9th Grade - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1a.

The central texts for this grade level are high quality, worthy of careful reading, and include a variety of text genres, formats, and topics to meet a range of student interests within an appropriate level of complexity and rigor for the grade level. The texts include renowned classic and contemporary works by critically-acclaimed authors, high interest technical articles that are relatable and help students to build specialized knowledge, a variety of multi visual texts, and strong links between topics that support vertical alignment throughout the grade. The materials offer additional optional texts for students to continue to build knowledge and for extension purposes. Core texts in Grade 9 include, but are not limited to, poetry, novels, images, short stories, documentaries, essays, speeches, and films.

Anchor texts are of high-quality, worthy of careful reading, and consider a range of student interests. Some examples include:

• Anchor texts in the majority of chapters/units and across the year-long curriculum are of high quality.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 2, students watch a TED Talk titled “The Danger of Silence” by Clint Smith and examine the video multiple times for multiple purposes throughout the lesson.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 5, students analyze the sentence structure and vocabulary of John F. Kennedy’s “Inaugural Address, 20 January 1961” on the cost to preserve freedom.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 3, students examine images and excerpts from Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhosto.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 3, Lesson 2, students read Act 2, Scene 2, of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The complex characters and plot structure, as well as the rich language and cultural importance of Romeo and Juliet, make this text worthy of reading.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 4, Lesson 2, students engage in a careful study of the text “Sixty-Nine Cents,” an excerpt from Little Failure: A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart. Sophisticated vocabulary helps to make this text high quality.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 2, students read the article “The Food System” from Johns Hopkins University Food System Primer, which outlines the complexities of mass food production. Students build specialized knowledge through the technical and sophisticated vocabulary and use the text to examine and access the information presented in the graphic Nourish Food System Map.

• Anchor texts consider a range of student interests.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World? Section 1, Lesson 3, students read the “Introduction” from Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point. This text considers a wide range of topics as Gladwell explores viral trends in business, marketing, and human behavior.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students read the article “Agents of Change” to explore how anyone can make a significant impact no matter their notoriety or lack thereof. This text is engaging for students because the topic is applicable and relatable.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 4, Lesson 11, students read the myth “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe” by Ovid, which develops the depth and meaning behind Romeo and Juliet.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 2, Lesson 1, students explore characterization through a variety of text types, including the novel The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez, the poem “Immigrants in Our Own Land” by Jimmy Santiago Baca, the short story “The Wanderers” by Guadalupe Netteland, and a mural from The Museum of Modern Art titled “The Uprising” by Diego Rivera.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 2, Lesson 4, students read the article "Organic Farming is Rarely Enough: Conventional Agriculture Gives Higher Yields Under Most Conditions.” This text addresses relevant and meaningful information that is of high interest to students in Grade 9.

• Anchor texts are well-crafted and content rich, engaging students at their grade level.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students read and discuss “Agents of Change” by Phil Patton. This thought provoking piece establishes students’ research pathways based on technological, cultural, business and marketing, humanitarian, political, and scientific interests.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 10, students examine “Chapter 1: Snapping an Iconic Photo,” “Chapter 2: A Nation Fallen on Hard Times,” and excerpts from Migrant Mother: How a Photograph Defined the Great Depression by Don Nardo.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lesson 1, students read the article “Why Do We Still Care About Shakespeare?” by Cidney Tumiel. This reading broadens students’ knowledge base by making a case for the relevance of Shakespeare today.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Sections 1–4, students read William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a well-crafted and content-rich text with academic language, characterization, and multiple themes.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 4, students read the article “10 Things You Need to Know About the Global Food System.” The article outlines pertinent information about the global food system in a logical organizational pattern that is engaging to students at this grade level.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students use inquiry questions to find their own sources to answer a Central Research Question: “These sources can range from print texts to web-based texts, multimedia, interviews, and texts from units explored earlier in the year.” An example of a core text students analyze when exploring the concept of credibility and how to assess it is “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment” by Jayson Lusk from the previous Global Food Production Unit.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students return to the reading selections from the Global Food Production Unit Reader and assess the resources with tools provided in the unit. Examples of these texts include:

    • “10 Things You Need to Know About the Global Food System” by Evan Fraser and Elizabeth Fraser.

    • “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century” by Amanda Briney.

    • “Indoor Urban Farms Called Wasteful, ‘Pie in the Sky,’” by Stacey Shackford.

    • “Eat Less Meat: UN Climate-Change Report Calls for Change to Human Diet,” by Quirin Schiermeier.

    • “Impossible Foods, Impossible Claims,” by Anna Lappe.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1c.

Texts fall within an appropriate range for the grade level according to the demands of the core, the culminating tasks are appropriately complex, and the activities students complete with the texts during the unit provide opportunities for close reading and tools to support students when working with these texts. The Application Unit provides an opportunity for students to explore an inquiry question: “Students review texts and topics they have encountered throughout the year and choose a text or topic they want to explore further.”

Most anchor texts fall within the appropriate range for the grade level in the Current Lexile Band (1050L–1335L for Grade 9). The texts add layers of complexity through their use of rich academic and figurative language, the need to understand background knowledge, and the use of varying perspectives and points of view. While some texts are above the suggested Lexile band, the tasks and instructional supports scaffold student access to these materials. Texts that fall below the Lexile band are topically appropriate for students at this grade level, and associated tasks enhance the level of complexity for students to develop literacy by deeply analyzing the text and/or creating new texts. In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, for example, though the core text falls below the 9–10 Lexile range, students perform a series of reading-based writing tasks in which they write their own narratives.

The publisher includes qualitative analysis for some core texts in the Text Overview, including details relating to the text structure, language features, meaning, and knowledge demands. Quantitative analysis of the core texts with available qualitative documentation indicates that texts will continue to challenge and develop students’ skills throughout the year.

Core/Anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to documented quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. Documentation should also include a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Anchor/core texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and relationship to their associated student task.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 1, students read to Chapter 5 of Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism (1060L) and answer questions to explore the text like a detective:

    • What were the social, political, and historical contexts in Paris, Spain, and the rest of Europe that Capa and Taro lived and worked in?

    • What challenges, controversies, and dangers did Capa and Taro face as wartime photojournalists?

    • How did Capa and Taro change photography and “invent modern photojournalism”?

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 4, students read excerpts from “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1220L). Students read the text to analyze the author’s purpose and the author’s rhetoric to establish credibility. After students complete their analysis, they use the text as a mentor to create their own letters.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 1, students read and discuss the dialogue found in The Book of Unknown Americans (760L) and create their own dialogue from the viewpoint of a character in the text. The materials include several examples where students create:

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 2, students create a plot summary from the point of view of the character, Alma.

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 3, students create a plot summary from the Mayor’s point of view and perspective.

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 4, students create a third-person narrative on an ancillary character in the form of a social media post, dream, or letter to a loved one.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 4, students read and annotate an article, “10 Things You Need to Know about the Global Food System” by Evan Fraser and Elizabeth Fraser. While the quantitative analysis falls below the grade range (860–1000L), qualitative analysis indicates that the text structure is slightly complex, the purpose is moderately complex, and the language features and knowledge demands are very complex. The materials include a rationale that the text will “introduce students to some of the major issues and challenges that face the global food system.” The culminating task allows students to “develop a perspective and argumentative position in response to a current issue facing the food system.”

• Anchor/Core texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Text Overview, the materials explain the complexity of Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism is due to the historical context, figurative language, and varied syntax, while remaining accessible for the grade level.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, students read the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (1260L), which is within the band for Grade 9. The qualitative analysis provided in the Text Overview indicates that the text structure is moderately complex, the purpose and knowledge demands are very complex, and the language features are exceedingly complex stating, “High school students will likely be able to make personal connections with the young characters and their emotions. However, both the customs of the time period and the numerous allusions to mythology contribute to a high level of complexity.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 2, students begin reading The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez. While the quantitative analysis falls below the Lexile level for this grade, the unit Text Overview includes a complexity analysis and rationale to explain why this text is appropriate for the grade level, including appropriateness of the topic. The knowledge demands also increase the qualitative complexity for students.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, students examine “7 GMO Myths Debunked by Vandana Shiva” by Julia Kent (1000–1100L). The unit Text Overview provides qualitative analysis characterizing the text as moderately complex in its language features, meaning, and knowledge expectations. The rationale for this article addresses the unit expectations that “students will have opportunities to practice and refine their interpretive and evaluative reading skills, acquire knowledge about the global food system and the elements of argumentation, form and support analytical claims about texts, and delineate and summarize their argumentation plan.”

• Both the rationale and the analysis present accurate information.

  • The Text Overview provides accurate information relating to the texts’ qualitative features consistently for the grade level, and the Lexiles available on Metametrics indicate an appropriate quantitative level of complexity for Grade 9.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1d.

The program provides appropriate texts to support students’ literacy growth over the year, and the Foundation, Development, and Application Units allow students to access complex texts with appropriate scaffolds during the learning process. The materials are designed to help students grow their literacy skills from the Foundation Unit to the Application Unit. The flexibility of the program allows choice in which units to include in the course. As students move through the Foundation Unit and complete two or more Development Units, the selections should support growth in their literacy skills to achieve grade-level proficiency. The collection of texts is arranged to deepen students’ literacy skills and understanding by participating in a variety of text-based tasks. Students return to core texts throughout the unit with an increased level of complexity through analysis and application of concepts learned. Additional ancillary texts curated to support the individual unit themes promote student growth from the over the course of each unit and across the school year. In tandem with the texts, the assessments and tasks are varied and increase in complexity, allowing students to deepen their reading skills. As tasks become more complex, the materials provide scaffolding material to help teachers support student learning.

