3rd Grade - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b.

Materials include anchor texts with accompanying Mini-Lessons in which students discuss and write their answers to text- dependent questions or tasks that address word choice, text structure, academic and figurative language, main ideas, and key details of the text. Within the Mini-Lesson students frequently hold Constructive Conversations which include text-based prompts. Daily lessons, close-reading texts, and the student e-Notebook include opportunities for students to respond to questions. Strategies and Skills incorporate the language of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Most questions and tasks fully align to the Strategies and Skills and correlated standard, while other questions and tasks partially align to the correlated standard.

For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, the Strategies and Skills chart in the Teacher Resource System indicates that students will review determining the main idea, recounting key details, and drawing inferences from text evidence. For example:

  • In Week 2, Lesson 4, students reread the text. The teacher models identifying and recounting details, explaining how the details contribute to the main idea. In the Guided Practice and Apply Understanding portion of the lesson, students identify the main idea and key details of different sections of the text.  

• In Unit 7, the Strategies and Skills chart in the Teacher Resource System indicates that students will review explaining how characters’ actions contributed to events. Students read two nonfiction and two fiction works to discuss the meaning of community and how they change. For example:

  • In Week 1, Lesson 12, after reminding students that character’s actions affect what happens in a story, the teacher poses the following question for students to discuss with a partner using the text, “A New Life In Vermont”: How does Mami’s action of staring at the blue bowl affect Miguel’s actions in this story? Students look back at the text to find specific evidence to support their ideas. Students apply understanding to respond to the following question: “How does Miguel react to Juanita in paragraphs 10–13?  How do his actions affect the resolution of the story?”

  • In Week 3, Lesson 7, students close read Sarah and the Chickens by Patricia MacLachlan during the Constructive Conversation and discuss the prompt, “How do Maggie’s actions contribute to the events in this story? What can you infer about Maggie’s reasons for acting the way she does? Cite specific text evidence to support your ideas.” Then, the teacher wraps up the lesson with a Turn and Talk, during which students discuss the following question: “How do Sarah’s actions, thoughts, and feelings in ‘Sarah and the Chickens’ support the idea that each community has its own unique and defining characteristics?” During independent time, students write a response to the following Apply Understanding question: “Which character from “A New Life in Vermont” is Maggie most like—Mami, Miguel, or Juanita? Cite specific character actions or traits from each story to support your comparison.”

For most texts, students analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, the Strategies and Skills chart in the Teacher Resource System indicates that students will recount story details, refer to parts of stories, and describe characters and explain how their actions contribute to events. While students refer to parts of stories when writing or speaking about texts and describe “how each successive part builds on earlier sections,” students do not use terms “such as chapter, scene, and stanza,” as required by the standards. For example:

  • In Week 1, Lesson 7, the teacher models describing the main characters and how the character’s actions contribute to story events. Students work with a partner to respond to the following discussion prompt: “Reread ‘The Ant and the Dove.’ Describe the dove’s traits and motivations. How do her actions contribute to the events in the story?”

  • In Week 2, Lesson 4, students build on their new knowledge of plot structure to understand how parts of a story contribute to the text. After reading “The Tale of King Midas” retold by Nicole McIllion, the teacher models how paragraphs 1–5  of the text develops the rising action. Then, during Guided Practice, students spend five minutes sharing their responses to the following prompt: “Reread and annotate paragraphs 6–13 of ‘The Tale of King Midas.’ How do these paragraphs contribute to the climax of the story?” 

• In Unit 5, the Strategies and Skills chart in the Teacher Resource System indicates that students will distinguish the reader’s point of view from that of the author. For example:

  • In Week 1, Lesson 4, students work on craft and structure as they distinguish a reader’s point of view from an author’s point of view. During Guided Practice, students work with a partner to reread the last two paragraphs of “Shirley Jackson’s Scientific Mind” by Roger K. Smith. Partners discuss their point of view on the last sentence of the passage and then reread the whole text, discussing the author's point of view as well as their point of view. Materials provide sentence frames for student use. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c.

