teachers also have access to the vocabulary package that includes a glossary with student-friendly definitions, word cards for display in the classroom, and a vocabulary worksheet for students. Each lesson also includes Google Slides that contain the lesson’s vocabulary word and an image that corresponds.
In the Unit Launch, Understanding the Text, the goal is to “build [teachers] understanding of how students might experience the core texts based on these interconnected aspects of text complexity.” In Unit 6 for example, there are What Makes the Text Complex and Your Students and These Texts subsections that are specific to the unit.
Materials include sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions that are presented within the context of the specific learning objectives. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, the materials offer guidance that highlights the content knowledge and connections for each unit. Within the unit, lessons provide sufficient and useful suggestions such as giving students sentence stems for the Building Deeper Meaning section. For example, in Lesson 4, the sentence stems, “I am...” are used to help students write about what they are and the things that make them special like the boy in the story.
In Unit 3, Lesson 1, the Building Background Engagement section includes background knowledge about fall. This supports the learning objective of brainstorming one or two questions about fall by asking and answering questions about details from a discussion.
In Unit 4, Lesson 11, students listen to Tito Puente, Mambo King by Monica Brown, which is read to the students in both Spanish and English. There are several language supports to help engage the students with bilingual books such as picking out a few key words in Spanish to introduce and practice with students.
In Unit 7, Lesson 14, students write a book about each stage in a butterfly’s life cycle. To support students with this writing task, the materials suggest providing students with a list of sequence words that they can use in their writing and encouraging students to use the class anchor charts from the previous lessons.
Indicator 3b
Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level/course-level concepts and concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.
The materials reviewed for Grade K partially meet the criteria for Indicator 3b.
The materials include limited adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level concepts that the teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject; however, they do not contain adult-level explanations and examples of concepts beyond the current course. Each unit provides a Unit Prep section that includes some additional contextual background, but it does not provide support in teaching grade-level concepts within the lesson plans. Explanations are included in the Teacher Tools of different aspects of the curriculum and teaching techniques or different strategies related to knowledge demands of each unit, but they are not lesson- or text-specific. The explanations of the concepts are specific to the approaches taken by the materials and do not provide any additional opportunity for teachers to expand their understanding of a concept.
Materials contain limited adult-level explanations and examples of more complex grade/course-level concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Teacher Tools, there are multiple sections that present specific information on how to prepare the unit, internalize a unit, and understand the different components of an ELA lesson.
In the Teacher Tools, Writing, there are specific full-length explanations of Learning to Write and Writing to Learn.
In the Teacher Tools, Supporting English Learners, there are explanations of Intellectually Preparing a Unit, Intellectually Preparing a Lesson, Scaffolds for English Learners, Engineering Texts, Oral Language Protocols, and Using Graphic Organizers as Scaffolds.
In the Teacher Tools, Progress Monitoring and Assessment, there are explanations of Categories to Progress Monitor, Types of Assessment for Progress Monitoring including Formative Assessments and Summative Assessments.
In the Vocabulary section of the Teacher Tools, there is an explanation of how the vocabulary is built into the unis and an explanation of how students build vocabulary through interacting with Tier II and Tier III words. There is then an in-depth explanation of how to teach the words within the text. There are no specific examples or modeling provided. There is further instruction for teachers in how to teach vocabulary through both an implicit and explicit approach with guidelines and strategies but no specific examples or modeling.
In the Teacher Tools, Providing Access to Complex Texts section, there are detailed explanations of what makes a text complex and how to provide access and support for more complex texts being used by students.
In Teacher Tools, Routines for Active Reading, there is an explanation of what active reading is and then more in-depth explanations of various forms of active reading, including Interactive Read Aloud, Shared Reading, Partner Reading, Small Group Reading, and Independent Reading.
In the Unit Launch section, the teacher is provided with an opportunity to internalize the essential questions of the unit. The teacher is provided with opportunities to explore the questions as well as sample answers to the questions. In the section “Considering Who and Where You Are,” the teacher is given an opportunity to reflect on biases or gaps in knowledge that might impact the teaching of the unit.
