Texas Maravillas - Grade 1

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

The materials provide some texts that are well crafted and of publishable quality. Texts represent the quality of content, language, and writing that is produced by experts in various disciplines; texts include content that is engaging to K-1-2 students. Materials provide some support of increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and multicultural diverse texts, but this support is limited.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Rich vocabulary and language appropriate to the discipline are present in the materials. Leveled readers and decodable books provide language scaffolds and differentiation based on reading levels. For example, Unit 2 provides short expository texts with different Lexile levels. The materials also scaffold learning, challenging students more as the year progresses. Shared reading stories in the first units include high-frequency words as vocabulary and short sentences; the middle and end units include longer stories that require deeper understanding of complex vocabulary.

Texts engage with the disciplines of social studies and science, guiding students to expand their knowledge. For instance, Unit 2 includes “El ayni del Imperio Inca.” Students learn about the Ayni and their community. In Unit 3, materials incorporate the discipline of science in “Rica papa.” Students extend their knowledge of how food grows and complete a science activity on page 16. Students complete a chart and sort a list of food into “se planta” and “no se planta.” Unit 4 also includes the read-aloud “La hormiga y la Paloma.” Students learn about animal bodies and their functions. The teacher guides and asks comprehension questions.

Students’ reading and writing books open in PDF format and are found in each unit under the “Resources” tab. Materials include a variety of literacy resources: “Libros electrónicos,” “Libros por nivel,” “Lecturas adicionales para el estudiante,” and “Multimedia,” among others. For example, “Mi libro de lectura y escritura Unit 3” provides informational texts that are well crafted and rich in content. Stories include literary and informational text as well as fiction and nonfiction; the content, language, and writing is of quality. In Unit 3, the shared reading “Arriba Ramona” allows students to read in pairs, look for evidence in the text, and retell the story. The materials also offer guidance for students to use graphic organizers to retell the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

In Libros electrónicos, students’ reading and writing books are in an interactive form. Students listen to the story and write responses. Leveled readers are differentiated by reading level and color-coded for easy access: “Approaching level,” orange; “On level,” green; “Beyond level,” blue. Each unit also provides an “Antología de literatura” with fiction and nonfiction literature. For example, the Antología de literatura for Units 4–6 includes the folktale “La hormiga y la paloma,” the nonfiction text “Murciélagos, murciélagos y mas murciélagos,” and the persuasive text “Salvemos a las abejas.” 

The Multimedia resource tab provides a variety of interactive stories and songs with content that engages and appeals to first grade students. Fiction and nonfiction stories include “Animales del desierto,” “Animales que trabajan juntos,” “Arriba en el cielo,” “Características de los animales,” “Celebraciones en Estados Unidos,” “Escuelas del mundo,” “Juegos del pasado,” “El conejo miedoso,” “El hijo del elefante,” “Juan y las habichuelas mágicas,” “La gallinita roja,” “La tortuga y la liebre,” and “Los tres cerditos.” Songs include “El tren,” “En mi jardín,” “Juan Pirulero,” and “Bate, bate.” Though a majority of songs and stories are available at the kindergarten level, first grade also has access to them.

Some of the texts allow for students to identify with them. In Unit 3, Mi libro de lectura y escritura includes stories that have characters of different races, ages, and genders. For example, the play Familia de hortelanos shows a generational family tree and the passion shared from one generation to the other. “La vida en casa” compares families and life in the past and present. Students see pictures of how life was a long time ago and compare this to life at present. Different races, genders, and ages are represented in the pictures. 

Electronic books for read-alouds are interactive and support students’ cultural backgrounds. The “Super libro” Amigos por todas partes by Miela Ford includes children from different countries, races, genders, and ages playing with friends. In El vecindario de Quinito, a boy shares his family members’ different professions (“carpintera, enfermera, relojero, muralista, maestra de baile, dentista, etc.”). In the interactive story “Escuelas del mundo,” students learn, listen, and see pictures about students going to school in other countries. Illustrations are culturally rich; however, there is no evidence of reference to people with disabilities in the texts.

Within the material, there is some evidence of traditional, contemporary, and multicultural diverse texts. Under “Super libros de literatura,” texts include Amigos por todas partes, Abuelita llena de vida, La historia de Martin Luther King, Jr., Paula en Nueva York, Nuestra casa, and Chumba la cachumba. 

No example of classical literature is evident.

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

The materials include a variety of text types and genres across content that meet the requirements of the SLAR TEKS for each grade level. The platform provides opportunities for students to recognize the characteristics and structures of literary, informational, and persuasive texts. Science and social studies topics are connected within informational and persuasive texts. Additional materials allow students to analyze the use of print and graphic features as well as recognize characteristics of multimodal and digital texts. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The “Literature Anthology” found in every unit provides students with a variety of texts that allow for opportunities to compare and grasp the differences between informational, narrative, expository, poetry, and other texts. The texts address description, comparing and contrasting, and some sequence structures. 

The materials include content-rich text that demonstrates the use of characters, cause and effect, setting, plot (problem/solution), and theme. In Unit 1, the text La vaca estudiosa by Maria Elena Walsh introduces text visualization. The realistic fiction text Mimo va a la escuela and the nonfiction text “Las reglas de la escuela” allow students to compare texts and support making connections. Materials provide teacher guidance and include the use of headings, bold words, sidebars, pictures, captions, and labeled diagrams. Texts include Amigos por todas partes by Miela Ford, La historia de Martin Luther King Jr. by Ray Moore, De dónde vienen los alimentos by Shelley Rotner and Gary Goss, “Cómo crecen las plantas,” “Del caballo al avión,” El dedo de Edu by Mara Mahia, and En la laguna by Nancy Finton. The leveled readers for students on and above level are Ballenas por aquí, ballenas por allá, Como entrenar a un perro, El día del trabajo, and El martín pescador.

Each unit allows the teacher to assign texts, such as “Big Books” and Lexile readers, digitally to students through Google Classroom. In Unit 3, the folktale “Las tres abejas y el girasol” can be read by students or assigned as an audio story; it includes highlighting and underlining features. The text “Como crecen las plantas” features a diagram showing how seeds are located in fruit and provides new vocabulary words that are bolded and highlighted. The “Antología de literatura” in Units 4 through 6 also incorporates headings and bolded words, such as in “Días de lluvia.” The text “Todo es posible con ganas” features sidebars and labeled diagrams. The Time for Kids magazine incorporates a glossary. Text activities facilitate instruction on the characteristics and structures of literary and informational texts. 

In Unit 5, the informational text Antes y ahora includes real photographs, yellow highlighted vocabulary words, and a retelling activity at the end of the story. The text “Animales al acecho” reveals a common theme and sequence. El nuevo hogar de la familia Zorro allows students to read at their own pace and manipulate text using electronic highlighters. In addition, the informational texts allow students to make the connection to the science TEKS “Identify and compare parts of plants.” Scientific context, vocabulary, and illustrations are evident in the following texts: “La Luna,” “Forma y figura, hasta en la basura,” “Historia de un inventor de robots,” “Como se hace un barco,” and “Aqui y alla.” The text “Como crecen las plantas” teaches students how a plant grows and provides a diagram showing the parts of the plant. “Super libro” La planta misteriosa allows students to also learn about planting seeds. 

In Unit 6 the materials include persuasive texts connected to science. The lesson uses the text "Seamos voluntarios" to provide students the opportunity to recognize characteristics of persuasive text. During the lesson students are asked to identify details in the text and words by which the author tries to convince readers. Students discuss what "the author is trying to convince readers to do...". The teacher guides students to identify key words by pointing to a sentence in the text and asking "¿Qué palabras usa el autor para ayudarnos a entender la importancia de ser voluntarios?"

Multimodal and digital texts include a variety of fiction and nonfiction stories, folktales, fables, nursery rhymes. The “Multimedia” resources include the following texts: “Animales del desierto,” “Animales que trabajan juntos,” “Arriba en el cielo,” “Características de los animales,” “Celebraciones en Estados Unidos,” “Escuelas del mundo,” “Juegos del pasado,” “El conejo miedoso,” “El hijo del elefante,” “Juan y las habichuelas mágicas,” “La gallinita roja,” “La tortuga y la liebre,” and “Los tres cerditos.”

Through interactive stories, songs, and read-alouds, students identify with texts. Texts include “El patito feo,” “La gallinita roja,” “La tortuga y la liebre,” “El rey de los vientos,” “Figuras por todos lados,” and “Mis Estados Unidos.” Songs include “El tren,” “En mi jardín,” “Juan Pirulero,” and “Bate, bate.” Texts incorporate an assortment of print and graphic features that support students in analyzing concepts. The text ¡En movimiento! uses large print to show readers the most important idea on the page. “Big Books” provide detailed prompts for modeling concepts of print. In Units 5 and 6, the “My Book of Reading and Writing” section includes teacher activities to support scavenger hunts for text and graphic features. The text ¡A ordenar! includes photographs/illustrations and captions; it allows for a picture walk and search. Time for Kids allows students to explore online features.

Materials include texts that connect to social studies topics and historical figures. Examples of informational texts include Amigos por todas partes by Miela Ford; De dónde vienen los alimentos by Shelley Rotner and Gary Goss; and La historia de Martin Luther King Jr. by Ray Moore. Texts also include “Todo es posible con ganas,” which presents the life of Jaime Esclante; and “Los cuentos de Pura,” which tells the story of Pura Belpre. Unit 6 provides material that emphasizes festivals and celebrations. For example, “Gracias por la cosecha” discusses festivals and celebrations in the United States, while the supplementary reading “Feliz cumpleaños Estados Unidos” contains historical information on the United States.

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 a variety of texts that are appropriately challenging, incorporate appropriate levels of complexity, and support students at their grade level. Texts and series of texts are connected and include read-alouds and shared readings. The publisher also provides a text complexity analysis. Texts are at the appropriate quantitative levels and have appropriate qualitative features for the grade level. Read-aloud and shared reading texts are above the complexity level of what students can read independently.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include texts, series of texts connected to them, read-alouds, and shared reading. They provide text complexity analyses and resources for teachers. For example, there is a “Text Complexity” study by Dr. Timothy Shanahan and different videos with teacher guidance in the following areas: genre, organization, purpose, and sentence structure in informational texts as well as organization, prior knowledge, and specific vocabulary in literature. 

The “Instructional Routines Handbook” includes routines, research-based strategies, and tips for teachers; these support close reading, interactive read-alouds, shared reading, small group reading, guided reading, independent reading, and fluency. Materials provide analyses and support that are useful for lesson planning. For example, the video “Purpose in Informational Text” offers step-by-step teacher guidance on how to help students access complex informational text by focusing attention on the author’s purpose. The video suggests students should first consider the genre, then focus on the information conveyed. After this, students identify the author’s point of view and how it influences meaning and complexity. Next, the teacher draws students’ attention to subtitles and topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Students look at the language and identify if the author wants to persuade or inform the reader. Lastly, the video suggests to read the text ahead of time in order to identify the author’s purpose and to use “Access Complex Text” (ACT) prompts in the “Teacher’s Edition.”

The materials present texts that are grade-level appropriate based on their quantitative levels and qualitative features. Materials identify the Lexile level of read-aloud texts, shared readings, and leveled readers, which is appropriate to the grade level. For example, the Unit 1 shared reading text “Mi escuela” has a Lexile level of 70L. In Unit 2, the fantasy genre text Paula en Nueva York has a Lexile level of 800L. The shared reading fantasy genre text “La casa esta lista” has a Lexile level 390L; it contains simple sentences with high-frequency words and high-quality pictures.

Each unit includes “Mi libro de lectura y escritura,” which provides guidance on the following: what topics and skills to cover, how much time to devote, what sequence to teach, how to introduce texts, and series of questions. Unit 3 includes the shared reading text “La vida en casa,” which has a Lexile level of 430L. The materials explain the purpose of the text and how the teacher can guide students in making a connection to the lesson of the week. Students read the text and learn about life in the past. Then, they describe how life today is different from how it was in the past. 

As the year progresses, students master each reading level, and the texts grow in Lexile level complexity. All leveled readers provide the Lexile level as “Approaching,” “On Level,” or “Beyond Level” and are grade-level appropriate. Materials include read-aloud and shared reading texts that are above the complexity level of what students can read independently. Texts challenge and scaffold student learning as the year progresses. For example, in Unit 3, “Reader’s Theater” texts include Hortelanos de flores, which contains 133 words that are easily decoded. Las fresas de Anahí includes more dialogue and has longer sentences. La vida de un árbol provides more dialogue and has 439 words. 

The shared readings in Unit 4 include ideas and support for differentiating instruction and lesson extension. For example, the informational text “Peces en equipo” guides the teacher to introduce the topic and ask the “Essential Question” “How do animals help each other?” The text “Animals Together” directs the teacher to discuss the theme in the text and to create a class “Essential Question Chart.” Students think about and discuss ways that animals work together or help each other. The teacher scaffolds instruction by incorporating a video to support Essential Questions. At the end of the week, students work in pairs to compare all the texts they read. Students make a foldable and record notes with a partner. Students compare what they see in the photograph with the animals they learned about.

Materials include few rationales explaining the educational purpose and grade-level placement of the texts. For the Unit 5 text Caos en el Ropero, materials indicate that it contains 481 words, is GR K, Benchmark 20, and Lexile 370. They also provide an explanation about why the text is used; for instance, this complex text allows students to make inferences and connections as well as practice the high-frequency words bien, ciudad, iguales, palabra y pues. Materials also offer enrichment opportunities and include three leveled short stories: El vuelo de Jairo (GR Fantasy, Lexile 290L, Approaching); Juguemos a las escondidas (GR Fantasy, Lexile 320L, On Level); and El nuevo hogar de la familia Zorro (GR Fantasy, Lexile 380L, Beyond Level). Resources also include complex text, vocabulary, content, and subject matter. For example, in the same unit, under “Biblioteca de la clase,” the text El sapito Martín quiere contar las estrellas integrates forms of figurative language such as “el cuello se me hace nudo.”

