10th Grade - Gateway 3

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 provide some strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.

The Program Guide includes, “Prior to starting each unit, teachers are encouraged to initiate a conversation with students, parents and guardians, explaining the unit’s particular aspects of diversity (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, and sexual orientation) and prime students to engage in brave conversations about topics that may be challenging.” While materials include a Remote Learning Guide that outlines several ways teachers can communicate and monitor students, the materials do not outline strategies that inform stakeholders how they can help support student progress and achievement.

Materials provide some strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials contain strategies for informing students, parents, or caregivers about the ELA program.

  • In the Program Guide, materials provide general ideas for informing students, parents, or caregivers: “Educators might also engage parents, counselors, and other respected community advisors in conversations about the texts and topics students are studying. Teachers are encouraged to create a kind, open, and safe environment for students to engage with multiple perspectives and grow as individuals.” Materials do not explicitly mention specific strategies for informing students, parents, or caregivers.

  • In the Remote Learning Guide, materials include various ways in which teachers can communicate with students. For example, the Remote Learning Guide includes that, “A major concern for educators in remote learning is how to diagnose, monitor, and evaluate student progress in reading, writing, and speaking. In synchronous learning sessions, this type of monitoring can be done in much the same way as in the brick-and-mortar classroom—via entry tasks, discussion check-ins, polling, group work, and exit tickets.” Materials do not include a thorough explanation of how instructional information is communicated with various stakeholders.

• Materials do not contain suggestions for how parents or caregivers can help support student progress and achievement.

• In the Program Guide, materials outline an end-of-year activity: “At the end of the year, each class’s learning community presents newfound knowledge about timely and relevant issues to a forum made up of students’ school, guardians, and local community.” Materials do not provide concrete actions for parents or caregivers to support student progress and achievement during this task.

• In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 5, Lesson 1, students select one of three options to present their Culminating Task: in-class, school-wide, or community-based presentations. In Section 5, Lesson 6, the Teacher Edition provides a few different ways for students to share their research with the larger community. The following example is listed in the Teacher Edition: “Option 1 is a community celebration, where students’ families, friends and other teachers are invited, as well as their peers. This would be an opportunity for the students to celebrate their hard work on a sustained, independent research project in a broader, more interesting forum for their concluding question and answer session.” While this option provides an opportunity to involve stakeholders during the presentation of students’ work, neither the Teacher Edition Teaching Notes or the student-facing materials specifically mention how parents or caregivers can support student progress and achievement as students work to complete this task.

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 include assessments that offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment.

Students can increase the font size of text within the digital materials by clicking on the delta arrows on the right side of the text box; however, materials do not provide guidance on the use of this provided accommodation.

Assessments offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials offer accommodations that ensure all students can access the assessment (e.g., text-to-speech, increased font size) without changing the content of the assessment. Materials do not include guidance for teachers on the use of provided accommodations.

  • In the Program Guide, Website Guidance, Activity Pages, the Student Directions section includes the following note, “This section provides student-facing directions, which can be expanded to increase the font size for better readability. For activities that contain more than one step, segmenting is used. Activity segments are indicated by horizontal bars across the top of the directions pane.” Materials do not explain how students can increase the font size.

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 provide varied approaches to learning tasks over time and variety in how students are expected to demonstrate their learning with opportunities for students to monitor their learning. 

The program design allows students to make choices about their learning and research. Approaches to presentation and demonstration of learning vary. Students work with partners, present with small groups, and complete individual tasks to demonstrate learning. Students share their thinking in various contexts, including multi-modal opportunities during which students investigate and problem-solve with peers. Materials leverage multiple formats for students to deepen their understanding and ability to explain and apply literacy ideas. Students and teachers can monitor student learning through formative and summative assessment opportunities, such as peer reviews and discussions, teacher feedback on Section Diagnostics, and reflection on the culminating tasks. The program offers students frequent opportunities for self-reflection, and they can self-evaluate their progress on their ability to successfully meet the learning goals.

Materials provide varied approaches to learning tasks over time and variety in how students are expected to demonstrate their learning with opportunities for students to monitor their learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide multi-modal opportunities for students to question, investigate, sense-make, and problem-solve using a variety of formats and methods. Materials leverage the use of a variety of formats and methods over time to deepen student understanding and ability to explain and apply literacy ideas.

