6th Grade - Gateway 1

The Course 1 (Grade 6) materials meet the expectation that anchor texts are of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading. The texts are authentic and timeless and include a mix of classic and contemporary selections written by both male and female authors. Topics are relevant to students’ lives and experiences; texts are worthy of students’ time and attention to support the thematic focus of the units, exposing students to a variety of text types/genres. The texts include excerpts from novels, nonfiction works, poetry, magazine, journal articles, memoirs, essays, and biographies. They are rich in vocabulary and structure and align well with content areas such as science and social studies appropriate to Grade 6. Examples of anchor texts that meet the criteria include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students read the short story, “Tuesday of the Other June” by Norma Fox Mazer. The text is engaging; written about topics with which students can easily associate. The text is thought-provoking, teaches a lesson, and contains rich and descriptive language.
• In Unit 2, students read an excerpt from the autobiography, The Life You Imagine by Derek Jeter with Jack Curry. The text focuses on a well-known athlete who chased his dreams and achieved them despite challenges. The content is engaging and instructive for students. The text connects well with the age group and provides a challenging read.
• In Unit 5, students read the poem “City” by Langston Hughes. This short poem contains rich figurative language. It is worthy of students’ time and attention in analysis.
• In Unit 7, students read the article “New Discoveries in Ancient Egypt” by Bryan Brown. This article from Junior Scholastic is engaging and age-appropriate. It correlates well with sixth grade social studies topics and would be of high interest to students.
  

The Course 1 (Grade 6) materials meet the expectation that texts reflect a distribution of types and genres required by the standards.  The texts include a variety of informational and literary texts so students are exposed to different modes of writing. A sample of text types include short stories, poems, folktales, novel excerpts, articles, essays, biographies, graphic novels, speeches, and memoirs.

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

• Unit 1:  “Tuesday of the Other June,”a short story by Norma Fox Mazer
• Unit 5:  “City,” a poem Langston Hughes
• Unit 7: “Tale of a Wealthy Man,” a folktale of the Togo people

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

• Unit 1: “Dirk the Protector,” an excerpt from the memoir My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen
• Unit 2: From Dreams of My Father, a memoir by Barack Obama
• Unit 3: “Talking About World Wonders,” and interview by Joy Nolan
• Unit 5: from Reading Lolita in Tehran, a memoir by Azar Nafisi
• Unit 6: “Curse of the Pharoahs,” historical nonfiction by Zahi Hawass

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.

Throughout Code X, students engage in a range and volume of texts to achieve grade level reading. The materials facilitate reading using the range of texts to help students build knowledge, vocabulary, and proficiency with reading selections of varying lengths and genres. The texts range in complexity and Lexile from at grade level to above grade level that allow students to read at both their independent level as well as stretching to texts above grade level with support. Texts provided also span from classic literature and canonical texts to contemporary texts written and published in the last ten years. Each unit contains two Unit texts and one or more additional (optional) texts for further study of theme or topic. Each reading is designed to be taught within a typical 45-50 minute class period, but the materials do offer some guidance for a 90 minute block. The unit texts are to be used daily via multiple close readings, discussions, and writings about the literature. There is a Literature Circle option to complement the units. These Literature Circle texts are “Leveled” books that students choose. To help students select books for Literature Circles, teachers are encouraged to take into consideration each student’s On Demand Writing responses, conferences, and Lexile measures. Students are to have 4-8 monthly Literature Circle meetings during each unit or before or after each unit. Additionally, teachers can provide “Accountable Independent Reading Books” that are also leveled. With these, students use Daily Reading Logs and H.O.T. resources and Reading Counts Quizzes. The materials offer grade level novel studies that are to be completed after Units 3 and 7. Across the units, text types include personal essays, news articles, short stories, excerpts from novels, memoirs, poems, biography excerpts, and folktales. In the independent reading section at the end of each unit, there are additional titles provided in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, novels, films, TV, websites, and magazines. There is a strong emphasis on nonfiction