Unit 6 references quantitative measures. For instance, in the component “Comprobar el progreso en la instrucción de grupos pequeños,” materials guide teachers to support different small groups. Read-aloud and shared reading texts also challenge the readers and provide a close reading routine that includes depth of knowledge (DOK) levels of instruction. Texts are mostly nonfiction; the material is complex and includes structured paragraphs that allow students to understand the genre and author’s purpose and make connections. Materials also provide ACT prompts to guide the teacher on how to support the students in accessing complex text. For example, in the text “Mucha gente nos ayuda,” students identify key ideas and details and take notes as they read. Students also retell and make connections. The text “Abecedario escolar,” found under Biblioteca de la clase, “Texto complejo adicional,” provides an extension. Activities include teacher support on how to attract student attention and build on students’ background knowledge. Students read the text and make a poster of a game or sport that they like.

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 topics and themes.

The materials incorporate a variety of questions and tasks that support students in synthesizing knowledge and ideas to deepen understanding and identify and explain topics and themes. Questions and tasks build conceptual knowledge, are text-dependent, and prompt students to synthesize new information. Various formal and informal assignments focus on texts students are reading or listening to and require close attention to the meaning and inferences as students demonstrate comprehension. Questions and activities grow and support students’ understanding of topics and literacy skills. Students have several opportunities to evaluate and discuss information from multiple places within a text as well as make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include questions that are well-crafted, lead to new insights, generate discussion, and promote comprehensive exploration. For example, Unit 1’s supplementary reading “Las mascotas necesitan” includes questions and tasks that build conceptual knowledge, are text-dependent, and prompt students to synthesize new information. In addition, formal and informal assignments and activities require students to read texts carefully. The text ¡En movimiento! integrates a series of questions to which students respond in “Hacer y responder preguntas.” 

In Unit 2, questions and activities support students’ understanding of topics and literacy skills. For example, the focus of this unit is on community. The text “Paseo por la comunidad” includes the “Essential Questions” “¿Qué edificios conoces?” and “¿De qué están hechos?” In addition, the shared reading “La vida en el bosque” offers a series of activities for students to complete independently or in pairs.

In Unit 3, questions and tasks require students to read carefully to classify items, summarize information, and draw inferences to demonstrate comprehension of informational and nonfiction texts. For example, students reread “La vida en casa” and complete activity in their “Mi libro de lectura y escritura” for guided practice. The text La planta misteriosa also includes support for prompting students to synthesize new information. Materials include guidance for using the “Close Reading Routine,” Essential Questions, making predictions, using text features, and think-alouds. Materials provide teachers with specific questions to ask for each page and allow students to examine complex elements of texts and integrate knowledge and ideas. Teachers can also use “Access Complex Text” (ACT) with the same text if the story is too difficult to understand. The “Big Book” in this unit also serves as support for modeling concepts of print.

In Unit 4, questions and tasks strategically sequence students’ knowledge acquisition and analysis and support their understanding of topics and literacy skills. The text “La hormiga y la paloma” incorporates a variety of Close Reading Routines to support identifying key ideas and details, taking notes, retelling; teachers can also use ACT prompts. Questions support scaffolding; students recall information from the story and progressively transition to higher-order-thinking questions. Questions include “How do animals’ bodies help them?” and “What do you predict will happen in this story?” Students also complete an online “Sequence of Events Graphic Organizer” as they listen to the story. Tasks require readers to produce evidence from texts to support their claim, which includes discussing the text with partners, rereading the story, and making predictions. 

Materials in Unit 4 also allow students to share personal experiences and ideas and to make connections to society. For example, the text “Los animales y el invierno” allows students to listen, explore, think critically, and write. Open-ended questions such as “In what ways are things alike? How are they different?” challenge students and require readers to produce evidence from texts to support their claim. The texts “Buen provecho... ¡animales al acecho!” and “¡A comer!” encourage readers to compare the texts. Materials guide teachers to ask specific questions that allow students to share their own experiences. Additionally, materials provide opportunities for students to evaluate and discuss information from multiple places, as several texts integrate science components. For example, students read, listen, and write about how animals survive in nature using the texts “Los animales y el invierno” “¡A comer!” “Buen provecho... ¡animales al acecho!” and “La hormiga.”

In Unit 5, teachers scaffold students’ learning by previewing the text and illustrations and making predictions. Teachers ask the following questions: “What is being sorted, based on what you see in the illustrations?” and “How do you predict that these animals can be sorted?” In addition, a variety of texts incorporate components of math, science, and social studies. For example, the text “Forma y figura, hasta en la basura” integrates math and provides support for students to use text evidence. Teacher questions include “What does ojo mean in this sentence?” “What is this tool called?” and “What could she be looking at with this tool?” Student activities include working with partners, speaking in complete sentences, completing a graphic organizer, and making connections. In another text, students read and learn about the sky and Moon phases and then draw a picture and label to express what they read. In “Historia de un inventor de robots” and “Thomas Edison inventor,” students read about inventions, inventors, and technology. Students use text evidence to answer the Essential Question and learn how technology changes the world. 

In Unit 6, students pay close attention to texts and look for evidence. After reading “Todo es posible con ganas,” students write a response to the prompt “How did Jaime persuade the students to like math?” Students reread and look at illustrations and details in order to find text evidence. With the text “El cascabel del gato,” students make connections and recall details of the story. Students work in partners to discuss and respond to the following questions: “Do you think the mice came up with a good solution to their problem?” “When have you had a good solution to a problem?” “Do you think the mice could have done a better job of working together?” and “Can you think of a time when you had to work together at school?”

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 a variety of questions and tasks that require students to evaluate the language, key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts. The materials include questions and tasks to support students’ analysis of the literary/textual elements of texts. Students analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the author’s purpose in cultural, historical, contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. The materials provide students the opportunity to compare and contrast the stated or implied purposes of different authors’ writing on the same topic, analyze the author's choices, and how they influence and communicate meaning. Additionally, materials prompt students to make, correct, or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of the genre, and structures with and without adult assistance; students study the language within texts to support their understanding.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, questions and tasks support students’ analysis of literary and textual elements. For example, the realistic fiction text “Mi escuela” is read aloud during a shared reading in a whole group setting. In this lesson, students analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions from the text. To support students’ inferencing and understanding of text, teachers ask, “¿Qué crees que ven en el camino?” and “Piensa en tu escuela, ¿se parece a esta?” The texts Mimo va a la escuela and “Las reglas de la escuela” include material for students to compare and contrast similar topics by different authors. 

In Unit 2, the teacher reads aloud La historia de Martin Luther King Jr. during shared reading in a whole group setting. Students analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions about the author’s purpose in a historical context. For example, teachers check for understanding with questions such as “¿De qué forma el autor y la ilustradora cambian la imagen que podríamos tener de él antes de leer el libro?” and “¿Por qué creen que el autor eligió algunas palabras y las hizo más grandes y de un color diferente al de las demás?” The teacher also reads “Paseo por la comunidad,” and students make, correct, and confirm predictions. In this shared reading lesson, students use text features, characteristics of the genre, and text structures with and without adult assistance. Teachers ask, “¿Qué trabajos crees que hacen las personas en esta comunidad?” and “¿Existen los mismos trabajos en su comunidad?” in order for students to make predictions and share answers. 

In Unit 3, questions and tasks require readers to read carefully to identify and support the author’s purpose. For example, during a shared reading lesson, the teacher reads aloud the text “¿De dónde viene el desayuno?” in a whole group setting. This text embeds several examples of text and graphic features. In Spanish, teachers ask, “Why do you think the authors put some words in a different color and size?” and “Why do you think that the authors included the ‘¿Lo sabías?’ features in this text?” This requires students to reread and cite evidence and helps them understand key details in the text. Questions also ensure students’ comprehension of the text and support a focus on academic vocabulary and sentence structures. 

Questions and tasks foster textual analysis, are meaningful in class discussions, and require students to explicitly refer back to the text. For example, in Unit 4, students read the text “Un Tesoro” and study characteristics of the genre and practice comprehension skills. Questions include “Could these things happen in real life?” “What else has happened in the story that tells us it is a fantasy?” “Who are the characters in this story?” “What is the setting where the characters are?” Students analyze the author’s craft and make inferences with questions such as “How does the author show you how the insects feel when they see the treasure for the first time?” and “How does the author use the illustrations to help you understand what the characters feel?”

In Unit 5, questions ask students to study language and meaning within texts. The questions help ensure students’ comprehension of the text; questions also help students focus on academic vocabulary and sentence structures. For example, the text “Forma y figura, hasta en la basura” provides support for analyzing words (e.g., ojo). The teacher guides students to understand the “illustrator’s craft” by observing the pictures and how the illustrator communicates. After reading, the teacher asks, “Which shape does Demetrio discover?” and “What does the text tell us about that shape?” to support students’ conclusions about the author’s purpose.

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 include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build academic vocabulary in and across texts. Materials contain a variety of ways to apply words in appropriate contexts. Additionally, the materials include scaffolds and supports for teachers to differentiate vocabulary development for all learners.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials introduce vocabulary through various means and provide similar routines for each unit. To introduce concepts and vocabulary words for texts, the teacher uses “Oral Vocabulary Words” throughout all units and follows the “Define/Example/Ask” routines found on the print or digital “Visual Vocabulary Cards.” These serve as tools and assist students in a year-long plan to build academic vocabulary. 

In Unit 2, the teacher introduces topics and builds academic vocabulary. The teacher uses the “Oral Vocabulary Cards” daily as visuals to pre-teach vocabulary and support word meanings. For example, during a vocabulary lesson in a whole group setting, to introduce afortunadamente, equipamiento, and sorprendente, the teacher uses the Define/Example/Ask routine and prompts students to use the words as they discuss community jobs. Materials also include a variety of tasks and routines that differentiate oral vocabulary. Students use and build word walls when using new vocabulary and high-frequency words. For instance, in Week 4, during a differentiated small group lesson, the teacher reviews new or previously learned words and discusses which words should be removed or added back. The teacher uses visual cards to explain the meaning of the word, and students record words on their word wall. To assess students’ comprehension of words, the teacher asks students to use words in a sentence, write the words, or complete a spelling post-test in the “Practice Book.” In this unit, there are no “Tier 2” words, word lists in different contexts, or evidence that the students can use the words all year long.

Unit 3 provides teacher guidance for selecting words to teach as well as opportunities for students to actively use words in various contexts. Each unit includes word lists (e.g., “High-Frequency Words,” “Vocabulary Words,” “Differentiated Spelling Words”), which contain Tier 2 words. The materials do not show evidence or guidance in supporting cross-content vocabulary throughout the year. Resources offer students specific definitions and include a glossary. Materials introduce vocabulary through a variety of strategies and tasks. For example, to scaffold and introduce words, the teacher uses Visual Vocabulary Cards and displays and models how to spell and read for students. Through weekly games, repetitive activities, and rich routines, students are accountable and have opportunities to practice frequently used words. For instance, to support vocabulary development, teachers review the meaning of words, and students use words in sentences. Students then work in partners and act out words. Materials also offer opportunities to assess and determine students’ comprehension of vocabulary. For example, evaluations consist of multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions or series of questions from the unit for each week. Students can also draw pictures or write sentences to demonstrate comprehension.

In Unit 5, scaffolds and supports allow teachers to differentiate vocabulary development for all learners. Oral Vocabulary Cards support teaching word meanings and include examples that relate to texts and other contexts. For instance, the teacher uses the Define/Example/Ask routine to introduce crujido and intensidad and prompts students to respond using the words as they discuss sounds. Materials also guide teachers to establish rich routines, activities, and games that hold all students accountable. Resources offer support to introduce target words and integrate opportunities for reviewing words and their meanings. For example, to assist in oral language development, the text “Puentes por todas partes” includes a variety of questions such as “¿Por qué el Golden Gate está pintado de un color chillón?” and ¿Por qué el puente Rolling Bridge de Londres es muy original?” Additionally, lessons and texts support cross-content vocabulary development and allow students to read, write, and listen to stories about sounds. For example, to introduce the diaeresis güe and güi, the teacher uses the Read/Spell/Write routine. Students practice reading and writing words and use their “Practice Book” or an online activity for additional support.

Unit 6 includes a variety of platforms to introduce vocabulary words: “Photo Cards,” “Word-Building Cards,” “High-Frequency Word Cards,” Visual Vocabulary Cards, and online “Spelling Cards.” Students have opportunities to learn, practice, apply, and transfer words into familiar and new contexts. For instance, to reinforce vocabulary, the teacher uses Visual Vocabulary Cards to review new and previously learned words. Students work with the teacher to generate sentences. Next, students work with partners and use the following sentence stems to orally create sentences: “Vamos a conocer el...donde nació mi papá.” “Es...que mi mamá cocine.” Resources also contain a variety of forms, tasks, and assessments to determine whether students are learning and comprehending the vocabulary. For example, to assess students’ ability to spell words with pr and gr, the teacher uses the “Spelling Dictation” routine.

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

The materials include plans to support and hold students accountable as they engage in self-sustained reading. Procedures and protocols, along with adequate support for teachers, foster independent reading. Additionally, materials offer plans for students to self-select texts and read independently for a sustained time. There is limited planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials in Unit 2 foster students’ engagement in self-sustained reading. The “Instructional Routines Handbook” suggests specific routines for teachers to follow to incorporate independent reading in the classroom. There are routines and guidance regarding students selecting books, reading during independent reading time, and using reading skills and strategies. To implement independent reading, the teacher designates specific class time to read. Students choose a fantasy text from the classroom library, “Leveled Readers Library,” or elsewhere. The teacher prompts students to set a purpose for reading and encourages students to read for 10–15 minutes. Students read, and the teacher reminds students to find key details in the text and illustrations and to visualize. Materials also provide teacher support on how to group students, support guided reading groups, confer with individual students, use the “Five Finger Rule” chart, and incorporate “book talks.” Additionally, the “Teacher’s Resource Book” includes printable reading response pages, which students use to respond to their independent reading. 

In Unit 3, materials offer a variety of genres and stories that capture students’ attention and encourage lifelong reading habits. Topics and themes include “Cambios con el paso del tiempo” and “¿Cómo la gente ayuda a su comunidad?” Texts extend students’ interest in these topics; they include nonfiction texts (Cómo pasan los minutos and Comer con cariño); realistic fiction (El vivero de Helena); and fantasy (La jirafa and Una vieja contenta). Materials also provide a list of approved books and allow opportunities for students to self-select texts to read. They promote reading at home for a minimum of 15 minutes. For example, “Mis lecturas Self Selected” guides the teacher to ask students to choose texts from the classroom library, Leveled Readers Library, or elsewhere.