Materials provide opportunities for students to answer questions that support knowledge building. Each instructional day includes a reading mini-lesson designed to build content knowledge and practice literacy skills and strategies using the anchor texts. Each week, the student e-book also includes a Build Knowledge Across Texts question in which students respond to a prompt to synthesize information or analyze multiple texts. The majority of questions included in the Constructive Conversation, Apply Understanding, and Build Knowledge sections require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts, as well as across multiple texts. Questions connect to topics or themes and texts for each unit, allowing for analysis through discussion and writing tasks. Materials provide questions and prompts in direct teaching mini-lessons, small group or paired tasks, and independent work time. 

Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, the Strategies and Skills introduction in the Teacher Resource Systems indicates that students will learn about cause and effect relationships and describing sequential relationships in a text. For example:

  • In Week 1, Lesson 4, students read the brief anchor text “Working Together” by Sarah Glassock. The teacher models the cause and effect relationship in the text using the question, “What caused government officials to work together?” During Guided Practice, students work in partner groups for five minutes and complete a cause and effect graphic organizer while responding to the following prompt: “Reread paragraphs 2 and 3. What caused flooding in Fargo? What was the effect of the work of Fargo’s volunteers? As you read, circle signal words or phrases that help you identify cause/effect relationships between sentences.” 

  • In Week 2, Lesson 8, students read “Fighters for Rights: Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez” by Harper Larios. Students use their knowledge of cause and effect to “compare and contrast the causes of Rosa Parks’s arrest and Cesar Chavez’s hunger strike” during the Constructive Conversation part of the mini-lesson. During independent work time, students write a response to the following prompt: “Compare and contrast the effects of Rosa Parks’s and Cesar Chavez’s actions. How are they similar? How are they different? Cite specific text evidence and cause/effect text connections to support your answer.”

• In Unit 7, the Strategies and Skills introduction in the Teacher Resource Systems indicates that students will explain how a text’s illustrations contribute to the story. For example:

  • In Unit 7, Week 1, Lesson 13, students read “A New Life in Vermont” by Julia Alvarez. Students analyze the illustrations in the story and independently respond to the following prompt: “Remember that mood refers to the way a text makes the reader feel. How do the illustrations in this story contribute to its mood? Connect details in the illustration to specific details in the text to support your ideas.” 

Most sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• In Unit 1, the Strategies and Skills introduction in the Teacher Resource Systems indicates that students will compare and contrast the most important points in two texts on the same topic . For example:

  • In Week 2, Lesson 12, the teacher models comparing and contrasting information from two texts on the same topic: “Animal Coverings” by Anna Miller and “Animals’ Tools for Survival” by Sue Qin. During Guided Practice students work with partners to complete the following task, “Reread paragraph 4. How are claws and webbed feet similar? How are they different? Underline specific compare and contrast connections that helped you understand these similarities and differences.” 

• In Unit 6, the Strategies and Skills introduction in the Teacher Resource Systems indicates that students will compare and contrast themes in stories by the same author.  For example:

  • In Week 1, Lesson 7, students read “Addison and Rocky” by Crystal Allen and answer the question, “How do Addison’s actions affect the plot of the story? What can you infer about her character traits from these actions?” In Lesson 13, students respond to questions to compare and contrast “major events and themes in ‘Addison and Rocky’ and ‘A President for Everyone,’ which were both written by Crystal Allen.” Students skim both stories to first identify the major plot events and the theme of each story and then students compare and contrast the events and themes.

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d.

