Kindergarten - Gateway 3

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.

Kindergarten materials are designed to immerse students in all areas of the standards and provide explicit lesson structure with embedded teacher direction, as well as recommendations for supporting all learners. There are 10 units in Kindergarten, and each unit contains a Unit Overview which supports teachers as they plan for instruction. Each unit instructs the teacher throughout each lesson on its implementation before, during and after the readings and activities, as well as recommendations for scaffolded support. At the beginning of each unit there is a Unit Introduction followed by a weekly overview that maps out the daily content being covered. Pacing for each lesson is appropriately allocated. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The materials contain daily opportunities for whole group and small group instruction. The materials for each week contain a daily routine consisting of a Unit Opener which discusses the Big Idea for the Unit. A social-emotional skill is taught on Day 1; then the essential question is introduced. Small group learning takes place daily and includes a focus on skills within the leveled reader along with phonics instruction, phonemic awareness, and high-frequency words. The materials contain a weekly planner which outlines the various skills for the week. Each day is clearly listed and contains lesson plans with directions and materials needed for the lesson within a Lesson Resource box. Routines are listed within the Instructional Routines Handbook and contain an explanation and recommendations for carrying out research-based practices. 
• In Unit 1, Week 1, there is a lesson on naming words. The phases of the lesson are: 
• Modeling: Explain that a noun is a naming word. The teacher says, "A noun names a person, place or thing" and then shows photo cards for farm, girl and table. The teacher adds, “Read the word farm aloud, say that farm names a place."
• Guided practice: The teacher shows photo cards of boy and house. The teacher and students work together to identify the photo cards.
• Independent practice: Students draw and label pictures of things they share at school that are naming words. 
• Collaborative practice: Teacher has student partners work together to discuss people, places and things they see during the day.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, the high-frequency word the is introduced. 
• Model: Teacher uses the read, spell, write routine. 
• Read: "Point to the word the and say the. This is the word the; say it with me. The bear is my friend." 
• Spell: "The word is spelled t-h-e. Spell it with me." 
• Write: "Let’s write the word in the air, as we say the." Partners create simple phrases using the word the. 
• Guided Practice/Practice: The teacher writes the following phrases: the berries, the water and has children point to the word the. The teacher gives corrective feedback as necessary.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Weather for All Seasons and the Big Idea, “How do weather and seasons affect us?”, the Week 1 topic is the four seasons and the Essential Question is, “How are the seasons different?” A three-week unit overview is provided. A unit introduction is provided for students to develop an understanding of the content they will be learning. On T294, a Making Learning Visible page is provided where the texts students read are visible at a glance. There are subsections listed for Active Engagement and Student Outcomes that show what students will be learning in each area of focus. For example, Foundational Skills-Phonological/Phonemic Awareness lists the following skills students will be learning, “Segment and blend onset and rime in spoken words, recognize spoken alliteration in groups of words and identify, blend sounds in words and segment words into individual sounds." A suggested lesson plan is provided for a five-day span and includes small group instruction, Beyond Level, English language learners, as well as social-emotional learning. Within each lesson an objective is stated, academic language is listed, and digital tools are provided. Teacher modeling is evident throughout each lesson. On Day 1 of each unit students listen to the Literature Big Book, then they move into word work, Language Arts, shared writing and independent writing. On Day 2, students build the concept, participate in a Shared Read and Shared Writing. On Day 3, students again build on the topic, read the interactive read-aloud, engage in word work, a Shared Read and an independent writing. On Day 4, the concept is extended, students listen to another Literature Big Book, complete word work, continue their independent writing, and start the Research and Inquiry task. On Day 5, the lesson starts with word work, Independent Writing, and Integrate Ideas with text connections. A weekly wrap-up is provided that reviews the essential question. Differentiated Instruction is provided for students approaching level, on grade level, and beyond grade level. 

