Kindergarten - Gateway 2

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 2b.

Materials include various opportunities for students to analyze the key ideas, details, craft, and structure within individual texts and across multiple Mentor, Read-Alouds, Shared Readings, and Extended Reads according to grade-level standards. Students analyze key concepts by orally completing sentence frames and learn how to determine the main idea by using book and chapter titles. Students use key ideas from the text to describe characters. Students determine shades of meaning of verbs, determine different types of texts, and identify and describe the roles of the author and illustrator. 

For most texts (read-aloud texts K–1 and anchor texts Grade 2), students analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 3, after listening to What do Plants Need? by Debra Castor, student partners choose one picture that shows a part or structure of a plant that helps the plant live and grow. Students complete this sentence frame orally: Plants use their ___ to ___. The teacher provides assistance as needed and confers with students to check understanding. 

• In Unit 3, Week 2, Day 1, after listening to What Are Some Rules at School by Margaret McNamara, the teacher returns to pages 10–15 and asks the students to compare and contrast details from the story with the questions, “Which rules are similar to the rules in our school? Which rules are different from the rules in our school? What rules do you follow to stay safe at school? How does following rules make us good citizens?”

• In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 2, students Identify the main topic and key details of the informational text, The Mother of Thanksgiving (no author cited).  The teacher reads aloud pages 14–15a, models how to identify the main topic and key details, and students restate the main topic. The teacher reads aloud pages 16–17, tells  students to listen for key details, and asks the following text dependent questions: Why did Sarah J. Hale write to President Lincoln? Why do some people call Sarah J. Hale the“mother of Thanksgiving?  Partners are given time to discuss the text and answer the questions. 

• ln Unit 8, Week 2, Day 2, students listen to Weather and the Seasons by Margaret McNamara. Students turn and talk about these key detail questions: What do the captions on pages 14–15 tell you about how temperature changes with the seasons? What do the captions throughout the book tell you about extreme weather in each season?”

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

• In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 1,  the teacher displays Rules Are Cool by Brenda Parkes and reads aloud the title and identifies parts of a book (front/back cover and title page). Students  identify features of the text that tell them what kind of text it is (genre) and predict what the text will be about. 

• In Unit 4, Week 1, Day 1, the teacher introduces the vocabulary words crash and spotted from the text “Who Did It?” (no author cited).  The teacher defines each word and gives an example.  Students are then asked to turn and talk and answer the following questions using the new vocabulary words:  What kinds of things can make a loud crash when they break?  How do you act when you spot someone you have not seen in a long time?

• In Unit 9, Week 2, Day 2, the teacher displays Needs and Wants by Michael Cavanaugh and asks students to  identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of the book as a review. Students identify the author and review the author’s role.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 2c.

Materials contain coherently sequenced text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts. Students use the text explicitly to answer questions during the lessons and related tasks. Text-dependent questions and tasks include mentor read-aloud, extended read-aloud, short reads, and anchor text read-alouds. In addition, students use the Knowledge Blueprint to build on their knowledge from the texts when answering purposeful text-dependent questions and applying their reading to the Enduring Understandings of the unit. 

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

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, after listening to a rereading of pages 6–7 from Grow, Pumpkin, Grow! By Sasha Geist, students answer the following set of questions to analyze the text: “What does the photo show? What is the meaning of the phrase fertile soil in the second sentence? What clues from the text help you understand the meaning of the phrase fertile soil? How can you tell that the plant in the right-hand picture on page 6 is in fertile soil?”

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 5, students listen to the text “A New Pet” (no author cited).  The purpose of the lesson is to describe the relationship between the illustrations and the story.  The teacher models using and understanding the thought bubble for a character.  Students discuss the following questions: How does the thought bubble on page 27 show that Ben has a great imagination?  How does the illustration on page 27 show that Ben made a responsible choice? After reading the book and looking at the illustrations, what pet did Mom and Ben responsibly choose?  Why? 

