The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 1a.

The texts across the units include two short reads, two extended reads, and a poetry read out loud selection. Anchor texts include a variety of genres and a range of topics that would be appealing and engaging to students. Genres include, but are not limited to, biographies, folktales, fables, myths, and informational texts. Many texts include engaging pictures, colorful illustrations, character relationships and motives, and rich vocabulary. Excerpts from published works lack the depth for students to grow their understanding of story elements and are not of significant enough length to provide a complete, engaging text for readers. Other texts included do not provide enough content, lack engaging illustrations, or do not possess the complexity to be engaging to readers.

Examples of high-quality anchor texts in the program include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Short Read: “Animals’ Tools For Survival” by Sue Qin contains engaging pictures which support students as they learn about tools animals use for survival.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Two Fables from Aesop by Jerry Pinkney, students read two selections “The Dog and the Bone” and “The Ant and the Dove” which are retold by an award winning author and illustrator. The stories include colorful, engaging illustrations with descriptive dialogue which supports the reader in interpreting the purpose or moral of each story.
• In Unit 3, “Fighters for Rights: Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez” by Harper Larios is an engaging biography with multiple black and white photographs of Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez as well as a timeline of each life.
• In Unit 6, A President for Everyone by Crystal Allen is an engaging story of the last day before voting for fourth-grade class president containing illustrations of multiple school settings such as a gym assembly, cafeteria, and hallway with campaign slogans.
• In Unit 9, Lucky Hans by Evan Russell is a German folktale that features colorful period illustrations to support the learning of character, plot, and setting.

Examples of texts not considered appropriate for use as anchor texts in the program include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 7, "My St. Augustine Journal" by Lisa Benson is a very short informational piece about the author's hometown. It lacks depth and adequate context for knowledge building.
• In Unit 8, "After the Storm" is a short narrative by Faride Mereb about a young girl visiting her grandmother in Florida. The text incorporates scientific information into the narrative. The text structure is somewhat confusing and the lacks clarity.
• In Unit 10, the paired Poems of Movement, "Baseball Physics" and "Taking Newton's First Law to the Hoop", loosely describe some forces and motion in sports, but lack depth and contextual information to support students in adequately understanding the information as it relates to the topic of the unit.

The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1b.

Students engage with a variety of literary and informational texts throughout the units. There is a wide range of texts throughout the units that reflect a near 50/50 balance of literary and informational texts. Texts include, but are not limited to, animal fantasy, fables, poetry, plays, realistic fiction, informational science, history, and informational social studies.

The following are examples of literature found within the instructional materials:

• Unit 1, “The Forest Friends” by Alysa Wishingrad
• Unit 2, Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll
• Unit 3, “The Great Lemonade Standoff” by Ruth Romer
• Unit 4, “Cinderella, Too Much for Words” by Gare Thomspon
• Unit 6, A President for Everyone by Crystal Allen
• Unit 9, “Lucky Hans” by Evan Russell

The following are examples of informational texts found within the instructional materials:

• Unit 1, “I am a Botanist” by Nathalie Nuglingum as told by Kira Freed
• Unit 3, “Eyewitness to Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech” by Susan Buckley
• Unit 5, “The Wright Brothers at Kittyhawk” by Alan Kramer
• Unit 7, “A New Life in Vermont” by Julia Alvarez
• Unit 8, Earth’s Weather and Climate by Laura McDonald
• Unit 10, What Makes Things Move by Kathy Furgang

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1c.

The texts included in the instructional materials fall within the Lexile level band for Grade 3. Some texts have a complex set of events and characters including historical fiction that requires an understanding of the time period, a complicated plot, time shifts, and unfamiliar vocabulary including academic and domain specific words. Instruction and student tasks for students are included for many texts to provide the necessary support to make the texts above or below the Lexile grade band appropriate for Grade 3 students.

Examples of texts that are of an appropriate complexity level include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 2, students read the Extended Read, “Fighters for Rights: Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez,” by Harper Larious. This biography has a Lexile of 760 and is moderately complex with multiple sections that include a timeline for each subject. The text has an appropriate mix of simple to complex sentences. The vocabulary includes terms associated with civil rights such as segregation and strike.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 10, students hear the first of two poems in Short Read 1: “Two Famous Poems” read aloud by the teacher. The poems feature different rhyme schemes. The sentence structure of the texts is complex. Literary language, archaic and academic language, and some colloquial construction add to the qualitative complexity. The teacher states a purpose and models making connections while reading. Students are then prompted to read the second poem. The teacher is provided with Ways to Scaffold for the first reading to select reading options for students.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, students read Short Read 1, “Dr. Shirley Jackson’s Scientific Mind”, with a Lexile level of 820. While the Lexile level is outside the Grade 3 band, the text is supported with pictures, a simple structure that is easy to follow, and academic vocabulary that is defined directly within the text. The topic is high interest.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1d.

Texts are worthy of students’ time and attention. The units are designed to build upon one another with increasing demands for knowledge and application as the student progresses through each unit and lesson. Anchor texts are listed within every unit and provide quantitative measures as well as qualitative measures of complexity. Included in the Additional Resources materials for instructors is a detailed rubric for evaluating dimensions of text complexity. Students engage in texts of varying levels and complexity within each unit. Consumable anchor texts contain two Short Reads, two Extended Reads, three Word Study Reads, and one Poetry for each unit. The complexity of the texts supports students proficiency in reading independently. Reading routines support students gaining increasing independence in reading throughout the year. Tasks are sequenced with an increase in complexity throughout the year with unit assessments to determine student mastery of skill and strategies. Strategies and Skills, a unit overview of weekly skills that indicates which skills are previously taught or introduced, is included in the Teacher Resources. Unit assessments provide an opportunity to measure student proficiency throughout the year, at the end of each unit, and at the end of the academic year.

• Students compare and contrast facts, plots, ideas, and themes of texts which increases in complexity throughout the units.
• In Unit 1, students compare and contrast the adaptations of crocodiles and iguanas. They begin by comparing and contrasting the most important points in two texts on the same topic. The teacher models and practices the skill with students to demonstrate. Students participate in a discussion on the text.
• In Unit 3, students compare and contrast the details in two different texts on the same topic. Students are reminded that they were introduced to the skill in Unit 1 but will now be working to compare and contrast on their own. Students are given a discussion prompt: “How were the methods Cesar Chavez used to fight for workers’ rights different from those that women used to fight for the right to vote? Cite specific evidence from 'Fighters for Rights: Rosa Parks and Chesar Chavez' and 'Election Day' to support your response.”
• In Unit 6, students compare and contrast the themes in stories by the same author. After reading Addison and Rocky and A President for Everyone by Crystal Allen, students explain how reasons characters make decisions differ yet are also similar. Students cite evidence from the text to support their answer. In the Unit Assessment students are given a choice of themes. They determine if the themes are supported by one or both choices of texts listed in the assessment.
• In Unit 8, students compare and contrast key points in two texts on the same topic. Students read paragraphs 1-7 of After the Storm and compare and contrast the author’s experience with nature with that of the speaker in Fair Weather Clouds. Students cite evidence to support their answer.
• The Unit 1 Teacher’s Resource Components at a Glance provides Lexile ranges for Short Reads, Extended Reads and Word Study Reads (540L to 730L). The qualitative measures for the Short Reads and Extended Reads on the Guide to Text Complexity page describe moderate to substantial complexity based on the four dimensions of qualitative complexity. There are no qualitative measures for the Word Study Reads although they are part of the consumable anchor text. During Week 2, students read Extended Read 1: “Animal Coverings” by Anna Miller from the consumable anchor text. Mini-Lessons 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 12 require students to reference this story to complete various tasks. At the end of each Mini-Lesson during independent time, students engage in the Apply Understanding activities. For example: The purpose of Mini-Lesson 1 is First Reading: Ask Questions. Prior to the Apply Understanding task in Mini-Lesson 1, the teacher reads paragraphs 1-2 aloud and during Guided Practice, students read paragraphs 6-8. During the Apply Understanding task before reading, students write questions they have about the text in the margin and read the entire text adding additional questions as they read. The teacher uses the questions to assess the students’ ability to generate questions before, during, and after reading to evaluate student comprehension. In Mini-Lesson 8, the purpose is close reading to describe compare and contrast relationships. During the Apply Understanding task, students compare and contrast adaptations of crocodiles and iguanas. The Mini-Lesson focus and Apply Understanding student tasks are connected within all Mini-Lessons using the story, “Animal Coverings.” Skills in Apply Understanding include:
• Specific Skills: Determine Main Idea and Recount Key Details, Describe Compare-and-Contrast Relationships and Connections in a Text, Compare and Contrast the Most Important Point in Two Texts on the Same Topic, Refer Explicitly to the Text to Draw Inferences, Understand Features of Poetry
• The Unit 3 Teacher’s Resource Components at a Glance provides Lexile ranges for Short Reads, Extended Reads and Word Study Reads (610L and 790L). The qualitative measures for the Short Reads and Extended Reads on the Guide to Text Complexity page describe moderate to substantial complexity based on the four dimensions of qualitative complexity. There are no qualitative measures for the Word Study Reads although they are part of the consumable anchor text. During week Week 1 students read Short Read 1: “Working Together” by Sarah Glasscock from the consumable anchor text. Mini-Lessons 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 require students to use this story. The Mini-Lesson purpose and Apply Understanding tasks are connected. In Mini-Lesson 5: Apply Understanding, students apply Reading Big Words strategies to unfamiliar words as they read texts this week, and in Mini-Lesson 8, students complete Build Grammar and Language tasks during this time or as homework during the week. Skills in Apply Understanding include:
• Specific Skills: Describe Cause/Effect Relationships and Connections in a Text, Use Information Gained from Graphic Features and Text, Describe Sequential Relationships and Connections in a Text, Determine Main Idea and Recount Key Details, Use Text Evidence to Draw Inferences, Compare and Contrast the Most Important Points in Two Texts on the Same Topics, Analyze Nonliteral Language in a Poem
• In Unit 4, the Lexile range for texts is 540L-700L. The qualitative measures for the Short Reads and Extended Reads on the Guide to Text Complexity describe moderate to substantial complexity based on the four dimensions of qualitative complexity.
• Specific Skills: Distinguish Reader’s Point of View From That of the Narrator or the Characters, Describe How Each Part of a Drama Builds on the Previous Parts, Explain HOw Illustrations Contribute to a Story, Compare and Contrast Stories with Similar Characters Analyze Point of View in a Poem
• In Unit 5, the Teacher’s Resource Components at a Glance provides Lexile ranges for Short Reads, Extended Reads and Word Study Reads (690L and 840L). The qualitative measures for the Short Reads and Extended Reads on the Guide to Text Complexity page describe moderate to highest complexity based on the four dimensions of qualitative complexity. There are no qualitative measures for the Word Study Reads although they are part of the consumable anchor text. The Teacher’s Resources, Components at a Glance indicates the Word Study Mini-Lessons occur 15 minutes per lesson, though the materials do not reflect that statement. Word Study Reads were only found in weekly Mini-Lesson that focused on Grammar and as a bullet point under Apply Understanding and Build Fluency. In Week 1, Mini-Lesson 5, students spend a few minutes during the week reading “The Longest Wire” to develop fluency and automaticity with VCe words. Skills in Apply Understanding include:
• Specific skills: Describe Cause/Effect Relationships and Connections in a Text, Distinguish Reader’s Point of View from that of the Author, Use Text Features to Locate Information, Use Information Gained from Illustrations and Words (Photographs), Compare and Contrast the Important Points in Two Texts on the Same Topic, Analyze Poetic Structure
• In Unit 6, the Lexile range for texts is 520L-770L. The qualitative measures for the Short Reads and Extended Reads on the Guide to Text Complexity describe moderate to substantial complexity based on the four dimensions of qualitative complexity. Skills in Apply Understanding include:
• Specific skills: Explain How Characters’ Actions Influence Story Events, Determine the Central Message or Lesson in a a Story, Compare and Contrast Themes in Stories by the Same Author, Use Dictionaries to Determine or Clarify the Precise Meaning of Key Words and Phrases, Recount Key Story Events, Distinguish Reader’s Point of View from That of a Character, Explain Author’s Purpose and Message in a Poem
• In Unit 7, the Teacher’s Resource Components at a Glance provides Lexile ranges for Short Reads, Extended Reads and Word Study Reads (580L and 890L). The qualitative measures for the Short Reads and Extended Reads on the Guide to Text Complexity page describe moderate to substantial complexity based on the four dimensions of qualitative complexity. There are no qualitative measures for the Word Study Reads although they are part of the consumable anchor text. During Week 1 students read Short Read 2 “A New Life in Vermont” from How Tia Lola Came to Visit Stay by Julia Alvarez from the consumable anchor text. Mini-Lessons 10, 12 and 13 require students to use this story. All three Mini-Lessons connect the purpose to the Apply Understanding student task. In Mini-Lesson 12, Apply Understanding, during independent learning time, students answer a text question in writing and annotate to help them answer questions. The teacher uses student work to evaluate the students’ ability to explain how character actions affect story events. Skills in Apply Understanding include:
• Specific Skills: Distinguish Reader’s Point of View from That of the Author, Explain How Characters’ Actions Contribute to Events, Explain How a Text’s Illustrations Contribute to the Story, Use Text Features to Locate Information, Explain How Reasons Support Specific Points an Author Makes in a Text, Compare and Contrast Key Points in Tow Text on the Same Topic, Understand Nonliteral Language: Metaphor.
• Unit 9, the Teacher’s Resource Components at a Glance provides Lexile ranges for Short Reads, Extended Reads and Word Study Reads (620L and 760L). The qualitative measures for the Short Reads and Extended Reads on the Guide to Text Complexity page describe substantial complexity based on the four dimensions of qualitative complexity. There are no qualitative measures for the Word Study Reads although they are part of the consumable anchor text. During Week 3, students read the Extended Read 2: “From Fruit to Jam” by Alan Wood from the consumable anchor text. Mini-Lessons 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9 require students to use this story. Close Reading is the purpose for Mini-Lessons 4, 7 and 9. In the Apply Understanding sections for each of these Mini-Lessons, students are asked to respond to specific questions in the Write: Use Text Evidence section of the student consumable. Skills in Apply Understanding include:
• Specific Skills: Describe Procedural Relationships and Connections in a Text, Compare and Contrast Key Details in Two Texts on the Same Topic, Recount Story Details, Explain How Illustrations Convey Character, Determine the Central Message or Lesson in a Story, Use Text Features to Locate Information Relevant to a Topic, Analyze How Stanzas Build on Earlier Sections
• Small Group Reading text within the odd units ranged from 530L to 900L. The Lexile range expectations for Grade 3 are 450-790. There were no texts below grade level expectations, but some were above.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1e.

Each unit has a Unit Resources for Responsive Teaching Guide to Text Complexity within the teacher resources listing total qualitative measures for Short Reads and Extended Reads in the student consumables. Word Study texts within each unit have Lexile levels listed in the Teacher’s Resource Guide Components at a Glance. The text complexity guide provides measures of complexity including purpose and levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands. Each small group text includes an Accessing Complex Text analysis with quantitative and qualitative measures. The Teacher Resources for small groups include a text level and a Lexile measure for each text. Each unit contains three Word Study Reads; the genre and Lexile level are provided for these material.

