Holt Mcdougal Literature Grade 9 Teacher Edition
Ashlie Hagenson
\n The materials for Grade 12 do not meet the expectations of alignment to standards. The texts and tasks partially meet the demands to support students' development of literacy skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. While materials do include texts that are organized to support students' understanding of topics and/or themes, the materials only partially meet the expectations of comprehensive support for writing, vocabulary development, and text-based questions and tasks that build critical thinking and grow knowledge to prepare them for post-high school literacy tasks.\n
\n The instructional materials for Grade 12 partially meet the expectation of Gateway 1. Most of the texts are at the right level of quality and at the appropriate level for students to grow their literacy skills. The materials include a range of texts that are appropriately rigorous from a quantitative lens, although the qualitative factors vary. The placement of materials for students to get exposure to increasingly rigorous materials of the course of the year is inconsistent, and the teacher may need to supplement to attend to students' access to robust range and depth of reading. Most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, and culminating tasks represent the demands of the standards. Speaking and listening work is limited and does not include comprehensive supports for teachers to employ practice with academic vocabulary and discussion work over the course of the school year\n
\n The instructional materials for Grade 12 partially meet the expectation that texts are at the right level of quality and at the appropriate level for students to grow their literacy skills. The materials include a range of texts that are appropriately rigorous from a quantitative lens, although the qualitative factors vary. The placement of materials for students to get exposure to increasingly rigorous materials of the course of the year is inconsistent, and the teacher may need to supplement to attend to students' access to robust range and depth of reading.\n
\n The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for anchor/core texts being of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests.\n
\n Materials reflect the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level and consider a range of student interests. Over the course of a year, students are exposed to a variety of text types including, short stories, poems, drama, essays, and speeches. The materials provide a Table of Contents per unit that lists the text titles, authors, and types. Examples of texts include but are not limited to:\n
\n The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for texts having the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.\n
\n The materials include a variety of texts that are appropriate for 12th grade students and range in complexity for the grade level. Texts that are moderate in complexity are accompanied by tasks that increase the level of rigor by demanding higher order thinking skills and analyses. Texts that are exceedingly complex are accompanied by a variety of scaffolds such as graphic organizers and discussion questions. Texts range in quantitative measure from Lexile 810 to Lexile 1620, with one text that measure Lexile 640 and multiple challenging poems as well as Shakespearean works.\n
\n The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria that anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.\n
\n The materials provide text complexity analysis for texts throughout the materials. Lexiles, Fry, and Dale-Chall readability are provided in the unit overview at the beginning of each unit. There are no qualitative measurements, nor are any reader and task considerations included to create a complete text analysis. There is also no rationale included for the purpose or placement in each grade level. Examples include:\n
\n The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.\n
\n Students will read a range of texts and a variety of genres but reviewers noted that additional guidance may be needed to help students develop stamina for long complex texts. Texts (in the print edition) are generally short works, or very short excepts (1-4 pages) of longer works, meaning students do not have ample opportunities to engage in reading large volumes.\n
\n The instructional materials partially meet the expectations of the criteria around alignment to the standards. Most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, and culminating tasks represent the demands of the standards. Speaking and listening work is limited and does not include comprehensive supports for teachers to employ practice with academic vocabulary and discussion work over the course of the school year. Writing lessons are many and include connections to the types and on-demand requirements put forth by the standards, and the materials include support for teaching revision. The grammar instruction included partially prepares students for the needs of the grade level.\n
\n The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text; this may include work with mentor texts as well).\n
\n The materials include a range of text dependent questions and tasks throughout each unit. Questions and tasks cover a wide continuum of standards and strategies. Each unit offers many opportunities for students to engage in evidence-based discussions and activities. Most of the questions and tasks are text-dependent and ask students to engage with the text directly. Students are given opportunities to use evidence pulled directly from the text as well as make inferences.\n
\n Before each text, students are directed to take notes in the Reader/Writer Notebook as they read. Most questions in the margins of the text require students to note and interpret grammatical, literary, and rhetorical features. Each excerpt has close read questions which are on the page next to the text itself for students and teachers to reference directly. Key passages are outlined in a red box with text-dependent questions for the teacher. At the end of each selection or compared groups of selections there is a section of three to five questions sub-headed Text Analysis Questions. These questions guide students directly back to the text. Questions and tasks cover comprehension, summarizing, clarifying, drawing conclusions, making inferences evaluating, synthesizing ideas, and analyzing and identifying literary devices.\n
\n Students engage with and draw evidence from the texts through Tiered Discussion Prompts, After Reading Questions, Analyzing Visuals and Reading-Writing Connection questions and tasks. Examples of these include but are not limited to:\n
\n The materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria for having sets of high-quality sequences of text-dependent/specific questions and tasks that build to a culminating task that integrates skills (may be writing, speaking, or a combination).\n
\n At the end of majority of the texts or text sets, a culminating activity is provided. Each of the culminating activities within the unit lead to a larger culminating task for the unit. At the end of each unit there is a Writing Workshop, including a Timed Writing Practice, along with a Multiple Choice Assessment Practice. Also at the end of each collection of texts within an Era, there is a Wrap-Up Writing where students are asked to evaluate or analyze the texts from the time period.While these culminating activities seem to build off of each other, the standards associated with the writing and speaking activities are not well-supported throughout the entire unit; either through other writing tasks nor the reading questions aligned with core passages .\n
\n The materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and synthesis.\n
\n Modeling of academic vocabulary is limited. The function of most of the discussion questions is as an ice-breaker and/or interest grabber before reading rather than an evidence-based discussion encouraging the use of academic vocabulary.\n
\n The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g. multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.\n
\n The 12th grade textbook offers opportunities for students to write in both process and on-demand formats and incorporates technology when appropriate. Throughout the units, short-constructed, on-demand writings are found. In addition, the end of units provide a processed writing task in a Writing Workshop strategy. The Writing Workshop strategy provides guidance in the steps of the writing process. The process writing assignments include segments on: planning, drafting, revising and editing, publishing with several opportunities for publishing. Digital publishing is often encouraged.\n
\n The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials including frequent opportunities for research-based and evidence-based writing to support analysis, argument, synthesis and/or evaluation of information, supports, claims.\n
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