• In Unit 5, Week 1, Day 2, students listen to the text “Up, Up, and Away” (no author cited) to identify the reasons the author uses to support his or her ideas about technology in the text.  The teacher models using details in the text to support his or her ideas and completes a graphic organizer identifying the author’s point and reasons that support.  Students turn and talk to respond to the following questions:  Page 41 tells about jet packs  What details tell you how this new technology will help people travel?  How do these details help us understand how technology is changing how we travel?.

• In Unit 10, Week 2, Day 3, after listening to the teacher read the story Forces by Joy Brewster, students are prompted to look at pages 10-11 in the text and answer the question, “What reasons or points does the author give to support the statement that “Friction is a force, too?” Then they are promoted to look at page 12 and asked to analyze “What reasons does the author give to support the statement that some forces are big. Some forces are small?”

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

• In Unit 2, Week 2, Day 5 students use the texts Horrible Bear by Ame Dyckman and “The Little Helper” by Evan Russel to analyze craft by comparing the characteristics of the girls, the lion, the mouse, and the bear in the two texts. Students respond to the following questions:  The mouse helps the lion  How is the girl’s behavior similar or different?  In “The Little Helper,” the mouse and the lion become friends at the end of the story.  At the end of Horrible Bear, what happens? Is this similar or different?  Students then turn and talk about the following questions:  Review the ending of “The Little Helper.”  How did the mouse show the trait of being helpful?  Review the ending of Horrible Bear!  How did the girl show the trait of being helpful. Students complete a quick write explaining how the lion in “Little Helper” and the Bear in Horrible Bear! are similar and different.  

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher displays The Tortoise and the Hare by Molly Smith and “The Little Helper by Evan Russel.” The teacher reminds students of the Enduring Understanding 2: We can appreciate others more when we understand their perspectives.” Students compare the perspectives of the Hare and Lion when answering the question, “How are their perspectives similar at the beginning of the stories?”

• In Unit 4, Week 3, Day 4, after listening to the story Wolf Cub’s Song by Joseph Bruchac, students work with a partner to compare and contrast the experiences of Wolf Cub and Mother Wolf while answering the questions, “What do the other wolves say to Wolf Cub when she comes out of the den? How does Wolf Cub feel when she realizes that the other wolves need her help? How do you think Mother Wolf feels watching Wolf Cub during this part of the story? How is the trip up the hill to ‘sing’ the same for Wolf Cub and her mother?” 

• In Unit 8, Week 3, Day 4, students compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in the Mentor Read-Aloud, Two Wool Gloves by Bo Jin. Students work with a partner to identify at least one similarity and one difference between father squirrels’ and the boy's experiences in the second half of the story.  Students then respond to the following question:  Think about the father squirrel in Two Wool Gloves and Anna from “The Great Blizzard.”  How do the actions of both characters help you build knowledge about how weather affects us?  Students compare how two texts can be similar and different, two characters in a story can have experiences that are similar and different.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 2d.

Each unit has an Inquiry and Research project that incorporates texts from the unit as well as outside sources, as appropriate. Each project answers the essential question, includes text evidence and cross-text analysis, and addresses the enduring understanding for the unit. Culminating tasks include opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery of grade-level reading, speaking, listening, and writing standards from the unit. Materials include culminating tasks that vary by topic throughout the year; however, the tasks do not vary in form from unit to unit. 

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

• Throughout each unit students complete a Research and Inquiry project. Each project answers the essential question, includes text evidence and cross-text analysis, and addresses the enduring understanding for the unit: 

  • In Unit 1, students choose a plant or an animal from one of the unit texts. Students find more information about the selected plant or animal in other books, magazines, or websites. Students create a presentation to share what they have learned. The presentation must include information from the unit texts as well as other resources. Students listening to the presentation tell a partner two new facts they noted about the needs of living things.