Series of texts are at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for the grade band to support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The complexity of anchor texts students read provide an opportunity for students’ literacy skills to increase across the year, encompassing an entire year’s worth of growth.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 3, students read “Introduction,” an excerpt from The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (1160L), one of several texts in the unit worthy of students’ time and attention. Other examples throughout the grade level include, but are not limited to, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (1260L) and a variety of informational text with a range of complexity (810L–1600L) appropriate for Grade 9.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, students study the TED Talk “The Danger of Silence” by Clint Smith, which scaffolds to more complex readings such as the core text, Gladwell’s excerpt from “The Tipping Point” (1160L), and ancillary excerpt from The Prince by Machiavelli (1430–1510L).

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, students examine images and passages from Eyes of the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos at the beginning of the unit. The Lexile level for this text is 1060L, which falls toward the lower end of the complexity level range for this grade level. Over the course of the unit, students return to the text to develop their ability to analyze the text. In Section 2, Lesson 2, for example, students use the Visual Analysis tool to examine the details of the photo by Robert Capa, “D-Day Invasion, June 6, 1944,” and later in Section 2, Lesson 7, students hold discussions based on a series of text specific questions on the core text.

• As texts become more complex, appropriate scaffolds and/or materials are provided in the Teacher Edition (e.g., spending more time on texts, more questions, repeated readings, skill lessons).

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 4, students read excerpts from “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1220L), which is on the higher end of the complexity level for this grade level. The materials include text-dependent questions to scaffold student analysis of the text.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 4, Lesson 11, students read Ovid’s “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe,” a complex text slightly above the grade-level band (1410L). Students annotate the text “for points of similarity and difference between the myth and Romeo and Juliet using Pyramus and Thisbe Note-Taking Tool.” The complexity of language encountered in these texts and the analysis of themes require students to read deeply and consider the question, Why Do We Still Read Shakespeare? Students assess how Shakespeare adapted one of the original sources for Romeo and Juliet and whether his choices enhanced or detracted from the themes found in the myth. Teaching strategies include the option of chunking the myth and providing time to discuss with students after each section. Additional notes are available to assist educators as students respond to questions.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 2, Lesson 1, the materials provide student support for transferring the understanding of character development from a written text to a visual text when students analyze Diego Rivera’s mural, The Uprising.

• Series of texts include a variety of complexity levels throughout the year.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 4, Lesson 2, students read “Sixty-Nine Cents,” an excerpt from Little Failure: A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart (1010–1400L). The Flesch-Kincaid Score for this text is 12.4, which is above the level of complexity for this grade level; however, the texts and tasks from previous sections (1–3) prepare students to analyze this complex text.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, students read a variety of texts of varying levels of complexity, such as an article, “Food System Primer: The Food System” by Center for a Livable Future (1200–1300L), the “Nourish Food System Map” by Nourish, and a more accessible article “10 Things You Need to Know about the Global Food System” by Evan Fraser and Elizabeth Fraser 810L–1000L). The materials offer students many opportunities to read various texts within each unit and across the grade level.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students choose a text from the Global Food Production Unit Reader and use the potential sources tool to analyze:

    • “10 Things You Need to Know About the Global Food System” by Evan Fraser and Elizabeth Fraser (810L–1000L).

    • “History and Overview of the Green Revolution: How Agricultural Practices Changed in the 20th Century” by Amanda Briney (1300L–1400L).

    • “Indoor Urban Farms Called Wasteful, ‘Pie in the Sky’” by Stacey Shackford (1500L–1600L).

    • “Eat Less Meat: UN Climate-Change Report Calls for Change to Human Diet” by Quirin Schiermeier (1700L–1800L).

    • “Impossible Foods, Impossible Claims,” Anna Lappe (1400L–1500L)

  • While many of these texts fall above the 9–10 complexity band with one falling below and another falling within, this unit is sequenced towards the end for Grade 9 and creates a range of complexity for students to access the texts and challenge themselves with more complex readings.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1e.

The Program Guide indicates that all students will “access and analyze grade-level texts with the help of effective scaffolding and support, regardless of reading ability,” and the Grade 9 materials provide a wide volume of texts of various types, lengths, and complexity levels to build student independence throughout the school year and to support students to reach grade-level proficiency. Each unit provides a range of texts, including novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and informative texts. In addition, the publisher provides a partial text overview and complexity document as well as a list of suggested independent reading texts.

Independent reading opportunities are available throughout the course of the year and provide choices for students. The Text Overview and Unit Text List provide suggestions for independent reading for each Foundation and Development Unit with texts grouped by topic, theme, or genre. To assist students to build reading stamina and to persevere when navigating complex text, students encounter a number of meaningful topics and engaging texts that deepen their understanding of the subject matter covered in the units and expand students’ literacy skills such as comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary to equip them to be successful independent readers.

Each unit includes specific procedures and accountability measures for independent student reading to ensure students are continually working toward independence. Materials include independent reading lessons, including suggestions on how to incorporate student reading into the classroom, at the end of each section in the Foundation and Development Units. In addition, each unit section contains a structured lesson for students to create an independent reading plan and to set their pacing. Students are accountable for text selection, connecting their independent readings to units of study, and creating a product based on their independent reading.

Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year, including accountability structures for independent reading. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in reading a variety of text types and genres.

  • In The Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, students read a selection of TED Talks, a speech, a book excerpt, and articles in the curriculum-embedded core and optional texts. For example, students read an excerpt of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and articles as core readings, including “Agents of Change” by Phil Patton and “How to Give a Killer Presentation” by Chris Anderson. Materials provide a list of suggested fiction and nonfiction texts as an independent reading list. Materials build lessons for independent reading, reporting, analysis, and presentation into each unit section.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 9, students begin an Independent Reading Program in which they select the texts they will read independently throughout the unit. At this point in the unit, students have examined the Central Question and a few anchor texts; students then apply their learning to their independent reading. Students select their independent reading text from the list of suggested texts for the unit and develop an independent reading plan. The list of independent reading texts includes nonfiction texts such as Digital Photojournalism by Susan Zavoina and John Davidson and the article “The Falling Man: 9/11’s Private Moments” by NAJ Taylor.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, students use a variety of tools to engage in reading multiple text types, such as the Summarizing a Text Tool, Analyzing Relationships Tool, Attending to Details Tool, Character Note-Taking Tool, Evaluating Ideas Tool, and the Extending Understanding Tool. In Section 1, Lesson 3, for example, students use the Summarizing a Text Tool to summarize the video Photographers of the Dust Bowl by Ken Burns.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, students read the fiction play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and listen to an audio Romeo and Juliet: The Fully Dramatized Audio Edition by William Shakespeare. Students also explore filmic texts, including “William Shakespeare: Legendary Wordsmith” by the History Channel, Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli, and Romeo + Juliet by Baz Luhrmann. Ovid’s work, “The Story of Pyramus and Thisbe,” also provides a complex text for students to grow their skills. Independent reading options to accompany the unit include, but are not limited to, the screenplay West Side Story by Ernest Lehman, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, and Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper.

• Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in a volume of reading.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 11, students choose texts to read independently: “We will learn how to choose texts, what activities we may complete, about the final task, and about any materials we will use as we read our independent reading texts.” Students use note-taking tools to analyze important textual elements.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 4, students examine selected images and passages from Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Journalism by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos to investigate the following questions: 1) How and why did two young refugees, Andre and Gerta, reinvent themselves as Capa and Taro? 2) How did Capa and Taro take advantage of the new technology of Leica cameras and magazine layouts to develop distinct approaches to photography? Students have the opportunity to explore a variety of texts throughout the unit with guiding questions to support their reading and analysis.

  • In The Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lesson 2, students read an article “Why Do We Still Care About Shakespeare?” by Cindy Tumiel to examine how the author writes sentences with parallel structure. The close examination of Tumiel’s text precedes the reading of the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Students explore a range of texts to support their learning, including poetry, filmic text, and informational text. Juxtaposing these texts will build understanding and help prepare students to complete the culminating task.

• There is sufficient teacher guidance to foster independence for all readers (e.g., proposed schedule and tracking system for independent reading).

  • The program plans and builds lessons for independent reading into the curriculum materials for teachers to follow and implement. Materials include teacher notes on strategy and decisions are included in the teacher edition of the materials.

    • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 13, students continue with their independent reading. The teacher guidance suggests students continue using the Closely Reading Tools and the Forming Evidence-Based Tools to guide their reading.

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, the materials provide a guide for choosing and fostering independent reading. In Section 1, Lesson 9, students select an independent reading text, share their understanding, and connect the text to the unit Section 2, Lesson 9, continue developing their understanding using the Forming Evidence-Based Claims tool in Section 3, Lesson 8, and construct a final product based on their independent reading in Section 4, Lesson 8.

    • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 4, students read independently and annotate “10 Things You Need to Know about the Global Food System” by Evan Fraser and Elizabeth Fraser. Teaching notes provide guidance about the author, concept, text, and topic: “This article from The Guardian highlights some of the issues and challenges facing the global food system by breaking them down into 10 main issues or categories: there is enough food for everyone, price volatility, food waste, food used as fuel, land ownership, corporate influence, agricultural policy, environmental impact, climate change, and increased food demand. This article makes the claim that despite a growing global population, there is more than enough food being grown to feed everyone sustainably.” Materials provide additional notes with teaching strategies and decisions to guide students in annotations and for differentiation.

    • In the Application Unit, Section 3, Lesson 1, teaching notes provide additional guidance for student support and differentiation: “If students have independently chosen nonwritten resources, you might help them connect those sources with written texts (e.g., a written review of the film they have chosen to use).”

  • While a proposed schedule is not clearly stated in the materials, the Foundation and Development Units consistently include an independent reading lesson at the end of each section; there are four sections in the Foundation Unit and five sections in each Development Unit. The Program Guide shares, “[l]essons are designed to span 45–90 minutes, but the total length of the lesson depends on how many activities the teacher chooses.” Materials promote the use of student agency to choose texts, set pacing, and prepare discussions with peers to report independent reading finds and further expand their peers’ knowledge and breadth of understanding on topics directly related to the unit of study. Students choose from the Text Overview or Unit Text List and follow the lesson to connect their learning, while building knowledge around similar topics and/or themes.

    • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 13, students share their understanding gained from their independent reading texts and continue their independent reading.

    • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 3, Lesson 10, students share their understanding gained from their independent reading texts and continue their independent reading.

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 9, students develop a plan and pacing for their Independent Reading Program for the unit.

    • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 5, Lesson 7, students participate in a culminating activity to share what they have learned through their independent reading.

  • Students design their own tracking systems for their reading and are kept on pace and tracked through teacher-designated assessment for the activities within each Independent Reading lesson found in each section of the unit. The Program Guide states, “[s]tudents are encouraged to use the same tools and close-reading practices they use during instruction. Teachers can choose how to assign and collect those tools in order to monitor students’ reading comprehension.” Unit lessons include instructions and independent reading procedures consistently across the grade level.

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, students track their reading using a variety of tools such as Attending to Details, Analyzing Relationships, Evaluating Ideas, Extending Understanding), a Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool, a Summarizing Text Tool, or a Character (or other) Note-Taking Tool.

    • In the Application Unit, Section 1, students begin using tools to track their progress for their independent research. Students use The Culminating Task Tracker to keep track of their progress throughout their independent research.

• Independent reading procedures are included in the lessons.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, students engage in a series of four structured lessons, one from each section, that builds to a culminating task. Each of the units in Grade 9 follow this procedure. In Grade 9, Section 3, Lesson 8, for example, the materials provide a lesson overview in which students “share the analyses we have made about our independent reading texts and make connections to the unit. We will plan a final product to share our experiences from reading independently and the knowledge we have gained.” Activities follow to guide students as they discuss, write, and read independently to achieve the lesson goals.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 9, students select an independent reading and create a reading and pacing plan. Students return to their independent reading in Section 2, Lesson 13 by sharing the information with a partner, class, or teaching with the tools they used to collect information from the text.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 5, Lesson 8, students complete a culminating task with their independent readings by answering the following questions:

    • Can I give an accurate summary of the central ideas or themes of my independent reading text?

    • Can I listen attentively and engage with my peers during the discussion?

    • Can I think about and evaluate my personal abilities to read independently and to make connections between texts and ideas?

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 5, Lesson 7, students reflect on their independent reading by answering text-specific questions outlined in the lesson.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1f.

The Grade 9 materials include a focus on text-specific and text-dependent questions, tasks, and assignments to deepen students’ knowledge and comprehension throughout each task. The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in a variety of texts and to mine text for evidence. The questions and tasks in the materials require careful reading of texts over the course of a school year, and most of the questions are grounded in specific textual details to provide meaningful insight into the overarching Central Question for each unit. In addition, text-dependent guiding questions support students as they navigate and engage directly with the texts to draw evidence from what they have read, as well as to make inferences. The materials consistently pose guiding questions across grade levels and “reinforce the importance of leaning into the text itself for answers and clarification.”

The materials provide teacher guidance, including Teaching Notes, to support the planning and implementation of the text-specific and/or text-dependent questions, tasks, and assignments. The teacher notes also offer suggestions for contextualizing, teaching, and supporting students in text-dependent activities.

Most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-specific and/or text-dependent, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Text-specific and text-dependent questions and tasks support students in making meaning of the core understandings of the texts being studied.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 4, Lesson 4, students read and discuss specific lines from Act 3, Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet using text-specific questions, including:

    • “What examples of light and dark imagery are used in this scene? What effect does the use of imagery have on this scene?

    • What parallel structure is used in Lines 36 and 41? What effect does it have on this scene?

    • What foreshadowing is present in this scene? What lines support this conclusion?”

  • In The Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 2, Lesson 3, students carefully examine the poem “Immigrants in Our Own Land” by Jimmy Santiago Baca. Students use close reading strategies for active reading and then synthesize their understanding by answering text-specific questions to analyze for tone and theme, including:

    • “What is the tone of the poem? Is there more than one? What words does the author use to signal the tone?

    • What is the overall theme of the poem? What evidence from the poem supports that interpretation?

    • How can the poem and its theme relate to more than one experience? Explain.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 2, students use guiding questions to discuss textual elements while reading The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez. Guiding questions include:

    • “What strategy does Henriquez use to move the story from one event to another?

    • Who is the protagonist in the book? Is there more than one? How do you know?

    • How are the voices of the main characters different? How are they the same? Cite examples from the book to support your answer.

    • What impact does the narrative structure of the book have on the reader’s experience?”

• Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-based questions and tasks.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World, Section 2, Lesson 2, students read and discuss “Agents of Change” by Phil Patton. The teaching notes offer suggestions on how to contextualize, teach, and support students in the reading of the text, such as, “[s]ome students might benefit from an explanation of the phrase ‘for want of’ in order to understand the proverb, as this is not a common contemporary grammatical construction.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 3, Lesson 2, students work in small groups to read “The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges” by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2017. Students work together to answer one of five text-specific questions, such as:

    • “What are some potential solutions that Little discusses in her interview that might directly address one of the challenges listed in the infographic?

    • Which challenges to our future food system are the most immediate? How does Little portray these challenges in her interview?

    • The infographic notes that one-third of all food produced around the world is wasted. What are some ways that new food solutions are addressing the issue of food waste, as Little describes?”

  • In addition, the Teaching Notes section provides specific strategies for how teachers could facilitate and organize the lesson, including: “You might assign each pair or small group one of the questions, so each question is represented in the class discussion. After their discussion, students will share what they learned, including the answer to their assigned question. Alternatively, you can have students form groups of five. Each student will be responsible for answering one of the five questions and sharing their responses with the rest of the group.”

  • In The Application Unit, students may revisit texts from The Foundation Unit, such as the TED Talk, “How to Start a Movement” by Derek Sivers. Section 2, Activity 2, provides teacher prompts to draw students’ attention to particular quotes that students might pull from the text. Implementation support encourages teachers to use these quotes to aid in the lesson planning and guide the students in their independent thinking while keeping them on track with the relevance of the topic and activity.

  • In the Application Unit, Section 2, Lesson 2, students explore the concept of credibility and how to assess for it using a common text, “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment” by Jayson Lusk. Students consider questions utilizing the Potential Sources Tool, such as:

    • “How does the publishing date relate to the history of the topic?

    • What are the author’s qualifications relative to the topic?”

  • Available Teaching Notes include: “Provide students with the following information to assist them in assessing this source:

    • This text was published in the opinion section of The New York Times on September 23, 2016.

    • This text was written by op-ed contributor, Jasyon Lusk.

    • Jayson Lusk is a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University and the author of Unnaturally Delicious: How Science and Technology are Serving Up Superfoods to Save the World.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1g.

As stated in the Program Guide, the instructional activities for this grade level engage students in both formal and informal speaking and listening activities and discussions throughout the units, and the materials offer students support in developing these listening and speaking skills. Section Diagnostics and Culminating Tasks include formal activities, such as Socratic seminars, philosophical chairs discussions, and presentations. Also, informal speaking and listening activities recur throughout the program as students engage in collaborative peer-to-peer, small- and whole-group discussions to analyze texts, discuss group norms, and peer review their projects.

The Academic Discussion Reference Guide provides protocols for a variety of academic discussions, and materials provide teacher guidance for modeling academic vocabulary and syntax during speaking and listening opportunities. Materials include guidance on modeling effective discussion techniques through the use of teacher-composed scripts, sentence starters, and vocabulary instruction to support students in incorporating new words and academic phrases into their discussions. Students build upon the protocols from previous lessons and activities to participate in more sophisticated speaking and listening activities throughout the year.