The pacing of individual lessons is appropriate. Each day has several parts to the lesson, which also have approximate time indications. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 2,
• Build the Concept/Oral language: 10 minutes 
• Listening Comprehension/Literature Big Book: 10 minutes
• Listening Comprehension/Literature Big Book/Reread: 10 minutes
• Word Work/Phonemic Awareness: 5 minutes
• Word Work/Phonics: 5 minutes
• Word Work/High-Frequency Words: 5 minutes
• Shared Read: 10 minutes
• Language Arts/Shared Writing: 15 minutes
• Grammar: 5 minutes
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 1, 
• Introduce the Concept: Talk About It: 10 minutes
• Listening Comprehension: Literature Big Book: 20 minutes
• Word Work: Phonemic Awareness: 5 minutes
• Phonics: 10 minutes
• Work Work: Handwriting: 10 minutes
• High-Frequency Words: 5 minutes
• Language Arts: Shared Writing: 15 minutes
• Grammar: 10 minutes within 85 minutes of literacy instruction. 

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that the teacher and student can reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.

Kindergarten materials include 10 Units. Units range from three to five weeks to complete, with days of instruction ranging from 15-20 days, for a total of 180 instructional days. Review, Extend, and Assess are also included in these instructional days.

The suggested amount of time and expectations for teachers and students to complete the materials are viable for one school year as written and would not require significant modifications. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Unit 0 is designed to be a “Start Smart” unit to support teachers in building classroom routines. Review, Extend, and Assess are also included in these instructional days.
• Each unit comes with the flexibility for the teacher to choose what they are teaching and when they are teaching. Teachers can adjust lessons as needed. These lessons are intended to be completed daily including reading, writing and small group instruction, if the teacher chooses.
• The Wonders User Guide notes that, “student and teacher choice are at the heart of Wonders. Wonders was designed to support you and your entire classroom as you teach your way—whether you follow our suggested pathway of instruction or create your own workshop lessons using our resources.”

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

Kindergarten materials offer students opportunities to demonstrate thinking and learning through a variety of tasks such as reading texts, drawing and writing responses, finding text evidence, completing Beginning, Middle, and End diagrams, and the Research and Inquiry process. Students are able to demonstrate knowledge of content through writing, speaking and drawing. The student materials for each unit are clearly labeled and provide clear directions for each activity. 

Student materials include ample review and practice resources. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Reading/Writing Companion, page 12, the definition of a key detail is listed at the top of the page. “Key details tell important information that helps you understand the story.” Students then listen to a part of the story, How do Dinosaurs Go to School?, talk about the key details in the story, and write two key details. 
• In Unit 4, Week 3, Literature Big Book, Road Work by Sally Sutton, Anchor Chart, the materials state, “Display and review the nonfiction anchor chart. Ask children what new information can be added to the chart.” Concepts of Print: The teacher displays the Big Book cover and is asked to “Say the author’s and illustrator’s names and have children repeat. Have them tell the role of each person. Then model reading from left to right with return sweep.”
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Reading/Writing Companion, page 56, the text states, “most stories have a problem and a solution, the problem is what the character wants to do or fix, the way the character solves the problem is the solution.” Students listen to the story. After they listen to the story, they write about Mole’s problem, steps to the solution, and the solution. 

Student materials include clear directions and explanations, and reference aids are correctly labeled. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, students complete the practice page, Comprehension-Key details. The directions are as follows: “Let’s read about different kinds of tools people use. When we are done I want you to point to each tool and tell me a detail about how it is used. Then we can act out how each tool is used.”
• Unit 3, Week 1, Reading/Writing Companion, page 8, the essential question is presented, “What rules do we follow in different places?” A picture of children playing soccer is on the page. Students are asked to talk with a partner about the game these children are playing, draw themselves playing the game and write a rule about the game, 

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain a Teacher 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.

