6th to 8th Grade - Gateway 2

The text quality and volume of reading in myPerspectives materials meet expectations for indicator 2a. The program provides an engaging text selection with diverse subgenres and themes. However, the balance of informational to literary texts does not align with grade-level standards. While its short-form texts ensure a significant reading volume, the limited inclusion of long-form texts may restrict opportunities for deeper, sustained engagement. Most texts are taught in their entirety, with a few excerpts included throughout the program. The materials include an independent learning component in each unit, which provides students with choice in selecting, reading, and analyzing texts that are thematically and/or topically aligned to the unit. In addition, the program provides book club options with novels aligned to each unit, with built-in analysis questions for student accountability. 

• Materials do not reflect the balance of informational and literary texts required by the grade-level standards (55/45 in 6-8), including various subgenres. (This criterion is evidence only and not considered in scoring.) Materials include a range of full texts and excerpts (including long-form and short-form texts), depending on their stated purpose. (This criterion is evidence only and not considered in scoring.)

  • In Grade 6, materials reflect a balance of 37/63, informational to literary texts, which does not reflect the 55/45 balance required by the grade-level standards. 

    • The materials include 30 core texts, 11 of which are informational texts and 19 of which are literary texts. 

    • Texts include the following subgenres: memoir, poetry, article, short story, drama, biography, and graphic novel. 

    • In Grade 6, materials include 22 full texts and eight excerpts. 

    • In Grade 6, materials include 29 short-form texts and one long-form text.

  • In Grade 7, materials reflect a balance of 46/54, informational to literary texts, which does not reflect the 55/45 balance required by the grade-level standards. 

    • The materials include 39 core texts, 18 of which are informational texts and 21 of which are literary texts. 

    • Texts include the following subgenres: short story, poetry, article, memoir, interview, essay, drama, novel, video, and image gallery. 

    • In Grade 7, materials include 34 full texts and five excerpts. 

    • In Grade 7, materials include 37 short-form texts and two long-form texts.

  • In Grade 8, materials reflect a balance of 48/52, informational to literary texts, which does not reflect the 55/45 balance required by the grade-level standards. 

    • The materials include 31 core texts, 15 of which are informational texts and 16 of which are literary texts. 

    • Texts include the following subgenres: short story, article, poetry, essay, speech, drama, memoir, novel, infographic, and video. 

    • In Grade 8, materials include 26 full texts and five excerpts. 

    • In Grade 8, materials include 30 short-form texts and one long-form text.

  • The publisher provides a clear rationale for why each excerpted text was not selected in its entirety. For example, in grade 6, students read an excerpt from Jane Goodall’s My Life With Chimpanzees. The publisher provides the following rationale for why the text was excerpted: “This section of Goodall’s full-length memoir reads as a complete text, and, aside from its final paragraph, appears in its entirety. This text enables sixth-graders to learn of Goodall’s first encounters with the chimps, without imposing a large reading demand.” 

• Materials include core/anchor texts that are well-crafted, content-rich, and engaging for students at their grade level. 

  • The myPerspectives curriculum for Grades 6-8 includes well-crafted, content-rich texts that provide a balanced mix of literary and informational works across various subgenres. Literary texts include short stories, poetry, dramas, novels, and graphic novels, while informational texts encompass articles, essays, speeches, and infographics with a focus on science, history, and the environment. The program features works by widely respected authors and presents age-appropriate themes that engage students at each grade level. Texts are selected for their strong themes, clear character development, and diverse structures, and they incorporate rich vocabulary and complex syntax, enhancing students’ comprehension and analytical skills.

    • Grade 6 materials include texts on childhood, animals, technology, community, and adventure, which will engage 6th-grade students. 

    • Grade 7 materials include texts on relationships, space exploration, the human experience, environmentalism, and overcoming challenges, which will engage 7th-grade students. 

    • Grade 8 materials include texts on young adulthood, coming of age, resilience, intelligence, and innovation, which will engage 8th-grade students. 

  • Throughout the materials, texts are content-rich, well-crafted, and worthy of student analysis. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 1, Whole-Class Learning, students read “The Medicine Bag” by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve. In this story, the author uses rich figurative language, dialogue, and short, direct sentence structure to convey information about the characters and develop the story’s theme. 

• Materials include sufficient teacher guidance (including monitoring and feedback) and student accountability structures for independent reading (e.g., independent reading procedures, proposed schedule, tracking system for independent reading). (This criterion is evidence only and not considered in scoring.)

  • Each unit includes an Independent Learning component. This part of the unit presents students with text selection choices as they read and analyze texts that are thematically and/or topically related to the unit’s learning. 

  • The Savvas Realize platform includes a Digital Library. This library includes book club guides with texts aligned to each unit. The site provides the following description: “Book Club novels are optional and aligned to the grade-level units. The Study Guides include support for launching the Book Club, reading comprehension strategies, comprehension questions, discussion prompts, and projects. These resources must be assigned for students to access.” 

    • Each Book Club Guide includes student-facing guidance on how to run their book club effectively, chunked reading assignments with guiding discussion questions for accountability, project ideas, and a book club reflection section. The Teacher-Facing Book Club guidance includes sample responses for all questions and tasks that students complete in each book club. There is no proposed book club schedule provided.

    • In addition to book clubs, the Savvas Realize Digital Library includes a Background Connections section, which provides short informational texts, over 100 digital novels, over 100 additional texts in the Extra Reads section, a Shakespeare Shelf, a Spanish Library, a World History Library, and Reading Guides for popular novels. 

The text complexity analysis in the myPerspectives materials meets expectations for indicator 2b. The curriculum provides comprehensive text complexity analysis for all core texts, including quantitative (Lexile and word count) and qualitative measures (meaning/purpose, text structure, language clarity, and knowledge demands). These qualitative measures are represented on a scale from slightly to exceedingly complex. Each Teacher Edition includes a rationale for educational purpose and grade-level placement. Core texts are appropriately complex for each grade, with scaffolding recommendations to support student comprehension. Across Grades 6-8, texts span a range of Lexile levels, including below, within, and above grade bands, as well as Non-Prose (NP) texts without Lexile measures. The majority of texts are moderately or very complex, ensuring rigorous engagement while allowing differentiation.

• Accurate text complexity analysis and a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level accompany core/Anchor texts and a series of texts connected to them.

  • The materials include text complexity guidance in the Teacher Edition for all core texts in the program. This guidance includes a quantitative analysis, a qualitative analysis, a text summary, and a rationale for educational purpose and placement. The quantitative measures include Lexile and word count. The qualitative measures include levels of meaning/purpose, text structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands. These measures are represented on a scale from slightly to exceedingly complex. Across the program, tasks are appropriate for each grade level. 

• According to quantitative and qualitative analysis and their relationship to the associated student task, core/anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade.

  • Anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity based on their text complexity analysis and the associated reader and task. myPerspectives text complexity charts describe the unique qualitative features of each text across four categories: text structure, language features, knowledge demands, and purpose/meaning. The materials include different supports that students may need to fully comprehend different aspects of each text within these qualitative complexity measures and complete the tasks required. Across the program, tasks are appropriate for each grade level. 

    • Grade 6

      • Quantitatively: Texts range from 510L- 1280L

        • Ten texts are below the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • Nine texts are in the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • One text is above the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • Ten texts are Non-Prose (NP) or do not have a Lexile, given their format

      • Qualitatively: Three texts are slightly complex, 15 texts are moderately complex, 12 texts are very complex, and zero texts are exceedingly complex. 

    • Grade 7

      • Quantitatively: Texts range from 480L- 1280L

        • 11 texts are below the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • Ten texts are in the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • Two texts are above the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • 16  texts are Non-Prose (NP) or do not have a Lexile, given their format

      • Qualitatively: Two texts are slightly complex, 19 texts are moderately complex, 18 texts are very complex, and zero texts are exceedingly complex. 

    • Grade 8

      • Quantitatively: Texts range from 750L- 1200L 

        • 12 texts are below the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • Ten texts are in the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • One text is above the Lexile range for the grade-band

        • Eight texts  are Non-Prose (NP) or do not have a Lexile, given their format

      • Qualitatively: Two texts are slightly complex, 21 texts are moderately complex, 8 texts are very complex, and zero texts are exceedingly complex. 

The scaffolding in myPerspectives materials meets expectations for indicator 2c. The curriculum provides aligned scaffolds to support students in accessing complex texts before, during, and after reading. The Teacher Edition includes “prereading differentiation” scaffolds tailored to each text’s qualitative complexity in meaning, structure, language, and knowledge demands. Before reading, students engage with historical context, concept vocabulary, and reading strategies. During reading, comprehension checks, close reading annotations, and differentiated supports help students analyze the text. After reading, assignments deepen understanding, with additional teacher guidance for differentiated instruction. The Teacher Edition offers structured support levels (substantial, moderate, light) for key reading strategies and analysis tasks, ensuring accessibility for all learners. Throughout the Teacher Edition, guidance on implementing scaffolds is sufficient. 

• Scaffolds align with the qualitative complexity of the program’s texts to support students in making meaning of each text. 

  • The Teacher Edition provides potential scaffolds for each text based on their qualitative complexity across the four different measures: levels of meaning/purpose, text structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands. The materials refer to these scaffolds as “prereading differentiation.” These scaffolds directly align with the notes regarding the text’s complexity level related to each of these domains. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read The Diary of Anne Frank, Act I by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. In the Knowledge Demands section, the Teacher Edition states that the text “requires knowledge of the Nazi occupation and the Holocaust.” Under Pre-reading guidance for Knowledge Demands, the Teacher Edition includes the following, “If students need more background information, then display a list of words and names students will need to know about the selection. For example: Nazi occupation, Holocaust, Amsterdam, Anne Frank. For each item on the list, complete the first two columns of a KWL chart with students: What I Know (K) and What I Want to Know (W). After reading the selection, return to the final column and work with students to complete What I Have Learned (L).” 