  • In the Foundation Unit, How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?, Section 4, Lesson 1, students present their Culminating Task on the Central Question, “How do we determine the right thing to do?,” in their groups. Students choose from the following pathways—environmental ethics, biomedical ethics, ethics of identity and representation, sports ethics, or ethics of social justice—and create a 5–7 minute presentation about ethics and why ethical issues are complex.

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, students form research teams to explore an inquiry question they develop themselves. The Program Guide shares, “Students expand their learning community as they develop a presentation for the larger school community. The Application Unit includes independent and collaborative reading, writing, discussion, and presentation.” In Section 5, Lesson 6, students rehearse their presentations with the research team and receive peer feedback to refine their work. The student facing-materials include guidance such as: “As you listen to the other team’s presentation, use the Peer Review Culminating Task Checklist to guide your feedback to the team to help them refine their work after the rehearsal. If needed, refer to the Presentation Creation Process, Presentation Structure, and Presentation Written Components sections of the Application Unit Presentation Guide to inform your thinking and feedback.”

• Students have opportunities to share their thinking, to demonstrate changes in their thinking over time, and to apply their understanding in new contexts.

  • In the Development Unit, Telling Stories, Section 2, Lesson 4, students work with reading teams to deepen their understanding of “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. In the reading teams, students discuss their initial understanding and work together to firm up their understanding by analyzing their assigned section of the text before sharing their understanding with another group in a jigsaw activity. The student-facing materials include the following guidance: “In a jigsaw discussion, we will each present what we have learned about a section of the story and continue to study elements related to characterization and description in ‘A Rose for Emily.’”

  • In the Development Unit, The Ethics of Public Health Decisions, Section 1, Lesson 8, students work on the Section Diagnostic in which they develop a research presentation with their research teams to discuss ethical approaches to public health concerns. The student-facing materials explain how students apply changes in their understanding in new contexts: “We will integrate our newfound understanding of approaches to ethical decision making, public health controversies, and vaccinations by working in research teams to address investigative questions, interpret informational texts and infographics, and develop evidence-based claims that summarize what we have learned about our topics and their relationship to the ethics of public health. We will participate in an informational presentation for the class or another public audience. Following the presentation, we will write a short reflective narrative.”

• Materials provide for ongoing review, practice, self-reflection, and feedback. Materials provide a clear path for students to monitor and move their own learning.

  • In the Development Unit, Alexander Hamilton, Section 4, Lesson 1, students revisit their work from Sections 2 and 3, thinking about the following question: “What character traits of Alexander Hamilton are revealed in these texts?” Students work with a partner to synthesize their work and their inferences from Sections 2 and 3 on the Comparison Organizational Frame. Then, students work in small groups to compare the character of Hamilton from the musical to the character of Hamilton from primary sources before sharing their findings with the class.

  • In the Development Unit, Things Fall Apart, Section 4, Lesson 6, students monitor their learning and understanding of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe to ensure they are ready for the Culminating Task. Students work through a series of self-monitoring questions to reflect on their learning so far: “How did the text help you understand or think about the Central Question? What avenue of analysis did you take for your Culminating Task, and how did it relate to the Central Question?” The student-facing materials explain how students approach this lesson: “As a class, we will discuss our understanding of Things Fall Apart and consider questions we might further explore. This will help us express our understanding of the themes of the text and prepare for the Application Unit.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Section 2, Lessons 7–8, students explain how Rebecca Skloot conveys perspectives about complex issues in Part 2 of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Materials provide students with opportunities to self-reflect on their work on the Diagnostic and assess their progress toward being able to successfully complete the Culminating Task. For example, students respond to questions in their Learning Logs, such as: “6. What would you do differently during the next Section Diagnostic?” Students also review the Culminating Task Progress Tracker to evaluate their skills and knowledge to determine readiness for the Culminating Task.

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

Students have opportunities to work one-on-one with the instructor; in pairs, small groups, and research teams; and as a whole-group during various activities throughout the materials. The Teaching Notes of the Teacher Edition include a range of choices and details to assist teachers with implementation. Materials include guidance as to when teachers can change group activities, such as altering the implementation of jigsaw activities, opening up the activity to the whole group, and individualizing and designing groups as they see fit. Student-facing materials provide guidance and descriptions for student group interactions. Materials offer students guiding questions, norms, criteria for discussion, and other necessary information to complete the activities successfully.

Materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide grouping strategies for students. Materials provide for varied types of interaction among students.