Examples of anchor and supporting texts that provide opportunities to achieve grade level proficiency include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students read “Tuesdays of the Other June” by Norma Fox Mazer. This is a short story with a Quantitative Lexile of 750 and overall Text Complexity of Complex 2. The next text is the poem, “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou, with no (NP) Quantitative Lexile level, but is rated Moderate 2 in overall Text Complexity. The third text “Dirk the Protector” by Gary Paulsen is an excerpt from the memoir with a Quantitative Lexile of 950 and overall Text Complexity of Moderate 1. For the first reading, the teacher is instructed to use the Reading Routine to read the entire text aloud or ask students to read in pairs or independently. In the second reading, the teacher is to model close reading, and close reading questions are embedded in the margins of the text.
• In Unit 4, the first anchor text is Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas, which is an excerpt from a memoir with a Quantitative Lexile of 830 and an overall Text Complexity of Complex 1. Next, students read “Of Beetles and Angels” by Mawi Asgedom, an excerpt from a memoir with Quantitative Lexile of 960 and overall Text Complexity of Complex 1. The third text is “1905: Einstein’s Miracle Year” by John Schwartz, a science article with a Quantitative Lexile of 1280 and overall Text Complexity of Moderate 2. The fourth text is an excerpt from Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York 1880-1924 by Deborah Hopkinson with a Quantitative Lexile of 970 and overall Text Complexity of Moderate 1. First and second readings follow the same pattern as Unit 1.
• In Unit 7, the first text is “Tale of a Wealthy Man,” a folktale of the Togo people by Dianne Stewart with a Quantitative Lexile of 950 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 2. The second text is  “If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking” by Emily Dickinson, a poem with no (NP) Quantitative Lexile level and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 1. The third text is an excerpt from Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa That Brought Them Together by Herb Shoveller with a Quantitative Lexile of 800 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 1. Finally, the fourth text is a book excerpt from Marina Silva: Defending Rainforest Communities in Brazil by Ziporah Hildebrandt with a Quantitative Lexile of 860 and an overall Text Complexity of Moderate 1.
• In each grade, students read two full-length novels to build reading volume and stamina. For 6th grade, these novels are Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt and  I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly by Joyce Hansen. The novel topics are different from the unit texts, which allows students to practice close reading skills with new content.

The Course 1 (Grade 6) materials meet the expectations that the majority of questions and tasks are text-dependent or text-specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text). The student materials contain close reading questions in the margins of each anchor text. These close reading questions are text-specific, directing students to key areas of the text, often naming paragraphs. Questions are identified by skill, such as key ideas and details, academic vocabulary, writing, and text structure. After the reading selection, students complete a scaffolded exercise called “Identify Evidence,” during which they must provide text evidence and an explanation that supports a question connected to the text. Students fill out a chart with the headings, evidence, source, page, and explanation. In most of the charts, there is some modeling in the evidence category, and then students have to find additional evidence on their own. The next exercise is called “Key Ideas and Details.” Here, students are presented with additional open-ended, text-dependent questions. Finally, there is a section of “Craft and Structure” questions. Teacher materials provide support for planning and implementation by providing exemplar answers as well as scripted instruction for the teacher to use.

Examples of the text-dependent questions  include, but are not limited to:

In Unit 2, students read an excerpt from The Life You Imagine by Derek Jeter with Jack Curry and answer text-dependent questions. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• While reading, students answer text-dependent questions found in the margin of the student edition: “Why does the author use the metaphor twigs to describe his arms and legs in paragraph 5? Why did Jeter feel envious in paragraph 5? Find evidence that supports your answer. Identify where Jeter uses cause and effect in paragraphs 5 and 6. How does this strategy help the reader understand Jeter’s goal?”
• In the “Identify Evidence” activity, students are presented with this task: “Jeter uses a variety of strategies to describe his early experiences, challenges and goals. How does he illustrate and elaborate on his experiences using these strategies?” Students are instructed to “record important details for the text that show Jeter’s experiences, challenges and goals.” Students complete a chart including an explanation for each piece of evidence.
• Additional text-dependent questions are found in the “Key Ideas and Details” and “Craft and Structure” sections such as: “List 3 key individuals that Jeter introduces in this excerpt. Explain why each individual is important to the central idea. How does Jeter begin this excerpt from his biography. What details does Jeter include to illustrate and support the main idea?”

In Unit 3, there are several magazine articles; each is accompanied by text-dependent questions in the margin while students read.  Some of the questions focus on explicit understanding of the text while others focus on inferencing.

