6th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 6 meet the expectations for anchor texts being of publishable quality and worthy of careful reading. Informational texts are current and should be engaging to students at this grade level. Anchor texts are well-crafted and content rich.

Texts are of publishable quality and worthy of careful reading, and contain content that will engage a range of student interests. The reading selections include published texts, excerpts from published texts, and published authors. Texts can be examined multiple times for multiple purposes, such as building academic vocabulary and facilitating access to future texts. They offer personal perspectives on a variety of topics. The texts are well crafted, content rich, engaging, and avoid stereotypes and one dimensional characters. Texts in literature include characters who would be relatable to 6th graders from a variety of backgrounds.

Some examples of texts that represent the quality of the year-long materials include (but are not limited to) the following:

Unit 1:

• Langston Hughes, "Thank you, Ma'am"
• Excerpt from Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons
• Sandra Cisneros, "Eleven"
• Isaac Asimov, "The Fun They Had"
• Walter Dean Myers, "The Treasure of Lemon Brown"

Unit 2:

• Excerpt from John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley
• Judith Viorst, "...And Although the Little Mermaid Sacrificed Everything to Win the Love of the Prince, the Prince (Alas) Decided to Wed Another"
• Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid"

Unit 3:

• John Adams, "Excerpt from 'Letter on Thomas Jefferson'"
• Multiple editorials and nonfiction pieces

Unit 4:

• William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew
• Lewis Carroll's " Jabberwocky"
• Paul Fleischman's "Fireflies"

Materials for Grade 6 reflect the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards for grade 6-12, and therefore fully meet the expectations of indicator 1b. Included texts are of different lengths and different formats. They include poems, essays, articles, films, editorials, myths, novel excerpts, short story, memoir, biography, and autobiography. Over the course of the entire year, the program achieves a balance of the instructional time studying literary and informational texts.

Texts in this year of study include a variety of genres ranging from ancient Greek mythology to online news articles. In addition, materials call for the use of film and video clips as a means of incorporating a variety of media (for example, a clip from the film Up and a filmography of Temple Grandin are used in instruction).

Unit 1: Text types include poetry, film, personal narrative, novel excerpts, short stories, myths, and a picture book. Specific examples include (but are not limited to) the following titles and authors:

• "Imperfect Me" from Hormone Jungle: Coming of Age in Middle School, by Brod Bagert
• Flipped, by Wendelin Van Drannen
• "Thank You, Ma'am," by Langston Hughes
• Film, The Lion King

Unit 2: Text types include essay, memoir, biography, filmography, fairy tale, poetry, expository essay, and film clips. Specific examples include (but are not limited to) the following titles and authors:

• Excerpts from Travels With Charley, by John Steinbeck
• "Saying Farewell to a Faithful Pal," by John Grogan
• "Dogs Make Us Human" and "My Story," by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson
• Excerpt from "Chapter 6: Hampshire School for Wayward Wizards" from the book Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World, by Sy Montgomery

Unit 3: Text types include news editorials and articles, historical primary documents, informational texts, and letters. Specific examples include (but are not limited to) the following titles and authors:

• "Don't ban peanuts at school, but teach about the dangers," by Des Moines Register Editorial Board
• "Should Dodgeball Be Banned in School?" by staff of TIME for Kids
• "Most Dangerous 'Sport' of All May be Cheerleading," by Lisa Ling and Arash Ghadishah
• "High School Football: Would a Pop Warner Ban Limit Concussions?" by Tina Akouris
• "Excerpt from "Letter on Thomas Jefferson'," by John Adams

Unit 4: Text types include articles, informational text, essay, short story, poetry, and drama (written and film). Specific examples include (but are not limited to) the following titles and authors:

• "Shakespeare's Life," by the British Library
• "Shakespeare Dumbed Down in Comic Strips for Bored Pupils," by Laura Clark
• "Reading Shakespeare's Language: The Taming of the Shrew," by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine
• Limericks from A Book of Nonsense, by Edward Lear

The Grade 6 materials meet the expectations for this indicator as the texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative and qualitative analysis and the relationship to their associated task. The quantitative measure of these texts vary from a 620 to a 1900 Lexile level. The qualitative measure tends to stay in the "complex" and "very complex" range. Qualitative measures in Grade 6 include an appropriate mix of low, moderate, and high difficulty. While the quantitative measurements of these texts vary above and below the grade-band Lexile limits, this variety is done with a purpose that is clear and appropriate for materials in a 6th grade classroom; the qualitative features of texts that fall above or below the text complexity band make their placement appropriate. Texts are thoughtfully paired so that a more complex text is supported by one less so, and tasks are designed to access more complex text selections.