  • In the Foundation Unit, How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?, Section 2, Lesson 4, students interact with peers in research teams. Because students will work in research teams for most of the unit, the goal of this lesson is for students to set norms for interactions within the group. Student-facing materials include the following guidance: “In your teams, write three to five norms for your group and place them in the center of your groups. Norms are behaviors that every person agrees to so the group works successfully. Norms might include the following:

    • We will speak respectfully to each other.

    • We will listen to everyone’s ideas, even ideas we might personally disagree with.”

  • Discuss how you will keep track of notes and information in your teams.”

  • In the Development Unit, Things Fall Apart, Section 1, Lesson 2, students work in groups to complete their Character Note-Taking Tool on characters from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. In Lesson 5, students participate in paired discussions addressing questions about Things Fall Apart, such as, “What is Okonkwo’s attitude about gender roles? In other words, is his attitude about characteristics he perceives as feminine the same for women as it is for men?”

  • In the Development Unit, The Ethics of Public Health Decisions, Section 1, Lesson 2, students work in pairs to annotate what relates to the common good or personal liberty during a close reading of an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. In Section 2, Lesson 5, students individually analyze a claim found in “The Ethics of Opting Out of Vaccination” by Janet Stemwedel using the Evaluating Ideas Tool. Students then join discussion teams who evaluate the same arguments they explored independently. In Section 3, Lesson 4, students join research teams interested in similar topics and identify the pros and cons of the issue.

  • In the Development Unit, Alexander Hamilton, Section 3, Lesson 9, students work in pairs to read Ron Chernow’s biography, Alexander Hamilton. Student-facing materials outline how students interact with each other for the lesson: “With your partner, read one of the four excerpts from Ron Chernow’s biography, ‘Alexander Hamilton: Introduction to Angelica and Hamilton’ (pp. 133-134), ‘Separation of Angelica and Hamilton’ (pp. 204-205), ‘Seas of Blood’ (pp. 466-467), or ‘Hamilton Letter to Angelica’ (pp. 583-584).”

• Materials provide guidance for the teacher on grouping students in a variety of grouping formats.

  • In the Development Unit, Telling Stories, Section 3, Lesson 2, students join reading teams to analyze the excerpts from Mark Twain’s “Corn Pone Opinions” and “The War Prayer.” The Teacher Edition Teaching Notes suggest that the instructor make expert groups: “Based on their initial reactions and discussion, you can make decisions about which students to assign to each of the essays for the jigsaw activities that will follow.”

  • In the Development Unit, Things Fall Apart, Section 2, Lesson 11, students participate in a Socratic Seminar as part of the Section Diagnostic. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide guidance on organizing the whole-group activity, including teaching strategies. For example, the Teaching Notes suggest to “reorganize the classroom chairs in a circle so students can see each other,” or “provide each student a sticky note with a given discussion strategy to use during the conversation.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Section 5, Lesson 5, students work in pairs to proofread each other’s writing. The Teacher Edition includes the following guidance for the group activity: “To begin, model this activity with a student’s paper. Use a think-aloud strategy to show students how to proofread a paper.” The student-facing materials also provide guidance for group interactions: “Exchange your paper with a different partner. Read through your partner’s draft as a proofreader. Look for the following:

    • errors in grammar or usage

    • citation errors

    • any confusing or unclear sentences or ideas

    • verb tense issues.”

  • In the Application Unit, What Do I Want to Research?, Section 1, Lesson 1, students begin working in research teams for the Culminating Task. The Teacher Edition includes the following guidance for grouping students: “The ideal size for each presentation team is between four and six students: one moderator, two or more commentators, and one synthesizer. The optional, dual role of technology specialist can go to one or more students, or it can be shared as a secondary role by every student in the team—one or more students can be a technology specialist in addition to their core role. Descriptions for each role can be found in the Presentation Guide.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics.

Students have several opportunities to read and view materials and assessments that depict individuals of different genders, races, ethnicities, and other physical characteristics. Materials offer a wide variety of texts and topics that balance information of different demographics. Materials work to maintain a balance of positive portrayals in representation to prevent the prevalence of negative stereotypes harmful to students. Because materials include a multitude of voices and perspectives, students have the opportunity to see themselves succeed based on the representation of characters in the text they read throughout the units.

Materials provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials and assessments depict different individuals of different genders, races, ethnicities, and other physical characteristics.

  • In the Foundation Unit, How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?, Section 2, students read a variety of texts that deal with issues that impact different individuals or different genders, races, ethnicities, and disabilities. For example, students examine The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and selections from Kenji Yoshino’s Covering: The Hidden Assult on Our Civil Rights where he discusses how people are penalized for their race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, and disability.

