9th Grade - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2a. 

The materials are organized into six units of study, each of which features a topic and an associated genre. Each unit begins with a unit opener that “introduces the genre and connects students to the literature,” includes a “thought-provoking quote [that] gives insight into literature,” features “fine art and photographs [that] connect with the unit theme,” and introduces “essential questions related to the unit theme [that] generate interest and set the stage for learning.” These elements at the beginning of the unit introduce the topic of the unit, but the remaining sections of the introduction serve to explain the genre and do not further address the theme of the unit. Lessons within the unit are organized into subtopics that break down the genre into components of the genre and examples of texts that illustrate those components. The Scope and Sequence Guide lists sub-themes that connect to many of the selections. The Mirrors & Windows questions that accompany selections address these sub-themes, but they do not connect to the overall theme of the unit, and there is no explanation or guidance on how the unit theme and the Mirrors & Windows sub-theme work together. The individual components included in the program are not connected in a cohesive way that would build students’ knowledge of a topic or theme.

Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Texts are connected by a grade-appropriate cohesive topic/theme/line of inquiry. Texts miss opportunities to build knowledge, vocabulary, and the ability to read and comprehend complex texts across a school year.

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, the Teacher Wrap in the Teacher’s Edition suggests the teacher launches the unit by pointing out that people have enjoyed storytelling throughout history. At the top of the first page of the unit, materials introduce students to the unit theme, Defining Moments, and include the following guidance, as well as the essential question: “As you read the selections in this unit, decide what the defining moment is for the main characters and how they finally decide to define themselves. What makes an experience a defining moment?” The anchor text for this unit is “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer. Students also read “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, and “The Vision Quest” by Lame Deer. Each selection also includes a Mirrors & Windows theme, including, but not limited to, trust, feuds, survival, pride, revenge, love and hate, and belonging. These themes do not tie into the unit theme and essential question with the exception of one occurrence during the first unit selection, “Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes: “Roger did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.’ How is this a defining moment for Roger?” No other Mirrors & Windows theme relates to the unit topic and essential question nor do the embedded Close Reading questions and Extend the Text tasks. As a result, it is unclear how students build knowledge of the theme.

  • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, in the introduction to the unit, guidance asks students to think about physical objects and intangible items people carry with them, and how what people keep helps shape who they are. The unit overview includes the following guidance and essential question: “As you read the selections in this part, try to determine what is being kept. How do our possessions shape who we are?” Students read the anchor text, “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, as well as other selections, such as “Gifts” by Shu Ting, “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde. For many of the selections in the unit, it is unclear how they are connected to the topic or essential question of the unit, and there is no guidance for teachers to encourage a connection or tasks where students make those connections on their own. For example, when reading “The Ballad of Birmingham,” the introduction to the text includes the following reader’s context: “Have you ever been denied something for your own protection or because someone else was frightened? How did you react?” The purpose for reading is as follows: “As you read, look for an example of irony of situation and determine its effect on the poem.” The Mirrors & Windows theme of sacred places provides yet another focus: “What places do people consider sacred or safe? Is the bombing of a church worse than other acts of violence? What other action(s) might be worse or might compare?” Neither the prompts nor the after-reading questions and tasks relate to the topic or essential question of the unit. 

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, the introduction to the unit explains the ways that cultures use stories, poems, and songs to pass values and customs to each generation. Materials note that the selections in the unit encompass a variety of cultures and times and provide a glimpse into the beliefs and customs of the people. The essential question is “How do we share ideas and values today?” The anchor text for this unit is excerpts from The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. Students also read “The Story of Daedalus and Icarus” from Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Rolfe Humphries, “The Golden Lamb” by Jean Russell Larson, and “The Mosquito” retold by George F. Schultz. Students do not revisit the theme of Pass It On nor do they return to the essential question of how ideas and values are shared today, with the exception of one independent reading eSelection. The Mirrors & Windows theme for the fable, “The Princess and the Tin Box” by James Thurber, is values. After reading the selection, students respond to the following Mirrors & Windows questions: “What does society appear to value most when looking for a significant other? What characteristics would you value?” The Mirrors & Windows theme does not relate to the unit topic and essential question nor do the embedded Close Reading questions and Extend the Text tasks. As a result, it is unclear how students build knowledge of the theme.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2b. 

As part of the Close Reading Model, materials embed text-specific and text-dependent questions that require students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts and paired selections or text sets. Materials do not consistently include coherently sequenced questions that build to a task in which students demonstrate their understanding of these literary elements. Tasks often occur during the Extend the Text section and may not occur during core instruction, as these tasks are options from which the teacher may select. At times, questions and tasks do not meet the requirements of the correlated standard.

Materials require students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high quality questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• For most texts, students analyze key ideas and details and craft and structure (according to grade-level standards). 

  • The materials contain some coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address key ideas and details. 

    • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, students read a paired selection containing O. Henry’s short story, “The Gift of the Magi,” and Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace.” While reading, “students focus on the themes of the two stories as they relate to the topic of wanting what you can’t afford.” O. Henry’s piece does not include any text-specific questions or tasks that address the theme. While reading “The Necklace,” students examine a passage of the text and respond to Analyze Literature: Theme questions including: “1. What motivates Mme. Loisel? 2. How does she react when she finds the necklace she decides to borrow? 3. What might her motivations and reactions suggest about the theme of the story?” Students do not respond to further text-specific questions about theme during the reading. After reading both texts, students respond to the following Compare Literature prompt: “What do the themes of each story have in common? How are they different? What details in the stories help to express the themes? What is the ironic twist in each story? How does the use of irony affect the development of the themes?” During the Informative Writing Extend the Text option, students write an abstract that summarizes points they “would cover in a comparative essay about the themes of the two stories.” This task is one of four Extend the Text options from which the teacher may select and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

    • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, students read the concrete poem, “The Universe'' by May Swenson. The teacher “[asks] students to look at the shape of ‘The Universe’ and consider how the shape might be related to the subject or the theme of the poem. How would their understanding of the poem differ if the poem were set with all the lines aligned?” Materials do not include further questions that address theme. During the Informative Writing option in the Extend the Text section, students ``[w]rite a two- to three-paragraph summary of ‘The Universe’ for someone who hasn’t read the poem.” Students must include information about “the topic, form, theme, and appearance of the poem” in their summary. 