Examples of how the program shows text complexity include:

• In Unit 2, Week 3, Extended Read 2 “Uncle Parrot’s Wedding” has a text complexity description stating:
• “Purpose and Levels of Meaning: Score of 3, The cumulative tale genre dramatizes the interactions of multiple characters. Readers need to make inferences about how the characters’ actions impact the story outcome.
• Structure: Score of 3,
• At this grade, reading a cumulative tale and distinguishing the multiple characters and following the plot adds a level of challenge.
• There is a third-person omniscient narrator. Be aware that in a few instances, the character named Little Brother is referred to as the little rooster.
• Language and Conventionality and Clarity: Score of 3,
• As per the genre, the text contains many longer, complex sentences with extensive clauses.
• The author includes some wordplay and many multiple meaning words, often put in for humorous effect. There are a few challenging academic words not supported with illustration or contextually: flustered, nuisance.
• Knowledge Demands: Score of 2, Readers must be aware of the conventions of the cumulative tale genre to understand how the story comes together at the end.
• Total QM: Score of 11, Substantial Complexity”
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Short Read 1: “CInderella’s Very Bad Day” has a text complexity description stating:
• “Purpose and Levels of Meaning: Score of 3, This humorous riff on events from the classic fairy tale has an ironic undercurrent as Cindereally complains, in writing, about her situation. For comparison purposes, it is meant to be read as a preface to the short play that follows.
• Structure: Score of 2, The format and tone adhere to the conventions of the diary genre though readers will need to accept the anachronistic approach, i.e. a twenty-first century point of view in a letter from the sixteenth-century.
• Language Conventionality and Clarity: Score of 2, Sentences are mostly simple, but there are a few period-specific “fairy tale” words—hearth, porridge, kindling, soot, briars—that clash with the modern tone.
• Knowledge Demands: Score of 3, Readers will benefit from having read or listened to a retelling of the classic tale and being familiar with techniques used in other “fractured” versions of classic tales.
• Total QM: Score of 10, Substantial Complexity.”
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Extended Read 2: “Sarah and the Chickens” has a text complexity description stating:
• “Purpose and Levels of Meaning: Score of 3, The purpose involves a subtle, sometimes ambiguous theme about longing and belonging, with multiple characters whose actions convey meaning on many levels, requiring readers to draw inferences from characters’ actions.
• Structure: Score of 3, The voice is third-person with a chronological narrative. There are multiple characters who convey memories in the course of the narrative, which creates time shifts as well as implies other characters whose absence have an impact on the story.
• Language and Conventionality and Clarity: Score of 2,
• The text is fairly simple; there is considerable dialogue.
• As a piece of historical fiction, there is an antiquated tone to the writing and a number of period words. There are some difficult flower names, such as feverfew and nasturtiums.
• Knowledge Demands: Score of 3, Readers will benefit from being familiar with the historical fiction genre and from having prior knowledge about the westward movement across the United States in the mid to late 1800s. There are a number of geographical references.
• Total QM: Score of 11, Substantial Complexity.”
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Short Read 2: “Earth’s Weather and Climate” has a complexity description stating:
• “Purpose and Levels of Meaning: Score of 1, The purpose is to give factual background information on weather patterns, cloud types, and climate zones.
• Structure: Score of 3,
• The predominant text structure is description, but there are multiple modes of communication including charts, a map with a key, and a sidebar.
• Sequence expressed through the eyes of a third-person narrator.
• Language Conventionality and Clarity: Score of 3,
• The text includes primarily complex and compound sentences.
• Many domain-specific terms are defined directly, yet others (atmosphere, humidity, precipitation) are context-dependent.
• Knowledge Demands: Score of 2, Familiarity with extreme weather (e.g., tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts, etc.) is helpful. Understanding the bar and line graph may take some explanation for some readers.
• Total QM: Sore of 9, Moderate Complexity.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1f.

Anchor and supporting texts provide a variety of opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of texts to achieve grade level reading. The consumable anchor text contains two Short Reads, two Extended Reads, three Word Study Reads, and one Poetry Out Loud selection. Students have multiple opportunities to engage with the text during the Short Reads and Extended Reads. Benchmark provides several Additional Resources (AR), in addition to unit-specific mini-lessons to provide a framework or options for students to engage in reading. Each grade level provides pacing options/sample literacy blocks so that students engage with texts daily with notes, annotating, analyzing text with writing and constructive conversations with read aloud text, anchor text, leveled texts and suggested trade-book lists and novel studies for independent reading. Grouped by instructional level, students have daily opportunities to develop their reading abilities during Small Group reading instruction. During Reader’s Theater, students are in heterogeneous small groups. One-week and three-week pacing guides are available for Reader’s Theater texts. Teachers are encouraged to use Read Alouds to model thinking while reading. Online materials contain a Read Alouds Handbook. Each unit contains suggested Read Alouds titles, model prompts for the teacher and lesson plan for each suggested title.

Instructional materials clearly identify opportunities and supports for students to engage in reading a variety and volume of texts to become independent readers at the grade level. The materials also include a mechanism for teachers and/or students to monitor progress toward grade-level independence. Some examples include:

• Three Pacing Options are offered as Sample Literacy Blocks:
• 150 minutes reading block: 15 minute read aloud, 75 minute reading and word study, and 60 minute writing and grammar
• 120 minute reading block: 10 minute read aloud, 75 minute reading and word study, 50 minute writing and grammar
• 90 minute reading block: (no read aloud) 60 minute reading and word study and 40 minutes writing and grammar
• Read Aloud Text provides suggested routines for teaching and student support including student-generated questions, partner work, If I were the author, and word study. The teacher selects a recommended trade book from the list in Additional Resources or uses the short selection in the Read Alouds Handbook. The Teacher’s Resource contains a Comprehensive Literacy Planner at the beginning of each week.
• Fluency Routines (FR) provide routines for inflection, intonation, pitch, expression, phrasing, word recognition,and pacing with partner time, practice time, and independent reading time.

Specific examples of reading opportunities include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 10, students read Extended Read 1: “Animal Coverings” by Anna Miller. The teacher displays a Close Reading question and models how to answer the question. During guided Practice students reread, annotate, pair and share their responses to the question. Partners are invited to share their answers and evidence with the class. During Apply Understanding, students work independently using the consumable anchor text to complete question 2 in Write: Use Text Evidence.
• In Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 2, the teacher models how to use text evidence and drawing inferences from Two Fables from Aesop in the student consumable. Students are then asked to read The Ant and Dove with a partner and to underline text evidence to support inferences.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 11, students read the Poetry Out Loud selection, “My Smartphone Isn’t Very Smart” by Kenn Nesbitt. Learning Targets are provided in the Sidebar. Teacher guidance is provided to model annotation as students identity rhyme schemes and describe the effect. Student tasks include: partner Guided Practice, partner Share and Reflect with some whole group sharing and reread to build fluency independent time. Students have access to listen and follow along with an interactive Poetry Out Loud audio recording.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 8, students read Short Read 1: "My St. Augustine Journal” by Lisa Benjamin. Learning Targets are in the sidebar. Using the text, the teacher models how to identify a verb and its tense. During Guided Practice the teacher displays the final paragraph highlights and reads a specific sentence. Partners are asked to identify the verbs and its tenses. During Share and Reflect, students share ideas and reflect on what they have learned about verb tense and several students are invited to explain.
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 4, students read Extended Read 2: “From Fruit to Jam” by Alan Wood. The teacher sets a purpose, displays and reads the Close Reading question, giving students time to reread and annotate their texts. Next, with a partner, students discuss procedural connections in the text that affect their understanding. Volunteers share their ideas with the group. During Apply Understanding students work independently using the consumable anchor text to complete question 1 in Write: Use Text Evidence.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1g.

Text-dependent questions, tasks and assignments support students’ literacy growth over the course of the school year. Materials include tasks and assignments which require the implementation of text-dependent writing and speaking. In both Short Read and Extended Read activities (Build Reflect Write pages, Extended Thinking Questions) and Mini-Lesson tasks (Apply Understanding, Share and Reflect, Guided Reading Practice), students are required to draw on textual evidence to support answers to questions and in discussion opportunities. Students have opportunities to work with partners and independently locate evidence throughout the materials. Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation of text-dependent writing, speaking, and activities. The Teacher’s Resource provides a variety of text-dependent questions and tasks for the teacher to use throughout the program. Routines provide daily guides and suggestions for the whole group such as constructive conversation, book discussion questions, specific text-dependent questions, and making connections. The Teacher’s Edition Mini-Lesson Guides provide modeling, independent and small group support, guided practice and apply understanding for implementing text-dependent writing, speaking and activities. Most Constructive Conversations provide a prompt that asks the student and a partner to look back in the text to provide support to answer a given prompt. Students then use that evidence to share their response to the class. Writing prompts are also provided during the independent work time that ask students to provide evidence from the text. Sample answers are provided in the answer guide, to give the teacher an example of an acceptable answer that provides text evidence.

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 4, Short Read 1: “Animal Disguises,” students work with a partner to read the text and underline key details. Students answer the questions: “What are some ways that animals can hide from other animals? How can predators sneak up on animals?” Students share key details from the text to support their answer.
• In Unit 2, Read-Aloud Handbook: “Camping in the Rain” by Cynde Reese, students answer the questions: “What are the different things that Seth did to try to solve his problem? How did the author let you know that Seth was disappointed about the rain?”
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 12, Teacher’s Resource, students “Compare Rabbit’s attitude and actions to those of the characters in the Cinderella stories. Which of these characters does Rabbit most closely resemble? Cite specific text evidence from ‘Rabbit and Coyote’ and ‘Cinderella’s Very Bad Day’ or ‘Cinderella, Too Much for Words’ to support your comparison.” During Apply Understanding students answer the questions: “How do you think Rabbit would respond to the treatment that Cinderella receives from her stepsisters? How would his response be similar to hers? How would it be different? Cite specific evidence from both ‘Rabbit and Coyote’ and ‘Cinderella’s Very Bad Day’ to support your thinking.”
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 2, Read and Annotate, students read and annotate paragraphs 1-4. The teacher is directed to, “Have them note any connections they can make between the text and their personal experience, society, and other texts.”
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 5, Extended Read 1, students answer the following prompt for Constructive Conversations: “A family wants to relocate from a large city to a smaller community near the ocean, but they’d still like to live someplace where they can participate in different activities. Which of the three communities in 'All Kinds of Communities' would be the best one for them to move to? Use the headings, photos, captions, and sidebar maps to locate the information needed to answer this question as quickly as you can. Cite specific text evidence to support your answer.” Students then discuss how text features help them support their answers and share out to the class.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Short read 1: Making Choices by Kelly Gold and Short read 2: Let It Grow by Lisa Benjamin, in the Build Knowledge (Build Reflect Write) section students answer: “What did you learn about economic choices from these texts? On a separate piece of paper make a 3 column chart. From each text, use details you might include in an informative essay about the different ways that people spend their time and money.” Also in the Reflect: Discuss the Essential Question section students answer: “What do our economic choices tell us about ourselves? Based on this week’s text, discuss new ideas and questions you have about the Essential question.”
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 8, Constructive Conversation, students work with a partner to answer: “Reread paragraphs 5-7. Identify the narrator’s use of nonliteral language in these paragraphs. What can you infer from this language about how the narrator views Saloli’s struggle against nature? Cite specific text evidence to support your ideas.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1h.

Culminating tasks are rich and of quality, provide opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do in speaking and writing, and are evident across a year’s worth of material. The instructional materials contain a Culminating Research and Inquiry Project for each unit that relates to knowledge gained throughout the unit. Guidance is provided for introducing the project, guiding questions are included for researching, and presentation suggestions round out the support. Students reference texts used throughout the unit to complete the culminating task with some projects being completed individually and others in small groups. Culminating tasks ask the students to create presentations and present them to the class. A teacher and student rubric for the project is found in Additional Resources or each unit. Culminating tasks are supported with coherent sequences of text-dependent questions and tasks. Some examples include:

• In Unit 1, the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project asks students to create a presentation about an animal discussed during the unit. In Week 1, Mini-Lesson 4, students work with partners during the guided reading practice to answer the following questions: “What are some ways that animals can hide from other animals? How can predators sneak up on animals?” In Week 2, Mini-Lesson 8, students answer the following questions during the Apply Understanding, “Reread paragraph 12. Compare and contrast the adaptations of crocodiles and iguanas. Which animal do you think would be better able to survive on a hot, sandy beach? Why? Cite specific text evidence to support your answer.” The Teacher’s Resource states, “Use students’ writing to help you evaluate their ability to use the logical connection between sentences and paragraphs in a text to describe relationships in a scientific text.” The questions throughout Unit 1 help build to the culminating task.
• In Unit 2, the Research and Inquiry Project is to research an author from the unit and another author of the student’s choice. The guiding questions include: “Based on the unit texts and your research, what did you learn about each author’s life, work, and achievements? How did the knowledge you gained through research add to your understanding of each author and his or her work? What did you learn about making choices from the characters in these author’s stories?”
• In Unit 5, the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project the students’ work in groups to create a presentation about important inventions. During the presentation, students answer the following questions: “Based on the unit texts and your research, how does this innovation solve a problem or improve people’s lives? How did the knowledge you gained through research add to your understanding of the unit texts and the value of this innovation? How might all people benefit when we look at problems in new ways?”
• In Unit 8, the Research and Inquiry Project is to select a city from a region in the unit and combine information from the unit texts and additional sources to demonstrate knowledge of climate and weather patterns. Guiding questions include: “Based on the unit texts and your research, what kinds of climate and weather should people who live in this place expect? How did the knowledge you gained through research add to or change your understanding of the unit texts? How do people use science to explain and prepare for changes in the weather?”
• In Unit 10, during the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project, students research two businesses that provide goods and services, one from the texts, and one of their own choice. In their presentation, students should answer the following questions: “Based on the unit texts and your research, how do these two businesses sell goods or provide services that people need? How did the knowledge you gained through research add to your understanding of the unit texts and the similarities and differences between the two businesses? Which businesses are most important to you and your family?” These questions are addressed throughout the unit.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1i.

Materials provide multiple opportunities for students to use speaking and listening skills to apply their knowledge with a partner, in a small group, or the whole class including Constructive Conversations. The Think-Speak-Listen Flip Book provides teachers and students with a visual guide and scaffolds to show the structure of conversations including sentence stems for various skills within a conversation. The Reviews and Routines provide multiple lessons to help establish speaking and listening routines and procedures. Materials provide grade-level opportunities. There are many opportunities for discussions with partners, and some opportunities for discussions in large/whole groups during Constructive Conversation: Partner, Share and Reflect, Guided Practice, and Apply Understanding.