  • In the Development Unit, Telling Stories, Section 3, Lesson 3, students read about the experiences of a Chinese-American woman in the text “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan. The text assists students in understanding and appreciating the point of view and perspective of Tan’s depiction of individuals that differ from the dominant culture. The Teaching Notes provide the following information to describe Tan’s perspective in the text: “Amy Tan’s work blurs the lines between narrative fiction, memoir, and essay. ‘Mother Tongue,’ one of her many autobiographical narratives, is classified as an essay, primarily because Tan presents a number of observations and claims about language and its use. She discusses ‘all the Englishes I grew up with,’ chief among them her mother’s Chinese-American version of the language.”

• Materials and assessments balance positive portrayals of demographics or physical characteristics. Materials avoid stereotypes or language that might be offensive to a particular group.

  • In the Development Unit, Things Fall Apart, students examine the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. This novel includes various character representations of life in an African village in the late 19th century. This text balances positive portrayals of demographics by juxtaposing some of the common negative stereotypes of African life with positive perspectives. For example, the main character’s father is a representation of the negative stereotype of a lazy African. The author balances this stereotypical character with the strength and prowess of the main character.

  • In the Development Unit, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the central text, Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, focuses on a forgotten figure in the science community, as the unit overview explains: “For more than 50 years, almost nothing was known about Henrietta Lacks, one of the most influential persons in modern medicine, until Rebecca Skloot decided to tell her story in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” This text “portray[s] Henrietta Lacks and the legacy she left with regard to class, race, ethics, and science,” as noted in the unit description.

• Materials provide representations that show students that they can succeed in the subject, going beyond just showing photos of diverse students not engaged in work related to the context of the learning.

  • In the Development Unit, Telling Stories, Section 3, Lesson 4, students view a 1995 video of Barack Obama reading from his memoir Dreams From My Father. This video focuses on the experiences of a diverse individual who demonstrates a high level of perseverance to reach success. Students can draw inspiration from Obama’s experiences. The Teaching Notes provide the following guidance: “This discussion is intended to help students reflect on Obama’s reading and memoir in its entirety, and to make connections with Amy Tan’s personal narrative essay, also written as a memoir. Students are then directed to write about an incident they recall from their own lives, and to think about how they might borrow from Obama or Tan in their telling of it.”

  • In the Development Unit, Alexander Hamilton, students examine Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: An American Musical and compare the portrayal of characters in the musical with the historical figures using primary sources. The diverse cast of Miranda’s play and understanding of his creative process can create opportunities for students to see how they can succeed in performing arts.

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 provide insufficient guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning.

The instructional materials include Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition that occasionally encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning. The Program Guide emphasizes a generalized, asset-based approach to learning across Grades 9–12 for students with diverse learning needs: “All students’ language, literacy, cultural knowledge, communities, and diversity are assets that should be leveraged as they develop and express their understanding in English language arts.” Although materials specify assets that should be leveraged, materials do not provide sufficient opportunities for teachers to draw upon student home language or for students to develop home language literacy.

Materials provide insufficient guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide suggestions and strategies to use the home language to support students in learning ELA. Teacher materials include guidance on how to garner information that will aid in learning, including the family’s preferred language of communication, schooling experiences in other languages, literacy abilities in other languages, and previous exposure to academic or everyday English.

  • No evidence found

• Materials rarely present multilingualism as an asset in reading. Students are rarely explicitly encouraged to develop home language literacy and to use their home language strategically for learning how to negotiate texts in the target language.

  • In the Foundation Unit, How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?, Section 1, Lesson 1, students explore the central question, “How do we determine the right thing to do?” Students engage in a peer-to-peer discussion and complete a Quick Write in response to the following question: “5. If you were to provide an answer to the Central Question today, what would it be?”

    • The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide ideas for support and differentiation using an asset-based lens: “Students are encouraged to bring the knowledge, insight, and curiosity they already have to enhance their experience in the unit. English learners in particular benefit from making connections to their cultural and social backgrounds.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 provide insufficient guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student cultural and social backgrounds to facilitate learning.

Materials miss opportunities to capitalize on the diverse cultural and social backgrounds of students. Learning goals and instructional activities do not consistently leverage students’ cultural and social backgrounds. Opportunities for students to feel acknowledged during tasks based on customs of other cultures or sections of the materials provided in multiple languages are lacking.

Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student cultural and social backgrounds to facilitate learning. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials make limited connections to the linguistic, cultural, and conventions used in learning ELA. Materials rarely make connections to the linguistic and cultural diversity to facilitate learning.

  • In the Development Unit, Telling Stories, Section 1, students have the option to write about “a story or parable drawn from your own cultural or religious background.” In Lesson 7, as students begin composing their Section Diagnostic, the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition include the following guidance: “If you have a diverse class in terms of cultural and language backgrounds, students might be separated into home language groupings so they can initially express and discuss their stories in their home languages.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Section 1, Lesson 8, students analyze the structure and grammatical examples in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition include the following information to make connections to the linguistic and cultural diversity to facilitate learning: “You might also have English learners think about how the construction of a mentor sentence compares to the construction of sentences in their home language, in order to build connections from one language to another.”

• Materials rarely include teacher guidance on how to engage culturally diverse students in the learning of ELA.

  • In the Development Unit, The Ethics of Public Health Decisions, Section 3, Lesson 2, students read excerpts from “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” from the United Nations General Assembly. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition note that the text may be challenging for culturally diverse students and include the following guidance: “Are students missing requisite background, prior, historical, or cultural knowledge? If so, would they benefit from a short text or video that builds background knowledge?”

  • In the Development Unit, Things Fall Apart, Section 2, Lesson 1, students read and annotate “An African Voice” by Katie Bacon. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition suggest to “[…] encourage English learners to annotate the text in their home language.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic software in ways that engage students in the grade-level/series standards, when applicable.

Materials include a Remote Learning Guide with details to assist educators, including but not limited to: monitoring student learning, establishing a remote classroom culture, and technology solutions to facilitate virtual instruction. Unit Readers, as well as digital texts, are available for teacher and student use. The Remote Learning Guide notes that “Students and educators can find the digital texts by using the bibliographic information provided for each text on the Text tabs at the section, lesson, and activity levels in the program.” Students can annotate texts and work collaboratively in a remote setting. Editable tools are available as downloadable Google Docs. Customization at the local level can include consideration of text types and strategies when working asynchronously and synchronously.

Materials integrate technology such as interactive tools, virtual manipulatives/objects, and/or dynamic software in ways that engage students in the grade-level/series standards, when applicable. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Digital technology and interactive tools, such as data collection tools, simulations, and/or modeling tools are available to students.

  • In the Development Unit, Things Fall Apart, Section 2, Lesson 9, students participate in a Socratic Seminar about “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Socratic Seminar and Philosophical Chairs Discussion can occur asynchronously or synchronously to engage students in their learning and ensure all students have equity of voice. The Remote Learning Guide includes guidance to support providing these learning opportunities utilizing digital tools. For example, materials suggest the use of Parlay Live Round Table, “an interactive discussion tool that allows educators to set up a Socratic Seminar. It allows tracking of participation and other tools to encourage students.” Materials include additional guidance to support the use of a Conference App and set expectations, protocols, and note-taking in a structured environment.

• Digital tools support student engagement in ELA.

  • In the Foundation Unit, How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?, Section 1, Lesson 2, students use the Academic Discussion Reference Guide when sharing responses to the Moral Machine quiz experience. The Teaching Notes in the teacher edition state, “Model how to use academic language in a discussion: Script what students say during the discussion, focusing on strong examples of academic vocabulary and discussion stems.” The Tools also offer opportunities for modeling in asynchronous and synchronous environments. The Remote Learning Guide includes suggestions for modeling and additional guidance to collect evidence when working synchronously: “Share a model of the Google Doc version of the tool via screen share. Model your thinking as you move through the tool, reflecting on the prompts within the tool and the resulting textual analysis.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Ethics of Public Health Decisions, Section 2, Lesson 2, students learn how to delineate an argument, considering its perspective, position, supporting claims, and use of evidence. The Teaching Notes in the teacher edition includes this reminder: “Students will use this tool throughout the rest of the unit, both to analyze others’ arguments and to plan their own, so modeling and practicing its use at this early stage is very important.” The Remote Learning Guide includes suggestions for modeling and additional guidance to collect evidence when working synchronously:

    • “Share a model of the Google Doc version of the tool via screen share.

    • Model your thinking as you move through the tool, reflecting on the prompts within the tool and the resulting textual analysis.”

  • When collecting evidence, teachers can prompt students to submit Google Docs or if they are using PDFs, they can “send a picture or scan of their completed tool via email or the LMS.”