  • In Unit 4, students read stories by different authors about different families and explore how authors’ experiences can affect their writing. Students select one of the unit texts and choose another story by the same author or an author that they enjoy, reading both stories closely to learn more about the authors' lives. Students create a presentation using the unit text and the other story chosen that shows what has been learned. Student presentations should answer the following guiding questions: “What did you learn about the background of the author(s) that may have inspired them to write these stories? (Essential Question) How are the characters, settings, and events in the two stories you studied similar, and how are they different? (text evidence, cross-text analysis) How would you retell one of these stories with your own ending? (Enduring Understanding).”  

  • In Unit 7, after reading about different holidays and celebrations, students pick a celebration or holiday that is discussed in one or more of the unit texts and conduct research to find out more about the holiday. Students combine information from the unit texts with information from the other sources found and deliver a presentation that shows what they have learned. As part of the presentation, students craft and display an ornament or symbol to stand for a holiday, using items from nature.  Student presentations should answer the following guiding questions:  “When did people begin celebrating the holiday you studied, and what was their purpose for celebrating it? (Essential Question) What new information did you find in your research that helped you better understand the holiday described in the unit text(s)? (text evidence, cross-text analysis) When people celebrate the holiday you studied, how does it help them think about  important people and events in their lives? (Enduring Understanding)”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 2e.

Materials include a year-long plan grounded in standards alignment to support students’ writing development and proficiency. Writing lessons, tasks, and projects authentically integrate with reading, speaking, listening, and language. Writing tasks and projects include learning, practice, and application of writing skills.The majority of writing instruction is process writing, which occurs daily and includes a variety of genres. The Teacher Resource System includes models, planning organizers, protocols, sample responses, sample anchor charts, and plans to support implementation of the writing tasks and projects, as well as guidance or support for pacing writing over shorter and extended periods of time as appropriate for the grade.

Materials include some writing instruction that aligns to grade-level standards; however, the process writing instruction included in the materials relies on teacher modeling followed by student independent practice. There is not adequate, explicit writing instruction to support a whole year’s worth of growth for students' writing skills. Students have opportunities to draw and write related to the texts they use in the mini-lessons. 

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

• Each unit includes writing connected to reading. Materials include on demand writing, writing to respond to reading, teaching of the writing process, and writing tasks to support knowledge building. Each unit has a process writing focus related to the unit topic, participation in a shared research and inquiry project that includes writing, and on demand writing tasks in response to reading.  

• Over the course of the year, the number of lessons for each genre include 30 lessons on narrative writing, 30 lessons on informative/explanatory writing, and 30 lessons on opinion writing. 

  • Units 1, 2, 7, and 10 focus on narrative writing. Students write or draw personal responses to texts and extension or continuations of stories read, and write their own stories and sensory poems. 

  • Units 3, 5, and 8 focus on informative/explanatory writing. Students write facts and details from anchor texts, write their own informational texts using the anchor texts as models, and complete a shared research report. 

  • Units 4, 6, and 9 focus on opinion writing. Students write their opinions about the characters in anchor texts and the texts themselves. 

  • Guidance in the margins of lessons frequently includes, “Confer with a few students about their writing or drawing.” However, materials do not give specific guidance on how to support individual student’s growth in writing or how to help students achieve mastery of grade-level writing standards. 

• Writing instruction follows a similar format by unit:

  • In Units 1, 2, and 3, daily writing instruction focuses on drawing, writing, and sharing a message mini-lessons. The 20 minute mini-lesson format includes engaging thinking (1 minute); guiding shared writing (8-9 minutes); oral rehearsal for independent writing (2-3 minutes); independent writing and conferring (times vary); and sharing and reflecting (1-2 minutes).

    • For example: In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 4, there are 8–9 minutes of shared writing and teacher modeling followed by 2–3 minutes of oral rehearsal for independent writing. No time is allocated within the lesson or literacy block for students to engage in independent writing. The Teacher Resource System states, “Times will vary.” It suggests students write during writer’s workshop or at a station. Students draw and write about an event from the text The Little Helper by Evan Russel.