Materials provide frequent opportunities and protocols for speaking and listening. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide protocols for speaking and listening across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 1, students begin the unit by utilizing the Academic Discussion Reference Guide, which provides information to assist with a variety of academic discussions. The Teaching Notes in the teacher edition shares, “[t]he Academic Discussion Reference Guide is a good student resource for this lesson.” Students begin working with a partner by reading and discussing the following goal statement: “l will set norms and rules that will govern behavior in small-group activities to ensure a respectful and productive learning environment.” In Section 1, Lesson 2, students work in groups to “answer text-dependent questions in order to discern the speaker’s point of view” in the TED Talk, “The Danger of Silence.” In Activity 4, students use the Academic Discussion Reference Guide to prepare for their small group discussion. Here the Academic Discussion Reference Guide includes specific protocols for speaking and listening, such as discussion norms, “[s]upport your ideas by referring to research or evidence from texts.” The guide also includes discussion stems such as “The text states _____, and this supports my claim because _____.”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 10, students engage in a Socratic Seminar utilizing the Diagnostic Checklist, which supports successful student discussion via prompts such as, “[f]rame original questions that will generate productive academic discussion during the seminar.” As part of this activity, students choose a question to develop using the texts “The History of Photojournalism: How Photography Changed the Way We Viewed the News” and Eyes of the World by Marc Aronson, Marina Budhos, Henry Holt, and Company. In Lesson 11, students participate in the Socratic Seminar by posing the questions they developed previously and by asking other open-ended questions to extend the class discussion.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 4, Lesson 12, students practice protocols for participating in a “Philosophical Chairs” discussion. The student-facing materials provide specific directions, such as “[l]isten to a statement presented by your teacher. Write down your ideas about the statement and decide what position to take.” Students also refer to the Academic Discussion Reference Guide for discussion stems, such as “[y]our argument made me see _____ differently because _____.” In addition, the teacher edition suggests guidance for how students should participate in the discussion: “A philosophical chairs discussion is similar to a debate, and students practice developing a stance, defending it, and listening to and understanding an opposing stance.”

• Protocols are varied across the academic school year and support students’ developing speaking and listening skills.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 8, students participate in a Socratic Seminar. The student materials include guidance to follow during the discussion, such as “questions in a Socratic seminar are open-ended (they elicit multiple perspectives), thought-provoking (they challenge students to evaluate and synthesize their ideas), and are clear (they are easily understandable).” In Section 2, Lesson 9, students use the Discussion Tool to organize their own ideas and to track the ideas of their peers during a Socratic seminar. Question frames are available, such as “1. What do you think about _____? What evidence from the text supports your belief?”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 4, students read “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. and participate in small group and whole-class discussions using question prompts to analyze the rhetoric used in the text.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 4, Lesson 12, students utilize the Philosophical Chairs Discussion Tool, which outlines processes for beginning an academic discussion, taking notes during the discussion, and reflecting on one’s understanding following the discussion. During the activity, students “create and defend a claim about the director’s choices in transforming Romeo and Juliet.” Students follow protocols, such as “[l]isten to a statement presented by your teacher. Write down your ideas about the statement and decide which position to take.” Students also reflect on how the discussion refined their original ideas.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 3, students use protocols, journals, and tools such as the Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool and Vocabulary Journal during independent reading and during peer discussions. Student-facing directions instruct students to work with a partner to “select one entry from the Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool to share with the class. Be sure to support your analysis with details from the text.” In Section 5, Lesson 6, students engage in a whole-class discussion on how perspective shapes our understanding of events and discuss possible topics to develop for the Application Unit.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 3, Lesson 5, students engage in a small group discussion to evaluate arguments in “Local Food Systems” by Evan Fraser and excerpts from The Locavore’s Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000-Mile Diet by Pierre Desrochers and Hiroko Shimizu. Students use the Evaluating Arguments Tool to prepare for the discussion. The tool includes guiding questions for students to consider, such as “[h]ow clearly is the argument’s position (thesis) presented, explained, and connected to its claims?”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 4, Lesson 3, students participate in peer review using the Peer Review Tool and Research Evaluation Checklist to help guide their feedback and share findings with their group members.

• Teacher guidance includes modeling of academic vocabulary and syntax during speaking and listening opportunities.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 2, Lesson 6, students participate in a series of partner discussions. To prepare, students outline their claims using the Discussion Tool, which includes a section for students to plan the academic vocabulary and syntax they will use during the discussion. The teacher edition encourages teachers to remind students to use academic vocabulary from the Vocabulary Journal and encourages teachers to model how to use academic vocabulary during a discussion.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 3, Lesson 2, teachers guide a whole-group discussion by composing a script to share with students, providing sentence starters, and writing vocabulary on the board for students to include new words in their discussion.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 4, students participate in a teacher-led discussion about the current state of the food system and the problems it entails. Teaching Notes in the teacher edition include strategies, such as “[y]ou might encourage students to practice using literary terms, academic language, and the vocabulary they have been exposed to in this unit or in prior units.” The materials also prompt teachers to use conversation stems found in the Academic Discussion Reference Guide to help students transition into the language and syntax of an academic discussion. An example includes, but is not limited to: “Your argument made me see _____ differently because _____.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want To Research?, Section 1, Lesson 1, the Application Unit Teacher Planning Guide provides guidance on how to model and support students in selecting a topic and formulating research questions.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1h.

The Grade 9 materials focus on evidence-based discussion opportunities and standards-based questions as well as other instructional supports to help students grow in their speaking and listening skills throughout the school year including opportunities for students to listen and speak during teacher-led discussions and when working with peers. All discussions require students to go directly back to the text, reference evidence or engage in repeated reading and analysis, and in many cases, the materials provide instructors with possible student responses for additional support.

Students have multiple opportunities throughout each unit to participate in various speaking and listening activities, such as small-group and whole-class discussions, Socratic Seminars, and Four Corners protocols, to discuss texts read. Most lessons and activities include standards-based guiding questions and tools to ensure students utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and other sources. Presentation of ideas and research opportunities are available through formal speaking and listening tasks and informally during the peer-to-peer discussions and sharing ideas. Students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of listening and speaking activities. The materials require students to use evidence to support their reasoning in class discussions.

Facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers are embedded within the student-facing materials as well as specific guidance in the Teacher Edition. The materials offer teachers support on facilitating Socratic Seminars and how to use tools to monitor student progress. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide additional guidance to facilitate discussions, and various tools, such as the Discussion Tool, the Delineating Arguments Tool, and the Academic Discussion Reference Guide, support student growth and developing proficiency in these skills.

Materials support students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Speaking and listening instruction includes facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 2, Lesson 2, students read the essay “Agents of Change” by Phil Paton. After discussing with a partner how the author expands the central idea, students read and answer the following text-dependent questions with a partner:

    • “What does Phil Patton mean when he writes, ‘Ordinary life is shaped for the most part by ordinary people?’ What does this tell you about the ‘great nail makers’ in the article?

    • How does the author make a case for learning about the “nail makers” of history?

    • How does a ‘nail maker’ fit into your description of a change agent?”

  • The materials offer teachers the following notes and student support for this activity: “Depending on class size, break students into groups of two to three to study each change agent. Modeling the use of the Change Agents Note-Taking Tool using one of the change agents, particularly how to categorize the pathway, might be helpful for students who are new to this protocol. Check on students individually as they read about their change agents and support them with any references they are unfamiliar with.” In Section 2, Lesson 9, students participate in a Socratic Seminar to examine excerpts from The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and Phil Patton’s “Agents of Change.” Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition offer instructional support on how to begin the Socratic Seminar as well as useful tools, such as the Discussion Tool, for students to use. The Teaching Notes also offer instructors support on monitoring student progress using the Culminating Task Progress Tracker tool.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 4, students present an “expert group analysis of either Robert Capa or Gerda Taro to the class” to demonstrate their ability to use evidence from a text to develop observations and conclusions about the characters, their relationship, and their work as photojournalists. Student instructions direct students to “Respond to questions posed by other students about your characters and his or her role in the book’s story.” The Teacher Edition includes Teaching Notes with additional guidance, such as, “To more effectively engage active student listening, be prepared to ask questions of student listeners following the presentation of each group’s findings. Also, challenge students to ask focused, relevant, probing questions of the presenting groups. You might model doing so for the student audience.” In Section 2, Lesson 11, students participate in a Socratic Seminar. The Teacher Edition provides facilitation, monitoring, and instructional support in the form of guiding questions, suggested tools, and ideas for supporting struggling students. As an example, the Teacher Edition notes the following instructional support: “Struggling readers or students who appear reluctant to participate fully in the discussion might benefit from using the Discussion Tool to formulate their claims and track the ideas of their peers.”

• Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading through varied speaking and listening opportunities.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World, Section 4, Lesson 6, students follow the Four Corners protocol to discuss the concept “change agent” outlined in Phil Patton’s “Agents of Change.” Students move to a corner of the room that represents strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree based statements read aloud by the teacher, including:

    • “Anyone can become a change agent.

    • We can have different views about what it means to be a change agent.

    • Leaders and followers can both be change agents.”

  • Subsequent to the four corners activity, students discuss as a whole class the following prompts:

    • “What surprised or shocked you about the responses?