• Materials include scaffolds for before, during, and after engaging with a complex text.

  • In addition to the “prereading differentiation” scaffolds, materials include a Preparing to Read section for each text. This section includes historical perspectives (when relevant), learning about the genre, concept vocabulary, and a quick overview of the reading strategy focus. During a first read, materials provide comprehension checks, and students apply the reading strategy. During a second read, students complete close reading annotations and questions. After reading, materials provide several assignments that deepen student analysis and understanding of the text.

    • In Grade 7, Unit 1, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Don’t Just Sit There Like a Punk” by Matt de la Peña. In addition to the “prereading differentiation” scaffolds, students learn about the short story genre, explore the definition of theme, learn concept vocabulary words like paralysis, and are introduced to the reading strategy of making inferences. During the first read, students complete comprehension check questions and apply the making inferences reading strategy. The Teacher Edition includes differentiation support across varying levels of intervention (substantial and moderate) should students struggle to apply the strategy. During the second read, students annotate and answer the close reading questions. After reading, students complete various tasks to deepen their understanding and analysis. Before completing most of the after-reading tasks, a scaffold is provided for teachers to assess student readiness for the remainder of the lesson by checking student understanding of theme. 

• Materials include teacher guidance on how to enact each scaffold based on student needs.

  • The prereading differentiation guidance is separated by measures of qualitative complexity so that teachers can enact the right scaffolds based on student needs. The Teacher Edition provides notes for teachers on reinforcing the reading strategy during the first read of each text. The notes include differentiation for students who need substantial, moderate, and light support. The Teacher Edition also provides additional notes to support students with close reading annotations and questions during the second reading of each text. Lastly, the Teacher Edition provides additional notes on how to differentiate further some of the activities that students complete after reading, including checking for student readiness for the assignments and different supports for students who need substantial or moderate support. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 5, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Eyes Looking to the Sky” by Christopher Hallman. The Teacher Edition includes notes on reinforcing the reading strategy of “Ask[ing] Questions” for the first read of the text. These notes include guidance on introducing the strategy and guidance on how to have students practice it for the first time in the text. This second guidance set includes differentiation for students who need substantial, moderate, and light support. The light support notes state, “Tell students that asking questions can help them connect more deeply with the character in the story. Have students focus on asking questions about the characters’ feelings and motivations as they take this journey.” The Close-Read guidance includes notes on what to say to students during these parts of the lesson to help them complete the assignment. 

The text set organization in myPerspectives materials meets expectations for indicator 2d. The curriculum structures text sets around grade-appropriate themes and essential questions, ensuring a cohesive approach to knowledge building. Each unit spans multiple genres and incorporates academic vocabulary, content knowledge, and complex syntax to deepen student understanding. The curriculum follows a structured progression from Whole-Class Learning to Peer-Group Learning and Independent Learning, allowing students to engage with texts in varied contexts. Throughout myPerspectives units, students address facets of the same topic or theme through various texts across multiple genres. This design encourages critical thinking and analysis by presenting multiple perspectives on a central theme, supporting cross-disciplinary connections in social studies, science, and literature. As students progress through each unit, they develop their own perspectives on the essential question by reading various perspectives on the topic or theme. All tasks throughout the unit lead to the Performance-Based Assessment, where students have the opportunity to show the culmination of their learning and present their response to the essential question. 

• Text sets are organized around a grade-appropriate, tightly-connected topic or theme. 

  • Each myPerspectives unit is organized by a grade-appropriate topic or theme. The unit’s essential question also connects text sets. Students respond to the essential questions in the Unit Performance-Based Assessment of each unit. 

    • Grade 6: 

      • Unit 1 Focus: Growing Up. Essential Question: What are some of the challenges and triumphs of growing up?

      • Unit 2 Focus: Natural Allies. Essential Question: How do animals and people interact?

      • Unit 3 Focus: Living with Technology. Essential Question: Is technology helpful or harmful to our lives?

      • Unit 4 Focus: Imagined Worlds. Essential Question: How does imagination enrich our lives?

      • Unit 5 Focus: Extraordinary People. Essential Question: What makes people extraordinary? 

    • Grade 7: 

      • Unit 1 Focus: Crossing Generations. Essential Question: What can one generation learn from another?

      • Unit 2 Focus: Living Among the Stars. Essential Question: Should we make a home in space?

      • Unit 3 Focus: Transformations. Essential Question: Can people really change?

      • Unit 4 Focus: Learning from Nature. Essential Question: What is the relationship between people and nature?

      • Unit 5 Focus: Facing Adversity. Essential Question: How do we overcome life’s challenges? 

    • Grade 8: 

      • Unit 1 Focus: Rites of Passage. Essential Question: What are some of the milestones on the path to growing up?

      • Unit 2 Focus: Resilience. Essential Question: What do stories of resilience teach us about the human spirit?

      • Unit 3 Focus: Taking a Stand. Essential Question: How do we decide what matters to us?

      • Unit 4 Focus: Human Intelligence. Essential Question: In what different ways can people be intelligent?

      • Unit 5 Focus: Pushing Boundaries. Essential Question: What inspires people to invent? 

• Text set organization provides opportunities for students to address facets of the same topic or theme over an extended period (e.g., a unit, module), enabling the development of deeper knowledge. Text sets cohesively build knowledge across various topics in social studies (including history), science, the arts, and literature, exposing students to academic vocabulary, content knowledge, and complex syntax.

  • myPerspectives units are structured so that students address facets of the same topic or theme through various texts. All units start with Whole-Class Learning, which is more teacher-supported. Then, units move into Peer-Group Learning, where learning is done in small groups. Lastly, units include Independent Learning, where students select text(s) they’d like to read and independently analyze to investigate the topic/theme further. In each of these unit components, students read various texts, and this structure supports students in building deep knowledge of the topics/themes of study. 

  • myPerspectives unit text sets span varied genres throughout each unit; text sets cover topics and themes through multiple lenses across multiple genres. Through the text sets, the materials expose students to academic vocabulary, content knowledge, and complex syntax. 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 2, students study the unit Living Among the Stars with the essential question, “Should we make a home in space?” Throughout this unit, students focus on academic vocabulary words for arguments, including justify, dissent, certainty, discredit, and assumption. As part of the Unit Introduction, they watch a short video, “6 NASA Technologies to Get Humans to Mars,” which reveals some of the scientific innovations NASA is working on. Then, they read a Mentor Text, “Humans Are Not Meant for Space,” which serves as a model of an argumentative piece. Throughout the unit, students read texts in the disciplines of science, literature, and the arts. In the Whole-Class Learning portion of the unit, students read two texts, “Space Settlement Art,” which displays artists’ renderings of what it might look like to live in other parts of the solar system in the future so that students can begin to envision the possibility of space settlements, and the short story “Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed,” which presents Ray Bradbury’s science fiction vision of a family living on Mars, which makes a case for the human ability to adapt to new environments. This text is written in language that is not contemporary, with many short, simple sentences and “some more complex sentences with descriptive or figurative phrases.” In the Peer-Group Learning portion of the unit, students read three texts, “Japan to Start Research on the Moon and Mars for Humans” by Tomoyuki Suzuki, which presents Japan’s plan for creating living facilities on the Moon and Mars, “Why We Should Continue to Explore Space” by Sheri Buckner, an argumentative piece which presents a perspective on the reasons humans could continue to explore space, and “Why We Should Save Earth Before Colonizing Mars” by Bruce Dorminey, which presents a counterargument to the former piece. In the Independent Learning portion of the unit, students have a choice of reading four texts: two on the experiences of astronauts and downsides involved in long-term space exploration, a set of comic strips that are meant to provide students with additional perspectives on whether space exploration is necessary, and a short story “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet” by Margaret Atwood, which presents a suggestion that with climate change, living on Earth may no longer be possible in the future. Throughout this text set, students have the opportunity to repeatedly consider the essential question and develop their own perspectives on space exploration and the possibility of space settlements. At the end of the unit, students complete their Performance-Based Assessment, an argumentative piece on the essential question. 

The questions, tasks, and assignments in myPerspectives materials meet expectations for indicator 2g. The materials provide opportunities for students to engage deeply with texts through text-based questions. Each reading lesson includes Reading Strategy Questions, Comprehension Questions, and First Thoughts Questions that support students in making meaning of the text during their first read, as well as Close Read questions that support students in deepening their understanding of the text during and after their targeted second read. After reading, students complete various questions, tasks, and assignments that require them to answer in different formats, including speaking and listening activities, answering multiple-choice questions, and writing short and long-form responses. 

• Materials provide opportunities to support students in making meaning of the texts being studied through text-based questions and tasks that require students to answer in varying formats (e.g., speaking, writing, etc.). 

  • myPerspectives materials include text-specific and text-dependent questions for students to complete during reading. During a first read, students read for enjoyment and general comprehension. Comprehension question types include Reading Strategy Questions and Comprehension Check Questions. After this first read, students complete a First Thoughts assignment where they answer one to two questions on the text in writing and then discuss it in small groups. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 1, Whole-Class Learning, students read “My Achilles’ Meal” by Firoozeh Dumas. First, students read the text for comprehension and enjoyment. During this read, students answer Comprehension Check and Make Inferences questions, which is the reading strategy for this text. Some of these questions are: 

      • “Make Inferences: Review Paragraphs 8 and 9. Why might Farah have taken Firoozeh to a toy store and allowed her to pick out any toy she wanted?

      • Comprehension Check: What does Firoozeh plan to tell her parents about the two new toys she has received? What prior experience inspires this plan?

      • Comprehension Check: Why is Firoozeh no longer interested in her stroller and doll?”

      After this first read, students answer one of the First Thoughts questions below and discuss them in small groups. 

