6th Grade - Gateway 2

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the criteria that texts are organized around a topic/topics (or, for grades 6-8, topics and/or themes) to build students’ ability to read and comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.

The Grade 6 materials are organized around the theme of change. Each unit takes on a facet of this theme: Unit 1–Stories of Change, Unit 2–The Power to Change, Unit 3–Changing Perspectives, and Unit 4–A Change of Scene. Within each unit, texts are also connected to appropriate topics, such as opinions on homework and teen technology use, as well as poets and authors. The texts included follow a logical sequence that scaffold students toward reading increasingly more difficult texts independently including stories, dramas, poetry, literary nonfiction, historical, scientific, and technical texts. The Planning the Unit page of the materials provides the rationale for the goal of the unit and details the scaffolding that will be used to help students increase their skills by the end of the unit and ultimately by the end of the year.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, students explore the theme of “Stories of Change.” Students read a series of literary texts, including short stories, personal narratives, and a myth to develop an understanding of how stories are created to reflect the concept of change. The Planning the Unit page states that in the first half of the unit, students read texts that reflect personal narratives and by the second half of the unit, they focus on more imaginative narrative writing skills in order to produce their own short stories.
• In Unit 2, the texts center on the theme of “Changes in Characters.” Students review this theme through a film, a poem, a narrative, and a novel. The Planning the Unit page states that the first half of the unit begins with students analyzing how internal and external forces cause characters and people to change. In the second half of the unit, students apply close-reading strategies while reading informational texts from multiple genres, including essay, memoir, and biographical film. Students practice the crucial skills of conducting research to compare and contrast different authors' presentations on changes in characters. The students focus on writing with clear development and organization.
• In Unit 3, the theme, “Changing Perspectives,” is tied to the skill of argument writing. Students read a variety of texts, including news articles, opinion pieces, letters, and informational texts organized around controversial topics, such as homework and teen technology use, from different perspectives, for example that of a teacher and a student, in order to examine each key component to an effective written argument.
• In Unit 4, the texts are organized around the theme, “A Change of Scene.” In Activity 4.5, students read two texts about Pat Mora. Then in the Knowledge Quest section, the students “think about the ways personal stories can inspire, challenge, and ultimately change a person.” In Activity 4.14, students read Act II from the play, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson. The students are focused on the language and imagery in the play. Then they reread and analyze the scene, watch the film clip, and compare the two texts. In the Embedded Assessment 2, the students “work collaboratively to prepare and present a scene from William Gibson’s play, The Miracle Worker.” This is a culmination of the skills work and texts from Unit 4, and connects to the theme, “A Change of Scene.”

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

The Grade 6 SpringBoard materials provide text-dependent questions and activities to build students’ comprehension and knowledge over the school year. The texts, including, but not limited to, poems, novels, photos, and graphs, require students to carefully analyze the text for use of language, key ideas, details and craft, and structure. The tasks and questions are sequenced over the course of an activity, unit, and school year to progress from more literal and scaffolded tasks, to more rigorous and independent ones. In the Teacher Wrap, teachers are provided with guidance, instructions, scaffolds, and suggestions for the planning and implementation of questions and tasks to utilize in class. Teachers are provided with formative and summative tasks that show mastery of the concepts included in each unit.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, in the Planning the Unit section, the materials state that students “...will analyze stories about change as well as write your own ideas and stories about change.” In Activity 1.12, students read a short story “Thank You M’am” by Langston Hughes, and answer the question, “ How does dialogue between Roger and Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones differ from standard English? Use the examples in paragraphs 28 and 32 to explain why the author would not want to use standard English in these sentences?” In Activity 1.14, students read the myth, “Orpheus and Eurydice” by Bob Blaisdell. When the students complete the Return to the Text questions, they answer the question, “How does the author’s language in the final paragraph set a mood for a resolution?” Then in Activity 1.16, students read the short story, “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers, and answer the question, “Explain how the author uses language to create a mood during the first half of this story.”
• In Unit 2, Activity 2.5, students “...evaluate how the plot of Walk Two Moons evolves and affects the characters.” The first question is a Quickwrite, “How can going on a physical (external) journey change your emotional (internal) self?” Then students complete a graphic organizer to explore “How the characters respond to change” by “...record[ing] episodes that lead to character changes in Walk Two Moons.” Finally, students explore the two kinds of journeys by brainstorming events from the physical (external) and the emotional (internal) journey that the characters experience. Students also are asked, “Which journey in Walk Two Moons is the main plot of the novel? What are the subplots? How are the subplots related to the main plot in terms of time? Why are the plots structured in this way? Explain your reasoning.”
• In Unit 2, Activity 2.9, students look at a photo alongside the poem, “Since Hannah Moved Away” by Judith Viorst, and answer the question, “The person in this photo laments about a move, as does the poem’s speaker and Sal from Walk Two Moons. What does it mean to lament?”
• In Unit 3, Activity 3.10, students look at a model argumentative letter. In particular, they examine the structure of the argument. For example, “What does paragraph 2 say about students having access to the internet from the home instead of the school?” and “How does the author use paragraphs 3 and 4 to develop and strengthen the argument?”
• In Unit 4, Activity 4.2, students read several limericks by Edward Lear and examine language, word choice, key details, craft, and structure by responding to the following questions: “What does the title of the collection tell you about the theme of the limericks? Which details in the limericks relate to the title? How do meter and rhythm affect the mood of these limericks? Read the seventh limerick. How do context clues help you figure out the play on words in the last line? After reading all seven limericks, would you call their writing style formal or informal? Also, what is the writer's attitude toward the subject of each limerick? Do all the limericks have the same tone? Explain your answer.”

