6th Grade - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.

The materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher order thinking questions and tasks that provide students with multiple opportunities to analyze language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts to build understanding within each thematically-based unit. The Cold Read activity for each text encourages students to refer to pre-defined vocabulary and contains higher order thinking questions in the form of both text-dependent and text-specific questions. This type of activity is designed to help students make meaning of what they are reading as they prepare for the Close Read’s Extended Writing Prompt. This prompt asks students to closely analyze the text using evidence. Examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, in the Close Read for Dragonwings, students analyze language when they respond to the prompt: “How do the word choices the author makes have an impact on the reader’s understanding of Moon Shadow and his world? What do they reveal about Moon Shadow’s point of view? Use your understanding of connotation and denotation to explain Moon Shadow’s thoughts and feelings. Support your writing with evidence from the text.”
• In Unit 2, in the Close Read of “The Negative Confession,” students reread confessions 11 through 42. Students are then asked to “analyze the details, choosing eight confessions, with details that together suggest a similar central idea. Summarize the central idea in your own words, and use textual evidence that supports your thinking.”
• In Unit 3, students compare and contrast different media versions of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”. They note how the change in medium creates changes in plot, character, or setting. Students also compare and contrast how the authors of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” and A Wrinkle in Time approach the theme of characters confronting a possible monster from another planet or outer space. To make either of these comparisons, students have to identify and analyze relevant details and make inferences.
• In Unit 4, in the Close Read of “In the Education of George Washington: How a Forgotten Book Shaped the Character of a Hero,” students respond to the following prompts: “How effectively does the author, Austin Washington, convey his point of view regarding the events at Valley Forge and the role of Baron Von Steuben in the American war effort? How do the presentation of facts and details, as well as the use of language, support the author’s point of view? Do you find the author’s point of view convincing? Why or why not? CIte evidence to support your answer."

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

The materials provided students multiple opportunities, through questions and tasks, to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts. Each unit contains texts that are represented in more than one format, several texts that explore/represent one theme, and several argumentative prompts that give students the opportunity to state and claim and use evidence from the various texts to support their claim.

Throughout the year, students thoroughly read, write about, and discuss numerous reading selections. Each unit includes prompts for informational, argument, and literary analysis writing tasks that require students to cite evidence from multiple texts. Each unit also includes a Research Project.

Instruction begins with a First Read Lesson, designed to emphasize meaning making and content comprehension. First Read lessons include StudySyncTV, which models critical thinking with collaborative passages that students are reading, and end with a series of short answer text-dependent questions. Students are then introduced to Skill Lessons and Close Read Lessons to support knowledge building, and culminate with a short constructed response that synthesizes their work. Each unit also contains a Full Text Study which comes with companion texts. This text set becomes the resource for the final activity for the Full Text Study, where students are asked to complete sustained writing tasks in response to prompts that require them to compare and contrast two or more of the texts in the set. Examples of coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students compare the written version of “The Road Not Taken” with an audio version of the poem. To further knowledge building, in the Write section, students are asked, "How does Robert Frost’s use of poetic structure and poetic elements in 'The Road Not Taken' support the poem’s meaning in both the print and audio versions of the poem? Explain what you believe the poem means, and how the poem’s meaning is shaped by at least one aspect of poetic structure and at least one poetic element. Examine whether or not you experience these differently when you listen to the audio version, and whether hearing the poem read aloud changes your understanding of its meaning. Introduce your response with a thesis statement, and support your ideas with clearly organized details and quotations from the text."
• In Unit 2, in the close read of Heroes Every Child Should Know: Perseus, students respond to a writing prompt comparing this text to “Perseus.” The prompt is as follows: “Compare and contrast how the shared plot events in the poem 'Perseus' and the myth Heroes Every Child Should Know: Perseus affect the character of Perseus, as well as how he changes as a result. In your response, analyze what Perseus learns about himself in each text, along with how that realization impacts the resolution shared with readers. Remember to support your writing with evidence from the text.” Students use both texts to analyze a character and use text evidence to support their answer. In this example, students work with questions to understand not only character, but the text knowledge as well.
• In Unit 3, students are provided with one of the the Full Text Studies is Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. After reading the main text, students read a portion of Nelson Mandela’s “Statement at the Rivonia Trial, 1964.” Students write an essay according to these directions: “In an essay of at least 400 words, compare Mandela’s descriptions of apartheid to Taylor’s descriptions of Jim Crow segregation in Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry. What do the two systems have in common and to what extent do Mandela’s critiques of apartheid apply to segregation as it is depicted in Taylor’s novel?”
• In Unit 4, in the Close Read of “The Story Behind the Bus,” students are asked to analyze the purpose and point of view of writers on two related, but different, texts. Students respond to the following prompt: “Rosa Parks: My Story and 'The Story Behind the Bus' both tell about Rosa Parks’s famous refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. However, each author writes for a different purpose and from a different point of view. How are the two presentations of the same event similar and different? Use your understanding of the content as well as purpose, style, and point of view to compare and contrast the two texts.” A Build Background component is included at the beginning of this lesson to supplement to provide context and more support for students to assure comprehension and meaning of texts.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the the criteria that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).. Students are consistently presented with culminating tasks and projects to showcase their skills learning.