Materials contain limited adult-level explanations and examples of concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Unit Launch for each unit contains intellectual prep for the teacher, providing materials for the teacher to be prepared to teach the unit. The unit launch includes “a series of short video, targeted readings, and opportunities for action planning.” The Unit Launch for each of the units consists of four sections: Understanding the Text, Unit Essential Content, Key Reading Standards, and Working Toward Mastery. The online platform includes places for responses to be recorded and a Unit Launch Note Taker (K-2nd grade) is also included. For example, in Unit 6: What is Justice? the Unit Launch, Understanding the Text, helps the teacher to examine the texts and understand the complexity and examine how the texts may or may not connect to your students’ lives. The launch then examines the Unit Essential Content, focusing on the Essential Questions and potential answers to these questions by students. The Launch also includes Key Reading Standards, with questions to build meaning of the text; however, these focus on helping students to understand the texts and tasks of the unit, not learning beyond the focus of this unit. Working Towards Mastery focuses on preparing the teacher for what students need to know and be able to do in order to answer the reflection questions. No additional resources were provided to allow teachers to improve their own knowledge on the subject.
Indicator 3c
Materials include standards correlation information that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 3c.
The materials include correlation information for the ELA standards addressed throughout the grade level. The Standards Map for Kindergarten English Language Arts identifies the core and supporting standards for each unit. The Unit Prep section contains a list of the standards covered in each unit and in each lesson.
Correlation information is present for the ELA standards addressed throughout the grade level/series. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
For each unit, the Lesson Map table includes a list of addressed standards. At the beginning of each unit in the Unit Prep, there is also a section titled Common Core Standards, where the core and supporting standards are listed.
The end of each lesson in every unit includes a list of Common Core Standards and Supporting Standards, which are defined as “Standards that are practiced daily but are not priority standards for the unit.” All are hyperlinked to a pop-up window with the full text of the standard. For example, in Unit 5, Lesson 5, materials list Common Core Standards RL.K.2, RL.K.3, SL.K.1, and SL.K.6. Supporting standards listed include L.K.1d, RL.K.1, RL.K.7, and RL.K.10.
Explanations of the role of the specific grade-level/course-level ELA standards are present in the context of the series. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Unit Launch section of the curriculum includes an explanation for the key reading standards. The teacher works through unpacking the key understandings of the unit by answering questions concerning the standard and how it connects to the unit. Questions include, “What concrete information will students need to know in order to access this Key Understanding?” Teachers can also view the publisher’s response to the question. The next step is “Working Toward Mastery” where the teacher reflects on the skills and knowledge that students must develop to successfully answer the target tasks.
The Unit Launch for each unit includes a section entitled Unit Essential Content. Guidance notes, “The goal of this section is for you to review and fully understand the key content knowledge of a unit prior to teaching. Doing this work prior to teaching the unit will help you ensure that students internalize the key content knowledge by the end of the unit.”
In the Unit Essential Content section, materials describe Key Reading Standards.
“For each unit, we have identified a few core reading standards, and broken them down into Key Understandings. Key Understandings are what students need to know and understand about the core standards in order to build meaning. These Key Understandings should never be taught in isolation; they are meant to be used to deepen understanding of the texts and content”.
For each key understanding, teachers reflect on the concrete information students need to know in order to access the Key Understanding and how the understanding will support students with the texts and tasks of the unit.
The Unit Prep for each unit includes a reading focus area, a writing focus area, and a speaking and listening focus area. At times, materials tag these areas to specific standards.
Indicator 3d
Materials provide strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
Indicator 3e
Materials provide explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 3e.
The materials explain the instructional approaches of the program and include an annotated bibliography that references the research-based strategies. The Teacher Tools includes explanations of the instructional approaches for the program, including references to the research behind them and bibliographic credits connected to the research. Materials provide a concise explanation of each ELA component and explain how the program is designed to teach the components to accomplish the stated goals.
Materials explain the instructional approaches of the program. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Teacher Tools provides an explanation of how the materials approach each ELA component:
In Writing, Approach to Language and Grammar Instruction, the explanation states: “Language and writing instruction are embedded within all Fishtank ELA units from K-12. Language instruction is a powerful tool to help students understand the decisions authors make and how they impact the effect their writing has on readers. Learning grammar and mechanics is about studying the intentional decisions authors make, noticing the power of different punctuation, sentence structures, and craft choices, and then trying out those strategies in their own writing. When learning different grammatical structures students zoom in on sentences to notice the connection between mechanics, craft, style, and meaning. Language instruction isn’t separate from reading instruction, because the connection between language and the author’s craft is integral. Because language instruction is so deeply connected to reading instruction, it should not be taught in isolation. And as far back as 1936, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) found that formal teaching of grammar and mechanics had little effect on students’ writing and even had deleterious effects on student writing when it displaced writing time. Instead, language instruction should be organically embedded into all aspects of reading and writing so that students can authentically grapple with and understand how different structures impact meaning.”