Materials provide multiple opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions across the whole year’s scope of instructional materials, including support for teachers to identify students struggling with these skills. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In the Think-Speak-Listen Flip Book, sentence stems are provided to support student questioning and evidence-based discussions. For example, under the “Describe the Purpose of the Text” section, students are given a list of sentence stems, including: “I think the purpose of this text is to____. An important question I have from reading this text is ____. The title is ___, but the main focus of the texts is really _______.
• In Reviews and Routines, there are 15 lessons that help to create routines for the classroom. On Day 4, the class creates an anchor chart to determine the expectations during Constructive Conversations. A sample chart is included in the Review and Routines Additional Material and gives suggestions such as, “Make eye contact with the speaker. Say something meaningful.”
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Short Read 1, Two Fables from Aesop, the Essential Question is "How do our actions influence our lives?" Students discuss in Reflect: Discuss the Essential Question: "Based on this week’s texts, discuss new ideas and questions you have about the essential question.” Stems are also included is Discussion Support: "An important event was ____. A key character trait was _____. An important detail about the setting was ___.”
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 10, Short Read 2: “From Phone Calls to Videochat”, the teacher displays the Important vs. Unimportant Information Anchor Chart. Students preview the text skimming and noting text and graphic features. As students read the first section, they annotate by underlining important information and putting notes in the margins. In the sidebar are Ways to Scaffold the First Reading for students needing support. During Share and Reflect, partners have a brief conversation as they answer four questions. During independent time students can partner-read and or finish reading and write sentences identifying the most important details. These sentences are used to assess their understanding of what is important and unimportant information.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 2: “Sarah and the Chickens” from Sarah, Plain and Tall, Constructive Conversation: Partners, students first reread then pair to discuss their responses to the question. In the sidebar is an Observation Checklist for Constructive Conversation teachers use to evaluate how effectively students are communicating. During Share and Reflect students share their findings with another partnership. The Reinforce or Reaffirm the Strategy If../Then… informational box provides the teacher with additional modeling suggestions for students needing more support and extensions for those who are independent.
• In Unit 10, Mini-Lesson 4, Build Language: Distinguish Literal from Nonliteral Language, Guided Practice, after reading the second stanza of a nonliteral passage students discuss: “Where does the author use nonliteral language in the second stanza? How does this phrase affect the mood of the poem? How does it help the reader create mental images of the baseball?”

Support for evidence-based discussions encourages modeling and a focus on using academic vocabulary and syntax. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 1, Extended Read 2: “African Americans and Women Get the Right to Vote,” the teacher uses the Define/Example/Ask Vocabulary Routine to introduce new words in this section. The Summarize Anchor Chart from Week 1, Mini-Lesson 10 is displayed and the teacher models how to summarize, then how to summarize and synthesize, and lastly how to construct a “Synthesize” Anchor Chart. During Guided Practice, students reread paragraphs 2-5 and write a summary sentence in the margin for each paragraph. Some volunteers share their sentences with the class. During independent Apply Understanding students reread paragraphs 6-9 and write summary sentences that are used by the teacher to assess their ability to summarize and synthesize information.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Build Grammar and Language, Focus on Regular, Comparative, and Superlative Adjectives or Adverbs, students “Find and read the sentence below in context in paragraph 26 on page 15. Notice the superlative adjective modifying the noun rap. The clause 'of my life' explains why the writer is using a superlative, as opposed to a regular or comparative, adjective. Then I do the most important magician’s rap of my life.
• Find a sentence in your own reading that has a comparative or superlative adjective or adverb. Write the sentence here.
• Write your own sentence or sentences using a comparative and superlative adjective or adverb. Explain what each is modifying and why you chose a comparative or superlative versus a regular adjective or adverb.”
• In Unit 10, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 13, Constructive Conversation, the teacher models with the help of Forces and Interactions Constructive Conversation Script provided in the Additional Materials. The Guided Practice says, “Group members should state, clarify, support, and build on their own and others’ ideas and then evaluate and compare those ideas. They should support their ideas with facts, details, and examples from their close-reading texts, their independent reading, and their own life. Monitor and observe their interactions.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1j.

Speaking and listening instruction is applied frequently over the course of the school year and includes facilitation, monitoring, and instructional supports for teachers. Students engage in whole-class and peer discussions as part of partner work, culminating research and inquiry projects, and presentations. Teacher guidance is within the Mini-Lessons and at the end of each unit in Additional Resources and under Program Support in Managing Your Independent Reading Program. The Additional Resources contain specific instructions for each piece within the Mini-Lessons. The Managing Your Independent Reading Program provides teachers with specific guidance for conferring with students and group discussions. Materials include practice of speaking and listening skills that support students’ increase in ability over the course of the school year, including teacher guidance to support students who may struggle. Guidance for teachers to support students is found in most Mini-Lessons via Ways to Scaffold the First Reading, Constructive Conversation Checklists, Anchor Charts, and Reinforce or Reaffirm the Strategy which provides resources for the teacher to help students who may struggle. Speaking and listening work requires students to gather evidence from texts and sources. Most units have a Constructive Conversation, Guided Practice, and Share and Reflect components that require students to use evidence from the texts to support their discussions with their classmates.

Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied speaking and listening opportunities. Some examples include:

• In Unit 2, Research and Inquiry Project, students choose one of the authors from the unit (Jerry Pinkney, Andres Pi Andreu, Lewis Carroll) plus another favorite author of their choosing. Students research the life and work of each author and then present what they learned about making choices by studying authors and reading their stories. In partners or groups students then present using one of the given suggestions: a podcast interview with each author, an author trivia game, or an illustrated biography.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 9, Constructive Conversation: Partner, students discuss “Hear All About It!” and “From Phone Calls to Videochat” and how they deal with technology and communication. Students cite specific text evidence as they compare and contrast the important points each text makes about this topic. During Share and Reflect, partners share their findings with another pair of partners and volunteers share ideas with the whole class. During Access, students work with a peer or adult to compare two inventions or inventors from the unit.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 4, Constructive Conversation: Partner, students “Compare people in your life that you consider ‘friendly’ in the way Amelia G. defines ‘friendly’ in her essay. What are some other examples of ‘friendly’ behavior you encounter in your life?” During Share and Reflect, partners discuss how the prior discussion helped deepen their connection to the text and made them think of communities. One or two volunteers share their ideas with the class. During Access, students work with a peer or adult to discuss the real-life connections they made with the words friendly and helpful.
• In Unit 10, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 9, Extended Read 2, Constructive Conversation, students answer: “Compare and contrast the forces of gravity and magnetism. How are they alike? How are they different? Support your answer with evidence from both ‘Magnetic Fields’ and ‘What Makes Things Move?’”. Possible responses are provided for the teacher and the teacher is provided with modeling under Reinforce or Reaffirm the Strategy. Teacher directions include: “Have partners share their finding with another partnership. Call on a few students to share their answers with the whole class. Encourage students to stay on topic, ask questions for clarification, and build on the comments of others. Use this opportunity to provide modeling, corrective feedback, or validation.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing, grade-appropriate writing (e.g., grade-appropriate revision and editing), and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

The materials provide opportunities for students to complete narrative, informational, and opinion writing with each unit focusing on a type of process writing. Opportunities exist for students to revise and edit their process writing during mini-lessons with teacher guidance. Each unit contains three Build/Reflect/Write sections. In Week 3 of each unit, students reflect on the year’s worth of cumulative writing in each genre and evaluate what they have learned. Technology is incorporated through research, and students are asked to type their essays to finalize them.

Materials include a mix of both on-demand and process writing that covers a year’s worth of instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students participate in on-demand writing.
• The consumable anchor text in each unit begins by having students write a personal goal that will lift their learning. At the end of the unit, students return to the same page to write what they did to make progress towards their goal describing the strategies they used.
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 1: “Animal Coverings,” during independent writing time, students write a series of sentences recounting the key details in the remaining section of the text and explain how each detail supports the main idea. Later in Lesson 6, students write an informative/explanatory essay in which they explain the different ways fur helps some animals survive. Students are reminded to include an introduction, facts, and details from “Animal Coverings” and the video, “Facts About Fur,” as well as a conclusion.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 5, students read “The Tale of King Midas: A Greek Myth” and write a series of sentences that explain how the illustration from page 16 impacted their thinking about the characters and the setting and how the illustration contributed to the mood of the story’s resolution.
• In Unit 3, in Build-Reflect-Write after reading Short Read 1: “Working Together,” Short Read 2: “Election Day,” Extended Read 1: “Fighters for Rights: Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez,” and Extended Read 2: “African Americans and Women Get the Right to Vote,” students write an informative essay about why it is important that people participate in all forms of government. Students use details and text evidence from the unit in their writing.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 4, Short Read 1, students complete an on-demand writing activity using a leveled text. During the Apply Understanding activity, students write a few sentences explaining their point of view on the same topic as the text. Students are required to cite specific text evidence in their writing.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 5, Extended Read 1, students work on idioms. During the Apply Understanding, students write a short paragraph using one or more of the idioms they discussed as part of their lesson. Student paragraphs should demonstrate understanding of the meaning of the idioms used.
• Students participate in process writing.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 3, Writing to a Text-Based Prompt, students begin writing an Informative/Explanatory Essay. Students begin by reading the mentor text, “Animal Disguises.” The teacher creates an anchor chart that summarizes the key features of an informative/explanatory essay. Students work on the essay in mini-lessons through Unit 1, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 12 when students assess their work and reflect on their writing to determine if the essay is ready to be turned in.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, students work with a partner during Guided Practice time to analyze texts and complete charts. During independent writing time in Mini-Lesson 9 students write in response to a prompt: “What did you learn about Cinderella’s traits and feelings from reading the story?” In Week 2, the teacher reminds students of how they analyzed and gathered text information during Week 1 as they work to plan their narrative journal entry based on “Rabbit and Coyote.” During Week 2, Mini-Lessons 3, 6, 9 and 11, students use planning charts with a partner during Guided Practice. During independent writing, students reread and/or add to their chart. During Mini-Lessons, students begin writing their draft. In Week 3, students draft their journal entry in Mini-Lesson 3, and in Mini-Lesson 6, partners review each other’s drafts. During Mini-Lesson 8, students begin revising their journal entries. During Mini-Lesson 10, students edit for correct use of comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs. During Mini-Lesson 12, students evaluate their final draft using a rubric.
• Students revise and/or edit.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 10, Process Writing, students work to edit their Informative/Explanatory Essay. The teacher models how to edit for capitalization, spelling, and punctuation and then students complete a guided practice. In the Guided Practice, students work with a partner to identify and correct the capitalization, punctuation, and spelling errors in sentence 3. Students use dictionaries as necessary. Students share their work and receive feedback as appropriate. The teacher provides students with the Informative/Explanatory Essay Writing Rubric and the Informative/Explanatory Essay Writing Checklist from the Additional Resources to use during independent work time.
• In Unit 6, students revise and edit during the last Mini-Lesson. In Week 1, Mini-Lesson 14, students revise and edit their narrative draft to ensure enough details and information are present and correct any spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors. During Share and Reflect, students share a few of their revisions and edits.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 6, Write Historical Fiction: Revise to Use Temporal Words to Signal Event Order, the teacher models using a Temporal Signal Words Chart and discusses examples of temporal words. Students then examine a sample text and work on their own stories by revising their drafts and implementing revisions with temporal words or phrases.
• Materials include digital resources where appropriate.
• The culminating Research and Inquiry Project provides presentation suggestions which include digital resources for students. Both the teacher and student rubric for this activity include a presentation component evaluating the creative way the group is sharing data. Teacher guidance for this project is located in the Teacher’s Resource prior to Week 1 Mini-Lessons.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 12, Process Writing, students use technology to finish their final copies of their historical fiction text. The Teacher’s Resource says, “During independent time, allow students who have finished revising to use computers to create final copies of their historical fiction pieces. Provide time for students to use computers to create final copies of their stories.” Keyboarding practice lessons are provided in the additional materials and students are able to add pictures or illustrations to their final pieces.
• In Unit 9, Video and topic introduction, the Essential Question is "What do our economic choices tell us about ourselves?" During the Research and Inquiry Project: Explore, students use online sources to explore the topic and research the business idea and plan for their project. In Present, students can present their ideas/project with a video infomercial, print or online ad.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 1l.

Over the course of the year, students engage in a variety of writing text types. Materials include the following writing text type opportunities: two informative/explanatory, two narrative, two opinion, a poem, and a research writing project. In the Program Support, the teacher is provided with the K-6 Writing Plan. On the Text-Based Writing document, the materials list at least one mini-lesson for each unit that is based around a text-based prompt. Other writing opportunities are listed on the document, such as BuildReflectWrite activities based around the close reading.

Materials provide multiple opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply different genres/modes of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Some examples include:

• Students have opportunities to engage in argumentative writing.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 3, students use the Mentor Opinion Essays, “The Dog and the Bone” and “The Ant and the Dove,” to highlight key features such as a clearly stated opinion, topic introduction, text evidence used as a support, and a conclusion related to the opinion and prepare students to write about which fable has the more important message. During Week 2, students begin to form their own ideas, gather evidence, and organize their essay. In Mini-Lesson 11, students organize their information and plan their essays. Using the Opinion Planning Chart students record their ideas for the introduction, paragraph 2, paragraph 3, and the conclusion. In Week 3, students begin writing starting with the introduction in Mini-Lesson 3. In Mini-Lesson 6, the teacher explains that students will finish drafting their essays. With a partner, students orally rehearse ideas for their body paragraphs and during independent writing time students who are ready draft body paragraphs. In Mini-Lesson 8, students revise and edit focusing on verbs. In Mini-Lesson 10, students revise and edit focusing on linking words, and in Mini-Lesson 12, students determine if they are finished and use a rubric to evaluate their essay. No Mini-Lessons exist for writing a conclusion.
• In Unit 5, students write an opinion essay about a science and technology topic of their choosing. In Unit 5, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 3, Process Writing, students begin by brainstorming their topic. In Unit 5, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 12, Process Writing, students finalize their opinion essay. Students use their Opinion Essay Writing Rubric to evaluate their essay and determine when they are ready to publish their essay. The Opinion Essay Writing Rubric is included in the Additional Materials.
• In Unit 7, Small Group Text: “Share the Road” by Katherine Colton, students review the ideas from the “Too Much Traffic!” and “What’s the Best Way to Go?” and decide what they think is the best way to cut down on traffic. Students then write an opinion using information from both texts. Students are instructed to write their opinion clearly and to be sure to include two or more facts and examples from the texts to support their reasons.
• Students have opportunities to engage in informative/explanatory writing.
• In Unit 1, Small Group Text: “Animals help Plants” by Nel Yomtov, during Write to Sources, students write a report that describes two animals and how they serve as pollinators. One of the animals must be bees and the other may be a student choice. Students should include at least two details about each animal.
• In Unit 3, students work on an informative/explanatory essay on a government related topic of their choice. In Unit 3, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 3, Process Writing, students begin by looking at the Informative/Explanatory Essay Checklist. After the teacher models, the students work in partners to brainstorm ideas. The teacher reminds students that they will need to choose a topic that they are familiar with and that they can find a lot of information about. Then students meet with their partner and discuss their ideas. They research and continue their writing throughout the unit.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 11, students write an informative essay after teacher modeling and Oral Rehearsal with a partner to discuss what they plan to write about the contributions Mary Leakey made to the world. During independent writing time, students write to the following prompt, “Explain how Rachel Carson’s work changed the world. Use evidence from the passage to support your explanation.” During Share and Reflect, partners share their drafts and how they turned ideas from Oral Rehearsal into the draft.
• Students have opportunities to engage in narrative writing.
• In Unit 4, students create a fictional journal entry written from the point of view of a character in a fictional story. In Week 1, students use the Mentor Text “Cinderella’s Very Bad Day” and “A Day in the Life of Cinderella” to highlight and discuss key features. The teacher models using Anchor Charts and the texts. Partners work together to complete informational charts and students independently gather additional information. In Week 2, students gather and organize information reading the source text, “Rabbit and Coyote.” Students use a three column chart to identify events and descriptions to develop character voices in Mini-Lesson 6. In Week 3, Mini-Lesson 3, students begin to draft their journal entries. Students start to revise to improve dialogue in Mini-Lesson 8. In Mini-Lesson 12, using Modeling Evaluation Criteria, students evaluate their final draft.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 11, students use their planning guides to draft a new ending to the narrative. During Oral Rehearsal, students prepare for writing by referring to the source text and planning guides with a partner and discussing how they plan to continue with their writing and how they plan to provide closure. During Prepare for Independent Writing, students begin writing their drafts using the Narrative Writing Checklist. During Share and Reflect, partners share their drafts.
• In Unit 7, students complete a historical fiction writing. In Week 1, Mini-Lesson 3, Process Writing, students begin the writing process. The students get the Historical Fiction Checklist and use it to read through the mentor text, “A Helping Hand in New Amsterdam.” Students use the mentor text to help them determine what makes a historical fiction narrative before moving onto writing their own.
• In Unit 7, Small Group Text: “The Perfect Pet” by Reem Faruqi, Writing in Response to Reading, students pick an event from the story and rewrite the narrative adding another character and writing from that character's point of view. Student guidance includes the questions: “How does your new character think and feel about this event? What does this character say and do?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 1m.