      • “Firoozeh says that ‘kids pick up anything parents try to hide.’ Do you think this is true? Explain your ideas.

      • Have you been in a situation like Firoozeh’s where a family member or friend wanted to spoil you? How did you behave?”

  • Throughout the program, students complete many tasks and assignments that require them to answer in various formats after completing their reading for the lesson and/or unit. These tasks focus on various parts of literacy components such as Vocabulary, Reading Analysis, Evidence Logs, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Inquiry and Research, and Language. Students answer in short or long-form writing, through various types of academic discussions, and by selecting multiple-choice answers.  

• Materials include text-based questions and tasks that require students to closely read and/or re-read complex parts of texts to deepen their analysis and understanding. 

  • myPerspectives materials include Close-Read questions and tasks during and after reading. These questions help students deepen their analysis of the text under study. Students complete Close-Reading questions during and after their targeted second read of the text. The program also includes general Nonfiction and Fiction Close-Read Guides, which are graphic organizers that students can use to close-read texts depending on their genre. 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Dark They Were, and Starry Eyed” by Ray Bradbury. During their second read, students complete the following close reading questions: 

      • “Close Read: Annotate: Mark details in the beginning of paragraph 34 that describe Bittering’s inner thoughts. Question: Why are these thoughts expressed in incomplete sentences with a lot of repetition, and what does this reveal about Bittering’s emotional state?

      • Close Read: Annotate: Mark examples of descriptive language in paragraph 41. Question: How does this use of language build suspense?

      • Close Read: Annotate: Mark details in paragraphs 83-95 that indicate disagreement between Bittering and the other men. Question: Why might Bradbury have chosen to build conflict through the use of dialogue?

      • Close Read: Annotate: Mark the Martian word Mr. Bittering says in paragraph 135. Question: Why does the author have Bittering speak Martian at this point in the story, and why is this event significant?

      • Close Read: Annotate: Mark the words and ideas that are repeated in paragraphs 212-222. Question: What important change in Bittering does the repetition suggest?

      • Close Read: Annotate: Mark details in paragraphs 269-278 that reveal the findings of the rescue mission from Earth. Question: Why has Bradbury chosen to include this scene?”

      After reading, students complete the following close reading questions: 

      • Close Read: 

        • “The model passage and annotation show how one reader analyzed paragraph 251. Find another detail in the passage to annotate. Then, write your own question and conclusion. 

        • Choose a section of the story that you found especially meaningful. Mark important details. Then, jot down questions and write your own conclusions in the open space next to the text.”

The analysis opportunities in myPerspectives materials meet expectations for indicator 2h. The materials provide numerous opportunities for students to analyze key ideas, details, craft, and structure and the integration of knowledge and ideas within and across texts. Students engage with text-specific questions to examine texts for various layers of meaning. Lessons include tasks that require students to analyze how authors develop meaning, intentionally structure their texts, and draw connections to other media. In addition to analyzing each text individually, each unit includes paired text selections and assignments that require students to draw connections across texts. At the end of each unit, students use the information from all the unit’s texts to complete the Performance-Based Assessment (a written task). These tasks promote comprehension by encouraging students to deepen their analysis consistently. 

• Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards) within individual texts and across multiple texts to support students in making meaning.

  • Throughout the myPerspectives program, students complete various tasks and questions that prompt them to analyze key ideas and details to make meaning of the texts under study. In addition to analyzing each text individually, each unit includes paired text selections and assignments that require them to draw connections across texts. At the end of each unit, students use the information from all the unit’s texts to complete the Performance-Based Assessment. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 2, Peer-Group Learning, students read “Black Cowboy, Wild Horses” by Julius Lester. After reading, they complete various questions and tasks to deepen their understanding of the story. One of these tasks requires students to analyze specific paragraphs in the text for various central ideas. The “Author’s Purpose and Central Ideas” task directions state, “Work on your own to complete the activity and answer the questions. Then, share your responses with your group.

      • Practice: (a) Analyze: Reread the paragraphs indicated in the chart and identify key details. (b) Interpret: Explain what central ideas about Bob Lemmons the details suggest.”

      Students complete a graphic organizer where they analyze key details in paragraphs 5, 7, and 18. Then, they use this graphic organizer to further their understanding of the text through questions like “(a) In paragraph 5, what information about Bob Lemmons does the biographer explicitly state? (b) Evaluate: Why is this information important for understanding Bob Lemmons?”

• Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards) within individual texts and across multiple texts to support students in making meaning.

  • Throughout the myPerspectives program, students complete various tasks and questions that prompt them to analyze craft and structure to make meaning of the texts under study. In addition to analyzing each text individually, each unit includes paired text selections and assignments that require them to draw connections across texts. At the end of each unit, students use the information from all the unit’s texts to complete the Performance-Based Assessment. 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 1, Peer-Group Learning, students read a poetry collection, including “Ode to Papi” by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, and “To James” by Frank Horne. After reading, they complete various questions and tasks to deepen their understanding of the story. One of these tasks requires students to analyze the structure of the poems. The “Visual Elements in Poetry” task directions state, “Work on your own to complete the activity and answer the questions. Then, share your responses with your group. 

      • Analyze: In ‘Ode to Papi,’ does the poet use conventional or unconventional punctuation? Why do you think she made that choice?

      • (a) Distinguish: In ‘Mother to Son,’ how does line 7 differ from other lines? (b) Interpret: What is the effect? Explain.

      • Analyze: In ‘Mother to Son, how does punctuation affect the way you read line 177?

      • (a) Interpret: In ‘To James,’ what do the ellipses suggest about the questions the speaker is asking? (b) Analyze: Why do you think the poem ends with an ellipsis? Explain. 

      • (a) Compare and Contrast: How is the use of capitalization in the poems similar and different? (b) Interpret: What is the effect of the use of capitalization in each poem?”

• Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas (according to grade-level standards) within individual texts and across multiple texts to support students in deepening their understanding on a topic.

  • Throughout the myPerspectives program, students complete various tasks and questions that prompt them to analyze the integration of knowledge and to make meaning of the texts under study. In addition to analyzing each text individually, each unit includes paired text selections and assignments that require them to draw connections across texts. At the end of each unit, students use the information from all the unit’s texts to complete the Performance-Based Assessment. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 4, Whole-Class Learning, students read the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. After reading, they complete various questions and tasks to deepen their understanding of the story. One of these tasks requires students to analyze the text further. In the “Analysis” task, the following question asks students to draw connections between the story and another text. The prompt states, 

      • “An allusion is an unexplained reference to something writers expect their readers to recognize. Writers often make allusions to the Bible, mythology, historical events, and popular culture. In paragraph 126, Fanny makes an allusion to a biblical story. If this story is unfamiliar to you, briefly research it. 

        • (a) Connect: How does this story relate to Charlie’s experience?

        • (b)Analyze: What theme does the allusion help the author develop?

        • (c) Compare and Contrast: In what ways is Charlie’s experience different—a new take on the biblical story?”

The evidence-based discussion opportunities in the myPerspectives materials meet expectations for indicator 2j. The curriculum provides frequent opportunities for collaborative conversations about texts, requiring students to use, apply, and incorporate textual evidence. Students engage in discussions after first and second reads, participate in Peer-Group Learning, and complete speaking and listening tasks. While most discussions are informal, structured discussions such as group discussions and partner debates encourage students to analyze texts deeply. The curriculum also includes prompts for students to consider different perspectives and engage in intellectual discourse, though formal guidance for structured discussions is less frequent. These collaborative activities help students develop critical thinking and textual analysis skills while refining their ability to articulate and support their interpretations.

• Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in collaborative conversations about the text being read, which require them to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources.

  • Throughout the myPerspectives units, students have many opportunities to engage in collaborative conversations about the texts being read. After completing each first read of the texts, students complete the First Thoughts Activity and then discuss their answers in groups. After completing a second read of each text, students complete several tasks to deepen their understanding and analysis. Some texts provide optional Sharing Perspectives tasks, where teachers can facilitate additional short discussion prompts. Many of the tasks in the materials require students to engage in collaborative conversations in pairs, groups, or as a whole class. While these tasks are present, most of these conversations are informal. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 1, Whole-Class Learning, students read “My Achilles’ Meal” by Firoozeh Dumas. After reading, students participate in a partner discussion on the questions “How is the title a humorous take on the phrase ‘Achilles’ heel?’ What is the narrator’s Achilles’ heel? How does the use of humor affect the reader’s feelings about the author and the incident she describes? Would this text have the same effect on readers if it were told without humor? Explain.” Before discussing, students are allotted time to prepare to review the text and answer independently. Students must use textual evidence in their responses. After discussing with partners, students present the highlights of their discussions to the whole class. 

  • During the Peer-Group Learning parts of each unit, students work with their groups almost the entire time. This peer group structure requires students to engage in collaborative discussions frequently throughout each unit. Before beginning the peer group component of each unit, students go over peer-group learning strategies, such as “support others” and “clarify.” As students dive into the unit, they complete many text-specific tasks that require them to utilize, apply, and incorporate text evidence. These tasks include summaries, short responses to text-based questions, speaking and listening activities, and writing activities. 

• Materials provide opportunities for students to consider others’ perspectives and engage in intellectual discourse about texts and topics they are reading.