    • In Unit 4, Temptation and Loss, Drama Connections, students read The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, a play by William Shakespeare. When reading Act I, Scene III, students “note the terms of endearment [the Nurse] uses when addressing Juliet (lamb, ladybird) and her protective manner toward her charge.” The teacher directs students to “make observations about their relationship as Juliet evolves and becomes more independent in her thinking and behavior.” At the conclusion of Act I, students respond to Reason with Text questions including, but not limited to: “2b. Reread Capulet’s words on page 305 to predict what kind of a person he is. How does he feel about feuding with Montague?” and “5b. What do the emotions they experience tell you about the two main characters? Deduce what struggles or conflicts the two will experience.” During Act II, Scene VI, students focus on a passage of dialogue and discuss whether “they learn anything about Romeo’s character from the Nurse’s description of him,” stating whether “they agree with the Nurse’s assessment of Romeo.” At the conclusion of Act II, students respond to a Reason with Text question in which they compare and contrast the roles of Juliet’s Nurse and Friar Lawrence and analyze how the characters feel about Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. In Act III, Scene III, students draw conclusions about Romeo’s character during a specified passage of the play. Later in the scene, students “cite prior situations where Romeo’s rash behavior is evident” and “comment on how realistic his character is by considering his age and upbringing.” In Act III, Scene V, students describe Capulet’s attitude in a specified scene “based on what he says and what others say about him.” Students use evidence from the text to explain why he feels the way he does. After reading the entire play, students “[w]rite a one-page character analysis examining a character in Romeo and Juliet” that “make[s] a statement about his or her role in the play and “[explains] how his or her particular traits made the character behave in certain ways.” Students must use evidence from the play during their analysis. This Informative Writing Extend the Text option is one of four after-reading activities from which the teacher may select and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • The materials contain some coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address craft and structure. 

    • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, students read the short story, “The Interlopers” by Saki, and focus on analyzing plot and flashback. Teacher guidance states that additional information on plot and feedback can be found in Understanding Plot. Students “copy the Plot Diagram into their notebooks” and use the diagram to record plot details and occurrences of flashback as they read. During the Close Read, students respond to questions, such as “For how long has the feud between the two families been going on?”; “What other kind of conflict does the tree falling on the two men represent?”; and “How is the event that follows the conflict resolution an example of irony?”  In the post-reading Analyze Literature section, students use their Plot Diagram to respond to the following questions: “How does Saki’s use of flashback help to develop the exposition, or background, for the plot? What is the central conflict in ‘The Interlopers’? Review the story to find an event that marks a major turning point in the plot. How is the conflict resolved? What other conflict arises? How does the last line in the story resolve that conflict?” During the Creative Writing option in the Extend the Text section, students “[w]rite a new concluding paragraph that shows what might happen if Georg and Ulrich survived” and compare their work with those of their peers. This task is one of four Extend the Text options from which the teacher may select and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.. 

    • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, students read “haiku,” haiku poems by Matsuo Basho, Nicholas Virgilio, and Alan Pizzarelli and an informational text connection piece from How to Haiku by Bruce Ross. While reading “haiku,” students ``use their Venn Diagrams to record the nature image in each poem, the contrasting images, and the feelings that each haiku evokes.” Students also “visualize the vivid images that are central to each haiku.” After reading both texts, students respond to the following Compare Literature: Imagery prompt: “What specific image or overall imagery does each poet use in these haiku? What feeling does each evoke? How does the imagery used in the three haiku accentuate the experiences being described?” Although students analyze imagery, they do not analyze “a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.” During the Creative Writing Extend the Text option, students either “[w]rite a memo to each poet, describing your response to his haiku'' or “write a haiku in response to one of the haiku and include it in a memo to the poet, along with an explanation of how you decided to respond.” Students do not analyze “a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.” This task is one of four Extend the Text options from which the teacher may select and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

    • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, students read excerpts from The Odyssey, an epic poem by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. While reading Part One, students “observe the link between shift in narrator and change in setting (time and place),” using a graphic organizer. In the Analyze Literature section at the end of the selection, students analyze the epic poem’s structure and its effects: “Like many epics, Odysseus's story starts in medias res. Describe the origin and meaning of the phrase in medias res. How does the story enfold?  What does the epic suggest about the customs and values of ancient Greek culture? How do the supernatural characters influence the characters in the story and determine the events?” It is unclear when students use the text organization chart they developed. The sequence of questions do not build to a task in which students analyze “how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.”

• By the end of the year, these components (language, word choice, key ideas, details, structure, craft) are not consistently embedded in students’ work rather than taught directly.

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, students read “The Gift of the Magi,” a short story by O. Henry. The teacher guides students to notice and explore how authors use source material. Guidance for the Critical Thinking: Discussion Guide includes: “Take a moment to discuss with students the allusions in the description of Jim's and Della's prized possessions.” The teacher defines the term allusion and facilitates discussion using the following prompts:

    • “1. Have students identify two allusions in the discussion of Jim’s and Della’s prize possessions.

    • 2. Ask what the first allusion suggests about Della’s hair.

    • 3. Ask what the second allusion suggests about Jim’s watch.”

    • Students do not respond to any additional questions that address allusion nor do they complete a task in which they “[a]nalyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work.”  

  • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, students read Edgar Allan Poe’s lyric poem, “The Bells.” The text includes” Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night,” artwork by Charles Burchfield. Students respond to the following Critical Viewing questions: “What mood does this artwork create? Does the mood of the artwork reflect the mood of the poem?” Students “describe the mood of each stanza [of ‘The Bells’] in a single word” and “create a Cluster Chart with details from the poem branching out from their ‘mood’ word at the center.” During the Argumentative Writing Extend Understanding option, students use examples from Poe’s poem to “[w]rite a three-paragraph position statement that argues which of the stanzas...is the most interesting and insightful.” 

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, while reading “The Story of Daedalus and Icarus” from the Metamorphoses by Ovid, translated by Rolfe Humphries, students focus on foreshadowing. The introduction of the lesson briefly discusses foreshadowing as a literary device. During the Close Read, students respond to questions, such as “What do lines 14–20 foreshadow? How does this passage affect your reading of the myth?” Students use their knowledge of foreshadowing to make predictions, identifying specific lines from the text that led to their prediction, when responding to this Close Read question: “What will happen to Daedalus and Icarus? Will Icarus follow his father’s warnings?” After reading the text, students respond to the following Analyze Literature: Foreshadowing question: “The obvious foreshadowing of Icarus’s death means that there really isn’t much suspense in this story; most readers could have predicted that either Icarus or Daedalus would perish in their attempts to escape. What other purpose, then, do you think the author had in making the foreshadowing so evident?” This sequence of questions does not allow students to analyze “a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature,” nor do the Extend the Text options provide an opportunity for the analysis required by the standards.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2c.  