Materials provide frequent implied opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence. Teachers and students are provided with a wide variety of writing prompts in Guided Practice, Apply Understanding, and the Build, Reflect, Write sections that require students to write with evidence from the text. These prompts do not specifically state that students write their answers or what form a writing should take. Although the heading of Build, Reflect, Write implies that writing will occur, students answer questions and cite evidence but are not specifically told to write an answer. In most units, the materials provide teacher guidance on modeling thinking and writing using evidence. Opportunities are then provided where students locate evidence to support the answer to a prompt and headings suggest that writing will occur but does not explicitly state what form this will take.

Writing opportunities are focused around students’ analyses and claims developed from reading closely and working with sources; however, teacher and student instructions are vague and do not always explicitly describe the parameters of the expected responses.

Examples include, but are not limited to.

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 10, Short Read 2: “Two Famous Poems” from The Ballad of John Henry, students read “The Village Blacksmith” and take notes about connections between the poem and their reading, knowledge, or personal experiences. During independent Apply Understanding, students write sentences connecting a previously read text to a personal experience, prior learning, or other text.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 8, Extended Read 1, the teacher resource provides the following prompt: “Compare and contrast the structures ‘Thomas Edison: A Curious Mind’ and ‘From Phone Calls to Videochat’ use when discussing the development of the telephone. Which text uses more of a cause/effect structure? Which is more sequential? Or do they both use the same structure? Cite specific text evidence to support your opinion.” The prompt suggests that students will write an answer but does not specifically state so. In the additional resources, there is a sample answer provided in the answer guide to show the teacher an appropriate response.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 7, Extended Read 2: Communities Now and Then, Apply Understanding, students answer Question 2 in Write:Use Text Evidence: “Which character from ‘A New Life in Vermont’ is Maggie most like-Miami, Miguel, or Janita? Cite specific character actions or traits from each story to support your comparison.” Although the section heading states “Write,” there are no specific directions for students to write an answer or guidance on the form of writing an answer might take, nor is there teacher support for exemplar responses.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Short Read 1: “Fairweather Clouds” and Short Read 2: “Earth’s Weather and Climate,” under the Build-Reflect-Write heading, Write: Use Text Evidence, students respond to the following prompts: “How would you describe the different moods of the speaker, and how they changed during the course of the poem? What might have caused the changes? Cite the details from the text that informed your answer. How can you explain more about the reason scientists study weather and climate? Cite text evidence to support your explanation.” The headings imply that students will write an answer, but no specific directions are provided for writing a response.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 12, Cross-Text Analysis, in the Apply Understanding, students answer Question 3 in Write: Use Text Evidence in Spending Time and Money. The prompt states, “Which of Ben Franklin’s proverbs best summarizes the central lesson of ‘Lucky Hans and ‘The Ants and the Grasshopper?' Support your answer with specific evidence from both texts.” Although the section heading states, “Write,” there are no specific directions for students to write an answer or guidance on the form of writing an answer might take, nor is there teacher support for exemplar responses.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

The materials provide explicit instruction of grammar and conventions for most standards within the grade level. One to two times a week students engage in a 15 minute grammar and/or language activity that focuses on various standards. The teacher models the grammar or convention skill, followed by students practicing the skill with a partner. Students have the opportunity to later apply learned skills in workbook activities; however, there are limited opportunities for students to apply skills in context of their writing. Opportunities are missed for students to learn how to use commas in addresses.

Materials include explicit instruction of grammar and conventions standards for the grade level; however, opportunities for students to learn how to use commas in addresses is missing.

• Explain the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their functions in particular sentences.
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 13, the teacher displays and reviews Regular Verbs Chart and Verb Tense Chart. The teacher displays Present Tense Verb Verb Practice text and guides students to work with partners to identify and explain how they were able to identify verbs in the sentences.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 8, the teacher uses the first two sentences of “Animal Disguises” to model identifying nouns. In guided practice, students use sentences three and four to identify concrete nouns with partners. During independent time, students use page 11 of Build Grammar and Language section of Animal Adaptations to apply understanding of concrete and abstract nouns.
• In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 8, the teacher sets the purpose for the lesson by explaining how to properly use adverbs and adjectives. The teacher models identifying adverbs and adjectives using paragraph 3 of “The Dog and the Bone.” For Guided Practice, students circle adverbs and adjectives in sentences. During independent time, students use page 11 of the Build Grammar and Language section of Characters Shape Stories to apply knowledge of adverbs and adjectives.
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Lesson 7, teacher modeling is provided to define and name types of pronouns: “A pronoun takes the place of a noun. There are different pronouns: personal, possessive, indefinite and reflexive.” The teacher explains and gives examples of gender pronouns (his, her, its), and first, second and third-person pronouns: (we, you, they). The teacher identifies it as a singular pronoun and figures out the antecedent. In Guided Practice, students circle the pronouns in sentences from “After the Storm” and draw an arrow to its antecedent.
• Form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Lesson 5, the teacher models using the Reading Big Words Strategies to decode words, focusing on irregular plurals by using the ePocket Chart to display words: ladies, children, women, centuries, wolves.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Lesson 8, the teacher reviews plural nouns and models using a text to identify irregular plural noun children. The teacher guides students to find irregular plural nouns and write sentences.
• Use abstract nouns (e.g., childhood).
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 14, modeling is provided for the teacher to define concrete and abstract nouns and give examples of both types of nouns: “Robin, shark, claw, and feather are examples of concrete nouns...Examples of abstract nouns are honesty, friendship, truth, and competition.” The teacher is provided with a model text to model how to determine which nouns are abstract and concrete. In Guided Practice, student partners write two sentences about animals using at least one abstract noun.
• Form and use regular and irregular verbs.
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 7, the teacher models forming singular and plural tense verbs. During Guided Practice, students work in partners to identify the subject and present tense verbs in sentences written on the board by the teacher. During independent time, students use page 19 of the Build Grammar and Language section of Animal Adaptations to apply understanding forming and using regular tense verbs.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Lesson 7, the teacher reviews what verbs are and discusses how to form past tense verbs. Teacher modeling is provided to explain how to form irregular verbs: “But to form past tense of irregular verbs, you have to change their spellings.” The teacher reads from “Lucky Hans” and models identifying the verb grew and discussing why it is an irregular verb. In Guided Practice, students identify the verb in a sentence from the text and explain the difference between regular and irregular verbs.
• Form and use the simple (e.g., I walked; I walk; I will walk) verb tenses.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, Lesson 5, the teacher models identifying verb tense, then students work with partners to identify future tense verbs. During independent time, students use page 27 of Ways Characters Shape Stories, Build Grammar and Language section to find and copy a sentence from the text that contains a present tense verb, then write their own sentence using a present tense verb.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Lesson 8, the teacher models identifying verb tense using sentences from “Communities Then and Now.” Students work with partners to identify verbs and tenses. During independent time, students find a sentence in their reading that has simple verbs (present, past, or future tense) then write the sentence on page 11 of Communities Then and Now. Students write one more sentence using simple verbs.
• Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement.
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 5, the teacher models how to identify a sentence with subject verb agreement. The teacher displays sentences and asks students to read sentences and identify the subject and verb and whether the subject is singular or plural. During independent practice time, students use the Build Grammar and Language section on page 27 of Animal Adaptations to evaluate understanding of subject-verb agreement.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 5, the teacher reviews the role of pronouns in a sentence and introduces pronoun-antecedent agreement using paragraph 1 in “African Americans and Women Get the Right to Vote.” Students work with partners to identify pronouns and its antecedent.
• Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Lesson 14, the teacher explains to the students that they will be using adjectives to compare two or more things, and they will review and model the rules for how to form and use comparative and superlative adjectives. The teacher models using a Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Chart by explaining the rules and reviewing adding -er and -est at the end of adjectives. The teacher models five sentences, and students work together with partners to practice using comparative and superlative adjectives within four sentences. The teacher concludes the lesson by telling students that during independent writing time, they should write two or more complete sentences comparing the characters Cinderella, her stepsisters, and her stepmother using comparative and superlative adjectives.
• In Unit 4 Week 2, Lesson 13, the teacher reviews the rules for forming and using comparative and superlative adverbs. The teacher models by displaying and distributing copies of the Comparative and Superlative Adverbs Chart. The teacher reads aloud and discusses the rules for forming comparative and superlative adverbs and each example. The teacher displays a text for modeling and thinks aloud while explaining how to form comparative and superlative adverbs in two sentences. Students practice with partners using the remaining three sentences. Pairs share their sentences with the class.
• Use coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 14, the teacher models creating compound sentences by using a Coordinating Conjunctions Chart. In one column, the teacher lists coordinating conjunctions. In another column, the teacher writes the purpose for using the coordinating conjunction. The teacher models using a Modeling Text and models creating compound sentences. After modeling with one sentence, students get together with a partner to practice creating compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions with two additional sentences.
• In Unit 10, Week 1, Lesson 8, the teacher reminds students that they use a subordinating conjunction to join an independent clause and a dependent clause to form a complex sentence. The teacher explains that students will practice identifying the parts of complex sentences, and they will write their own complex sentence using subordinating conjunctions. The teacher models using the poem, “Taking Newton’s First Law to the Hoop,” and shows students how to analyze how the subordinating conjunction connects the dependent and independent clauses. The teacher tells students that during independent time or as homework during the week, they should complete the Build Grammar and Language section on page 11 of Forces and Interactions.
• Produce simple, compound, and complex sentences.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Lesson 13, the teacher sets a purpose for the lesson by explaining that the day’s lessons will focus on how to link together connected ideas within a complex sentence. The teacher models using the Subordinating Conjunctions Chart and tells students that these conjunctions are commonly used to form complex sentences. The teacher displays a Modeling Text and reads aloud the first two sentences. The teacher thinks aloud about why the writer uses specific subordinating conjunctions. Additionally, the teacher reviews the placement of the conjunction and how this relates to comma use. Students gather in partners to combine each pair of sentences in Modeling Text 5 and 6.
• Capitalize appropriate words in titles.
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 3, the teacher models identifying and correcting a text for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. The teacher displays and reads the Unedited Text. Teacher modeling is provided for capitalizing words, “Item 2 includes a title. I know I need to capitalize the first word of a title and any nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs.” The teacher models when to capitalize with another title.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 10, the teacher models identifying and correcting errors in an unedited text for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. The teacher displays and reads sentences from an Unedited Text provided. Teacher modeling is provided for capitalizing titles, “I see the name of a magazine. I know that the important words in a title should begin with a capital letter, so I will capitalize both words of this title, Handyman Monthly.”
• Use commas in addresses.
• No evidence found
• Use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.
• In Unit 4, Week 3, Lesson 3, the teacher sets a purpose for the lesson by explaining that the day’s lessons will focus on dialogue. The teacher models using the Modeling Narrative Journal Entry Excerpts. The teacher explains why the dialogue makes the text more cohesive and interesting to read. Throughout the modeling, the teacher thinks aloud and says, “When I insert dialogue into my writing, I make sure to follow the rules for punctuation: the words that are being spoken must be placed between quotation marks. If a sentence containing dialogue continues after the quotation marks, I place a comma before the end quotation mark. All other types of punctuation-periods, question marks, and exclamation points-must be placed before the end quotation mark.”
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Lesson 9, the teacher sets a purpose for the lesson by explaining that the day’s lessons will focus on adding dialogue to stories. During the lesson, the teacher distributes the Rules for Punctuating Dialogue and reviews how to punctuate dialogue with commas and quotation marks.
• Form and use possessives.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Lesson 7, the teacher explains that with singular nouns apostrophe s is used and with plural nouns the apostrophe comes after the s. The teacher displays and reads a paragraph in “All Kinds of Communities” and models identifying the possessive noun in a sentence and explains how it is used and formed: “When I look at the word, I know that neighbor’s isn’t the action in this sentence, so it’s a possessive, not a contraction.” The teacher models using the word students’.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Lesson 13, the teacher reviews that for a singular noun possessive you add apostrophe then s, and for a plural noun already ending with s the apostrophe follows the s. The teacher introduces and reviews a Form Possessive Nouns Chart, which includes singular nouns, possessive singular nouns, plural nouns, and possessive plural nouns.
• Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness).
• In Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 2, the teacher introduces words with the ePocket Chart and models sounding out each word using flexible syllable division, pronouncing words with their knowledge of the long /a/ spelling patterns, and circling the long /a/ spelling pattern in the words, pointing out it is usually spelled with VCe, ai, ay, and a.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher introduces words with the inflectional endings -ed and -ing using the ePocket Chart and models sounding out each word using flexible syllable division. The teacher circles the inflectional ending of each word and reviews that when words end in e, the e is dropped before adding -ed or -ing.
• Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Lesson 5, the teacher displays words with hard and soft /c/. The teacher models dividing the words into syllables and sounding out the words. Modeling is provided.
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Lesson 2, the spelling portion of the lesson refers to the Spelling Routine on page AR3. The Spelling Routine includes three steps: Introduce, Practice, and Assess. During Introduce, the teacher says each word, uses it in a sentence, models how to use meaningful words parts such as suffixes, prefixes and root words, to help determine the meaning of the words. The teacher is to have partners create sentences with the words and can have students write each word while spelling it aloud. During Practice, the teacher has students complete cloze sentences using the words in context and spelling them correctly. Students generate additional sentences with partners and are encouraged to write sentences about the week’s theme or topic of a recent read using their spelling words. Each Word Study lesson refers to the Spelling Routine.
• Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 10, students edit their essays including checking for spelling. The teacher models identifying and correcting spelling errors. Teacher modeling is provided.
• In Unit 4, Week 2, Lesson 2, the teacher reminds students to check reference materials to confirm definitions and spellings of words in the Apply Understanding and Build Fluency portion of the lesson during independent time.
• Choose words and phrases for effect.
• In Unit 7, Week 3, Lesson 3, the teacher models using vocabulary to add vivid detail to their historical fiction drafts. The teacher references a mentor text and uses sentences to model changing generic words to vivid words, replacing go with dash, and adding words and phrases to the last sentence to show rather than tell how the character felt. In Guided Practice, students work in pairs reviewing each other’s drafts for sentences or paragraphs that could be improved using vivid details.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Lesson 8, students learn how to use adjectives correctly. The teacher models using adjectives to create a mental image in “Fairweather Clouds.” In Guided Practice, students underline adjectives in the third stanza of the poem and discuss what they describe, and what they imagine in their minds. During independent time, students are to complete the Build Grammar and Language section on page 11 of Weather and Climate using adjectives correctly.
• Recognize and observe differences between the conventions of spoken and written standard English.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Lesson 6, students revise their essays to maintain a formal voice. The teacher reviews rules for formal writing and displays a model text to determine if the writing is formal or informal.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 5, the teacher reviews features of written English and spoken English. Written English being more formal and found in textbooks, newspapers, and signs, and spoken English being used in conversations with family and friends. The teacher displays and reads a paragraph from “The Big Game” modeling the type of English.