  • myPerspectives materials provide opportunities for students to consider others’ perspectives and engage in intellectual discourse about the texts and topics of study. While students engage in many discussions as they work through tasks throughout the program, formal discussions with more intentional guidance that ensures students consider others’ perspectives are less frequent. 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 5, Peer-Group Learning, students read Aimee Mullins’s “A Work in Progress.” After reading, they engage in a group discussion in which they analyze two quotations from the text. One of the foci of this discussion is to listen actively. Students receive sentence stems that they can use to practice this skill as their teammates are speaking. These sentence stems prompt students to clarify their peers’ ideas and ask their peers to elaborate as they find their peers’ ideas interesting. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read an excerpt from Elie Wiesel’s “Acceptance Speech for the Nobel Peace Prize.” After reading, they discuss two text quotations in a group discussion. As they discuss, students are responsible for making sure their discussions are fruitful and engaging. They receive tips in their materials on how to do this, including acknowledging how the new information from their peers relates to their own ideas, rethinking their initial views based on others’ ideas, and posing questions both to connect others’ ideas or clarify ideas they don’t understand. 

The instruction on independent word-learning strategies and key vocabulary words in myPerspectives materials meet expectations for indicator 2k. The curriculum provides structured, explicit vocabulary practice before, during, and after reading. Each unit begins with introducing academic vocabulary tied to the writing focus, where students predict meanings, analyze roots, and review mentor sentences. Before reading, Concept Vocabulary tasks introduce words through definitions, sentence writing, and dictionary use. Teachers may also introduce high-utility words, which vary per text. During reading, bolded words link to student-friendly definitions. After reading, students engage in Concept Vocabulary and Word Study tasks on word structure, connotations, and affixes, reinforcing vocabulary through writing and analysis. Word walls are used throughout the unit, expanding with each text. Teacher guidance includes pre-reading differentiation to support students with challenging vocabulary, guidance on facilitating the various tasks, and student sample responses to all vocabulary tasks. This consistent, structured approach ensures multiple exposures to key words across texts. 

• Materials include structured and explicit practices for introducing key vocabulary words and independent word-learning strategies within the context of the texts (student-friendly definitions, analyzing morphemes, etymology, word maps, and discussion of word relationships/shades of meaning, dictionary skills, context clues). Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and high-utility academic words. Materials provide multiple exposures to key vocabulary within (i.e., before, during, after reading) and across texts.

  • myPerspectives materials include an academic vocabulary component at the start of each unit. The academic vocabulary is directly related to the unit’s writing focus. Teachers introduce these words at the beginning of each unit and prompt students to review each word, predict the meaning, and list at least two related words. To support students, the roots of the words with their definitions are provided, in addition to two mentor sentences that use the word. The Teacher Edition prompts teachers to “point out that the root of each word provides a clue to its meaning” and “discuss the mentor sentences to ensure students understand the word’s usage.” This is a repetitive, structured practice in the program. 

  • Teachers introduce the unit’s word wall at the start of the unit. Throughout a unit, students complete word walls connected to the unit’s topic or theme. They begin by completing the word wall with the Mentor Text and continue to add to it throughout the unit. This is a consistent, structured practice in the program. The Teacher Edition prompts teachers to “Tell students that they can fill in the Word Wall as they read the texts in the unit, or they can record the words elsewhere and add them later. Point out that there will be no right or wrong choice of words for their Word Walls. Each student’s will be unique.” Additional Guidance prompts that teachers should “Consider creating a classroom Word Wall and invite students to contribute to it as they finish their readings.” The Expert’s Perspective note on Word Walls in the Teacher Editions states how Word Walls support student’s vocabulary development. Some of this guidance states, “Vocabulary Word Walls enable students to learn, use, and retain a large number of useful words related to a particular concept…Using Vocabulary Word Walls also helps students choose more precise words when they write or edit. Finally, forging connections among related words, as opposed to learning words individually, allows students to approach new words with confidence and knowledge.” 

  • myPerspectives materials include guidance and tasks that expose students to key vocabulary before, during, and after reading. These exposures are part of the program’s structured practices for introducing key vocabulary words and word-learning strategies to students. 

    • The text complexity information in the Teacher Edition for each text provides a “pre-reading differentiation” section. For most texts, the language conventionality and clarity component provides teachers with vocabulary words they should pre-teach if students are likely to need help with the text’s vocabulary. 

    • The Teacher Edition provides High-Utility Words for each text. The guidance includes the words, where they are referenced in the text, and how each word should be introduced to students. The strategy teachers should use to introduce high-utility words varies based on the text. 

    • The Teacher Edition provides Content Vocabulary words for some texts. These words are genre-related. The guidance includes the words and how they should be introduced to students, including discussion questions teachers should use with students. 

    • Before reading each text, students complete a Concept Vocabulary task. While this task varies in what it asks students to complete, it presents students with several vocabulary words from the text. Some of the tasks are using the definition to write a sample sentence, using a print dictionary to determine the meaning, pronunciation, and parts of speech, setting expectations about the text based on vocabulary words and definitions provided, writing a short story or paragraph using the vocabulary words and the definitions provided, etc. When definitions are provided in the materials, they are student-friendly. The Teacher Edition includes some guidance on facilitating this task.

      • In Grade 7, Unit 1, Whole-Class Learning, before reading “Don’t Just Sit There Like a Punk” by Matt de La Peña, students complete the Concept Vocabulary task. Teacher Guidance states, “Read the concept vocabulary words aloud and review definitions. Provide context sentences as needed to clarify word meanings. Then, call on volunteers to share their predictions about what the story might be about, based on the concept words.” 

      • When the task requires students to infer from context as they read a text, the Teacher Edition includes additional guidance on what to do if students struggle to understand each word. This guidance often includes differentiation for students who need substantial, moderate, or light support. 

    • As students read, myPerspectives materials bold and underline vocabulary words. Students may click the words to see their parts of speech and definitions, which are student-friendly. These words are the same as those completed in the previous Concept Vocabulary task before reading. 

    • After reading each text, materials include a Concept Vocabulary task. The words are the same ones students saw in the Concept Vocabulary task before reading the text. These tasks include using the vocabulary words to complete a short writing task, finding more words in the text that fit similar concepts to the vocabulary words listed, answering questions about the vocabulary words, determining the connections between words, etc. The Teacher Edition provides sample student responses for these activities. 

    • After reading each text, materials include a Word Study task. These tasks include practice with connotation and denotation, types of words (like compound words), synonyms and antonyms, prefixes and suffixes, Latin phrases, etc. The Teacher Edition provides sample student responses for these activities. 

    • After reading each text, students return to adding to their word walls for the unit. This is a consistent, structured practice in the program. 

The opportunities for students to practice independent word-learning strategies and newly taught vocabulary words in myPerspectives meet expectations for indicator 2l. The curriculum provides structured opportunities for students to develop independent word-learning strategies such as inferring meaning from context, morphological analysis, and etymological awareness. At the start of each unit, students engage in Academic Vocabulary tasks, where they analyze root words and examine mentor sentences. Students use these components to predict the meaning of the vocabulary words. Before and after reading, students complete Concept Vocabulary tasks, which include using context clues, dictionary skills, and writing exercises to reinforce vocabulary acquisition. Additionally, Word Study tasks provide explicit instruction on prefixes, suffixes, connotation, denotation, and word relationships. Students consistently apply newly learned vocabulary in discussions, writing assignments, and Performance Tasks, ensuring multiple exposures to key words. Word Walls further support vocabulary retention by allowing students to track and revisit important words throughout the unit, strengthening their understanding through continuous practice.

• Materials include opportunities for students to use independent word-learning strategies to understand the meaning of challenging words  (inferring from context, using morphological or etymological awareness). 

  • Throughout the myPerspectives program, students complete vocabulary tasks that require them to practice using independent word-learning strategies. These strategies include inferring from context, dictionary skills, and using morphological and etymological awareness. 

    • At the start of each unit, students complete an Academic Vocabulary task. Students are given the definitions of root words and sample sentences; using what is provided, students practice inferring the meaning of the vocabulary words. 

      • In Grade 6, Unit 3, the academic vocabulary words are focused on arguments. The words are convince, certain, sufficient, declare, and justify. For the word justify, the Latin root, -jur-/-jus- meaning “law” and “right” is provided. Materials include the following mentor sentences: “1. I don’t think there’s anything you can say that will justify that bad behavior. 2. The student’s excellent grades justify her promotion to advanced math.” Students use the Latin root definition and sample sentences to infer the meaning of the word. 

    • Before and after reading each text, students complete a Concept Vocabulary task. While these tasks vary, some of them require that students practice using a dictionary to figure out a word’s definition, pronunciation, and part of speech, and some of them require the use of context clues. 

      • In Grade 8, Unit 2, Peer-Group Learning, before reading Andrew Lam’s “Letter to a Young Refugee,” students complete a Concept Vocabulary task. This task summarizes the strategy of using context clues. Then, it requires students to infer the meaning of three vocabulary words as they read the text using context clues: fled, dispossessed, and exiled. 

    • After reading each text, students complete a Word Study task. These tasks help students develop word knowledge, including etymological and morphological awareness. They include practice with suffixes, prefixes, roots, types of words (like compound words), connotation, and denotation. 

      • In Grade 7, Unit 3, Whole-Class Learning, students read A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley Act I, a drama based on the novella by Charles Dickens. After reading, students complete the Word Study task. In this task, students learn about the Latin prefix mal-, which means “bad.” Then, they see the prefix used in a word from the text, malcontent. Last, they write a sentence using the word and use a dictionary to find three more words that use the same prefix and use these words in a sentence as well. 

• Materials include opportunities for students to use academic and content-specific vocabulary in various contexts.

  • During each Performance Task, students are challenged to “use one or more of the unit’s academic vocabulary.” 

  • During many Concept Vocabulary Tasks, students practice using vocabulary words in a sentence or short written assignments, allowing students to practice newly learned vocabulary in a different context. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 5, Peer-Group Learning, students complete a Concept Vocabulary task after reading “Icarus and Daedalus,” retold by Josephine Preston Peabody. After determining what the words have in common with their groups, students “Use each vocabulary word in a sentence. Include context clues that hint at each word’s meaning.” They must use all three vocabulary words in the scene: imprisoned, liberty, and captive. 