Kindergarten materials provide detailed explanations for each instructional lesson for the teacher to explain to the student, including information on the lesson’s  purpose. Each unit of the Teacher Guide also contains alignments to the Common Core State Standards. The User Guide and Instructional Routines Handbook, which are separate handbooks located in the Teacher Resource Library, are designed to provide guidance on the delivery of the Reading Curriculum and serve as a resource to build professional knowledge in the areas of research-based best practices.  Training videos for different instructional routines, including coaching conversations and examples from the classroom, are also included in the teacher materials. Teachers can access information on a variety of topics, such as writing, access to complex text, and foundational skills.

More advanced concepts are consistently explained and will improve a teacher’s deeper understanding of the content. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Kindergarten, Resources Tab, Professional Development link, tab: Author & Coach Videos, Filters provided: Foundational Skills, Close Reading, Access to Complex Text:
• Under the filtered options for Foundational Skills are videos such as “Long Vowel Awareness.” Through a coaching video, teachers learn how to show students the difference between long and short vowels. 
• Under the filtered options for writing are videos such as: “Writing Across Text Types and Genres with Dr. Doug Fisher.”
• In the User Guide, beginning on page 6, teachers are provided information on an instructional approach used within the program, Balanced Literacy Classroom: What Does It Look and Sound Like?  This information also includes 21st Century College- and Career-Ready Inspired Shifts in Balanced Literacy. 
• In the User Guide, on page 16, teachers are provided with guidance on Guided Reading Instruction. This information informs teachers as to what guided reading looks like and what happens before, during and after reading.
• In the User Guide, on page 26, close reading information is provided.  Information detailing the importance of identifying a purpose for reading, determining the author’s purpose, and schema and considerations for developing a close reading program is provided. 
• In the User Guide, on page 37, the concept of rereading is explained, “When one’s schema on a topic has significant gaps, the reader must devote cognitive resources to constructing a mental model on which to attach this new information (Kintsch & van Dijk, 1978)." "A chief way you accomplish this is by rereading. You slow down your pace, review a previous passage, and look back to the text in order to find information.”
• In the Instructional Routines Handbook, beginning on page 19, several routines, such as collaborative conversations, are explained and established.

Explanations are accessible to all educators. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The Resource Library tab, Professional Development, provides resources in each unit that explain more advanced concepts. It shows demonstration videos about how to introduce vocabulary and small group instruction.
• Videos are available to all teachers who have access to online materials under the professional development tab. The videos are short and easily viewed, although the videos do not appear to have a closed captioned version.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that materials contain an explanation of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.

Kindergarten materials provide a User Guide that discusses the research behind a balanced literacy approach, guided reading instruction, vocabulary and foundational skills, social-emotional learning, and writing. The Instructional Routines Handbook explains more about the research behind the curriculum, as well as modeling routines, collaborative conversations, word work, reading, writing and grammar, and research and inquiry. This handbook also explains the educational approaches and routines for English Language Learners. 