In Reading Structures and Routines, Interactive Read Aloud, the explanation states: “We use the word interactive because kids should be doing some of the heavy comprehension work during the reading aloud, the teacher shouldn’t be doing all the work.”
In Reading Structures and Routines, the explanation states that the goal of the curriculum is to build independent and strategic learners. The approach is explained as providing students with multiple opportunities to interact with a wide variety of texts independently with the goal of having students read the core texts independently with little support.
In Vocabulary, the explanation states: “Vocabulary development is intentionally built within all Fishtank ELA units. Within units, students build their academic vocabulary by learning and interacting with Tier II and Tier III vocabulary words that are essential for unlocking the meaning of the text, task, or topic. Throughout the unit, students have multiple opportunities to engage with words orally or in writing. Depending on the word, vocabulary words are taught both directly or indirectly. Fishtank ELA does not rely on a single vocabulary instructional method, rather instruction happens strategically within units so that students learn vocabulary indirectly and unconsciously through daily reading, writing, listening, and speaking routines.”
In Writing, the explanation states: “Fishtank ELA includes opportunities for students to both learn to write and write to learn. Students will be immersed in reading, writing, discourse, and idea generation cycles in each unit. There is no separate writing block and no separate writing curriculum; all writing instruction is embedded directly into lessons and units. Through embedded on-demand and process-writing assignments, students build powerful, evidence-based arguments and develop their voice in a variety of genres. Because students need solid knowledge and understanding of a subject matter to write, all Fishtank ELA writing assignments are connected to a core text, or ask students to write about content knowledge from the unit, ensuring that all students have equal access to the assignment.”
In the Fishtank guiding principles, materials state: “In Literature units from Kindergarten through 8th grade, students read texts that explore themes applicable to their lives while also building knowledge of historical events and time periods. Most of the literature units focus on developing identity, diversity, justice, and activism, which are key components of Learning for Justice’s Social Justice Standards. The content of all of our K–8 units, both Literature and Science & Social Studies, aim to provide students with windows and mirrors to ensure students see their own identities, experiences, and motivations in texts (mirrors), alongside texts that allow students to gain insight and build empathy for the identities, experiences, and motivations of others (windows) (Style, 1996). And, wherever possible our units aim to engage students in discussions of current events. We also frequently update our units to incorporate articles and discussion topics that reflect current issues in the world around them.”
The Fishtank guiding principles also include the following reference: “Rather than organizing lessons around specific skills (e.g., how to find the main idea) and teaching these skills in isolation, we organize our curriculum around carefully-selected texts that will engage students and facilitate deep thinking and strategy development. The text, and the demands of the text, drive the focus of a particular unit or lesson. Text-dependent questions in each lesson are sequenced in order to build a deeper understanding of the key ideas and themes presented by the text. Units across the curriculum require students to read a combination of longer texts to build stamina and engage in discussions about the full text, as well as close readings of specific passages or excerpts. Text-dependent questions and close readings push students to pay close attention to the author's craft and text structure, word choice, and challenging vocabulary and syntax (Coleman and Pimentel, 2012). All grade-level Common Core Standards are carefully woven into the units and lessons, introduced and reinforced through text-dependent questions and close reading moments, and work in service of deep understanding of the text.”
Materials include and reference research-based strategies. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Teacher Tools, Writing, bibliographic references to multiple sources used in the development of their program include:
Reading Reconsidered: a practical guide to rigorous literacy instruction by Doug Lemov
Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools: A Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York by Steve Graham and Dolores Perin
Writing for Understanding: Using Backwards design to help all students write effectively by J. Hawkins, E. Ginty, K. LeClaire Kurzman, D. Leddy, and J. Miller
The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler
In Teacher Tools, Academic Discourse, bibliographic references to multiple research sources in the development of their program include:
Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Prompting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students by Z. Hammond
Reading Reconsidered: a practical guide to rigorous literacy instruction by Doug Lemov
Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk that Fosters Critical Thinking and Content Understandings, by J. Zwiers and M. Crawford
Common Core Standards in Diverse Classrooms: Essential Practices for Developing Academic Language and Disciplinary Literacy by J. Zwiers, S. O’Hara, and R. Pritchard
In Teacher Tools, Text Selection, bibliographic references to multiple research sources used in the development of the program include:
“Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy,” by Gloria Ladson-Billings
Why Knowledge Matters by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.
Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework and Historically Responsive Literary, Gholdy Muhammad, and “Curriculum as Window and Mirror” by Emily Style
In Teacher Tools, Reading Structures and Routines: Close Reading, bibliographic references to multiple research sources used in the development of the program include:
Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading by K. Beers and R.E. Probst
Text-Dependent Questions, Grades K-5: Pathways to Close and Critical Reading by D. Fischer and N. Frey
Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts--and Life by C. Lehman and K. Roberts
In Teacher Tools, Supporting English Learners: Scaffolds for English Learners, bibliographic references to multiple research sources used in the development of the program include “Essential Actions: A Handbook for Implementing WIDA’s Framework for English Language Development Standards” by Margo Gottlieb
In Teacher Tools, Vocabulary, bibliographic references to multiple research sources used in the development of the program include Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction by Isabel Beck and Common Core Appendix A.
In Teacher Tools, the explanations of the Match Fishtank approach to writing, vocabulary development, and language and grammar instruction are followed by “resources referenced in the development of” each section.
Additional reference sections include Qualitative Complexity of Fiction Texts, Providing Supports for Text Complexity, How Texts are Selected in the Teacher Tools, Academic Discourse, Close Reading, and Foundational Skills.
The Foundational Skills section and its subsections entitled Teaching Reading Fluency and Assessing Reading Fluency, as well as the subsections of Academic Discourse entitled Types of Academic Discourse and Tiers of Academic Discourse, the Subsections of Supporting English Learners entitled Scaffolds for English Learners and Oral Language Protocols, and the subsection of Progress Monitoring and Assessment entitled Formative Assessments include embedded footnotes with references.
Indicator 3f
Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities.
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 3f.
The materials and lessons provide a list of texts needed for the unit. In every unit folder, the materials provide student handouts for all instructional activities.
Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Each unit plan contains a list of the texts being read throughout the unit with hyperlinks to the texts (either for reading or for purchase).
Each lesson folder contains all the handouts students will need for the lesson.
For example, for Unit 1, lesson 1, the lesson folder contains a handout for the target task.
Indicator 3g
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Indicator 3h
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Criterion 3.2: Assessment
The program includes a system of assessments identifying how materials provide tools, guidance, and support for teachers to collect, interpret, and act on data about student progress towards the standards.
The materials include Content Assessments that cover the standard and practices for the grade level. Each section of the assessment lists the standards addressed, and each assessment includes a teacher answer key which lists the standards each assessment question addresses. The materials provide an answer key for each assessment in the program with the corresponding assessed standards. While an answer key is provided, there is insufficient guidance for interpreting student performance beyond the answer key provided. In addition, the materials do not offer accommodations for the assessments.
Indicator 3i
Assessment information is included in the materials to indicate which standards are assessed.
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 3i.
The materials include Content Assessments that cover the standard and practices for the grade level. Each section of the assessment lists the standards addressed, and each assessment includes a teacher answer key which lists the standards each assessment question addresses.
Materials consistently identify the standards and practices assessed for formal assessments. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Each unit contains an assessment that addresses the content covered during the unit. Each section of the assessment, such as Vocabulary or Writing about Reading, identifies the standards assessed. The answer key document includes a table that contains an answer key and the standards that each assessment question addresses.
Indicator 3j
Assessment system provides multiple opportunities throughout the grade, course, and/or series to determine students' learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.
The materials reviewed for Grade K partially meet the criteria for Indicator 3j.
The materials include limited opportunities to determine students’ learning and insufficient guidance for interpreting student performance beyond the answer key that is provided. Most support occurs through a handout that contains protocols and probing questions for students.
Assessment system provides multiple opportunities to determine students' learning and some guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
Each unit contains one formal assessment that covers the content from the unit.
In the Teacher Tools, the Progress Monitoring and Assessments section includes a data analysis protocol. Materials provide probing questions for teachers to use to assist in discussing the assessment. Categories covered in this protocol include Unit Preparation, Lesson Preparation, Lesson Execution, and Progress Monitoring.