All units conclude with a culminating activity based on the unit’s Essential Questions that develops throughout the unit. Students learn about a topic or theme that is integrated throughout close readings and knowledge building texts; however, access to knowledge building texts cannot be ensured for all students as these readings occur during small group instruction. Most culminating tasks involve multiple literacy skills; however, the tasks follow a standard format that does not vary across the year. The format includes holding a Constructive Conversation about the central topic/essential question and completing a Write to Demonstration Knowledge task, which entails responding to each Enduring Understanding in the unit. The culminating task, conversations, and writing take place across the last two days of the unit. Students begin planning their culminating task product during a mini-lesson; however, students are typically expected to complete the task for homework or during independent time. On the last day, students hold a Constructive Conversation about the unit topic during the whole group time, and then complete the Write to Demonstrate Knowledge independently. 

Culminating tasks are evident across the year and multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards (reading, writing, speaking, listening) at the appropriate grade level, and comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics through integrated skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 3, Week 3, students begin working on their culminating task product, which is building a Call to Action poster on which they list the four actions that people can take to participate in government and add images or illustrations. The Build Toward a Culminating Task section in Lesson 10 includes the question, “What actions did African Americans and women take to ensure their right to vote?” Students add two actions to a list they previously started and then star the four actions they will use on their poster. For independent and homework time, students plan the rest of the poster. In Lesson 14, students complete the culminating task activities, including holding a Constructive Conversation about the essential question and what they learned about participating in government. During independent time, students complete the Write to Demonstrate Knowledge portion of the task on each Enduring Understanding listed for the unit. As students write a response in their e-notebook for each understanding, the directions for the task prompt students to use the texts they have read and the research they have done for their Research and Inquiry Projects. For Lesson 14, students are expected to have already completed their Call to Action poster they planned the prior day; however, there is no indication in the teacher materials at what time in the lessons or independent time that this was to take place. 

• In Unit 5, Week 1, students complete the first step in the culminating task for this unit. Students engage in a Constructed Conversation about their reading and the information they have added to their Knowledge Blueprint. Students discuss  how the telephone changed the way people communicated, what aspects Jackson added, and how technology connects people. Then students begin the culminating task—creating a technology timeline by looking back through the text to decide their earliest date and their last date. In Week 3, Lesson 10, students discuss the problems UNI solved, the way it helped deaf people communicate, and how technology helps connect people. Then students review the technologies they have read about that support deaf people and pick the most important one to add to their timeline. Students then begin to create the timeline by drawing it and adding the dates. Teachers can provide a Plot Your Timeline Dates strategy for students that need more support. For homework, students finish their timelines. Directions for the timeline include added dates that are in a logical order, a sentence for each event, pictures, and showing how technology improves communication. In Week 3, Lesson 14, students continue their culminating task, as they discuss the problems Edison solved, how Edison built on Bell’s work, and what inventions from Edison impacted people's lives. Students then review their texts and add two more dates for their timeline. Students use the Blueprint, timeline, and any text annotation to complete a unit reflection and wrap up. 

• In Unit 9, Week 1, students complete the first step of their culminating task, which is to “...make an economic choice.” Students engage in a discussion about what decision can be made around money, the benefits of a farmer’s market, and what skills and knowledge a farmer might need to sell crops at the market. Then students identify the “costs and benefits of saving money” and “the costs and benefits of spending money.” Materials include a Benefit of Saving/Spending strategy for students needing more support. In Week 2, Lesson 14, students discuss the spending choices made by Hans and examine the cost/ benefit of the choices. Then students respond to the following scenario: “Imagine that you have $10 to buy dinner. Think about what you can do with the money- you can buy, sell, trade, request services, save. Describe two choices you would make.” In Week 3, Lesson 10, students discuss what decisions about resources were made, how customers and businesses interact, and what knowledge you would need when growing oranges. Then students choose one economic choice people make and write what choice they would make. Students complete the tasks for homework. Directions for the task include creating the scenario and choice, and listing the costs and benefits in at least two pages that explain “[w]hat you gained and gave up making this economic choice.” Students use the Blueprint, text annotations, and their economic choice to complete the unit wrap-up. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for Indicator 2e.

