6th Grade - Gateway 3

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.).

Student materials include ample review and practice resources. Whenever a skill is introduced, students learn the definitions of associated terms, experience the skill modeled via the teacher or analysis of a student model, and receive an opportunity to practice and apply the skill, most often, in the Your Turn section. Student materials include clear directions and explanations, and reference aids are correctly labeled. The directions for completing the various activities are clear and sometimes include the academic vocabulary, of the unit, as an additional way to practice the words in context. Skill lessons include learning aids, such as StudySync videos, to aid students in learning the skill being taught.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 2, “You and Me,” students read the poem, “Teenagers,” by Pat Mora. In the Skill lesson, students practice making inferences. As an introduction to the skill, the materials provide students with a definition of the skill, explanation, and model. Students have the opportunity to practice what they learned in the Your Turn section. Here, students complete a drag and drop activity, matching prior knowledge and the inference with corresponding text evidence.
• In Unit 3, “In the Dark,” students read “Everybody Jump,” by Randall Munroe and analyze informational text structure. Students receive definitions of different text structures and complete a drag and drop activity to practice these definitions. Afterwards, students examine and analyze the structures modeled in the text. As they answer multiple choice questions, they practice determining informational text structure.
• In Unit 4, “Personal Best,” students read “Celebrities as Heroes,” by StudySync. Within the Skill Lesson: Reasons and Evidence, students watch a StudySync video that provides definitions for the academic vocabulary and skill taught. Next, students interact with the vocabulary through either a drag and drop activity or charting the words. Students model interactions with the skill, and they independently practice during the Your Turn component of the lesson (by answering three multiple choice questions that focus on the use of reasons and evidence).

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.

Alignment documentation is provided for all questions, tasks, and assessment items. In the Pacing Guide for each unit, the CCSS standards addressed within those sessions are indicated, including the standards for reteaching and previous skill practice. Within each Lesson Plan, the standards addressed through instruction, application, and assessment are clearly noted. Each grade level also has a Scope and Sequence document that details how standards are addressed across the year.

Alignment documentation is provided for all questions, tasks, and assessment items. For example, some examples include:

• Unit 1, “Testing Our Limits,” students read The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis. In the First Read, students respond to questions within the “Think” section of the lesson. One example of a question is, “What are the differences between Deza’s old school in Gary, Indiana, and her new school in Flint, Michigan? Cite textual evidence to support your answer.” Within the lesson, at the bottom of the screen, in the virtual platform and on the Lesson Plan, Standards RL.6.1 and W.6.10 are noted.
• In Unit 2, “You and Me,” during the Introduce the Task activity in the First Read lesson plan of Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech, teacher guidance includes the following information: “Ask students: What two words would you use to describe this video and why? What questions do you have after reading the introduction? CCSS: RL.6.1, SL.6.2.” The Assessment task, Text Talk, addresses standards in question format. Some of the questions are as follows: “What message does Phoebe find on the front steps of their house? What effect does it have on Prudence? What other questions are you able to ask and answer? (Answers will vary.) Think about the message in the letter. What aspects of our lives matter most? CCSS: RL.6.1, SL.6.1.A, SL.6.1.D.” The Scope and Sequence mentions the Essential Question, outlines the texts in the unit, and notes if the activity is instructional in nature, including practice and application, or application only.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.