    • Would you have responded differently to any of these statements earlier in the unit?”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 3, Lesson 2, students respond as a class to the Act 2, Scene 2 portion of the Section 3 Question Set and capture the discussion in their Character Note-Taking Tools for Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Students then participate in a jigsaw reading to examine the effect of figurative language in the balcony scene by beginning with their expert groups and then moving to other groups to explain specific elements of the scene using evidence from the text.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 2, Lesson 2, students participate in a small group discussion about The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez. Students practice speaking and listening by participating in the following activity that is outlined in the student-facing materials: “With a partner, discuss cultural issues that have come up in The Book of Unknown Americans. Discuss any issues related to ethnicity. How are they the same? How are they different?”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 5, Lesson 6, student research teams formally rehearse their presentations, receiving feedback from and providing feedback to other student research teams to inform revisions. Student instructions direct students to “Review the Presentation Structure section of the Application Unit Presentation Guide so you are clear about the expectations of the presentation, and use that structure for your rehearsal.” Listening is a focus of the lesson in that students utilize the Research Evaluation Checklist and Culminating Task Checklist to guide their feedback to other teams and to assist them in refining their own work. In Section 6, Lesson 1, students complete the Culminating Task by presenting the results of the research they have completed throughout the unit. Students follow the instructions in the student-facing materials, including “Present a clear, engaging narrative of your research process, communicating the evolution of your critical thinking and learning, reflecting on the challenges and successes you experienced, and using details to help your audience understand the context and conclusions of your work.”

• Speaking and listening work requires students to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 2, Lesson 6, students participate in an academic discussion as part of the Section Diagnostic. Students share a self-developed claim recorded in their Discussion Tool and use textual evidence from Romeo and Juliet to support their claims in response to the following discussion prompts:

    • “How did Zeffirelli’s choices in Act 1, Scene 5 enhance or detract from the thematic ideas found in Act 1, Scene 5 in the original play?

    • How did Luhrmann’s choices in Act 1, Scene 5 enhance or detract from the thematic ideas found in Act 1, Scene 5 in the original play?”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 5, students make connections between two narratives to deepen their synthesizing skills. Students work in small groups and consider the following question during their discussion: “Based on evidence from The Book of Unknown Americans and ‘The Wanderers,’ what connections can you make about the role of plot, setting, and conflict in narrative text?” Examples from The Book of the Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez are available in the Teaching Notes of the Teacher Edition, such as: “Setting: ‘I walked to Gigante some afternoons and pulled mangoes and chiles from wooden crates, holding them to my nose, inhaling the scents of home.’ (p. 54)” In Section 4, Lesson 2, students work with a partner to analyze “Sixty-Nine Cents” by Gary Shteyngart by responding to text-specific prompts to guide their analysis and discussion. Prompts focus on students’ use, application, and incorporation of text-based evidence, such as: “Imagery: Compare the description of Miami Beach to the hotel where the family stayed. What is the effect of placing these two contrasting descriptions in the same paragraph? Cite specific details from the text to support your answer.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 3, Lesson 2, students, in pairs or small groups, read “The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges” by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and respond to one of five given text-specific discussion questions, such as, “What are some potential solutions that Little discusses in her interview that might directly address one of the challenges listed in the infographic?” Students then participate in a whole class fishbowl discussion. In Section 4, Lesson 1, students discuss what they gathered from Johnathan Foley’s “A Five-Step Plan to Feed the World,” utilizing their Delineating Arguments Tool to answer the following questions:

    • “According to Foley, how should we feed a growing world?

    • What are the most pressing challenges for the food system and the best ways to address those challenges?

    • What do you think Foley’s purpose is in writing his argument? Who is he addressing?”

  • The Delineating Arguments Tools requires students to find claims, counterclaims, and supporting evidence from the text to use in the class discussion.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1i.

Writing tasks center student learning around a common topic or inquiry by clarifying and deepening understanding of the text; exploring the essential question of each unit, section, or lesson; and helping students to prepare for a Culminating Activity. Overall, these tasks include long assignments with multiple drafts, short assignments for in class responses, focused projects, and other short answer responses. Section Diagnostics prepare students for the writing and presenting tasks they complete during unit Culminating Tasks that emulate one of the following: short story, personal narrative, explanatory essay, literary analysis, argumentative essay, or research essay.

The Grade 9 materials include activities for students to connect writing to texts and incorporate many opportunities for students to engage in on-demand writing (e.g., completing digital pdf guides such as the Delineating Arguments Tool and Theme Reference Guide to help them engage in various writing activities including constructing paragraphs based on claims found in texts read) and process writing that is formal or informal (e.g., journaling using an individual Learning Log). Process writing engages students in multiple steps to develop final drafts of their writing; lessons include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing activities and provide multiple layers of instructional support for teachers and students. During process writing activities, students develop ideas and construct writing projects over a series of lessons, including revisiting writings to revise and edit their work from previous units. The materials also include multiple opportunities for students to receive a year’s worth of instruction for on-demand writing opportunities such as reflections and quick-writes. These on-demand writing assignments, including shorter, more focused writing projects, occur throughout all units in the grade level.

Materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing that covers a year’s worth of instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials include on-demand writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 1, students focus on three keywords critical to the understanding of “change agents” in preparation for the culminating task. In the activity, students answer the following questions in an on-demand writing opportunity:

    • “Read the sentence containing the word activism. Can you think of an example of someone or a group of people engaging in activism?

    • Read the sentence containing the word advocacy. Can you think of an example of someone or a group of people engaging in advocacy?

    • Read the sentence containing the word influence. Can you think of an example of someone or a group of people who exerted influence?”

  • In Section 1, Lesson 2, after watching the TED Talk, “The Danger of Silence” by Dr. Clint Smith, students work in pairs to record words and explanations that describe their reactions to the video in their Learning Logs .

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 2, students use the Summarizing the Text Tool to write a summary of the Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos. The Teacher Edition suggests that students may “write a three-sentence, two-sentence, or even one-sentence summary so that they can practice selecting the most important ideas and writing with concision.” In Section 4, Lesson 5, students consider evidence-based questions regarding their study of “The Falling Man: An Unforgettable Story” by Tom Junod. Students take notes in the Learning Log about how they might use what they have learned from the unit and consider questions, such as “What do you believe is the job of a journalist—his or her responsibility when reporting important historic events? How well do you think photographer Richard Drew did his job on 9/11? Explain and support your reasoning.” Students then write a claim and develop a plan for the Section Diagnostic to “write a short argument reflecting on our position on Falling Man and truth in Journalism.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 3, Lesson 2, students read “The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges” from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and write a one-sentence claim for a proposed solution from the challenges presented in the text. Student instructions direct students to “write a one-sentence claim statement followed by a supporting paragraph that describes the solution that you believe is a sustainable and viable option for growing food that meets a growing population, and why you think it is a viable solution. Be sure to use evidence from the text when writing your paragraph.”

• Materials include process writing opportunities that cover a year’s worth of instruction. Opportunities for students to revise and edit are provided.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 3, Lesson 6, students revise their Section 1, Section Diagnostic multi-paragraph responses, which define the term “agent of change” and use evidence from unit texts, such as “The Danger of Silence” by Clink Smith and “How to Start a Movement” by Derek Sivers, to support their definitions. Students also use their Learning Logs, Vocabulary Journals, Mentor Sentence Journals, and annotated texts from the pathway explorations selected within their research teams to revise their writing using a series of prompts, including:

    • “Revise your definition of a change agent based on the final definition determined with your research team.

    • Revise your multiparagraph response topic to include a discussion of the universal characteristics of change agents along with how change agents employ these characteristics to impact society.

    • Augment your paper with additional evidence from pathway texts; include quotes and appropriate citations.”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lesson 1, students begin the culminating writing task that answers: How can adaptations enhance or detract from the themes of the original text? Students engage in the processes of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing as they respond to the following instructions:

    • “Determine a theme from Romeo and Juliet and explain how that theme is developed in the play.

    • Determine and explain how this same theme is developed in both film adaptations of the play.

    • Compare and contrast the ways in which the theme is developed in the text and in the films. Explain how the adaptations enhance or detract from the development of the theme in the play.”

  • In the Development Unit, Book of Unknown Americans, Section 4, Lesson 5, students write an explanatory text to compare a theme in The Book of Unknown Americans to a theme in one of the other texts that have been studied in the unit. For this explanatory text, students plan their writing by following the Section 4 Diagnostic Checklist and other guides. Students review and revise their work using guiding questions such as, “Did I develop my topic with relevant and sufficient text evidence from both texts?” Students also gather feedback from peers to further revise their writing before submitting their final explanatory texts.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 4, Lesson 5, students write an explanatory text to identify a theme in the novel The Book of the Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez and compare the theme to a theme in other texts they have studied in the unit. For this explanatory text, students plan their writing by following the Section 4 Diagnostic Checklist and other guides. Students write an explanatory response that answers one of the following questions:

    • “What is a theme in the novel, and how is it similar to a theme in one of the other texts in this unit?

    • What literary elements and narrative techniques did the authors use to convey the themes?”