  • In Units 4, 5, 6, and 7, daily writing instruction follows the following format: Week 1: teacher modeling to draw and write the writing (Day 1), draft (Days 2 and 3), revise (Day 4), and share (Day 5). Weeks 2 and 3: Student practice of the writing type: brainstorm ideas, choose topic, draft, revise and expand, writer's craft focus, edit, publish, and share.  

    • For example: IIn Unit 4, Week 3, Day 5 states: ‘Have students draw a picture to show a lesson that they learned from one of the stories in this unit. The teacher encourages students to write a few words or a sentence about the lesson. Students are reminded to use new vocabulary they have learned while completing this writing task.  

    • In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher models how to add sentences to the shared writing research report draft about Weather and Seasons. In pairs, students add sentences to their research reports. The time to model and for students to talk with their partners is part of the lesson pacing; however, the time for independent writing is not included in the lesson. 

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

• Materials provide sample anchor charts. For example: In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher revisits the Writing Process Anchor Chart as needed to review the steps of the writing process. The teacher displays the opinion text draft from the previous lesson. Then the teacher introduces the lesson focus of adding reasons to your opinion writing. After the modeling by the teacher, students continue adding reasons to their planning organizer. An example of the anchor chart is included in the margin.  

• Materials include sample shared drawing and writing products. For example: In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 1, the teacher models drawing and writing a sentence. The lesson includes a sample of the shared drawing and writing product for teacher use.  

• The additional resources and materials for each unit include graphic organizers and note-taking guides. For example: In Unit 8, the additional materials include a brainstorming chart, a note-taking chart, and a planning diagram. 

• Materials provide sample conferring prompts in the margin for the teacher to use when meeting with students. For example: In Unit 2, Week 3, Days 1–5 after reading the text Dog Days of School by Kelly DiPucchio and Brian Biggs, students write a personal letter from one character in the text to the other. The margin of the lesson includes prompts for the teacher to use when conferring with students about their writing. Materials include prompts that praise students who are meeting the standards and prompts to guide students toward meeting the standard.

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria for Indicator 2f.

Materials include research projects sequenced across a school year to include a progression of research skills. Students participate in seven research and  inquiry projects over the course of the year. Each project provides an opportunity for students to confront and analyze different aspects of a unit topic in greater depth using multiple texts and other source materials. Students apply reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Projects become progressively more challenging and ensure students acquire deep topic knowledge. Shared research and writing projects encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials. The research project routine includes selecting a research focus, identifying relevant information from unit selections, identifying sources for additional information, planning, creating, presenting, reflecting, and responding to the information. Through the research projects, students synthesize and analyze grade-level readings and develop their knowledge of grade-level topics. Materials include teacher guidance for each step of the project to guide students toward mastery.

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

• With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • Guidance for the Research and Inquiry Projects for each task includes information for the teacher to introduce, explore, and present to students in addition to a pacing chart.  In the Introduction section, the teacher tells students what project they will be completing, how it will deepen their understanding of the unit topic, and the guiding questions their presentation should answer. Guiding questions relate to the Essential Question, text evidence, cross text analysis, and the Enduring Understanding. In the Explore section, the teacher assists students in choosing a topic for their research focus, using the unit texts as a resource.  The Present section includes presentation expectations. The pacing chart includes student goals and teacher support for each week of the project.  

    • In Unit 3, the teacher tells students they will be learning about rules at home, in school, and in neighborhoods. In the Explore section, the teacher previews the unit texts with students to assist them in choosing a technology for their focus. The teacher models rereading a unit text to find information that helps you focus on the guiding question, choosing another source that provides relevant information, and writing and recording information.  

    • In Unit 5, the teacher tells students they will be reading about technology from the past, present, and future and technology that has changed over time. In the Explore section, the teacher previews the unit texts with students to assist them in choosing a technology for their focus. The teacher models rereading a unit text to find information that helps you focus on the guiding question, choosing another source that provides relevant information, and writing and recording information.  