• Practice opportunities incorporate review of previously learned words based on their connection to the topic of study. 

  • In each unit, students complete a Word Wall related to the unit’s topic or theme. As students progress through the unit’s text set, they refer back to and add to their word walls. This practice allows students to refer back to words they learned in the unit.

    • In Grade 7, Unit 5, the theme is “Facing Adversity.” As they read the Mentor Text, students complete a word wall that requires them to “identify interesting words related to facing adversity…Continue to add words as you complete the unit.” Each word wall document gives students a starting point, which includes three vocabulary words from the Mentor Text. In this unit, the words are dire, humble, and competence. As students continue to read the texts in this unit, they add to their Word Walls. 

  • The Concept Vocabulary activities students complete before and after reading each text include the same words. This practice allows students to return to words multiple times across the learning process. 

  • At the beginning of each unit, students learn new Academic Vocabulary relevant to the unit. During this task, students must note at least two related words to each academic term. 

  • At the beginning of each unit, students set goals. One of these goals is based on the statement “I can understand and use academic vocabulary related to” the writing focus of the unit. Students evaluate their progress during the unit and introduction and the unit reflection. 

The explicit instruction for teaching sentence composition in myPerspectives meets expectations for indicator 2m. Grammar instruction is integrated into each unit, with activities that require students to analyze and revise sentences based on mentor texts, core texts, and their own writing. The Teacher Edition includes modeling, differentiation strategies, and checks for understanding before students complete grammar exercises. Throughout the writing process, students engage in drafting, revision and editing, using mentor texts as models and revision checklists to refine their work. Specific teacher guidance and Quick Conference questions support students in improving sentence clarity, structure, and flow. Additionally, grammar activities incorporate authentic text-based examples, requiring students to edit or analyze sentences from core readings. This structured approach ensures students receive explicit instruction and practice opportunities to enhance their sentence-composition skills.

• Materials include explicit instruction in sentence-composition skills (use of punctuation, sentence elaboration, sentence combining using cohesive ties, sentence fluency), embedded in what students are studying throughout the unit. 

  • After reading each text, students complete several activities. For many texts, this includes a grammar and usage component. For some of these activities, students write sentences. The Teacher Edition includes guidance on checking students’ level of understanding of the grammar concept before they begin the activity with an example. After this check for understanding, the Teacher Edition presents differentiation options for remediating the concept based on the level of student support, often substantial or moderate. Then, students complete the grammar activity.

    • In Grade 6, Unit 1, Peer-Group Learning, students read “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros. After reading, they complete a Study Language and Craft activity on pronoun-antecedent agreement. The Teacher Edition includes guidance for checking students’ understanding first. This guidance states, “Evaluate student readiness for the lesson by displaying this frame and having students fill in a pronoun and its antecedent: Although loved music, loved sports more. Monitor student responses, and then differentiate as needed, using the support notes below.” After this check for understanding, there are two differentiation options in the Teacher Edition if students need support. The guidance for substantial support states, “Before teaching the lesson, reinforce the idea that a pronoun takes the place of a noun. Provide this example, and help students identify the pronoun and the antecedent.” The example is “Although Keiko was good at writing, she wanted to become a musician.” The guidance for moderate support states, “As you teach the lesson, provide extra examples of vague pronouns for students to correct.” The examples listed are “Eric and Brian went to his house after the game. The Raiders didn’t play two of the other teams because their bus broke down.” Last, students complete the activity, which requires them to learn about pronoun-antecedent agreement, list pronouns and their antecedents found in a short selection from the text, and rewrite or edit two sentences about the text with vague pronouns. 

  • Students write a longer piece of work for each unit’s written Performance Task. As part of the writing process, there is time for drafting, revision, and editing. During these activities, students return to the unit’s Mentor Text and are prompted to analyze and discuss it and “Read Like a Writer.” The Teacher Edition includes notes on facilitating and Quick Conference questions that they can use to support each student. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 2, students write an informational essay as the unit’s written Performance Task.

      • After planning and prewriting, students move to drafting. First, students analyze paragraphs 1 and 2 of a model draft from the Mentor Text with specific annotations, noting any observations about how the writer engages the reader’s interest. Then, students complete a Coherence and Craft activity where they work on their introduction, topic sentences, and transitions in their sentences. Teacher guidance is focused on highlighting the essential point that “A coherent essay is one in which ideas are connected and supported to make one overarching point.” The guidance includes directions for the teachers on how to facilitate the Coherence and Craft activity, where students learn about different transition words and the logical relationships they convey between ideas. Differentiation guidance is provided for teachers to use with students who may need substantial or moderate support with this activity. 

      • After revising, students move to editing, focusing on sentence combining. The Teacher Edition includes guidance on launching the task, including “Explain to students that editing is the process of correcting errors in grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization.” For this part of the writing process, students practice “Reading Like a Writer” by re-examining the unit’s mentor texts with correction notes. Teacher guidance for this section states, “Walk students through the corrections the author of the Mentor Text made. Then, allow students a few minutes to complete the activity.” The activity requires students to practice combining sentences. After the activity, students apply this learning to their own essays. Teacher Guidance states, “Explain that too many short sentences will make students’ writing choppy and stilted. Suggest that students read the essay aloud to themselves to hear and identify short, choppy sentences more easily.” Teacher Guidance also includes Quick Conference questions to use with students individually. For this task, these questions are: “What kind of errors have you corrected? Try reading this sentence aloud. Does the grammar sound correct? Are you editing in an orderly way? If not, focus on one type of error at a time. Can you show me something you changed when editing?” 

• Materials utilize exemplar sentences from core and mentor texts that contain clear, varied, and rich examples of sentence structure.

  • Each unit begins with reading a Mentor Text, which allows students to learn about the genre of writing aligned to the written Performance Task. Students return to this Mentor Text while drafting, revising, and editing their written Performance Task. 

  • The Grammar Activities throughout each unit include sentences that are either about the text or from the text. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 4, Whole-Class Learning, students read a drama version of “A Wrinkle in Time” by John Glore. After reading Part 1, students complete a grammar activity about sentence types and their functions. Students are to edit sentences from the text to change their type and function. The sentences in the assignment are: 

      • “After the haunted house, you’re coming to our house for dinner.

      • Don’t you think you should ask your mom first?

      • Is that Black Thing what my father is fighting?”

    • In Grade 7, Unit 4, Whole-Class Learning, students read “The Bee Highway: Making a Place in the Bee City” by Kathryn Hulick. After reading, students complete a grammar activity about diction, meaning, and tone. As part of the activity, students are to analyze passages from the text and identify words and phrases that they consider descriptive or technical. The passages from the text are: 

      • “Bees may love tall grass, weeds, and fallen leaves or logs, but most humans don’t. Thankfully, people can create beautiful outdoor spaces that bees also love. Girl Scouts Georgia Basch and Charlotte Wilder are both fourth graders who live in the Detroit area. They made a special space for bees in Georgia’s backyard, beside a tomato and a basal plant. 

      • Diseases and parasites have affected many bees. Pesticides and herbicides sicken bees. In addition, bee colonies get stressed when they can’t find enough food or enough variety of food or when their habitat changes. Any of those problems alone may be enough to kill an entire colony.” 

 The sentence composition opportunities in myPerspectives meet expectations for indicator 2n. The curriculum provides opportunities for students to write sentences about texts while practicing sentence composition skills. After reading, students complete grammar and language activities that require them to write sentences using specific structures related to the text. During written Performance Tasks, students revise and edit their writing with a focus on sentence clarity, structure, and style, using mentor texts as models. The curriculum also guides students to adapt their language based on audience and purpose, reinforcing precise word choice, sentence complexity, and formal writing conventions. These structured activities ensure students apply and refine their sentence composition skills throughout the writing process.

• Materials include opportunities for students to write sentences about the texts under study while practicing and applying sentence composition skills. 

  • After reading each text, students complete various activities. Some of these activities require them to consider grammar, usage, and language, and some prompt students to produce sentence-level writing about the texts under study. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read an excerpt from “My Life with Chimpanzees” by Jane Goodall. After reading, they complete a Study Language and Craft activity on reflexive and intensive pronouns. After learning about both, students practice marking reflexive or intensive pronouns in sample sentences from the core text. Then, they write three sentences on their own to the prompt, “Write three sentences about Jane Goodall’s experiences at Stream National Park. In each sentence, use an intensive or reflexive pronoun.”

• Materials include opportunities for students to practice and apply sentence composition skills by examining their own writing.

  • During each written Performance Task, students complete editing activities as part of the writing process. These activities allow students to practice and apply sentence composition skills by examining their drafts with a particular instructional focus and revising sentences to make improvements. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 1, students write a Personal Narrative as the unit’s written Performance Task. During the editing process, students re-analyze a section of the unit’s Mentor Text with a sentence focus on active vs. passive voice. After learning that “too many verbs in a sentence can make writing seem inactive and vague,” they practice rewriting a provided paragraph, ensuring it uses active rather than passive voice. After practicing with this provided paragraph, students examine their own narratives and edit their sentences to ensure that they are using active voice throughout their narratives. 

• Materials include opportunities for students to adapt their language based on the intended audience and purpose. 

  • Some of the assignments that students complete after reading texts prompt them to adapt their language based on their intended audience. 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 4, students read “The Bee Highway: Making a Place for Bees in the City” by Kathryn Hulick. After reading, they complete several tasks, including writing a formal letter in response to the prompt, “Imagine that your school administration is considering adding rooftop bees to your school building. Write a formal letter to your principal, expressing your opinion on the matter.” As part of the activity, students are required to use a “formal style throughout.” 