Materials include limited opportunities for students to demonstrate application of skills both in and out of context. Opportunities for students to apply newly learned grammar and conventions skills to their writing is limited. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 14, the teacher models how to incorporate adjectives and adverbs to add more detail to sentences. The teacher displays two sentences, and students work with partners to identify adjectives and adverbs. Students practice writing sentences using adjectives and adverbs during independent practice time.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 7, the teacher displays paragraph 2 from “The Tale of King Midas: A Greek Myth” and models identifying the irregular tense verb. The teacher displays more sentences from the text. Students work with partners to identify past tense verbs.
• In Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 13, the teacher and students work together to make an Irregular Verbs Chart showing present and past tense in columns.
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Lesson 6, students revise their essays to maintain a formal voice. During independent time, students draft, revise, and edit their essays looking for informal language.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for materials, questions, and tasks address grade-level CCSS for foundational skills by providing explicit instruction and assessment in phonics and word recognition that demonstrate a research-based progression.

Materials contain explicit instruction of phonics and word recognition consistently over the course of the year. Students have opportunities to identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes, decode words with Latin suffixes, and decode multi-syllabic words within word study mini-lessons throughout the year. The tasks and questions are sequenced to application of grade-level work, starting the year with decoding single-syllable long vowel words and ending the year decoding multi-syllabic words with common prefixes and suffixes. Within the Grade 3 Intervention Teacher Guides, the Grade 3-6 Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Checks provide assessment opportunities over the course of the year to inform instructional adjustments of phonics and word recognition to help students make progress toward mastery. The main strategy used to explicitly teach word solving strategies is called Reading Big Words, which outlines how to chunk big words to decode them successfully.

Materials contain explicit instruction of phonics and word recognition consistently over the course of the year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Lesson 5, students engage in a lesson reviewing suffixes: -able, -ful, -less. The teacher models the use of the suffixes within a word and explains the meaning of each suffix. The suffix -able means “able to be” or “having the quality of” the root word. The suffix -ful means "full of". The suffix -less means "without". After modeling the use and meaning of the suffixes, the students engage in guided practice. The teacher displays a three-column chart with three words that contain each suffix. Students work with partners to add other words that contain the suffix or to find others in a dictionary. Partners share their findings to add to the class chart. Students chorally read the words on the chart and practice using the words in oral sentences. Later, students practice using the suffixes when spelling. The teacher encourages students to use their knowledge of suffixes and context clues to sound out and determine the meanings of unfamiliar words as they are reading throughout the week.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Grammar and Spelling Activity Book, students complete a worksheet by writing spelling words with prefixes -dis -un next to its definition. Students circle the incorrect spelling word in a sentence and write it correctly on the line.
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Lesson 2, Word Study, the teacher models using the Reading Big Words Strategy, which includes noticing prefixes in Step 1, to decode words with prefixes pre- and re-. The teacher displays words with prefixes pre- and re-, circles the prefix in each word and gives the students the meaning of the prefixes, pre- meaning “before or earlier”, and re- meaning “again”. The teacher models the definitions of the words preorder, presweeten, prearrange, reconstruct and reassigned based on their prefixes.
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Lesson 2, Word Study, the teacher models using the Reading Big Words Strategy, which includes noticing suffixes in Step 2, to decode words with derivational suffixes -ing, -ment, and -ness. The teacher displays words with derivational suffixes -ing, -ment, and -ness, circles the suffix, and explains how the suffix changes the meaning of the word. The teacher models giving the definitions of the words warning, movement, and fairness, based on their root words and added suffixes.
• In the Grade 3 Phonics and Word Recognition Intervention materials, there are 14 lessons devoted to identifying and knowing the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes. In Lesson 18, students learn to decode words with the common suffixes -ful and -less. Students learn to recognize and generalize the understanding that suffix -ful means “full of, being, having” and the suffix -less means “not having, without.” The teacher reviews what a suffix is, goes over the two new suffixes, uses the new suffixes in multiple examples, and gives time for students to practice and apply the skills in Blackline Masters - BLM 18 rows 2A to 3C.
• Decode words with common Latin suffixes.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Lesson 5, the teacher explains that “recognizing and understanding affixes will help you better decode and understand unfamiliar words as you read them.” The teacher models decoding words by circling the suffix in each word and explaining the meaning of the suffix, then uses knowledge of the suffix to decode words. The teacher displays a two column chart with words that contain suffixes -or, -er and then has students work in pairs to add to the list. The teacher and students practice reading the words chorally. Students use their knowledge of suffixes to read “My St. Augustine Journal.”
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Grammar and Spelling Activity Book, students decode words with suffixes -er and -or to match spelling words to definitions and complete analogies on a worksheet.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Lesson 5, Word Study, the teacher models using the Reading Big Words Strategy, which includes noticing suffixes in Step 2, to decode words with suffixes -able, -ful, -less. The teacher displays words with suffixes -able, -ful, -less, circles the suffix, and gives the meaning of each: -able, “able to be”, -ful “means full of”, -less “means without”.
• In the Grade 3 Phonics and Word Recognition Intervention, Lesson 21, students learn to decode words with the common suffixes -able, -ible, -al, -ial. The suffixes -able and -ible are both Latin suffixes. Students learn to recognize and generalize the understanding that the suffixes -able, -ible mean “able to” or “can be.” Students learn to recognize and generalize that the suffixes -al and -ial mean “having characteristics of.” The teacher reviews what a suffix is, goes over the four new suffixes, uses the new suffixes in multiple examples, and gives time for students to practice and apply the skills in Blackline Masters - BLM 18 rows 2A to 3B.
• Decode multisyllable words.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher displays the words western, demanding, attention and models decoding words focusing on closed syllable patterns. The teacher guides students to read words originally, constitution, citizenship, declaration, independence, volunteers in pairs and practice dividing words into syllables and identify closed syllables.
• In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 5, the teacher reviews VCe syllable patterns to decode words. The teacher displays the words: arrive, relate, complete and models how to divide each word into syllables to sound it out. The teacher guides students to read words using VCe syllable pattern.
• In Unit 6, Week 2, Lesson 2, Word Study, the teacher models decoding real-looking in “Rapping Magicians” by using knowledge of syllables and short /oo/ spelling patterns. Scripting is provided, “Let’s divide the word into syllables: real/look/ing. The first syllable has a long e sound made by letters ea. The second syllable has a short oo sound, like in book. The third syllable is the ending -ing.”
• In Unit 10, Week 1, Lesson 5, Word Study, the teacher models decoding commotion in “Taking Newton’s First Law to the Hoop” using knowledge of unaccented final syllables. Scripting is provided: “I see the final syllable of the word includes -on. I know that words ending in -on have an unaccented final syllable. In this word the second syllable is accented.”
• Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 5, Word Study, the teacher has students chorally read the week’s spelling words providing corrective feedback if needed. Students take turns dictating and spelling the words to a partner. The teacher reminds students that breaking the words up into syllables when saying and reading the words makes the task easier. The spelling words for the week include: listen, product, and until. During independent time, students read “The Remarkable Teeth of Shark” which includes irregularly spelled words.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Lesson 2, Word Study, the teacher has students chorally read the week’s spelling words providing corrective feedback if needed. Students take turns dictating and spelling the words to a partner. The teacher reminds students that breaking the words up into syllables when saying and reading the words makes the task easier. The spelling words for the week include: afternoon, pattern, and mother. Students choral read paragraph 1 from the text, “Thomas Edison: A Curious Mind” with the teacher, which includes the irregularly spelled words: sometimes, almost, become, and answer. During independent time, students are to read “George Eastman and the Kodak Camera” which includes irregularly spelled words.
• In Unit 7, Week 2, Lesson 2, the teacher reminds students that homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and uses the “Read Big Words Strategy” to decode homophones such as meat/meet, for/four, I/eye, ate/eight. The teacher tells students that once they decode the homophone, they must determine its meaning. The teacher guides students to orally create sentences using homophone pairs. Students read paragraph 2 of “All Kinds of Communities” to apply knowledge of homophones. The teacher and students chorally read weekly spelling words and using them in sentences to determine meaning.
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher models decoding unfamiliar words using the “Read Big Words Strategy” focusing on diphthongs. The teacher models flexible division of syllables, knowledge of diphthongs, and circling diphthongs and discussing the sound that it makes. Students chorally read paragraph 3 from “The Tropical Rain Belt” and discuss the meaning and structure of cloudiness. The teacher and students chorally read weekly spelling words with diphthongs.

All tasks and questions are sequenced to application of grade-level work (e.g., application of prefixes at the end of the unit/year; decoding multi-syllable words). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• The tasks and questions are sequenced to application of grade-level work. Starting the year with long vowels in Unit 1 and 2; r-controlled vowels and closed syllables in Unit 3; open, consonant -le, and vowel team syllables in Unit 4; VCe syllable patterns, Vowel-r syllable patterns, and inflectional endings in Unit 5; irregular plurals, long and short /oo/, and /ou/ as in how and out in Unit 6; suffixes -er and -or, homophones, and variant vowels in Unit 7; hard and soft /c/ and /g/ and diphthongs in Unit 8; suffixes and prefixes in Unit 9; and unaccented final syllables, derivational suffixes, and related words in Unit 10.
• In Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 5, teacher displays words advantages, grasshopper, insects. The teacher reads the words aloud and models flexible use of syllable division to decode words. The teacher displays “Reading Big Words Strategy” and guides students to practice decoding words from “Animal Disguises.”
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Lesson 2, the teacher models decoding words with derivational suffixes by displaying words warning, movement, fairness, unpleasantness, encouragement. The teacher circles the suffix and explains how the suffix changes the meaning of the word.

Multiple assessment opportunities are provided over the course of the year to inform instructional adjustments of phonics and word recognition to help students make progress toward mastery. Example include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Grammar and Spelling Activity Book, students complete a worksheet demonstrating knowledge of r-controlled vowels -ar and -or, could be used as formative assessment.
• In Phonics and Word Study, pages 46-47, teachers assess application of closed syllable pattern when students read the word aloud and divide by syllables. This Quick Check is referred to In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 2.
• In the Intervention Teacher Guides, the Grade 3-6 Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Checks provide assessment opportunities over the course of the year to inform instructional adjustments of phonics and word recognition to help students make progress toward mastery. The following relevant assessments for phonics and word recognition standards include:
• Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes. Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Check #63 to #98. There are 35 Quick Checks for the teacher to use throughout the year that pertain to this standard.
• Decode words with common Latin suffixes. Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Check #79 to #98. There are 19 Quick Checks for the teacher to use throughout the year that pertain to this standard.
• Decode multisyllable words. Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Check #15 to #58. There are at least 43 Quick Checks for the teacher to use throughout the year that pertain to this standard.

Materials contain explicit instruction of word solving strategies (graphophonic and syntactic) to decode unfamiliar words. Example include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 2, the teacher displays words explaining, replayed, investigate, basically, and the teacher models sounding out each word using strategies such as flexible syllable division, applying knowledge of long /a/ pattern, or circling long /a/ pattern in words from “Animal Coverings.” Students practice reading long /a/ words in the text.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher reminds students about Reading Big Words Strategies, focusing on compound words. The teacher displays words hillside, sunglasses, ridgeline, lakeshore, mountaintop and models using flexible syllable division, pronouncing words using compound word knowledge, circling word parts and drawing lines between words, or using knowledge of smaller words to figure out compound words. The teacher guides students to read compound words. Students find the compound word campfire in the text, “Uncle Parrot’s Wedding: A Cuban Folktale.”
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Lesson 2, Word Study, the teacher uses the Reading Big Words Strategy. The steps include: look for prefixes at the beginning of words; look for suffixes at the end of the word; look for familiar spelling patterns in the base of the word, sound out and blend the word parts, and adjust the word parts quickly and adjust pronunciation if needed. The teacher models using the Reading Big Words Strategy to decode multisyllable words with a focus on inflectional endings -ed and -ing. The teacher tells students they will use the Reading Big Words Strategy to decode words. In guided practice the teacher is to, “Display the Reading Big Words Strategy Anchor Chart and review the steps.”
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 2, Word Study, the teacher models decoding high-powered using their knowledge of syllables and /ou/ spelling patterns. Scripting is provided for the teacher to divide the word into three syllables high/pow/ered and discuss each syllable, “The first syllable has a long /i/ sound made by igh. The second syllable has an /ou/ sound spelling ow. The third syllable contains er and ed. The e in the suffix -ed is silent.” The teacher pronounces the word.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for materials, lessons, and questions providing instruction in and practice of word analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.

Materials provide multiple and varied opportunities over the course of the year for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis skills in connected texts and tasks. Word analysis skills are taught primarily within Word Study lessons provided weekly throughout all 10 units. Lessons include explicit instruction of new concepts with teacher models and guided practice, followed by application of newly learned knowledge using connected text from the weekly readings. The Word Study lessons prompt the teacher to encourage students to apply their newly learned skills throughout the week in reading tasks. Materials include word analysis assessments to monitor student learning of word analysis skills. Within the Intervention Teacher Guides, the Grade 3-6 Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Checks provide word analysis assessments to monitor student learning of word analysis skills.