Materials include writing instruction aligned to grade-level standards, including explicit writing instruction and application opportunities aligned to the distribution of writing text types called for in the Standards. Writing mini-lessons occur daily for at least 15 minutes depending on the instructional time block used. Each unit focuses on writing in response to text-based prompts or process writing. The program uses a repetitive instructional process, rubrics, and protocols for all writing across grade levels. In addition to mentor texts, materials provide instructional resources for teacher use such as anchor charts, writing checklists, modeling scripts, and potential  student responses. 

Materials include writing instruction that aligns to the standards for the grade level and supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Materials include a K–6 year-long writing plan in the Program Support Guide. This one-page plan provides a brief overview of each unit writing focus, the Research and Inquiry Project, and on-demand opportunities in the reading materials. The Program Support Guide also includes a Skills Scope and Sequence that indicates which writing types students will focus on each week.

• Writing instruction follows a repetitive process. During Week 1, the teacher and students analyze a mentor writing text, and the teacher models various skills. Although short writing mini-lessons include teacher modeling and guided practice, the lessons do not embed time for students to write, peer review, revise, and publish work. Students are expected to complete these tasks during independent time. During Week 2, the teacher continues modeling skills students will need as they begin planning and drafting a writing product. During Week 3, students finalize, revise, and publish their work. While materials provide rubrics for peer and teacher evaluation, these rubrics are the same across all grades.

• The distribution of writing modes required by the standards is as follows: 30/35/35 opinion/informative or explanatory/narrative writing. Materials reflect an approximate 30/35/35 balance. Each unit focuses on one type of writing:

  • In Unit 1, there are 15 lessons on informative/explanatory writing, leading students to use facts and evidence to plan, draft, revise, and edit informative essays on a prompt related to animal adaptations.

  • In Unit 2, there are 15 lessons on opinion writing, leading students to state opinions about characters and support their opinions with evidence from the text.

  • In Unit 3, there are 15 lessons on informative/explanatory writing, leading students to write an informative/explanatory essay on a topic related to government.

  • In Unit 4, there are 15 lessons on narrative writing, leading students to write their own narratives.

  • In Unit 5, there are 15 lessons on opinion writing, leading students to write an opinion essay on a technology related issue. 

  • In Unit 6, there are 15 lessons on writing to text based prompts: informative/explanatory, opinion, and narrative writing.  

  • In Unit 7, there are 15 lessons on narrative writing, leading students to write a historical narrative.

  • In Unit 8, there are 15 lessons on research writing, in which students choose a topic related to Earth Science, select sources, and plan, draft, revise, and edit texts, incorporating facts and details from the sources. 

  • In Unit 9, there are 15 lessons in which students conduct research, create a multimedia presentation, and present it to their peers.  

  • In Unit 10, there are 15 lessons on poetry writing. In which students study mentor poetry and draft, revise, and edit their own poems.  

Instructional materials include a variety of well-designed guidance, protocols, models, and support for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Each unit provides daily mini-lessons for writing which include teacher modeling supports, anchor charts, writing checklists, mentor writing prompts and source texts, strategies, graphic organizers, and additional instructional materials. Materials follow a similar design, lesson template, pacing structure, and protocol list across Grades 3–6. The mini-lessons occur daily but recommend short time frames for instruction. Lesson language and expectations for writing are similar across all grades. For example: In Unit 5, the additional materials include an opinion essay writing checklist, a brainstorming chart for the opinion essay, a note-taking guide, a planning chart, and a rubric.  

• Each Unit Assessment includes a 4-Point Assessments rubric. The rubric is consistent across all the writing tasks, with only the type of writing changing. For example, the rubric for the informative/explanatory essay is listed below. The rubric for the opinion essay is exactly the same with the exception of the change in writing type from “informative/explanatory” to “opinion.”

  • “It is clearly organized and effectively incorporates details from sources.