  • During each written Performance Task, students edit and revise as part of the writing process using the unit’s Mentor Text as a guide. During revision, they consider the clarity, development, style, organization, and tone of their writing. During editing, they consider the reader of their work and make changes to their writing to strengthen it and meet its intended purpose. Teachers remind students of the importance of the editing process and remind students of the purpose of the genre of writing they are working with, and how lack of revision can hinder their writing. 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 2, students write an Argument: Editorial as the written Performance Task. During revision, students complete a checklist; part of this checklist requires students to consider their style. The guiding questions on this part of the checklist are: “Are my word choices precise and concise? Is my style appropriately formal for an editorial? Have I used complex sentences correctly?” Before editing, teachers are to remind students that “if readers see errors in an editorial, they are less likely to take the writer’s ideas seriously.” During the editing process, they re-analyze a section of the unit’s Mentor Text with a sentence focus on complex sentences. The Mentor Text includes annotations and changes that the writer made to strengthen their writing. One of these notes states, “Fixed an error in which the writer used a comma before a dependent clause in the middle of a complex sentence.” Following this analysis, students complete a short activity, where they revise provided sentences to ensure the subordinating conjunction “shows the correct logical relationship between ideas.” Then, they rewrite or edit their own sentences in their report to fix any inaccurate complex sentences in their writing. 

The on-demand and process writing opportunities in myPerspectives meet expectations for indicator 2o. The curriculum includes a mix of on-demand and process writing tasks. Each unit begins with Quick Writes and summary activities, followed by on-demand writing prompts after reading texts, which vary in length and complexity. Students also engage in process writing through Performance Tasks and Performance-Based Assessments, which align with the unit’s Mentor Text and require them to synthesize information and ideas from their reading. This consistent connection between reading and writing fosters deeper understanding. While the program provides structured persuasive, explanatory, and narrative writing, the distribution does not fully align with standards, as narrative and explanatory writing are emphasized more than persuasive writing. Writing tasks are closely tied to the themes, topics, and genres of the readings, reinforcing students’ ability to write purposefully and analytically.

• Materials include a mix of grade-appropriate on-demand and process writing.

  • myPerspectives materials include various on-demand and process writing tasks.

    • At the start of each unit, students read a Mentor Text and complete a Summary and a Quick Write response, where they draft their initial thinking on the unit’s essential question. 

    • After reading each text, students complete various activities. Many of these activities require on-demand written responses that vary in length (from sentence to paragraph to multiple paragraphs). 

      • In Grade 6, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read an excerpt from My Life with Chimpanzees by Jane Goodall. After reading, they complete an on-demand essay task to the prompt, “In My Life with Chimpanzees, Jane Goodall describes the process she used to earn the chimpanzees’ trust. Review the text and record details that show the steps Goodall followed. Then, write a brief how-to essay that describes her process for befriending chimpanzees.” 

      • In Grade 7, Unit 3, Whole-Class Learning, students read the play A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley and an excerpt from the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After reading, students complete an assignment that includes various short response prompts, including “(a) Compare and Contrast: Reread Act II, Scene 3, paragraph 83 of the play and paragraph 22 of the novella excerpt. How did the playwright adapt the text from the novella to suit the purposes of a play? (b) Make a Judgment: Which version do you think is more effective? Explain your choice.” 

    • Each unit includes various performance tasks and a performance-based assessment. Most of these require students to complete a process-writing assignment. 

      • In Grade 8, Unit 5, one of the two Performance Tasks and the Performance-Based Assessment require students to write a short story. 

        • The Performance Task prompt states, “Write a short story that centers on this idea: an imaginary invention that has unexpected consequences. Your short story can be realistic fiction, adventure, science fiction, or another genre. Include the elements of a short story in your writing.” In order to complete this task, students engage in the complete writing process, including prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. 

        • The Performance-Based Assessment prompt states, “In this unit, you met characters and real people who pushed the boundaries of invention. You also practiced writing short stories. Now, apply what you have learned. Write a short story about an invention that changes the way people live. Use a real or fictional invention mentioned in this unit–or come up with one of your own. Work to have your story shed light on the Essential Question.” In order to complete this assignment, students must plan, draft, review, and edit their short stories. 

• Materials do not reflect the distribution indicated by the standards for process writing (6-8 35/35/30 persuade/explain/convey experience). (This criterion is evidence only and not considered in scoring.)

  • The process writing distribution in the myPerspectives program is as follows:

    • Grade 6: 20/40/40 persuade/explain/convey experience

    • Grade 7: 20/40/40 persuade/explain/convey experience

    • Grade 8: 20/40/40 persuade/explain/convey experience

  • Generally, myPerspectives materials do not meet the distribution indicated by the standards across process writing opportunities throughout the program. 

• Writing opportunities are appropriately aligned to the purpose, genre, and/or topic of the unit’s reading. 

  • Each written Performance Task and Performance-Based Assessment requires students to synthesize learning from the unit’s reading. The genre of each unit’s written Performance Tasks and Performance-Based Assessments is directly aligned to each unit’s Mentor Text. 

  • Most of the unit’s designated Writing assignments directly align with the genre of writing that students examine in the Mentor Text and target in the written Performance Task and Performance-Based Assessments.

    • In Grade 6, Unit 3, students complete a unit titled Living With Technology. The Mentor Text, written Performance Task, and Performance-Based assessments are argumentative essays. Other designated writing assignments and lessons include a narrative retelling, practice with references in informational writing, practice with claims and structural patterns, an argumentative essay, and an informational report. Most of these writing assignments and lessons support students in completing their Performance-Based Assessment to the prompt “Is technology helpful or harmful in our lives?” While the essay is argumentative, students are expected to use strong evidence, such as facts and statistics, to support their positions. For this reason, the previous assignments on informational writing align with this culminating prompt. 

The opportunities for students to practice the writing processes using evidence-based strategies in myPerspectives meet expectations for indicator 2q. The curriculum provides multiple opportunities for students to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish their writing, all directly tied to the texts and themes they study throughout each unit. Each Performance Task includes a structured pre-writing and planning phase, often incorporating graphic organizers to help students develop their ideas. Students engage in drafting while revisiting Mentor Texts with guiding annotations. The curriculum includes intentional revision and editing steps, where students refine their work using checklists and targeted grammar lessons. Additionally, students use technology to produce and publish their writing, with options such as digital anthologies to present their work. All Performance Tasks in the materials are completed over several instructional days, ensuring that students have ample time to complete all stages of the writing process. This structured writing process ensures students develop grade-appropriate writing strategies across various genres.

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to plan writing (e.g., with graphic organizers).

  • Students have the opportunity to plan their writing for each written performance task and performance-based assessment in the myPerspectives curriculum. While students have opportunities to plan for both types of assignments, they follow a more intentional planning process for Performance Tasks since the Performance-Based Assessment is an assessment. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 3, students write an argumentative essay to the prompt “Do mobile devices improve our lives?” as a written Performance Task. After considering the elements of argumentative essays, referring back to the Mentor Text, and taking a close look at the assignment, students complete their pre-writing and planning. First, students free-write to capture some of their ideas. Then, they complete an organizer to plan key parts of their essays, including their claims, counterclaims, and plans for essay structure.

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to draft their writing. 

  • For each written Performance Task and Performance-Based Assessment in the myPerspectives curriculum, students have the opportunity to draft their writing.

    • In Grade 7, Unit 1, students write a personal narrative to the prompt “What experience helped you see how people from different generations help each other?” as a written Performance Task. After considering the elements of personal narratives, referring back to the Mentor Text, taking a close look at the assignment, and completing the pre-writing and planning, students begin to draft their narratives. As part of the drafting process, students review and discuss the Mentor Text again with guiding annotations and questions. Then, students begin to write. Embedded in the materials is a Coherence and Craft portion of the drafting assignment. For this task, students learn about coherent writing and how pronoun-antecedent agreement supports this goal. Then, they continue drafting, applying the accurate pronoun-antecedent agreement to their narratives. 

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to revise and edit their writing with grade-appropriate strategies and tools.

  • Students have the opportunity to revise and edit their writing for each written performance task and performance-based assessment in the myPerspectives curriculum. While students have opportunities to revise and edit for both types of assignments, they follow a more intentional revision process for Performance Tasks since the Performance-Based Assessment is an assessment. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 4, students write a research paper to the prompt “Write a research paper in which you answer a focused question about the following topic: a specific discovery that demonstrated the power of the human mind and changed the world” as a written Performance Task. After considering the elements of research writing, referring back to the Mentor Text, taking a close look at the assignment, completing the pre-writing and planning, and drafting their papers, students complete the revision step. During this step, students review and discuss the Mentor Text again with guiding annotations and questions in an activity titled “Read Like a Writer.” Then, students use a checklist to revise their drafts. After revision, students move to the editing step. During this step, students review and discuss the Mentor Text again with guiding annotations and questions in an activity titled “Read Like a Writer,” this time focusing on sentence-level writing. For this assignment, students learn about sentence fragments, practice fixing fragments in a sample paragraph, and then edit their own sentences in their research paper drafts. 

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to use technology to produce and publish writing. 

  • For each written Performance Task in the myPerspectives curriculum, students have the opportunity to use technology to produce and publish their writing. 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 5, students write an informational essay to the prompt “What does it mean to overcome adversary?” as a written Performance Task. After considering the elements of informational essays, referring back to the Mentor Text, taking a close look at the assignment, completing the pre-writing and planning, drafting their papers, and revising and editing their essays, students complete the publishing and presenting step. Students are presented with two options: 

      • “Option 1: Work with your classmates to publish your essays in a digital anthology. Include visuals, formatting, and graphics—such as headings, diagrams, maps, or captioned images–to emphasize important points. 

      • Option 2: With a classmate, produce a podcast. Take turns briefly introducing each other and reading your essays. End the podcast with a conversation in which you compare the central ideas of the two essays.” 