As part of the Close Reading Model, materials embed text-specific and text-dependent questions that require students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts and paired selections or text sets. Materials do not consistently include coherently sequenced questions that build to a task in which students demonstrate their understanding of knowledge and ideas. Tasks often occur during the Extend the Text section and may not occur during core instruction, as these tasks are options from which the teacher may select. At times, questions and tasks do not meet the requirements of the correlated standard. Although students respond to questions that provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts, materials do not consistently provide students with opportunities to analyze those same elements within single texts. 

Materials do not consistently require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas within individual texts as well as across multiple texts using coherently sequenced, high-quality text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas.

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, students read Judith Ortiz Cofer’s short story, “American History,” and the Informational Text Connection piece, “TV Coverage of JFK’s Death Forged Medium’s Role,” a newspaper article by Joanne Ostrow. While reading the short story, students “describe the character of Elena, based on what they know about her from the story,” and respond to the following questions: “Why did the author choose to tell the story through her eyes (first-person narrator)? How does the point of view affect the story’s overall theme?” Students analyze a specific paragraph in the story, add details to their Sensory Details charts,” and “[d]iscuss the contrasting moods of [the] paragraph.” After reading, students respond to Refer to Text and Reason with Text questions, such as “1a. How did Elena react to the news about President Kennedy’s death? 1b. Describe how her reaction made her feel. Why doesn’t Elena grieve for the dead president? 4b. Evaluate whether Elena was wrong to be more upset by the events in her personal life than with the death of President Kennedy.” After reading Ostrow’s post, students respond to Refer to Text and Reason with Text questions including: “1a. Recall what Ostrow says was responsible for changing ‘the pace of our lives.’ 1b. Summarize how the author supports this statement. 2a. Ostrow states that with this event ‘the shift from the primacy of print to the tyranny of TV—television as the first source of news—was cinched.’ Indicate how the author’s word choices reveal her attitude toward this change.” Afterwards, students respond to Text to Text Connection questions during which they compare and contrast how both authors “use Kennedy’s assassination in their writing,” noting the effect each author intended to have on the readers. Students also “[d]iscuss the different purposes an author may have in writing about a real historical event from a fictional perspective.” During the Collaborative Learning option in the Extend the Text section, students look for references to color and meet with a small group to discuss the following questions: “Where is color present in the story? What might the presence or absence of color mean in each situation?” This activity is one of four Extend the Text activities from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 2, Facing Challenges, Nonfiction Connections, students read “The Obligation to Endure”, an argumentative essay from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, and the Informational Text Connection selection “When It Comes to Pesticides, Birds Are Sitting Ducks,” a scientific article by Mary Deinlein. While reading Carson’s work, students “evaluate the strengths of the author’s arguments based on the evidence presented” and distinguish fact from opinion during reading. Students respond to questions about specific passages, such as “Why is it a problem? How does Carson support her argument?” and “How is agriculture related to Carson’s overall message, or theme?” Students also use Critical Thinking Discussion Guide questions, such as “Are the issues Carson brings up about chemicals still relevant today? Explain.”, and “What other words or phrases with negative connotations can you find on this page? How does this language contribute to the overall message of the essay?”, to analyze the essay. After reading Carson’s work, materials ask students to “[s]ummarize the main points about pollution that Carson makes…, list the types of evidence she provides in support of her opinions…, [and] write a short critique of the essay, in which you take a stand or express you brown opinion on the issue.” Students distinguish facts from opinions while reading Deinlein’s work and respond to Text to Text Connection questions including, but not limited to: “Compare and contrast how Deinlein and Carson address their similar topics. Analyze how effective the language and tone used by each author is for their audience and purpose.” During the Collaborative Learning Extend the Text option, students work with a partner or in a small group to “research how developing nation might benefit from the immediate effects of a pesticide.” After documenting their sources, students “[d]evelop an argument that either supports or opposes the use of DDT in these nations and debate a team with an opposing view.” This activity is one of four Extend the Text activities from which the teacher may choose and, as a result,may not occur during core instruction.

• By the end of the year, integrating knowledge and ideas is not consistently embedded in students’ work (via tasks and/or culminating tasks).

  • In Unit 2, Facing Challenges, Nonfiction Connections, students read Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech, “I Have a Dream,” and the Literature Connection piece, “Martin Luther King Jr.,” a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks. While reading King’s speech, students examine his use of figurative language, discussing what ideas the examples represent. Students also examine how King’s use of rhetorical devices, such as repetition, affects the impact of the speech. Students use the American History Connection: Civil Rights Movement questions to discuss “how King’s speech fits into a larger history.” After reading, students respond to a series of prompts that require them to analyze the content, purpose, and rhetorical devices of the speech: “1b. Explain the purpose of King reiterating that the struggle was not over. 2b. Examine why King repeats ‘I have a dream.’ 3b.  Classify those in King's audience. To do so, consider which audiences he probably had in mind when he outlined these injustices. 4b. The success of a persuasive speech depends on its effect on its audience. Critique King's speech and identify features of the speech that may have been particularly effective.” After reading Brooks’ work, students respond to the following Text to Text Connection questions: “How do Martin Luther King Jr. and Gwendolyn Brooks describe or refer to racism and social injustice within these two selections? What descriptive words and phrases illustrate the social climate? How are these descriptions similar? In your opinion, which selection is most vivid? Why?” During the Extend the Text activities, studtnes “[w]rite a five-paragraph organization analysis of [King’s] speech.” During the analysis, students “[i]dentify and describe the sections of the speech and the purpose of each section,” explaining “how the organization of the speech enhances its effectiveness and has a positive impact on the crowd.” This Informative Writing task is one of four Extend the Text options from which the teacher selects and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction. 