Most culminating tasks support knowledge building. Examples of tasks that have students demonstrate building knowledge through integrated standards-based skills include, but are not limited to, the following:

• In Unit 2, in the Skill: Compare and Contrast section of Heroes Every Child Should Know: Perseus, students compare the poem 'Perseus' to the text Heroes Every Child Should Know: Perseus. This task provides teachers with information on what background knowledge students need before completing the culminating task. One of the prompts in the culminating task asks, “How might two versions of the same story teach different lessons to present-day readers? Select a Greek myth of particular interest and compare and contrast it with a text, audio, video, or animated version of the same story.”
• In Unit 3, the Extended Writing Project focuses on the narrative form. Students answer the question, “When should we stand up for others and ourselves?” as they write a fictional narrative about someone who takes a stand to help another person or to make a positive change. In preparation for the culminating writing activity, students practice skills necessary for narrative writing. For example, in Referring to the Student Model text, “Take One Shot,” students answer the following prompt: “Write one paragraph of rising action for your narrative. Use your paragraph to develop an event that leads to your story’s climax. Include elements such as dialogue, sensory language, and specific details. Be sure that the text structure of your paragraph is clear, and that transitions clarify any changes in time or setting. When you are finished, trade with a partner and offer each other feedback. Remember that comments are most helpful when they are constructive.”
• In Unit 4, students study the qualities and actions of real-life heroes, both ordinary people and historical figures, through stories of their courage and strength. The Extended Writing Project requires students to write an argumentative essay that defines the qualities of a hero and defends the hero from one of the texts in the unit as exemplifying these qualities. Throughout the unit, students utilize the opportunity to think about, write about, and discuss the qualities and actions of heroes, including the following prompt from the Close Read section of Rosa Parks: My Story: “The excerpt you read from Rosa Parks: My Story is part of Parks’s autobiography, a nonfiction narrative she wrote to tell about her life. In the excerpt, Rosa introduces and elaborates on a time when she behaved in a very courageous way. Using the excerpt as a model, write a real-life story, or personal narrative, about a time when you responded to a conflict or problem in a brave, kind, or generous way.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Students do have year long engagement with vocabulary.

Grade 6 materials include a list at the beginning of each unit with academic and literary terms that are tied to instruction of the unit is provided for teachers in Unit Overview and provide teachers with guidance for incorporating vocabulary and its ongoing relevance in the Teacher Wrap of the Unit Overview. The Tier 2 Academic vocabulary is given less support than the literary terms. Vocabulary is repeated in various contexts with largely literary terms and Tier 2 Academic Vocabulary is repeated and applied across texts. Vocabulary essential to the understanding of a text is given attention through point of use definitions and pronunciation and students are supported to accelerate their vocabulary through reading, speaking, and writing tasks including the supplementary support of three Academic and Social Language Preview activities per unit.

Students are also provided with a Vocabulary Handbook that includes lessons in each unit. The Vocabulary Handbook includes lesson on topics such as synonyms, context clues, base words, and prefixes. Instructional presentation, practice activities, and assessments are also included for each unit. Examples of opportunities for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, in the First Read of Dragonwings, key vocabulary are printed in boldface, so that students take notice of them as they conduct a first read. After reading, students answer questions related to the boldface words. For example, students answer the question, “Use context to determine the meaning of the word 'lynched' as it is used in Dragonwings. Write your definition of 'lynched' here and tell how you got it.” Later, in the Close Read of Dragonwings, students are provided with the vocabulary words and the definitions. Students then write about the word choice used in this selection.

• In Unit 3, in the Close Read of Red Scarf Girl, students work on the vocabulary presented in the text. After going over the vocabulary, students complete a fill-in-the-blank activity to check their understanding of each word. Students then have a discussion about the connotation and denotation of words. The lesson plan tells the teacher, “Make sure that students have acquired and accurately use academic-specific words and phrases related to the skill, and demonstrate a command of formal English appropriate to the discussion.” In this example, the teacher may need to add or supplement more information or lessons to assure students are fully growing their vocabulary in service of broader literacy skills.