Examples of texts that reflect the curriculum’s ability to meet the expectation of indicator 1c are as follows:

Unit 1: Six out of seven texts have an overall text complexity analysis of Complex, which indicates that they are in the upper range of the suggested Grade 6 complexity.

• Activity 1.5 - Text Title: My Superpowers by Dan Greenburg, Lexile: 1020 Qualitative:Moderate Task: Moderate
• Activity 1.7
  
  • Text Title: excerpt from Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, Lexile:620 Qualitative: Low Difficulty Task: Challenging
  • Text Title: "The Jacket" by Gary Soto, Lexile: 1020 Qualitative: Moderate Difficulty Task: Moderate

Unit 2: Five out of six texts have an overall text complexity analysis of Complex.

• Activity 2.15 - Text Title: " He Might Have Liked Me Better with My Tail" by Ima Mermaid, Lexile: 820 Qualitative: Moderate Task: Moderate
• Activity 2.20 - Text Title: "Dogs Make Us Human" by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson, Lexile:970 Qualitative: Moderate Task: Moderate

Unit 3: All texts are rated Complex or Very Complex in text complexity analysis.

• Activity 3.6 - Text Title: "Letter on Thomas Jefferson" by John Adams, Lexile: 980 Qualitative: Moderate Task: Moderate
• Activity 3.8
  
  • Text Title: "The Pros and Cons of Social Networking for Teenagers: A Parents' Guide" by Kristin Stanberry, Lexile: 940 Qualitative: Moderate Task:Challenging
  • Text Title: Social Networking's Good and Bad Impacts on Kids" by Science Daily, 2011, Lexile: 1490 Qualitative: High Difficulty Task: Challenging
  • Text Title: "Pro and Con Arguments: 'Are Social Networking Sites Good for our Society?'", Lexile: 1590 Qualitative: High Difficulty Task: Challenging Activity 3.11- Text Title: "The First Americans" by Scott H. Peters, Lexile: 890 Qualitative: Moderate Task: Challenging

Unit 4 : Four out of six texts are rated Complex to Very Complex in text complexity analysis.

• Activity 4.3 - Text: "Shakespeare's Life" from the British Library, Lexile: 1010 Qualitative: Moderate Task: Accessible Informational
• Activity 4.6 - Essay: "Reading Shakespeare's Language: The Taming of the Shrew" by Barbara Mowat and Paul Wresting, Lexile: 1230 Qualitative: Moderate Task: Accessible

Most of the anchor texts for Grade 6 are on the high end of standards based quantitative complexity levels for sixth grade students. The task demands are frequently in the moderate to challenging range. For students who are struggling readers, the tasks present significant challenges, and the teacher may need to spend focused time assuring students are comprehending the texts to complete tasks.

The instructional materials for Grade 6 fully meet the expectations of indicator 1d, which supports students in growing their literacy skills so they can read and comprehend texts at grade level by the end of the school year. The complexity of texts students interact with in the core curriculum increases throughout the school year, which is intentional by design. By the end of the year, students encounter fewer texts with low text complexity measures and more texts with moderate to high difficulty. A variety of complexity levels is found across the school year.

Some examples of texts and tasks that are representative of students’ access to literacy skills over the school year include:

• Unit 1: Six out of seven anchor texts have an overall text complexity analysis of "complex," which indicates that they are in the upper range of the suggested 6th grade complexity in terms of quantitative analysis and qualitative features.
• Unit 2: Four out of five texts are ranked as "complex" overall, which indicates that they are in the upper range of the suggested Grade 6 complexity in terms of quantitative analysis and qualitative features.
• Unit 3: All texts in the Unit are rated "complex" or "very complex" in text complexity, indicating their level of rigor is high in a quantitative and qualitative measure.
• Unit 4 : Four out of six anchor texts are rated "complex" to "very complex" according to quantitative and qualitative complexity analyses. This unit includes a text by William Shakespeare, which affects the measures in its highly rigorous, antiquated language.

The work is rigorous over the course of the year as students work with complex texts and tasks. Close reading and writer’s workshops are available online to assist in providing access to rigorous texts. There are also opportunities online to listen to texts read aloud.

The Grade 6 materials fully meet the expectations of indicator 1e. The core texts, and series of texts connected to them, are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for educational purpose and placement at grade level. The publisher includes a complete “Text Complexity Analysis” for each text used. This document includes a text description, a locator for where it is used, a section on context, a chart of the quantitative and qualitative measures, the qualitative considerations, the task and reader considerations, and the placement considerations.

In the online Teacher Edition, a complete text complexity analysis and rationale for that text's inclusion in the program is available. Included in the text analysis is the following: a paragraph setting the context of the reading within the rest of the unit; a quantitative/complexity measure; qualitative considerations including purpose/levels of meaning, structure, language and knowledge demands; as well as task, reader, and grade level placement considerations.