The “Mis lecturas Self Selected” section of Unit 4 guides teachers to ask students to choose texts from the classroom library, Leveled Readers Library, or elsewhere. The “Tarjeta cuéntalo otra vez” contains a series of books and suggests activities for students to respond to after reading. The cards also offer teacher guidance to promote reading in the classroom and at home for 15–20 minutes. 

The materials in Unit 5 foster and engage students in independent reading and include school-to-home resources. There are letters to families describing the focus of the week, strategies to practice at home, and learning goals; they suggest reading at home for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes. Materials also contain support for students to self-select texts and read independently for a sustained period of time. Resources include planning and accountability for students to achieve their independent reading goals. Additionally, the “Activity Cards” provide specific opportunities for students to work in centers and include step-by-step instructions to follow.

Materials in Unit 6 incorporate a variety of genres that meet the TEKS for specific grade levels and contain stories to capture students’ attention and encourage lifelong reading habits. Resources include “Leveled Readers with Paired Reads,” “Decodable Readers,” “Genre Passages,” “Interactive Read-Aloud Cards,” the “Reading/Writing Companion,” and a “Literature Anthology.” Students have various opportunities to interact with the texts while reading with teacher support or independently. Materials contain a plan for students to self-select texts and read independently for a sustained period of time. There is planning and accountability for achieving independent reading goals. The Instructional Routines Handbook suggests specific routines for teachers to incorporate independent reading and hold students accountable. Students choose books to read independently for 20 minutes and respond in their writer’s notebooks. Activity Cards also provide specific opportunities for students to work in centers and include step-by-step instructions. Teachers designate a specific time for independent reading and set classroom and individual reading goals. To support independent reading, students also have the option to use a reading and time log and to create a reading wish list.

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

Materials provide support for students to compose across text types and include various opportunities for students to write literary texts for a variety of purposes and audiences. Activities allow students to dictate or write poetry using poetry elements as well as to write personal narratives to convey their thoughts and feelings about an experience. There are opportunities for students to write informational texts, procedural texts, and correspondence (thank-you notes and letters).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, materials include opportunities that support the elements of the writing process and allow students to dictate and write reports on a variety of topics. Examples of topics include informational texts and personal texts that convey students’ thoughts and feelings about an experience. A shared writing activity guides students to use text to respond to reading; students provide evidence when answering the teacher’s questions. In another example, students read “Sorpresa en la ciudad” and use the writing process to write a personal narrative. Students plan; choose events to write; and write about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Materials also allow students to dictate and write research reports. For example, the “Search and Research” section prompts students to investigate: “Descubrir cosas divertidas que nuestros compañeros hacen en su vecindario.” Resources also provide guidance for teaching the writing elements and scaffolding the writing process throughout the school year. Students analyze texts and look for evidence through a series of questions. Teachers and students collaborate, focus on descriptive details, use complete and declarative sentences, and use the peer review process. Other examples of activities include support for grammar, in which materials focus on types of sentences. The teacher guides students to form complete sentences and use capital letters and punctuation. A variety of prompts in the materials support informational writing. 

In Unit 2, students practice correspondence; activities incorporate grammar in the writing process. For instance, the teacher uses the “Reading/Writing Companion” to show students a friendly letter of a person who shares news with a friend. The teacher reads the letter and reviews the main parts of the letter: the greeting, the body, and the closing. The teacher then models their own idea for a friendly letter, writes a brief letter, and guides students to identify the different parts. Students work in partners and discuss what to include. Materials also include grammar activities and support student work with masculine and feminine nouns, proper and common nouns, and definite and indefinite articles.

In Unit 3, teachers support the growth of students’ composition skills; students write literary texts for multiple purposes and audiences. Students dictate or write personal narratives to convey thoughts and feelings about personal experiences. For example, after reading the anchor text “De las vacas para ti,” students write and respond to the (Spanish) prompt “Which job in the milk process would you rather have? Why?” The teacher guides students to think about what they like and dislike about the job and encourages them to form opinions about the job they would prefer. Sentence frames provide support. Students have an opportunity to dictate or write procedural texts with prompts for support. For instance, in shared writing, students use the text “¿De dónde viene el desayuno?” as guidance to respond to the prompt “¿Cuáles son los pasos necesarios para hacer distintos alimentos del desayuno?” Materials also include grammar activities and provide support for students to review noun-verb agreement. For example, the teacher reviews that nouns and verbs can be singular and plural. For guided practice, the teacher guides students to note the agreement in the sentence “Las uvas van en camión hasta la fábrica de jalea.” Students work in partners, generate oral sentences about their favorite foods, and make sure nouns and verbs agree. 

In Unit 4, students also have opportunities to write literary texts, such as poetry, for multiple purposes and audiences. The materials guide teachers to use the previously read poem “La hormiga” to support the writing process, write poems, and teach genres and elements of poetry. The teacher creates an anchor chart with students and lists the features of a poem (e.g., short lines, rhyme, rhythm). The teacher then analyzes an expert model, displays the poem, and reads some lines from the poem. Together, the teacher and students analyze the student model and use the “Reading/Writing Companion.” Students brainstorm other poems they know, draw a picture about what is happening in the poem, label the poem, or write a sentence. 

Unit 6 supports students’ composition skills and provides opportunities to write correspondence. In shared writing, the teacher models and reviews parts of a letter, including the greeting, date, colon, and place. The teacher then presents the following prompt in Spanish: “Write a letter from the girl to a friend telling about the Chinese New Year she spent with Juli.” Students work independently to write their letters. Materials also incorporate graphic organizers to support writing informational text. For example, after reading “Un vaquero en la nieve,” students write how the character builds a snowman. The teacher models how to begin the first sentence and then provides the following sentence stems to support students’ writing: “Luego, Matías….” “Después, él….” “Al final del cuento, Matías….”

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

Materials engage students in the writing process to develop text in oral, pictorial, or written form and facilitate students’ coherent use of the elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and sharing/publishing). Activities prompt students to utilize drawing and brainstorming to generate drafts; students plan and organize their drafts by speaking, drawing, or writing.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Units 1 and 2, students engage in shared writing and analyze texts. In Unit 1, the teacher prompts, “¿Qué hacen los niños del cuento en la escuela?” Students look for evidence to respond. This opportunity allows students to begin to plan and organize their drafts by speaking, drawing, or writing and requires them to work with partners. During this activity, the teacher guides them to form sentences and prompts students to “asegúrense de que usen las claves para hacer inferencias y que se enfoquen en un único suceso.” Students continue to use writing elements and components to revise, edit, and share their writings. The teacher then revises the final draft, and students work on publishing it. In Unit 1, students also write personal narratives with all of the elements of the writing process using “Cuaderno de escritura en línea” or model texts read by the teacher. For example, the teacher reads the text “Sorpresa en la ciudad” to support students in planning and organizing their drafts to write a personal narrative. Materials instruct: “Antes de que empiecen a escribir…pídales que en parejas hablen….” Students work in pairs, plan, and organize drafts. The teacher encourages students first to “hacer un dibujo o escribir una oración” to generate ideas and brainstorm. Unit 2 also incorporates an opportunity for shared writing. For example, the teacher asks, “¿Qué trabajos vemos en: Paseo por la comunidad?” then rereads the story and takes notes. With teacher assistance, students write to answer the prompt and include the elements of writing.

In Unit 3, the “Teacher’s Guide” and “Instructional Routines Handbook” provide a variety of opportunities to engage students in the writing process and grow their composition skills. The teacher explicitly instructs students to draw and brainstorm to generate drafts and to plan and organize their drafts by speaking, drawing, or writing. This opportunity requires the teacher to use the previously read nonfiction text Esta es nuestra tierra to support independent writing. To begin the lesson, the teacher reminds students of the text and says: “Soon, we are going to start writing our own nonfiction text! But first let’s think about what makes a text nonfiction.” The teacher encourages students to ask questions they have about nonfiction text. The class analyzes the expert model. The teacher displays and reads aloud certain sentences from the text; students listen for facts and information about real things that tell them this is a nonfiction text. Afterward, students analyze the student model and brainstorm as they work in partners and discuss real things, people, events, or places they know about. The teacher models talking. Students choose a topic and write drafts. They work independently to revise and edit. Finally, they create a final draft, publish, present, and evaluate.

In Unit 5, students write daily. There is explicit instruction in the writing process as well as activities that connect to students’ learning. For example, after reading the ¡A ordenar! there is a whole group shared writing activity. The teacher prompts: “How did Ceci organize things in her room?” Students look at the text and illustrations to find evidence for their answers. Then, the class writes sentences to respond to the prompts. The teacher models and assists with editing.

Unit 6 supports students’ writing development and integrates graphic organizers to help students organize drafts. For instance, students use a theme graphic organizer to write clues from the text “Todo es posible con ganas.” The teacher models how to identify clues and fill in the graphic organizer. The teacher says: “The illustration and text tell us that Jaime Escalante worked very hard to gain the qualifications he needed to teach classes. This is one clue to figuring out the theme of the text. Write this clue.” Students write clues in their graphic organizers and work on their drafts.

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

Over the course of the year, the materials provide opportunities for students to apply grade-level standard Spanish conventions to their writing. Materials also include opportunities for practice and application of the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing, including punctuation and grammar. Grammar, punctuation, and usage are taught systematically, both in and out of context.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Materials include opportunities for students to apply grade-level standard Spanish conventions to their writing throughout the year. Students also apply previously taught concepts of punctuation and grammar, such as nouns, verbs, and pronouns. In Unit 1, the materials instruct the teacher to explain: “Todas las oraciones empiezan con mayúscula. Algunas terminan con punto y otras comienzan y terminan con otros signos de puntuación.” Students also have a variety of opportunities to apply learning to their writing. Options include writing about the main text or using the “Cuaderno de practica,” which includes activities to examine sentences. Explicit instruction and lessons support students in writing declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences. For example, a shared writing activity directs the teacher to “model a guided practice for the punto en la oración and identify the types of sentences.” The teacher displays the following sentences as examples: “Mi mama me mima.” “¿Vamos a la escuela?” The teacher continues to explain types of sentences, stating “Las enunciativas… las oraciones que cuentan algo, siempre terminan con un punto.” Then, during guided practice, students identify errors in sentences, fix errors, and write them correctly. As students work on drafts, teachers encourage students to concentrate, add descriptive details, and use declarative sentences to tell their ideas. The teacher applies the same process for interrogative and exclamatory sentences.

In Unit 2, opportunities support Spanish and grammatical conventions as students engage in shared writing activities and spoken language. The focus of this unit is on the use of gender nouns. Materials provide the teacher with direct explicit instruction to introduce nouns and prompt them to explain: “Que algunos son masculinos… y otros son femeninos….Explique que un sustantivo en singular nombran a una persona, un lugar o una cosa...algunos nombran más de una persona, lugar o cosa. Son los sustantivos en plural.” Students have opportunities to apply learning to their writing. For example, students write a story analysis; they write a draft, focus on the idea, and apply gender nouns. The teacher then guides students to use “sustantivos masculinos y femeninos.” This writing activity allows students to apply learned grammatical rules in spoken language. After students write drafts, the teacher encourages students to “reformular las oraciones transformando los sustantivos en plural.” Students work in pairs and practice orally speaking sentences using nouns. 

In Unit 4, students receive explicit instruction in Spanish conventions and grammar and punctuation usage, both in and out of context. For example, students learn the spelling of words with ca, co, cu, k, que and qui. In this lesson, the teacher follows the “Spelling Dictation” routine to help students transfer their growing knowledge of sound-spelling into writing. The teacher gives dictation, then gives the spelling pretest in the “Practice Book.” The teacher pronounces each spelling word, reads the sentence, and pronounces the word again. Students say each word slowly and pronounce each syllable before writing it. Afterward, students display the spelling words and write each word as the teacher says the letter names. Lastly, students check their words.

In Unit 5, resources include a variety of options to support students’ development of compositional skills. For example, the teacher first guides students to write complete sentences and then has students check their writing to see if it makes sense. In Spanish, teachers discuss the text “Forma y figura, hasta en la basura,” asking, “How did Demetrio classify the shapes and figures he found?” The students then use their “Writer’s Notebook” to generate drafts. The materials provide support to teach students about using specific conjunction words to help join sentences. Materials direct teacher: “Remind children that y, pero, o, entonces y porque are words that are used to join sentences together. Ask them to identify the joining word y in the model sentence below.” The teacher provides the model sentence, and students practice identifying the words. To finish the lesson, students practice writing sentences independently and use words that join.

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

The materials include practice and instruction for students to write legibly in print (K-1) in the appropriate grades. The materials include sufficient practice to meet the requirement of the TEKS, though they do not offer plans for procedures or support for teachers to assess students’ handwriting development.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, a variety of activities support instruction in print and cursive handwriting; students practice their writing skills. Practice books include “Cuaderno de caligrafía,” “Cuaderno de práctica,” “Cuaderno de práctica versión interactiva,” and “Destrezas fundamentales.” There are also activity cards to use for learning centers. In the lesson on the letter Ii, students build their writing skills, learn to write and practice words with Ii, and write spelling and high-frequency words. “Evaluaciones de la unidad” provides resources to assess a student’s overall progress at the end of each unit, focusing only on the TEKS that the unit covers. Some questions also require students to write the answer.

The materials incorporate year-long support for students to practice and receive handwriting instruction. For example, in Unit 3, students use their “Practice Book” for independent practice and to trace letters. Throughout the week, materials provide direct instruction on “uppercase and lowercase Hh and...the online handwriting models.” To practice writing Hh, students work in the Practice Book, and the teacher checks their handwriting skills. For additional support, students use the models in the “Reading/Writing Companion.” The teacher models writing the letters and demonstrates how to use strokes to write. The “Instructional Routines Handbook” guides the teacher to assess specific handwriting tasks, including observing a student´s pencil grip, paper position, and space between words.

In Unit 5, resources provide a few opportunities for students to practice writing, but there is no evidence to support specific or direct teacher instruction for handwriting. The “Recursos del maestro/Guía del maestro” offers a Practice Book and handwriting activities to support print; however, activities focus more on phonics instruction and only provide one page for each skill to practice. The “Recursos de la lección” includes online “Calligraphy” activities to practice letter formation digitally. The “Daily Calligraphy” resource offers instructions to practice writing grammar, such as word spacing and using words with dieresis, as part of learning. Daily Calligraphy also directs teachers to “a escribir con letra de molde las letras x y z mayúscula y minúscula usando los modelos de caligrafía.” Here, teachers work with students on letter formation and size. If students need additional support, materials state: “Pueden usar los modelos de caligrafía que se encuentran al final de Mi libro de lectura y escritura.”