      While these opportunities are present for all written performance tasks, the Teacher Edition does not provide sufficient instructional guidance on how to support students in completing them, some of which require specific technological knowledge. The Media Studio section of the Savvas Realize platform includes mini-lessons on technology to complete various assignments. The use of these mini-lessons is up to the teacher's discretion. 

The evidence-based writing opportunities in myPerspectives meet expectations for indicator 2r. The materials provide frequent and varied writing opportunities that require students to cite textual evidence to support both explicit analysis and inferences. After each text, students engage in a range of tasks—such as writing assignments, analysis activities, and language and craft work—that ask them to make and support claims using textual details. Performance Tasks and Performance-Based Assessments in explanatory and argumentative genres further strengthen these skills by guiding students to develop central ideas and support them with relevant evidence and thoughtful analysis.

• Materials provide frequent writing opportunities that require students to cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. Materials provide frequent writing opportunities focused on students’ analyses and claims, which are developed by reading closely and working with texts and sources to provide supporting evidence.

  • Throughout the myPerspectives program, students regularly engage in activities that build their ability to cite textual evidence, make inferences, and construct and support original claims. After each text, students complete a range of tasks—including analysis and interpretation activities, language and craft analysis, and writing assignments—that require them to analyze the text, cite evidence, and apply evidence-based reasoning. Additionally, Performance Tasks and Performance-Based Assessments in explanatory and argumentative writing further reinforce these skills, guiding students to develop clear claims, integrate relevant textual evidence, and strengthen their arguments through thoughtful analysis.

    • In Grade 6, Unit 5, students complete a Performance-Based Assessment in which they write a Research-Based Essay responding to the prompt, “Write a research-based essay in which you bring together the information you have gathered from the selections and activities in this unit and your own ideas to answer the essential question: What makes people extraordinary?” In order to complete this assignment, students are required to develop a “central idea that is supported by evidence” from texts they read throughout the unit and use “facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples that develop the topic and support the central idea.” 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 4, Whole-Class Learning, students read “The Bee Highway: Making a Place for Bees in the City” by Kathryn Hulicl. After reading, students complete a Writing activity where they write a formal letter to the prompt: “Imagine that your school administration is considering adding rooftop beehives to your school building. Write a formal letter to your principal, expressing your opinion on the matter.” As part of the assignment, students are reminded to “Organize an argument supporting [their] opinion with reasons and evidence from the article and other accurate, credible sources.”

    • In Grade 8, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read the drama The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. After reading Act II, students complete an Analyze and Interpret activity. This activity includes four sections. First, students re-read dialogue passages from Act II and analyze each character’s motivations, determining whether they are internal or external. Then, students analyze Scene 3, paragraphs 9-50, and explain what the passage reveals about at least three characters. Next, they analyze the decisions the characters make based on the events of that selection. Then, students make inferences about Anne’s motivation to keep a diary. They are reminded to cite at least two details from the play to support their inference and to evaluate if Anne’s diary entries propel the action of the play or serve a separate purpose. Lastly, students answer the question, “What can you infer from the details in Act II about why an informer might be motivated to tell authorities about a family in hiding? Cite at least two details from the play that support your inference.” Later, students complete a Language and Craft activity on dramatic irony. At the end of this activity, students respond to the prompt “Evaluate: What is the overall effect of dramatic irony in the play? Does it enhance your understanding of the play and its historical context? Explain, citing textual evidence.” 

The opportunities for students to apply research skills to develop knowledge of a topic in myPerspectives meet expectations for indicator 2t. The curriculum provides multiple opportunities for students to conduct short research projects that are closely connected to the texts and topics of study within each unit. Through Inquiry and Research tasks, students explore related themes by generating questions, gathering information from multiple sources, and refining their research focus. These tasks deepen students’ understanding of unit content while reinforcing research skills such as evaluating sources, using search terms effectively, and citing evidence. While not included after every text, these tasks occur regularly.  Various tasks guide students to use search terms effectively, evaluate the credibility of sources, and cite evidence properly, including Research Reports, some Performance Tasks, and some Performance-Based Assessments. Additionally, while all skills are present throughout the curriculum, some skills are covered more than others. Some research assignments also encourage students to draw on both literary and informational texts to support analysis and reflection aligned to the unit’s essential questions and themes. This integrated approach helps students build meaningful research skills while engaging with the curriculum’s core topics.

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.

  • The Inquiry and Research activities that students complete after reading some texts provide opportunities for students to conduct short research projects to answer a question, draw on several sources, and generate additional related questions. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 1, Whole-Class Learning, students read an excerpt from Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers. After reading, they complete several tasks, including an Inquiry and Research task. This task states, “This excerpt from Bad Boy is set in Harlem, New York, in the late 1940s or early 1950s. What would you like to learn about this setting? Generate two additional questions to guide your research, consult several online sources, and refocus your inquiry as needed.” 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed” by Ray Bradbury. After reading, they complete several tasks, including an Inquiry and Research task. This task requires students to “Write down two details about Mars from the story. Using these details, generate two of your own questions about what Mars is really like. Then, conduct research to answer your questions.”

• Materials provide opportunities for students to gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, use search terms effectively, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

  • Some of the Research and Inquiry activities that students complete after reading some texts provide opportunities for students to gather relevant information from multiple sources, use search terms effectively, and assess the credibility and accuracy of each source.

    • In Grade 6, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Horses as Healers Around the World” by Carolyn Cory Scoppettone.  After reading, they complete several tasks, including an Inquiry and Research task. This task requires students to “perform a brief online search to find answers to [their] questions” on therapeutic riding, horse behavior, or another detail from the article. The prompt continues, “As you work, evaluate each print or digital source you find to be sure that it’s relevant, or related to, your research focus.” 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 3, Whole-Class Learning, students read an excerpt from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After reading, they complete several tasks, including an Inquiry and Research task. This task states, “How historically accurate is the Cratchit family dinner scene? Conduct short online research to answer this question. Be sure to use effective search terms that will give you relevant results. For instance, you could enter ‘Christmas dinner in Victorian England’ into a search engine. Consult several reliable sources and take notes. Share your findings with a partner. Discuss how the fictional portrayal of the holiday meal compares with historical accounts. Does Dickens stay true to history or alter it in some way?” 

  • The Research Essays and reports that students complete as written Performance Tasks and Performance-Based Assessments in a unit in the program provide students with the opportunity to assess the credibility of sources, quote and paraphrase, avoid plagiarism, and use proper citations. Additional longer Research activities that students complete after reading a few texts in the materials also provide them with opportunities to practice some of these skills. 

    • In Grade 7, Unit 4, Whole-Class Learning, students read an excerpt from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. After reading, they complete several tasks, including a Research task. For this task, students must complete a research report about one of two topics: “the importance of Silent Spring and the impact it had” or “the struggle to ban DDT and the ban’s eventual victory.” In order to complete the report, students must generate questions and examine sources for credibility. Then, they follow steps to paraphrase, quote, and cite sources so that they use their source materials ethically and avoid plagiarism. Part of this includes following a “format for citation provided by [their] teacher.” 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 4, students write a research paper on the broad topic of “a specific human discovery that demonstrated the power of the human mind and changed the world” as the unit’s written Performance Task. In order to successfully complete this task, students identify and gather a variety of sources and must evaluate those sources for credibility, reliability, and bias. After drafting, materials remind students about when a citation is (direct quote, paraphrase, or summary of someone else’s idea) and is not needed (common knowledge, one’s own ideas). After editing, students must create a works cited list using MLA style. 

• Materials provide opportunities for students to draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

  • Some of the Research and Inquiry activities that students complete after reading some texts provide opportunities for students to draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. These opportunities allow students to build more knowledge of the topics of study in the unit. Additional, longer Research activities that students complete after reading a few texts in the materials also provide them with opportunities to practice some of these skills. 

    • In Grade 6, Unit 3, Whole-Class Learning, students read an excerpt from Cinder by Marissa Meyer. After reading, they complete several tasks, including an Inquiry and Research task. This task states, “Cinder is based on the Cinderella folktale, which has existed since ancient times in many versions from different cultures. Conduct Internet research to find another version of the Cinderella tale. Write down similarities and differences between Cinder and the version you found.” 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 4, Whole-Class Learning, students read a selection from the drama adaptation of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, written by David Rogers. After reading, they complete several tasks, including an Inquiry and Research task. This task states, “The dramatic scene that you just read is from only one of the many adaptations of the novel Flowers for Algernon. Conduct brief research to learn about other adaptations. Write a short summary of your findings.” 

  • Some research-based Performance-Based Assessments in the program require students to write a research-based essay using texts from the unit, including literary and informational texts.

    • In Grade 8, Unit 4, students use the texts from the unit to write a research-based essay on the unit’s essential question: “In what different ways can people be intelligent?” The texts in this unit include a short story, a drama, a memoir, an article, a video, and an infographic. 

The formative assessments and teacher guidance on formative assessments in myPerspectives meet expectations for indicator 2u. The myPerspectives curriculum includes frequent formative assessments and support for teachers in monitoring student progress and skill development. During and after reading, students complete tasks such as Comprehension Checks, Reading Strategy questions, Close-Read responses, and Build Insight questions, all of which function as formative assessments. The Teacher Edition provides sample responses, allowing teachers to assess student understanding in real time. Additional formative assessments include Selection Tests and Exit Tickets. Data from these assessments populate reports that help teachers track mastery by standard and make instructional adjustments. Reteach and Practice resources are also available and aligned to Exit Tickets, offering targeted support with answer keys and sample responses, enabling teachers to address skill gaps effectively.

• Materials include formative assessments and support for the teacher in determining students’ current skills/level of understanding. 

  • Most of the tasks students complete throughout the myPerspectives program serve as formative assessments, allowing the teacher to determine students’ current level of skills or understanding. 

    • During reading, Comprehension Checks, Reading Strategy questions, and Close-Read Response questions allow teachers to assess how well students understand each core text. The Teacher Edition provides sample responses to these questions.