  • It has all of the features of informative/explanatory writing. 

  • The writer follows rules of grammar and sentence structure.

  • The writer follows conventions of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for Indicator 2f.

Materials include both short embedded research tasks and longer research projects. At the end of each unit, students have the opportunity to complete a three-week Research and Inquiry Project for the first four units and a six-week project in the remaining six units. Research projects follow six steps: Choose, Explore, Interpret, Create, Present, and Reflect. Materials include explicit instruction on a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. The research tasks and research projects are not embedded in the instructional plan for the daily lessons. Recommendations for incorporating the projects in the curriculum include using small group/independent time, homework, and other content time such as the science or social studies instructional block. Some units include shorter embedded research tasks, such as researching topics for writing and evaluating sources, that usually connect to the unit’s writing tasks. 

Research projects are sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills that build to mastery of the grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Guidance for the Research and Inquiry Projects for each task includes six mini-lessons focused on the following topics: Choose, Explore, Interpret, Create, Present, and Reflect.  

    • Step 1: Choose: The focus of this mini lesson is on choosing a topic.   The teacher introduces the project, sets a purpose, guides topic choice, introduces the Research and Inquiry Project Tool, sends off, and wraps up.  

    • Step 2: Explore: The focus of this mini lesson is on students generating questions and gathering sources. The teacher sets a purpose, guides question design and source selection, sends off, and wraps up.  

    • Step 3: Interpret: The focus of this mini lesson is on researching and taking notes. The teacher sets a purpose, guides research and fact gathering, sends off, and wraps up.  

    • Step 4: Create: The focus of this mini lesson is on designing and constructing the research project. The teacher sets a purpose, guides design and creation, sends off, and wraps up.

    • Step 5: Present: The focus of this mini lesson is on sharing and building knowledge together. The teacher sets a purpose, guides preparing and presenting, sends off, and wraps up.

    • Step 6: Reflect: The focus of this mini lesson is on assessing and self-reflecting. The teacher sets a purpose, guides self-assessment and self-reflection, sends off, and wraps up. These six steps are repeated for each of the Research and Inquiry Projects completed with little variation, other than the topic. For example:

      • In Unit 1, students research an animal and create an animal profile based on their research, which should include facts about the animal and its adaptations. In Mini Lesson 2, the teacher models generating questions and exploring sources.  The teacher guides question design and source selection during a think aloud using the Question, Search, and Decide strategy. This strategy “helps design guiding questions, search for reliable and trustworthy sources, and choose which sources will be most useful.” First, the teacher chooses a sentence step and adds the topic. Next, the teacher confirms this guiding question does not have a yes/no answer. The teacher then models searching through the sources available with the guiding questions in mind, choosing sources they think will be useful. Finally, the teacher models narrowing the sources by reviewing the sources with the guiding questions in mind and picking two sources they think will best help answer the guiding questions. In Mini Lesson 3, the teacher models researching and taking notes during a think aloud using the Read, Interpret, Jot strategy.  The teacher models reading a source, thinking about whether the information helps answer the guiding question, and writing down the information if it fits the guiding question.  

    • In Unit 4, the research project is to create a character study on a “well-known character from a story or play.” The character study includes the character’s name, perspective, personality traits, likes and dislikes, and actions. In Mini Lesson 2, the teacher models generating questions and exploring sources. The teacher guides question design and source selection during a think aloud using the Question, Search, and Decide strategy. This strategy “helps design guiding questions, search for reliable and trustworthy sources, and choose which sources will be most useful.” First, the teacher chooses a sentence step and adds the topic. Next, the teacher confirms this guiding question does not have a yes/no answer. The teacher then models searching through the sources available with the guiding questions in mind, choosing sources they think will be useful. Finally, the teacher models narrowing the sources by reviewing the sources with the guiding questions in mind and picking two sources they think will best help answer the guiding questions. In Mini Lesson 3, the teacher models researching and taking notes during a think aloud using the Read, Interpret, Jot strategy. The teacher models reading a source, thinking about whether the information helps answer the guiding question, and writing down the information if it fits the guiding question.  