  • In the Development Unit, Telling Stories, Section 1, Lesson 1, students review the Unit Text List to familiarize themselves with the texts they will analyze and discuss throughout the unit. The student-facing materials provide text locations with details for tradebooks, digital access, unit readers, and CD/DVD. For example, “Digital Access: You can find these texts online. Use the information provided in the Unit Text List or on the Materials tab for the activity to conduct a web search for the resource. Digital Access resources include online articles, videos, podcasts, and other web sources.”

• Digital materials can be customized for local use (i.e., student and/or community interests).

  • The Remote Learning Guide includes guidance for asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities. When working asynchronously, such as utilizing a video-sharing website and interactive videos, guidance includes, “If the LMS allows, add guiding questions directly to video, or use a third-party app (e.g., EdPuzzle) to insert questions into the video.” Teachers can also use an embed code if the LMS allows: “This will alleviate students from leaving the online classroom and entering another less secure site.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, teachers can use the Remote Learning Guide to support synchronous learning opportunities that use screen share for lessons, including videos, and make digital annotations. The Remote Learning Guide suggests utilizing screen sharing during synchronous learning, which allows the use of digital resources. During asynchronous learning, the Remote Learning Guide includes the following guidance: “Annotate the text with the class, sharing their metacognition or thinking aloud while also writing their thinking directly on the shared document, a whiteboard model, or a PowerPoint slide.” Additional guidance includes, “If permissible, create a Google Docs or Word version of the text. Individual copies will need to be created (the LMS might have an automatic feature for this). Students can use the comment, highlight, and underline features to annotate the text. Consider using a third-party technology resource for annotation (e.g., Hypothesis, NowComment).”

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.

Students work collaboratively throughout the units. Both the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition and student-facing materials include guidance when teachers and students collaborate using digital tools. One main feature of the materials is the use of Google Docs, which offer opportunities to share drafts and comment directly on student work. This feature provides teachers with continuous opportunities to make individual and group projects collaborative through Google’s sharing capabilities. Materials, particularly the Remote Learning Guide, also reference digital technology, such as Zoom, Padlet, and FlipGrid, that offers opportunities for collaboration and help facilitate discussions.

Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other.

  • In the Foundation Unit, How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?, Section 2, Lesson 1, students discuss as a group the pathways they wish to pursue during the Culminating task. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition suggest displaying student responses using technology: “If available, it might be useful to have students write down their responses on a digital platform, such as on an online discussion board, within a Google classroom, or on a site such as Padlet.”

  • In the Development Unit, Alexander Hamilton, Section 1, Lesson 1, the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition provide teachers with guidance on tools they can use in the unit to facilitate remote or virtual learning:

    • “If you are using this unit in a remote- or virtual-learning context, you might consult two resources: the general Odell Education Remote Learning Guide and the unit-specific Alexander Hamilton Remote Learning Guide. The Odell Education Remote Learning Guide provides general guidance for strategies and structures that can be used for synchronous and asynchronous learning, flipped classrooms, and blended learning. The Alexander Hamilton Remote Learning Guide provides remote learning suggestions for each lesson.”

  • The Remote Learning Guide includes examples of how to facilitate collaboration through “discussion boards and collaboration tools” such as the LMS (Learning Management System), Parlay, or Flipgrid.

  • In the Development Unit, Things Fall Apart, Section 1, Lesson 5, students participate in a discussion about a character in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Students use a digital tool to guide their collaborative discussions: “With a partner, use the Academic Discussion Reference Guide to participate in a discussion. Start by sharing your claims about Okonkwo’s attitude about characteristics he perceives as feminine. Consider the following question: What is Okonkwo’s attitude about gender roles? In other words, is his attitude about characteristics he perceives as feminine the same for women as it is for men?”

  • In the Development Unit, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Section 2, Lesson 2, students analyze claims from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot using the Forming Evidence-Based Claims tool, which is a Google Doc. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition suggest, “You can partially complete the form in order to give students a start on the tool.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Ethics of Public Health Decisions, Section 3, Lesson 7, students work collaboratively on a peer-review activity within their research teams. Materials reference the digital Delineating Arguments Tool to support student collaboration within their groups: “In research teams, students present their arguments and engage in a peer review process in which each team member does the following: uses the Delineating Arguments Tool to communicate the elements of the argument they are planning; explains the relationships among those elements, and the implications for developing their position; suggests possible claims, counterclaims, and supporting evidence that might be used to develop their position; listens to and records feedback from the group, based on the criteria for the final argumentation task.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 include a visual design (whether in print or digital) that supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.