Multiple and varied opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to learn, practice, and apply word analysis skills in connected texts and tasks. For example:

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Lesson 2, students review reading words with r-controlled vowels -er, -ir, and -ur through teacher modeling of flexible use of syllable division, using knowledge of r-controlled vowels to pronounce the words, and identifying and circling the r-controlled vowel in each word. Students chorally read spelling words and identify -er, -ir, and -ur in the words to correctly pronounce the words. Students work in pairs to dictate and spell the words. During independent time, students complete “Build Vocabulary” on page 19 in Government for the People, and they read “Thomas Paine” to develop automaticity and fluency with r-controlled words.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Lesson 2, students review vowel-r syllable pattern by decoding and applying context clues in text “Thomas Edison: A Curious Mind.” Students practice chorally reading weekly spelling words with vowel-r syllable patterns. Students practice reading “George Eastmon and the Kodak Camera” to apply knowledge of vowel-r syllable patterns to read fluently and accurately.
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Lesson 2, students review reading words with derivational suffixes -ing, -ment, and -ness through teacher modeling of the Reading Big Words Strategy. Students chorally read spelling words and recognize suffixes in the words. Students work in pairs to dictate and spell the words. In guided practice, students break words into word parts to identify the root word, suffix and prefix if included. During independent time, students complete “Build Vocabulary” on page 19 in Forces and Interactions and read “The Merchant’s Donkey” to develop automaticity and fluency with words containing derivational suffixes -ing, -ment, and -ness while using what they know about word families and syllable types.

Materials include word analysis assessment to monitor student learning of word analysis skills. For example:

• In 3-6 Phonics and Word Recognition, Quick Checks are provided, each of which focuses on a single skill and are given one-to-one with the student. Skills included in the Quick Checks are consonant and vowel sounds, prefixes and suffixes, homophones and homographs, and root words. Two assessments are provided per skill. Quick Checks are intended as a formative assessment, to help monitor student progress and help the teacher adapt instruction as needed. The teacher is to follow the Resource Map provided for intervention resources for remediation in Phonics and Word Recognition Intervention lessons if students score below 66%. Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Checks are referenced in Word Study lessons.
• Word Study lessons reference the Spelling Routine on AR3 for instruction and assessment. The teacher is to analyze the spelling of misspelled words and use the results to plan for differentiated small group instruction and practice. In Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 5, the teacher is to use Spelling Routine on AR3 for instruction and assessment for words with suffixes -er and -or.
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher is directed to use the Quick Check assessment for closed syllable patterns on pages 46-47 of Grades 3-6 Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Checks.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Lesson 5, the teacher is directed to use the Quick Check assessment for -er and -or in Grades 3-6 Phonics and Word Recognition Quick Checks or alternate spelling instruction and assessment routine on page AR3.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criteria for instructional opportunities being frequently built into the materials for students to practice and achieve reading fluency in oral and silent reading, that is, to read on-level prose and poetry with accuracy, rate appropriate to the text, and expression.

Materials provide multiple opportunities over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate accuracy and fluency in oral and silent reading. Students read texts multiple times throughout the week during short and extended reads, focusing on a different purpose and goals for understanding each time. The Fluency Routines can be found in the Teacher’s Resource Guide under Additional Resources: Instructional Routines. Materials include 16 Fluency Routines. Materials support prose and poetry in core content during the short reads, focusing on accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings. Materials include assessments within Intervention: Teacher Guides, which provides the teacher and students with information of students’ current fluency skills. Materials also include a Year-Long Assessment Plan.

Materials contain 10 Fluency Quick Checks and each is used to evaluate Oral Reading Accuracy, Reading Rate, Comprehension, and Fluency elements like phrasing, intonation, and expression.

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate sufficient accuracy and fluency in oral and silent reading. For example:

• Students have opportunities to read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher reminds students to apply Read Big Words Strategy to unfamiliar words for a few minutes of practice in Animal Adaptations, page 25 “Why Loons Have Flat Backs” to develop fluency and automaticity of long /o/ and long /u/ words. The teacher engages thinking about words and their meanings and models using context clues to define words and understand what they have read.
• In Unit 3, Week 1, Lesson 2, the teacher models reading paragraph 1 and the first two sentences of paragraph 2 in “Working Together” using a fluent, expressive voice. In Build Fluency, the teacher explains fluent readers vary voice pitch as they read. The teacher models the fluency routine with a fluent, expressive voice, using paragraph 3 and provides guided practice. During independent time, students partner-read paragraph 3 for additional practice.
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Lesson 2, the teacher reminds students to monitor their comprehension and draw on strategies they know to read with comprehension. In Build Fluency, the teacher explains that fluent readers self-correct word recognition and their understanding. The teacher follows the fluency routine to model this skill using paragraph 1 of the text. During independent time, students partner-read paragraph 1 of “My St. Augustine Journal” for additional practice. During independent time, students read paragraph 3-4 of “My St. Augustine Journal” and are reminded to continue to apply strategies as they read and annotate the text for understanding.

Materials support reading or prose and poetry with attention to rate, accuracy, and expression, as well as direction for students to apply reading skills when productive struggle is necessary. For example:

• Students have opportunities to read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
• In Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 11, the teacher introduces the genre of poetry using the poem, “Something Told to the Wild Geese”, page 28-29, Animal Adaptations. The teacher reads aloud the poem modeling identifying features of poetry. The teacher re-reads the first stanza and has students clap the rhythm. Students re-read the poem for fluency practice during independent time.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher reminds students to use Read Big Words Strategy to read compound words fluently and accurately in Ways Characters Shape Stories on page 27 of “Paul Bunyan’s Big Thirst.” The teacher reminds students to “monitor their reading to make sure they read words correctly, using what they know about word parts and syllables.”
• In Unit 5, Week 3, Lesson 11, the teacher reminds students that poets use rhyme schemes and rhyming word patterns to build feelings. The teacher models reading the poem, “My Smartphone Isn’t Very Smart,” explaining that the poet uses rhyme schemes to create humor. In guided practice, students work in pairs to read stanzas 3-6 of the poem and discuss how rhyming words support the speaker's feelings and attitude and their understanding of the poem. During independent time, students reread the poem with a partner.
• In Unit 8, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher reviews and models reading words with diphthongs ou, ow, oi, oy, in the text “The Tropical Rain Belt.” The teacher uses the Reading Big Words Strategy to break words into syllables and manageable chunks. Students chorally read paragraph 3 of the text, and the teacher models decoding and using context clues for cloudiness in the text using their knowledge of diphthongs. During independent time, students read “Predicting Hurricanes” to develop both automaticity and fluency with words that contain diphthongs. The teacher reminds students to monitor their reading using what they know about syllabication and word families.

Materials support students’ fluency development of reading skills (e.g., self-correction of word recognition and/or for understanding, focus on rereading) over the course of the year (to get to the end of the grade-level band). For example:

• Students have opportunities to use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.
• In Unit 2, Week 3, Lesson 2, the teacher models using the Reading Big Words Strategy to break words into syllables and/or manageable chunks with compound words. Students chorally read paragraph 12 of “Uncle Parrot’s Wedding: A Cuban Folktale” and the teacher stops to model decoding and using context clues to determine the meaning of campfire. The teacher tells the students to use their knowledge of word parts, syllabication, and context clues to sound out words and determine the meaning of unfamiliar compound words in their reading for the week. Students read “Paul Bunyan’s Big Thirst” to develop automaticity and fluency with compound words. The teacher reminds students to monitor their reading using what they know about word parts and syllable types.
• In Unit 6, Week 3, Lesson 11, the teacher reads the poem, “Choices,” focusing on understanding the central message of the poem. Students chorally read the poem with the teacher. The teacher rereads stanzas 1-3 to model determining the poem's central message, summarizing the modeling for students. In guided practice, students partner-read stanzas 4-8, annotating words and phrases that support the central message. During independent time, students reread the poem with a partner to build fluency.

Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information of students’ current fluency skills and provide teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery of fluency. For example:

• Fluency Quick Checks provide 10 reading passages which evaluate oral reading accuracy, reading rate, comprehension, and fluency. The teacher can evaluate a specific element or all four. It is recommended that students be tested formally three times in the year: beginning, middle, and end. However, since there are 10 passages provided, the teacher can provide follow up assessments for students needing additional practice. There are equations provided to calculate oral reading accuracy and reading rate goals set for the beginning, middle, and end of the year. There is a rating rubric provided for how to assess oral fluency. A table is provided for scoring the assessments: student scoring 100%, 4/4 can move on to the next Quick Check; students scoring 75%, 3/4 should continue to be monitored and the teacher should consider reassessing; if students score below 50%, 2/4 teachers should follow the Resource Map provided for additional resources to remediate fluency skills.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 2a.

The units are connected by a grade-level topic or theme and are framed with guiding questions. However, some units are themes, rather than topics. For example, the texts in Unit 1 focus on the topic of animal adaptations, while the texts in Unit 6 are organized by the theme, Making Decisions. Each unit contains a new topic or theme for each of the 10 units, with each unit lasting three weeks for a total of 15 days. There is vertical alignment across the program, meaning each grade has a similar topic or theme that appears at each grade level. Publisher documentation indicates the general topics are science, social studies, technology, literature, social-emotional learning, and culture. However, there is not always consistent vocabulary or content that repeats across texts within a unit, therefore reducing the impact of exploring a single topic for three weeks. While the topics/themes are supported by texts that fall within the topic or theme, the texts do not serve the function of building knowledge of topics, but are instead used as vehicles for instruction and practice of literacy skills. Additionally, the focus of questions and tasks is on building comprehension skills and understanding the parts and structures of texts with little emphasis on the content contained therein. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Unit 1 is organized around a topic of Animal Adaptations. The Essential Question is "How do living things survive in their environment?" and the knowledge focus for the unit is “to understand how living things grow and change." Students build schema around the following concepts:
• For any particular environment, some types of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. The environment also affects the traits that organisms develop.
• Animals can be classified into the major groups of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, or birds according to their physical characteristics and behavior.
• Animals and plants respond to changing seasons.
• Characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents and the variations of these traits in each species may provide advantages for survival.

The unit's Enduring Understanding is: "Over time, animals develop adaptations that help them survive in their environments.” However, the Learning Goals focus on metacognitive, comprehension, vocabulary, word study and grammar/language skills. The Comprehensive Literacy Planners only lists skills that can be broadly applied to multiple texts and do not reference the Essential Question or Enduring Understanding for the unit, though these are both referenced in the mini lessons.

• Unit 4 is organized around the theme of Comparing Points of View. The Essential Question is "What makes people view the same experience differently?" and the knowledge focus for the unit is understanding what makes people view the same experience differently. Students build schema around the following concepts:
• The narrator, story characters, and the reader all have their own point of view to the story.
• Authors sometimes use the same characters in multiple stories and literary formats (e.g., plays vs. a fable)
• A play offers a dramatized version of a story with “unique storytelling features”
• By respecting others’ points of view, we can learn about them and ourselves

The unit's Enduring Understanding is: "Readers can have their own points of view about the people and events in a story."

However, the Learning Goals focus on metacognitive, comprehension, vocabulary, word study and grammar/language skills. The Comprehensive Literacy Planner only lists skills that can be broadly applied to multiple texts and do not reference the Essential Question or Enduring Understanding for the unit, though these are both referenced in the mini lessons.

• Unit 6 is organized around the theme of Making Decisions and includes texts all by the same author, Crystal Allen. The Essential Question is "What helps us solve problems?" and the knowledge focus for the unit is on “kids in contemporary settings needing to resolve an issue in which they are presented with a situation in which they must decide to ‘do the right thing’.” Students build schema around the following concepts:
• Character actions determine the plot despite variations in the length, genre, and style of the fictional story.
• Authors can approach similar themes in a variety of settings, with different plots and characters.
• Dialogue is a key way in which characters reveal their personalities.
• Characters’ actions and relationships have consequences that impact the story. Readers can gain insight into human behavior from stories.

The unit's Enduring Understanding is: "It’s important to weigh every factor before making a decision.”

However, the Learning Goals focus on metacognitive, comprehension, vocabulary, word study and grammar/language skills. The Comprehensive Literacy Planner only lists skills that can be broadly applied to multiple texts and do not reference the Essential Question or Enduring Understanding for the unit, though these are both referenced in the mini lessons.

• Unit 10 is organized around the topic of Forces and Interactions. The Essential Question is "How does understanding science help us achieve our goals?" and the knowledge focus stated for the unit is, “In this unit, students will read informational texts about physical science concepts centering around forces and energy. They will also read two poems about sports and a Native American-themed folktale; each applies some of the same principles introduced in the informational texts." Students will build schema around the following concepts:
• Gravity is a force that can be overcome.
• The patterns of an object’s motion can be observed and measured; objects in contact exert forces on each other.
• Energy can take many forms; it has the ability to cause motion or create change.
• Authors employ non-literal language, such as metaphor and simile, to engage readers and encourage them to create vivid mental images of the story events and characters.”

The unit's Enduring Understanding is: "Understanding how the physical world works allows scientists to come up with ways to improve our lives."

However, the Learning Goals focus on metacognitive, comprehension, vocabulary, word study and grammar/language skills. The Comprehensive Literacy Planner only lists skills that can be broadly applied to multiple texts and do not reference the Essential Question or Enduring Understanding for the unit, though these are both referenced in the mini lessons.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 2b.

Short Reads and Extended Read text selections are accompanied by Mini-Lessons where students answer questions and complete tasks that look at word choice, figurative language, main idea, details, and the structure of the text. Mini-Lesson components include questions focused on comprehension and vocabulary as well as metacognitive and “fix-up” strategies. Students discuss questions with peers, providing the teacher an opportunity to listen and determine the students’ understanding. Students annotate, jot notes in the margins, and complete two Build Reflect Write sections in the consumable anchor text providing further opportunities for teachers to determine the level of student understanding of literary concepts taught. At the end of every mini-lesson, students complete a task during independent work time demonstrating an understanding of key components. By the end of the year, skills are embedded in students’ work rather than taught directly. Earlier units involve more modeling and guided instruction. By the end of the school year, students complete more tasks independently without teacher modeling and assistance.

Examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address language and/or word choice include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 8, Extended Read 1: “The Tale of King Midas: A Greek Myth,” students examine how authors use similes to help readers create mental images. Students reread paragraph 2 and explain, “How do the similes in this paragraph help to develop the character of King Midas? How do they affect the mood in this paragraph? Cite specific text evidence to support your analysis.” Students also answer Close Reading Question 1 of Write: Use Text Evidence of the consumable anchor text: “How does the simile in paragraph 5 help develop the character of Dionysus? How does it affect the mood in this paragraph and those that follow? Cite specific text evidence to support your analysis.”
• In Unit 3, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 11, Poetry Out Loud, students read Lincoln Monument: Washington” and determine non-literal language. The teacher models finding examples of non-literal language within the poem then the students answer the following prompt for guided practice: “The poet refers to time as a ‘wall.’ What do you think the poet means by this? Use evidence from the poem to support your ideas.” The students complete this task with a partner and then share their answers.