In the forward of the print Teacher Edition, an explanation of the metrics used for text complexity measures is provided. Quantitative measures are indicated with Lexile scores. Qualitative measures are indicated as "High," "Moderate," and "Low" difficulty and were determined by teachers considering meaning, purpose, structure, language, and knowledge demands of each text. Task difficulty was measured using Anderson's and Krathwohl's taxonomy based on the cognitive demands of tasks associated with the text.

At the beginning of each unit, the Teacher Edition lists rationale for materials included in the “Planning the Unit” section through Context, College Readiness Standards, and Instructional Practices and Pacing. When texts appear to fall below the grade 6-8 level band, a rationale is provided for justification. In the Print Teacher Edition, Text Complexity Icons and information appear as sidebars alongside the beginning of all prose text in Grade 6 student and teacher editions.

The instructional materials for Grade 6 fully meet the expectations of indicator 1k, as there is a mix of on demand and process writing opportunities for students. Each unit has a culminating activity that focuses on the steps of the writing process. Materials include writing instruction aligned to the standards for the grade level, and writing instruction spans the whole school year.

On demand opportunities include daily writing options in class instruction as well as opportunities in every unit to attend to the text at hand. Some examples representative of the program as a whole include (but are not limited to):

• Unit 1: 1.7 After reading an excerpt from Flipped and using a graphic organizer to prewrite about an incident in their life that was witnessed by someone else, students will respond to a narrative writing prompt that asks them to write about the incident in a way that shows the differing attitudes about what happened, making sure to establish the incident, create dialogue that incorporates the feelings of the characters, use descriptive language, and correctly use proper nouns and pronouns
• Unit 2: 2.2-2.3 Students are introduced to several expository writing prompts and practice writing paragraph responses. Students work with classmates to write a response to film clip UP that explains character's life changes in response to internal forces including a topic sentence that states the main idea, supporting details from graphic organizer, and commentary.

Process opportunities are woven throughout the program, and by the end of the year, students have had robust support in learning and working with the writing process. Multiple opportunities require short and extended research. Mode-specific Writing Workshops are in the online Teacher's Edition, which include open-ended prompts and Embedded Assessments with scoring guides to provide regular practice. The Student Edition includes writing instruction such as brainstorming, controlling idea, details, dialogue, drafting, editing, evaluating, feedback, outlining, planning, prewriting, quickwrites, research, revision strategies, multimedia components, writing process,writing prompts. The "Planning Unit" section of the Teacher’s Edition provides an explanation of expectations of Embedded Assessments, as well as a comprehensive Instruction and Pacing Guide. A Writers Workshop is available online for extra support.

The writing tasks for students fully meet the expectations of indicator 1l. Materials provide opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflects the distribution required by the standards for grade 6 over the course of a school year. Embedded Assessments (2 per unit) cover a wide variety of writing activities which meet 6th grade level standards. Some examples include writing a personal narrative, writing a short story, responding to literature, writing an expository essay, researching and debating a controversy, writing an argumentative letter, and researching and presenting written work on Shakespeare.

Writing lessons and activities that represent this distribution of text types include the following examples:

Unit 1: Writing instruction includes writing a personal narrative and writing a short story. Language and writer's craft instruction includes transitions, revising for transitions, vivid verbs, and varied sentence patterns.

Unit 2: Writing instruction includes responding to literature and writing an expository essay. Language and writer's craft instruction includes pronoun usage and agreement, sentence variety, revising for figurative language, and parallel structure.

Unit 3: ELA instruction includes researching and debating a controversy and writing an argumentative letter. Language and writer's craft instruction includes format style, using appositives, and revising by creating complex sentences.

Unit 4: ELA instruction includes researching, presenting, and performing Shakespeare. Language and writer's craft instruction includes choosing sentence structure and pronoun usage.

The instructional materials for Grade 6 provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply writing using evidence, fully meeting the expectations of indicator 1m. Writing opportunities are developed from reading closely and working with sources.

Evidence-based responses are required as follow up activities for all reading selections. Materials provide frequent opportunities throughout the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply their new knowledge in writing. Writing tasks often reference the reading content and mode in which the reading was presented. As students study a text for form and content, students are provided prompts and guidance to identify the components and then practice replicating or analyzing those components.

Across the consumable Student Edition, there are graphic organizers and note-taking prompts to assist students in producing writing associated with the texts being read. Prompts include questions that are dependent to the text, but used with multiple texts as well as text-specific writing demands. In the sidebars of the student consumable, students are provided organized space and guidance to annotate, and collect evidence to use in the writing tasks at the ends of each text and/or section. This progression of working from reading to note-taking to organizer to frame to writing is common throughout the program.