Examples of questions that focus on explicit understanding include, but are not limited to:

• In the article, “World’s Wonders, Worn Down?," one “Text Structure” question is “Identify the heading and two subheadings on this page, what does each one tell you?”
• In the article, “How to Save the Taj Mahal?,” the “Academic Vocabulary” question is “Describe what is causing the white marble to ‘deteriorate’ in paragraph 4.  Why is this deterioration described as a ‘casualty’?”
• In the article, “The Rise and Fall of China’s Great Wall: The Race to Save a World Treasure,” the “Key Ideas and Details” question asks “How did the Ming Dynasty make the wall a more permanent and effective structure?”

Examples of questions in which students are asked to infer include, but are not limited to:

• In the article, “World’s Wonders, Worn Down?,” the “Academic Vocabulary” question asks “What can you infer about the top contenders for the New Seven wonders based on the author’s use of fate in paragraph 3?”
• In the article, “How to Save the Taj Mahal?,” the “Text Structure” question is “Why does the author shift away from the descriptions of his personal journey in paragraph 4?”

In Unit 4, students read Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas. Examples of text-dependent questions include, but are not limited to:

• Students encounter text dependent questions in the margin such as: “Describe two details about Iran that Americans were mistaken about according to the author. How does the author’s tone change in paragraph 7? Use text details to support your analysis. How does Dumas react to her classmates’ curiosity? Compose an answer using at least two examples from the text.”
• In the “Identify Evidence” activity after reading, students are presented with this task: ”Reread the excerpt from ‘Funny in Farsi,’ identifying the strategies Dumas uses to write about her early experiences and her perspective on America. How does she introduce and describe individuals, events and ideas?” Students fill out a chart with these details, explaining how these events reveal the author’s perspective.
• Additional text dependent questions are found in the “Key Ideas and Details” and “Craft and Structure” sections such as: “What is the central idea of the text? Use evidence. Describe the different perspectives in paragraphs 5 and 6. What is Dumas’ conclusion about the Americans she met when she immigrated?”

In Unit 7, students read “Tale of a Wealthy Man,” a folktale of the Togo People. Examples of text-dependent questions include, but are not limited to:

• Students encounter text-dependent questions in the margin such as: “Describe Kaddo’s character. Which words and phrases reveal his characteristics? How do the villagers react to Kaddo’s words? Cite examples from the text that support your answer. Review paragraphs 7-13. Why does the folktale repeat the name Kaddo so often?”
• In the “Identify Evidence” section, students are presented with this task: “Reread ‘Tale of a Wealthy Man’ identifying the values that the folktale describes and explains.” Students complete a chart with a value, the individual, and text support to support.
• Additional text-dependent questions are found in the “Key Ideas and Details” and “Craft and Structure” sections, including: “List two character traits that describe Sogole. For each trait provide a quote. What is the central conflict in the folktale? What is the turning point? How does Kaddo’s death support the purpose of the folktale?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for having sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks that build to a culminating task that integrates skills (may be writing, speaking, or a combination). In addition to this, the speaking and listening task at the end of every unit is practice for the culminating writing task linked to the texts in the units. Students may present speeches or debates in the Collaborate and Present section of each unit, and they perform some research tasks (after reading Texts 3 and 4).

Throughout each unit, speaking and writing tasks include questions that focus on key ideas and details and craft and structure in texts. These questions require short, on-demand written responses. Performance Tasks are presented in a variety of modes (argumentative, informative, literary analysis, fictional narrative/short story). The culminating tasks and activities often ask students to compare/contrast texts that have been presented as sets or series, or to synthesize the meaning, themes, or central ideas of the text sets. Overall, the culminating activities and the tasks and activities that lead to them allow students the opportunity to demonstrate what they know using both writing and speaking skills.