• In Unit 4, Lessons 9 and 10 focus on building Academic Vocabulary. Ten words are defined and modeled in sample sentences. Students then complete a drag and drop exercise where they place the related word part for each word in the correct column. Students explain how the word part can help them remember the meaning of the word. Students are asked to use the definition of the word part in their explanation. This exercise promotes the practice of working with words, but the teacher may need to do further work to ensure that these exercises are also in service of comprehension and knowledge building.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials support students’ increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students’ writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.

The materials supports students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year. To achieve this goal, instructional materials include well-designed lesson plans, models, and protocols for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Direct instruction on the writing process builds as the year progresses. Within the unit, students write in response to driving questions in Blasts, comprehension questions in First Reads, and discussion questions in Close Reads. These informal writing opportunities prepare students to write more formally as part of each unit’s Extended Writing Project and Research assignments. For Research, students discuss, plan, research, write, and deliver presentations. In the Extended Writing Project, students complete a writing project in one of the three primary modes of writing with the help of a student model, graphic organizers, rubrics, and extensive scaffolding of writing skills. Students engage in all phases of the writing process. Examples of materials supporting students’ increasing writing skills over the school year include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, the Extended Writing Project is an informative piece. It provides a Student Model that contains the essential features of the informative/explanatory form and offers an example of a structured academic grade-level response to the prompt. The Student Model is used to help students better understand how informative elements work together to create an effective essay. Students analyze how the model employs specific skills to capture and retain readers’ interest, examine the process the writer used to develop the essay through graphic organizers and road maps, and identify how the model might benefit from revision. Direct instruction is provided in the areas of organization, body paragraphs and transitions, and sources and citations.

• In Unit 2, in the Skill: Informational Text Elements for Hatshepsut: His Majesty, Herself, students analyze “informational text elements...within an informational text is essential for readers to reach an in-depth understanding of how a particular element is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated.” In the Skill: Central or Main Idea for Book of the Dead, students determine “the central or main idea of an informational text requiring students to synthesize details by making inferences and comprehending explicit statements.” Students master these skills in the first part of the unit, progressing to analyzing argument and claim, before moving onto lessons which focus on literary elements. Though its qualitative and quantitative dimensions are similar to other texts in the unit, the task demands associated with the final informational text, an excerpt from The Hero Schilemann: The Dreamer Who Dug for Troy, are more challenging. Students are required to analyze the author’s point of view and use of figurative language and how these elements support the author's ideas.

• In Unit 3, the Extended Writing Project focuses on narrative writing. Analysis of plot and story structure are key task demands. Students are provided ample scaffolds as the components become more sophisticated. The recommended full-text read for this unit, Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, is also one of this unit’s Common Core Appendix B exemplar texts, which emphasizes analysis of story structure. By the time students have reached the final literary selections in the unit, they are prepared to address the more complex ideas of theme and tone, and begin to incorporate these elements into their own writing.

• In Unit 4, the Extended Writing Project focuses on argumentative writing. Instruction builds on what students previously learned about this form when they crafted a literary analysis in Unit 2. The Extended Writing Project provides a Student Model that contains the essential features of the argumentative form. An example of a structured academic grade-level response to the prompt is provided. The Student Model is used to help students better understand how argumentative elements work together to create an effective argument. Students examine how the ideas and and information in the model were developed through research. They also analyze how the model exemplifies specific skills that enhance the argument’s persuasive power. Students then identify how the model may benefit from revision. Direct instruction is provided on research and note-taking, body paragraphs and transitions, and sources and citations.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials include a progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.

Each of the four units in the Grade 6 materials include multiple opportunities for students to engage in research activities and present their findings. Each unit begins with a Big Idea Blast that gives students an opportunity to draft a response to the driving question of the unit. The Blast includes multi-media research links related to the theme. As students interact with the research links in the Blasts, they formulate a broader understanding of the theme and texts within the unit. The First Read of each selection includes a Build Background activity that asks students to work collaboratively on a small scale research inquiry that complements the text they are reading.

Each unit also includes an extensive, multi-step Research Project related to the unit’s theme. This is a culmination of skills and knowledge students have gained over the course of the unit. After sharing and discussing results of individual members’ research findings, each group plans and delivers a formal presentation in either narrative, argumentative, or informative mode. Each group uses multimedia elements such as videos, graphics, photos, and recordings to reinforce the main ideas.