In the Teacher Tools, the Summative Assessments section contains the Data Meeting Protocol Guide, which includes a step-by-step process on how to conduct a Data Meeting. The guide has two parts. Part 1 explains how to use data to identify strengths and growth areas; Part 2 explains how to use data to reflect and plan next steps.
Assessment system provides multiple opportunities to determine students' learning and limited suggestions to teachers for following-up with students. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In the Teacher Tools, Progress Monitoring and Assessment, the Formative Assessments section provides information regarding the use of formative assessments to progress monitor the different components of ELA instruction. This section includes:
The use of Key Questions to check for understanding;
Target Tasks to monitor reading comprehension, content knowledge, writing or oral language development;
Exit Tickets to quickly check student understanding; writing assignments to monitor writing, content knowledge and vocabulary, or reading comprehension;
discussion opportunities for academic discourse to monitor reading comprehension, oral language development, and content knowledge and vocabulary; and
fluency, both self-assessment and peer-assessed.
Indicator 3k
Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/course-level standards and shifts across the series.
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 3k.
The materials include assessments that measure the expectations of the standards regarding rigor and depth. Each unit contains both a Content Assessment that “pushes students to synthesize unit content knowledge, vocabulary, and/or the unit essential questions in writing” and a Cold Read Assessment, which also assesses unit standards. Educators can give one or both of the assessments. In addition, students write daily about the text they read or listen to. Materials provide a rubric to assess formal writing. The rubric addresses the grade-level standards aligned to the formal writing task, including standards that address language, conventions, and elaboration.
Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/course-level standards and shifts across the series. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 3, the Content Assessment covers various standards in multiple tasks. Students pick two of the vocabulary words from the unit and draw a picture that shows what the word means. Then students answer the question, “What makes fall special?” by both drawing a picture and responding in writing, which addresses reading, writing, and language standards. The Cold Read Assessment asks questions about a text, in which students both draw a picture and answer in writing. Questions include, “How does a pumpkin grow?” and “What did you learn about pumpkin size?”
In Unit 7, the Content Assessment covers various standards in multiple tasks. Students begin by picking two of the vocabulary words and drawing a picture or writing a sentence that shows what the word means. Then students pick one of the life cycles that they learned about and tell what happens at each stage of the life cycle. The Cold Read Assessment asks questions after students read a text, which include, “What is the first step in the bullfrog’s life cycle?” and “Name one thing that is similar between this text and From Tadpole to Frog.”
Examples of formative assessment types include:
In Unit 4, Lesson 6, students engage in “a discussion of the challenge Yuji and her son faced when they came to the United States.” After discussing the challenges she faced, students answer the questions, “What did she (the author) want readers to learn? What message is she trying to share?” Finally, students “write about how Yuyi overcame the challenges she faced in the United States or what message Yuyi is trying to share with her readers.” The teacher circulates to ensure students are using correct letter formation, punctuation, and capitalization.
In Unit 6, Lesson 3, students discuss what the author Sheila Hamanaka means when she said “children come in all colors of the earth?”.After listening to All the Colors of the Earth, students respond to the question in writing and create a self-portrait of themselves. The teacher also encourages students to write “what color their skin is using one of the words that they learned from the text.”
In Unit 8, Lesson 15, materials provide four questions for teacher use while the class reads The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics by Susan Hood. Questions include, “What is the poem about?” and “What does the poet say you can do to join the crew?”
Examples of summative assessment types include:
In Unit 1, Lesson 12 students complete the Content Assessment (RL.K.4, L.K.1, L.K.2 L.K.6, W.K.1).
In Unit 3, Lesson 15, students write an informational text to teach a reader about pumpkins or apples in the fall. Materials provide a rubric to score the writing and the writing task addresses many standards including L.K.1, L.K.6, W.K.2, and W.K.7.
In Unit 5, Lesson 19, students complete the Content Assessment (R.I.K.1, RI.K.2, RI, K.3, R.I.K.4, R.I.K.7, L.K.5, L.K.6, W.K.2, W.K.8, L.K.1, L.K.2).
In Unit 7, Lesson 22, students complete the Cold Read Assessment which addresses standards RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.3, RI.K.9, and RI.K.10.
Indicator 3l
Assessments offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment.