Examples of sequenced questions and tasks that build to a culminating task include, but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, the Writing Performance Task prompts students to write a short story in which a character from one of the two texts faces another challenging experience. The anchor texts are a short story, “Tuesday of the Other June” by Norma Fox Mazer, and a poem, “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou. Prior to completing the Performance Task, the Collaborate and Present speaking task has students work in small groups to identify examples and write a two-minute speech about how June and the Other June interact with each other throughout “Tuesday of the Other June.” Questions and tasks included with the reading of the short story include:

• What details does Mazer include to show that the conflict between June and the Other June is ongoing?
• Synthesize the details in paragraphs 52-54 and describe how June changes once swimming classes are over.
• What information from earlier in the story explains why June doesn’t tell her mother about the Other June?
• The Identify Evidence task asks students to specifically highlight “examples and events that Mazer offers to describe June’s challenging experiences with the Other June."
• The tasks students complete in the Collaborate and Present directly correlate with the Performance Task at the end of the unit as it has students analyze how the author creates a challenging experience for the character. Students will apply this knowledge to their own writing as they write a short story about a challenging experience.
  

In Unit 3, the Writing Performance Task prompt states,“Make an argument for the value of preserving one of the world wonders and support your claim with clear reasons and evidence.” The anchor texts for this unit are “World Wonders, Worn Down?” by Cody Crane and an excerpt from How to Save the Taj Mahal by Jeffrey Bartholet. Through model texts and analysis of the texts, students are given many opportunities to support their writing of an argumentative essay.

Questions and tasks while reading the selections include:

• In the Identify Evidence section, students fill out a graphic organizer identifying the wonder, problem, solution, and argument for saving using the text, “World Wonders, Worn Down?”.
• In the Read the Model section, students read the argumentative essay, “Preserve the Great Wall for Future Generations” by Alicia Milos, and use a graphic organizer to identify parts of the argument such as introduction, thesis, reasons and evidence, and the conclusion.
• In the Writing Performance Task, students complete graphic organizers and step-by-step tasks to support writing an argumentative essay.

In Unit 4, the Writing Performance Task is an informative essay: “Write an essay to compare and contrast the authors’ purposes and perspectives, and explain the strategies they use in their writing.” Students read an excerpt from Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas and an excerpt from Of Beetles & Angels by Mawi Asgedom. The Collaborate and Present task builds to the Performance Task by having students evaluate strategies used in these memoirs: “work with a partner to plan and write a two-minute speech about the effectiveness of humor or reflection in either Dumas’s or Asgedom’s memoir.” Questions while reading the texts focus students' thinking on the authors' purposes, perspectives and strategies. They include:

• What does the author want the reader to know about her experience coming to America? Explain your answer.
• Is Dumas’s overall opinion of America positive or negative? Explain your answer and elaborate with one or two supporting details.
• In what way do the two memoirs differ in their purposes?
• How does Dumas react to her classmates’ curiosity? Compose an answer using at least two examples from the text.
• What details does the author include in paragraphs 16 and 17 to support the importance of helping others?

In Unit 6, the Writing Performance Task is an informational essay: “Compare and contrast how the writers convey the historical importance of recent discoveries, and show how the writers support their perspectives.” As students read “New Discoveries in Ancient Egypt” and an excerpt from Curse of the Pharaohs, they focus on the authors’ perspectives on why the discoveries are important and how each author conveys the historical importance of the discoveries. Questions and tasks while reading the texts include:

• What important information about the grave site a Abydos does the author save for the last section? What might his purpose have been in doing so?
• List three details that tell about the historical context for what was found at the graveyard of Abydos. Explain why each detail is important to the central idea.
• Determine the author’s perspective on archaeologists. Why might he be biased in his assessment?
• Use Hawass’s perspective to analyze why learning about history matters. Why would Hawass think it’s important to study ancient culture? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

Students have multiple opportunities over the school year to demonstrate what they are reading and researching through varied speaking and listening opportunities in tasks labeled Close Reads, Identify Evidence, Key Idea and Details, Craft and Structure, Collaborate and Present tasks, Writing tasks, and Extended Reading instruction. Students are provided opportunities to work with partners, small groups, and large groups; to practice sharing information they have summarized and synthesized; and to present research they have conducted individually and/or in groups.

Each unit includes a speaking and listening task in which students demonstrate comprehension of the text at hand. Discussions, including Socratic Seminars, are tied to reading selections that require students to marshal evidence from the texts and sources. Teacher guidance includes routines and sentence frames to guide students in increasing skills over the year. All of the speaking and listening opportunities throughout the text require students to go back into the text or to utilize their understanding from the text to build upon it through outside research in order to participate in the small-group, pair, and whole-group speaking activities.