Unit 6 offers some materials to support students practicing calligraphy. For example, the “Phonics” section allows students to practice calligraphy and write the days of the week, months of the year, and numbers. The Recursos de la lección includes online Calligraphy activities to practice letter formation digitally.

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

The materials support students’ listening and speaking about texts and provide opportunities for students to listen actively and ask questions to understand information. All materials provide consistent opportunities for students to engage in discussions that require them to share information and ideas about the topics they are discussing.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Unit 1 provides opportunities for students to listen actively and respond to text. For example, during a read-aloud of Amigos por todas partes, the teacher reminds students to ask questions before, during, and after they read. Students ask questions before they read by looking at the cover and title. The teacher then guides students to look for answers as they read to help them understand the information. The teacher uses the online “Think Aloud Cloud” “I wonder” to model the strategy: “I will ask a question about this text before I read. I look at the cover and title. I wonder, ‘What will I learn about friends? As I read, I will look for the answer.’” Students practice asking their own questions before and during the reading. Using the same text, another activity provides an opportunity to practice active listening. Students work in partners and discuss things friends do together in the text. Students use the sentence starter “When these friends are together, they...” to support and engage in discussion. The teacher records the students’ responses and ideas on the “Essential Question” chart.

Unit 2 provides consistent opportunities for students to engage in discussions that require them to share information and ideas about topics. For example, the teacher guides students to talk about a picture in the “Reading/Writing Companion.” Students look at the friends in the picture, and the teacher asks, “Where are the children?” “What are they doing?” and “How are they helping in the community?” Students work with a partner, talk about the photos, and share any questions they may have with one another. Another opportunity allows students to participate in “productive talk” that focuses on definite and indefinite articles. The teacher asks leading questions to allow students to show what they understand about a concept. After the teacher models and conducts guided practice, students work in partners to orally generate sentences with the indefinite articles un, una, unos, and unas. This unit also includes opportunities for collaborative activities and conversations. For instance, students work with partners to discuss the texts “Los pollitos” and “Panes en el parquet.” The teacher guides students to record information that helps answer the Essential Question. The students use foldables to record their notes and information.

In Unit 3, students respond to text and share information through collaborative activities and conversations. For example, as a whole group shared read, the teacher reads “Cómo crecen las plantas.” After reading, students participate in a retelling activity to discuss how plants grow and change over time. For independent practice, students draw a diagram of a plant in their home, classroom, or neighborhood and label all the parts they can identify. The teacher also asks open-ended questions, such as to “describe how the yuca plant has changed and grown so far in the play” and “What...will happen to the plant next?” To engage students before, during, and after reading, teachers ask questions such as “What is the author trying to tell us with this story?” For example, after reading “Los animales y el invierno” as a whole group, teachers ask, “What might happen if geese didn’t fly south for the winter?” “Why do squirrels keep their food in different spots?” “Which animal or insect would you like to learn more about?” Students then work with partners, discuss their responses, and provide evidence of what they have learned in the text.

In Unit 4, students consistently engage in discussions and share information and ideas to support the topics they read about and listen to. For example, after a shared reading, the teacher asks the students questions about what they read. Materials guide the teacher: “Review children’s predictions. Guide them to use evidence in the text to confirm whether their predictions turned out to be accurate. Discuss what children learned about the features of doves and ants by reading the story.” Also: “As you continue to read, pause to elicit questions and answers from children.” Questions include “Did you learn what you wanted to know by reading the story?” and “What questions do you have about bears in winter?” During reading, the teacher “pauses to help children find the answer” and “guides children in using the evidence in the text and photographs to ask and answer questions.” After reading, students discuss the questions they have with a partner.

Units 5 and 6 contain a variety of opportunities for students to listen actively and participate in discussions. For example, materials instruct: “Pida a los niños que escuchen con atención.” “Recuerde a los niños que mientras escuchan pueden hacerse preguntas sobre el texto.” The teacher encourages students to ask questions to understand information as the text is read aloud. The “Interactive Read Aloud” also supports active listening. This resource allows students to connect with concepts and make predictions, guides the teacher in creating anchor charts, and focuses on oral vocabulary. For example, after rereading a text aloud in shared reading, teachers ask questions to support students in connecting to and understanding the text. Questions include “¿Cómo se sintieron cuando el sol y la luna tuvieron que pararse sobre la mesa?” There are also open-ended questions such as “¿Porqué creen que el mar siguió entrando?” “¿Visitaron alguna vez a un amigo?” and “¿Qué pasó?” The “Interactive Reading Cards” are another resource for teachers to use; here, the focus is more on oral vocabulary and questions that engage students in “productive talk.” For instance, the questions allow students to share information and ideas about topics while also prompting students to use evidence to support their discussions. In one activity, students use evidence and illustrations to answer the questions “¿Creen que podrían recorrer el vecindario entero a pie?” “¿Por qué?”

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

The materials engage students in collaborative discussions. Students have consistent opportunities to engage in discussion and practice grade-appropriate speaking skills using the standard conventions of the Spanish language. In addition, materials offer opportunities for students to develop social communication skills that are appropriate to their grade level.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, students consistently engage in discussion and practice grade-appropriate speaking skills using standard Spanish language conventions. Language guidance in each unit includes explicit instructions and prompts. For example, the teacher reads “Mi tato y yo” and points out the main character, “Pumita.” The teacher explains that a puma is a large, brown wild cat without stripes. To support and facilitate discussion, the teacher asks, “¿Esperaban que el personaje principal se llamara Pumita?” Students take turns sharing answers. Using the same text, partners orally generate more statements about the story. The teacher challenges students to talk about what they liked and didn’t like in the story. In another whole group lesson, the teacher reviews the oral vocabulary words adiestrar and cuidados. Then, the teacher uses the “Define/Example/Ask” routine on the print or digital “Visual Vocabulary Cards” to introduce the oral vocabulary words aseo, compañía, and divertidas. Students work in pairs and use the words as they discuss why pets are special.

Unit 2 offers opportunities for students to engage in discussion, includes protocols to practice speaking and listening, and provides teacher support and guidance for implementing collaborative discussions. In this unit, students have opportunities to engage in partner, small group, and whole group discussions. Teachers encourage students to ask questions about ideas they do not understand, give others a chance to think after asking a question, and write down questions they want to ask the teacher or the whole class. For example, to promote speaking and listening comprehension, the teacher first reads the “Interactive Read-Aloud Cards” “La biblioteca de Luis.” Then, students work with partners to discuss what they learned in the text about helping in the community. Students share what they discussed; the teacher discusses their responses and asks, “What does Luis have in common with the characters in ‘Sábados de animales’?” Students talk about how the animals cooperate and work together to help each other, and how Luis helped his community by bringing books to children. Afterward, the teacher adds any new ideas to the class “Essential Question” chart. The “Instructional Routine Handbook” provides clear and specific guidance for collaborative conversations in Spanish. Students have opportunities to develop social communication skills that are appropriate to their grade level. The “Activity Cards” provide support for learning centers and allow students to engage in reading, speaking, and listening. Students engage in partner, small group, and whole group discussions. The teacher encourages students to take turns talking, listen carefully, and share ideas and opinions. 

Materials in Unit 3 follow the same format as other units and include a variety of protocols to support students in discussions and in using standard Spanish language conventions. Throughout the week, at the end of each lesson, students engage in “Collaborative Conversations,” where they work in groups to talk about what they learned. The teacher reviews with students how they should engage in partner, small group, and whole group discussions. Throughout the unit, the teacher guides students to take turns talking and to not speak over others, to raise their hand to speak, and to ask others to share their ideas and opinions. For example, to practice speaking and listening, the teacher reads aloud “Medidas de tiempo,” and students work in partners to discuss what they learned about the different ways to measure time. Students use a calendar to identify the day and month and tell how many days are in the current month. The teacher guides children to share what they discussed and adds their ideas to the class Essential Question chart. In another lesson, students learn about “how plants grow.” The teacher reads aloud a text on plants, and then engages students in a discussion by asking, “¿Cómo pueden advertir que una planta necesita agua?” and “¿De dónde creen que deben agarrar una planta para sacarla de la tierra?” In another example, students learn about poems. In a group, they answer the questions “¿Qué pasó finalmente con el lobo y las ovejas?” and “¿Qué otro desenlace pudo haber tenido el cuento?” Students also use a graphic organizer and reread the nonfiction text “La vida en casa.” The teacher guides students in a discussion about real people, places, things, and events. Students use their “Reading/Writing Companion” to review the characteristics of an informational text.

In Unit 5, students have consistent opportunities to listen actively and participate in discussions. There are protocols for speaking and listening practice. For example, lessons engage students in role-playing and games such as “¡Todos somos detectives!” and “¡Dos cabezas pueden más que una!” After reading the poem “La sombra,” students participate in a collaborative activity from the “Unity Opener.” Partners discuss the poem’s “shadow” why it follows the girls’ shadow. To integrate talking in the classroom, the teacher reminds students to speak in a clear and concise manner, use complete sentences, and speak at an appropriate pace. Most of the lessons require students to first work in pairs to share ideas, and then to discuss ideas within the whole group. Materials include text-dependent questions that require students to discuss key details and analyze and synthesize information. After reading “Aquí y allá” in the “Literature Anthology,” to further support student response and discussions, the teacher asks, “¿Por qué el autor incluyó tantos tipos de botones diferentes?” “¿Por qué creen que el autor hace preguntas en su texto?”

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

The materials engage students in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for different purposes. They support instruction for students to ask and generate general questions for inquiry with adult assistance. Additionally, materials support instruction for students to generate and follow a research plan and identify relevant sources based on their questions with adult assistance (K-1). Materials guide student practice in understanding, organizing, and communicating ideas and information in accordance with the purpose of the research (K-1).

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

At the end of Units 1 and 2, materials suggest research topics for students to generate questions and participate in research activities. In Unit 1, topics include “En la escuela,” “Vecindarios,” “Nuestras mascotas,” and “A movernos.” In Unit 2, topics include “Trabajos en la ciudad,” “Edificios por todos lados,” “Una comunidad en la naturaleza,” “Ayudemos,” and “Sigue el mapa.” Materials guide teachers to break down and model each step of the research process. For example, when conducting an interview, students follow six steps: choosing a partner or person to investigate, writing the questions, conducting the interview, writing the answers, drawing a picture, and deciding how to present the final work. Teachers guide students in generating quality questions. For instance, to generate questions for students to use when interviewing a classmate, the teacher asks “¿Cuál es tu actividad favorita en la escuela?”and “Me gustaria saber qué hace en su vecindario durante el fin de semana….” If students are researching the topic of “our pets,” the teacher provides the sentence stem “¿Qué tipo de...necesita un...?” The same research process is used in Unit 2, but this time students choose a type of building to research and write questions. To gather relevant information, students use interviews, classroom/library books, websites, encyclopedias, or reference books. To organize ideas, students use graphic organizers from “Mi libro de lectura y escritura.” Materials suggest students can present their final research in a variety of ways: drawings, posters, news graphics about a topic, brochures, 3D objects, articles, videos, or flyers. 

In Unit 3, students generate and follow research plans with adult assistance; there is explicit instruction in research skills. Students interview a classmate about what he or she does on a usual day. First, in a whole group setting, the teacher models each step of the research project and how to choose a classmate to interview. The teacher models asking interview questions, such as “I will ask John what usually happens in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening” (in Spanish). The teacher also shows how to take notes and how to use the agreed-upon rules of conversation. Next, students choose a classmate and discuss what they learned with their partner. After students finish their interviews, the teacher guides them to fill out the “Research Process Checklist” on the online “Student Checklist.” This resource helps students verify that all parts of the research process are complete. Finally, students collaborate and develop their presentations while the teacher provides support. 

In Unit 4, students ask and generate questions for inquiry with adult assistance and integrate ideas to conduct research and independent studies. In a whole group setting, the teacher guides students on how to do research online. First, the teacher models how to use the internet to search for images that illustrate information students are researching. The teacher demonstrates how to click on the word images in the toolbar of the web browser and types in the keywords dientes animales. The teacher discusses the photos that appear and demonstrates how to find more information about the animal teeth shown. Students brainstorm, choose a topic, think of questions to research, like “How does an animal’s fur, skin, or fat help it survive?” and research them.

In Unit 5, students complete weekly research inquiries and have a variety of opportunities to generate questions on a topic. For example, after reading the text “Thomas Edison inventor,” students conduct research on an inventor. The “Teacher’s Guide” provides explicit instruction in research skills. Teachers model how to develop a research plan and provide guidance and support for students to generate questions in Spanish: “Choose one of the inventors you read about this week, what else do you want to know about that inventor?” The teacher then assists students in finding more questions: “What else did Thomas Edison invent?” “Did he have a favorite invention?” The “Reading/Writing Companion” includes step-by-step instructions for students to practice and apply the research process. Students look back to the texts they read to find answers to their questions and use relevant resources such as dictionaries and books on the internet; however, materials do not name specific book titles or programs students should use. After students complete the research process, they collaborate in small groups or with a partner, choose the presentation format, and present. 

At the end of Unit 6, materials provide topics for students to generate questions and participate in research. Students complete a poll activity with their classmates “about ways to make school or the classroom better.” Students use graphic organizers with two columns to record their classmates’ answers. In one column, students write how the classmate would help; in the other column, they record how many students would want to do that activity. In another lesson, students research family traditions. The Reading/Writing Companion supports their research process by directing (in Spanish): “Choose a friend to interview about family traditions, what questions do you want to ask them?” For additional assistance, the teacher prompts: “I want to ask questions that will help me know more about a tradition… Is it something that you celebrate with your family or community?”