Content knowledge is included, where needed, and is accurate, understandable, and gives true assistance to all educators using the materials. There are detailed lesson plans provided for each text within the units. Types of lessons include Blasts, First Reads, Skill Lessons, Close Reads, and Independent Reads with detailed instructions, activities, and answer keys for each task suggested in the lesson plans. The Teacher’s Edition provides possible student responses to questions and instructional strategy suggestions for struggling students. When applicable and an enhancement to student learning, technology support is embedded, comprehensive, and accessible to most. The program’s instruction in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language is delivered digitally and includes opportunities for collaboration, writing, research, and assessment using technology. Several features of the program were also designed to mimic the style of communication on social media. During the Blasts, students engage in QuikPolls, that enhance students' knowledge, through questions in which students' responses cannot exceed 140 characters.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 1, “Testing Our Limits,” in the Skill Lesson: Figurative Language for “Eleven,” by Sandra Cisneros, the materials provide the following detailed instructions in the Lesson Plan: “Introduce the Skill: As a class, watch the Concept Definition video and read the definition for Figurative Language. Turn and Talk: Use the following questions to discuss figurative language with your students. 1. Can you think of any examples of figurative language from your favorite story or song? 2. How did the figurative language help you better understand the text? Have students share their answers with the class.”
• In Unit 2, “You and Me,” students read Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech. In the First Read lesson, students discuss character and setting details. The Teacher’s Edition provides detailed instructions for teachers to follow. An example of this includes the following: “Read: Analyze Vocabulary Using Context Clues–As students read the text, ask them to make predictions about each bold vocabulary word based on the context clues in the sentence. Have students use the Annotation Tool to make their predictions. Model this strategy using the first bold vocabulary word: In paragraph 1, focus on the sentence that uses the word crotchety: She was as crotchety and sullen as a three-legged mule, and I was not quite sure why. Point out these context clues: First, I notice that the narrator compares her friend Phoebe to a three-legged mule. I know that a mule needs four legs to walk. So, a mule with three legs would have trouble walking. Having to walk on three legs would probably make the mule grouchy or in a bad mood. So crotchety must mean “cranky,” or “out-of-sorts.””
• In Unit 3, “In the Dark,” after exploring background information and research links about a topic in the Blast lesson, students answer the StudySync QuikPoll question with a 140-character response.
• In Unit 4, “Personal Best,” in Malalal Yousafzai’s Nobel Lecture’s Blast lesson, It Started with a Story, students explore background information and research links about a topic. After this, students answer the StudySync QuikPoll with a 140-character response. The embedded technology enhances student learning.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.

More advanced concepts are consistently explained to support teachers with improving and deepening their understanding of the content. In the Lesson Plan, there are detailed, thorough explanations of all concepts to help teachers understand the content. The materials provide answer keys to student questions. Explanations are accessible to all educators. The Program Guide includes explanations of all the program’s components and suggestions on how to support struggling learners, students with IEPs, and English learners.

For example, an example includes the following:

• In Unit 1, “Testing Our Limits,” in the First Read lesson for “Eleven,” by Sandra Cisneros, the Lesson Plan provides adult-level explanations for teachers to improve their own understanding. For example, during the Access Complex Texts section, it states, “Purpose: The author’s use of symbolism may be difficult for some students to grasp. Point out that the red sweater, because it is so trivial, supports Rachel’s idea that sometimes, at eleven, you can still act as if you’re four.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

In the StudySync materials, alignment is evident in the Grade Level Overview and Scope and Sequence for each grade level. The Grade Level Overview outlines how each text and task connects to the Essential Question and explains how the Extended Writing Project, Skills Lessons, Close Reads, Independent Reads, and Blasts integrate reading and writing standards across the year and overall curriculum. The Scope and Sequence, within the units, provides an “at a glance” overview of the alignment of the curriculum and frequency of standards (Reading Literature, Reading Informational Text, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language) and are addressed within the texts of the units. For each text, the materials identify which standards are being practiced and which ones are being taught and practiced. This is indicated by an “o” and an “x” respectively.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 1, Grade Level Overview, the first text in the unit is “Eleven.” There is a collection of Skill lessons that teach students the necessary background skills for success in their English Language Arts class. Skills like Annotation, Context Clues, Reading Comprehension, and Collaborative Conversations build a foundation for the school year.
• In Unit 2, Scope and Sequence, alignment of Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language standards are available, at a glance, for teachers within each text in the unit. The frequency of the standards taught in the unit are denoted with an “o” or an “x.” The “o” denotes the standards being practiced or applied. The “x” denotes instruction, practice, and application of the standard respectively. For example, in the Blasts, Standard RI.6.1 is practice or applied.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.

The materials include a substantial document that provides the research base for all of the elements of the program. In Additional Resources, Research-Base Alignments, the materials provide the research base that outlines how the program components address all of the parts of the CCSS standards, including comprehending literary and informational text; writing; knowledge of content, language, and literature; speaking and listening; reading fluency; and conventions. Each one of these sections provides detailed explanations and citations from supporting literacy theory and research.