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, after reading Part One from The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald, students read a Primary Source Connection piece and an Informational Text Connection piece—”Poseidon, God of the Sea,” a myth retold by Walker Brents and “Cyclops Myth Spurred by ‘One-Eyed’ Fossils?”, a National Geographic News article by Hillary Mayell. Students paraphrase and make connections to their learning from The Odyssey while reading Brents’ selection. Students use a Fact or Opinion Chart to distinguish fact from opinion while reading Mayell’s work and discuss “if they think the archaeologists’ explanations seem reasonable, based on what [they] know about the Cyclops and myths.” Students respond to Refer to Text and Reason with Text questions, such as “2a. List the examples that are given to support the connection between fossils and ancient myths. 2b. Decide how valuable such theories are in our efforts to understand historical development. If these theories were to be established as fact, how might our view of human history be likely to change? 3b. Think of other historic monsters and mysteries. Explain where these might have originated.” Students then respond to the following Text to Text Connection questions: “In what way might archaeological findings help readers appreciate Homer’s epics? Are there any ways in which being aware of scientific evidence might lessen the readers’ enjoyment of The Odyssey? Explain your responses.” This sequence of questions does not build to a task in which students “[d]elineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient” or “identify false statements and fallacious reasoning,” as required by the standards.

• Sets of questions and tasks provide some opportunities to analyze across multiple texts as well as within single texts. 

  • In Unit 2, Facing Challenges, Nonfiction Connections, students read the paired texts, “Trapped New Orleans Pets Still Being Rescued” by Laura Parker and Anita Manning, and “Close Encounter of the Human Kind'' by Abraham Vergese, M.D. While reading each text, students analyze text organization. Students use the subheading in Parker and Manning’s work to discuss “what they expect the next segment of the story to be about” and respond to questions, such as “Which sentence best expresses the author’s message? How does the ending of the essay tie back to the beginning?”, while reading Dr. Vergese’s piece. Students then respond to the following Text to Text Connection questions: “Describe the tone—the writer’s attitude toward the subject—of “Close Encounter of the Human Kind” and that of “Trapped New Orleans Pets Still Being Rescued.” Contrast the tones of the two pieces and analyze how the difference in purpose might affect the difference in tone. Recall who or what the authors of the articles focus on in their opening paragraphs. Which of the works is a more personal account of the events narrated? The analytical questions within each text do not provide students with opportunities to analyze the same elements across both texts. 

  • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, students read the lyric poem, “Local Sensibilities” by Wing Tek Lum and the Informational Text Connection article, “442nd Regimental Combat Team” by the National Japanese American Historical Society. Students focus on context while reading both texts, responding to questions, such as “Ask students what details in stanzas 1–3 provide context for readers if they had no background knowledge of the author,” when reading the poem, and “Ask them to consider the choice and purpose of the written material in light of this finding,” when reading the informational text. After reading both selections, students respond to the following Text to Text Connection question: “What theme is present in both the poem and the informational text? According to these two selections, what hardships did Japanese Americans face? What perceptions and misconceptions of Japanese Americans are presented in each, and how are Japanese Americans depicted by the writers?”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2d. 

Individual, paired, and text set selections conclude with Refer to Text and Reason with Text questions; an Analyze Literature, Compare Literature, or Text-to-Text Connection prompt; and four task options in the Extend the Text section. Earlier questions are incoherently sequenced at times and do not always build to a task. Teachers can choose from two writing options and two other types of tasks, such as Collaborative Learning, Critical Literacy, Lifelong Learning, and Media Literacy, in the Extend the Text section. Extend the Text tasks do not consistently relate to reading selections and are sometimes stand-alone in nature. Because there is no true core instructional path, completion of these tasks is optional and contingent upon teacher selection. As a result, there is no guarantee that all students will access the opportunities offered. 

Each unit concludes with three Workshops: Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Test Practice. Most of the Writing and Speaking & Listening Workshops are not connected to the unit genre of study and do not require students to draw upon their knowledge of the texts in the unit. The Test Practice Workshops are not connected to unit content and are designed to help students practice taking standardized tests. The three Workshops are not integrated. 

Culminating tasks require students to demonstrate their knowledge through integrated literacy skills; however, it is unclear how tasks relate to the unit’s topic/theme. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Culminating tasks are evident and varied across the year and they are 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).

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, during the Writing Workshop, students create a character analysis based on “a character from one of the short stories [they] read in this unit.” Students select a character “from the short stories in this unit,” and reread the text “in which your character appears” to gather “information about appearance, actions, speech, and thoughts and feelings.”’ Students use a Character Chart to record details, such as “comments the narrator or others make about the character,” and look for common threads and patterns among the details. After drawing these conclusions, students select “the three conclusions from the chart that best describe the character” and “[n]umber them in the order in which you would like to include them in your essay.” Students develop their thesis statement and draft an introduction, body, and conclusion for their character analysis. Students either self-evaluate or peer-evaluate their work using a Revision Checklist. Students orally present their work to the class and evaluate the task using a Writing Rubric. This task integrates reading and writing. 

  • In Unit 4, Temptation and Loss, Drama Connections, students write a dramatic scene based on a theme and characters from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare during the Writing Workshop. Students select the theme from the play that they like best, “establish a conflict,” and develop characters using a Character Cluster Chart. Students use their chart to write dialogue for their character and “highlight material that is most directly relevant to your conflict and theme.” Students write their central conflict and then draft the scene opening, dialogue, and resolution. Students evaluate and revise their draft using the Revision Checklist. Students then present their dramatic scenes to their peers and evaluate the task using a Writing Rubric. This task integrates reading, writing, and speaking and listening. 

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, during the Writing Workshop students conduct an interview “with an older relative or a wise family friend to document a story of special meaning.” After selecting a person to interview and settling on a meaningful or interesting story, students use an Oral History Chart to gather information. Students highlight striking and interesting details and aspects of their interview notes, develop a thesis statement, and organize their writing chronologically when drafting the introduction, body, and conclusion of their work. Students evaluate their drafts using a Revision Checklist and share their work with the class. Students use a Writing Rubric to evaluate the task. This task integrates speaking and listening, and writing. 

• Earlier text-specific and/or text-dependent questions and tasks are not coherently sequenced and will not give the teacher usable information about the student's readiness (or whether they are “on track”) to complete culminating tasks.