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

The materials contain interconnected tasks that build student knowledge. Questions and tasks are designed so that students build and apply knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, and language. Tasks integrate reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking; include components of vocabulary, comprehension, and syntax; and provide opportunities for increased independence.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, questions and tasks are designed for students to build and apply knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, and language. To support oral vocabulary and development of words, teachers use “Visual Vocabulary Cards” in the whole group setting. In this activity, the teacher introduces the word granja, and students discuss the difference between living in the city and living on the farm. Students then use the “Reading/Writing Companion” and discuss with partners what the boy in the picture sees. To support the concept of reading and speaking, students reread and analyze the text “El pato Timoteo.” The teacher provides Spanish sentence stems such as “Timoteo is like my dog, because…,” and students work with partners, make connections, and share responses. Next, students write a fantasy story or draw a make-believe pet. The teacher provides additional sentence stems and encourages students to write more than one sentence. To support listening and writing, in a“Daily Wrap-Up” activity, students discuss the topic of the week with the whole group and then with a partner. Students compare texts they previously read throughout the week and then use a foldable to take notes and write about the different things kids do in school. Students discuss their responses with a partner. Also in Week 1, students complete a “Research and Inquiry” activity about their favorite activities at school. The teacher models how to do research; students interview each other, tally their responses, and then write about their findings. Finally, students present to the class. Daily objectives and “Essential Questions” support students’ speaking in Spanish. One Essential Question the whole class discusses is “What makes pets special?” The teacher shares the Visual Vocabulary Cards to introduce the vocabulary words adiestrar, aseo, compañía, cuidados, and divertidas. Students reread the text, analyze the characteristics, and work with partners to use the words in a sentence.

In Unit 2, interconnected tasks build student knowledge. For example, to support listening and speaking, students complete a close reading task with the text El vecindario de Quinito. After students read the text, they practice making and confirming predictions. Students discuss whether their predictions were correct or if they need to adjust them. Finally, to increase writing fluency, students write for five minutes about what they read. 

In Unit 3, students speak, listen, and think in teacher and peer activities. In one activity, the teacher asks, “How does nature change as time passes?” and “How do plants change as they grow?” Students converse in groups. Students also have opportunities to read poems such as “Cambios, cambios” and then respond to questions in “Mi libro de lectura y escritura.” To support phonological awareness, students practice reading tongue twisters and identifying the sound /rr/. Materials also include lessons to support reading aloud and discussion of key vocabulary words. For example, the story “Arriba Ramona” allows students to practice writing words with r, rr, and high-frequency words. To support oral language, students use sentence starters such as “Ramona woke up early because…” and write, using the sentence frames “Hoy,....” “Antes de salir,….” “Me gusta...porque….” In another task, the teacher introduces dialogue. The teacher writes sentence frames and models how to complete them: “Lara: Me gusta mucho…. Abu: “Podemos plantar…. Papá: ¡Yo quiero plantar...!” To support reading, students study different topics in a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts. For instance, in Week 2, the topic is “Watch it grow!” Students read texts such as La planta misteriosa, Familia de hortelanos, “El nabo gigante,” and “¿Cómo crecen las plantas?” In one activity, the teacher reads La planta misteriosa, and students share what they learn through a respond-to-text writing activity. Other tasks require students to work collaboratively through conducting interviews or writing reports. For example, in “Busqueda e investigacion: Cuentame tu dia,” students interview a classmate about what they do on a normal day or research what life was like at school in the past. Students take turns talking to a partner and answering the question. Then, students volunteer to share answers. The teacher reminds them to answer in complete sentences.

In Unit 4, materials support reading and guide students to study different topics through a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts. For example, in “Materiales del aula,” the “Libro decodificable” Animales por todas partes contains a series of stories in different genres, including nonfiction, fantasy, and realistic fiction. With this book, the class engages in interactive read-alouds, shared reading, and writing about shared reading. To support speaking, students work in pairs and discuss “What insects do you know?” (in Spanish). They also discuss oral vocabulary words. Tasks that support speaking also include retelling stories in pairs and working collaboratively to write a play. To support listening, students use the “Concept Video,” apply daily objectives, and use a checklist. In another example, students work in small groups to answer and discuss questions. For example, students read Pequeño pero listo and write a “Response to Reading.” To support speaking, the teacher reads the pages, and students answer questions. Sentence stems provide additional support and guide students to discuss topics. For example, to help focus the discussion in a lesson, the teacher uses the following sentence starters: “Animals’ bodies help them by….” “This helps me understand that animal bodies….” Students also take turns retelling the story. 

In Unit 5, tasks integrate reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking; include components of vocabulary, and comprehension; and provide opportunities for increased independence. For example, the teacher reads aloud “Grandes inventos” and uses the online “Think Aloud Cloud: I wonder” to model applying the strategy. The teacher reads, pausing to elicit questions; students use evidence in the text and photos to answer. After reading, students retell the text and discuss questions they asked and where they found the answers. The teacher asks, “How has the computer changed how people work?” and “How might life be different if the telephone had never been invented?” As students answer, the teacher adds their ideas to the “Essential Question” chart. Afterward, for five minutes, students write as much as they can about the text and then share their writing with a partner.

In Unit 6, questions and tasks allow students to build and apply knowledge and skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking, and language. For example, during a shared reading of “¡Gracias por la cosecha!” students focus on foundational skills and the strategy of rereading. The teacher first reviews the high-frequency words diez, completo, crear, luz, proponer, tampoco, and tampoco and the vocabulary words granjeros, peregrinos, agradecer, noviembre, acción, disfrazan. Then, students read the selection and take notes in the boxes provided. Students read each page and the prompts aloud one at a time, use the sentence starter “I celebrate the harvest with…,” and work with partners to discuss how they celebrate the harvest. The teacher records the students’ ideas on the “Essential Question Chart.” Afterward, students work together to write a response to the prompt “What are the different ways that harvest is celebrated?”

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

The materials provide spiraling and scaffolded practice and support distributed practice over the course of the year. Design includes scaffolds for students to demonstrate integration of literacy skills that spiral over the school year.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Standards are addressed repeatedly over the course of the academic year. In Unit 1, to teach syllables, materials begin with the letter m; teachers then follow a prescribed sequence of letters. As the year progresses, students learn more letters and write words. Activities allow teachers to scaffold student responses, discuss the week’s concept, and support students throughout the year. In the “Talk About It” activity, the teacher models holding something, then says, “Las niñas están mostrando sus dibujos. ¿Que muestran las niñas?” Partners discuss their responses. In Week 1, for a shared reading of “Mi tato y yo,” there are scaffolds for reading and comprehension. First, the teacher guides students to use the “Visualize” strategy and answer questions in their “Reading/Writing Companion.” Then, students reread the text with a partner to start developing fluency. 

In Unit 2, students practice skills they use in other units and throughout the year. For example, students continuously work to identify syllables and also practice forming and making words. In one activity, students work with syllables that start with the letter n and read the anchor text “Nito, Nina, y Nin aman el lodo” to discuss the author’s craft. While reading, students make and confirm predictions. After reading, students retell what happens in the story. Materials are organized over the course of the year. For example, charts show the skills the students will learn, how to review those skills, and when to assess students.

Unit 3 includes a sequence of standards that is repeatedly addressed within and across the unit to ensure student mastery. Materials are organized over the course of the year and support listening and comprehension, phonological awareness, phonics, high-frequency words (HFW), spelling, shared reading, and grammar through daily activities. Tasks like structural analysis, shared writing, and independent writing vary throughout the materials. Each unit offers a search and investigation activity. A sequence of SLAR TEKS describes when each TEKS is first taught and when it repeats. For example, Standard 1.2.Bvii (“decoding words with common prefixes and suffixes”) repeats 18 times through the “Word Work” section. Students work with common prefixes and suffixes for three to five days in small groups. Standard 2.2.Bi (“identifying and matching sounds to individual letters”) is repeated numerous times during the year in various parts of the program (e.g., word work, shared reading, phonics, and the Reading/Writing Companion). Students have opportunities to listen to, practice skills, and apply Strand 2. Aiii, (“recognize the change in the spoken word when a specific syllable is added, changed, or removed”) through phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, and spelling. There are scaffolds and options to support students. For example, during small groups, the teacher scaffolds to introduce the concept of fantasy stories. The teacher asks a series of questions, and students record the information. Students work independently to complete activities.

In Unit 4, Standard 1.8C (“describe plot elements including the main events, the problem and the resolution, for texts read aloud and independently”) repeats numerous times in both whole group and small group instruction. Standard 2.Ci (“spelling common letter and sound correlations”) is addressed and repeated over 20 times through word work, spelling, HFW, vocabulary, and small group activities. Standard 7.F (“respond using vocabulary to activities”) appears several times through the introduction of the concept, listening comprehension, oral language, extending the concept, and small groups. 

In Unit 5, there are scaffolds for students to demonstrate the integration of literacy skills that spiral over the school year. Questions and tasks within and across each unit build in academic rigor to meet the full intent of the standards in each grade level. For example, under “Resources,” the materials provide the scope and sequence of all units; TEKS are spiraled in as a review. The materials are well organized, follow the same pattern across units, and offer a variety of resources to integrate literacy skills. For instance, students have a variety of opportunities to make and confirm predictions by speaking and writing. In Week 1, during a whole group listening comprehension lesson, students hear the text “Ricitos de oro” read aloud. The teacher first reviews the “Make and Confirm Predictions” anchor chart and reminds students to make predictions about what will happen next as the story is read aloud. The teacher reads and pauses to have students confirm or correct their predictions. After reading, the teacher prompts children to retell the story in their own words. As students discuss what predictions they made and whether their predictions were correct, the teacher adds new ideas to the “Essential Question” chart. Afterward, students write as much as they can about the story for seven minutes and share with a partner.

In Unit 6, students focus on the strategy of rereading informational texts and folktales covered in previous units. The teacher reads aloud the interactive folktale “Los hijos de Anansi” during whole group and reviews the “Reread” anchor chart. During the read-aloud, the teacher pauses to ask students (in Spanish), “What parts did you have trouble understanding?” and “What can you do to better understand them?” The teacher encourages students to ask to reread parts of the text they did not understand. After reading, the teacher prompts students to retell the folktale and talk about how each son helps Anansi. Lastly, the teacher discusses with children how rereading helps us understand the story better.

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

The materials provide explicit instruction in print awareness and opportunities for students to connect print awareness to books and texts. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, Week 3, during the whole group read-aloud of “El canario y el sabueso,” the teacher models how to track print during reading, moving a finger from word to word. The teacher explains that when you reach the end of the line in a sentence or word, you must move your finger to the first word on the next line. When teachers model concepts of print, materials instruct: “Muestre a los niños cómo seguir el texto, moviendo el dedo de una palabra…primera palabra del siguiente renglón.” Materials provide opportunities for students to practice and apply print concept knowledge to texts. For example, in Week 5, during the whole group read-aloud of “Caminata en familia,” the teacher tells children they can use nonfiction to find facts and details about how people live. The teacher says (in Spanish), “Nonfiction often has words in bold print that authors use to point out important information.” Then, the teacher displays the “Teaching Poster,” points to the left drawing, and reads the text: “Morning is in bold print. The letters are heavier and darker than the other letters… The author put morning in bold print to show it is the most important idea.” The teacher reads the text underneath the second illustration and guides students to identify the words in bold. The teacher asks, “Why did the author put this word in bold print?” and “What is the most important idea?” The teacher repeats this for the third illustration, and students look for bold print in the selection.

In Unit 2, students connect, practice, and apply print awareness knowledge to texts. For example, in Week 2, materials provide prompts in the “Big Book” for modeling concepts of print and guidance to track the print as the teacher reads. During the whole group read-aloud of Paula en Nueva York, the teacher points out the dialogue dashes on page 6: “-Hola, nube, me llevas a dar una vueltecita?, -Claro, sube!, le respondió la nube.” The teacher explains that the dialogue dashes set off words that characters say. The teacher points out that the first word after a dialogue dash begins with a capital letter and explains that this is because it is the first word of the character’s sentence. Materials also offer frequent and adequate practice in the organization of print. For example, in Week 4, during the whole group read-aloud of La historia de Martin Luther King, Jr., the teacher points out words that are in color print and explains why the author uses colors to highlight important words. Students then identify words in color. The materials also provide prompts in the Big Book for modeling concepts of print. The teacher points out that the text has a beginning, middle, and end and discusses how the author uses organization to help us understand the order of events.

Units 3 and 4 incorporate explicit instruction in print awareness and connect print awareness to books and texts. For example, to help students recognize how to read exclamatory sentences, the teacher models this concept by reading the Big Book La planta misteriosa. First, the teacher reads the text aloud as a whole group lesson and points out exclamatory sentences. The teacher reminds students that “exclamatory sentences have exclamation points at the beginning and at the end,” that “they express emotions as surprise or enthusiasm,” and that when students reach the end of a line, “they should go down to the beginning of the next.” Students mimic this during the shared reading lesson. In another example, the teacher uses the text Chumba la cachumba during the whole group lesson to show how print indicates time in the story. The teacher explains how “on each page, the clock and the text show that it is one hour later than on the previous page.” The teacher guides students to identify how time changes through the text. Lastly, students identify words that show time and apply them to their print concepts knowledge. 

In Unit 4, students become more conscious of individual words and practice words they learn from a book. In one lesson, students read the passage “La cadena alimentaria marina” together with the teacher. Then, students make a poster that illustrates the food chains in the ocean or other ecosystems about which they have read; they label the parts of the food chain. In another lesson, the teacher reads ¡Llegaron las ballenas! to support the concept of rhyming words. The teacher points out the rhyming words in the text and explains to students that the author uses rhyme to make the information about whales sound fun. The teacher asks, “What word rhymes with olas on page 12?” and “What word rhymes with parar on page 13?” Students take turns answering.

Units 5 and 6 offer opportunities for students to connect print awareness knowledge to texts. Activities help students understand that print represents spoken language. In Unit 5, Week 1, “Comprensión guiada” in small groups offers an activity where students put sticky notes next to difficult words or make a list of things that are needed to recycle garbage. In Unit 6, Week 2, a small group differentiated lesson teaches print conventions, as students create and give a community person a certificate of appreciation. There are also lessons in word awareness that help students become more conscious of individual words. For example, after a shared reading of “Noches de luna,” in Unit 5, Week 2, the teacher guides students to work in their Reading/Writing Companion and circle words that have the diphthongs ay, ey, ai, or ei in predictable and patterned language. Materials also include stories with predictable words. For example, “Noches de Luna” includes text such as “Veo veo, dice el gato” and “¿Qué ves? pregunta el perro.” Activities encourage students to play with print. For instance, in a research activity in Unit 5, Week 1, the teacher helps students choose the modality in which they will present their work. Students collaborate to create a poster with pictures to present their research findings. Then, students write an article about an inventor in digital format. In Unit 6, Week 4, students complete a similar lesson and use “Mi libro de lectura y escritura” to make an advertisement about family traditions.