Explanations of the instructional approaches and research-based strategies of the program are provided. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Instructional Routines Handbook, page 3, the I Do, We Do, You Do, Routine is shown. “I  Do:This is where you explain and model to your students what it is they are learning to do. We Do: In this step, you and your students work together and share the instruction. Students get to practice while you guide and teach. You Do I Watch: After students have had the chance to practice with you, it's time for them to practice on their own. This is where you observe and offer corrective feedback as students collaborate and practice. You Do It Alone: After modeling, showing, guiding, and allowing them to practice, it's time for your students to work independently.” 
• The Research-Based Alignment Handbook provides the key research findings that support the Wonders curriculum. For example, the research document states that students should be supported in the use of identifying organizational text structures to aid in close reading. The Wonders curriculum offers this through genre studies and the Literature and Informational Big Books.
• The User Guide, page 4, provides the research behind independent reading. “Providing students with the opportunity to choose their own books to read empowers and encourages them. It strengthens their self-confidence, rewards their interests, and promotes a positive attitude toward reading by valuing the reader and giving him or her a level of control. Readers without power to make their own choices are unmotivated.”
• The User Guide, pages 7-8, provides information on balanced literacy and the alignment of 21st century skills. “When considering increased 21st century college and career requirements,.... 7 viable approaches in response to the demands of more rigorous standards and expectations, but provide a balanced, scaffolded framework for helping students prepare for critical thinking, collaboration and becoming college- and career-ready.” 
• The User Guide, page 24, provides connections between specific tasks in the curriculum and research-based best practices. “The Reading/Writing Companion asks students to search for specific text evidence in short passages they’ve already read. Collaborative Conversation prompts urge students to work with a partner, employing new strategies, using text evidence and academic language, and comparing responses and text evidence.” 
• The User Guide, “Guided Reading Instruction” by Kathy Rhea Bumgardner, M. Ed., discusses what guided reading is and how to prepare and teach guided reading.  Research-based approaches, such as scaffolding are referenced. “The term ‘scaffold,’ as applied to learning situations by Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976), refers to a framework and process by which teachers use support strategies to help students complete tasks they are unable to do independently at their current stage of learning.”  References are listed at the close of this article.  
• Resources Tab, Professional Development link, Filter: Research Base and Link to Whitepapers, includes documents that provide an explanation of the link between research and the program.

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

Kindergarten materials provide multiple assessment opportunities. There is an online assessment center that links to all Unit and Benchmark Assessments. Unit Assessments are given at the end of each unit. Screening/Placement and Diagnostic Assessments, such as Phonological and Phonemic Awareness, Letter Naming and Sight Words, and Phonics and Decoding, serve as an initial screening that can be assigned throughout the year to monitor student progress and pinpoint students’ strengths and weaknesses. Checks for Success are provided throughout each unit throughout a variety of days. Progress Monitoring Assessments are used to guide instruction and may be administered every week, every two weeks, or every six weeks, depending on the test selected. In the Benchmark Assessment Handbook, students are given two benchmark assessments. The first is given after students complete Units 1-5 and the second is given after students complete Units 6-10.

Materials provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities for assessment. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Inventories of Developmental Spelling (K–6+), Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 21. This assessment can be administered any time of the year.  “Students’ skills can be classified as falling into particular developmental stages of spelling.”
• Comprehension Tests (K–6), Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 23, “Administer this test at any time of the year to provide a quick check or recheck of a student’s instructional reading level.”
• Unit Assessments (K–6), Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 27, These assessments are completed after each unit of study.  “Unit Assessments include literary and informational texts with questions that focus on the main skills taught in each unit of Wonders. Test items cover reading comprehension skills, literary elements, text features, vocabulary strategies, and English language conventions.” Each unit includes a writing prompt that students use to showcase their understanding of a genre that has been previously taught.  “These assessments provide information to make instructional decisions and to place students into small skill-based groups.”
• Benchmark Assessments (K–6), Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 28. These assessments are completed “at discrete points throughout the year to gauge student progress through the curriculum and readiness for state-mandated end-of-year assessments.”
• Portfolio Assessments, Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 31. Portfolios  showcase a collection of the student's work. A Reflection piece is included. Two portfolio options are presented: “a developmental portfolio and a best work portfolio. There is also a Portfolio Rubric to use when evaluating students’ portfolios.”
• Informal Assessments, Assessment Handbook, “Part 1 Assessment Options”, page 45, “In reading, you can do this in an informal way throughout instruction.”  Examples include teaching students to monitor their own comprehension by asking questions, retelling, and monitoring their own progress.

Materials genuinely measure student progress. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 0, Week 1, the Assessment tab offers a Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Screener and progress monitoring for students in Kindergarten. This includes recognizing rhyming words, syllables, phoneme segmentation, and phoneme deletion.
• In Unit 2, Assessment, students are assessed on phoneme isolation, initial t and p, and key details.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.

Kindergarten materials provide teachers with guidance for administering assessments, ways to scaffold assessments, and how to interpret student data. Teacher scripts are provided with answers for all Unit Assessments and Diagnostic Assessments.  The answer keys have the correct answer and content focus for each question and answer. Suggestions on how to reteach content is provided to teachers. 

 Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Page vii of the Placement and Diagnostic Assessment indicates that Kindergarten placement decisions are provided after Phonological Awareness, Letter Naming Fluency or Listening Comprehension tests are administered. Students who score 80% or higher are instructed to begin the Wonders On Level or Beyond Level Instruction. Students who score a 60-79% are instructed to begin with the Approaching Level materials. Students who score below a 60% are instructed to start in the Approaching Level and use intervention materials as needed.
• After each Unit assessment in the Teacher Edition, there is a Track for Success Progress Monitoring. For example in Unit 6, Week 3, Making the Most of Assessment Results explains the assessed skills, how the teacher checks for success, and gives reteaching opportunities.
• Kindergarten, Teacher Edition, Assessment and Data Tab, Printable Assessments, Filter to Assessment Handbook. Assessment Handbook, page 32, The Assessment Process Guide to Using Multiple Measures to Assess Student Progress provides an overall graphic on how assessments could be used in a classroom. 
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Whole Group, Progress Monitoring, Check for Success, Reteaching Opportunities with Intervention Online PDFs, Assessed Skills, Phonemic Awareness, Check for Success, it is asked, "Can children isolate and blend the targeted sound? If not . . ., Reteach, tested Phonemic Awareness skills using Lessons 16–17 and 27–29 in the Phonemic Awareness PDF."

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

Kindergarten materials provide routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress. There are informal Checks for Success that help collect evidence of student progress, as teachers observe students working and provide guidance for differentiation of instruction moving forward. Formative assessments are integrated within every unit by using end-of-unit assessments. Screening and Diagnostic Assessments, as well as Comprehension Assessments, offer guidance to inform instructional decisions.

Materials include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 5, Teacher Edition, the Check for Success asks, “Can children segment words into sounds and read words with /k/? Can children read and recognize high-frequency words?” The teacher is then able to differentiate instruction based on this Check for Success. Develop pages and Reteach page numbers are given for the teacher to provide further instruction. 
• In Unit 4, Week 4, the Teacher Edition gives the teacher two different choices on how to monitor student progress. The choices are to review and reteach skills and strategies from the unit or to give students the opportunity to complete the Reading/Writing Companion as an informal assessment.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Day 5, Progress Monitoring, teachers are instructed to use Check for Success observations and some assessments listed on the chart to evaluate children’s progress in key areas. For example: 
• Informally Assessed Skill: Phonological Awareness, Onset and Rime Blending/ How Assessed: Practice Book
• Informally Assessed Skill: Comprehension, Main Topic and Key Details/ How Assessed: Reading/Writing Companion
• Instructional Routines Handbook, Teacher-Student Conference Routine, page 119, states, “Regularly conferring with students about their Independent Reading is a great way to informally assess their progress, model social-emotional learning skills, build your classroom culture, and instill habits of learning.”
• Instructional Routines Handbook, Retelling Routine, page 98, states that, “Retelling allows you to monitor comprehension.”  Model, Guide, and Discuss Retelling are the three steps within the Retelling Routine.
• Instructional Routines Handbook, Students monitor their progress, page 173, Students monitor their progress through the following ways:
• Track Your Progress in the Reading Writing/Companion asks students to evaluate their progress on key skills that they have learned.
• Opportunities to give feedback to students during weekly Teacher and Peer Conferences on their writing are provided.
• Writing Rubrics, Student Models, Listening and Speaking checklists help students reflect on the quality and completeness of their work.
• Progress bars on online games help students track their progress.