    • After reading, other tasks, including Build Insight Questions (including First Thoughts, Summary, and Analysis), provide more opportunities to assess student understanding and skills. The Teacher Edition includes sample responses for analysis questions.

    • Selection Tests for each text provide an additional opportunity for teachers to determine student understanding and skills. These tests are multiple-choice and consist of Comprehension questions, Vocabulary Questions, and analyze-the-text questions. Each Selection Test answer key provides the teachers with the objective of the question.

      • In Grade 6, Unit 5, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Eyes Looking to the Sky” by Christopher Hallman. After reading, they complete several tasks, including a Selection Test consisting of ten multiple-choice questions, such as the Concept Vocabulary Question “If you are the navigator in a car, which of the following must be true?” and the Analyze the Text Question “In ‘Eyes Looking to the Sky,’ how do others react to Makani’s father’s actions during the storm?” The Answer key provides the answers.

    • After reading, each text in the program includes multiple exit tickets so that teachers can assess student skills. Exit tickets are quick skills assessments in a multiple-choice format. They are present following some of the tasks included after each text and vary in focus, including assessing a general concept, word knowledge, and grammar skills. Each Teacher Resource provided for each Exit Ticket includes a PowerPoint presentation.

      • In Grade 7, Unit 1, Whole-Class Learning, students read “Don’t Just Sit There Link a Punk” by Matt de la Peña. After reading, students complete various tasks and materials, including three exit tickets connected to the concepts and skills covered in some of these tasks. Exit Tickets include an Exit Ticket on theme, an Exit Ticket on the Latin Suffix -able, and an Exit Ticket on Nouns and Pronouns. 

• Materials include guidance that supports the teacher in making instructional adjustments to increase student progress.

  • Student responses on Selection Tests and Exit Tickets populate the Data section, which teachers can use to monitor student progress and growth. Reports include class mastery by standard, student mastery, average mastery, standard item analysis, student progress, and usage by student. 

  • Teacher Resources for Exit Tickets include a Reteach and Practice assignment that teachers can assign to students who need more practice, based on the Exit Ticket results. These assignments include isolated skills practice. Each Reteach and Practice assignment includes an Answer Key. 

    • In Grade 8, Unit 2, Whole-Class Learning, students read the drama The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. After reading Act I, students complete various tasks, including an Exit Ticket on Dramatic Speeches. A Reteach and Practice assignment is included that teachers can use with students who need more practice based on the Exit Ticket results. The reteach assignment includes information on Dramatic Speeches (including dialogue, soliloquy, and dramatic irony), a summary of a play, and three short-response questions, including “Imagine that Ana delivers her soliloquy before Pedro enters. What dramatic irony when Pedro enters the stage, and Ana finally faces him?” The Teacher Resource includes sample student responses to all questions. 

The culminating/summative assessments in myPerspectives meet expectations for indicator 2v. The program includes multiple culminating tasks and summative assessments in each unit aligned to the unit’s topic/theme or essential question. These include Performance Tasks, Unit Projects, Performance-Based Assessments, and Unit Tests, each offering students opportunities to demonstrate the knowledge and skills developed throughout the unit. Performance Tasks integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, while Unit Projects encourage creative application of learning, and Unit Tests assess ELA concepts and standards. Written Tasks are scaffolded and supported throughout the unit with instruction, skill development, and the use of Mentor Texts, preparing students for success. While the program includes progress monitoring tools and genre-specific rubrics for writing tasks, it offers limited rubric-based guidance for evaluating Unit Projects. The teacher guidance for determining and evaluating student performance on summative assessments is generally broad. While tools are provided for most assessments, the materials do not provide guidance on effectively using these tools. 

• Culminating tasks/summative assessments are evident in each unit/module and align to the unit’s/module’s topic or theme. Culminating tasks/summative assessments provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the unit/module while integrating multiple literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening).

  • Each unit in the myPerspectives program contains several culminating tasks/summative assessments. Culminating tasks include two Performance Tasks, a Unit Project, and a Performance-Based Assessment, and summative assessments include Unit Tests. Performance Tasks, Unit Projects, and Performance-Based Assessments align with each unit's topic or theme and are designed for students to exhibit both the knowledge and skills they’ve gained throughout the unit. Unit Tests solely align with the unit’s skills and ELA concepts. 

    • The design of the culminating tasks/assessments in the program varies. Performance Tasks follow the end of Whole-Class Learning and Peer-Group Learning, respectively. While the first Performance Task in a unit is a written process-based writing piece, the second is a Speaking and listening activity completed in groups. Performance-based assessments are independently completed process-based writing pieces focused on each unit’s essential question. Unit Projects provide students with choices and, therefore, vary in their structure. Unit Tests are multiple-choice assessments focused on ELA concepts and skills like reading comprehension, word study, and conventions. 

      • In Grade 6, students complete Unit 4, Imagined Worlds, with the essential question, “How does imagination enrich our lives?” Throughout the Whole-Class Learning portion of the unit, students read a play adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time by John Glore. Following Whole-Class Learning, students complete the written Performance Task where they are to write a short story to the prompt, “Write a short story that centers one or more of the characters from A Wrinkle in Time.” To complete this task, students must integrate both reading and writing skills. For Peer-Group Learning, students read three types of texts set in imagined worlds (a folktale, a narrative poem, and a science fiction short story). Following Peer-Group Learning, students complete the Speaking and Listening Performance Task to the prompt, “You have read selections set in imagined worlds that can teach us about ourselves and our real world. With your group, write and present a short story in which a character uses their imagination to solve a problem, to help others, or to make the world a better place. Invent a character or write a new adventure for a character from this section of the unit.” To complete this task, students must integrate reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. For Independent Learning, students must choose one of five texts and text-set options to read and analyze. Following Independent Learning, students develop their Unit Project. The Unit Project for this unit presents students with the option of writing a movie pitch, writing a diary entry, or creating an illustration. All three options require that students focus on a selection or character from the unit. After completing the Unit Project, students complete the Performance-Based Assessment to the prompt, “Imagine that one of the characters from this unit has found their way into the real world. What might happen? Reflect on the essential question, and then write a short story in which you explore how this character’s imagination helps them in the real world and what other characters might learn about the benefits of imagination.” To complete this task, students must integrate both reading and writing skills. After completing the Performance-Based Assessment, students complete the Unit Test, which includes 25 multiple-choice questions focused on various skills and concepts students learned throughout the unit, such as theme, conflict, dramatic structure (characters, dialogue, stage directions), context clues, and verb tenses. 

  • Additional assessments in the myPerspectives program include multiple-choice assessments at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. These tests assess reading comprehension, vocabulary, and conventions skills.  

• Materials provide opportunities to support students in gaining the knowledge and skills needed to complete the culminating tasks/summative assessments.

  • Students gain the knowledge and skills throughout each unit to complete culminating tasks/summative assessments.

    • The materials chunk the assignment into parts for each Performance Task, including instruction and guidance on completing each component. 

      • In Grade 7, Unit 3, students complete a written Performance Task after the Whole-Class Learning component, which involves reading a play adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens titled “A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley” and an excerpt from A Christmas Carol. For this task, students must “Write a short story about a character who has a significant life-changing experience. Shape your story to answer this question: Does your character truly change?” The task is chunked into sections comprising the writing process, including planning, prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. For each component, materials include instruction, guidance, and reference the unit’s Mentor Text. To complete this assignment, students must grapple with a major theme from the unit reading, change and transformation, which is most embodied by Scrooge’s character. They must apply this knowledge to their own character. Students must also use their understanding of character development, point of view, and theme, which they practiced in the Whole-Class Learning portion of the unit. Last, students must use the academic vocabulary they learned in the unit. 

    • To complete each Performance-Based Assessment, students must consider the knowledge they gained from the selections throughout the unit and solidify their own perspectives on the unit’s essential question.

      • In Grade 8, Unit 4, the Performance-Based Assessment requires students to write “a research-based essay using the selections in this unit as your reference sources. In your essay, present an answer to the Essential Question: In what different ways can people be intelligent?” Students should use the Evidence Logs they completed after reading each text to help them complete this task. Students should apply the skills they learned in the unit’s written Performance Task, where they wrote a Research Paper, to this research-based essay. 

    • To complete each Unit Test, students must apply the reading comprehension, word study, vocabulary, and conventions skills they developed throughout the unit. 

    • To complete each Unit Project, students must consider all the learning from the unit and apply it in a creative context. 

• Materials include broad guidance that supports the teacher in determining and evaluating student performance on the culminating tasks/summative assessments in the program. 

  • The Data section on the Savvas Realize platform populates with Unit Tests and beginning, mid, and end-of-year assessments, which teachers can use to monitor student progress and growth. Reports include class mastery by standard, student mastery, average mastery, standard item analysis, student progress, and usage by student. 

  • Each Unit Test and beginning, mid, and end-of-year assessment includes a Reinforcement Resource for the Teacher. This resource “lists the Student Edition page on which the skill assessed is taught, as well as supporting reinforcement resources.” This resource provides the following guidance to teachers: “As warranted by student results, you may wish to revisit the Student Edition lesson or assign the reinforcement resource(s) listed.” For students who take Unit Tests online, Reinforcement is automatically assigned based on their results. 

  • The Writing and Research Center on the platform includes rubrics by writing genre (argumentative, informative/explanatory, narrative, and research) that teachers can use to evaluate Performance Tasks and Performance-Based Assessments. However, additional guidance on using rubrics or having students reflect on their writing after it is scored is not provided. 

  • Unit Projects do not include rubrics to support the teacher in determining and evaluating student performance. Instead, the Teacher Edition includes the following guidance for teachers for unit projects: “You may want to co-author rubrics with students to ensure that their work meets expectations.”