American Reading Company Grade 2

Evaluation for 2.1
Materials include high-quality texts for ELAR instruction and cover a range of student interests.

Materials include well-crafted texts that are of publishable quality, representing the content, language, and writing produced by experts in various disciplines. While traditional and classical texts are found in this collection, the bulk of texts are both contemporary and diverse. The titles listed in the second-grade read-aloud list represent a balance of previously published literary and informational texts, as well as texts published by ARC specifically for this program. Materials include increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.

Examples include but are not limited to:

My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits is an inspiring story about a little girl finding her place in a new country. The story includes riveting pictures of surprising vistas and dreamscapes by Gabi Swiatkowska.

Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco is the real-life, classic story of a dyslexic girl and the teacher who would not let her fail. Patricia Polacco is considered a premier writer and the book provides beautiful illustrations as well as an important story of resiliency.

Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl's Baseball Dream by Crystal Hubbard is the story of Marcenia Lyle, the African American girl who grew up to become Toni Stone, the first woman to play for a professional baseball team. It is a story about empowerment and overcoming obstacles. 

Community Helpers Then and Now by Bobbie Kalman explores how community helpers and their jobs have evolved over time. Topics in the book include how doctors once made house calls, fire trucks were pulled by horses, and the milkman delivered fresh milk right to the front door. This text takes an innovative approach to learning about community helpers and their history.

Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind by Judy Finchley and Kevin O'Malley is a book in the Miss Malarkey series about a teacher who is determined to find the right book for each student. They participate in the principal’s school reading program and learn to love reading. This book is humorous and relatable for students who might not love to read. 

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles is a literary nonfiction picture-book that depicts Ruby’s courageous stand against segregation. Language and ideas are honest, yet tender enough for seven- and eight-year-olds to handle.

The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry is a contemporary picture book that can be used as a springboard into persuasive texts.

Insect Defenses by Bobbie Kalman and Rebecca Sjonger is an informational text that uses striking, up-close photographs of insects as well as unique facts to engage young readers.

*NOTE Texts included for the IMQE review of the Grade 2 ARC CORE materials are typical of what is included with the units; however, should a Core Text become unavailable, or if a district wishes to customize the Core Text selections, ARC will collaborate with the district to provide a title meeting the same criteria of those evaluated in the submission. ARC will work to ensure all selections follow district-specific criteria and meet the district standards for high-quality texts.

Evaluation for 2.2
Materials include a variety of text types and genres across content that meet the requirements of the TEKS for each grade level.

The materials contain a variety of text types and genres across multiple content areas. The materials include stories, poetry, biographies, and informational texts spanning a variety of topics. Across the units, both literary and informational texts include varied structures, and students have the opportunity to interact with print and graphic features within a variety of genres and formats. However, the materials lack drama texts.

Examples of literary texts include but are not limited to:

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (fantasy)
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson (science fiction)
On Earth by G. Brian Karas (poetry)
It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles by Jack Prelutsky (poetry)
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson (historical fiction) 
The Bug in Teacher’s Coffee and Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos (poetry)
The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron (realistic fiction)
Work Song by Gary Paulsen (realistic fiction) 

Examples of informational texts include but are not limited to:

What Is a Community? From A to Z by Bobbie Kalman (informational)
School Days Then and Now by Bobby Kalman (historical nonfiction)
Helpful and Harmful Insects by Molly Aloian and Bobby Kalman (scientific nonfiction)
Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette Winter (biography)
Bugs All Around by Natalie Lunis and Nancy White (scientific nonfiction)
In My Family: En mi Familia by Carmen Lomas Garza (biography)
Deadly Poison Dart Frogs by Lincoln James (scientific nonfiction)
Hank Aaron: Brave in Every Way by Peter Golenbok (biography)
Batter Up! History of Baseball, Time for Kids by Dona Herweck Rice (historical nonfiction)
“Teachers Should Make More Than Athletes” by Bill Cunningham (persuasive)

Examples of print and graphical features include but are not limited to:

Deadly Poison Dart Frogs by James Lincoln and Hank Aaron: Brave in Every Way by Peter Golenbok exhibit many graphic features including pictures, picture captions, and text boxes. 

In the Unit 2 core text, there are vocabulary words bolded with contrasting colors, pictures with captions, and diagrams with labels. 

In the Unit 4 core texts Batter Up! History of Baseball and Time for Kids by Dona Herweck Rice, there are charts and graphs, colorful images, photographs, timelines, and charts.

In the Unit 4 core text A Field Guide to Your Community, there is a table of contents, index, glossary, bold print, maps, timelines, graphs, charts, and labels.

*NOTE Texts included for the IMQE review of the Grade 2 ARC CORE materials are typical of what is included with the units. However, should a Core Text become unavailable, or if a district wishes to customize the Core Text selections, ARC will collaborate with the district and provide a title meeting the same criteria of those evaluated in the submission. ARC will work to ensure all selections follow district-specific criteria and meet the district standards for high-quality texts.

Evaluation for 2.3
Texts, including read-aloud texts in K-2 and shared reading in Grade 2, are appropriately challenging, and are at an appropriate level of complexity to support students at their grade level.

The materials include texts that have undergone extensive quantitative, qualitative, and reader/task analyses by the publisher. The materials provide a proprietary taxonomy/leveling system for all books. The introduction to every unit includes information on the process of how texts are selected by quality, complexity, and quantitative levels. “All of the titles below have been leveled using the IRLA leveling system. This system combines a quantitative analysis (using Lexile, AR, and any other such systems available for the text) with a by-hand qualitative analysis. All texts are evaluated with both quantitative and hands-on qualitative measures because of the types of complexity challenges a computer cannot evaluate, such as poetic language, extended metaphor, assumed background knowledge, and complex themes.” In the Literacy Lab, classrooms receive 45 read alouds that cover school and social justice themes, poetry, and personal narratives, as well as class sets of a poetry Core Text and personal narrative Core Text. In the units that follow, classes receive a 30-book class set of a Core Text, plus five single-copy Anchor Titles per unit, in addition to the 100-book Leveled Research Library. At the beginning of each unit, a text complexity analysis is provided, which articulates how whole class and independent reading texts are selected for the unit's theme. This spread, titled "Determining Text Complexity," describes how read aloud texts are written 1–2 years above grade level to engage and build listening stamina for young researchers, and Core Texts are written on grade level for whole class instruction. In Units 2–4, the spread also demonstrates how the independent leveled library is designed to support research in 7–10 research topics across the range of basket levels.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Unit 1 contains the text The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron, which has an IRLA level of 2Red (late 2nd grade) and a Lexile level of 520L. Based on the by-hand qualitative measures of the IRLA leveling system, Lexile accurately reflects the difficulty of this text. The combination of a clear narrative detailing common experiences of childhood, paired with rich figurative language, make this book both accessible to second-grade students and worth multiple re-readings and deep analysis.

Unit 2 contains the text Nature's Patchwork Quilt by Mary Miche, which has a 4th grade Text Complexity Level and Lexile level of 810L. Based on the by-hand qualitative measures of the IRLA leveling system, Lexile accurately reflects the difficulty of this text. While the purpose is implied, it is easy to identify. The structure is complex in that the entire text is based on an analogy between patchwork quilts and nature. While figurative language is used in this text, it is directly explained and used to clarify the discipline-specific concept of interdependence. The text requires minimal basic life science content knowledge to support understanding. 

Unit 3 contains the text Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? edited by Traci Dibble, which has an IRLA level of 2Red (late 2nd grade) and a Lexile level of 550L. Based on the by-hand qualitative measures of the IRLA leveling system, Lexile accurately reflects the difficulty of this text. The text structure varies, incorporating narrative and informational text in a collection of short pieces. The text uses contemporary, familiar language with some examples of literary, technical, and figurative language. The folktale retellings are likely to be familiar to most readers. 

Unit 4 contains the text A Field Guide to Your Community by Sara Murphy and Traci Dibble, which has an IRLA level of White (3rd grade) and a Lexile level of 520L. Based on the by-hand qualitative measures of the IRLA leveling system, Lexile overestimates the difficulty of this text. The purpose of each section is clearly stated, and the graphics contribute to the ease of interpretation. The text has numerous instances of discipline-specific vocabulary pertaining to civics, but all examples are defined in the text or supported by graphics. 

*NOTE Texts included for the IMQE review of the Grade 2 ARC CORE materials are typical of what is included with the units; however, should a Core Text become unavailable, or if a district wishes to customize the Core Text selections, ARC will collaborate with the district to provide a title meeting the same criteria of those evaluated in the submission. ARC will work to ensure all selections follow district-specific criteria and meet the district standards for high-quality texts.

Evaluation for 3.a.1
Materials contain questions and tasks that support students in synthesizing knowledge and ideas to deepen understanding and identify and explain themes.