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

Kindergarten materials provide modeling, formative assessments, language and visual supports, and background knowledge in each lesson to ensure student understanding. Materials also provide differentiated instruction to strengthen skills, provide targeted review and reteaching lessons to meet student’s specific needs.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 4, Whole Group, Shared Read, Reread, I Can by Author Unknown, Respond to Text Instructions has students use a sentence frame “The boy can see the…..” to focus a discussion. ELL scaffolds are provided for a range of abilities: “Use the following scaffolds with Respond to the Text. For example:
• Beginning: Point to the photos and ask: What can the boy see? Help partners name items in the image and help them answer using a sentence frame.
• Intermediate: Provide a model: The boy can see the mop. Have partners point to the image and describe using: The boy can see the mop.
• Advanced/Advanced High: Have partners name all of the things the boy can see. Have them use complete sentences while speaking and point to the text to show evidence."
• Unit 2, Week 2, Enrichment Opportunities for Gifted and Talented Students, Beyond Level, small group lessons include suggestions for additional activities in the following areas to extend learning opportunities for gifted and talented students: Evaluate - ”Have children think of other kinds of art that could be included in a book about shapes. Ask them to think about what shapes they would see in the art.” Extend - ”Have children share with partners their idea for another kind of art that uses shapes.”
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 1, Listening Comprehension, Literature Big Book, How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. These suggestions are provided to meet the range of learners: 
• Students examine the genre.
• Use skills of visualization. “Think Aloud: I read that the dinosaur might make a big fuss. I see his big feet and tail in the picture. I picture in my mind the dinosaur running and yelling to catch the bus. I imagine that he is loud and so heavy that the ground shakes! Now I can see how he makes a big fuss.”
• Find key details. “Identify key ideas and details about following rules.” 
• Use an anchor chart to record ideas.
• ELL - “pages 6–7, Make a big fuss: Point to the picture of the dinosaur. Act out how the dinosaur is making a fuss by stomping. Say: I am making a fuss. Have children join you in the action and say the phrase.”
• ACT (Access Complex Text) “The book is divided into two parts: questions and statements. Point out that on pages 5–24 all the sentences are questions. The questions are asking if the dinosaurs are behaving badly at school. “No” is the answer to all of these questions. The rest of the book tells about how the dinosaurs really act at school.” 
• ELL - focus on language both figurative and literal with a connection to student’s daily life. (e.g., “right ahead of the bell” and “interrupt”). 
• Finding key details using illustrations - “How does the teacher feel? (The teacher is angry that the dinosaur is roaring out of turn.) How do you know? (She has an angry face in the illustration.) Encourage children to look for clues in the illustration to support their response.”
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 1, Teacher Edition, oral vocabulary routines provide visual vocabulary cards to assist visual learners. 
• In Unit 7, Week 2, ELL Scaffold, provides a guided practice of using category vocabulary words in a sentence. The teacher uses the photo card to model comparing two pets. The materials state, “A turtle has a shell, a mouse does not have a shell. Both a turtle and mouse have four legs.” The Teacher Edition prompts the teacher to have students use their pet word in a sentence.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Teacher Edition, along the left side column “teach in small group” is listed as an option of the teacher to teach the word work in a small group.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria that 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.

Kindergarten materials provide opportunities for all students to engage with grade-level text. Sidebar supports are provided to ensure that students are supported during lessons. ELL scaffolding and support is provided throughout all the units. Lessons also provide additional instruction on new skills at the end of each unit for small group work, reteaching, and differentiated instruction. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, Teacher Edition, after students are presented the Talk About It lesson, ELL scaffolding is provided. The teacher asks partners to tell what they see in the photo as they point to it. The teacher models by saying: “I see a drum.” For intermediate support, the teacher asks partners to describe what the children are doing. “What is the boy doing? He is playing a drum.” This process is repeated for the words girl and maracas. For Advanced/Advanced High students, the teacher encourages partners to use complete sentences as they talk about the photo. “What kind of sound does a drum make? Is it loud or soft?”
• In Unit 4, Week 3, Day 2. English Language Learner Scaffold. Beginner ELL - The teacher reviews the position word on by demonstrating the crayon on the chair. Intermediate ELL - Partners demonstrate the word up by moving the crayon up. The teacher calls out another position word for partners to demonstrate. Advanced ELL - Students describe how they move the crayon.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Day 1, Small Group/Differentiated Instruction, Approaching Level, Leveled Reader, The Rain by Frankie Hartley,  includes the following lesson:
• Preview and predict skill - Students look at the illustrations and “describe what they see. Ask: What kind of weather is it? How do you think the children feel?”
• Set the purpose for reading - Remind children of the Essential Question: "What happens in different kinds of weather?” 
• Use think-alouds to model the skill for the students. “Think Aloud: As I read pages 2 and 3, I see that the rain starts out as a few drops on page 2. On page 3, there are more drops. The text tells me that the dog and the chick are fast. I will keep reading to see what happens next.”
• Use the retell strategy to make connections with the text. “Retell: Have children take turns retelling the story. Help them make a personal connection by asking: Have you ever been caught in the rain? What happened?”