    • In Units 9–10, the research project is to create a research report about a good. The research project includes photographs, drawings, maps, and charts to present information. In Mini Lesson 2, the teacher models generating questions and exploring sources.  The teacher guides question design and source selection during a think aloud using the Question, Search, and Decide strategy. This strategy “helps design guiding questions, search for reliable and trustworthy sources, and choose which sources will be most useful.”  First, the teacher chooses a sentence step and adds the topic.  Next, the teacher confirms this guiding question does not have a yes/no answer. The teacher then models searching through the sources available with the guiding questions in mind, choosing sources they think will be useful. Finally, the teacher models narrowing the sources by reviewing the sources with the guiding questions in mind and picking two sources they think will best help answer the guiding questions. In Mini Lesson 3, the teacher models researching and taking notes during a think aloud using the Read, Interpret, Jot strategy. The teacher models reading a source, thinking about whether the information helps answer the guiding question, and writing down the information if it fits the guiding question. 

Materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Each unit contains a Knowledge Blueprint in which the students gather information related to the Enduring Understandings for the unit. While reading each text, the students add information to the Blueprint. The information added to the Blueprint builds over the course of each three-week unit, allowing students to build knowledge on the unit topic from various sources. The Blueprint also contains critical vocabulary that is used and referenced various times throughout the unit.

• The Research and Inquiry Projects include the following teacher supports:

  • Research and Inquiry Project Tool for students to complete as they plan their project. The teacher can use the tool to focus students on the research step they are on. The tool can be interactive; the teacher can write notes or reminders to students during the project. The teacher can also use the tool to assess students at the end of the research project.

  • Strategy bank tools that explain the various strategies included in the mini lessons, such as Talk, Jot, Choose; Question, Search, Decide; Read, Interpret, Jot; Read, Design, and Create; Plan, Present, and Ask; an Question, Remember, Jot

  • Addressing the needs of multilingual learners

  • Making time for research and inquiry

  • How to group students:  Flexible grouping to promote learning

  • Using the Research and Inquiry Project Tool to support and assess students

• In Unit 3, Week 1, the teacher conducts a mini-lesson on evaluating online sources. Materials include a script for teacher use that models how to evaluate sources: “Now that I know my topic is women in government, I can search for digital or online sources to find information about this topic. I know that Congress is an important part of our government, so I’ll enter the key terms ‘women in Congress’ into a search engine. The first result is an article on history.house.gov. I know that .gov sites are reliable for a few reasons. They contain content that is written by experts. They are regularly updated and the information is current. Finally, they normally focus on facts and details instead of strong opinions. This site has information about Jeannette Rankin, so it is relevant to my topic. This site is a useful and reliable source for my essay. I’ll list the source on my Note-taking Chart, so I can remember where this information came from.” The teacher uses an Evaluating Digital Sources Anchor Chart with students as students find and evaluate sources for their essay. 

Materials provide opportunities for students to synthesize and analyze content tied to the texts under study as a part of the research process. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Students conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, students write an explanatory essay about a topic related to government. In Lesson 3, students begin their research by brainstorming topics. The teacher facilitates the brainstorming session by asking students to think about their interest in a potential topic, whether they can find facts about the topic, and deciding if the topic is too broad or narrow. In Lesson 6, students learn how to evaluate online sources and find a few reliable sources for their research topic. In Lesson 9, students conduct research and take notes for use in their essays. 

  • In Unit 7, Week 1, students write a historical fiction short story. Students conduct research on the historical setting that will serve as the setting of their short story. In Lesson 6, the teacher uses the Historical Fiction Anchor Chart to model how to brainstorm ideas. Students brainstorm with a partner about historical periods or events that could be a basis for a historical fiction story, using their own interest, social studies texts, or the internet.