The visual design of the materials is not distracting and should support student learning and engagement. The layout of the materials is consistent across units and grade levels. When appropriate, materials include guidance on locating texts in the student-facing materials and provide reminders for accessing other Tools and Guides to support learning. The student-facing materials and Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition clearly communicate information. The Teaching Notes consistently include headings that signal when support is available for a specific purpose, such as the following sections: About the Author, Concept, Text, Topic; Teaching Strategies and Decisions; and Student Support and Differentiation. The Tools and Guides support student understanding of topics, texts, and concepts. Materials are typically free of errors.

The visual design (whether in print or digital) supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Images, graphics, and models support student learning and engagement without being visually distracting.

  • Materials balance the use of blank space on home and landing pages, as well as in the various Tools and Guides. The landing page design utilizes an abstract art theme. In each grade level, the Unit Homepage contains an abstract art icon for each Foundation, Development, and Application Unit. Program Resources icons also utilize abstract art similar to that of the landing page.

  • Materials consistently use the same icons throughout each grade and unit. Appendix G of the Program Guide contains the key for iconography used throughout the materials. Icons include: Unit Reader Texts, Digital Access Texts, Tradebook, and Multimedia Text. Additional icons, such as an image of a piece of paper with a pencil indicating students can “Download PDF’’ and an image of a sheet of paper with the Google Drive symbol in the center indicating students can “Download GDOC,” appear as needed during instructional activities.

• Teacher and student materials are consistent in layout and structure across lessons/modules/units. Images, graphics, and models clearly communicate information or support student understanding of topics, texts, or concepts.

  • The Program Guide includes guidance on the layout and structure of the materials: “Each grade’s homepage organizes the available units by type—Foundation, Development, or Application—and provides each unit’s title. Also found on each grade homepage are the following program resources:

    • Reference Guides: a downloadable PDF consisting of all of the program’s reference guides

    • Program Guide: this program guide, available as a PDF Purchase

    • Unit Readers: a link to an external site where users can purchase unit readers and student materials

    • Course-at-a-Glance: an overview of the units available for the grade level.”

  • Each Unit Homepage contains the following tabs:

    • Unit Overview: The Unit Overview describes the unit and provides links to the sections of the unit.

    • Culminating Task: The Culminating Task provides the unit’s Culminating Task prompt. The Culminating Task Checklist and Evaluation Plan for the unit are available as downloadable PDFs.

    • Text Overview: The Text Overview tab contains the unit’s Text Overview (PDF), which identifies the texts used in the unit and includes recommendations for independent choice reading texts.

    • Materials: The Materials tab houses documents specific to the unit, including the Evaluation Plan, Text Overview (teacher-facing), Unit Text List (student-facing), Culminating Task Checklist, and any other relevant documents.

  • The Program Guide explains the organization of instructional units: “HSLP units are broken down into sections. The navigation bar at the top of the page permits users to easily navigate between sections.”Each Section Page contains the following tabs:

    • Section Overview: This tab provides a brief description of the knowledge, skills, and habits addressed in the section, as well as which major texts are used. Links to the lessons included in the section are also available here. Each lesson link includes the lesson’s overview and is labeled as Core, Optional, Section Diagnostic, or Independent Reading to facilitate navigation and planning.

    • Learning Goals: This tab houses the section’s learning goals, which are derived from the evaluation criteria.

    • Section Diagnostic: This tab provides the Section Diagnostic prompt. It also includes the Culminating Task Connections, which explains what students will do and demonstrate in the formative task, and how it will help prepare them for success on the unit’s Culminating Task. In the case of the teacher version, a description of how the Section Diagnostic helps prepare students for success on the Culminating Task is provided.

    • Texts: This tab lists the texts for the section, which are divided into core and optional. Each listing includes the text’s title, author, publisher, and date of publication.

    • Materials: This tab lists the materials used in the section, and divides them as tools, question sets, or reference guides.

  • Each section is then broken down into lessons, which users can navigate among using the navigation bar at the top of the page. Each Lesson Page contains the following tabs:

    • Lesson Overview: This tab contains a description of the lesson and links to its activities. The links include four sources of information: the activity number, the foci of the activity (Read, Write, Listen, View, Present, Discuss), whether the activity is core or optional, and a brief summary of the activity.