The materials contain questions and tasks that support students in synthesizing knowledge and ideas to deepen understanding and identify and explain themes. While many questions are not tied to a specific text, several questions require students to interact with a text directly to validate thinking. Tasks give students opportunities to build conceptual knowledge and literacy skills over the course of the year. Many of the questions in the instructional framework ask students to look for evidence from text or pictures to support their answer. Texts are discussed over multiple days with a different instructional focus allowing students to become more familiar with each part of the text. Students read aloud texts to ask and answer questions that build knowledge which require students to synthesize new information based on multiple texts. Units are designed to build conceptual knowledge through research based on information gathered in texts and also from in-class experiments and labs. Units initially introduce the topic with general information and, as the unit progresses, students gather specific information by “reading to learn.” Several units pair informational text with literary text, so students must evaluate their understanding of genre throughout the units.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, the reading focus one day is to share “One question you had about this book and diversity or justice and the evidence that supports your thinking.” In their writing that day, students then write about something they think is unfair or unjust. During the lesson titled Separate Is Never Equal, the teacher reads and asks specific, text-dependent questions that promote close attention to meaning and inferences, such as “Explain Mrs. Mendez’ statement, ‘When you fight for justice, others will follow’” and “According to the text, what is segregation, and why is segregation bad for all children?” Later in the unit, students discuss the concept of justice as it applies to a specific text. Examples of questions include “What lesson/message/moral do you think the author wants us to learn from Marcenia’s Story? How do you know?” “Who in the book changes their mind?” About what? Why?” and “What about this story is unfair? Do you think it is solved? Why or why not?”

In Unit 2, while reading Hey There, Stink Bug!, text-specific questions can be used when the “generic text-dependent lesson is insufficient for generating rich conversation.” Some text-specific questions offered are “What is ‘frass’?  How do you know?” and “Which details from the poem show how the caterpillar uses frass to protect itself?”  

In Unit 3, students continue to practice using story elements to retell stories, focusing on plot. The teacher introduces/reviews plot and the difference between problem and major problem, then guides the students back to the central text. As the students “argue” which problem is the major problem, the teacher circulates, asking “Why? What makes you say that? Can you find evidence or pictures that support your opinion?”

In Unit 4, the teacher introduces the concept of fact versus opinion. The teacher posts the Fact vs. Opinion Rubric and provides opportunities for students to identify statements as fact or opinion. Then, he/she assigns a topic and pairs generate one fact and one opinion. Finally, during the read aloud, the class completes a “Wow!” fact with supporting evidence, and the teacher models how to generate an opinion from the text. Students also read the core text A Field Guide to Your Community and are provided the following discussion question: “How does this relate to what other authors have written about…?” When students read and research the week’s research question on their own, they discuss multiple places within a text and compare it to the mentor text using these questions:

“The most important thing I learned about this week’s research question was…”
“I know this is true because…”
“I think it’s important because…”

Units 2, 3, and 4 all contain final research projects, which require students to look through the text in multiple places to answer the research questions. 

Evaluation for 3.a.2
Materials contain questions and tasks that require students to evaluate the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts.

The materials contain questions and tasks that require students to evaluate the language, key ideas, details and craft, and structure of individual texts. Explicit, direct instruction of author’s purpose is included, as are tasks where students evaluate, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the author's purpose.  Students have sufficient opportunities to compare and contrast the stated or implied purposes of different authors’ writing on the same topic; analyze the authors’ choices and how they influence and communicate meaning (in single and across a variety of texts); and study the language within texts to support their understanding. Students have opportunities for this level of thinking in each unit at varying levels of complexity with teacher support during and after reading and when writing their reports and stories. The materials include sufficient opportunities for students to identify and analyze the literary/textual elements of texts included. Various types of texts such as poetry and fictional stories provide opportunities for students to think deeply about an author’s choices, purposes, and language throughout the stories. Students draw conclusions from the literary elements used in the stories.  

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, the read aloud of Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind includes text-specific questions that allow students to evaluate the text, including “What lesson do you think we are supposed to learn from this book? Why?” During a poetry study, students begin to discuss the author’s purpose with the following questions: “Why do you think the author wrote this book?” and “What makes you say that?” The Read Aloud My Name is Yoon includes questions such as “What do you think the word ‘wisdom’ means as it is used on page 2?” and “What evidence from the text/illustrations support your answer?”

In Unit 2, “Bugs,” students begin to explore the use of informational text features and how they help the understanding of the subject while reading. While practicing the first research question, the teacher asks “What is the author saying about RQ #1?” and “How do you know?” 

Students use multiple texts to notice “choices a writer made, thinking about the effects of those choices.” Questions are geared toward students applying these ideas in their own writing.  Examples of generic questions the materials provide include:

Is the introduction interesting? Why/ why not? What could the author have done differently? 
Which sentence is the central idea? What do you think of this placement? 
Which kinds of details does the author use most (e.g., facts, definitions, examples, etc.)? What effect does that have on the text? What makes you say that? 
Which section makes the most effective use of details? What makes you say that? What might you imitate in your piece? 

In Unit 3, students research different genres of animal stories and discuss cultural and historical contexts of each book, answering questions such as “How does context add to the characters and setting of the story?” Students evaluate what the author’s purpose is and articulate what the author is saying about the world. The concept of author’s purpose is explicitly taught, and students cite the author’s purpose with more than a verb; “They need to explain WHAT the author wants to answer/explain/describe/teach, and why.”  

In Unit 4, students research “Jobs in the Community” and answer questions such as “How does this relate to what other authors have written about...?” Students compare purposes of different authors’ writing on community helpers. Examples of questions include:

What is the author’s opinion on this topic? Who is his/her intended audience? 
How does the author want me/the audience to be different after reading this? 
What evidence in the text supports this thinking? 
State the author’s purpose in one sentence: (Author’s name)’s purpose for writing this opinion piece was to convince (audience) to believe (opinion). 

Evaluation for 3.a.3
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary in and across texts.

The materials provide a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key vocabulary in and across texts. The materials state vocabulary development occurs naturally as students read and hear a high volume of texts. The materials build intentional opportunities to learn vocabulary into the daily instructional framework throughout the units. Students acquire vocabulary through immersion via grade-level complex texts, conversations, and meaningful application. Grade 2 students are given frequent opportunities to use context within and beyond a sentence to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. The materials provide strategies for teachers to frequently and concisely teach vocabulary and clarify unknown words. Student tasks give students opportunities to use newly acquired vocabulary in appropriate contexts.

Examples include but are not limited to:

During the reading of grade-level complex texts, teachers use the “drop-in” vocabulary strategy to quickly teach and clarify the meaning of unknown words. Unit 1 provides instructions for the teacher to “take one to two seconds to introduce drop-in words by providing synonyms/definitions as you read.” In Unit 1, during the suggested Read Aloud My Name is Yoon, a context-clue question is included: “What do you think the word ‘wisdom’ means as it is used on page 2? What evidence from the text/illustrations supports your answer?”

In Unit 2, teachers use a “class glossary” and introduce the term “technical vocabulary” by telling students “Words that are specific to our unit and help us become experts in our unit are called technical vocabulary words.” Teachers then provide an example of a technical vocabulary term from the interactive read aloud read that day. Definitions are written in student-friendly language, for example: “predator—an animal that hunts another animal” and “habitat—the natural home of an animal or plant.” A sidebar states some students “will need to build background knowledge and vocabulary from the easier Research Library books before they will be able to work productively with independent research in the kinds of harder texts most often available in libraries and online.”

In Unit 4, a sidebar about vocabulary recommends teachers choose vocabulary strategically, create context, and repeat the words many times during class discussion. For example, when speaking about community, the teacher could ask questions such as “What is a community? Is your neighborhood a community? Who is part of your school community?” Similar to Units 2 and 3, Unit 4 includes a vocabulary card to support the research project. This card highlights important words that students need to know for the unit.

Evaluation for 3.a.4
Materials include a clearly defined plan to support and hold students accountable as they engage in self-sustained reading.

Materials include an independent reading routine that builds reading skills over the course of the year. Initial assessments for independent reading selections utilize the Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA) protocol. Unit 1 materials include specific instruction on how to read independently and how to choose books. The materials provide tools to track students’ reading progress, as well as to define characteristics for reading levels. The plans include guidance in planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals. Resources for assessing reading levels and monitoring growth include the “Status of the Class” tracking chart and the “SchoolPACE” online tracking tool. A specific plan is included for addressing the needs of students at different reading levels. Student accountability expectations for self-selected reading time increase in the second-grade materials. Some examples of student responses include answering the question "why," using text evidence to support an opinion, and using higher-order thinking skills such as sequencing events. The students also become more aware of their reading process and ask questions to monitor themselves during reading.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, the materials detail the process of how to find a book that is the right “size” and indicate the importance of building reading stamina from fifteen to thirty minutes by Week 3. The student purpose for the first lesson is “Self-Level,” which includes a brief script for teachers: “Today you are going to try on these IRLA color levels to find books that you can read and understand independently.” After modeling the process, the teacher asks “…[W]ho can show us what to do and get a set of books just as I did?” This instruction keeps students accountable to their independent reading time. Students also use “Accountable Talk” at the end of the self-selected text reading. Accountable talk tasks become more in-depth over the course of the unit and the level of student response becomes more text dependent. Some tasks include sharing which books they liked best and why and using text evidence to support their opinion. The teacher first models and uses specific evidence from a book (e.g., “The book I thought was best was this book about whales, because the author used good comparisons so you could really understand how big some whales are. Listen to this…”) Students then follow the routine with a partner, imitating the teacher’s example, but using their own texts and text evidence. 