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).

The materials provide opportunities for students to practice oral language activities; practice each newly taught sound/phoneme and syllable pattern; and blend spoken phonemes to form syllables and syllables to form multisyllabic words. Additionally, materials provide explicit instruction in each newly taught sound and sound pattern and offer opportunities for students to practice segmenting spoken words into individual syllables and to manipulate syllables to form new words.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Unit 1 provides regular systematic modeling of phonemic and phonological awareness learning. The materials follow an adequate sequence to teach the concepts; provide guidance to introduce new concepts; and maintain or review old concepts. All units follow the same organization and use the same routines for phonemic awareness. Materials provide opportunities for students to practice oral language and phonological awareness. In Week 3, during whole group instruction, the teacher says (in Spanish), “We use /t/ to build the syllables ta, te, ti, to, and tu.” Then, students clap along with each syllable as the teacher reads them aloud. The teacher then reads aloud other syllables and words, and students repeat the activity. Afterward, students build the syllables with the letter cards, and the teacher guides students in blending the sounds. As students work, the teacher encourages them to call out words that have these syllables. In addition, materials provide systematic, explicit instruction in each newly taught sound/sound pattern. The scope and sequence for all units and weeks includes the sounds to introduce each week. For instance, in Week 4, the teacher displays the “Sound-Spelling Card” for l and uses the word limón to explain that l represents the /l/ sound. The teacher says, “This card shows a lemon (limón). The word limón begins with /l/… sound we hear at the beginning of the word limón. Listen: /l/, limón”. Then, students practice connecting the letter l to the /l/ sound by writing the letter five times. For additional student practice, opportunities are available through the “Practice Book” or online activities. 

In Unit 2, the materials explicitly teach all phonemes and syllable patterns following the scope and sequence. There is teacher guidance for modeling how to pronounce different phonemes as well as “Phonics Cards,” the Practice Book, “Phonological Awareness and Phonics Activities,” “Photo Cards,” and a “Response Board.” Students practice blending spoken phonemes to form syllables and syllables to form multisyllabic words. In Week 2, the teacher displays the “Phonics Practice Activity” and reads the syllable da. Students read it aloud with the teacher, and the teacher repeats the activity with other syllables. The teacher points to the syllables and encourages students to read them aloud and blend the sounds. Students then say words that begin with those syllables. Students also practice segmenting words into syllables to form new words. In Week 2, the teacher continues the lesson on syllables with da and uses the “Word-Building Cards” d and a. The teacher models blending the sounds to say the syllable and then forms the words dado, Dante, and dato. Students say the syllables and blend sounds. The teacher builds the syllables with the cards again and guides children in blending the sounds. Lastly, the teacher encourages students to call out words that have these syllables. A variety of activities allow students to practice phonological awareness. For example, in Week 2, the teacher displays the Sound-Spelling Card n and uses the word nido to explain that the letter n represents the sound /n/. The teacher shows the card for nest, models the sound, and writes the letter n. Students say the sound with the teacher and then write the letter five times to practice connecting the sound /n/. If students need additional practice connecting the /n/ sound to the letter n, they can use the Practice Book or an online activity.

In Units 3 and 4, students manipulate phonemes and blend them into syllables to make new words. In Unit 3, Week 1, the teacher writes the word para on Response Board 3, and then writes p next to build pa. The teacher points and says, “This is the syllable pa. Write ra and say these letters are r and a. Together, they form the syllable ra. I will blend these syllables together: pa, ra; para.” The students then blend the syllables on their own and build ri, ro, and ru. Resources offer systematic, explicit instruction in each newly taught sound/sound pattern. In Unit 4, Week 4, the teacher instructs students on how to manipulate syllables with cl. The teacher shows and reviews the previously learned vowel sounds a, e, i, o, and u as well as the consonants m, p, t, l, s, d, n, v,b, f, r, g, j, c, k, q, y, ñ, and w. Then, students apply their previous skills with cl. For practice, students write words with the syllable blends in their Practice Book. Both units guide the teacher to build syllables with Word-Building Cards. In Unit 3, during small group instruction, the teacher puts the j and a cards in a pocket chart and models how to blend them together to make the syllable ja. Students work to build the syllables, and the teacher guides them by saying, “/j/ /o/, jo. Continue with the syllables ja, je, ji, and ju.” Students repeat and build syllables with ge and gi. Afterward, the teacher encourages the students to notice that all syllables have a vowel and guides them to identify the vowel in each syllable.

Materials in Units 5 and 6 provide clear guidance for teachers to routinely instruct students on how to blend sounds; there are a variety of activities for students to practice. In Unit 5, Week 1, in small groups, the teacher uses Response Board 5 to represent syllables. The teacher shows students how to blend syllables to form words. The teacher says the word vecino and uses markers to model how to separate and segment the word into three syllables: ve, ci, and no. Materials also provide regular and systematic modeling of phonemic and phonological awareness learning. In Week 2, the teacher models and guides students to recognize words with the diphthong ei. The teacher uses Photo Cards for jabón, aceituna, mosca, reina, and astronauta, and students identify words that have two vowels in the same syllable. Resources offer teacher guidance and a sequence to introduce sounds. In Week 4, the teacher introduces the /tr/ sound, and students have opportunities to combine sounds. Students practice blending and segmenting words with /tr/ for the next three days. By Day 4, students use Word-Building Cards to form words and sentences; on Day 5, they review combinations of syllables and word formations. Both units include word mats and syllabic cards, such as “Phonics Word-Building Cards” and “Spelling Cards,” as well as activities to support the skill of manipulating phonemes into syllables. For example, in Week 5, in an “Approaching” level small group lesson, students use word mats to manipulate phonemes into syllables for güe and güi and combine words. Students work together with the teacher and then practice the activity independently. Unit 6, Week 2, offers a similar activity to practice diphthongs ay, au, ei, eu, oi, and oy. In this lesson, students clap their hands for each syllable they hear. Materials provide explicit instruction in phonological skills and offer opportunities for students to apply and practice these skills. For instance, in Unit 6, Week 1, the teacher blending the sounds /b/ /l/ /a/, bla. Students read aloud the syllable and blend the sounds. Students repeat the activity with the syllables bli, blo, and blu.

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 include a research-based sequence of grade-level foundational skills instruction and opportunities for ample student practice to achieve grade-level mastery. Materials systematically develop knowledge of grade-level phonics patterns as addressed in the SLAR TEKS for grades K-2 and provide opportunities for students to apply grade-level phonetic knowledge to connected texts. Additionally, materials include building spelling knowledge as identified in the SLAR TEKS.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In Unit 1, materials incorporate opportunities for students to apply phonetic knowledge during small group activities. In Week 1, during a small group lesson, the teacher uses letter cards and practices making syllables with the letter m. Students also practice high-frequency words, read them, and practice putting the words in a sentence orally. After, the teacher guides students to complete the “Read/Spell/Write” activity using their “Response Boards.” Students practice independently with a partner, using the high-frequency words in sentences to tell about the week’s stories. In Week 2, materials aid students in building spelling knowledge during a “Word Work” lesson in small groups. The teacher uses spelling word cards, and students read them with a partner. One partner reads while the other verifies if they read it correctly; then they switch roles.

In Unit 2, the materials include a research-based sequence of grade-level foundational skills. At the beginning of each unit, the material shows a “Skills Trace” chart, which indicates which letters and sounds students should already know. In Week 1, the materials show that students need to know the vowels and syllables with m, p, t, l, s, d, n, v, b, and f; the upcoming syllables are r, rr, h, j, g /j/, k, q, c /k/, y, ñ. In Week 1, Day 3, materials guide the teacher to use “markers” to manipulate syllables on Response Board 5. The teacher explains how a marker is placed for each syllable in the words and models with the word duna. After, students complete a guided practice activity as a whole group and use the words doble, donde, and durazno to practice. The teacher provides the rest of the list, and the students continue practicing independently. In Week 3, students apply phonetic knowledge during differentiated small group instruction. The teacher helps students complete sentences using the high-frequency words comer, pero, grande, entre, and años. After reviewing the words together, students complete the following sentences: “Mañana cumplo...años. Me invitaron a comer….” Then, students read the decodable reader Los venados, which allows them to use their phonetic knowledge by identifying the high-frequency words and the words with b in the text. 

Materials in Unit 3 and 4 include a scope and sequence along with a progress monitoring tool for tracking student progress. For instance, in Unit 3, Week 1, the teacher completes a lesson on phonological awareness to identify and form syllables with /rr/, phonics syllables with /rr/ r, rr, and the spelling words burro, torre, and perro. The teacher first identifies the /rr/ sound and models through a tongue twister that contains several words with the /rr/ sound; students chorally repeat it. The teacher uses “Tarjetas de fotos” and identifies other images that begin with the /rr/ sound. To monitor student progress, the teacher uses “Cuaderno de práctica.” Materials include a variety of opportunities to apply phonetic knowledge and connect to texts and tasks through decodable readers. In Unit 3, Week 3, to practice phonics and word formation with r /r/, students read “El vivero de mi abuela” and practice reading words in related texts. 

In Unit 4, students have opportunities to hear, say, and encode each newly taught phonic/spelling pattern through direct instruction from the teacher, checks for understanding, and activities. In Week 1, to practice prefixes and suffixes during a phonics lesson, the teacher works with the whole group and models the ch /ch/ sound. The teacher says, “Escuchen: /ch/ /e/ che” and guides students to say more words with that sound. After, students form syllables and use “Tarjetas arma palabras.” The teacher corrects the students. As additional practice, students work in Cuaderno de práctica or with online activities. Materials also include a variety of opportunities to apply phonetic knowledge and connect to texts and tasks through decodable readers. For instance, ¡Cahorros! offers a connection to books in the lesson about words with ch /ch/. 

Materials in Unit 5 include a research-based sequence of grade-level foundational skills. For example, the “Phonics Scope and Sequence” and a “Suggested Pacing Guide” offer guidance to teach skills in the following areas: “Phonological Awareness: Phoneme Identity, Build Syllables, Build and Segment Words, Add, Change and Take Away Syllables, Rhyme. Phonics/Spelling: Words with ai, au, ay, ei, eu, ey, oi, oy. Handwriting: Writing Words. Structural Analysis: Hiatus. Decodable Readers: Un paisaje maravilloso.” In Week 2, during a whole group phonological awareness lesson, the teacher reminds students that words rhyme when they end with the same or similar sounds. The teacher then says pairs of Spanish rhyming words (e.g., causa/pausa, hueso/grueso, leer/creer, jaula/silla, queso/puerta, mío/tío, cama/cancion, cielo/abuelo), and students clap when the words rhyme and repeat them. After, students think of new words that rhyme with the pairs of rhyming words. 

In Unit 6, materials systematically develop knowledge of grade-level phonics patterns as addressed in the SLAR TEKS and provide opportunities for students to apply grade-level phonetic knowledge to connected texts and tasks. For example, decodable readers help students practice grade-level-appropriate letter-sound patterns. In Week 3, students read the decodable reader Plan para tormentas to practice decoding words in connected text and to practice building and reading words with pl and gl. Additionally, students have opportunities to read high-frequency words in and out of context. In Week 4, the teacher displays the “Visual Vocabulary Cards” for the high-frequency words lector, voz, libertad, ambos, aspecto, and edad. The teacher says each word and uses the “Read/Spell/Write” routine. The teacher then repeats the activity with the previous week’s word cards. After, students practice reading the words independently using an online activity.

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 include explicit instruction in fluency, including rate, accuracy, prosody, as well as opportunities to practice these skills. The materials include routines for teachers to regularly monitor and provide corrective feedback. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials provide instruction for students to begin practicing fluency. In Unit 1, Week 1, during differentiated small group instruction, students read the decodable reader La manana de Ema. They partner to read, practice fluency, and focus on appropriate phrasing and rate. The teacher monitors reading and encourages partners to provide feedback. The teacher models fluency while reading the “Big Book” La vaca estudiosa. During the whole group reading lesson, the teacher focuses on phrasing, points to punctuation marks, and tells students, “When you read, you should pause, or stop for a moment, when you come to a punctuation mark.” In Week 2, the teacher models fluency while reading the text “Esta es nuestra Tierra.” The teacher explains how sentences show emotions like sadness, happiness, and fear and models how to read sentences with exaggerated stress.

Units 2 and 3 provide students an opportunity to practice fluency, focusing on accuracy and rate. In Unit 2, Week 3, during a differentiated small group lesson, the teacher models accuracy and appropriate rate for the “Beyond Level” students by reading page 2 of the decodable reader Venados. Students read along with the teacher and then practice reading with a partner, correcting each other as needed. The “Evaluación de fluidez” component serves as support to assess fluency in the second semester and mainly focuses on letter names, phoneme segmentation, and fluency with high-frequency words. Though the guide does not suggest starting fluency testing until Unit 3, it also recommends not to test for prekindergarten through grade 1. Unit 3 recommends a variety of pre-fluency activities, such as reading aloud to model good fluency, and provides a letter fluency assessment. Materials also guide the teacher to administer letter fluency assessments until students master all letters. Audio for fluency probes is also available so that students can hear appropriate reading speed, expressions, and fluidity. The materials provide support and opportunities for evidence-based fluency instruction via different techniques to use in guided oral reading. For example, to teach intonation in Week 5, the teacher uses the story “¿De dónde vienen los alimentos?” and models locating several words on a page of the book. The teacher explains how authors use different colors of letters to highlight the information and models how to change the tone of voice when reading. Teacher materials include resources such as “Escala de fluidez oral,” provide guidance on how to calculate words-correct-per-minute (WCPM), and offer instructions and tables for support. A fluency log also allows teachers to keep track of student rate and accuracy. For grade 1, fluency includes letter recognition by the end of the year, meaning students must know 60 or more correct letters. For example, the teacher uses “La hoja de fluidez” on page 9 of the Evaluación de la fluidez oral for an analysis of prosody. After students read each text, there are grades for prosody, reading in sentences, rhythm, syntax, self-correction, and intonation.