For example, some examples include:

• In Research-Base Alignments, Writing, Writing Research Recommendations, the materials include the following research-based recommendation: “Students explore the variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing.” Examples supporting this recommendation include the following lessons: Unit 2, Close Read: Walk Two Moons and Grade 6, Unit 2, Blast: “Sonnets to Social Media.”
• In the Research-Base Alignments, Vocabulary, Vocabulary Research Recommendations, the materials provide this research-based recommendation: “Vocabulary is taught using a variety of specific instructional methods, such as context-based approaches, restructuring, and pre-instruction in vocabulary before the reading lesson begins.” An example supporting this occurs during Unit 2, First Read: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.

Materials provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities for assessment throughout all grade levels and units. Teachers use Checks for Success in text-dependent questions, discussions, and short written responses to informally assess students. Formal assessments include Benchmark tests, Diagnostic tests, Extended Writing and Oral Projects, Reading quizzes, and End-of-Unit assessments. Materials genuinely measure student progress. According to the Program Guide, every StudySync lesson offers students an opportunity to demonstrate progress toward standards mastery. Responding to sources, auto-graded Reading Quizzes, skills mastery checks, and longer written responses in the Extended Writing Projects all include standards labeling.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 2, “You and Me,” the Text Talk section, in the First Read lesson plan, for Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech includes formative assessment opportunities. Students respond to questions, and the teacher utilizes an answer key. An example is as follows: “For what reasons does Phoebe get mad at her mother, Mrs. Winterbottom? (See paragraphs 9–11: Phoebe gets mad when her mother kisses her on the cheek, and says she’s not a baby anymore. When her mother offers her a brownie Phoebe says ‘no’ because she thinks she’s fat.)”
• In Unit 3, “In the Dark,” in the End-of-Unit assessment, students complete a summative assessment. Students read passages and answer multiple choice questions that address literacy skills, vocabulary, and the use of textual evidence from the passage. Students also respond to a short answer question. For example, Question 7 is as follows: “Read paragraph 2 from the passage. What can you understand about Emma Willard’s philosophy of education? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. Write your answer in the space below.”
• There are Benchmark assessments available in the Assess tab. There are three forms for each grade level.
• There are also Reading Diagnostic tests for each grade level. These assessments are under the Placement and Diagnostic tab at the bottom of the grade level page under the units.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

Materials include denotations of the standards being assessed in both types of assessments. The answer key, at the end of the assessments, provides item-specific information such as content focus and skill, Common Core State Standard, and Depth of Knowledge (DOK) level. The End-of-Unit Assessment serves as a summative assessment which provides standards aligned to each question to ensure that all standards taught, within the unit, are being addressed in the assessment.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 2, “You and Me,” in the Close Read of “The Treasure of Lemon Brown,” students demonstrate their mastery of aligned standards as they respond to the written assessment question. “ARGUMENTATIVE: Three men, one carrying a length of pipe, arrive at the abandoned building to steal Lemon Brown’s treasure. Lemon, with Greg’s help, scares them off. Does the author reveal enough about Lemon Brown’s treasure for the reader to understand its importance? Do you think Lemon Brown’s treasure is worth fighting for? Why or why not? Defend your point of view with evidence from the text.” These questions help support teachers in identifying students’ mastery of Common Core State Standards RL.6.1, RL.6.6, W.6.1.A, and W.6.1.B.
• In Unit 5, “Making Your Mark,” in the Skill: Dramatic Elements and Structure lesson for The Miracle Worker, students analyze how a particular scene fits into the overall structure of the play. Then, they respond to multiple choice questions to demonstrate their thinking. In both the Lesson Plan and student-facing materials, the standard RL.6.5 is denoted for the assessment.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meets the criteria for assessments or provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.

Materials include quality rubrics and scoring guides. The descriptors on the rubrics are unique to the tasks. Rubrics and scoring guides can be used to assess the standards to their full intent. Rubrics are specific to the writing tasks and include scoring descriptors as guidance to assess the standards to their full intent. Materials provide quality suggestions for follow-up. The Program Guide states that the pacing guide allows time for teachers to revisit key concepts with which students may have struggled during core instruction and application. The Review and Reteaching section of each unit is guided by the data tracking tools in StudySync, which allow teachers to view day-to-day student performance on all standards. Teachers may use Spotlight Skills, targeted lessons that provide resources to reteach or remediate without assigning additional readings. Quality guidance for the teacher to interpret assessment data is provided. Data tracking and presentation tools help teachers use the results of assessments to identify which standards and skills present particular challenges for students, as well as where students are excelling and are ready for enrichment.