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

In the SpringBoard Grade 6 materials, the majority of the questions and tasks in the materials support students’ analysis of knowledge and ideas. The teacher materials found in the Teacher Wrap section provide teachers with guidance on sequencing questions and tasks, as well as guidance on scaffolding and differentiation. The materials provide opportunities for students to integrate knowledge over a single text and multiple texts in each unit. Students are also provided with the opportunity to analyze their independent reading selections with the texts read in class through the Independent Reading Checkpoints and in some cases, the opportunity to analyze primary and secondary sources on the same topic. By the end of each unit and the program, students are integrating their learning from all the activities associated with that unit.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Activity 1.9, Independent Reading Checkpoint, students analyze across multiple texts when connecting their Independent Reading Selection to the texts read in class. Students respond to the following prompt: “Write a summary about how the theme of change is presented in your independent reading book. Explain the significance of these changes using text evidence to support your explanations. Tell how the theme of change in your book compares to the theme of change in at least one of the assigned texts you read.”
• In Unit 2, Activity 2.6, students focus on Sal’s description of the singing tree in the novel, Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, noting the time, the mood, and the details about the setting. Then, students respond to “What do the details about the tree tell you about the theme or central idea of the novel?”
• In Unit 2, Activity 2.9, students compare the development of a theme in two different texts. “What theme is developed in both ‘Since Hannah Moved Away’ by Judith Viorst and Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech? How is the theme developed differently in each text?” This question requires students to analyze themes across two texts.
• In Unit 3, Activity 3.4, students read “A High School Student’s Perspective on Homework” by Amedee Martella to examine the claims the author makes and identify the evidence used to support the claims. Students respond to the following questions: “What is the author's claim in this article? How do you know? The following claim is made in ‘A Teacher's Defense of Homework:’ ‘Homework isn't very beneficial for younger kids.’ How does ‘A High School Student's Perspective on Homework’ support this claim?”
• In Unit 4, Activity 4.4, students read multiple poems by Pat Mora, specifically “I Can Dance,” “Ode to Teachers,” and Dumped,” and answer the following questions: “Looking at the three poems by Pat Mora, what kinds of experiences does she write about? What themes are present in all three poems? Use evidence from the poems to support your inference.”
• In Unit 4, Activity 4.5, students use primary and secondary sources about the poet, Pat Mora, to analyze across texts. Students respond to several questions, including: “Think about what you learned about Mora from her letter and this article. How does Mora use her own experiences to inspire future writers?”

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

The Grade 6 SpringBoard materials provide culminating tasks for each activity and/or unit that are multifaceted and require students to demonstrate mastery of multiple Grade 6 standards. Culminating tasks include, but are not limited to, writing a narrative, writing an argumentative letter, engaging in a debate, and writing and performing a scene. The tasks require students to engage in integrated reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Tasks leading up to the culminating tasks are varied and provide teachers with ongoing formative and anecdotal readiness information. Teachers are prompted in the Teacher Wrap to actively engage with students as they work independently, in pairs, or in groups. The teacher provides scaffolded support such as guiding questions, as needed, to help students access readiness. The culminating tasks build to give students the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge about the topic or topics of the unit and/or activity.

Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• In Unit 1, Embedded Assessment 2, students complete a culminating task for Unit 1 by writing a short story. “Write a story using dialogue, vivid verbs, and figurative language that captures a real or imagined experience using characters, conflict, and a plot with exposition, climax, and resolution.” Throughout Unit 1, students are taught each element and practice to prepare for the culminating tasks. Teachers are equipped with information on whether students are ready to complete the culminating tasks. Students work in writing groups formed with three students “so that they can share and respond to each other’s drafts, as they serve in reader, listener, and writer roles and offer praise and suggestions to their peers."
• In Unit 2, Activity 2.19, students complete a culminating task for the activity by synthesizing the story of Temple Grandin. In this activity, students watch film clips and read two texts about Temple Grandin. After each text, students engage in text-dependent questions, discussion, and writing to explore each one. For example, after reading an excerpt from the autobiography, “Animals in Translation,” students answer the question, “How does Grandin change as the result of her new school?” After reading “Hampshire School for Wayward Wizards,” students work with a partner to answer text-dependent questions. In the Teacher Wrap, the teacher is prompted to “Move from pair to pair and listen in as students answer the text-dependent questions.” There are suggestions for scaffolding the text-dependent questions if the teacher notices that students are struggling. Finally, students consider all the information about Temple Gandin to complete a writing task, “How did animals help Temple Grandin deal with the challenges of autism?”
• In Unit 3, Embedded Assessment 1, students research and debate a controversy. Students demonstrate their knowledge about a controversial topic through reading and researching, writing their plan for their argument, orally debating, and listening and responding to the opposing side.
• In Unit 4, Embedded Assessment 2, students “Work collaboratively to prepare and present a scene from William Gibson's play The Miracle Worker.” Students demonstrate their knowledge about drama through reading and analyzing the play, writing notes and annotating the scene, orally performing the scene, and listening and responding to the group members throughout the project process.

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

The Grade 6 SpringBoard materials include a cohesive year-long vocabulary plan that is included in the Vocabulary, and Word Connection sections of the materials. Additionally, the words are listed for each activity in the unit. The vocabulary listed is connected to the texts or the tasks in each unit and is hyperlinked to the text. Students engage in vocabulary instruction through direct teaching, using context, and completing a task such as graphic organizers. One graphic organizer used throughout the materials is the QHT framework which is Q—words you have questions about, H—words you’ve heard before, but not sure about the meaning, and T—words you could teach. Students encounter the vocabulary before, during, and after reading and vocabulary spans across multiple texts and/or tasks. Lists of Academic and Literary terms are provided in the Planning the Unit section of each unit. The vocabulary in each unit is embedded in reading, speaking, and/or writing tasks, and builds over the course over the unit.

Some examples are as follows:

• In Unit 1, Activity 1.2, the following vocabulary words are listed: “Academic: sequence; Literary: internal, external response; [Content/Text Specific] Terms: jalopy, gasping, strained, murmured, savoring, period, vital, language barriers, social isolation, inhibit.” Students then read “The Circuit.” Before reading, teachers give students these instructions: “As you read the story, underline details you learn about the main characters and mark places in the text where you see changes in their attitude or behavior. Circle unknown words and phrases. Use context clues to determine their meaning or use a dictionary. Some unfamiliar words in this story might be Spanish words.” QHT is introduced and students complete the graphic organizer for this strategy while reading the text. In Word Connections, students complete the following task: “Roots and Affixes: The Greek root chron in chronological means ‘time.’ Chronological means ‘ordered by time.’ Other English words having to do with time also contain this root. Based on this new knowledge, determine the meaning of the words chronicle, chronic, chronology, and synchronize.” In Working From the Text, Vocabulary, students “Return to the story and review the words and phrases that you underlined. Use these annotations to work with your class to create a sequence of events.” Students then complete a graphic organizer for the internal and external conflicts within the text.
• In Unit 2, Activity 2.4, Vocabulary section, students learn about the vocabulary words, “Terms: Compare and Contrast.” Students then read Chapters 1–4 from Walk Two Moons. In Novel Student, Question 2, students “Take a closer look at the two main characters in Walk Two Moons by using the following graphic organizer to note all the ways the author uses characterization. You will use these notes to compare and contrast the characters.” Students then complete the graphic organizer comparing and contrasting the characters. Under Vocabulary, the terms compare and contrast are explained. Students revisit these terms several times over the course of the school year, including in Activity 2.17, Independent Reading Link, when they compare and contrast themes within the text from Activity 2.17 and their independent reading selection.
• In Unit 3, Activity 3.1, Vocabulary section, students learn about the word controversy and its definition. They answer the question “Why do we have controversy in a society?” During Embedded Assessment 1, the students “Work collaboratively to research one side of a controversy…”
• In Unit 4, Activity 4.6, Vocabulary section, students conduct research and receive the following vocabulary words, “Academic: evaluate, annotate.” In Vocabulary, explanations of both terms are provided. Students then respond to the following questions, “Evaluate your sources by determining their reliability, credibility, and usefulness. Can you trust the source of information? Why or why not? How does the source address your research question(s)? Does the source have a bias toward or against a person or topic? Annotate your sources as you read to make sure that you understand what you are reading. For paper sources, mark the text with pencil and highlighters. If you are working digitally, use the tools available in PDF or word-processing software. Your annotations will help you set up your double-entry journal.” Students revisit these two terms in Activity 4.8, reflecting on their command of the terms.