  • Students review their responses using focus questions such as, “Did I develop my topic with relevant and sufficient text evidence from both texts?” to guide their revisions, and they edit for grammar and punctuation to publish a clean copy for evaluation. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide additional instructional guidance including, “[it] is important that students receive your feedback on their Section Diagnostic performance as soon as possible. Providing timely academic feedback is crucial to students’ literacy development and understanding of their own proficiency.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 3, Lesson 7, students begin to develop arguments for the unit Culminating Task by utilizing the Delineating Arguments Tool to identify the issue/question, purpose, perspective, and position. Students also identify the claims and supporting evidence found in the texts they read, including “Eat Less Meat: UN Climate-Change Report Calls for Change to Human Diet” by Quirin Schiermeier. In Section 5, students begin to draft their argumentative responses. In Lesson 1, students draft their position paragraph. In Lesson 2, students develop paragraphs that present their claims as well as the supporting evidence they have collected in their Delineating Arguments Tool. In Lesson 3, students continue to develop their essays by considering what they need to incorporate to target the intended audience and to complete their concluding paragraphs. Students use the Culminating Task Checklist and pair with an editing partner to read, review, and discuss their draft paragraphs to consider again their audience and purpose for writing as part of the ongoing revising and editing opportunities to complete their culminating task for the unit.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 3, Lesson 7, students meet in teams to review, reflect on, and discuss research feedback that informs further revisions and establishes next steps as they prepare to finalize their inquiry. Students utilize the Research Evaluation Checklist and create a task list of the necessary revisions, including refining investigation, extending research, and reading and analyzing new sources. Teaching Notes in the teaching edition provide instructional support for conferences with students; as students read and analyze new sources, for example, the notes suggest that “Students revise evidence-based claims that were deemed unsupported and develop new ones that address additional inquiry paths.” In Section 5, Lesson 4, students revise the written components of the Culminating Task presentation. To revise their writing, students work independently and in teams to make edits before conferencing with the teacher. After students have had the opportunity to revise and edit individually, with a team, and with the teacher, students employ all feedback to finalize their writing.

• Materials include digital resources where appropriate.

  • In all units in the Odell Education High School Literacy Program, students have access to the digital Literacy Toolbox. As stated in the digital Program Guide, “the Literacy Toolbox supports reading, writing, and speaking and listening activities pertinent to the unit’s text or topic and instructional sequences. The Literacy Toolbox comprises graphic organizers (tools), reference guides, rubrics, and checklists, carefully designed to support student success throughout the learning progressions of the units. Each item in the toolbox is designed for flexible use. Items are available in each unit as PDFs and, when editable, as Google Docs.”

  • In the Development, Photojournalism, Section 5, Lesson 4, students use the digital resource Forming Evidence-Based Claims to generate rough drafts for the expository essay. This digital resource contains guidance such as “Select details that are most important for answering the question. Record these details with citations” to prompt students to include the necessary information to construct an appropriate expository essay. In Section 5, Lesson 5, students begin writing an expository essay addressing the Central Question: How do images change the world? Students draw on notes relating to multiple texts they have analyzed throughout the unit, including digital resources; examples include, but are not limited, “100 Photographs: The Most Influential Images of All Time” by Time Staff, Photographers of the Dust Bowl by Ken Burns, and “D-Day and the Omaha Beach Landings” by Magnum Photos.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 2, Lesson 1, students read lines 89–108 of Act 1, Scene 2 from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and answer question prompts, such as “What theme is Shakespeare developing about youth and love?” in their Learning Logs. The materials provide a pdf titled Theme Reference Guide, which helps students identify and analyze themes in their discussions and writings by presenting a series of guided questions, including:

    • What meaning do you initially find in the text or work?

    • What deeper meaning emerges as you study the text or work more carefully?

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1j.

Grade 9 materials provide sufficient opportunities across the year for students to engage in argumentative, informative/explanatory, and narrative writing that connects to the texts students read and analyze. Opportunities may include blended writing styles that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

Mentor texts model the various writing types, and instructional activities include opportunities within and across units for students to develop writing based on anchor texts and text sets. Students write after each reading or viewing experience, and most writing experiences distill distinct elements of the overall writing process, which may be completed as stand-alone products, or as part of a larger task or learning experience. Across the entire school year, students write six process essays, including short story, personal narrative, explanatory essay, literary analysis, argumentative essay, and research essay, that reflect a deep understanding of the Central Question and genre study within each unit. The multiple modes, genres, and types of writing practiced in informal and formal writing tasks, including the unit Culminating Tasks, as well as the support and scaffolding in place, should help students to meet grade-level proficiency by the end of the year.

Materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes/types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Different genres/modes/types of writing are distributed throughout the school year.

  • Students have opportunities to engage in argumentative writing.

    • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 5, Lesson 1, students begin drafting their unit Culminating Task, an argumentative essay that addresses the questions:

      • “What are the most pressing challenges facing the future of the global food system?

      • How should we go about addressing those challenges?”

    • Students use a collaborative, criteria-based writing process to produce a final written argument or presentation “to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have developed in the previous sections.” During the lesson, students begin writing a draft paragraph that introduces and explains their position while considering their purpose and audience, as well as the tone and language they will use. Student-facing instructions direct students to “Work with a writing partner to review your position paragraph, using questions or criteria to determine how well the paragraph works and in what ways it might be improved.”

  • Students have opportunities to engage in informative/explanatory writing.

    • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 5, Lesson 1, students develop a claim in response to the expository prompt, “How does photojournalism highlight and define important moments in history and culture? Support your claims with textual evidence by citing one or more written texts and at least two photographs and photojournalists.” Students identify evidence that supports their claim from photos, corresponding texts, and the tools they completed throughout the unit. In Lesson 2, students write a thesis statement or central claim for the essay. The student materials provide reminders, such as: The thesis should be a guide map for what you will say overall in the essay—if you had to sum it up for someone in one sentence.” In Lesson 6, students publish the final draft of their expository essays.

    • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 5, Lesson 1, students begin writing a literary analysis to “explain how the directors’ choices in their adaptations enhance or detract from the development of a theme in the play.”

  • Students have opportunities to engage in narrative writing.

    • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 4, Lesson 3, as part of the Culminating Task, students write a multiparagraph reflective narrative describing their research process and explaining their “strengths and areas of growth as a reader, writer, collaborator, and presenter.”

    • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 5, Lesson 3, students began a narrative writing piece in which they “write multi-paragraph reflective narratives to our teacher that describe our research processes and explain our strengths and areas of growth as readers, writers, collaborators, and presenters.”

    • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 5, Lesson 4, students write a rough draft of a vignette from The Book of Unknown America. Students then revise the drafts of their vignettes to reimagine the situation from a ‘new’ perspective of a different character by employing narrative techniques, sequencing the events, using authentic character voice and descriptive language, and providing a conclusion that follows the original while highlighting the story from their own character’s perspective.

• Where appropriate, writing opportunities are connected to texts and/or text sets (either as prompts, models, anchors, or supports).

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 3, Lesson 7, students write and revise multi-paragraph expository responses that demonstrate their understanding of the themes found in Acts 1–3 of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Students end the lesson by drafting a written response for a Section Diagnostic. The student materials direct students to “use the Model Claim from the Section 1 and 2 Diagnostics to structure your paragraphs.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 5, Lesson 4, students use the text The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez and other supporting texts, such as “Immigrants in Our Own Land” by Jimmy Santiago Baca and “My Mother Never Worked” by Bonnie Smith-Yackel, as models to help construct their vignettes from the perspective of a different character from The Book of Unknown Americans.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 7, students write an explanatory piece based on the texts read throughout the unit. The student-facing materials explain how students will use texts for the writing task as follows: “Using the texts read throughout this section, we will choose one major issue facing the global food system to address. We will develop and explain a multipart, evidence-based claim about that challenge.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students choose a topic and texts for further study from the units they have studied during the year. One option is from the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lessons 1–11 on change agents, using the text set comprised of the TED Talk “The Danger of Silence” by Clint Smith; “Introduction,” an excerpt from The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell; the TED Talk “How to Start a Movement” by Derek Sivers, “Inaugural Address, 20 January 1961” by John F. Kennedy and Ted Sorensen; and an excerpt from The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.

• Materials include sufficient writing opportunities for a whole year’s use.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 6, students complete the following writing activity. “Write your thoughts on one of the sticky notes on your desk. Once you finish, place your sticky note on the whiteboard under ‘Be the Change.’’’

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want To Research?, students choose to further research one of the topics and text sets they have studied in a previous unit to complete the Culminating Task. In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, for example, students address the prompt, “Write an expository essay explaining and analyzing how photojournalism highlights and defines important moments in history and culture,” as the Culminating Task. Similarly, in the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 5, Lesson 6, students complete the reflection portion of their Culminating Task Project Tracker as an example of explanatory writing. Also, in the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 5, Lesson 6, students discuss the arguments presented in the unit and develop ideas to answer the Culminating Task to write an argumentative essay addressing the prompt: “What are the most pressing challenges facing the future of the global food system? How should we go about addressing those challenges?” These examples reflect multiple opportunities for students to write in various modes throughout the year in preparation for the final Culminating Task in which students work in teams to develop their ideas and construct their final written research product. Throughout the unit, students develop a research portfolio and presentation connecting to a self-selected topic of inquiry that presents “a clear, engaging narrative of your research process, communicating the evolution of your critical thinking and learning, reflecting on the challenges and successes you experienced, and using details to help your audience understand the context and conclusions of your work.” In Section 5, students apply writing skills developed over the year and connect to texts and topics they have studied closely. In Section 5, Lesson 8, students reflect on what they have learned and evaluate their skills and knowledge by completing the Culminating Task Progress Tracker prompt: “Add or refine any skills and content knowledge required for the Culminating Task. Evaluate how well you are mastering skills and knowledge required for the Culminating Task.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1k.