In Unit 2, during “Independent Reading,” students select research books about bugs. Students “read to learn everything they can about bugs and their ecosystems,” and the “Accountable Talk” task is to “be ready to share the most interesting things you learned about bugs.” 

In Unit 3, the lesson directs students to set norms for independent reading, as the teacher builds complete independence of students during independent reading time. “Accountable Talk” prompts include “Retell this story” and “What makes the story you are reading an animal story?” Students begin to focus on the style and structure the author uses. Students discuss the best book read that day, including why they liked it, and then give a specific example of a style/structure element the author used in the text. By the end of the unit, students are thinking about the sequence of events in their self-selected texts and deciding what the most important events are in the beginning, middle, and end. Students share events and the reasons they are most important to the plot during “Accountable Talk.”

Evaluation for 3.b.1
Materials provide support for students to compose across text types for a variety of purposes and audiences.

The materials provide support for students to compose across text types for a variety of purposes and audiences. Students are provided opportunities to write in various forms of informational and narrative writing daily within the instructional routine and through summative writing and final projects within each unit. The materials provide limited exposure to thank-you notes.

Examples include, but are not limited to: 

In Unit 1, the teacher tells students that, in order to connect with text, students will draw and write about what matters most to them. Students draw a large heart and fill it with images and words that represent what matters most to them. The next day, students are given options for the writing block: “Write about something on which you are already an expert. This might be a sport, a video game, an author or series, how to take care of a pet, how to make something. Make sure you include information to teach the class about this topic.” As a writing prompt option, students can write a letter to a student in another country, telling about their own lives and asking questions about what school and life are like. During a writing block, students may write about one of two options related to poetry: “Option 1: Students write a poem that mimics the style/organization of a poem you read together as a class. Option 2: Use Jack Prelutsky’s Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme included in the Poetry Read-Aloud Collection, as a support structure.” Later in the unit, students focus on reading and writing personal narratives. For Day 1, students can “Write about a time you got in trouble. What happened? Can you tell it in a story with you as a character? Make sure you include the setting and major events.” Materials support the connection between personal narratives and narratives.

In Unit 2, most of the daily writing aligns with answering the question in the final project organizer. Research questions include but are not limited to: “What kind of bug is this? How do you know?” “In which ecosystem(s) does this bug live?” and “How does this bug depend on its surroundings to get what it needs?” In Unit 2, “Bugs In Their Ecosystems,” Week 9, students are writing poetry, using a read aloud as a mentor text. There is instruction during the read aloud about elements of poetry with the “What Makes a Poem?” anchor chart. The unit also includes explicit instruction on procedural writing on the Research Question being researched, such as instructions for building a butterfly garden or bug box ("In which ecosystem does this bug live? How does this bug depend on its surroundings to get what it needs?"). In addition to this direct instruction, the Final Project Organizers for multiple Research Questions are designed to encourage procedural writing.

In Unit 3, the students' summative writing assignment is a collection of Animal Stories and, throughout that unit, students engage in retelling their favorite narrative stories. 

In Unit 4, students write one interesting fact learned and one opinion with evidence to support the learning. Students also compile research and write a persuasive letter. Later in the unit, students research a job in the community and write a final persuasive piece.

Evaluation for 3.b.2
Materials engage students in the writing process to develop text in oral, pictorial, or written form.

The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in the writing process to develop text in oral, pictorial, or written form. All four second-grade units include opportunities for students to write using the elements of the writing process: planning, developing drafts (orally, with pictures, and/or with words), revising, editing, and sharing. Writing is built into the daily instructional framework with the teacher modeling elements; students also engage in the writing process during Writer’s Workshop and during writing in small groups. Writer’s Workshop lessons consist of teacher modeling and independent writing. Teacher and peer supports guide students throughout the writing process in most of the units of study. Students also learn to use rubrics to guide them in the writing process. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, the teacher sets the focus, which is to write three words that best describe the student and tell why. The teacher models with their own personal response. Students write and draw for 15–20 minutes. Students share their writing with a partner. Later in the unit, the teacher models/guides the students through Writing Prompt Option #1: “Who are you? Write a character description of you.” The teacher also models how to think aloud to write a narrative.  The teacher prompts students to think about a relationship that matters to them and write about an interaction/event that was important to both the student and to that important relationship. The teacher is modeling this concept as she is writing a story for the class that focuses on an interaction/event with someone important to her. Students then pick an event from their life they would like to retell and write about that with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The think-aloud for that day includes the teacher modeling how to use a “Plot-Sequence of Events” graphic organizer to retell an event from his/her life.  

In Unit 2, the teacher models and coaches the students as they create a draft and plan the final layout for their books. “Write your title and author (you) on a post-it on the cover of your book, then move on. You will have time to illustrate later. Don’t worry if you don’t like the title of your book, there is time to change it later.” The teacher continues to model/guide the students through the front pages, numbering the pages, the back page, the table of contents, and text features. The teacher also guides the students in writing a 3-point response for writing students previously shared with a partner, modeling if necessary, to ensure student success.

In Unit 3, the teacher models/guides the students through completing a “Retelling a Story Thinking Map”. Students orally rehearse constructing a 3-point retelling of the story including the key story elements. After practicing orally retelling, the students write the retelling. Students also use a “Character Study” graphic organizer to design a main character of their own. Students then use the graphic organizer as a springboard for writing a story about this character. The graphic organizer includes details such as personality, physical appearance, actions, and background.

In Units 2–4, students are given a Final Project Organizer to record information on their topic. They use this information at the end of each unit to complete a final writing piece. In each of the units, students are given a rubric to monitor their work in the writing process. After each day’s writing, students share work with a partner who gives him/her a score based on the rubric. Teachers also conduct one-on-one writing conferences to help students edit and revise their writing. At the end of a week or unit, students publish and share final writing pieces. Each student is also given a set of Writing Resource Cards in Informational and Argumentative genres that guide them through the steps of the writing process.

Evaluation for 3.b.3
Over the course of the year, students are provided opportunities to apply grade-level standard English conventions to their writing.

The materials provide opportunities for students to practice the application of the conventions of English in context. Grammar, punctuation, and usage instruction is based on an observed need within a student’s writing. The materials apply a systematic method (building from what students know in relation to what they need to know) firmly rooted in inquiry, formative assessment, and data-driven instruction, integrated into the daily writing work. The learning targets for grammar, punctuation, and conventions are the grade-level student expectations described in the TEKS. All grammar, punctuation, and usage instruction occurs within the context of the students’ writing, the materials do not teach these topics out of context of a student’s writing. 

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, students practice conventions when they share their writing with a partner. Sentence stems are provided to assist with the conversation. Stems include “What would happen if we added (a capital) because (it is a name)? What would happen if we took out (the ‘?’) because (it’s not a question)?” The framework states, on the lesson overview page, “Teacher Work: Choose one or more of the grade-level composition skills and teach it to the class and use the Editing Skills Card as support.” For example, the teacher may choose “edit drafts using standard English conventions, including complete sentences with subject-verb agreement”; then, students edit their personal narratives to prepare for publishing. The materials provide the second-grade-level conventions standards as a benchmark. Over the course of Units 1–4, students are given multiple opportunities to develop expertise in these standards in the context of editing their own writing. 

In Unit 2, students work individually or in pairs to edit their papers for mechanics, usage, and structure. The teacher is directed to introduce, model, or reinforce conventions as necessary, and teachers are to hold students responsible for making sure each sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with an end mark. During peer review, students read their papers to a partner and use a rubric to decide how many points the paper earned. In the first week of this unit, students edit short constructed responses for quotation marks in direct quotations, proper citation of quotes, and proper punctuation including capitals and end marks. Later in the unit, there is a mini-lesson for using quotation marks called “Mechanics, Usage & Structure” for direct quotations. The teacher is directed to say: “When you want to copy a phrase, a sentence, or an entire passage that someone else wrote, you must use quotation marks, and you must cite your source.” The rest of the lesson is completed with teacher modeling.

The Writing Workshop portion of the literacy block entails a teacher-modeled mini-lesson and prewriting (usually in the form of talking to a neighbor about writing ideas); then, students write. Time is also given to edit and publish writing pieces, and this is carried out over the course of the week. The teacher is to pull students during the writing time and have individual conferences with students about their writing. 