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for Indicator 2g.

Materials include instruction, questions and tasks, and assessments aligned to grade-level standards. Students have opportunities to answer questions about illustrations, plot, and characters. Students practice activities such as comparing and contrasting charts, retelling details, and answering standards-aligned questions about texts. At times, students focus on comprehension strategies that may not align to standards. Although the reformatted Correlation of Benchmark Advance to the Common Core Standards chart illustrates when standards repeat across the year, it is unclear which learning target aligns to the instructional content and questions and tasks within each lesson.

Over the course of each unit, the majority of instruction is aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• All Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are taught in the school year according to the reformatted Correlation of Benchmark Advance to the Common Core Standards chart. Materials use general learning goals rather than CCSS, which sometimes focus on skills that are implied within the standards. It is unclear which portions of the lesson align to the learning goals listed.

  • In Unit 3, Week 2, Lesson 4, the teacher models how to identify and recount key details while reading the text, “Fighters for Rights: Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez.” During Guided Practice, students work with a partner to read paragraphs 3–6 and identify additional key details. The teacher guides students, as a group, to determine the main idea. This instruction aligns to RI.3.2: “Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.”

  • In Unit 4, Week 1, Lesson 10, students read “Cinderella, Too Much for Words” by Gare Thompson. During this lesson students focus on the comprehension strategy of creating mental images. The teacher guide states, “As you read today, I want you to use details in the text to help you create mental images of the characters and events.” This lesson does not align with grade-level standards.

  • In Unit 7, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 7, the teacher reminds students of prior learning on distinguishing their point of view from that of the author. Then the teacher reads aloud paragraphs of “My St. Augustine Journal” by Lisa Benjamin and models how to identify the author’s point of view. Then, the teacher models “how the author uses the importance of history in St. Augustine as a reason to support her point of view.” The teacher also models how to use “text evidence to distinguish [their] point of view from that of the author.” This instruction aligns to RI.3.6: “ Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text.”

Over the course of each unit, the majority of questions and tasks are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Questions and tasks are mostly aligned to the skills addressed in each of the lessons. While many of the skills support the standards, not all skills are standards-aligned. Students typically answer one or two leading questions during the lesson and two to three questions independently per core text. Questions are not labeled according to the standards and teachers would have to determine the alignment on their own.

  • In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 5, students work with a partner to “analyze the illustration on page 14 of ‘The Tale of King Midas: A Greek Myth’” retold by Gare Thompson. Students use the following prompt to annotate the text: “What can you infer about the characters from the illustration? What does the illustration tell me about the setting? How does the illustration contribute to the mood of the story?” This task aligns to RL.3.7: “Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).” 

  • In Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 1, students read “The Big Game” by Crystal Allen. Students underline the plot events and key details as they read and write a brief summary. Students write about a new idea they have after synthesizing information. This task does not address a grade-level standard. 

  • In Unit 8, Week 3, Lesson 9, students answer Question 3 on page 26 of Weather and Climate by Laura McDonald: “Reread the section ‘Extreme Tropical Storms.’ Compare and contrast this section with Grandma's explanation of hurricanes in ‘After the Storm.’ What are the similarities in the facts they provide? What are the differences? Support your comparison with specific text evidence.” This task aligns to RI.3.9: “Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.”

Over the course of each unit, the majority of assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Teacher materials include a Weekly and Unit Assessment tab that includes the print version of three assessments for each unit.  Materials also provide an Answer Key and Item Rationales document that indicates the DOK level, standard alignment for each assessment question, and rationales for correct and incorrect answers. 

  • In Unit 3, Week 1, Assessment, students read a short informational text about cleaning a Baltimore harbor. Question Three is a two-part multiple choice question aligned to RI.3.8 and RI.3.1, respectively. Part A asks, “What word or phrase best describes how the sentences in paragraph 2 are connected?” and Part B asks, “Which phrase from the paragraph best supports the answer to Part A?” Part A of the assessment question aligns to RI.3.8: “Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).” Part B of the assessment question aligns to RI.3.8, as well as RI.3.1: “Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.”