If the purpose is to inform, students present evidence to develop the subject matter. If the purpose is to present an argument that supports a claim, students use evidence that both supports their opinion and addresses counterarguments. The Speaking & Listening Handbook is utilized during this phase of the Research Project both for speakers and for listeners, who respond critically and constructively to the work of their peers. Each unit provides suggested topics for each research project. Examples of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, the Research section gives students a variety of topics to help answer the following question: “What happens when life changes directions?” Students research examples of turning points and their effects. The research project serves as a resource for the Extended Writing Project, which is an informative/explanatory essay. Multiple texts such as the novels Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins, and the poem, “The Road Not Taken” develop knowledge on the topic. Students plan a presentation and present their research.

• In Unit 2, the essential question for the Research Project is, “How does history inform and inspire us?” Students research examples of different ways history impacts individuals, groups of people, and even nations. Myths and fables from other times and cultures are used to teach lessons. Texts in this unit include “Aesops Fables” and the Greek myth, “Perseus.” Students read stories of history, including Philip Isaacson’s critique on the Egyptian pyramids to learn about monumental structures that were built long ago. This knowledge allows students to confront and analyze different aspects of the topic. The research project serves as a resource for writing the Literary Analysis, which is the Extended Writing that students produce at the unit’s close.

• In Unit 3, the essential question for the Research project is “When should we stand up for others and ourselves?” Students research instances when individuals have confronted choices about defending themselves, their family, or their community. Texts include A Wrinkle in Time, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, Red Scarf Girl and I Am an American: A True Story of Japanese Internment. Additional texts related to the theme are available from the StudySync library. Teachers may choose to include some of these texts in addition to texts from the unit to broaden available source materials, creating a customized course of instruction for students.

• In Unit 4, the essential question for the Research project is, “What does it mean to be a hero?” Students research ideas about heroism and examples of heroes from fiction and real life. There are five informational texts in this unit including “Sullivan Ballou Letter”, a speech by Sojourner Truth, and one work of fiction, The Red Badge of Courage. Lessons learned from stories of heroism serve as models for individual behavior and inspire courageous and creative responses to modern issues. The Extended Writing Project provides an opportunity for students to write an informative text about the effects the Civil War on Americans and their views of freedom. Multiple texts and source materials provide resources for students to develop knowledge on the topic.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

The Core Program Overview includes a structured guide titled “Building an Independent Reading Program.” This section provides an overview of why independent reading is important, and gives details on how to set up a program in the classroom. A five-step plan provides choice for students to select texts and read independently at home and at school. This includes referring students to the StudySync Library where they can explore other titles in the library that share the same themes addressed by the units.

The Core Program Guide states, “In addition to the time you spend reading in class, it’s important to set clear expectations for independent reading outside of the classroom. Students should read outside of class for a set amount of time each day. As students become stronger readers, the time spent reading outside of class should also increase.”

Suggestions for accountability include reading logs, notebooks, online reflections, and informal conversations. Students can be asked to complete end-of reading activities such as filling out a Google Form, pitching books, producing movie trailers, writing reviews on GoodReads, designing movie posters, and participating in a book club style chat. Examples of opportunities for students to regularly engage in a volume of independent while being held accountable include but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, the Program Guide encourages students to explore the StudySync Library and find texts related to the theme, Turning Points. For example, students might independently read other books in the Hatchet series. Students can "test drive" a portion of a text to see if they would like to read the full text.

• In Unit 2, the StudySync Library includes several additional texts related to the theme Ancient Realms. Additional texts include Cosmos by Carl Sagan, Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome: Heracules by E.M. Berens, The Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende, and The Histories of Herodotus translated by George Rawlinson.

• In Unit 3, the theme is Facing Challenges. Students are expected to read independently both in school and at home. Teachers are encouraged to request parent signatures on a reading log or ask students to keep an ongoing log of their reading in their notebooks or online where they reflect on their reading each week. Questions should be provided to direct student reflections. The Core Program Guide stresses that it is important for a teachers to decide on an amount of time appropriate for independent home reading for their student population, then communicate that expectation clearly to both students and parents.

• In Unit 4, students are encouraged to read texts on the theme, Our Heroes, during independent reading. The pacing guide gives suggestions for further and independent reading including texts such as The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Story of an Eyewitness: The San Francisco Earthquake by Jack London, and A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck. The Core Program Guide states, “Your independent reading program should be ongoing, so it’s important to set up a system for recording what students are reading. This can be easily done using a Google Form to create an online reading log. As students finish each book, they should complete a form providing basic information about their book, a rating and a written review.”