The Grade 9 materials provide frequent opportunities for students to engage in short writing responses, argumentative writing tasks, and synthesis of ideas, as well as allow students to connect their writing to various texts they read and analyze across the year. Materials provide tools to guide students in completing writing tasks, such as diagnostic checklists, including student self-assessment of their writing goals, and an Organizing Evidence Tool to guide students in explaining how the evidence supports the supporting claim and the central claim or thesis.

Students learn and practice skills before applying them in their writing. Students revisit texts when responding to questions and cite evidence to support their positions, create claims and support those claims with textual evidence, review and revise claims, and consider whether additional evidentiary support is necessary. Supporting their ideas with evidence from the texts, students write literary and rhetorical analyses, as well as argumentative and informational responses throughout the year. Additionally, each unit ends with an extended writing Culminating Task that requires students to review across texts and genres and to support their claims and arguments with evidence from multiple texts. Students write to practice and apply writing standards that require them to write with a task, purpose, and audience in mind, to delineate and evaluate arguments, and to develop a short research response.

Materials include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support sophisticated analysis, argumentation, and synthesis. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 3, students read the first four paragraphs of the introduction of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Students identify characteristics and elements of change found in the selection by completing the following tasks:

    • “Use a highlighter and a writing utensil for this activity. In the first paragraph, highlight the phrase that illuminates where Hush Puppies first made their comeback.

    • In the second paragraph, highlight two of the four events or people that caused the popularity of Hush Puppies to climb.

    • In the third paragraph, highlight the statement that describes what started the popularity of Hush Puppies again.

    • In the fourth paragraph, highlight the statement that describes how the fad spread throughout the country.”

  • Students then apply this annotation strategy as they read Section 2 of The Tipping Point using the Attending to Details Tool to answer guiding prompts, including:

    • “What is an epidemic?

    • What does the word contagious mean?

    • How do you know the meaning of these words? Find the evidence in the text that supports your definition.”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 2, students read and annotate the article “What the Photo Still Does Best” by Hank Klibanoff. After reading, students answer the following evidence based questions:

    • “What is the central claim of the article? In other words, what is it that the photo still does best?

    • Select a quote that supports your answer to Question 1 regarding the central claim of the article. How does that quote explain or support the author’s central claim?”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 8, students practice developing their writing using evidence. At the beginning of the lesson, students generate claims and topic sentences, then find evidence to support their claims, and finally discuss how to ensure their ideas are developed and supported appropriately by sharing their work with a partner. The student-facing materials direct students as follows: “As you explain what you intend to write, or listen to your partner’s explanation, think about how the claim, topic sentences, and evidence work together to form a unified and coherent response to the task question.” Later, in Section 4, Lesson 6, students apply the skill of using evidence in their writing to craft an expository response to the prompt: “In light of what we have learned about the history and controversy surrounding Falling Man, write a multi-paragraph expository response to the following question: Does the image Falling Man successfully define a significant aspect of 9/11? In other words, is the image in poor taste, or is it an important, albeit disturbing, image?” The directions for this task requires students to include evidentiary support in their writing.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lesson 10, students complete the Section Diagnostic based on their reading of Act I of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Students write a paragraph response answering the following questions:

    • “What is a theme that is developed in Act I of Romeo and Juliet?

    • How is that theme developed?”

  • The student-facing materials prompt students to “Support your analytical interpretive claim with strong textual evidence from the play.”

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 2, Lesson 3, students read a passage from “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment” by Jayson Lusk and practice rewriting one of Lusk’s closing statements. Student-facing materials direct students to pay “attention to Lusk’s use of language and sentence patterns to convey his claims,” as they practice rewriting the claim using key points and claims from the article. In Section 5, Lesson 2, students draft one or more paragraphs that “present and explain the claim and then develop and support it by citing evidence from our research and other arguments.” To support their writing, students utilize the Organizing Evidence Tool and consider prompts, such as “What information, examples, or statistics will you cite to support the claim?” Students draw on evidence from the texts they are reading throughout the unit to clearly present, explain, and support with evidence an argumentative position addressing the question: “How do we feed a growing world?”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students have the opportunity to research and write about a topic from any of the prior units. To support their research and writing, the Application Unit Culminating Task Checklist prompts students to “Show your learning community text-based evidence that supports your new perspective or understanding on your topic.”

• Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with texts and sources to provide supporting evidence.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 3, Lesson 6, students review their first Section Diagnostic multiparagraph response to “demonstrate how your understanding of change agents has expanded and changed after reading additional texts.” Students refine their claims based on texts, including Malcolm Gladwell’s “Introduction” from The Tipping Point. To guide their revisions, students utilize the Section 3 Diagnostic Checklist, which provides prompts, including “What additional support do I need to add in? How will I add it in?”

  • In the Development Unit Romeo and Juliet, Section 2, Lesson 2, students view Act 1, Scene 1, of the prologue of the Romeo and Juliet film adaptation directed by Franco Zeffirelli and answer a series of response questions, including:

    • “How does the director transform the source material?

    • What thematic ideas from the text are emphasized in the film scene? Which, if any, are not?

    • How did the director’s choices emphasize the thematic ideas? What evidence from the film supports your claim? Be sure to cite specific details from the film as evidence.”

  • Students also use their Learning Log and Film-Theme Note-Taking Tool to include evidence they have collected from close reading throughout the unit.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 2, Lesson 6, students perform a close read of a section of The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez to provide their analytical response to the question: “How does the use of purposeful and descriptive language help authors communicate experiences, events, character traits, tone, setting, and theme in a story?” The student-facing materials include the following specific guidance to ensure students use supporting evidence to develop their claims: “In your response, provide examples of purposeful and descriptive language from both The Book of Unknown Americans and ‘Immigrants in Our Own Land,’ and explain how each example develops plot, characterization, tone, setting, or theme in the text.” In Section 4, Lesson 4, the Teacher Edition suggests three student writing opportunities, each of which requires students to read closely and to provide textual evidence in their responses. For example, one question prompt states, “Write a literary essay discussing how Henriquez uses literary elements and narrative techniques to develop a theme in the novel. Use collected quotes as evidence to support your ideas.

• Your essay must include a discussion of a minimum of three techniques the author employed in the novel.

• Your essay must include at least three direct quotes from the novel.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 3, Lesson 3, students synthesize their understanding across multiple sources. Students work collaboratively in teams to determine revisions to the Research Frame Tool. The student-facing materials direct teams to “Determine what kind of revisions or refinements you might need to make to your Research Frame Tool.” The student-facing materials provide questions for consideration, including, but not limited to: “Which inquiry question best summarizes each inquiry path? What are the primary, or most important, inquiry questions for each inquiry path?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 meet the criteria for Indicator 1m.

The Grade 9 materials provide a Program Guide that details the structure of the program and how vocabulary is incorporated into both instruction and student work, noting that “While the program prioritizes Tier 2 language, students are exposed to Tier 3 language as well.” The materials offer instructional guidance in outlining and using year-long vocabulary development tools and activities to support student vocabulary development across the school year, and the Teacher Edition and student-facing materials provide specific structures to help students build vocabulary knowledge within and across texts by including specific opportunities for students to connect their understanding of words in multiple contexts and situations.

Academic vocabulary acquisition and use are prioritized within and across the units, as students identify essential vocabulary and apply it to their reading, speaking, and writing tasks. The materials provide opportunities for students to learn new academic and domain-specific terms as students encounter vocabulary in a series of contexts before, during, and across texts, and opportunities for students to determine the meaning of vocabulary words using context clues are consistent. The materials attend to content vocabulary essential to understand each text and to analyze the purpose of word choices. Vocabulary instruction and practice accompany the core program’s selections to build vocabulary knowledge and improve students’ abilities to access complex texts.

Students apply their vocabulary skills to reading tasks utilizing tools, such as the Vocabulary in Context Tool, to assist them in understanding the meaning of unknown words and that words may have multiple meanings. In addition, students have regular opportunities to record vocabulary throughout the units using tools, including Word Maps and Vocabulary Journals, to note and define words. Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide definitions and suggestions on implementing the Vocabulary Journals. Materials also prompt students to incorporate vocabulary during speaking opportunities and utilize tools, such as the Discussion Tool, to consider language used during classroom discussions.

Materials include a cohesive year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive year-long vocabulary development component.

  • The Program Guide outlines a philosophy and structure regarding vocabulary, noting that “vocabulary is essential to comprehension” and that “the program contains a variety of tools to help students build a robust body of vocabulary and incorporate vocabulary into their own writing and speech.” The materials contain Critical Thinking & Analytical Tools, including the Vocabulary in Context Tool, Word Map, Vocabulary Journal, and Vocabulary Lists, to utilize during instruction and support vocabulary development. Also, Reference Guides, including the Arguments Reference Guide and Claims Reference Guide, “define English language arts concepts and equip students with content terminology used to explain their analysis of text.” Other guides, including the Narratives Reference Guide, Style Reference Guide, and Symbolism and Motifs Reference Guide contain “explanations of key literary elements and syntax techniques.” Additionally, Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition embed guidance within the lesson activities throughout the year by suggesting specific instructional strategies and supports for academic and content-specific vocabulary development and practice before and during text examination.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World, Section 1, Lesson 1, students encounter the terms activism, advocacy, and influence and record them in their Vocabulary Journals. The Vocabulary Journals prompt students to collect terms throughout the unit that they may find important or that the teacher provides. The Teacher Edition Teaching Notes explain, “You can approach teaching these terms using a variety of strategies; however, you should keep in mind that students will truly learn the terms’ meanings by applying them to their growing understanding of change agents throughout the unit.” The notes also provide examples from the key words, activism, advocacy, and influence, introduced in Lesson 1.