Criterion 3.3: Student Supports
The program includes materials designed for each child’s regular and active participation in grade-level/grade-band/series content.
Materials include general supports throughout the program for all students; however, the materials do not share specifically which supports would benefit or target specific special populations. While the materials include suggestions on how materials can be scaffolded for multi-lingual learners or for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English, these suggestions are general and leave the implementation and development of these scaffolds to the teacher. The materials do include some opportunities for students to engage with literacy content and concepts at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level; however, many of these opportunities require students to complete more assignments than their classmates. Throughout the program, there is limited variation in structure. Students have many opportunities during lessons to express their understanding and respond to literature, but the opportunities are not varied. In addition, there are opportunities provided for grouping students, but the groupings do not vary in type and take place at the same part of each lesson. The materials include characters from different genders, races, ethnicities, and with other physical characteristics in the texts.
Indicator 3m
Materials provide strategies and supports for students in special populations to work with grade-level content and to meet or exceed grade-level standards that will support their regular and active participation in learning English language arts and literacy.
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria for Indicator 3m.
The materials include general supports throughout the program for all students; however, the materials do not share specifically which supports would benefit or target specific special populations. Lesson plans contain Supporting All Students boxes, which include Additional Supports, Language Supports, Building Background Knowledge and Accessing Prior Knowledge, and Opportunities for Enrichment strategies designed to help students meet or exceed grade-level standards when working with grade-level content; however, teachers will need to determine which supports to utilize, specifically for special populations.
Materials provide some strategies, supports, and resources for students in special populations to support their regular and active participation in grade-level literacy work. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 2, Lesson 8, the materials provide eight different opportunities for the teacher to support students through the Supporting All Students sections. For example, one of the supports has the teacher ask students, “What additional information do we learn from the pictures?” This section includes a question mark to click on with the following guidance: “These supports can be used to help Multi-Lingual Learners and students with learning differences access the demands of the text or the task. See Supporting All Students with Fishtank ELA for more guidance.”
In Unit 4, Lesson 16, the objective states that students will “retell what happens in The Lion and the Mouse. After reading, students are prompted to draw and write what happens in the story. In Supporting All Students, the Language Supports section includes sentence stems such as, “In the beginning...” and “In the end...”, for student use. This section includes a question mark that, when hovered over, provides a pop-up: “These supports can be used to help Multi-Lingual Learners and students with learning differences access the language demands of the text or the task.”
In Unit 7, Lesson 9, the materials include two videos that teachers may show to help build background knowledge and access prior knowledge. The question mark in the box indicates that “these supports can be used to address student gaps in background knowledge,” but guidance does not identify that the provided supports should specifically be used for students in special populations.
Indicator 3n
Materials regularly provide extensions to engage with literacy content and concepts at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level.
The materials reviewed for Grade K partially meet the criteria for Indicator 3n.
The materials include many opportunities for students to engage with literacy content and concepts at greater depth for students who read, write, speak, and/or listen above grade level; however, there are limited opportunities for students to engage with literacy concepts beyond the core materials. The number of lessons that contain an “Opportunities for Enrichment” section is limited. Some of the lessons provide specific scaffolds intended to enhance lessons by providing additional depth, though many add activities for students, such as reading an extra text or portion of a text or completing an additional assignment for the text.
Materials provide some opportunities for advanced students to investigate the grade-level content at a higher level of complexity. Materials include instances of advanced students doing more assignments than their classmates. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Unit 1, the unit includes one enrichment opportunity: “Create a class bulletin board to highlight all of the different things the kids love about school.”
In Unit 2, multiple lessons include enrichment opportunities. For example:
In Lesson 1, enrichment opportunities include: “Do an additional art project to have students pretend to weave a web. Have students reflect on how they felt while they were making the web. What is it like to be a busy, focused spider?”
In Lesson 3, enrichment opportunities include: “Push students to notice why the author switches between color and black and white pictures. The illustrations show how the family is feeling. When the pictures are in color, the family is feeling happy. When the pictures are in black and white, the family is scared.”
In Lesson 4, enrichment opportunities include: “Have students write or tell their own version of a bear or lion hunt. What animals would they see?”
In Unit 7, eight of twelve lessons contain specific supports for enrichment that could be used for advanced students.
In Unit 8, multiple lessons include enrichment opportunities. For example:
In Lesson 3, enrichment opportunities include:
“Tell students that this type of poem is a question poem. With a question poem, the poem asks lots of questions and then ends with one big, important question.”