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

The Grade 6 SpringBoard materials support students’ growth in writing skills over the course of the school year and include writing instruction aligned to the standards. The materials include well-designed lesson plans, models, and protocols for teachers to implement and monitor students’ writing development. Students complete relevant and authentic writing tasks such as, but not limited to, writing a narrative, an argumentative letter, and a literary analysis. Students are provided with ample direct instruction, practice, and application of writing skills that gradually move towards student independence. In the Teacher Wrap, teachers are provided with instructions on leading students to establish a Reader/Writer Notebook to record learning and ideas for their writing and to monitor their own progress and Portfolios to provide a place for storing writing tasks which show growth throughout the year. Each unit contains two Embedded Assessments, most of which are writing prompts. Students are provided the writing prompt at the beginning of the unit for Embedded Assessment 1 and midway through the unit for Embedded Assessment 2. Each activity in the unit helps teach writing skills through analyzing texts and writing prompts scaffold students toward their full length writing in the Embedded Assessment.

Some examples include:

• In Unit 1, Activity 1.1, Teacher Wrap, teachers are instructed: “This is the time to create the Reader/Writer Notebook for students to keep all writing ideas and vocabulary notes for later reference. The notebook, coupled with the Portfolio, is an important tool for recognizing progress.”
• In Unit 2, Activities 2.1-2.13 provide students with instruction and prompts to prepare them for writing a literary analysis for Embedded Assessment 1. In each of the activities, students are provided with texts to model their writing after, and/or are provided brainstorming and reflective prompts to provide scaffolding and support such as, but not limited to the following: use a double-entry journal to practice recording textual evidence to support analysis about character, plot, subplot, and setting; prepare for a Literature Circle discussion by practicing the skills of questioning the text, examining how language impacts meaning, summarizing, and connecting; after reading the novel, students collaboratively discuss their ideas from their extended close reading and analysis of the novel, which prepares them to write a response for Embedded Assessment 1. Students are also provided a detailed rubric with questions prompting them to monitor their own progress during the writing process.
• In Unit 3, Embedded Assessment 2, students complete the following task: “Think about a topic (subject, event, idea, or controversy) that you truly care about and take a position on it. Write an argumentative letter to convince an audience to support your position on the topic.” Students will experience the following stages of writing with this task: planning/prewriting, researching, drafting, evaluating, revising, checking and editing for publication. In the Teacher Wrap, teachers are provided with the following suggestions: “Portfolio: This would be a good time for students to review their work for the entire unit and choose work to move to their Portfolios. Students should also reflect on their skills and set goals for improvement.”
• In Unit 4, Activity 4.6, students write an informational text using research they have gathered about a poet. Students are reminded to utilize writing skills they have honed throughout the year including: answering their own research questions, evaluating the credibility of sources, integrating examples from multiple sources, avoiding plagiarism, using academic vocabulary and formal style, and revising/editing as needed. In addition, the provided scoring guide can be downloaded for easy access. Based on the progress through the writing tasks, teachers can monitor student understanding of the steps contained in the writing process.

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

The Grade 6 SpringBoard materials provide students opportunities to conduct multiple short and long research projects spread across a school year and include a progression of research skills appropriate for Grade 6. The materials support teachers in employing projects that develop students’ knowledge on a topic through embedding research in multiple activities in both the student text and the Teacher Wrap. The materials provide many opportunities for students to apply reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language skills to synthesize and analyze per their readings. The research topics align with the unit’s topic and to the tasks that students are engaging in during the lessons. For example, the students research how animals help people after reading several texts on Temple Gardin. The tasks allow students to conduct research both independently, and with a partner or group and require them to synthesize information gathered.