  • In The Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 3, Teacher Notes in the Teacher Edition provide the following guidance for the Vocabulary in Context Tool:

    • “Throughout the unit, students also interact with the Vocabulary in Context Tool. The purpose of the Vocabulary in Context Tool is twofold: 1. Students build vocabulary and develop a strategy for determining the meaning of unknown words and phrases when there is contextual information and when there is not. 2. Students metacognate on their process for determining the meaning of unknown words, determine the effectiveness of that process, and articulate a plan for using it in future texts.”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lesson 2, students encounter vocabulary, including archaic and semantic, that cannot be defined by contextual clues. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition offer the following guidance:

    • “Provide student-friendly definitions of the following words: archaic and semantic. Student-friendly definition: Archaic means something is old fashioned or no longer in use. Language can be archaic when words and phrases are no longer in use. For example, the pronouns thee, thy, and thou are archaic.”

  • In Section 3, Lesson 2, students define the terms soliloquy, dramatic irony, simile, metaphor, and personification in their Vocabulary Journals. The Teacher Edition Teaching Notes provide the definitions for these terms.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 2, students engage in vocabulary activities for the unit. The Teacher Edition outlines the use of Vocabulary Lists and tools, such as the Vocabulary Journal and the Vocabulary in Context Tool, to build students’ vocabulary knowledge throughout the school year. Regarding the cohesive year-long vocabulary development component for the program, the Teaching Notes state: “Suggested vocabulary words can be found in the Vocabulary List for each major text in the unit.” Teaching Notes also describe the purpose for the vocabulary tools that students will use throughout the year to develop their vocabulary:

    • “Students build vocabulary and develop a strategy for determining the meaning of unknown words and phrases when there is contextual information and when there is not.

    • Students metacognate on their process for determining the meaning of unknown words, determine the effectiveness of that process, and articulate a plan for using it in future texts.”

• Vocabulary is repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts) and across multiple texts.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes The World?, Section 1, Lesson 4, students use the Rhetorical Device Note-Taking Tool to build foundational knowledge about rhetorical devices used in persuasive speech, specifically John F. Kennedy’s “1961 Inaugural Address.” Subsequently, in the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 3, Lesson 4, students learn how an appeal to the reader’s emotions is one of three rhetorical strategies as they examine “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition direct students to the Vocabulary List that includes the term rhetoric(al) and other important vocabulary.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 7, students read an excerpt from Machiavelli’s The Prince and encounter the vocabulary term fascists. Subsequently, in the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 7, students closely read the opening of Chapter 3 of Eyes of the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos and learn about the social and political world surrounding Capa and Taro in Paris and Europe. Students answer text-specific questions, including: “Why are people wondering about communism, socialism, fascism and anarchism? What distinguishes these political ideologies?” The vocabulary word fascist is included in the unit Vocabulary List.

  • In The Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 3, students unpack and examine the academic word influential before reading an excerpt from Migrant Mother: How a Photograph Defined the Great Depression by Don Nardo, in which the word appears. Students previously encountered the word influential in the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, when they read “Agents of Change” by Phil Patton.

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 1, Lesson 3, students identify and record unfamiliar words from the Vocabulary List before reading the texts in the unit. In Section 3, Lesson 7, students revisit vocabulary in an excerpt from Imprisoned in a Luminous Glare: Photography and the African American Freedom Struggle by Leigh Raiford. In this lesson, the Teacher Edition guides teachers to “pre-teach key vocabulary” such as the word stoicism before students encounter the word in the text. Subsequently, in Section 4, Lesson 2, students “Work with a partner to review, discuss, and define the words” in “The Falling Man: An Unforgettable Story” by Tom Junod; the term stoicism is included in this text as well, so students build their knowledge before reading, after reading, and throughout multiple texts.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 3, Lesson 5, students return to the Romeo and Juliet: Vocabulary List to answer questions regarding vocabulary found in the text Romeo and Juliet. Students answer a series of questions on new words found in the play, such as “What is the precise meaning of the word alliance in Line 98?” and “What does the word rancor mean in Line 99?” and record the definitions of these words in their Vocabulary Journals.

  • In the Development Unit, Global Food Production, Section 1, Lesson 3, students encounter the term claim and define the term in their Vocabulary Journals. The student-facing materials include instructions to guide students, such as “Consider where you have made a claim and used it to your benefit, either in an academic or personal setting. Write down the definition in your Vocabulary Journal.” In Section 3. Lesson 2, for example, students revisit the word claim as they use the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to construct paragraphs in response to the prompt: “Are new technologies, such as indoor urban agriculture and vertical farming, viable solutions to sustaining a global food system?” Students’ understanding of the term is essential for success on the Section Diagnostic when they will write an evidence-based multipart claim and supporting paragraph.

• Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and to high-value academic words (e.g., words that might appear in other contexts/content areas).

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World?, Section 1, Lesson 1, regarding vocabulary instruction, the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition offers the following guidance:

    • “You can write the term definitions and examples below on the board or in a way students can see them in order to transfer them to their Vocabulary Journals. You can approach teaching these terms using a variety of strategies; however, you should keep in mind that students will truly learn the terms’ meanings by applying them to their growing understanding of change agents throughout the unit.”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 1, students build vocabulary knowledge before reading “The History of Photojournalism. How Photography Changed the Way We Receive News” by Jessica Stewart. The student-facing materials call specific attention to academic words found in the text, such as subsequent and disseminate. To help “cement understanding” of academic vocabulary, the Teacher Edition suggests that students complete specific activities, such as:

    • “Write example and nonexample sentences that use the new words.

    • Answer hypothetical situations that use the new words.

    • Craft analogies.

    • Connect the meaning of the words to texts or topics they have previously studied.”

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 1, Lesson 2, students encounter the Romeo and Juliet: Vocabulary List of academic and content-specific language found in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The list includes terms, such as contemporary, resonate, intrinsic, appeal, and plausibility. The resources also offer ELA specific language, such as iambic pentameter, personification, soliloquy, and pun.

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 4, Activity 4, students encounter a vocabulary list provided by their teacher of key words for the reading of “The Wanderers” by Guadalupe Nettel. Prior to reading, students unpack and examine the term tangible in context of the material. The word tangible is a Tier 2 academic word and is often encountered across disciplines.

• Students are supported to accelerate vocabulary learning with vocabulary in their reading, speaking, and writing tasks.

  • In the Foundation Unit, Who Changes the World, Section 1, Lesson 1, students are introduced to the terms activism, advocacy, and influence and answer a series of questions to incorporate the vocabulary in their learning:

    • “Read the sentence containing the word activism. Can you think of an example of someone or a group of people engaging in activism?

    • Read the sentence containing the word advocacy. Can you think of an example of someone or a group of people engaging in advocacy?

    • Read the sentence containing the word influence. Can you think of an example of someone or a group of people who exerted influence?”

  • In Section 3, Lesson 6, as students revise their multi-paragraph response to the Section Diagnostic, the student-facing materials direct students to “Review your Vocabulary Journal. Identify a significant word or words that you would like to use in your revision.”

  • In the Development Unit, Photojournalism, Section 2, Lesson 11, students engage in a Socratic Seminar to analyze the texts from the unit that they have read so far. To participate in this speaking task, students use words from their Vocabulary Journals and other academic language.

  • In the Development Unit, Romeo and Juliet, Section 2, Lesson 5, students prepare for the Section Diagnostic by completing Section 1 of the Discussion Tool. The instructions prompt students to use significant words from their Vocabulary Journal as follows:

    • “Review your Vocabulary Journal and the Discussion Stems in the Academic Discussion Reference Guide. Record words and stems you want to use during the discussion.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Book of Unknown Americans, Section 1, Lesson 4, students use the Vocabulary in Context Tool to build their knowledge of vocabulary by examining the text to determine how the word is used. Some questions that guide students through reading the vocabulary words in context include:

    • “Does the author use any metaphors to help me determine the meaning of the word?

    • Does the author use any contrasting language (e.g., but, however, yet, nevertheless, despite, sometimes) to show an exception?”

  • In Section 2, Lesson 5, students write an expository text using key vocabulary learned throughout the unit as the Section Diagnostic. The student-facing materials prompt students to “Review your Vocabulary Journal. Identify a significant word or words that you would like to use in your response to the Section Diagnostic.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 6, Lesson 1, students revise their presentation rough drafts into final drafts utilizing the Culminating Task Checklist to consider how well they use language and themes that are relevant and appropriate for the audience to ensure effective communication. Students incorporate vocabulary acquired throughout the research process into their final product.