Evaluation for 3.b.4
Materials include practice for students to write legibly in print (K-1) and cursive (Grade 2).

The materials do not include instruction in cursive nor a plan for assessing students’ handwriting development.  

Evaluation for 3.c.1
Materials support students’ listening and speaking about texts.

The materials support students’ listening and speaking about text. The materials instruct students to ask themselves questions and on how to discuss their thinking with peers. Questions are modeled and scaffolded—through frequent discussions as a class, in small groups, and in pairs—in order for students to become comfortable with listening to and speaking about text. Students engage with a variety and a large number of texts, as the publisher provides 45 above-grade-level read alouds, 5 grade-level Core Texts, 15 Anchor Titles, as well as over 400 independent reading titles across the four units. The student texts provided in the Leveled Book Library allow students to continue their learning from the read aloud but also engage in “Accountable Talk” where they are required to share what they learned from the independent reading based on the reading focus for the day. Opportunities are provided for students to listen actively and to ask questions to understand information. There are consistent opportunities for students to engage in discussions that require them to share information and ideas about the topics they are discussing.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Every day, the lesson sequence begins with a read aloud/shared reading of Complex Text and discussion, then Reader’s Workshop. During Read/Write/Discuss Complex Text, students read or listen to a grade-level text or something the teacher has written. They are given the opportunity to ask questions of the teacher and each other and are given time to get, give, and seek answers from each other. Each daily lesson has a specific focus for the reading of complex text and for Reader’s Workshop, and the focus is often on types of questions to ask about different text genres.  

In Unit 1, the teacher uses the book from the day’s shared reading to model “Accountable Talk”; for example, “On this page, I noticed…” or “That made me wonder…” Students work in pairs, sharing their thinking about their independent reading. Partner A holds up one book, reads, and asks Partner B “What did you notice? What questions do you have?” Then, the partners switch and repeat the process. The class comes back together, and the teacher selects three students to share their answers. Students are selected through cold call, by random selection, or for a specific purpose. The teacher uses this opportunity to observe the students’ understanding of what they read, working with partners, answering in complete sentences, and listening actively. 

In Unit 2, students are introduced to using a “Know, Want to Know, Learned” (KWL) chart to explore background knowledge and questions about the unit topic (bugs). Students “write, map out or at least share orally everything they already know about this Unit with a partner.” Teachers should “Attempt to generate questions about what students wonder about bugs. Model generating questions if necessary.” Students and the teacher add questions to the class question chart. Later in the unit, the focus of the close reading of informational text is to compare how authors introduce their topics. The teacher supports student discussion with sentence frames such as “I notice the author uses interesting/exciting language like…and pictures to show…”

In Unit 3, during the “Publishing Process,” students work through what they have written all week, revising, editing, publishing, and presenting their written work. The teacher gives students the opportunity to share their work in the “Author’s Chair.” Students take turns coming to sit in a special chair to share their writing and answer questions. The other students are held responsible for listening actively. While reading complex text, students determine the author’s message in the story and work in pairs to identify a different lesson taught by the story, other than the one the class discussed. The teacher provides question stems to help students with this.

Evaluation for 3.c.2
Materials engage students in collaborative discussions.

The individual components of the “Daily Instructional Framework” provide numerous daily opportunities for students to engage in collaborative discussions. Sentence stems and modeled sentences are utilized to model the conventions of language. Every lesson includes a specific focus for the “Read Complex Text” and for the Reader’s Workshop; the aligned questions allow for rich discussions. The student texts provided in the Leveled Book Library allow students to continue their learning from reading complex text but also to engage in “Accountable Talk,” where students are required to share what they learned from the independent reading based on the reading focus for the day. Throughout all units, program routines such as “Accountable Talk” and “Author’s Chair” give students opportunities to grow in oral language skills.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, students are introduced to the “Accountable Talk” daily routine. The teacher models which book she read today was best and why: "The book I thought was best was this book about whales, because the author used good comparisons so you could really understand how big some whales are. Listen to this..." The teacher then models the same routine but done with a partner. Explicit direction is given on how to share appropriately (e.g., turn to face your partner, one person speaks at a time, active listening). Partners take turns talking, and then some pairs share out with the class. The following norms of “Accountable Talk” are then shared: “Share information and ideas. Speak audibly. Speak clearly. Use the conventions of language.” Students also share favorite books, using the frames “I LOVE books. My favorite thing to read about is…I love to read books that…I like to read (when, where, with whom, why).” Checklists are provided for teachers to remember to monitor oral language skills. The 100-Book Challenge Teacher Checklist and the ARC Literacy Lab Routines Checklist has reminders for practicing oral language skills during Morning Message, Interactive Read Aloud/Read Complex Text, and Accountable Talk. These checklists can be used in conjunction with the IRLA to make instructional decisions and formatively assess students’ oral language skill development.

In Unit 3, students discuss “What about the setting is most important to the story? What makes you say that?” Students share, and the teacher highlights key learning and adds to the graphic organizer. Students also practice accountable talk about the book they have read, using the sentence frame “…; I believe this because …”

In Unit 4, during the guided practice portion of the read/discuss complex text, students listen to a text and generate an opinion worth writing about. At one point, students are working with a partner to practice identifying reasons/evidence to support their opinion.

Evaluation for 3.d.1
Materials engage students in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for different purposes.

All units provide rationale and suggestions for creating a culture of inquiry in the classroom.  For example, in the introduction of each unit, there is an article for teachers entitled “What Is Inquiry Through Apprenticeship and Why Should We Teach This Way?” This article seeks to aid teachers in their understanding of what true inquiry is and how to go about establishing that mindset in the classroom. The Introduction of Unit 2 includes questions for the teacher in order to gauge the level of inquiry happening in the classroom. There is support for teachers on establishing a climate of inquiry and guidance for students on the inquiry process. Questions for research and inquiry are open-ended and require in-depth answers. Although many of the research questions are generated by the curriculum, students have the opportunity every day to generate additional questions that stem from their research. Graphic organizers are provided to break down research tasks into manageable chunks. Students create final research products for a specific purpose and audience, and the inquiry in which students participate each day is centered around their final projects. The materials support instruction for students to follow a logical, sequential research plan through the Final Project Organizer (FPO), which builds in complexity over the course of units.  

Examples include but are not limited to: 

In Unit 1, during a read aloud, the teacher is directed to ask “What other questions do you have about Marcenia? Let’s read the Afterword. Are any of your questions answered? What new questions do you have?” Students also work in partners to generate their own questions about the text. Pairs take turns posing their questions to the class.

In Unit 2, “Bugs in Their Ecosystems” focuses on a research project. Teachers begin to assess students’ background knowledge of bugs; teachers have students generate questions about what they wonder about bugs. Students are introduced to the research project. A packet of Final Project Organizers (FPO) for data collection is provided to each student. The teacher models the use of each organizer throughout the unit for students as they add their data. For example, the teacher models using text features to determine if a text is a good source for the research topic and uses the table of contents, index, and other text features to evaluate texts. A Reader’s Workshop lesson introduces the Research Library; classroom books about bugs are organized by reading difficulty. Students choose 3–5 books to read and learn everything they can about bugs in their ecosystems for a set length of time. After reading, students share with a partner about the best book read, using a 3-point rubric to guide responses. The rubric includes an introduction to the topic, the most surprising fact, and text evidence. The project ultimately culminates in a student-written book about their topic, focused on prescribed questions and questions students generate during the research process.

In Unit 3, students “investigate animal stories from The Three Little Pigs to Little Bear to The Velveteen Rabbit. Students will become experts in the genre, examining the characters, plots, and the lessons learned. They will compare the depiction of animals in different kinds of stories, like realistic fiction, fantasy, and traditional tales. They will research the real facts of animals’ lives from animal behaviors to true stories of animal heroism. Then, they will put all the pieces together to produce their own animal stories through daily guided writing practice.”

In Unit 4, students research a job using a structured process that supports students in understanding, organizing, and communicating ideas and information from research. Students use a series of questions to drive research to write the final product—an opinion writing piece.

“A Resources Check Sheet” is provided for students to help them keep track of the resources they are using to answer the research questions. The sheet asks students to record the number of good books they have found for each topic in each color level. Students know they have found enough viable information when they have found 3 or 4 good books, most of which are in their “Reading Zone.” Students learn to cite sources as they gather each piece of evidence and record it right beside their facts in their Final Project Organizer (FPO). The materials guide the teacher to say, “As a researcher, it is important to tell your reader where you got your information. Next to each ‘WOW!’ fact, give the title, author, and page number.” 

Units 2 and 4 are Research Lab units in which students research together as a class and then practice the same skills as they independently research using graphic organizers as a support.    Teachers supply research questions that are open-ended, require in-depth answers, are sequential, and build on content knowledge. Questions for research are spread out over the course of the unit; only one question is focused on per week, and each builds in complexity from the week before. Examples of Unit 2 research questions include but are not limited to: “What kind of bug is this? How do you know?” “In which ecosystem does this bug live?  How does this bug depend on its surroundings to get what it needs?” and “What might happen to this ecosystem if this bug were removed permanently? What should humans do to make sure this doesn’t happen?”