For example, some examples include:

• Students are often assessed via formative and summative assessments, and the materials provide teachers with many tools, such as task-specific rubrics to help them interpret student performance. Each rubric uses a four-point scale to help teachers and students identify areas of strength, weakness, and growth. This system of rubrics allows teachers to compare student performance as the year progresses. The instructional materials provide follow-up suggestions for students who do not master the skills and habits in the Review and Reteach section, and teachers can provide Spotlight Skills lessons to support students with this learning.
• As stated in the Program Guide, “Data tracking and presentation tools help teachers use the results of assessments to identify which standards and skills present particular challenges for students, as well as where students are excelling and are ready for enrichment. Using the StudySync Gradebook, teachers can effectively decide how to scaffold instruction and provide remediation support for individual students. Tracking tools for these assessments will provide teachers with raw scores as well as a breakdown of student performance against standards and a breakdown of student performance against skills. In addition, color-coded reporting will allow teachers to quickly and easily monitor student performance and needs.”
• As stated in the Program Guide, “Spotlight Skills are targeted lessons that provide resources to reteach or remediate without assigning additional readings.” Each Core Skill lesson has a corresponding, standards-aligned, Spotlight Skill lesson. Spotlight Skills can be assigned at any point in the year, but the end of each unit provides a set time to pause, review data collected throughout the unit, and reteach skills students have not yet mastered.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

The materials reviewed include routines and guidance for opportunities to monitor student progress. The Lesson Plan includes Vocabulary, Check for Success, and Complete Skills Focus sections which assist teachers in monitoring students’ progress throughout the unit. The materials also provide teachers with prompts and suggestions for supporting students who may be struggling and for understanding students’ thinking about the concepts to make instructional decisions about next steps.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 2, “You and Me,” students engage in Collaborative Conversations during the Close Read of Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech. In the Lesson Plan, teacher guidance is provided in the following: “Break students into collaborative conversation groups. Using StudySyncTV as a model, have students begin by reading the Close Read prompt. They should then use their Skills Focus annotations, their own ideas and reactions to the text, and any other notes and annotations they have to collaboratively explore the text. Rewrite this excerpt of Walk Two Moons with Phoebe, Prudence, or Mrs. Winterbottom as the narrator instead of Sal. Use evidence explicitly stated in the text, as well as inferences drawn from the text, to identify the narrator's relationship with the other characters. In your narrative, select language that reflects an appropriate tone for the narrator you choose.”
• In Unit 6, “True to Yourself,” students read “Letter to His Daughter,” by W.E.B. Du Bois. The Skill: Context Clues lesson plan includes teacher suggestions for monitoring students’ progress, such as “Circulate the room as students work independently to complete the vocabulary chart. If students struggle to match the correct definition, discuss the correct meaning of the word. If a majority of students struggle with the same word, pause the activity and discuss the definition as a class.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.

Specific strategies to meet the needs of all learners are included. Scaffolds exist as part of the many standard features in the StudySync digital platform and can be strategically utilized to support students’ comprehension and engagement. Students, who have been identified as English Learners, Approaching-Grade-Level students, or Beyond-Grade-Level students, automatically receive scaffolded support or enrichment in their digital accounts. Vocabulary scaffolds are also available, including Spanish translations, in a slide-in screen for Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced-High English learners, as well as Approaching-Grade-Level students. Each lesson is concise and follows a Teach and Model and Practice and Apply routine with suggestions for differentiated practice. StudySync also offers a variety of accessibility options, presentation customization options, content accommodation and modification, and instructional strategies to address the needs of students with disabilities. Some of these options are as follows: shortened or modified assignments, the Scaffolds tab, and Screen Reader.

For example, an example includes:

• In Unit 3, “In the Dark,” students read an excerpt of The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan. In the Complete the Vocabulary Chart section of the Close Read lesson plan, Approaching grade-level students utilize the Visual Glossary as a scaffold. The teacher may also provide the Beyond grade-level students with the following activity: “Have each student choose one or two words and make a Frayer model using those words. Combine their work to generate a classroom resource for all students to access. (See the Strategies Dictionary for an explanation of Frayer models.)”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards.