    • Learning Goals: This tab provides the lesson learning goals, which are expressed as student-facing “Can I…?” questions that reflect the knowledge or skills goals of the lesson.

    • Texts and Materials: This tab follows the same organizational features as the section pages, providing only texts and materials pertinent to the respective lessons.

• Organizational features (Table of Contents, glossary, index, internal references, table headers, captions, etc.) in the materials are clear, accurate, and error-free.

  • Materials are typically free of errors; however, materials contain some labeling errors. For example, in the Foundation Unit, How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?, Section 2, Lesson 2, “A Fable for Tomorrow” by Rachel Carson is listed as Optional in the Texts list under the Texts tab in the student-facing materials. The reading and related activities take place in a Core lesson. Materials list the text by Rachel Carson as Core in the Text Overview and Unit Text List.

The materials reviewed for Grade 10 provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable. 

The Teacher Edition provides guidance on the use of technology to support and enhance student learning. In many cases, the Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition include ideas for extending student learning with technology, such as using specific digital tools. In other cases, the Teaching Notes provide guidance to support student learning, such as with specific digital tools to help clarify students’ understanding.

Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials provide guidance for using embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, where applicable.

  • In the Program Guide, materials explain how texts within the units can be accessed digitally. Students can use the Unit Text List for digital access: “These texts can be found online. The information provided in the Unit Text List or on the Materials tab for the activity can be used to conduct a web search for the resource. Digital Access resources include online articles, videos, podcasts, and other web sources.”

  • In the Remote Learning Guide, materials include a table of instructional strategies with technology solutions. For example, materials suggest teachers use Pear Deck and EdPuzzle for “interactive tools for videos or slides,” Snagit, Screencastify, Quicktime, and Loom for “modeling and screencasting,” and Hypothesis, NowComment, highlighting and commenting features on Google Docs. or Word for “digital annotating of text.”

  • In the Remote Learning Guide, materials explain the technology used to facilitate digital annotations:

    • “If permissible, create a Google Docs or Word version of the text. Individual copies will need to be created (the LMS might have an automatic feature for this).

    • Students can use the comment, highlight, and underline features to annotate the text.

    • Consider using a third-party technology resource for annotation (e.g., Hypothesis, NowComment).”

  • In the Foundation Unit, How Do We Determine the Right Thing to Do?, Section 1, Lesson 2, students complete a Moral Machine quiz from the MIT website. This digital tool is used to help students examine their thoughts and beliefs. The Teacher Edition includes the following guidance: “At the end of the quiz, you can find options for better summarizing the reasons behind each judgment, and you can learn how the class’ choices align with the data the site has collected from participants worldwide.”

  • In the Development Unit, Alexander Hamilton, Section 2, Lesson 7, students rewatch three musical numbers from the filmed production of Hamilton to deepen their understanding of the perspectives displayed. The Teacher Edition provides timestamps for each of the three musical numbers: “The video timestamp for ‘Stay Alive’ is 45:58-48:36. The video timestamp for ‘Meet Me Inside’ is 50:25-51:52. The video timestamp for ‘Guns and Ships’ is 54:48-57:00.” The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition includes the following guidance: “In order to help students recall and expand their thinking about these three songs prior to further study in the next activity, consider rewatching these scenes from the filmed stage production with the original Broadway cast, which is available via Disney+.”

  • In the Development Unit, Telling Stories, Section 1, Lesson 1, students watch the video “Introduction to Storytelling” from Pixar Animation Studios’s Khan Academy unit. The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition explain that “A transcript is available on the website for students who benefit from reading along,” and that students may benefit from viewing a short clip from a Pixar film.

  • In the Development Unit, Things Fall Apart, Section 2, Lesson 3, students fill out their Attending to Details Tool, which can be accessed in the form of a Google Doc, to answer the question: “What happened during the Colonial Era in Nigeria?” The Teaching Notes in the Teacher Edition explains: “The Attending to Details Tool supports and guides a process for preparing to read, reading, and initially reacting to a text. This is a helpful process to internalize when you are working with a complex text that might require multiple reads, or one that is being read over a long period.”

  • In the Development Unit, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Section 4, Lesson 5, students learn about cinematic techniques to prepare to watch the film adaptation of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Students then create presentations to share their analysis of the text and film adaptation. The Teacher Edition provides guidance on how students should create their presentations: “For this activity, students should create their multimedia slides through an online platform, such as Google Slides, so you can display the slides on an overhead projector…You might create a model slide, especially if you have more words than student groups.”