    • In Unit 10, the teacher tells students they will be reading about forces and motion. In the Explore section, the teacher previews the unit texts with students to assist them in selecting an object that moves for their focus. The teacher models rereading a unit text to find information that helps you focus on the guiding question, choosing another source that provides relevant information, and writing and recording information.   

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

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

• For each Research and Inquiry Project, materials list teacher supports to assist students with conducting research. For example, in Unit 4, the teacher supports listed include: The teacher and students discuss authors from unit texts read together. As needed, the teacher rereads unit texts aloud to students, or has them listen and follow along with the interactive e-book on Benchmark Universe. The teacher works with pairs or groups that need help choosing another text or recording details. The teacher provides students with different methods of note-taking, such as colored pencils or crayons for drawing, or safety scissors and glue for cutting from magazines or printed online resources. The teacher encourages students to use symbols for words or concepts they can’t spell or write yet. Additionally, students create a content library with sources on authors.

• Materials provide Think-Speak-Listen Bookmarks that include questions to guide discussions. 

• Materials include a teacher rubric that addresses the following areas: Content, Presentation, and Effort and Collaboration. Materials also include student-friendly versions of the rubrics.

Materials include shared research projects to help develop students’ research skills. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In Unit 2, students investigate characters, discuss what characters are like and what problems they have. Students select one of the characters from a story in the unit. Then students conduct research to find a character in another story that is similar in some way or that has a similar problem. Students study how these characters are the same and how they are different. Then students create a presentation to share what they have learned. Student presentations should answer the following guiding questions: “How do the two characters you studied look, feel, act, and talk?  In what ways do the characters solve their problems? (Essential Question) What does the character from the unit text have in common with the character from the other text you researched? (text evidence, cross-text analysis) How does the character from the unit text behave differently from the character in the other story? What makes each character special and unique? (Enduring Understanding)”  

  • In Unit 6, students read stories that have a message, such as folktales, stories that often teach a lesson about life. Students investigate the messages of two folktales from the unit texts and look for other folktales that have similar messages. Then, students compare and contrast the messages in one of the unit texts and another folktale they found, and create a presentation to share their work. Student presentations should answer the following guiding questions: “What message do the folktales you studied have about what is right, and what is wrong? (Essential Question) What similarities did you find between the messages in the unit text and the message in the other folktale you researched? How were the messages presented differently? (text evidence, cross-text analysis) What experiences, challenges, or feelings have you had in your own life that are similar to those of a character in one of the folktales you read? (Enduring Understanding)”   

  • In Unit 10, during the Research and Inquiry Project on “Forces and Motion,” students select an object that moves from the unit texts and conduct research to learn more about the forces that cause it to move. Students combine information from the unit texts with other sources to deliver a presentation to demonstrate their learning. Student presentations should answer the following guiding questions: “What causes the object you studied to move?  Is the force a push, a pull, or both? (Essential Question) What information did you find in your research that helped you better understand what you read in the unit text(s) about how your object moves? (text evidence, cross-text analysis) Where might you find examples of things that move in a similar way to the object you studied? (Enduring Understanding)”

The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the criteria of Indicator 2g.

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

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

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

  • In Unit 1, Week 1, Day 5, the teacher models how to describe the relationship between photos and text. The teacher displays pages 6–7 of the text Grow, Pumpkin, Grow and thinks-aloud to model how the photos and text are related. The teacher describes how the order of the photos helps readers to understand the sequence of what is happening in the text. This instruction aligns to RI.K.7: “With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).”

  • In Unit 3, Week 3, Day 4, the teacher models how to compare and contrast adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories. The teacher models how to complete the compare and contrast chart using the texts Rules Are Cool by Brenda Parks and A New Pet by Jasmine Gomez.  The teacher lists ways in which the adventures from both texts are similar.  In the first and third columns of the chart, the teacher and students list ways their adventures are different. This instruction aligns to RL.K.9: “With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.”