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, students read the eSelection, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe. Students analyze point of view and narrator, responding to prompts and questions, such as “After students read the first paragraph, ask them what their first impressions of the narrator are. Have them identify any details that suggest that the narrator is unreliable. Ask students why Poe might have chosen an unreliable narrator for a suspense story.” During the Informative Writing Extend Understanding option, students “write a one-page character analysis of Fortunato.” Later in the unit, students read “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer paired with the Informational Text Connection piece, “TV Coverage of JFK’s Death Forged Medium’s Role” by Joanne Ostrow. Students analyze setting, responding to prompts and questions, such as “What details does Judith Ortiz Cofer use to create a sense of a particular time? What details does she use to create a sense of particular places, such as El Building, Eugene’s house, and the city of Paterson?” After reading both selections, students may complete the following Argumentative Writing option in the Extend the Text section: “Assume that a friend says, ‘There was no hope of Elena and Eugene ever remaining friends.’ Do you agree or disagree? Share your opinion by writing a character analysis in which you examine each character’s personality and background and collect details about them to support your opinion. Write the argument in a unified informative paragraph.” These questions and tasks are not coherently sequenced to build to the culminating task. It is unclear how these tasks give the teacher usable information about the student's readiness to complete the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop in which they write a character analysis.

  • In Unit 4, Temptation and Loss, Drama Connections, students read The Inspector General, a one-act play by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Michael Frayn. Students analyze irony and respond to questions and prompts, such as “How does the Storyteller set up the irony” and “What is ironic about the Driver’s description of the new Inspector General?” During the Critical Literacy option in the Extend the Text section, students work in pairs or small groups to “research the duties of the inspectors-generals of imperial Russia and analyze the author’s approach to the subject.” Students consider the criticism Chekhov might have been expressing in the play and present their analysis during a panel discussion. Students also read The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. While analyzing dialogue, students respond to prompts and questions, such as “Ask students to identify oxymorons in Romeo’s confused speech to Benvolio. Then have them explain what these oxymorons reveal about his feelings about love.” and “What does Capulet tell Tybalt when Tybalt recognizes Romeo? What do his words suggest about Capulet’s character?” After reading the entire play, students “[w]rite a one-page character analysis examining a character in Romeo and Juliet.” These questions and tasks are not coherently sequenced to build to the culminating task. It is unclear how these tasks give the teacher usable information about the student's readiness to complete the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop in which they write a dramatic scene.

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, students read “The White Snake,” a fairy tale retold by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Lucy Crane. Students focus on characteristics of fairy tales and respond to prompts and questions, such as “Ask students what magical elements have occurred so far in the story.” and “What are the mischievous spirits or magical elements in ‘The White Snake’? How do these unusual beings affect the story?” During the Narrative Writing Extend the Text option, students write a one- to two-page modern-day retelling of the text “in a setting of your choice, such as a suburb or a big city. You can replace the old-fashioned characters with modern ones, too, if you wish.” Later in the unit, students read an excerpt from The Odyssey: Part One, an epic poem by Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. Students analyze elements of epic poems and examine point of view, responding to questions and prompts, such as “What elements of an epic are expressed in the stanza that begins ‘Of these adventures, Muse, daughter of Zeus…’?” and “Ask students what elements of an epic are revealed in the summary of Books 1–4. What role do gods and goddesses play in this story?” After reading all four parts of the text, as well as a Literature Connection piece, “Says Penelope” by Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, students write a “brief character description in which you describe the similarities and the differences between the” Penelope in The Odyssey and the speaker in “Says Penelope.” These questions and tasks are not coherently sequenced to build to the culminating task. It is unclear how these tasks give the teacher usable information about the student's readiness to complete the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop in which they write an oral history.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2e. 

The writing program design includes two on-demand, post-reading writing prompts selections. Prompts span creative, argumentative, informative, narrative, and descriptive writing modes. While some prompts are stand-alone tasks, others connect to texts students read and sometimes require students to use textual evidence in their responses. Each unit also includes an End-of-Unit Writing Workshop. During the Writing Workshop, materials explain what students should do during each step of the writing process but rarely provide instruction on the writing mode of focus. Writing Workshops include various supports and tools for monitoring writing development, such as rubrics, student models, literary models, graphic organizers, and checklists. Unlike their on-demand counterparts, these process writing tasks do not connect to the unit theme and are stand-alone in nature with some tasks requiring students to use evidence from sources. Materials include practice opportunities in the Writing Skills section embedded within the End-of-Unit Test Practice Workshop. During this Workshop, students practice timed writing responses and revision and editing skills. As with the Writing Workshops, Test Practice Workshop activities span various genres but are not connected to the unit text selections. The Writing & Grammar workbook may be used to supplant Writing Workshops, as the ancillary resource includes an additional in-depth writing workshop for each unit. Writing & Grammar activities begin with a Learn From a Literary Model section. This section draws upon one of the unit text selections. The Writing Rubrics ancillary contains four  Portable Document Form (PDF) files: a narrative writing rubric, an informative writing rubric, an argumentative writing rubric, and a four-point general writing rubric. Materials lack teacher guidance on enacting ancillary and optional writing lessons and tasks. 

Materials include a year-long plan for students to achieve grade-level writing proficiency by the end of the school year; however, cohesion is lacking. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Materials include limited writing instruction that aligns to the standards for the grade level and sometimes supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year.

  • While there is an evident structure to the writing aspect of the program, including frequent opportunities for students to write in various modes and for various purposes, supports, and tools for monitoring student writing development, the structure lacks cohesion. Materials include the following Writing Workshops— three informative, one argumentative, one descriptive, one narrative—resulting in an uneven distribution of explicit instruction on the writing modes required by the standards. Test Practice Workshops do not include explicit instruction and their mode of focus differs from that of the Writing Workshops. It is unclear how writing instruction and tasks build upon each other to promote growth in students’ skills over the course of the unit and across the year.

  • While materials offer a number of writing opportunities, explicit writing instruction is largely absent. During the End-of-Unit Writing Workshops, students spend three regular schedule days or one and a half block schedule days transitioning through the writing process as they complete a process writing task on a specific mode of focus. Writing Workshop tasks include:

    • Unit 1—Informative Writing: Character Analysis

    • Unit 2—Argumentative Writing: Argumentative Essay

    • Unit 3—Informative Writing: Compare-and-Contrast Essay

    • Unit 4—Descriptive Writing: Dramatic Scene

    • Unit 5—Narrative Writing: Oral History

    • Unit 6—Informative Writing: Research Paper: The I-Search

• Instructional materials include a variety of well-designed guidance, protocols, models, and support for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development.