Most writing tasks explicitly require students to cite components as students write, even in low-stakes annotations and note taking that occur almost daily. Cues such as "record evidence" and "cite phrases" occur throughout to build students' habits of going back to the text. Some representative examples of how the program does this include (but are not limited to) the following examples:

• In Unit I, in 1.4-1.7, students "record evidence of setting, character, conflict, and dialogue from film and personal narratives" as they engage with them.
• Unit 2 Activities include using a double entry journal as a primary tool for identifying relevant textual evidence on characterization, plot and subplot, and setting (2.4-2.7), addressing Response to Literature prompts (Embedded Assessment 2.1), and practice writing an expository essay that incorporates examples from text and research to support a thesis (2.16-2.17).
• In Unit 4, Embedded Assessment 4.1, students support a focused main idea with relevant descriptions, facts, and details from a variety of sources, including a complete and accurate bibliography or works cited page.

The instructional materials for Grade 6 meet the expectations of indicator 1n, regarding the instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level. Language skills are taught explicitly and then applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts. Language skills addressed in the materials include active voice, adjectives, adverbs, appositives, clauses, conjunctions, dependent markers, parallel structure/parallelism, phrases, pronouns, punctuation (commas, dashes, exclamation marks, periods, quotation marks, semicolon), repetition, sentence variety, sentences, series, and verbs.

Grammar and conventions are taught in a sequence consistent with the demands of grade 6 standards and are integrated with reading and writing instruction. Language standards for the grade level are found in forward of Student Edition. The Student Edition has a comprehensive grammar handbook in the back of the book for continual reference, as well as an Index of Language Skills identifying where instruction can be found in text. This handbook can also be found in both the Student and Teacher online editions. The Teacher Resources Online also have additional grammar lessons. In addition, there are ten separate Writer's Workshops online that incorporate grammar and language instruction. The Planning the Unit section at the beginning of each unit, in Teacher's Print Edition, lists expectations for Embedded Assessments as well as a comprehensive Instructional Activity and Pacing Guide that provides grammar support and instruction in the context of actual reading and writing.

Samples of activities and lessons that show evidence of this indicator include the following:

Unit 1 Activities

• 1.4-1.7 Practice command of conventions through Language and Writer's Craft lesson on pronouns.
• 1.8-1.10 Language and Writer's Craft focus on using transitions.
• 1.15-1.17 Language and Writer's Craft lesson supports students' use of varied sentence patterns to add variety and interest to writing.
• Embedded Assessment 1.2: Write a Short Story: Use a variety of transitions. Use precise words and sensory details (vivid verbs, figurative language). Demonstrate command of pronoun use, sentence variety, dialogue punctuation.

Unit 2 Activities

• 2.2-2.3 Language and Writer's Craft lessons teach students to use appropriate verb tenses
• 2.4-2.7 Continued writing practice gives students opportunities to use appropriate transitions, and demonstrate correct verb tense and pronoun use. Lessons on sentence variety show students how to revise using compound sentences.
• 2.8-2.11 Language and Writer's Craft lessons revisit specific figurative language techniques from Unit 1.
• Embedded Assessment 2.1 Write a Response to Literature: Use a variety of transitions and topic sentences to create coherence. Use precise, accurate diction to illustrate the topic and demonstrate command of parallel structures, commas in a series, and semicolons.
• 2.16-2.17 As modeled in Language and Writer's Craft lesson on parallel structures, students compose sentences, paying attention to variety.

Unit 3 Activities

• Embedded Assessment 3.1 Research and Debate a Controversy: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English.
• 3.11-3.13 Language and Writer's Craft lesson on using appositives as an effective way to cite sources
• 3.14-3.15 Students draft and revise writing by using transitions and creating complex sentences.
• Embedded Assessment 3.2 Write an Argumentative Letter: Use a variety of transitions, persuasive and connotative diction and demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English.

Unit 4 Activities

• 4.3-4.4 In the Language and Writer's Craft lessons, students continue to practice using a variety of sentence structures as they collaboratively write an explanation of information gained from research
• Embedded Assessment 4.1 Research and Present a Portrait of Shakespeare. Maintain appropriate style and tone, consistently use academic and literary vocabulary. Demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English, including a variety of syntax.
• 4.9-4.10 Attention to correct pronoun usage is revisited and reinforced through Language and Writer's Craft lessons.
• Embedded Assessment 4.2 Perform Shakespeare. Use punctuation cues ( periods, commas, semicolons, dashes, exclamation points) accurately and consistently to inform vocal delivery.