Units 2, 3, and 4 include a primary research card which lists important research questions to consider and important vocabulary for that unit. The Unit 2 and Unit 4 introductions also include graphic organizers intended to “break down key concepts into smaller, manageable chunks.” Student research culminates in a product created with a specific purpose and audience in mind.

Evaluation for 3.e.1
Materials contain interconnected tasks that build student knowledge.

The materials provide interconnected tasks that build student knowledge. Daily opportunities are in place for students to engage in activities that build knowledge and skills interconnecting reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking, including vocabulary, comprehension, and syntax. These activities allow for increased independence over the course of the year. With each text, students are given the opportunity to think about and share what they have learned. When discussing texts, students are asked to provide evidence of learning in their statements. The writing block contains opportunities to think, speak, and listen throughout the writing process.  

Examples include but are not limited to:

Unit 1 includes a focus on poetry. The teacher reads aloud a poem, as students follow along in their own copy. After the reading, a class discussion ensues with questions such as “What is the poem about? How do you know? What about this poem was funny, upsetting, confusing? What do you think made it a poem? How do you know?” After independent reading, where students may or may not be reading poetry, the teacher asks students to talk about the book they read that day with a partner. They also identify if they read poetry or prose and how they know.  

Unit 2 includes an interactive Read Aloud, Hey There, Stink Bug! Prior to reading, the teacher is instructed to “Teach students to go to informational texts looking for the opportunity of surprise” and students discuss with a partner. During the reading, the teacher asks text-specific questions and then the class discusses the “Learning From Informational Text” graphic organizer and completes it together. Students work to locate text evidence and write it on sticky notes to support their learning; this is added to the organizer. Partners share one thing that they already knew that was confirmed, one that was contradicted by the text read, and one new thing learned. Partners share with the class and the information is added to the class charts. During Reader’s Workshop, students read from self-selected Research Lab books, and participate in “Accountable Talk.” Partners, then the whole group, tell each other the most surprising thing learned and why it was surprising, using a rubric. Finally, students write a 3-point response, shared with partners, referencing the rubric score.

In Unit 3, a goal for student learning is to practice using linking language to improve the structure of student opinion pieces about a theme from an Animal Story. The first part of the lesson block is titled “Grade-Level Instruction: Read/Write/Discuss Complex Text.” The learning goal is to “write an opinion piece that uses linking language to connect your opinion and evidence/reasons.” The teacher introduces the language-linking chart before reading an opinion text. The next lesson block is called “Differentiated Instruction: Reader’s Workshop,” where the reading focus is to “share your opinion about the author’s lesson/message and what evidence from the text supports your opinion.” The final phase of the lesson is the writing block. The focus is to review students’ current opinion pieces and add linking language so they can earn points as their partner scores their piece against a rubric; students work one-on-one with the teacher or with a partner. At the end of the session, volunteers read their work to the class.

In Unit 4, Week 1, students are introduced to jobs in the community. First, a KWL chart is co-created by the class. The teacher and class discuss what they already know, and why they think people study jobs in communities. The teacher then reads aloud, while students follow along, from the core text, A Field Guide to Your Community, to introduce students to a wide variety of job facts. The class co-constructs a collection of interesting “Wow! Facts” as the read aloud is read. Students turn to partners and share the most interesting fact they learned about the unit. Students then practice reading on their own, with the task to think about a “Wow! Fact” and a question they have about jobs while they read. The teacher then models how to plan, draw, and write about interesting facts from the reading; after students write independently, they share with a partner.

Evaluation for 3.e.2
Materials provide spiraling and scaffolded practice.

The materials provide spiraling and scaffolded practice. Practice of literacy skills begins on the first day of instruction and continues consistently throughout the entire year. There are scaffolding strategies in place and opportunities for students to practice literacy skills on a daily basis. Daily opportunities are in place for students to engage in distributed practice with built-in scaffolds to demonstrate the integration of spiraled literacy skills. Scaffolds are strategies that the teacher uses to support students when they are first introduced to new skills. Scaffolding opportunities such as activating prior knowledge and modeling thought processes using a think-aloud are built into the components of the daily instructional framework, with guidance provided for the teacher. Also, the daily discussion of mentor texts, modeling of sentence stems, and integration of reading and writing are examples of activities incorporated into all units across the course of the school year. Much of the routines built early in the school year continue, so that students know and understand the level of support they can receive. This consistency of routine establishes the expectations for their individual work to listen, speak, think, read, and write throughout the day and across all units during the course of the school year. Examples include whole group discussion, partner chat, and independent reading and writing. 

Specific examples include but are not limited to:

Unit 1 requires daily discussion about a mentor text that is read aloud. The discussions enable the teacher to model what good conversation about books sounds like. There are opportunities for sentence stems to be modeled by the teacher and practiced by students. Students are frequently integrating what they are learning during the reading block into their writing for that day. Conferencing allows for teacher and peer feedback and enables students to practice listening, speaking, writing, thinking, and vocabulary with peers.  

Unit 2 includes the interactive Read Aloud Hey There, Stink Bug! Making Scents. To confirm prior knowledge, partners share one thing they already knew that was confirmed by the text and share the evidence; to contradict prior knowledge, partners share learning from the text that made them change their understanding of the topic and share the evidence. Scaffolding strategies are built into the unit and are built into all units across the course of the school year. For example, “the teacher ensures student success by reteaching key concept(s) as needed”; “the teacher adds student comments, questions and ‘I, wonders…’ on the class chart/graphic organizer as a visual framework for assimilating new information”; “while reading, the teacher uses the ‘drop-in’ method to quickly clarify vocabulary that may impede comprehension”; and “the teacher points out ‘Power Words’ to encourage automaticity of these words.”

In Unit 3, one goal for student learning is to practice using linking language to improve the structure of their opinion pieces about the message/lesson of an Animal Story. They also make connections to informational texts as they apply learning about animals to fictional Animal Stories. Throughout the lesson, students use multiple literacy skills with support from either the teacher or their classmates as they engage in whole group discussion, partner chat, and independent reading and writing. 

In Unit 4, students practice previously taught skills, and scaffolds are provided for students who need more practice. Students are introduced to jobs in the community through several whole group, small group, and individually integrated literacy tasks. First, a KWL chart is co-created by the class and students generate questions (as the teacher records them) and discuss prior knowledge. A similar routine has been used for previous units throughout the course of the school year, and the inclusion of a portion of the unit being devoted to the discussion of prior knowledge provides a scaffold for students who may not be familiar with the topic.

Evaluation for 4.1
Materials provide explicit instruction in print concepts and opportunities for student practice (K-1 only).

Evaluation for 4.2
Materials provide explicit instruction in phonological skills and opportunities for student daily practice (e.g., rhyming, syllabication, blending, segmenting, manipulation) (K-1 only).

Evaluation for 4.3
Materials provide explicit systematic instruction in phonetic knowledge and opportunities for students to practice both in and out of context (K-2).

The materials provide systematic instruction in phonetic knowledge and opportunities for students to practice both in and out of context. The materials include a rationale for foundational skill progressions. The IRLA includes formative assessment materials in order to identify the skills needed by each student, and the protocol identifies which individual skill level to begin with by identifying gaps in previous grade-level work. The leveled toolkit resources include small group lessons that are targeted for certain skills. Within those lessons, students are practicing the skills within authentic, meaningful text. High-frequency words are frontloaded in an analytic phonics approach, so the first 120+ Power Words are the focus of the 1G and 2G IRLA levels. High-frequency words continue to be covered through subsequent IRLA levels, including 1R and 2R, where they are referred to as “Tricky Words.” 

Examples include but are not limited to:

The IRLA provides a systematic phonics progression for teachers to determine which skills are strengths, and what skills are needed for students. Lessons can then be delivered one-on-one or in small groups. All of the spelling patterns listed in the TEKS can be found in IRLA Toolkits 1R and 2R. In Toolkit 1R, Lessons 1–4 add instruction and three-syllable words; Lessons 5–7 address common suffixes, such as “-ed,” “-ing,” “-er,” “-est,” “-y,” “-ies,” and “-ly”; Lessons 8–11 address three-letter beginning blends, ending blends, and trigraphs; Lessons 12–18 add vowel pairs with silent letters, such as “kn-,” “gn-,” “-mb,” “-gh.” In IRLA Toolkit 2R, the focus is on multisyllabic and irregularly spelled words which are an expectation of the TEKS for this grade level. In the IRLA Toolkit 2R, lessons begin with flexible decoding of multisyllabic words, emphasizing fluidity with vowel patterns, digraphs, vowel splits, prefixes, inflectional endings, and other affixes. 