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, in the Writing Skills section of the Test Practice Workshop, students complete an on-demand, timed reflective essay. The Teacher Wrap in the Teacher Edition includes a Reflective Essay Rubric which contains the following criteria: Content, Organization and Development, and Grammar and Style. 

  • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, for the Writing Workshop, students write a scene based on a theme and characters from Romeo and Juliet. The Workshop includes a Writing Rubric that contains the elements of a successful dramatic script, a Character Cluster Chart as a prewriting activity, examples of the drafting and revising stages, a Revision Checklist, and a Student Model.

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, in the Writing Workshop, students record and document an oral history. The Teacher Wrap in the Teacher Edition includes guidance for each of the writing process steps, including how to help students establish audience and purpose: “Remind students that having a clear idea of their audience and purpose will help them decide what information to include. Tell students they will need to consider what background information about the speaker, or storyteller, their audience will need in order to best appreciate the oral history.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2f. 

While materials provide frequent opportunities for short research tasks connected to the texts students read, materials do not include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards. Short research tasks do not include standards-aligned, explicit instruction and typically occur during one of the post-reading Extend the Text options. These tasks are optional and may not occur during core instruction. Students have one opportunity in each grade level to conduct a long research project—during the Unit 6 Writing Workshop. During this end-of-grade level task, materials include directions to guide students through each step of the research writing process but provide limited explicit instruction of standards-aligned research skills. 

While materials provide opportunities to expand the Extend the Text research tasks, teachers must access the Extension Activities ancillary to do so. Materials also include a Language Arts Handbook ancillary with a section on Research and Documentation, but there is no guidance on how to use this handbook for instruction or how it ties to the specific tasks students complete. Ancillary resources are not a part of core instruction. 

Materials do not include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Research projects are not sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills according to grade-level standards.  

  • While there are frequent opportunities for students to complete informal research tasks, materials lack teacher guidance to support students with completing these tasks. The Teacher Edition does not provide information on how to teach the research skills necessary to complete the after-reading research tasks, and it contains limited guidance for the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop research project. Materials do not include a sequence or progression of research skills, nor is there explicit instruction of research skills that aligns to the standards. During the one in-depth research project per grade level, students complete research tasks as outlined in the standards but receive limited explicit instruction when doing so. While the research-focused Writing Workshop provides detailed process steps to complete the task, the Workshop rarely includes explicit instruction or scaffolding during each step of the research writing process. 

• Materials provide limited support for teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic via provided resources. 

  • There is no evidence of the instructional materials providing support to teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge of different aspects of a topic via provided resources. Research-oriented Extend the Text tasks are not accompanied by instructional support for teachers to guide students through what they are being asked to accomplish. For example, during a Media Literacy Extend the Text task for the lyric poem, “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe in Unit 3, students research Poe’s life on the Internet and write a grant proposal for money to research places associated with his life. Materials do not provide guidance for teachers or students on how to conduct this research or how to write a grant proposal. During the one in-depth research project per grade level, teachers receive limited support for helping students complete the steps of the research project, such as how to write a thesis statement, incorporate parenthetical citations, paraphrase, or construct citations or a Works Cited page. 

• Materials provide many opportunities for students to synthesize and analyze content tied to the texts under study as a part of the research process. 

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, students read “The Interlopers,” a short story by Saki. The Lifelong Learning Extend the Text research task for this selection is as follows: “The von Gradwitzes and the Znaeyms weren’t the only mountain-dwelling families to get caught up in a famous feud. The legendary Hatfields and McCoys were real-life West Virginia clans who had a decades-long feud that allegedly began over the ownership of two pigs. The feud between the Capulets and the Montagues is the basis for the Shakespeare play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Use the library or the Internet to research a famous family feud. Writing a brief essay comparing the feud in ‘The Interlopers’ with your researched feud.” This activity is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 4, Temptation and Loss, Drama Connections, after reading The Inspector General, a one act play by Anton Chekov, students may complete a Lifelong Learning Extend the Text research task: “The name ‘Chekhov’ is more commonly associated with serious dramas than with comedic farces like The Inspector General. Research Chekhov’s life to find his influences and inspirations. Propose a theory about the elements of his life that are expressed in his writing. Write your findings in a brief essay for your school’s literary magazine.” This activity is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and,as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, students read the retold fairy tale, “The White Snake” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Lucy Crane. After reading, students may complete a Lifelong Learning Extend the Text task: “...On the Internet or in the library, find out what daily life was like during the Middle Ages. Except for the nobility, most families struggled to plant crops and raise a few animals. Look, in particular, for information on the role of fairy tales in easing the peasants’ difficult, mostly unrewarding lives.” This activity is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

• Students are provided with opportunities for both “short” and “long” projects across the course of a year and grade bands.

  • In Unit 2, Facing Challenges, Nonfiction Connections, students read the short story, “Aha Moment” by Julia Alvarez. After reading, students may complete a short research activity in the Extend the Text section: “Life-changing moments certainly happen, but sometimes the evidence supporting the event is limited. Find an ‘aha moment’ using Internet, library, or other media sources. Document your sources, including all website addresses. Write a brief one page summary of the moment. Conclude your summary with your opinion of whether the ‘aha’ moment event was real or imagined.” This activity is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, students read “Beware Do Not Read This Poem,” a poem by Ishmael Reed. After reading, students may complete a Collaborative Learning Extend the Text task: “People have long been fascinated with mirrors. With a partner or small group, research some aspect of this fascination: Explore how mirrors are made, how many different types of mirrors there are, or how people have used mirrors in science and the arts. You may want to start by doing an Internet search using mirror and reflection as key words.” Though there are no rubrics or parameters related to this task, teachers could use this as a “short” research project. This activity is one of four options from which the teacher may choose and, as a result, may not occur during core instruction.

  • In Unit 6, Journeys/Visions of the Future, Independent Reading Connections, during the End-of-Unit Writing Workshop, students complete a research paper. Students “[w]rite an I-Search essay exploring a personal talent in order to learn how to develop it and use it in the future.” The research paper must include a clear thesis statement, use “appropriate and varied sources related to the topic,” and document sources correctly. Materials guide students through each stage of the writing process: Prewrite, Draft, Revise, and Writing Follow-Up.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2g. 