Examples of supporting materials that represent coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address structure include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 11, Poetry Out Loud, students read “Something Told the Wild Geese” and discuss features of poetry. The teacher models poetry structure for students. Students then read and annotate the poem for at least one structure in the poem and explain to a partner how the structure of the poem helped him/her to better understand the poem.
• In Unit 4, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 1, Extended Read 2: “The Trial of Rabbit,” students explain how the author used text details to create mental images. Students read pages 20–21, underlining text that helps them create mental images. During Share and Reflect, students answer the following questions: “How would you describe the opening scene? What sights, sounds, and actions do you picture? How did creating mental images help you understand the characters and what is happening in the courtroom?”
• In Unit 5, Week 2, “From Phone Calls to Videochat,” students compare and contrast the structures of the text with that of “Thomas Edison: A Curious Mind” as they are used when discussing the development of the telephone. They determine which text uses a cause/effect structure and which is more sequential in structure. Students cite specific evidence to support their opinion.

An example of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address craft includes:

• During Constructive Conversations, students respond to the following prompt: “How well does the text support the author’s claim that Thomas Edison is 'one of the greatest American inventors of all time'? Do you agree or disagree with his point of view? Cite specific text evidence to support your opinion.”

Examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that address key ideas and details include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 1: “The Tale of King Midas: A Greek Myth,” the teacher reads paragraphs 1–5 modeling how to identify rising action. Students then reread and annotate the paragraphs. Students explain, “How do these paragraphs contribute to the climax of the story?” During the independent Apply Understanding time, students reread paragraphs 14–17 to identify the resolution of the story and write a series of sentences recounting the details of the entire story.
• In Unit 8, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 1: “After the Storm,” students reread paragraphs 1–6 to answer the following questions: “What is the setting of this story? Who are the characters? What problems or challenges do these characters face in the story?” During the independent Apply Understanding time, students reread and annotate paragraphs 7–15 and answer the following questions: “How do these paragraphs develop the challenges that Valeria faces in this story? How does her Grandma help provide the resolution in this story?”
• In Unit 9, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 1: “Lucky Hans,” the teacher reminds the students that they have practiced finding key details before, and then provides the following prompt for Constructive Conversation: “Reread paragraphs 1–8 of ‘Lucky Hans.’ Which details should be included in a summary? Highlight or underline the key events and details.” After students share responses, teacher guidance states, “Tell students that during independent time, you would like them to finish reading ‘Lucky Hans’ and then use important details from the story to write a summary. Use students’ work to evaluate their understanding of how to recount story details.”
• In Unit 10, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 8, Extended Read 1: “The Energy of the Thunder Beings,” students examine how the author creates imagery. Students reread paragraphs 5–7 of the text and then identify how the author uses non-literal language in the paragraphs. Students discuss what they can infer from the language and how the narrator views Saloli’s struggle against nature. Students then read paragraphs 10–11 and explain how the non-literal language affects the mood of the story.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 2c.

Most sets of questions and tasks support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. Each unit provides multiple Mini-Lessons with a variety of student tasks accompanying all single text selections with the exception of the Poetry Out Loud titles. Within these Mini-Lessons are content knowledge tasks and literacy skills practice. One to two Mini-Lessons accompany each multiple text analysis. The interactive E-book contains Build Knowledge questions at the end of most passages. These questions ask the students to use knowledge gained from the text to answer questions or complete some type of task. Materials provide guidance to teachers in supporting students’ literacy skills. Each week the Teacher’s Resource states the weekly learning goals, such as Skills and Strategies, Spelling Words, and Vocabulary, followed by a Comprehensive Literacy Planner. Learning Targets, Ways to Scaffold the First Reading, materials needed, and possible student responses are listed in the sidebar. Specific teacher guidance is listed in blue italics. Additional Resources for the instructional routines, recommended trade book list, Close Reading Answer Key, Small Group Texts for Reteaching, Text Complexity guide, Special Education Accommodations and Access and Equity information are located at the end of each unit in the Teacher’s Resource. Teacher modeling guidance and how to help with incorporating knowledge from the text is also provided. There are opportunities for students to incorporate information from various texts or media types. Most units have a section called Cross-Text Analysis where students have to answer questions or complete tasks that incorporate more than one text. By the end of the year, integrating knowledge and ideas is embedded in students’ work via tasks and/or culminating tasks. Earlier units provide more modeling in the mini-lessons, but later units have more guided practice or independent work with each question or task.

Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze within single texts. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Teacher’s Resource, questions and tasks associated with the story, “The Tale of King Midas,” occur in several Mini-Lessons. In Mini-Lesson 1, students answer questions making inferences from the actions in the text: “What can you infer from the way Dionysus ‘sighs’ when he grants King Midas his wish?” In Mini-Lesson 4, students “Reread and annotate paragraphs 6-13 of ‘The Tale of King Midas.’ How do these paragraphs contribute to the climax of the story?” In Mini-Lesson 5, students analyze the illustration on page 14 to answer, “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?”
• In Unit 5, Week 2, Mini-lesson 8 and 9, Extended Read 1: Thomas Edison: A Curious Mind, students answer this question, “Based on the connections between these sentences and paragraphs, would you describe ‘Thomas Edison: A Curious Mind’ as more of a cause/effect text or more of a sequential text? Cite specific evidence from the text to support your response.” In Mini-Lesson 9, students respond to the following question, “How well does the text support the author's claim that Thomas Edison is ‘one of the greatest American inventors of all time?’ Do you agree or disagree with his point of view?”
• In Unit 9, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 2, students read “From Fruit to Jam: A Tasty List of Choices.” The students work with a partner to respond to the following prompt: “Review the steps for making and selling orange marmalade on page 22. At what step in this process does a marmalade maker have to choose between the open-pan and the vacuum-pan process? What text evidence allows you to make this connection?” The teacher is provided with a possible response example.

Sets of questions and tasks provide opportunities to analyze across multiple texts. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Mini-Lesson 12, Cross-Text Analysis, students respond to the following prompt: “Reread the first paragraph of page 8 of 'Animals’ Tools for Survival' and paragraphs 16–18 of 'Animal Coverings'. Which adaptation do you think is more essential to a bird’s survival: its beak or its feathers? Why? Cite specific evidence from each text to support your opinion.”
• In Unit 4, Week 3, Mini-Lesson 9, students complete the Close Read to Compare and Contrast component for the stories, “The Trial of Rabbit” and “Rabbit and Coyote.” The Close Reading question is as follows: “Compare the way Rabbit is presented in ‘Rabbit and Coyote’ and ‘The Trial of Rabbit.’ How is he the same? How is he different? Cite specific evidence from the text to support your answer.” During Share and Reflect, partners share their findings. During the independent Apply Understanding section, students answer Question 3 in Write: Use Text Evidence of the consumable anchor text. “How did reading about Rabbit in different genres—a story and a play—affect your point of view of his character? Did it stay the same, or did it change? Cite specific text evidence to support your thinking.”
• In Unit 7, Week 1, Short Read 1: “My St. Augustine Journal” by Lisa Benjamin, Short Read 2: “A New Life in Vermont” from How Tia Lola Came to Visit Stay by Julia Alvarez, Build Knowledge, students answer the question: “What did you learn about communities from their personal narrative and the story excerpt? Make a chart like this one on a separate sheet of paper. List details from each text you might include in an opinion essay about the different ways people in the past and present have made themselves feel at home in a community." Then in Read Across Text, students respond to the following prompt: “In Short Reads 1 and 2, both Lisa Benjamin and the character of Miquel reflect on where they live. What is one way their observations are the same? What is one way they are different? Cite text evidence to support your answers.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 2d.

Culminating tasks are somewhat engaging and provide students limited opportunities to demonstrate comprehension and knowledge of a topic or topics. Each unit has a culminating task but these tasks do not always require students to demonstrate knowledge of a topic. There are questions and tasks throughout the unit that help the teacher determine student readiness. Student responses in Constructive Conversation and Apply Understanding provide usable information on student readiness to complete the culminating task. A Reinforce or Reaffirm the Strategy section provides guidance for how the teacher can assist students who need support. Guiding questions and rubrics are also provided and serve as guidance for students and teachers in completing these projects.

While the culminating tasks provided are multifaceted, requiring students to demonstrate mastery of several different standards at the grade level, there is little variation over the course of the year. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, for the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project students choose an animal discussed in the texts from the unit and deliver a presentation on the animal. The learning targets for the task include research presentation skills as well as science concepts. The learning tasks for the research presentation skills include, but are not limited to, “Conduct short research projects, gathering information from unit selections, and other print and digital resources. Create a presentation on a topic, using technology, audio recording and visual displays when appropriate.” The learning targets for the science tasks state, “Scientists learn about different organisms, events, and scientific processes through observations or viewing in natural habitats. Animals have traits that affect the way they grow, behave, and survive.”
• In Unit 2, the Research and Inquiry Project is to select an author directly from the unit’s Mini-Lessons to research more in depth and select another author of the student’s choice. Students can work individually or with a group to select a research focus, find relevant information from the unit, and identify and evaluate additional sources. Three guiding questions are provided and must be included in the presentations. Students use a rubric when planning their presentation and the teacher also uses a rubric when evaluating presentations. The rubrics measure content, presentation, effort and collaboration. Suggested ideas for presentations found in the consumable anchor text are podcast interview with each author, an author trivia game, or an illustrated biography. Presentations are made to the whole class. Students who are listening jot down two or more new ideas they heard and one question they would like to ask the presenter.
• In Unit 3, the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project asks students to compare and contrast two social-change advocates and how they brought about change in the government. In Week 2, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 1, the Teacher’s Resource gives the following instructions under Apply Understanding, “Tell students that during independent time, you would like them to reread and annotate paragraphs 7-12 and write a main idea statement about ‘Cesar Chavez: It Is My Right to Organize!’ Have students recount at least three key details and write sentences explaining how these details support the main text.” In Week 3, Mini-Lesson 4, Extended Read 2, students discuss the following prompt under Constructive Conversations, “Reread the section ‘Afrcan Americans and the Right to Vote’ and paragraphs 3-5 of ‘Election Day.’ Combine information from both texts to discuss the sequence of events that led to all Afriecna Americans getting the right to vote. Then, create a timeline that illustrates these key events.” During the Share and Reflect section, the Teacher’s Resource states, “Invite pairs to share their timeline entries with the class. Call on volunteers to discuss how analyzing and integrating the sequential text connections in both texts deepened their understanding of African Americans’ struggle for voting rights.” The information gathered from these prompts will help the teacher determine student readiness for the culminating task.
• In Unit 6, the Research and Inquiry Project is to choose a common literature theme from the unit and combine information from the unit texts as well as additional sources to demonstrate knowledge. Students can work individually or with a group to select a research focus, find relevant information from the unit and identify and evaluate additional sources. Three guiding questions are provided and must be included in the presentations. Students use a rubric when planning their presentation and the teacher also uses a rubric when evaluating presentations. The rubrics measure content, presentation and effort and collaboration. Suggested ideas for presentations found in the consumable anchor text are: animated video, comic strip/storyboard, or social media character profile. Teachers can structure authentic presentation opportunities—to the whole class, another class, to parents or videotape presentations—and upload them to the school website. Students who are listening jot down two or more new ideas they heard and one question they would like to ask the presenter.
• In Unit 7, the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project asks students to compare and contrast one of the communities from the texts with the students’ own community. The students need to answer the following guiding questions, “Based on the unit texts and your research, how is your community the same as and different from the one in the unit text? What evidence from the unit text and your research shows how the two communities are alike and how they are different? In what ways does your community reflect the people who live there?” The additional resources provide a student and teacher rubric which include the following topics: content, presentation, effort and collaboration.
• In Unit 9, the Culminating Research and Inquiry Project asks students to research two businesses that provided goods or services, one from the texts and one of their own choosing, and deliver a presentation on the businesses. In Week 3, Mini-Lesson 9, Extended Read 2, students answer the following prompt during Constructive Conversations, “How is the process of making and selling marmalade similar to the process of selling goods at a farmers’ market? How is it different? Cite evidence from both ‘Let It Grow: The Booming Business of Farmers’ Markets’ and ‘From Fruit to Jam: A Tasty List of Choices’ to support your answer.” Possible responses are provided for the teacher, and the Teacher’s Resource states, “Observe their conversations to determine the level of support students may need. Refer to Reinforce or Reaffirm the Strategy to provide additional support or extend a challenge.” This will help the teacher determine if students are prepared for the culminating task.
• In Unit 10, the Research and Inquiry Project is to examine ways people use science in their daily lives. Students can work individually or with a group to select a research focus, find relevant information from the unit, and identify and evaluate additional sources. Three guiding questions are provided and must be included in the presentations. Students use a rubric when planning their presentation and the teacher also uses a rubric when evaluating presentations. The rubrics measure content, presentation, and effort and collaboration. Suggested ideas for presentations found in the consumable anchor text are podcast, photo collage, biographical article, or a graphic story. Teachers can structure authentic presentation opportunities—to the whole class, another class, to parents or videotape presentations—and upload them to the school website. Students who are listening jot down two or more new ideas they heard and one question they would like to ask the presenter.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 2e.

Materials provide teacher guidance outlining a cohesive year long component that builds students’ academic vocabulary and supports building knowledge. The Additional Resources section provides routines for vocabulary instruction. Each unit has a Strategies and Skills page which lists both the vocabulary content and the week it is introduced, practiced, and whether or not it will be assessed. The Vocabulary Development resource in the Teacher’s Resource lists General Academic and Domain-Specific vocabulary in each unit which is related to the texts within the unit. Vocabulary for speaking and listening is listed, as well as literary terms used throughout the unit. Students have an opportunity to use some vocabulary multiple times throughout the unit, both in the text and out of the text. However, very few words repeat across texts. Some vocabulary appears in multiple texts, although it is not always clear when that occurs and it is not brought to the students’ attention as a mechanism for building knowledge and expertise on topics. There is no documentation or examples of where vocabulary is found in multiple texts. Vocabulary is listed under one heading in the Vocabulary Development resource, making it a challenge for teachers to know when vocabulary words appear and are targeted multiple times. Student vocabulary tasks do not repeat in context or across multiple texts. Students do have opportunities to learn vocabulary in their reading, speaking and listening although not all words are included in those tasks.