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

Kindergarten materials provide options for extensions and more advanced opportunities. The small group/differentiated instruction section provides lessons with a leveled reader appropriate for the group’s needs. Checks for Success are present throughout each unit. The teacher is then given guidance on extensions for students who are On Level or Beyond Level. Beyond level differentiated instruction is provided for small group instruction. Sidebars are provided for Gifted and Talented Learners to further advance instruction.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Small Group, Beyond Level, Leveled Reader, I See a Bug! by Susanna Fallon, Evaluate: The teacher has students recall the different bugs in the story. Ask: "Which are bugs you know about? What do you know about them? Where have you seen these bugs?” The teacher then “challenges children to think of other bugs they might find in a backyard setting.” Extend: The teacher has “children make a chart of bugs they know about. Have them include the name of each bug, a short description, and a picture they’ve drawn.”
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Gifted and Talented tab, students read the leveled reader, Cal’s Busy Week. Evaluate: The teacher has children think about the places they visit during the week. Children are challenged to explain what the week is like for them. Extend: Children create a comic strip of things they did on each day of the week.
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 3, Teacher Edition, Checks for Success are provided. “Can children blend phonemes to form words and match /d/ to Dd? Can children read and recognize the high-frequency word?” For students who are able to master this task, an On Level or Beyond Level extension is provided. For On Level students the teacher is instructed to review pages T474-T476. For students who are Beyond Level, the teacher is guided to extend the concept using page T480.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, the teacher introduces synonyms to advanced students using the gradual release method. The teacher models with the words safe and celebration. The teacher and students write sentences using the new words, safe and celebration. Then partners write a short poem about an animal family using the words safe and celebration. Extend: The teacher has students plan and act out short plays about staying safe in bad weather.

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

Kindergarten materials provide opportunities for students to collaborate and communicate about the topic and tasks at hand. There are a wide range of whole class tasks, but there are also many opportunities for small group and partner work to help students have collaborative conversations.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Whole Group, Literature Big Book, Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep! Listen to the City by Robert Burleigh, teachers are able to group students according to their levels of reading for reading groups.  Differentiated Reading for Approaching Level and English Language Learners: After reading, have children listen to the selection to develop comprehension.” Directions for Beyond Level students were not provided. Students meet in their groups for small group instruction.  Small groups can be organized by four levels that are determined based on the formal and informal assessments: On-level, Approaching Level, Beyond Level, and English Language Learner. In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 2, Grammar, Talk About It , partners work together to orally generate sentences with adjectives. Encourage them to describe objects in the classroom.
• In Unit 7. Week 1, Day 1, Listening Comprehension, the whole class reads the Literature Big Book, Zooborns. The teacher asks story comprehension questions.
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 2, Whole group, Grammar, Students work in pairs using target vocabulary to write sentences. “Have children work with partners to generate sentences about where they eat, sleep, play, ride their bikes, read, watch TV, go for walks, and so on. Encourage them to use the words in, out, on, off, and by in their sentences.”