Instruction, practice, and assessments are based on teacher selection from a list of options. As a result, there is no true core instructional path. The Lesson Plan for each text includes the following sections: Before Reading, During Reading, After Reading. Within each section, teachers select or choose activities from a list of core and ancillary resources. Most ancillary resources, such as Unit & Selection Resources, do not provide explicit instruction nor do they identify correlated standards for the provided content. Some questions and tasks align to grade-level standards while others do not align or do not meet the full intent of the standards. Because assessments do not identify the standards addressed, it is unclear if the majority of assessment items align to grade-level standards. Although the Correlation to Common Core State Standards document lists page numbers covering the standards in each strand, without a true core instructional path and because the majority of questions and tasks do not align to grade-level standards, there is no guarantee that materials repeatedly address grade-level standards within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standards.

Materials do not spend the majority of instructional time on content that falls within grade-level aligned instruction, practice, and assessments. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Over the course of each unit, some instruction is aligned to grade-level standards.

  • In the Digital Teacher Edition, the Grade 9 Correlation to Common Core State Standards document lists page numbers for each standard in Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Text, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language; however, the page numbers listed do not always contain opportunities for explicit instruction or address the correlated standard. 

    • For example, the Correlation to Common Core State Standards document lists page 28 in the EMC Pages That Cover the Standards column for RL.5 “Analyze how an author's choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.” This page contains three Use Reading Skills prompts and questions—Make Inferences, Visualize, and Sequence of Events—for the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. Materials do not provide an opportunity for explicit instruction on the correlated standard.      

• Over the course of each unit, some questions and tasks are aligned to grade-level standards. 

  • Questions often focus on comprehension strategies, such as Make Connections, Ask Questions, Draw Conclusions, and Visualize. These comprehension strategies do not align to grade-level standards. Some Extend the Text tasks align to grade-level standards, while others either do not align or do not meet the full requirements of the standards. Because post-reading questions and tasks do not have correlated standards identified, it is not always clear which question or task addresses the standard listed on the Correlation to Common Core State Standards document. 

    • In Unit 2, Facing Challenges, Nonfiction Connections, students read the news article, “Trapped New Orleans Pets Still Being Rescued” by Laura Parker and Anita Manning, along with the Literature Connection piece, “Close Encounter of the Human Kind,” a personal essay by Abraham Verghese, M.D. After reading both selections, students respond to several Text to Text Connection questions and prompts. During the first question, students focus on tone, describing and then contrasting the tones of both pieces, analyzing how the differences in the purpose of each piece might affect its tone. Then, students “[r]ecall who or what the authors of the articles focus on in their opening paragraphs.” Lastly, students determine which selection is a more personal account of the narrated events. While students analyze two accounts of a subject, both accounts are forms of print media; therefore, these questions do not address the full intent of the standard: “Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person's life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.” 

• Over the course of each unit, it is unclear whether the majority of assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. 

  • Materials do not identify assessed standards on Selection Quizzes, Lesson Tests, Unit Exams, or Formative Surveys. As a result, it is unclear whether the majority of assessment questions are aligned to grade-level standards. 

• By the end of the academic year, standards are not repeatedly addressed within and across units to ensure students master the full intent of the standard.

  • Because the page numbers listed on the Correlation to Common Core State Standards document for each standard in Reading: Literature, Reading: Informational Text, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language are not always the standard addressed and because the majority of questions and tasks do not align to grade-level standards, materials do not consistently provide students with multiple opportunities to address standards within and across units to ensure mastery. It is also unclear which items address the correlated standard, because standards are not identified at the question or task level.  

    • The Correlation to Common Core State Standards document lists the following page numbers for SL.3 “Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.”: 41, 157, E122, 160, 165, 167, 168, 172, 173, H77. On page 160, the Analyze Literature section of the Text Overview page for “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr.” contains information on rhetorical devices and notes the types of rhetorical devices King uses in his speech. As a purpose for reading, guidance directs students to “think about the historical setting of King’s speech and note the references to America’s past.” The Use Reading Skills inset focuses on text organization. On page 165, students respond to Refer to Text and Reason with Text questions, but it is unclear which questions address the correlated standard. Students also respond to an Analyze Literature: Rhetorical Devices prompt: “Identify examples of repetition within the speech. What group of words is repeated most often and how is it helpful? Point out metaphors in the speech. Try rewording the phrases in simpler, more literal language. How does the effect of the phrases change when you restate them in ordinary words?” While students evaluate a speaker’s use of rhetoric, evidence of meeting the full intent of the standard is lacking.

The materials reviewed for Grade 9 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 2h. 

The materials include an overwhelming number of components with no guide for teachers to understand how to navigate and integrate the many ancillary resources. The Program Planning Guide includes the Mirrors & Windows College & Career Readiness Curriculum Guide Level IV (Grade 9), an alternative implementation schedule that focuses on selections and workshops necessary for students to “master critical skills that appear on state and national assessments.” Given the amount of time suggested and allotted for the core materials to be covered, there is little surplus time for covering the many extension activities, workshops and assessments located within and outside of the core materials. As a result, it is unclear how to assure grade-level standards are covered methodically or evenly when incorporating optional tasks or ancillary materials into daily lesson planning. 

Materials do not regularly and systematically balance time and resources required for following the suggested implementation, as well as information for alternative implementations that maintain alignment and intent of the standards. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Suggested implementation schedules and alternative implementation schedules do not consistently align to core learning and objectives. 

  • In Unit 2, Facing Challenges, Nonfiction Connections, students read the speech, “Glory and Hope,” by Nelson Mandela. The Scope and Sequence Guide outlines the lesson components, including the Reading Skill: paraphrasing, the Literary Element: persuasive speech, and the Mirrors & Windows theme: forgiveness. Students learn about paraphrasing and persuasive speech in the Before Reading section. The teacher mentions the Mirrors & Windows theme before reading and has students practice paraphrasing once and identifying persuasive speech once while reading the selection. The Mirrors & Windows theme is addressed again after reading, and students have to answer questions about the author’s use of persuasive speech after reading. Students do not address paraphrasing again. The Extend The Text task options do not relate to  paraphrasing or persuasive speech. The Unit & Selection Resources ancillary does not cover these skills; rather, it introduces a new skill, denotation and connotation. It is unclear how and when paraphrasing and persuasive speech will be addressed again or how they are assessed. 

  • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, students read “The Bells,” a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. During the Launch the Lesson section of the Teacher Edition, guidance suggests that teachers ask students to list different types of bells in their environment. The pre-reading activities include instruction on the poem’s literary context, text organization, onomatopoeia, repetition, mnemonic devices, and the poet’s biography.. During reading, students respond to questions related to text organization, alliteration, mood, repetition, and rhyme. An embedded Teaching Note suggests teachers tell students about the different interpretations of the poem and putting students in groups to find words and images in each stanza to support their chosen interpretation. After reading the text, students respond to ten Text-Dependent Questions and an Analyzing Literature task on onomatopoeia. While most of the Extend Understanding task options connect to the text, the Media Literacy: Research Poe on the Internet option does not address the core learning objectives. 

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, students read “The Silver Pool” retold by Ella Young. Students have eight objectives to complete and master as outlined in the Teacher Wrap of the Teacher Edition. Aside from completing a close read of the text, students must practice reading skills related to visualization, descriptive writing, clarifying, drawing conclusions, and asking questions. They must also respond to Analyze Literature questions that address the literary form, legend. Students must participate in two Critical Thinking discussions and answer a set of Text-Dependent Questions, Analyze Literature questions, and Mirrors & Windows questions. Alternate activities and optional tasks include four Extend the Text activities, three differentiated instruction activities, and linked activities in several ancillaries for the unit. The four Extend the Text task options align to the core learning objectives. 

• Suggested implementation schedules cannot be reasonably completed in the time allotted. 

  • The Program Planning Guide notes the overabundance of material: “To help you meet the diverse needs of your students, the Mirrors & Windows program offers a wealth of material—much more than you can teach in one school year. As a result, one challenge you will face is identifying the resources that are best suited to your particular situation.” 

  • As an alternative to the Scope and Sequence Guide provided in each unit, materials include the Mirrors & Windows College & Career Readiness Curriculum Guide Level IV (Grade 9): “The selections and workshops listed here represent the core course of study students need to master critical skills that appear on state and national assessments. To ensure standards coverage, students who are having difficulty may concentrate on only these selections and workshops. Students on and above grade level may read more selections.” When utilizing this abridged course of study, the teacher must still select which instructional activities to enact during each Program Planning Guide lesson plan.

  • The Program Planning Guide contains lesson plans for each text selection and the three End-of-Unit Workshops. Text selection lesson plans include the following sections: Before Reading, During Reading, and After Reading. In the Before Reading: Preview and Motivate section, teachers “[c]hoose from the following materials to preview the selection and motivate your students.” The During Reading section contains two sub-sections, Teach the Selection(s) and Differentiate Instruction. Teachers choose from a list of resources to teach the selection and consider “alternative teaching options to differentiate instruction.” The After Reading section contains two to three subsections: Review and Extend, Teach the Workshop(s), and Assess. Teachers select activities from a list of options and resources to extend learning and teach the Workshop included, where applicable. Teachers do not select from a list of options during the Assess subsection. The lesson plan does not provide guidance on how many minutes each option should take or how long the lesson should last. Pacing guidance is limited to the number of regular or block schedule days the lesson should take. 

• Optional tasks distract from core learning.

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, students read “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allan Poe. The Unit and Selection Resource ancillary contains an optional pre-reading task that requires students to test their knowledge of terms related to crimes. While this activity relates to the plot of the story, terms and phrases, such as plea of insanity, processing a crime scene, and guilty verdict, distract students from core learning, as these terms are not contained in the actual text. 

  • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, students read “The Universe,” a concrete poem by May Swenson. Most of the objectives for reading this poem relate to recognizing the poem’s theme; and reading, interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating the poem’s content and organization. Students practice these objectives in before, during, and after reading activities. While the objectives listed for the lesson include the optional tasks students may complete in the post-reading Extend the Text section, the Media Literacy: Analyze a Media Product task during which students analyze a “Internet welcome screen” does not connect to the text nor does it align to grade-level standards. 

  • In Unit 5, Pass It On, Folk Literature Connections, students read “The Golden Lamb,” a folk tale by Jean Russell Larson. The goals of reading the selection as outlined in the introductory material include learning about the literary form of folk tales and identifying a sequence of events. The Teacher Wrap in the Teacher Edition includes some prompts about folk tales and the cause and effect structure of the text; however, other instructional notes and suggested activities stray from the goals and the standards, such as the Extend the Text tasks where students write a letter to a young person about the future, explore job opportunities, and prepare a public health announcement about animal diseases. 

• Some optional tasks are meaningful and enhance core instruction.

  • In Unit 1, Defining Moments, Fiction Connections, students read “Destiny,” a short story by Louise Erdrich. The Unit and Selection Resources ancillary for this selection begins with a before-reading exercise in building background on stress. Students take a survey on stresses in their lives and answer journal entry prompts about their past experiences with stress. The next section contains several after-reading exercises. In Part I, students fill in a chart with as many similes and related characters they can find in the story. Then students read passages written in different shapes from the story, determine which character the passages refer to, and cut out the shapes. In Part II, students attach the shapes under characterization techniques and draw conclusions about the characters. In the last section, students complete a matching exercise with character names and descriptions and a fill in the blank vocabulary exercise using sentences that do not appear in the selection. These tasks do not align to core learning nor do they meet the full intent of the correlated standard. 

  • In Unit 3, What We Keep, Poetry Connections, students read the lyric poems, “Gifts” and “To the Oak” by Shu Ting, translated by Donald Finkel and Carolyn Kizer. After reading, students may complete an Extend the Text task in which they write a critical analysis of one of the poems. In this analysis, students identify the intended audience, author’s intention and imagery in the poem, and they must also discuss the poem’s cultural and historical context. This sophisticated analysis serves to deepen the students’ understanding of the poem.

  • In Unit 6, Journeys/Visions of the Future, Independent Reading Connections, after reading the short story, “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury, students research the interdependence of organisms in the food chains of ecosystems and see if their research supports Mr. Travis’ claims, during an enrichment activity in the Teacher Wrap of the Teacher Edition. This research task provides students with an opportunity to practice a higher level of skills mastery and cross-content learning.