In the IRLA Toolkits 1R and 2R, each lesson begins with a word work activity that teaches students vocabulary words and “tricky” words, such as “quote,” “patient,” “continued,” “difference,” “American,” “restaurants,” “often,” “nature,” “answer,” and “instead.” Students also apply phonetic knowledge to decode words. For example, in Lesson 3 of the 1R Toolkit, the word work includes prompts such as “What word on this page is printed differently? Why do you think that is? What words were tricky and how did you figure them out?” The focus in Lesson 6 is on finding suffixes, decoding three- and four-syllable words, and solving “tricky” words. The students are reading Mr. Putter & Tubby Pick the Pears. The lesson includes a Word Work Table for students to refer to as they are writing sentences using those words. In the 2R Toolkit, Lesson 3, word work focuses on identifying names and tricky words in the reading. In Lesson 5 of the 2R Toolkit, word work focuses on splitting vowels to read them correctly. The text Cesar Chavez includes words with multiples vowels such as Cesario, California, and cruel. 

The decodable readers contained in the IRLA kits provide immediate, in-context practice for new spelling patterns the students are learning. When students participate in a read aloud or independent reading, the teachers and students can point out words related to their individual Power Goals. In the IRLA Toolkit 2R, Lesson 1, the teacher states that words will be longer and trickier, so students will need to try different sounds for the letters and chunks until they say a word that they recognize and that also matches what is printed in the book. 

In the IRLA Toolkits 1R and 2R, lessons are included that address decoding words with prefixes and inflectional endings, which are skills identified in the TEKS. In all units, the Morning Meeting in every lesson is intended to be created with foundational language and composition skills in mind. Teachers are expected to model using known words/word families to approximate the spelling of new words; using known prefixes, suffixes, and roots; and utilizing word walls and other print in the room as a reference. 

In all units, during Morning Message, the teacher can ask students for help writing words including grade-level Power Words or words that are part of individual student Power Goals. Sometimes, in the routine, after the message is written, a teacher can ask students to count or circle particular sight words. In Unit 1, a Morning Message contains three-syllable words (“disagreed” and “messages”); the students must apply spelling knowledge in order to decode.  Also, in all units, during writing conferences, the teacher can remind students of word patterns with which they should be familiar based on individual and whole class instruction.

Evaluation for 4.4
Materials provide frequent opportunities for students to practice and develop fluency while reading a wide variety of grade-level texts at the appropriate rate with accuracy and prosody. (Grades 1-2 only)

The materials provide students opportunities to read grade-level texts, to make meaning, and to build foundational skills. The materials also provide routines for teachers to regularly monitor and give corrective feedback on phrasing, intonation, expression, and accuracy. The IRLA Toolkit lessons remediate automaticity and/or prosody, starting back at the appropriate IRLA level/skill level of each student. Students are given some opportunities across the units and in small group instruction to practice and apply oral reading fluency through Readers’ Theater and voluntarily reading aloud. In addition, students are given daily opportunities to practice independent/silent reading fluency with books of choice. The materials provide limited support for explicit instruction by the teacher in fluency, prosody, rate, and accuracy.

Examples include but are not limited to:

During Reader’s Workshop in Unit 1, the teacher uses the IRLA/ENIL as they conduct one-on-one formative assessment conferences to identify student baseline reading levels. In the IRLA, the teacher is directed in how to identify the reading level of students. The materials provide daily opportunities, through IRLA and small group interventions provided in the IRLA Toolkits, for teachers to monitor and accelerate reading levels as determined and monitored through Power Goals and SchoolPace tracking. At each IRLA level, fluency is addressed as appropriate to the level, and the expectations correspond to the TEKS for the associated grade level. For example, at the 1G (end of K) level, students are focused on attaining 95–100% accuracy while sustaining attention and self-monitoring. However, by 2G (beginning Grade 1), they are expected to attend to rate and prosody as well. For a student to enter an IRLA level, they must demonstrate appropriate phrasing, intonation, expression, and accuracy in the IRLA Cold Read Text at that level. 

The IRLA Foundational Skills Toolkits reinforce student fluency development at each level with mini-lessons that support teachers as they learn to “listen in and coach phrasing, expression, attention to dialogue,” and include opportunities for fluency practice both in and out of context. For example, the 1B Toolkit includes an example of students practicing fluency with “-all” words. Also, the 1R Toolkit includes the lesson “Prosody: Performance Read Aloud” for the text “George and Martha.” The 2R Toolkit includes “Phrasing Practice,” which partners student readers and asks them to make direct connections between fluency, accuracy, and comprehension, as they listen to evaluate “Did your partner pause in a way that helped you understand the meaning of the story? Did she stop and fix her phrasing when it didn’t make sense? Did she read every word correctly or stop and fix it if she didn’t?” Further opportunities for practice of fluency components (including automaticity, prosody/phrasing) are embedded into most lessons in the 2R Toolkit. 

Independent reading time allows teachers to monitor the reading of individual students; the IRLA Toolkits include "Coaching Tips" that support teachers in using observations to make instructional decisions.

Additionally, students have opportunities to develop fluency in grade-level text as they both listen to and read from complex text during core instruction each day.

Evaluation for 4.5
Materials include placement (diagnostic) assessments and provide information to assist in foundational skills instruction (K-2).

The materials provide placement assessments and information to assist in foundation skills instruction. The materials provide specific guidance and resources to address foundational skills instruction. Materials for small group instruction are differentiated and equip teachers with specific instruction, texts, and tasks for each reading level. The Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA) kit provides numerous tools for placing students and tracking their progress. The Framework offers suggestions for teachers to integrate “Power Goals” and reading levels into various phases of the daily lessons. The Framework gives teachers information for instruction during one-on-one reading and writing conferences. Overall baseline reading levels are determined within the program’s IRLA. Step-by-step instructions are included for teachers to administer the IRLA and then determine the current reading level of a student. 

Examples include but are not limited to:

Teachers use the IRLA to establish a baseline reading level for each student, match readers with appropriate texts, and then determine the specific foundational skills students need based on observation and specific checklists included in the IRLA. Teachers can use this information to form groups based on Power Goals. Texts and guidance materials are also included for ongoing formative assessment. The materials provide differentiated resources, both texts and tasks, to match individual student needs. Additional practice tasks, games, and activities are included.

Each IRLA level has a corresponding small group IRLA Toolkit. Specific, sequential lessons within the toolkit include practice for students and guidance for teachers in how to assess student progress within the skill set. 

At the start of each level in the IRLA, there is a page that describes the Learning Focus, Essential TEKS, and Entry and Exit Requirements for the level. The next page is usually a tracking page that teachers can use when assessing individual students. This is followed by several samples of texts, which the teachers may use to assess via a cold read with students. On each of these pages there are explicit prompts so that teachers can effectively assess students.

The IRLA allows teachers to track and date evidence as students demonstrate the behaviors required to progress to the next color level.

Within each unit, the teacher is guided to use data from the IRLA and SchoolPACE to prioritize student goals and plan for individual conferencing and small group instruction. During Reader’s Workshop, the teacher is directed to circulate and observe the students as they read. The teacher uses the Status of the Class form to make notes about the reading behavior of each student. Teachers also meet with individual students to identify each student’s score on the Reading Engagement Scale. The Framework also explains how to create “Power Goals” for students and gives guidance on how to create the “Morning Message” based on the goals, reading levels, and other observed behaviors.

Evaluation for 4.6
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress as indicated by the program scope and sequence (K-2).

The materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that measure student progress as indicated by the program’s scope and sequence. The Independent Reading Level Assessment Framework (IRLA) is over 400 pages long and provides assessment tools for teachers to monitor students’ literacy needs. The program provides materials and opportunities for the teacher to assess foundational skills and measure student progress towards the next reading level. The IRLA Assessment provides opportunities for the teacher to observe and assess reading and reading behaviors and provide intervention and progress monitoring opportunities in foundational reading skills and reading levels. The kits also contain tools for teachers to track evidence of student mastery so they can make an informed decision as to when children can move on to the next reading level. 

Examples include but are not limited to:

The IRLA provides teachers with TEKS-aligned skills that students must demonstrate before they both enter and exit any of the reading levels. The IRLA Toolkits include activities for before, during, and after the reading of the included phonetically controlled texts.

The teacher uses the IRLA to identify a baseline reading level and match each student with appropriate leveled text; identify which skills/standards are the most important for the student to learn next, and the order in which they should be learned; design individual instruction targeted to the development of specific skills; and monitor progress through reading levels.

In addition to being used to determine the baseline reading level, the IRLA is used to collect evidence of growth after students receive instruction one-on-one/in small groups using the IRLA Toolkits. Assessments become more rigorous as students progress through the materials.