  • In Unit 9, Unit Assessment, students read two short passages and answer multiple-choice, short answer, and longer response writing items including, but not limited to:

    • “Select two steps the Rodriguez family must complete after every time the cows are milked. (DOK 2, RI.3.3)” This assessment question aligns to RI.3.3: “Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.”

    • “What does the illustration in Passage 2 show about the stonecutter? (DOK 2, RL.3.7)” This assessment question aligns to RL.3.7: “Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).”

    • “Think about ‘The Family Farm’ and ‘The Stonecutter.’ What event happens in both passages? (DOK 2, RI.3.9)” This assessment question does not fully align to RI.3.9: “Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.”

    • “Think about ‘The Family Farm’ and ‘The Stonecutter.’ How are the times and places, or settings, of the two passages alike? How are they different? Use details from both passages to support your answer. (DOK 3, RI.3.9)” This assessment question algins to RI.3.9: “Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.”

By the end of the academic year, standards are repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• RL.3.5 appears in Units 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9 according to the reformatted Correlation to the Common Core State Standards chart: “Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.”

  • In Unit 2, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 4, during Guided Practice, students work with a partner to read “The Ant and the Dove” by Aesop and annotate “the sections of the story that introduce the characters, setting, and plot (including the rising action, climax, and resolution).” Afterward, students “recount the details, referring to different sections, and explain how they build upon one another.”

  • In Unit 6, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 4, during Constructive Conversation: Partner, students “read and annotate paragraphs 1–19 [of ‘Rapping Magicians’ by Crystal Allen] with a partner to identify and recount story details. During partner discussions, lesson guidance directs the teacher to “assess [students’] ability to refer to parts of the story, as well as recount and explain key story details.” During Share and Reflect, partner groups “identify and recount the story details in paragraphs 1–19,” and the teacher asks the student pairs to “describe how referring to parts of the story and recounting the story details deepened their understanding of the story.”  During Apply Understanding, students “finish reading the story and write a short paragraph recounting the key events of paragraphs 20–31.” Lesson guidance notes, “Students should refer to parts of the story and explain how these paragraphs present the climax and resolution of the story.” It is unclear whether students use terms such as paragraph during their discussions and when writing in response to the prompt.

  • In Unit 9, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 12, students read aloud the poem “Pet Shopping” by Kenn Nesbit. The teacher models responding to the following question: “How do the first three stanzas build upon one another?” Afterwards during Guided Practice, “students write notes next to stanzas 3–6 (beginning on page 29) that will help them remember and explain how the author uses each stanza to build upon the sections before it and add feeling and imagery to the poem.” Then, “students write a short paragraph that refers to specific lines and stanzas of the poem and explains how stanzas 4 though 6 build upon earlier sections to lead the reader to its humorous resolution and message.”   

• RI.3.4 is taught in Units 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 10 according to the correlation chart: “Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.” 

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 7, students determine the meaning of domain-specific vocabulary using context clues. The teacher models using a piece of text to determine the meaning of survival and predators. During guided practice, students use context to figure out the meaning of the words prey, camouflage, and adaptation. 

  • In Unit 5, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 14, students engage in a unit wrap-up. During the Constructive Conversation, students discuss their learning from the unit. The lesson does not address domain-specific language, although the vocabulary from the unit is an expectation for the lesson. 

  • In Unit 10, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 12, students engage in a lesson to use context clues to determine the meaning of words, specifically words with multiple meanings. The teacher models determining the meaning of the word force in a section of text. During guided practice, students use context clues to figure out the meaning of the word acting. Then, students engage in a Turn and Talk to answer the questions, “How does the author’s use of the word swing help you understand different patterns of motion?” and “What predictable effects do forces have on objects?”