Though some vocabulary is repeated in contexts (before texts, in texts, etc.), there is no evidence of vocabulary being repeated across texts. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• On the Vocabulary Development page in the Teacher’s Resource, under the General Academic and Domain-Specific word list which lists text titles, none of the words are denoted as repeating across texts.
• In Unit 6, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 4, Short Read 1, students use strategies to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. The words in this section are General Academic vocabulary from “Addison and Rocky.” Students have already read the text prior to this lesson. The teacher models how to determine the meaning of lively by using context clues in the text. The Teacher’s Resource gives the following directions for Guided Practice, “Have students reread paragraph 2–7 of ‘Addison and Rocky’ and use context clues and/or illustrations to figure out the meaning of the words Pomeranian, whimpering, and piteously. Have students annotate context clues and jot the meaning of each word in the margins. Have partners discuss their definitions. Invite volunteers to share their definitions with the group.” Students can then use dictionaries to help them refine definitions.
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 1, the teacher displays the Domain-Specific vocabulary words economics, agriculture, consumer, and producer during the class discussion of the Unit 9 video. The teacher invites volunteers to define these terms. This list does not include the words goods and services which are also listed as Domain-Specific vocabulary words. The materials include a Developing Vocabulary Using Routines statement in a box on the bottom right of the page. Teacher guidance reminds them to use the provided routine for direct instruction of new vocabulary words. Additional teacher guidance notes that these words can be found on page 8 and routines can be located in the Additional Resources section. Teacher directions state, “After reading, extend vocabulary learning using the Academic Vocabulary Routine as well as having students complete the weekly ‘Build Vocabulary in Texts for Close Reading'.” This task during Week 1 includes four General Academic words out of the 18 listed for the week; the task does not include any of the Domain-Specific words. In Mini-Lesson 10, students circle unfamiliar vocabulary but no specific words are listed or discussed.
• In Unit 10, Week 1, students read “Poems of Movement” and “What Makes Things Move.” The General Academic and Domain-Specific vocabulary is listed on the Vocabulary Development page in the Teacher’s Resource. Motion and force are listed as vocabulary terms under “Poems of Movement.” These words are also in “What Makes Things Move.” These terms also come up in the Build Reflect Write section of the E-book Forces and Interactions. Question 3 under the Write: Use Text Evidence section says, “How can the explanation of forces on soccer balls in Short Read 2 be applied to the baseball and basketball poems in Short Read 1? Cite text evidence to support your answer.” The Domain-Specific word force appears throughout multiple texts and in questions related to the texts.

Students are supported to accelerate vocabulary learning with vocabulary in their reading, speaking, and writing tasks. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• At the end of each unit, an Additional Resources section provides detailed guidance for the Vocabulary Routine, Define/Example/Ask (AR4). Teachers use this routine to introduce new words. Step 1: Define. The teacher provides a student-friendly definition of the word. Step 2: Example. The words are used in a sentence. Step 3: Ask. The teacher asks a question requiring students to use the word in their example. The Additional Resources includes another Vocabulary Routine (AR5). This routine can be used to introduce new words and extend tasks following the initial Define/Example/Ask routine. Step 1: Introduce the Word. The teacher introduces features of the word such as a student-friendly definition, synonym, various word forms of the word and word partners and/or sentences (compare/contrast). Step 2: Verbal Practice. Discuss the word, use sentence frames, and share favorite ideas to complete the frame. Step 3: Written Practice. Students use the word in writing through Collaborate, Your Turn, Be an Academic Author, or Writing an Academic Paragraph.
• In Unit 1, Build Reflect Write, in the consumable anchor text one of the General-Academic Tier 2 words is survive. During Build Knowledge, students list details on a chart about how living things survive in their environment. During Speaking and Listening, students reflect on the Essential Question, “How do living things survive in their environment?” based on the unit’s texts.
• In Unit 2, under Unit Resources for Responsive Teaching, the Vocabulary Development section provides vocabulary to be used during Speaking and Listening and when discussing reading selections. The section also includes General Academic and Domain-Specific vocabulary. For example, the Vocabulary Development section includes the following literary terms: fable, myth, folktale, plot, rising action, climax, and resolution.
• In Unit 7, Build Reflect Write, on page 19 of the consumable anchor text, students use strategies learned to find meaning and write a sentence for the words composer, outdoorsy, plenty and transform from “All Kinds of Communities”.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 7, Short Read 1, students work with metaphors. The teacher begins by setting the purpose and reminding students that they worked with metaphors in Unit 7. The teacher reminds students that “a metaphor is a type of nonliteral language that makes a direct comparison between two correlated things.” The students work with a partner to answer the following prompt, “How does the author’s use of metaphor in lines 8–17 help you create mental images of what the author is describing?” During Apply Understanding, students go to a previously read text to determine a metaphor. The use of the literary term metaphors is used multiple times throughout instruction and during other units in the year.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 2f.

Materials include writing instruction aligned to the standards for the grade level, and writing instruction spans the whole school year. Each unit contains a unit-long process writing and multiple on-demand writing prompts. The instructional materials provide for teacher modeling of the process writing during Week 1; in Weeks 2 and 3, students work through the processes of brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, evaluating their project using a provided rubric, and publishing their final draft. There are multiple resources provided for the teacher including mentor texts, writing checklists, anchor charts, modeling scripts, and K-6 writing plans found within the Program Support. The Writing Plans include the Knowledge Strand, the Writing Mini-Lesson focus, and other text-based writing tasks. Within the writing lessons, the pacing is inconsistent and some parts are missing within units. Editing and publishing often occur on the same day.

Writing instruction supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. Beginning-of-year examples include:

• In Unit 1, Week 1, there are six writing focused Mini-Lessons. During each mini-lesson, the teacher models the process, students practice during Guided Practice and independent writing time. Students respond to process questions in the earlier Mini-Lessons. Week 2 has six writing focused mini-lessons where students begin planning their own informative/explanatory essay based on two sources, “Animal Coverings” and a video, “Facts About Fur.” In Mini-Lesson 3, the teacher models how to read and analyze a prompt. During independent writing, students write an answer to the following question, “What steps are involved in writing an informative/explanatory essay?” In Mini-Lessons 6-9 students gather information. In Mini-Lesson 11, the teacher models how to plan writing by separating information into four categories, introduction, first paragraph, second paragraph and conclusion. Students continue planning their essays using their note-taking guides. In Week 3, students begin to write their essays. In Mini-Lesson 10, students draft, revise, edit watching for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. In Mini-Lesson 12, using a rubric, students evaluate and reflect on their writing.
• In Unit 2, students write an opinion essay. In Unit 2, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 3, Writing to a Text-Based Prompt, the students begin the writing process. The materials provide the Mentor Writing Prompt as well as the Mentor Opinion Essay. The teacher uses the Mentor Opinion Essay to model how to respond to the prompt. Throughout Week 1, the teacher does a lot of modeling to help students outline and begin writing their Opinion Essay. By Week 3, Mini-Lesson 3, Writing to a Text-Based Prompt students are writing the introduction of their opinion piece, after the teacher models how to write an introduction.

Middle-of-year examples include:

• In Unit 6, students review writing narratives, informative/explanatory, and opinion responses to a prompt. In Unit 6, Week 1, students practice writing narrative by writing the ending to the mentor source text, “An Adventure on My New Bike.” In Mini-Lesson 3, 6, and 9 students work to fill out charts to help them with their writing. In Mini-Lesson 11, Writing to a Text-Based Prompt, students begin drafting their response. The teacher reads aloud a model ending and models how he/she would go about creating the ending to the narrative. Students then use their charts and the Narrative Writing Checklist to draft their ending to the narrative prompt.
• In Unit 7, students write historical fiction. In Week 1, the teacher models the steps, and students learn the features of historical fiction writing. Students brainstorm and finalize their idea for their setting and use a planning guide to plan the beginning, middle, and end of their story. In Week 2, students begin drafting their stories. Students develop characters, plot, and add dialogue. In Mini-Lesson 11, students begin drafting a conclusion. In Week 3, students complete the draft process and begin working to revise and edit, focusing on adding vivid details, temporal words and phrases, and realistic dialogue. In Mini-Lesson 12, students create a title and use technology to publish their stories.

End-of-year examples include:

• In Unit 9, the writing focus is research multimedia presentation on a topic or activity of the student’s choice. In Week 1, the teacher models features and functions of a multimedia presentation, and students learn by working with partners and individually using charts and guides. Partners also work together to brainstorm topics, draft a list of materials and steps in their procedure, and complete planning guides. In Week 2, when storyboards are complete, students begin drafting their title, introduction, materials list, steps, and concluding statement using presentation software or chart paper. In Mini-Lesson 11, students gather photographs to support their presentation. In Week 3, students finish drafting and begin revising and editing. In Mini-Lesson 12, students evaluate and reflect on their work using a rubric.
• In Unit 10, students write a haiku. Week 1 focuses on understanding what a haiku is and brainstorming ideas for a topic for a haiku. The teacher starts most mini-lessons out by modeling and then provides time for students to work independently. For example, in Week 1, Mini-Lesson 9, Process Writing, the teacher models how to brainstorm ideas for a haiku based on seasons. During Prepare for Independent Writing, the teacher’s materials direct, “Tell students that during independent writing time, you would like them to continue brainstorming ideas for their own haiku and add them to their Brainstorming Chart.” In Week 2, students draft, revise, edit, and publish their haiku.

Instructional materials include well-designed lesson plans, models, and protocols for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• K-6 Writing Plans are found under the Program Support heading in the online materials. Within this tab, each unit is listed along with the Knowledge Strand, the Writing Mini-Lesson focus, and Other Text-Based Writing Tasks. Other Text-Based Writing Tasks include: daily text annotation, individual Apply Understanding activities, Build Knowledge tasks which require students to complete graphic organizers, Write: Use Text Evidence in which students answer questions, writing in response to Small-Group Reading and Culminating Task writing.
• Pacing Options are available in the Teacher’s Resource to help teachers plan for a 60-minute Writing and Grammar block within a 150-minute Literacy block or a 50-minute Writing and Grammar block within a 120-minute Literacy block or a 40-minute Writing and Grammar block within a 90-minute Literacy block.
• Each unit in the Teacher’s Resource has a Strategies and Skills page stating the Writing focus, a newly introduced strategy or skill, or a previously taught strategy or skill. If the strategy or skill is assessed on the Unit Assessment, a notation is made in this section.
• Prior to each week’s Mini-Lessons in the Teacher’s Resource, Learning Goals are listed for the week followed by a Comprehensive Literacy Planner detailing how Mini-Lessons fit into each day.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 3, Writing to a Text-Based Prompt, students write a narrative journal entry. The Teacher’s Resource gives the teacher an example of how they can model responding to the prompt for the class. The Additional Materials include the mentor writing prompt, the mentor text, analyze mentor text chart, and a narrative journal entries anchor chart example.
• In Unit 8, Week 1, Mini-Lesson 3, Process Writing, students begin brainstorming for their research project. The Teacher’s Resource provides an example of how the teacher can model how to brainstorm a topic that is interesting to the readers as well as something that can be researched. The Additional Materials include a research project writing checklist and research project anchor chart for the teacher to reference.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations of Indicator 2g.

Each unit contains a three-week Culminating Research and Inquiry Project connected to the unit knowledge strand. The project requires additional student research on the topic and extends student learning. The short projects in the materials are discussions or related directly to the long research projects. Instructional materials provide limited support for teachers in implementing projects that develop students’ knowledge on a topic via provided resources. The materials provide rubrics for each of the Culminating Research and Inquiry Projects, as well as a pacing guide that includes Student Goals and Teacher Support. The instructional materials provide some resources and guides via Mini-Lessons, but the Mini-Lessons lack guidance in employing tasks needed to complete the Research and Inquiry Project.

The Research and Inquiry Project guidance establishes the expectation that students will complete the work, but no specific guidance is provided detailing how this work should happen. The Explore section provides the teacher with some ways to assist students, if needed, as well a list of texts and ideas to help students brainstorm ideas for their projects. Materials provide opportunities for students to apply Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language skills to synthesize and analyze their grade-level readings. Each Culminating Research and Inquiry Project requires students to reference a text from the unit, as well as other outside resources. Students always present projects to the class. The Teacher’s Resource includes presentation expectations along with a rubric to guide both the students and the teacher.

Students have some opportunities to engage in a variety of research activities and projects across grades and grade bands. Each Research and Inquiry project contains the same components across the year: an introduction including three guiding questions (one connected to the unit’s Essential Question, one connected to the unit’s Enduring Understanding, and one about how the knowledge gained through the research helped the student to better understand the topic or them), an exploration section with a few suggested texts, suggestions for the presentation, and a pacing chart with student goals and teacher resources. The teacher and student support is not specific and frequently repeats, verbatim, across units: “Before students conduct their own research, model how to reread and extract information from a unit text. Then model choosing, evaluating, and citing another information source that will help you answer the guiding questions.”

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students research animal survival. The research introduction states, “In this unit, you will choose an animal discussed in one or more of our unit texts. Your assignment will be to combine information from those texts with information from additional sources to create and deliver a presentation that demonstrates your knowledge.” Student presentations should answer the following questions:
• “Based on the unit texts and your research, what did you learn about each author’s life, work, and achievements? (Essential Question)
• How did the knowledge you gained through research add to your understanding of each author and his or her work? (text evidence, cross-text analysis)
• What did you learn about making choices from the characters in these authors’ stories? (Enduring Understanding)”
• In Unit 3, the Research and Inquiry Project focuses on learning about local government. Students respond to the following prompt: “People don’t have to go to Washington, D.C., to learn about the government. No matter where they live, there is a local government at work.” Students then research to learn about the local workers and the services offered in the area in which they live. The remainder of the questions and supports are the same as previous units with the exception of the Essential Question and Enduring Understanding.
• In Unit 5, the Research and Inquiry Project focus is technological innovations. Again, the questions focus on how the topic has made life better for others and how looking at problems in new ways is beneficial. The balance of the questions and supports are the same as previous units with the exception of the Essential Question and Enduring Understanding.
• In Unit 7, students “compare and contrast one of the communities featured in the unit texts” with the student’s own community. The directions follow the same formula as other units with a reminder to use texts from the unit as well as “other additional resources” (not provided). Skills, targets, and teacher directions remain the same as other units.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of Indicator 2h.

The program includes a variety of built-in supports/scaffolds to foster independence. The anchor texts include Short Reads and Extended Reads. Students annotate and take notes as they read and reread with both teacher modeling, scaffolding, and independent reading. Scaffolds and supports include Tips of Annotation, Personal Learning Goals, Skill and Strategy Objectives, Knowledge Focus, Essential Question, and Build/Reflect/Write activities. Methods for scaffolding the first read are located in the sidebar. Small Group Reading groups are organized using leveled texts. There is a proposed schedule for independent reading which includes a proposed literacy block. The proposed literacy block includes a time for independent reading within the reading/word study section. Suggestions for tracking independent reading, such as a Reading Log, are located in the Program Support in the Managing Your Independent Reading Program, but no tracking examples are included in the materials. Student reading materials span a wide range of texts and reading levels. There is a suggestion for reading in and outside of class but no accountability exists for outside of class reading.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Students have opportunities to read independently during Small-Group Reading time. Materials include various means of student accountability including:
• A Reading Log with book title, author, genre, date completed, date abandoned
• Reading response forms for student summary
• Prompts for reading response journal: This part reminds me of when…, I predice...I think...I wonder...As I read, I thought about…
• Reading Response Ideas: Connect the event or characters in the book to your own life. Express the central problem in the story. Analyze one character’s behavior.
• Reading Survey: Do you like to read? Why or Why not? What is your favorite book? Where do you read?
• Independent Reading: What’s working? What needs work?