In IRLA 1R students are required to decode regularly spelled multisyllabic words using knowledge of syllable patterns and decode words with prefixes and inflectional endings; these align to second-grade TEKS. The toolkit also includes a “Tricky Phonics Check” with words that do not follow standard phonics rules but should still be recognizable from everyday speech. The Foundational Language Skills checklist includes decoding any three-syllable words that follow a regular vowel pattern and decoding multisyllabic words with closed syllables, open syllables, vowel teams, and r-controlled vowels. In IRLA 1R students are to use appropriate fluency (rate, accuracy, and prosody) when reading 1R texts. 

In IRLA 2R, an entry requirement is that students read one of the four provided Cold Read texts. Each text includes prompts to assess students’ basic and inferential comprehension. One example text is “Cold Read Text D,” where teachers are given the prompt “Tell me three things that the text says about the Titanic.” An inference prompt is also given: “What makes the grinding noise? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.” Based upon the answers, teachers are able to gauge a basic understanding of the text and whether or not the student can make inferences. The Foundational Language Skills checklist for decoding words with short, long, or variant vowels, trigraphs, and blends is also included. The 1R and 2R IRLA Toolkits provide fluency practice throughout, embedding teaching and learning opportunities into every lesson. After reading a text for the first time, the teacher asks students to point out words that slowed them down and they practice reading those words fluently in pairs. The IRLA suggests different strategies for decoding different types of words, like names, four-syllable words, and other tricky words.

In IRLA 1R and 2R Foundational Language Skills, the checklist includes a fluency check for appropriate rate, accuracy, and prosody during a cold read of an unfamiliar text. The criteria for fluency are broken down into specific characteristics that increase in complexity.

Evaluation for 5.1
Materials include supports for students who demonstrate proficiency above grade level.

The materials provide learning opportunities for students demonstrating literacy skills above that expected at the grade level. All students engage with grade-level core texts, regardless of their current reading level, and an additional thematic leveled library that spans as many as six to eight grade levels provides students with independent texts closely aligned to the topic of study and their current reading levels. The range of reading levels can be customized to match the range of reading levels in individual schools or classrooms, to provide access for students to self-select challenging texts in every unit. During Units 2 and 4, students participate in Research Labs for nonfiction text; the materials provide guidance on which research topics require additional research outside of the texts provided by ARC CORE, and topics are self-selected by students. Within the lessons of each unit, some of the sidebars also provide teaching strategy tips. Strategies for differentiation are embedded into the organization and structure of each component of the ARC CORE literacy block, including intentional groupings and active participation techniques in Reading Complex Texts; setting a focus for interdependent reading and accountable talk in Reader’s Workshop; and mentor texts, mini-lessons, teacher writing demonstrations, rubrics, graphic organizers, and peer editing in Writing Workshop. For students reading at or above the third-grade level, the IRLA Toolkits provide additional supports (e.g., word analysis, affixes and roots, figurative language, genre expansion) to assure students reading above-grade level make on-going reading growth. The toolkit provides a systematic approach to moving students from one reading level to the next. The teacher uses the assessments within the IRLA Toolkit to identify a student’s reading level, create and adjust “Power Goals”, and create small groups with similar “Power Goals” and reading levels. Time is provided within the literacy block to address “Power Goals” in addition to the work of the main unit; however, the teacher is directed to spend the majority of intervention support with groups performing below grade-level. 

Examples include but are not limited to:

Within each unit the materials provide pre-, mid-, and post-Constructed Response Assessments in order to identify the needs of students. The teacher is provided with guidance for evaluating the responses to create strategy groups.

The IRLA Toolkit allows the teacher to support students at all reading levels, give specific examples of how to identify each student’s reading level, and necessary supports including: comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, range of reading, and phonics. In addition, Entry and Exit Requirements for each reading level can be found in the overview. Students have multiple opportunities to engage with the text by recording “Great Words you Want to Remember”; looking at types of context clues, pacing, and analyzing levels of meaning. Throughout, students are working at their identified reading level thus providing one type of differentiation.

In Unit 1, the teacher is provided with a readers and writers engagement scale to monitor students. The materials provide support on identifying each student’s reading level to make sure students are reading on the correct level to ensure growth. The teachers sets up their SchoolPace account in order to track students levels and growth. The 100-Book challenge provides students opportunities to read books on their level. Students log their reading.

In Unit 2, the Informational Research Lab provides Research Topics for high-level students. All students answer the same Research Questions during the unit; only the level of text differs for students.

In Unit 3, students choose books on their level to read throughout the unit. Students read a minimum of five different texts to compare and contrast. All students complete the same tasks and questions. For example, every student completes a comparison chart of the texts.

Evaluation for 5.2
Materials include supports for students who perform below grade level to ensure they are meeting the grade-level literacy standards.

The materials provide learning opportunities for students demonstrating literacy skills below that of the expected grade level. All students engage with grade-level core texts, regardless of their current reading level, and an additional thematic leveled library that spans as many as six to eight grade-levels provide students with independent texts closely aligned to the topic of study and their current reading levels. During Units 2 and 4, students participate in Research Labs for nonfiction text, the materials provide guidance on which topics are “Best Bets for Struggling Readers”. The materials use grouping, mini-lessons, graphic organizers and rubrics, and read-aloud strategies to support students reading below grade-level in accessing the core texts. Within the lessons of each unit, the materials also provide sidebars with teaching strategy tips. Strategies for differentiation are embedded into the organization and structure of each component of the ARC Core literacy block including intentional groupings and active participation techniques in Reading Complex Texts; setting a focus for interdependent reading and accountable talk in Reader’s Workshop; and mentor texts, mini-lessons, teacher writing demonstrations, rubrics, graphic organizers, and peer editing in Writing Workshop. The lessons provide a systematic approach to moving students from one reading level to the next. The teacher uses the assessments within the IRLA Toolkit to identify a student’s reading level, create and adjust “Power Goals,” and create small groups with similar “Power Goals” and reading levels. Time is provided within the literacy block to address “Power Goals” in addition to the work of the main unit. The teacher is directed to spend the majority of intervention support with groups performing below grade level. 

Examples include but are not limited to:

IRLA Toolkit: The IRLA is designed to determine the needs of all readers and help them grow in their reading skills. Through the IRLA assessments, the teacher identifies the needs of students and develops “Power Goals” for small group instruction. The lessons provide a systematic approach to moving students from one reading level to the next.

Within each unit, the materials provide pre-, mid-, and post-Constructed Response Assessments in order to identify the needs of students. The teacher is provided with guidance for evaluating the responses to create strategy groups. Embedded Formative Assessment throughout the units allows the teacher to use evidence to clarify or reteach immediately within each lesson and plan for instruction the next day.

In Unit 1, the ARC CORE overview states “supports go far beyond the traditional below, on, and above” levels. ARC CORE classroom libraries usually have six to eight reading levels. In the first week of the ARC CORE Literacy Lab, directions are provided for developing Read-to-Me (RTM) Action Plans for students reading below level that include 500-Book Kid Read-Aloud Immersion, Student Read-Aloud Coaches, Adult Coordinators, and a RTM for ELL Students Skills Card. In Week 4 of the Literacy Lab, additional directions are provided for determining Action Plans for additional below-level reading levels as well as Power Goals for specific levels.

In Unit 2, the Informational Research Lab provides Research Topics for struggling readers. All students answer the same Research Questions during the unit; only the level of text differs for students.

In Unit 3, in the Introduction, a student checklist states one goal as “Emergency readers move at least one IRLA level.”

In Unit 4, students are provided opportunities to work in group settings to support the needs of students performing below grade level.

Evaluation for 5.3
Materials include supports for English Learners (EL) to meet grade-level learning expectations.

The materials provide some support for English Learners (EL) to meet grade-level expectations. There are supports and scaffolds embedded in the materials to meet the diverse needs of EL students, but the materials do not include a systematic, year-long plan to ensure students reach the end-of-year achievement levels. In the introduction pages of the Framework of each unit, the publisher states that the curriculum has “embed(ed) all the best practices of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching into a literacy framework centered on meeting the needs of the unique students.” Scaffolds such as adapted text, translations, native language support, summaries, glossaries, bilingual dictionaries, and thesauri were not evident in the materials.  While some use of students’ first language is mentioned, supports did not strategically use the students’ first language for linguistic, affective, or academic development in English. In addition, the materials provide various levels of support, but the support is not commensurate with the various levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPs.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The Introduction section of each unit includes a section titled “ARC CORE ELL Supports: Toward a Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Pedagogy.” This section highlights the resources offered by the program to support ELLs, including a responsive reading assessment, leveled libraries, responsive instructional delivery, and thematically organized learning. The page titled “A Literacy Block Model Designed to Effectively Support ALL Learners” shows the embedded structural supports for ELLs. The materials also frequently suggest partnering students who can support one another in their own language.

Lesson plans contain call-outs with Actionable ELL Supports. These are organized around six categories—identity affirmation, learning objectives, frontloading, comprehensible input, oracy and literacy development, and differentiated and formative assessment. Through the use of these predictable routines, ELLs are provided practice in all four linguistic domains (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).