  • In Unit 6, Week 1, Day 2, the teacher reads aloud pages 4–5 of the mentor read-aloud All Together Now (author not cited). The teacher models how to identify key details in the text and illustrations, using the mentor read-aloud All Together Now. Then the teacher models how to use details to retell the story. This instruction aligns to RL.K.2: “With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.”

  • In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 1, the purpose of the lesson is to use strategies to learn about the content of the story, Weather and the Seasons by Margaret McNamara. The teacher defines and models making connections, summarizing and synthesizing and refers to anchor charts for those three comprehension strategies; however, there are no standards in Kindergarten that address these strategies.

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

• Most questions and tasks align to Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Within the lessons, it is unclear which questions and tasks align to the learning goals listed.  

  • In Unit 1, Week 2, Day 1, students ask and answer questions, before, during, and after reading the text What Do Plants Need? by Debra Castor.  The teacher reads pages 8–11 aloud, and asks students to look and listen for the answers to a question about how air and light get inside plants. This question aligns to RI.K.1: “With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.” 

  • In Unit 4, Week 2, Day 5, students compare and contrast two characters’ feelings in the story, Knuffle Bunny by Mo Williams. Students engage in discussions, using the following prompts: “How does Trixie’s daddy feel when he realizes that Knuffle Bunny is missing? How does Trixie feel? How do you think Trixie and her daddy feel on the way back to the laundromat? How is the search for Knuffle Bunny similar for Trixie and her daddy?” This task aligns to RL.K.9: “With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories.”

  • In Unit 9, Week 3, Day 4, students describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear. Students look at the illustrations in the text Jaylen’s Juice Box by Jerry Craft and answer the following question with a partner: “How do the illustrations help you understand the way Robby’s feelings change about Jaylen’s juice smoothies? This question aligns to RL.K.7: “With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).”

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

• Each Unit has two weekly assessments and one unit assessment. The weekly assessments are formative and consist of observational checklists that address strategies and skills taught during instruction. Based on classroom observations, the teacher rates each child’s progress in the areas listed and records notes or comments on the chart. Checklists do not include correlated standards.  

• In Unit 1, Week 1, Assessment, the observation checklist includes the following components: Identify main topic and retell key details; describe the relationship between the illustrations and the text; and ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. 

• In Unit 5, Unit Assessment, students listen to the teacher read the passage Working with Wind (author not cited). Then, students answer the question, “According to the passage, why did people use wind long ago? Was it because they liked windmills . . . they did not have electricity . . . or they enjoyed sailing?” Students circle the correct picture. This assessment question aligns to RI.K.8: “With prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text.”

• In Unit 8, Unit Assessment, students listen to the teacher read Winter Ways (author not cited). Then, students circle the picture that helps them describe what the character, Jenna, sees outside her window in the spring. This assessment question aligns to RL.K.7: “With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).”

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

• RL.K.4 is taught in Units 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 according to the reformatted Correlation to the Common Core State Standards Chart: “Ask and answer questions about unknown words in the text.” The standard is addressed in various ways throughout the units including making connections between words and their use (Unit 2, Week 3; Unit 4, Week 2), distinguishing between meaning among verbs (Unit 2, Weeks 1 and 2), identifying new meanings for familiar words (Unit 3, Week 3, Unit 4, Weeks 1 and 3), sort words into categories (Unit 9, Week 3).  

• RI.K.3 is taught in Units 7, 8, and 10 according to the reformatted Correlation to the Common Core State Standards Chart: “With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text.  In Unit 3, Week 1, Lesson 3, students respond to text evidence questions to make connections between two ideas as they identify “when two ideas are reasons that support the same point.” In Unit 7, Week 1, Day 3, the purpose of the lesson is to describe connections between two events in the same text.  In Unit 7, Week 2, Day 3, the purpose of the lesson is to describe connections between two individuals in the same text.  In Unit 8, Week 2, Day 2, students make connections between the information given in the text and that provided through text features. In Unit 10, Week 2, Day 1, the teacher encourages students to make connections to information they already know to help them understand the text they are reading.