Examples of speaking and listening activities that are connected to what students are reading and/or researching include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, after reading the short story “Tuesday of the Other June” by Norma Fox Mazer, students work in small groups to identify and write a two-minute speech about how June and Other June interact with each other throughout the text. Students are given questions to consider as they examine examples of how the characters interacted in the story and discuss why these examples are effective. Students use a presentation checklist to self-evaluate their presentation skills. Teacher guidance includes sentence frames to facilitate partner work using the Think (Write)-Pair-Share routine.
• In Unit 3, after reading from the magazine article “How to Save the Taj Mahal?” by Jeffrey Bartholet, students work with a partner to gather evidence supporting an assigned stance on the issue of whether or not to save the Taj Mahal. Then, they debate a team assigned to the opposing stance. Students are instructed to complete a chart with evidence, claim, and counterclaim and discuss with their partner why their evidence is strong. Teacher guidance includes sentence frames to facilitate partner work using the Think (Write) Pair Share routine.
• In Unit 4, while working with a partner, students plan and write a two-minute speech about the effectiveness of humor or reflection in either Dumas’ or Asgedom’s memoir. In the Student Edition, students are provided a chart requiring examples of humor or reflection from the text and their thoughts on the effectiveness to support their discussion while planning for the body of their speech.
• In Unit 6, after reading an excerpt from the novel, Curse of the Pharaohs by Zahi Hawass, students work in groups to create a website, PowerPoint, or poster giving more information about the tomb of Inty-Shedu. They must include an annotated map, relevant images, and informational captions. Students are provided a “Collaborate and Present Checklist” to help guide them in comprehension and collaboration, evidence and reasoning, and presentation of knowledge and ideas.
• In Unit 7, after reading the Togo folktale, “Tale of a Wealthy Man” retold by Dianne Stewart, students work in a group to choose a scene from the story and create a short skit exaggerating and dramatizing the relationships between the characters. They consider questions: “Which scenes best show how people relate to each other? Which characters do you need in order to create your skit? What multimedia elements will you include in your skit?” Students use a presentation checklist to self-evaluate their presentation skills. Teacher guidance includes sentence frames to facilitate group work.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

A range of writing activities and tasks are provided with writing instruction, including shorter, on-demand writing routines to help students build stamina and increase rigor that lead to extended writing tasks. There are a variety of short, on-demand writing responses within texts and text sets. Occasionally, the on-demand writing occurs as a Wrap-Up question and is used to synthesize key content-area ideas. The Wrap-Up responses connect to one or more selections in the text sets. The written responses throughout the units vary in mode and do occasionally offer opportunities for revision and peer feedback.The materials also include a specific Writing Process Routine protocol that is used in each unit’s writing Performance Task and includes purpose, description of the routine, and implementation support. The student materials include models, prewriting graphic organizers, peer review rubrics to revise and edit, and steps to publish. Digital resources are used in both the publishing step of the extended writing and in some of the writing tasks.

Examples of process writing tasks and instruction include, but are not limited to:

• The Performance Task section in each unit starts with Analyze the Model in which students are provided a model of the writing task and a process to analyze how the model fulfills the assignment. After this step, they are walked through a multi-stepped process to write the task:
• Step 1 - Generate Ideas: students are provided with a graphic organizer that fits the needs of the task and supports providing information for the writing.
• Step 2 -- Organize Ideas: students are provided with a graphic organizer to help them organize the ideas specific to the task they are writing.
• Step 3 -- Draft: students are provided with processes to look at Language Study and Conventions Study.
• Step 4 -- Revise and Edit: students are provided with a checklist for both themselves and a partner to read their writing and to provide feedback.
• Step 5 -- Publish
• In Unit 1, the writing Performance Task is a narrative: ”Write a short story in which a character from one of the unit texts faces another challenging experience.” Students "Generate Ideas" while reading and analyzing a model. They"Organize Ideas"using three graphic organizers to outline story elements from the model, generate ideas, and outline their narrative story. Students "Draft"using sentence frames to describe a character, and they use a rubric to "Revise and Edit" with a partner.
• In Unit 5, the writing Performance Task is an argumentative essay: “Choose one writer. Argue which narrative strategies best convey the author’s perspective about the city.” Students "Generate Ideas"reading and analyzing a model argument; they "Organize Ideas" using a graphic organizer to gather evidence and organize ideas; they"draft" by completing a language study to evaluate how claims are defended, and completing sentence frames to help them make and defend their claim. A rubric is provided to "Revise and Edit"their draft with a partner.
• In Unit 7, the writing Performance Task is an informative essay: “In these texts, what techniques are used to describe and explain relationships between individuals and the world?” Students read and analyze a model essay to "Generate Ideas"; they use graphic organizers to gather evidence and "Organize Ideas." To "Draft," they complete a language study in which they choose details that best support, prove, or explain generalizations, and then they apply this skill to create generalized topic or thesis statements supported with specific sentences. A rubric is provided to "Revise and Edit" their draft with a partner.
  