In Unit 5, the materials include opportunities for explicit fluency instruction through the “Instructional Routines Handbook,” which provides step-by-step guides to key instructional practices for evidence-based fluency. For instance, during guided practice, teachers use the strategies of echo, cloze, and choral reading to help students build fluency. The unit provides coaching videos like “Phrasing: Maria Russo,” which offers fluency activities to support phrasing, accuracy, intonation, and expression. The students have opportunities to practice reading fluency by focusing on rate, accuracy, and prosody. In Week 1, there is audio for fluency probes or selections for students to be able to hear appropriate reading speed, expression, and fluidity. During whole group instruction, the teacher explains, “Reading with accuracy means pronouncing words correctly and reading every word in the text.” The teacher explains that reading with accuracy helps readers comprehend texts and models reading page 14 of ¡A ordenar! while carefully pronouncing words. The teacher urges students not to skip over any words in the text and reminds them to reread if necessary. Next, the teacher guides students to read along on page 15 and models reading at a normal pace so that it sounds like speech. Students read the remaining pages of the text with a partner.

In Unit 6, materials include explicit instruction in fluency, including rate, accuracy, and prosody. In Week 3, during the shared read of “Un vaquero en la nieve,” the teacher models fluent reading. The teacher reviews the usage of commas and explains how to pause briefly when reading. Then, the teacher reads aloud the first few pages, and students echo read each sentence. After, students work in partners to reread the text, pausing for commas, and the teacher provides corrective feedback as needed. The teacher models fluency by reading smoothly, with expression, and at an appropriate speed. For instance, in Week 4, students listen to audio for the shared read “Un día especial.” The teacher reminds students that similar sentences or phrases are read in the same way to emphasize repetition. The teacher reads aloud the parts that are repeated, and students chorally repeat, paying attention to those patterns. The materials also provide teachers with routines and opportunities to monitor student fluency. For example, the “Placement and Diagnostic Assessment” offers guidance to monitor “Oral Reading Fluency” and includes passages on how to administer and score fluency assessments.

Evaluation for 5.1
Materials include developmentally-appropriate diagnostic tools (e.g. formative and summative progress monitoring) and guidance for teachers, students, and administrators to monitor progress.

The materials include a variety of developmentally appropriate diagnostic tools as well as guidance for teachers, students, and administrators to monitor progress. Tools are developmentally appropriate, and materials ensure consistent and accurate administration of diagnostic tools. Additionally, materials include tools for students to track their own progress and growth and provide diagnostic tools to measure all content and process skills for SLAR K-2, as outlined in the SLAR TEKS.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Assessment tools include rubrics such as “Rúbrica pautas de calificación para el ejercicio de escritura” to evaluate the development of written expression. Assessment tools are designed to allow students to demonstrate understanding using multiple modalities, such as non-verbal responses. For example, page 49 of the “Evaluaciones de la unidad” directs students to write “dos detalles clave sobre el tema principal del cuento” or use pictorials. In addition, assessments are designed to measure what students can do independently. For instance, Units 1 to 3 include multiple-choice questions that test knowledge and skills as well as mastery of Spanish conventions when correcting drafts or filling in blanks. In Units 4 to 6, students respond in writing to the genres taught in each unit. Materials also incorporate formative and summative assessments measures designed to support understanding what level the student is performing at based on performance in grade-level readiness skills. In “Evaluaciones de referencia de Texas,” the introduction mentions how the assessment results serve as a cumulative assessment and are a tool to measure children’s progress in this curriculum. 

Assessment includes screening measures that provide the teacher with a baseline understanding of student progress as well as progress monitoring to conduct multiple times per year. For example, beginning in the fall, grade 1 students must know 40 letters and sounds combined. By winter, students need to know 50 letters and sounds; they must know 60 by spring. Materials include separate assessment guides and sections to support teachers in understanding the types of informal assessment. For instance, the brochure “Reconocimiento fonologico” allows the teacher to make individual evaluations of the students using a reproducible sheet. This review links to the lesson in which skills such as “Fonologia” are assessed. Then, a percentage table demonstrates and indicates if 80% of the answers are correct to pass the skill or if additional intervention is needed. The materials include easy-to-use checklists and anecdotal note-taking forms, like “Running Records” and the “Reading Assessment Checklist,” which support the teacher in collecting consistent and purposeful data on grade-level readiness skills. The formal assessment tool is supported by a “User Guide,” which gives an overview of the assessment and outlines the time to administer each task; it is accessible through the “Assessment Components and Resources.” In grade 1, this resource offers the “Progress Monitoring Assessment” at the end of each week; “Benchmarks” twice a year and after Units 3 and 6; and the “Assessment Handbook” throughout the year. The resources provide guidance for administrators to support teachers in analyzing and responding to data. For example, the “Coaching Guides” offer support to administrators as they complete routine visits and provide guidance to train teachers, including coaching questions and guide charts, like on page 4. Informal and formal diagnostic tools are designed to measure all content and process skills as outlined in grade 1. The assessment type recommended for each skill matches the outcome desired. For example, if the teacher needs to measure oral fluency, such as phrases, rhythm, syntax, self-correction, and intonation, the “Evaluación de fluidez” provides a rubric to support and measure verbal expressions as well assess letter sounds.

Evaluation for 5.2
Materials include guidance for teachers and administrators to analyze and respond to data from diagnostic tools.

The materials include guidance for teachers and administrators to analyze and respond to data from diagnostic tools. Materials also offer guidance and direction for teachers to respond to individual students’ needs in all domains, based on measures of student progress appropriate to the developmental level. Diagnostic tools yield meaningful information for teachers to use when planning instruction and differentiation and analyzing and responding to data. Materials provide a variety of resources and teacher guidance on how to leverage different activities to respond to student data. 

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Grade 1 materials support teachers with guidance and direction to respond to individual students’ needs in all domains, based on measures of student progress appropriate to the developmental level. For example, in Unit 1, Week 1, after an informal assessment on identifying rhyming words, materials direct the teacher to refer to a modeling and practice exercise to provide additional support to students who have not yet mastered the skill. Teacher instructions state: “If the children need additional practice identifying a generating rhyme, see Practice Book page 2 or the online activity.” The materials provide support for teachers in scaffolding instruction based on the students’ demonstrated aptitude level within each literacy skill. The section “Apoyo aprendices de Español” recommends using scaffolds with independent writing. For example, in Week 3, materials direct teachers on how to work specifically with “Beginning,” “Intermediate,” “Advanced,” and “Advanced High” students. When working with Beginning/Intermediate students, to review phrases students can use to ask presenters about their presentations, the teacher uses the following sentence frames: “¿Por qué escribiste sobre esa mascota?” “¿Cómo elegiste el nombre de tu mascota?” and “¿Por qué coloreaste tu mascota de azul?”

In Unit 3, lesson materials include recommendations for downward and upward scaffolds. For example, in Week 4, during a “Word Work” spelling lesson, students review words with ca, co, cu, k, and qui. The materials prompt the teacher to scaffold the lesson by making a list of differentiated words according to the student’s level. Resources also include “El folleto Evaluación del nivel y diagnostic,” which is a separate assessment guide that supports the teacher in understanding benchmark data as it relates to the students’ age, grade, and level of support needed. This resource provides support for teachers when grouping students. For example, after completing an assessment to identify the areas of need for instructional focus, the program suggests placing students in “On Level Materials,” “Approaching Level Materials,” or “Beyond Level Materials” and “Intervention.” The materials yield meaningful information to help teachers understand how to respond to a student’s current developmental level. For example, in Week 4, the teacher uses the online “Pautas de calificacion” to record student progress and track what the student knows. The teacher uses this tool as an aid to document if students are able to read and decode words with c, q, k, or recognize and read high-frequency words. With the information obtained, the teacher creates small group instruction to support all students in meeting grade-level expectations. The resource “Data Dashboard: Progress Report” offers reports to identify students’ individual needs and can be used for communication with families. This resource serves to communicate progress and discuss learning goals when conferencing with administrators, families, and individual students.

Materials in Unit 5 include additional small group activities within units to reinforce the development of literacy skills. Each unit’s material offers support to the three levels: Approaching, On, and Beyond. For example, in Week 2, to support a phonics lesson during an Approaching level small group, materials offer the “Guias de intervencion” for teacher guidance. In the lesson, students identify and build syllables, and the teacher is guided to use the following: “Intervención fonética y taller de palabras,” “Guia de intervencion: reconocimiento fonologico” to support phonological awareness, and “Guia intervencion: comprensión” to support identifying events. In addition, guidance supports teachers in utilizing results from a variety of assessments to support purposeful planning. For instance, the “Evaluaciones de la unidad” introduction indicates that the results of the assessments provide information to program further teaching, make decisions, level, and classify as well as to identify the areas in which it is necessary to reteach or where the student requires more support. The materials include instructional strategies that can be used to support students whose data demonstrates a need for more one-on-one or specialized support. For example, page 48/53 of the “Manual de evaluación” suggests a variety of ways to modify instruction, such as changing the mode of instruction and choosing different materials. The materials include recommendations to develop action plans that support targeted student intervention. For example, page 50/55 of “Making Instructional Decisions” offers different ways to address weaknesses, build on strengths, and keep instruction “on track.”

The materials include data that administrators can use to identify specific areas of need for program improvement or to provide support for teacher understanding. For example, under “Professional Development,” the materials provide “Administrator Resources,” which offer the “Texas Wonders/T-TESS Coaching Guides” and include coaching questions to support the teachers. The resources provide guidance online to support administrators in analyzing data to design targeted programmatic and professional development. The Data Dashboard includes recommendation reports and areas of strength and weaknesses. The reports are available online or in print form and provide recommendations for grouping students as well as additional intervention lessons to support literacy skills. Administrators use this data to support teachers in analyzing and responding to data.

Evaluation for 5.3
Materials include frequent, embedded opportunities for monitoring progress.

The materials include frequent, integrated formative assessment opportunities as well as routine, systematic progress monitoring opportunities. They accurately measure and track student progress. The frequency of progress monitoring is appropriate for the age and content skill.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Routine and systematic progress monitoring opportunities accurately measure and track student progress; suggested timelines for checking progress align with the scope of the materials. The “Guía de evaluación de progreso” recommends connections based on students’ performance on the skills taught in materials; it suggests students should be evaluated every week in each unit. This guide provides a view of students’ evolution in a constant and structured way. For example, at the end of each week of the reading program, teachers assess students’ understanding of the content, and the results are used to program further teaching. The materials include “Aprendices de Español,” which suggest a variety of ways to scaffold oral language skills for students at “Beginning,” “Intermediate,” “Advanced,” or “Advanced High” levels. For example, in Unit 2, Week 1, materials direct teachers to use certain kinds of observations to record oral language skills, such as using scaffolds with “Speaking Strategies” and “Listening Strategies.”

The materials include tips for tracking progress through thematic units. In Unit 5, Week 2, students read “Arriba en el cielo” as a whole group, specifically to monitor student growth in recognizing characteristics of informal text. During this lesson, the teacher explains that nonfiction texts often have photographs with captions and include short descriptions that give information about the photos. Then, students read a nonfiction text about the Moon. After, they complete activities that provide authentic opportunities for assessing their learning, such as research about the phases of the Moon. The materials also recommend informal assessments that allow teachers to observe and document children’s learning and behaviors over time. Continued progress monitoring provides teachers with feedback for identifying each student’s skill level and how it changes over time. The “Know Your Reports User Guide” offers the “Dashboard and Progress Report” section for teachers to document students’ progress. This guide suggests a variety of progress monitoring tools as informal and formal assessments as well as guidance for teachers to determine the best frequency for assessing student progress. For example, the TPRI link suggests that BOY needs to be completed in Unit 1, MOY in Unit 3, and EOY in Unit 5. The materials advise assessing students at least three times a year to identify which students are not demonstrating progress. “Benchmark Assessment” recommends that grade 1 students should be assessed twice a year after Unit 3, and then again after Unit 6, as stated in the “Online Format Assessment.” The materials also offer suggestions to support more frequent monitoring of students demonstrating difficulty, in order to support instructional interventions and response to interventions. For example, if the class is not doing well in a skill or standard, the Know Your Reports User Guide directs the teacher: “Identify which lesson addresses such skill/standard, and allow for more instructional time for teaching.”

Evaluation for 6.1
Materials include guidance, scaffolds, supports, and extensions that maximize student learning potential.

The material includes guidance, scaffolds, supports, and extensions that maximize student learning potential. Activities are provided for students who have not yet mastered the content as well as for students who have mastered the content. There are additional enrichment activities for all levels of learners in the material.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

In the beginning of each unit, lessons begin with a read-aloud, introduction of the concept, listening comprehension, phonological awareness, phonics, spelling, word study, shared reading, writing, and grammar. Each lesson allows an opportunity for students to interact with the content. Students of all levels have the opportunity to access and practice newly acquired content. The activity design meets students at the level they are in and engages them in constant practice in different ways to demonstrate mastery. 

The materials provide instructional support for students who are not performing at grade level. In the “Approaches” section, a drop-down option allows the teachers to choose support for “Level Reader,” “Phonological Awareness,” “Phonics,” and “High-Frequency Words.” Lessons provide strategies for intervention support, such as with the gradual release model of “I do, We do, You do.” Each section has subsections with explicit additional support for the teacher, such as through book suggestions, words, and strategies to use. Explicit step-by-step instructions guide the teacher on what to say and do for each of the lesson areas and provide support for struggling students. In Unit 2, the “Small Group-Differentiated Instruction” tab provides the teacher with the title of the book to use for the lesson. Material states: “Pida a los niños que abran el libro en la página del título. Lea el título y el nombre de la autora en voz alta y pida a los niños que los repitan.” The phonological awareness portion provides the teacher with an intervention book on phonological awareness to use with students; however, there is no specification as to which levels get what component.

The material to support students who have mastered grade-level content is included in the leveled readers and vocabulary activities. Some units include evidence of scaffolding and differentiation. In Unit 6, the teacher has access to a list of spelling words to use for the whole group. A second list that is “Nivel avanzado” provides more challenging words for students who have mastered the content. The materials include different components to guide the teacher in small group instruction, asking higher-order-thinking questions, and building on students’ responses to develop a deeper understanding of the text. In this unit, the online reading activity is the only resource to provide support for student enrichment.

Throughout the lessons, students of all levels receive some opportunity to access and practice new content. At the end of each unit, materials include some enrichment activities for all learners through the “Extend Your Learning” resource. In Unit 4, a writing lesson demonstrates scaffolding of student learning. Students work in pairs to create and draft a guide for their favorite game that explains how to play it in their own words. Students give oral instructions for game rules and illustrate steps to make instructions clear. Then, students exchange guides and take turns orally explaining the rules to other pairs of students. The teacher offers feedback and revises student guides as necessary.