Within each unit, sidebars and insertions provide alternate discussions, assignments, and note taking for English Learners. For example, one sidebar from Unit 1, Week 1, Day 1, “Building an Academic Community and Identity Affirmation,” guides the teacher to create an academic environment supportive of EL Learners.

In Unit 1, the Teacher Guide provides one “Reading Survey,” a “Levels Check Sheet,” and a “Reading Log” in several languages with the goal of supporting students’ first languages.

In Unit 2, a “Parents & Guardians” letter is provided in multiple languages. 

In Unit 3, a “Home Connection” letter and “Dinner Table Conversation Starters” are provided in multiple languages. 

Evaluation for 6.1
Materials include assessment and guidance for teachers and administrators to monitor progress including how to interpret and act on data yielded.

The materials include assessments and tools to guide teachers and administrators as they monitor students’ progress in mastery of the content. Each unit incorporates formative and summative assessments that align with the purpose of the lesson and the TEKS. Specifically, rubrics measure student learning and mastery across the curriculum and provide guidance for the teacher to interpret and respond to student performance needs. The curriculum includes many examples of useful supporting documentation to guide instructors in their teaching.

Examples include but are not limited to:

The TEKS are included at the beginning of the lesson, in the sidebar, and within different parts of the lesson plans, supporting connections to both informal and formal assessments and literacy goals.

The Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA) Toolkit provides ongoing assessment data of reading levels for each student throughout the year. The assessment is built on a Phonics Infrastructure in K–2 reading levels (3Y–2R). Based on the premise that reading is the process of making meaning from text, the next set of threshold skills enable the reader to crack the code and figure out what the words say. In Levels White and above (Grade 4+), the reader must be able to manage the increasingly difficult vocabulary, text structure, and knowledge demands of the texts. The complexity of texts in these levels is determined through both quantitative and qualitative measures (IRLA Framework/ Phonics Development Sequence). Within the IRLA and IRLA Toolkits, assessments of all foundational literacy skills (i.e., phonics, word recognition and analysis, fluency) are provided. Students are assessed for phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.

Each unit provides a “Pre-/Mid-/Post-Assessment: Constructed Response” assessment to support ongoing monitoring of students’ needs. Additionally, the materials provide formative and summative assessment protocols to allow both teachers and students to monitor their progress (e.g., student and teacher checklists, reading conferences, Power Goals, and rubrics).

Evaluation for 6.2
Materials include year-long plans and supports for teachers to identify needs of students and provide differentiated instruction to meet the needs of a range of learners to ensure grade-level success.

The materials include a year-long plan and supports for teachers to identify the needs of students and provide differentiated instruction to ensure grade-level success for a range of learners. The program’s philosophy of inquiry through apprenticeship for Grade 2 students allows for embedded differentiation based on students’ needs. The materials provide opportunities and supports for teachers in identifying students’ needs. Multiple grouping structures are included throughout the materials, as are sidebar supports for differentiating instruction. The Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA) also provides a strong assessment tool for student diagnostics and a foundational toolkit to provide differentiated instruction for learners based on the diagnostic assessment. 

Examples include but are not limited to:

Guidance is embedded across the materials and within lessons. The materials provided for Grade 2 include annotations and sidebar supports (referred to as “call-outs”) that “include tips, reminders, modified tasks, alternate foci, and other suggestions to properly match reader/writer and task.” They also offer insight about “identifying students’ strengths, gathering evidence of learning, and devising next steps within an existing lesson.”  

The introduction pages of the materials include a checklist of behaviors for the students and the teacher in order to promote an inquiry-based classroom. Some of the expectations for teachers are that they have established an intellectual community through modeling and coaching key inquiry practices (such as active participation, open-ended questioning, curiosity, and risk-taking), and that they effectively use the IRLA and “1-1 Conferences/Strategic Small-Group Instruction” to accelerate each student’s reading growth.

Teachers can use embedded formative assessment from student work in order to make instructional decisions about what needs to be clarified or retaught, either on the spot or in the next day’s lesson. 

Students work in pairs, small groups, as a whole group, and individually within the literacy block components.  Students work in pairs as they read during the Reader’s Workshop and as they participate in the follow-up Accountable Talk.

In Unit 2, the Framework notes that rate of reading conferences should be at least every two weeks or less.  All students receive strategic reading instruction (either one-on-one or in small groups), and “Emergency/At-Risk”-level readers receive more frequent coaching, but there are no specific directions for how often coaching is required. “On track” is noted as a rate to “move one IRLA level/make 2+ months of growth.”

In all units, during Reader’s Workshop, students read independently, share in partners, and then as a whole group. As the students read independently, the teacher is conferencing and meeting with students one-on-one and in small skill groups. The teacher uses formative assessment to check for understanding. While students are reading independently, the teacher assesses current proficiencies and determines what should be taught whole group, small group, or individually.

Evaluation for 6.3
Materials include implementation support for teachers and administrators.

The materials provide implementation support for teachers and administrators. The IRLA provides a TEKS-aligned developmental reading taxonomy in which knowledge and skills build and connect across reading levels and grades. The materials include Implementation support for teachers, including optional support for implementation via coaching and professional learning cycles of inquiry. The materials also provide administrators opportunities to support, track, and monitor the effective use of the materials, with planning pages and an Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA) management system (SchoolPACE). The provided pacing guide correlates with the scope and sequence and aligns with a 180-day school year.

Examples include but are not limited to:

Materials are accompanied by a TEKS-aligned scope and sequence in Unit 1. TEKS that are covered in all four units are indicated, as are focus standards for each specific unit. A sequence of Grade 2 TEKS within each IRLA level is also included. Within the IRLA, there is an “ARC Core TEKS Foundational Language Skills Scope and Sequence.” The one-page guide has bulleted summaries of TEKS and TEKS numbers that are the prerequisite skills needed to be able to read independently at each IRLA level; it also lists which TEKS are taught within the IRLA level. Each of the four units is broken down into weeks, and weekly goals are aligned with grade-level TEKS. 

In the Appendix of the Teacher Edition, there are excerpts on the following topics:
Kinsey’s Developmental Writing Stages (with student examples);
Questions Worth Asking;
Bloom’s Taxonomy and Depth of Knowledge;
What Words are Worth Teaching; and
Student Questioning.

Each unit also includes planning and implementation support pages, such as 
Stages of Implementation, as Measured by Outcomes;
Implementation Milestones; and
5 Conditions for an Effective Lesson.

The website shows a sample five-page Professional Learning Plan that principals can use to write dates of training to span 35 weeks. Leadership Team Meetings are scheduled where the publisher provides training for the teachers to review data that informs professional development, and can be used to provide feedback and support to teachers. Leadership has opportunities to refine their skills, with support from the ARC Executive Coach as a model; this plan is meant to be coached by the publisher for a fee. There is also an additional online tool called SchoolPACE, which is a performance management system that provides student performance data for all stakeholders. Users can run reports of students by “On Target” IRLA level or “On Target for Reading Practice.” There are also reports that show growth, and some called “Data Wall,” which give an overview of the number of students in each IRLA level by grade and color code them by Emergency, At-Risk, or Proficient.

The materials are designed for students to make at least a year’s worth of growth in reading, with all genres covered across the year of instruction. The four units are planned for 36 weeks (180 days) of instruction. In Unit 1, a footnote states: “Weeks are approximate. Teachers should feel welcome to expand or condense as needed (p.54).” The materials do not contain a 220-day schedule, but they do include a publisher rationale that the program is a framework and can be adjusted and customized by each teacher based on student need. 

Evaluation for 6.4
The visual design of the student edition (whether in print or digital) is neither distracting nor chaotic.

The materials in second grade contain student-facing materials like supplemental aides, resource materials, and Core Texts, many of which are also contained in the Teacher Guide. These materials appropriately use write space and design that supports and does not distract from student learning. Pictures and graphics are supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting.

Examples include but are not limited to:

In Unit 1, the “Editing Checklist” handout provides clear, concise editing criteria within a table, and the white space supports student learning.

In Unit 2, the IRLA Home Practice Cards, “Word Attack Strategies,” are designed with appropriate white space separating the graphic and definitions.

In Unit 3, “Character Study Graphic Organizers” include room for the printed text and the student’s writing. The unit also contains an “Editing Checklist” with student-friendly graphics, and precise wording.

In Units 2–4, a research organizational component is included, called The Final Project Outline (FPO). The FPO is a multi-page resource that includes guided research questions for students to use to gather information. On the first page there, is an overview of the research questions, and subsequent pages expand each question and provide blank space for students to write collected information. The last two pages allow students to record their sources (books and websites) in the white space.

The “Core Text” material samples include high-interest pictures that do not interfere with text.  

The Student “Cold Read Cards” have one line of text per photo. 

Evaluation for 6.5
If present, technology components included are appropriate for grade level students and provide support for learning.