Examples of on-demand instruction include, but are not limited to:

• In the Instructional Routines section of the Teacher Edition, the On Demand Writing Routine provides a four-step frame to support student analysis of a prompt:
• “Analyze the prompt: Provide tasks and sentence frames to help students unpack the writing prompt.  Ask students to orally restate the prompt using the frames below.
• Identify Audience: Determine the audience for this assignment.
• Find Evidence: Select the evidence necessary to address the prompt.
• Write Response: Allow students approximately ten minutes to write their responses.”
• In Unit 1, while reading “Tuesday of the Other June” by Norma Fox Mazer, students use the On Demand Writing Routine to answer questions such as, “Why does June try to ‘slow down time,’ as she describes in paragraphs 35-36? Summarize the internal conflict with which June is struggling.”
• In Unit 5, students read the poems, “Our City” by Francisco X. Alarcon and “Song of the Builders” by Jessie Wilmore Murton, and an excerpt from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. They use the On Demand Writing Routine as they answer questions: “How is Baum’s description of the “dazzling’ city similar to the description Alarcon give in his poem? How does Baum’s description of the workers in paragraph 3 contrast with the workers in ‘Song of the Builders’?”
• In Unit 7, students read “Tale of a Wealthy Man,” a folktale from Africa, and “If I can Stop One Heart From Breaking,” a poem by Emily Dickinson. They use the On Demand Writing Routine to answer questions such as: “What lesson is the folktale supposed to teach? How does the folktale’s final line support the theme? What is the author’s perspective about how people should relate to others? How does she convey her perspective?”
  

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.  

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. Students have the opportunity to write a fictional narrative, four informative essays, and two argumentative essays. At the end of each unit, students complete a writing Performance Task that is tied to the texts that are studied in the respective units. The writing instruction includes skill introduction, practice, application, and refinement, thus supporting students’ literacy development in writing.  

Examples of different types of writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students write a fictional narrative, focusing on character development. They use a character from one of the anchor texts and create a short story in which that character faces another challenging experience.
• In Unit 3, students write an argument for the value of preserving one of the world wonders, supporting their claim with clear reasons and relevant evidence. As students read the texts in this unit, they are prompted to collect evidence that is used later to support their claim in a chart in the “Identify Evidence” exercises.
• In Unit 6, students write an informative essay comparing and contrasting how writers convey the historical importance of recent discoveries. They also explain how each writer supports their own perspective. Students read and analyze a model essay and are provided with graphic organizers to help them gather evidence and plan their essays.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate for the grade level.

Students are offered multiple opportunities across the school year to learn, practice, and apply evidence-based writing in connection with the texts they are reading. Students are asked to provide evidence for all short response and long form writing. Each text is accompanied by close reading questions and an exercise called Identify Evidence, in which students complete a chart answering analysis questions about the text with evidence, source, page number, and explanation. In order to complete the summative Performance Tasks, students revisit one or more texts to find evidence. They complete various tasks that analyze the material and support a claim with evidence.  As students work through units, frames, sentence stems, and other supports are gradually removed, so students move toward independence at the end of the school year.