“Prompt students to make connections between what they have learned so far and this question: How could plastic make our lives worse?”, and “Tell students that this is an ABC poem. For each letter of the alphabet, the poet names one thing that contains plastic. Prompt: What other things can they think of for each letter?”
“Prompt students to think about which of the items they knew were made of plastic and which items surprised them.”
“Look around the classroom. Have students think about which things in the classroom they know have plastic in them. Then have students think about which things may have hidden plastic. As a class, research the things students are unsure of to see if in fact they do have plastic in them.”
In Lesson 4, enrichment opportunities include: “If there is extra time, return to the illustration on page 38. Prompt: Why does the illustrator dress the children like superheroes? In what ways are you a hero if you reduce, reuse, and recycle?”
In Lesson 6, enrichment opportunities include: “Lead the class in a discussion of how well they are recycling different objects. Students will complete an action project at the end of the unit, but this is a good chance to have students begin to think about how much they recycle.”
In Lesson 7, enrichment opportunities include: To learn more about Isatou Ceesay and the work she has done in the Gambia, watch:
“How to Recycle Plastic Bags into Purses: Isatou Ceesay - Njau, Gambia” by Miranda Paul (YouTube)
“Isatou Ceesay on the Gambian Women's Recycling Project” by Mike McConnell (YouTube)
In Lesson 8, enrichment opportunities include: “Ixchel’s story is inspired by the Mayan Hand Weavers. Show students some of the art and products that the weavers create and sell on the Mayan Hands website: Mayan Hands (Mayan Hands).”
In Lesson 10, enrichment opportunities include: “Have students create a plan to limit the amount of food waste they create in the classroom or at school.”
In Lesson 11, enrichment opportunities include: “As a class, create a plan for how to bring composting into the classroom and school.”
In Lesson 12, enrichment opportunities include: “Have students think about areas near their school or in the community that need to be cleaned up. Prompt: What steps can they take to begin to make the area into a community garden?”
Indicator 3o
Materials provide varied approaches to learning tasks over time and variety in how students are expected to demonstrate their learning with opportunities for students to monitor their learning.
Indicator 3p
Materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.
Indicator 3q
Materials provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards to regularly participate in learning English language arts and literacy.
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the criteria for Indicator 3q.
The materials provide some language supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English; however, materials miss opportunities to label specific protocols for these learners. The included language supports provide support with meaning, context, and understanding. These supports are also helpful to students who speak, write, and/or speak languages other than English with accessing the text or responding to the text. Materials provide additional supports in Teacher Tools that provide general guidance in preparing lessons for multilingual learners; however, they are not lesson specific, are broad in application, and would require teachers to prepare materials for specific lessons within the curriculum.
Materials provide some strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to meet or exceed grade-level standards through regular and active participation in grade-level literacy work. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
In Supporting All Students, the materials provide a question mark next to Language Support, which indicates the following: “These supports can be used to help Multi-Lingual Learners and students with learning differences access the language demands of the text and the task. See the Supporting English Learners Teacher Tool for additional guidance.”
In Unit 2, materials do not include specific supports for multilingual learners.
In Unit 5, materials do not include specific supports for multilingual learners. All supports are general for either Multi-Lingual Learners or students with learning differences.
In Unit 7, materials do not provide specific supports for multilingual learners. All Language Supports and Additional Supports can be used for all students, including multilingual learners.
In Teacher Tools, materials include multiple folders providing guidance for teaching multilingual learners. They include guidance on providing scaffolds that are divided into areas of light support and heavier support. Suggestions include providing illustrations, images, photos, providing videos, films, or audio to support a lesson, using real-life or physical objects, text clues, various graphic scaffolds, and interactive scaffolds, including pairing and working with the student’s home language, and increasing supplemental texts and noticing cognates. These are explained and provided as general guidelines and are not lesson specific.
In Teacher Tools, materials provide suggestions on preparing lessons with multilingual learners in mind, including unpacking the units and texts with a look to analyzing language demands, knowing the language and content goals of the unit, planning for assessment and mastery, and taking ownership of teaching the unit with multilingual learners in mind.
In Teacher Tools, materials include a document on Engineering the Text that provides guidance on how to physically alter a text to make it more accessible to multilingual learners, including adding questions, proving genre tips, defining vocabulary, explaining key background knowledge, adding illustrations and headings, and including stop and jot questions.