Materials provide support for EL students and students who work below grade level. The Instruction and Differentiation tab of each Lesson Plan includes various scaffolding suggestions for teachers to use with learners at varying ability levels. Examples of these lesson scaffolds are as follows: visual glossaries, speaking frames, text synopses, sentence frames, word banks, etc. Scaffolds support EL students with varying ability levels such as Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Advanced-High. The student-facing digital materials provide options for enabling the various scaffolds detailed in the Lesson Plan. Tech scaffolds include audio with variable speed, audio text highlight, and supplemental language. The Program Guide contains a substantial section that provides explanations of the scaffolds and how they might be used. Scaffolds may be printed for each lesson using the Actions drop down. The Newcomer EL Support guide provides teachers with detailed lessons, materials, and strategies for supporting EL learners of many different languages. The progress monitoring feature allows teachers to monitor student progress after each lesson.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 1, “Testing Our Limits,” students read The Mighty Miss Malone, by Christopher Paul Curtis. The Skills Lesson: Making Connections provides teachers with guidance on student groupings. Teachers place ELs in collaborative mixed-level groups and prompt students to make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society using the Skill Model and reading chart during the Model—Read and Annotate portion of the lesson.
• In Unit 4, “Personal Best,” students read the text “Bullying in Schools.” The First Read lesson provides teachers with suggestions for helping ELs, of all levels, use scaffolds, such as speaking frames, a visual glossary, vocabulary guide, and text synopsis.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.

Materials provide multiple opportunities for advanced students to investigate the grade-level content at a greater depth. The Program Guide contains information, for teachers, about how to support and push their beyond-grade-level students and includes a description of how differentiation is built into different types of lessons for these students. The Scaffolding and Differentiation section of the Lesson Plan includes additional opportunities for working with smaller groups of beyond-grade-level students, such as having them analyze the text with greater scrutiny or with a different analytical skill. These activities often introduce students to a new literary device or consider the effect of an author’s choices. These opportunities give students further enrichment in their study of literature as they practice the type of close scrutiny and analysis that will prepare them for the rigors of more advanced courses. Technology may also be leveraged to support these students.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 1, “Testing Our Limits,” students complete a Close Read of “Scout’s Honor,” by Avi. In the Scaffolding and Differentiation section, advanced students complete the Beyond the Initiation section of the Lesson Plan during this activity: “Analyze for Enrichment. Look at the simile in paragraph 97: ‘Unfortunately, he landed like a Hell-cat dive-bomber as his mattress unspooled before him and then slammed into a big puddle.’ Remind students that a simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things using like or as. Ask students: What is being compared? How does the use of a simile here impact the reader? What is the significance of the simile?”
• In Unit 5, “Making Your Mark,” students read “Amigo Brothers,” by Piri Thomas. The Scaffolding and Differentiation section of the Close Read lesson includes the following suggested activity for Beyond-Grade-Level students: “Ask students to have a conversation in pairs about competing with friends in which they try to ‘sneak’ vocabulary and other words. First, break the vocabulary words into two lists. Then pair students and give the partner a list with vocabulary words. Ask partners to exchange their lists temporarily and allow students 60 seconds to add three random or silly (yet school appropriate) words. Once students have added random words to their partner’s paper, ask them to exchange papers and begin. As they ‘sneak’ words into the conversation, they can check the words off of their list. However, if their partner does not think the word was inserted into the conversation ‘casually and seamlessly,’ then they do not earn a point for that word. Whoever ‘sneaks’ the most words into the conversation wins.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

Each Lesson Plan, in the materials, includes a variety of grouping strategies. The beginning of the Lesson Plan for all Blast, First Read, Close Read, Skills, and Writing lessons includes a chart noting the grouping strategy suggestion for each part of the lesson—whole group, pairs or small group, and one-to-one. Lesson Plans also provide grouping strategies for activities such as Text Talk, Turn and Talk, and Collaborative Discussions.

For example, some examples include:

• In Unit 1, “Testing Our Limits,” during the Blast lesson, students participate in a Text Talk to discuss the Driving Question, “Where are some places you might already be thinking critically and voicing your opinion about current events?” In the lesson, students participate in a Turn and Talk to discuss, “What do you think this Blast will be about? Make a prediction. What’s a good way to start the school year? Why?”
• In Unit 5, “Making Your Mark,” Extended Oral Project and Grammar, Oral Presentation Process: Plan, students work in pairs or small groups to read and annotate the characteristics of argumentative oral presentations, and then share their annotations within small groups.