Examples of opportunities for evidence-based writing include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 2, using either Derek Jeter’s or Barack Obama’s text, students develop a short speech: “Explain the strategies these writers use to convey their experiences, challenges, and goals.” Students use the support of two charts to compare and contrast the writing of the two authors. One example is provided in the first chart to support students. The charts require students to determine a strategy that the author used and find text evidence that illustrates that strategy.
• In Unit 3, students analyze a model argumentative essay and follow the writing process routine using evidence from the texts in the unit.
• In Unit 5, students choose one writer from the unit texts and argue which narrative strategies best convey the author’s perspective about the city. Students use graphic organizers as support to analyze each of the four texts and organize their ideas. The first graphic organizer is Gather Evidence, the second is Organize Ideas in which students support two reasons with text evidence.
• In Unit 7, students read “Tale of a Wealthy Man,” an African folktale. Students answer close reading questions that require evidence: “What lesson is the folktale supposed to teach? How does the folktale’s final line support the theme?” In this unit, there are no sentence frames or examples in the close reading questions that guide students’ writing. In the Identify Evidence section, students fill in a chart with evidence that identifies details that support the themes of the story. The first three themes are provided, the students must determine three more and add text evidence to supports these themes.  In the Performance Task, students make a claim about what techniques are used in the texts to describe and explain relationships between individuals and the world. Students must use text evidence to support their claim and a graphic organizer is provided as support for students while gathering and organizing evidence.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 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 grammar instruction and support are presented in an increasingly sophisticated sequence consistent with the demands of the standards. While grammar and conventions are rarely addressed within the reading instruction, each of the seven units does contain one grammar and conventions lesson per unit. The conventions lesson is taught prior to and is linked to the culminating Performance Task, and the Performance Task rubric often references the grammar lesson.  Throughout the year, previous grammar lessons are revisited in later grammar lessons. The Teacher Edition includes instructions to guide students through conventions lessons. These instructions often refer to additional resources that are only found in the online edition. Conventions lessons follow a See It, Try It, Apply It sequence and are taught both in and out of context. In the Revise and Edit step of the Performance Task, the student checklist refers to the conventions skill so that students’ attention is called to the application of the new skill. Conventions lessons build upon each other and require students to practice in isolation, in a model essay, and in their own essay.

Examples of conventions instruction include, but are not limited to:

In the Performance Task at the end of every unit, a Conventions Study connects to the mode of writing required in the essay. The convention skills are as follows:

Unit 1:  Using Pronouns

Unit 2: Pronoun Antecedents

Unit 3: Vary Sentence Patterns

Unit 4: Transition Words and Phrases

Unit 5: Clarifying with Words, Phrases, and Clauses

Unit 6: Using Pronouns with Collective Nouns

Unit 7: Correcting Vague Pronouns

• In Unit 1: Using Pronouns, students are given explicit instruction on pronouns and then practice identifying where the author used pronouns to avoid repetition and what subject is emphasized by the use of an intensive pronoun. Students follow up with rewriting sentences using a pronoun for underlined words.
• In Unit 3: Vary Sentence Patterns, students learn that sentence patterns describe how the parts of a sentence are organized and that writers should vary their sentence patterns in order to add variety and avoid repetition in their writing. In the See It and Try It sections, students find the different sentence patterns in one paragraph of the model essay. In the Apply It section, students rewrite sentences to add variety and avoid repetition. As students revise their writing, they use a checklist to evaluate how they varied ”sentence patterns for meaning, reader interest, and variety”.
• In Unit 5: Clarifying with Words, Phrases, and Clauses, students learn that writers use words, phrases, and clauses to connect claims, reasons, and evidence. This particular lesson only has a See It section: “Find the words, phrases, and or clauses the writer used in example sentences from the writing model.” Students are asked how the words, phrases, and clauses help them understand how the reasons relate to the claim. Then, they are told to choose a paragraph from their own essay to revise, being sure to include words, phrases, and clauses that show the relationship between their claim, reasons, and evidence. Students use a checklist to evaluate their revisions and edits. Conventions skills from earlier lessons also appear in the checklist.
• In Unit 6: Using Pronouns with Collective Nouns, students are given explicit instruction on collective nouns and when to use them. Students practice by reading examples and identifying singular, plural, and collective nouns. They also evaluate whether the sentence is written using the correct noun. The students return to their essay draft to identify whether their nouns and pronouns agree in number.