In Teacher Tools, materials include a document on using oral language supports with multilingual learners. These include the use of various groupings to assist with comprehension and expressing ideas.
In Teacher Tools, materials provide teachers with general scaffolds for multilingual learners. These include:
In the Sensory scaffolds, materials include a list of scaffolds for Light EL Support and Heavier EL support. For example, in illustrations, images, and photos light supports suggested are: “Add illustrations to literature texts that do not include illustrations. Illustrations could be used to break up long sections of text or to clarify tricky plot events.” Heavier supports include: “Strategically engineer the text to include illustrations that align with specific features of text complexity. Multiple illustrations could be added to make the text easier to digest. (For example, when reading the Brer Rabbit folktales about the well, include an illustration of a well.)
In Interactive Scaffolds, materials include a list of scaffolds for Pairs, Small Groups, Discussion, Cooperative Structures, and Home Language. For example, in Home Language, materials state: “For lighter EL support: Have students use translanguaging by using some words and phrases from their home language when discussing or writing about content. For heavier EL support: Have students have entire conversations in their home language or have students write answers in their home language. Provide additional instruction on a particular concept or idea in students’ home language. Provide students with texts and problems written in their home language. Have students write an answer in their home language. Then have students transfer their answers to English.”
In Additional Supports, materials provide the teacher with suggestions for “Supplemental Text” support and “Noticing Cognates.” In the “Noticing Cognates” support, materials provide the following: “For lighter EL support: Teach students strategies for identifying cognates and have students self-identify and interpret examples of cognates in texts and tasks. For heavier EL support: Before reading a text, find examples of cognates and have students break them down. Focus on the meaning and intonation of the words. Teach students Greek and Latin roots that are cognates in English and Spanish. Have students create cognate reference guides.”
In Oral Language Protocols, materials provide the teacher with protocols for the following: Turn and Talk, Think-Pair Share, Write-Pair Share, Timed-Pair-Share, Think-Pair-Share Revised, Partner A Partner B. An example of the “Think-Pair-Share Revised protocol states: “Students are given a chance to refine their thinking and ideas based on their partner’s ideas and discussion. The teacher or student poses a question worthy of discussion. Teachers give students time to think about how they will answer. Students pair up. Students take turns sharing their answers. Students revise their original theories or ideas.”
In Engineering Texts, materials provide the teacher with a three-step guide to support planning. The explanation includes, “When you engineer a text, you add text supports to ensure all students have access. This does not mean changing the text or lowering the rigor of the task. An engineered text anticipates possible student misconceptions, gives vocabulary cues, provides additional background knowledge, scaffolds questions, and creates opportunities for discussion.”
In Graphic Organizer, for multilingual learner support, materials provide the teacher with “suggestions on how to adjust the organizers to provide light or heavy EL support.” Some examples include:
Adjusting graphic organizers to provide light EL support:
Provide blank templates for students to use when reading a text, brainstorming, or solving problems.
Adjusting graphic organizers to provide heavy EL support:
Provide students with partially filled-out graphic organizers.
Provide guidance on where in the text, resources, or problem students can find a particular answer. (For example, if students are looking to describe a character, provide specific paragraph numbers where students can find key evidence.)
Have students work in partners using an oral language protocol.
If applicable, allow students to complete the graphic organizer in their home language.
Indicator 3r
Materials provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics.
Indicator 3s
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning.
Indicator 3t
Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student cultural and social backgrounds to facilitate learning.
Indicator 3u
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Indicator 3v
This is not an assessed indicator in ELA.
Criterion 3.4: Intentional Design
The program includes a visual design that is engaging and references or integrates digital technology, when applicable, with guidance for teachers.
Materials do not include digital technology or interactive tools for students to interact with. Although the teacher materials are presented in a digital manner, student materials are printed materials. Because the materials for students are printed, teacher guidance on incorporating technology is limited. Materials are provided in one format with a visual design that supports learning. The design is not distracting or chaotic, and it neither adds to nor distracts from the subject matter.
Indicator 3w
Materials integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic software in ways that engage students in the grade-level/series standards, when applicable.
Indicator 3x
Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.
Indicator 3y
The visual design (whether in print or digital) supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.
Indicator 3z
Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.