Some examples of “short” projects include:

• In Unit 2, Activity 2.18, students complete a short research project on the topic of “animals helping people” after reading “Dogs Make Us Human” by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson. The teacher first ascertains the students’ knowledge about conducting research, and if needed, provides the steps of research from the Teacher Wrap. Then students conduct a KWHL (Know-Want to Know-How to Find the Information-Learn) with a partner and then use the chart to guide their research. Finally, students write a summary of their research.
• In Unit 3, Embedded Assessment 1, students participate in a research task that involves writing and speaking. They complete the following task: “Work collaboratively to research one side of a controversy that is affecting your school, community, or society. Then participate in a modified debate in which you argue your position and incorporate a visual display with appropriate headings and labels and/or multimedia for support.” To further the research process, in Activity 3.12, students engage in a lesson on citing evidence. In this activity, students learn to cite sources through direct quoting and paraphrasing. After practicing these skills, students are asked to “Find a credible digital or print source of this information and paraphrase the information you find…” Students also are instructed to revisit their body paragraphs and “Cite sources from your research as needed to strengthen your argument.”

An example of a “long” projects is:

• In Unit 4, Embedded Assessment 1, students synthesize their research of a poet’s life journey. This is a longer research project that covers five days of instruction. In Activity 4.5, students learn how to create a bibliography to cite sources. In Activity 4.6, students work with their group to conduct the research and gather information about a famous poet. They are given guidance through a note catcher that has them gather facts, examine bias, record bibliography information, etc. In Activity 4.7, students work with their group to synthesize their findings and create a multimedia presentation.

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

In the SpringBoard materials, students have frequent opportunities to engage in independent reading through scaffolded lessons and self-selected materials. Most texts are organized with built in supports/scaffolds to foster independence. Each activity includes supports/scaffolds called Learning Strategies, such as marking the text, rereading, and using graphic organizers. As indicated in the Teacher Wrap, texts are often scaffolded through completing first reads by the teacher or in small groups or pairs. Students then have the opportunity to independently read the text while responding to text-dependent questions. The text-dependent questions and the Learning Strategies scaffold student understanding in order to foster independence. In each unit, the Planning the Unit section provides a suggested independent reading list of both literature and informational texts which complement the themes and skills found within the unit. The Instructional Pathways section of the materials provides embedded independent reading in each of the units called Independent Reading Links and individual activities with two Independent Reading Checkpoints per unit. In these checkpoints, students are given a prompt for discussion, writing, or an oral presentation and are required to record them in their Reader/Writer Notebook.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• In Unit 1, Activity 1.3: Planning for Independent Reading, the activity provides detailed guidance for independent reading for both students and teachers regarding the selection of texts, goal setting, and tracking progress. Students create a section in their Reader/Writer Notebooks for Independent Reading which they use throughout the course to document their learning from independent reading selections. In this activity, they learn the process of completing notes in their Reader/Writer Notebooks.
• In Unit 2, Planning the Unit, teachers are given a list of both literature and informational text that could be used for independent reading. These titles connect to the theme of the unit. The chart also lists the author and Lexile for each title and teachers are encouraged to provide student choice for independent reading. Some examples of texts for Unit 2 include, but are not limited to, Ruby Holler (660L) by Sharon Creech, Hoot (760L) by Carl Hiaasen, The Call of the Wild by Jack Londen (1080L), and Animals in Translation (1130L) by Grandin, Temple, and Catherine Johnson.
• In Unit 3, Activity 3.3, students are given an Independent Reading Link assignment to “Find a claim stated in one of the texts you are reading independently. Decide if it is debatable and write the opposing claim…”
• In Unit 3, Activity 3.7, in the Teacher Wrap section, teachers are given instructions on ways to support students at various levels of independence. For example, the teacher is provided with guiding questions before, during, and after reading. The teacher is also prompted to listen during class discussion and “...determine if students are ready to move to the text-dependent questions.”
• In Unit 4, students choose independent reading for the first half of the unit based on a poet. Students select poems the poet has written, as well as things written about the poet, such as articles and biographies. In Activity 4.7, Independent Reading Checkpoint, students prepare a short presentation on their poet for a small group of classmates.