Evaluation for 6.2
Materials provide a variety of instructional methods that appeal to a variety of learning interests and needs.

The materials provide a variety of instructional methods that appeal to a variety of learning interests and needs. Instructional approaches engage students in mastery of the content and support developmentally appropriate multimodal instructional strategies. Additionally, materials support multiple types of practices and flexible grouping and provide guidance and structures to achieve effective implementation.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include a variety of instructional approaches to engage students in mastery of the content and offer different instructional approaches for teaching literacy skills. Instructional approaches include explicit mini lessons, differentiated instruction, independence practice, shared writing, independent writing, differentiated workstations, research and inquiry projects, and digital activities. Teacher-directed activities connect to student-led learning; there are opportunities for students to engage in indirect learning as the teacher observes, guides, and confers. 

In Unit 1, the materials offer teacher guidance through a series of activities that explain, model, and allow for guided practice. The teacher uses nonfiction texts and photographs to teach text features. The teacher then models how to look for photographs, facts, and details. Students read and practice. Activities include one-on-one support for students and offer teacher guidance in selecting activities for small reading groups that are “Approaching Level,” “On Level,” and “Beyond Level.” The teacher uses “I do, We do, You do” to differentiate instruction and support students to build and blend syllables or make words. The activity allows struggling learners to use kinesthetic learning and grasp the concept of syllables. After the teacher models, the students practice.

Materials include an overview of resources that allow students to conduct research and present their work. In Unit 2, the teacher models how to research and guides students to research jobs in the community and their importance. Students have a variety of options to present their final products, including creating a short video of the person describing the job, creating a brochure with labeled drawings, or using an online drawing program to draw a picture and label the parts. Students complete the activity independently.

Unit 3 includes a variety of instructional approaches to support whole group and small group instruction. A variety of text material can be read; there is also audio for listening. For example, the texts “Changes with the Passage of Time” and “What Time Is It?” include audio, while “Turtle Investigation” offers a video to view. Material also includes support for differentiated groups and multimodal instructional strategies. Phonological awareness activities like Word-Building Cards support tactile learners, while “Chumbala, cachumbala” and “Oral Vocabulary Cards” support visual learners. For kinesthetic learners, teachers use “Collaborative Conversations.” Students can complete activities independently and digitally through “Workstation Activity Cards,” “Digital Activities,” “Word-Building Cards Online,” “Decodable Readers,” and “Practice Books.”

Unit 4 includes material that is developmentally appropriate and supports multimodal instructional strategies. Phonological awareness activities such as “Spelling Cards Online” support tactile learners, while “Reading Digitally,” via Times Kids’ “Teeth in Action,” supports visual learners. Materials offer options for students to work independently or with a partner and include the following: Workstation Activity Cards, Digital Activities, Word-Building Cards Online, Decodable Readers, and Practice Books. Activities in the materials offer direct instruction and encourage participation through questioning, collaboration, and kinesthetic learning. For instance, students learn about how things are built. The class creates an “Essential Question Chart.” The teacher then discusses the theme “¡A construir!” and students share information about buildings or other structures that they like or know about. In addition, resources support small group instruction and include differentiated leveled readers, decodable readers, and genre passages. 

In Unit 5, materials provide teachers with specific opportunities for scaffolding in both shared and guided reading practice. In small groups, the teacher guides students to read with intonation. The teacher demonstrates how to use appropriate intonation and exclamation. The teacher rereads, and students echo read. Students work in partners and take turns rereading the passage aloud. In another example, the teacher introduces prepositions, and students work in pairs to orally generate sentences. The teacher then reviews shared writing for prepositions, and students complete sentences independently. Unit 5 also includes an activity for students to practice fluency. Students work with a partner and take turns reading a story aloud. As one partner reads, the other records the time. Students switch roles and repeat. 

In a Unit 6 grammar lesson, the teacher models how to combine two sentences into a longer one using words such as y, pero, mientras, porque, durante, and que. Students work in partners to practice. Each student writes two short simple sentences, and partners combine them into one compound sentence.

Evaluation for 6.3
Materials include supports for English Learners (ELs) to meet grade-level learning expectations.

The materials do not include support for English Learners (ELs) to meet grade-level learning expectations, and they do not include accommodations for linguistics commensurate with various levels of English language proficiency. In addition, materials do not encourage strategic use of students’ primary language to develop linguistic, affective, cognitive, and academic skills in the target language.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials are in Spanish and are dedicated to the development of literacy skills in the Spanish language. Units 1–6 support Spanish language acquisition through the use of videos, visuals, and high-quality texts in Spanish. However, there is no evidence that the materials provide accommodations for ELs with various levels of English proficiency. Also, materials do not encourage strategic use of students’ primary language as a means to develop linguistic, affective, cognitive, and academic skills in English. The goal is to develop literacy skills in the Spanish language. 

Evaluation for 7.1
Materials include year-long plans with practice and review opportunities that support instruction.

The materials include a cohesive, year-long plan to build students’ concept development and consider how to vertically align instruction that builds year to year. Also, materials provide spiraled reviews and practice of knowledge and skills in all domains throughout the span of the curriculum.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials outline experiences that follow logical sequences and allow for depth and focus. Experiences cover content areas and allow students to spend sustained time with specific literacy skills. For example, on page 61 of the “Professional Development” “Suggested Lesson Plans and Pacing Guide,” materials suggest teachers allocate 120 minutes of daily instruction to literacy skills. The minutes are divided as follows: 5 minutes to introduce the concept, 10 minutes to read the literature “Big Book,” 20 minutes for “Word Work,” 10 minutes for the “Reading/Writing Companion,” 5 minutes of “Shared Writing,” and 5 minutes of “Grammar.” The remaining 65 minutes are split into 15 minutes of instruction for each level of small group. During this time, the teacher works with small groups, while the rest of the students are in workstations, independent practice, or working in partner group options; however, it is important to note that depending on the week and unit, there is a variation of minutes allocated to small groups.

In Unit 1, plans support efficient planning for teachers. In Week 2, the learning goals and focus of each unit are clearly identified; they are easy to find on the right side of the page, in the “Lesson Support” section. The objectives guide the lesson and provide support for the teacher to “create mental images to...deepen...understanding with adult assistance.” Guidance supports teacher understanding of concept development. Daily lessons identify the “Big Ideas,” support the focus of the “Weekly Concepts” and the “Essential Questions” in the unit, and provide teachers with explicit instruction each week. For example, Weekly Concepts in this unit include “En la escuela,” “Donde vivo,” “Nuestras Mascotas,” “Seamos amigos,” “A movernos,” and “A conocernos.” Activities and lessons support the developmental progression across the literacy continuum; this allows teachers and administrators to provide additional support to foster optimal learning. For instance, the “Implementation Timeline” divides activities into the categories of “Before Implementation,” “Initial Implementation,” and “Ongoing.” For example, a Before activity is to “communicate student learning goals with teachers.” An Initial activity encourages teachers to “review additional support materials on the PD page.” An Ongoing activity is to review reports in the “Data Dashboard.” Lessons include activities that support students’ motivation to read and develop “reading behaviors.” For instance, in Week 1, during a small group lesson, students select their own book and set a purpose for reading. Activities embed various methods of review and practice. For example, in Week 2, students use manipulatives to complete a grammar lesson on word order. 

Units 2 and 3 offer lesson activities that support students’ motivation to read and develop reading behaviors. In Unit 2, Week 1, during a small group lesson, students use text evidence to answer questions and review and practice specific literacy skills. Students practice the skill of speaking when completing sentences and when working in pairs. Then, in Unit 3, Week 1, students practice the same skill when they read together with the teacher. Materials in both units include a clear content plan for instruction. Activities are connected within each unit and the introduction of new concepts builds upon prior knowledge. The content plan offers a visual “Organizador semanal,” and each week includes “Content,” “Standards,” and “Compiled Calendar.” Guidance supports teacher understanding of concept development. Daily lessons identify the “Big Idea,” which is explicitly taught to students each week. For example, Unit 2 offers the weekly concepts “Trabajos en la ciudad,” “Edificios por todos lados,” “Una comunidad en la naturaleza,” “¡Ayudemos!” “Sigue el mapa,” and “Nuestra comunidad.” Unit 3 has the weekly concepts “¿Qué hora es?” “¡Mira cómo crece!” “Cuentos en el tiempo” “Antes y ahora,” “De granja a la mesa,” and “Cambios con el paso del tiempo.” Unit 3 also includes activities that support students’ motivation to read and develop reading behaviors. For instance, in Week 1, during a small group lesson, students make predictions while reading the leveled reader ¡Arriba, Rosa! Materials not only identify the main idea and the weekly concepts, but also provide bulletproof definitions and examples. In the Week 3 shared reading lesson, the concept is “Cuentos en el tiempo.” In this lesson, the teacher explains to students that they will learn about folktales. The teacher guides a conversation with the students and uses visuals like a video of a conversation to provide support for the initial question “¿Qué es un cuento folclórico?” Activities support repeated opportunities to learn and practice using knowledge and skills in all domains. In Week 3, student activities support the skill of “Identificar y asociar sonidos con letras individuales,” which is embedded through Word Work, Phonics, Shared Reading, “Structural Analysis,” “Spelling,” “High-Frequency Words,” and work in small groups.

Units 4 and 5 incorporate activities and lessons that support developmental progression across the literacy continuum and allow teachers and administrators to offer the support needed to foster optimal development and learning. A vertical alignment chart shows how activities align, both directly and indirectly, to skills, knowledge, and behaviors outlined for students in K–2, grade 3, and above. Activities support students’ motivation to read and develop reading behaviors. In Week 1, during small groups, students use a diagram to sequence events and make predictions while reading the leveled reader La trompa del elefante. Both Units 4 and 5 incorporate guidance to support teacher understanding of concept development. Daily lessons identify the Big Idea, which is explicitly taught to students each week. Unit 4 has the Weekly Concepts “Características de los animales,” “Los animales ayudan,” “En la naturaleza,” “¡Insectos!” “Trabajos con animales,” and “Animales por todas partes.” Unit 5 has the Weekly Concepts “Se ve, se clasifica,” “Arriba en el cielo,” “Grandes invenciones”, “Los sonidos nos rodean,” “¡A construir!” and “Cómo funciona.” Activities also embed various methods of review and practice. For example, in a Week 1 whole group lesson on grammar, students use their Reading/Writing Companion to practice writing sentences using the conjunctions entonces and porque.

Evaluation for 7.2
Materials include implementation support for teachers and administrators.

The materials include implementation support for teachers and administrators and are accompanied by an SLAR TEKS-aligned scope and sequence outlining the essential knowledge and skills that are taught in the program, the order in which they are presented, and how knowledge and skills build and connect across grade levels. Materials also offer support to help teachers implement the materials as intended. Materials include resources and guidance to help administrators support teachers in implementing the materials and provide a school year’s worth of instruction with realistic pacing guidance and routines.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials include a scope and sequence for instruction that demonstrates a clear alignment to the appropriate grade-level SLAR TEKS and aligns the sequence of instruction towards end-of-year outcomes. The scope and sequence outlines the materials’ focus; instructional plans support students at different levels of knowledge while also building across grade levels. Pacing guides and year-long plans showcase lessons and activities to implement throughout the full year. The “Teacher’s Guide” and online resources include organized charts shown in the “General Course Plan.” The Course Plan contains a scope and sequence that delineates which knowledge and skills are introduced and reviewed in each unit. It outlines “Read-Alouds,” “Shared Reading,” “Comprehension,” “Phonological Awareness,” “Phonics,” “High-Frequency Words,” and “Writing.” The materials give an overview of teacher support and a description of each resource. The “User Guide for Maravillas” includes a table of contents, listing resources such as “Teach Your Way,” “Resources,” “Equity and Access,” “Social Emotional Learning,” and “Writing.” Feedback templates assist administrators in providing effective feedback to classroom teachers. The templates align to the publisher’s “Coaching Guide.” The guides outline the correlations between Wonders and T-TESS at general and specific levels and emphasize how the fidelity of implementation is consistent with accomplished and distinguished performance. Materials also provide guidance for evaluating and supporting the classroom environment; examples are found in the “Implementation Timeline.”

In Unit 1, guidance supports teachers’ understanding of the progression of literacy skills across a specific grade level. For example, for phonics, materials teach the letter m in Unit 1; as the course progresses, the rest of letters appear in the order l, s, d, v, b, rr, r, j, c, q, k, ch, ll, and w. There is also a comprehensive list for preparation. For example, for writing, Weeks 2–5 use the texts “Sorpresa en la ciudad” and “Caminata en familia,” as well as additional books and resources to support instruction. Resources include the “Classroom Library Trade Books,” “Genre Read-Aloud Anthology,” and “Self-Selected Texts” from “Classroom Resources” and the “Leveled Reader Library.” In Week 3, the “Teacher’s Guide” provides the topic and outlines the lesson for “Porque es esencial una mascota?” The outline includes the components of the day: “Oral Vocabulary,” “Word Work,” “Comprehension Writing,” and “Grammar.” Tools support teachers in navigating the resources. For example, in “Carpeta de recursos,” the teacher navigates the content by using subtitles, the search tool, materials in digital presentation, and class materials. Most resources include tabbed pages, are color-coded, and identify the content page. Materials include a variety of classroom resources commonly used to support content learning. For instance, in Unit 1, materials offer letter and sound cards, such as “High-Frequency Word Cards” and “Visual Vocabulary Cards,” to support development of writing skills, spelling, and handwriting.

In Unit 2, materials include classroom resources to implement and use throughout the learning centers. “Taller de palabras” includes activities that relate to letters and sounds. For example, during a whole group phonics lesson in Week 3, students practice writing B and V. The following day, students use the “Word-Building Cards,” and the teacher guides them to blend and form syllables. Learning center activities are found in “Tarjetas de actividades escritura” and “Tarjetas de actividades.” The materials contain a visual overview of skills. For example, the “Organizador semanal” supports the teacher in planning for the whole group and differentiating instruction. There are also instructions to extend whole group lessons. In Week 4, materials guide the teacher to complete a lesson in comprehension for the “Approaching” level. In this lesson, the teacher reviews the concepts of environment, characters, and events for the whole group, then reads “Los amigos del árbol.” To provide differentiated support, during small groups, the teacher uses the “Las libélulas,” for “On Level,” and “¡Fabuloso!” for “Beyond Level.”

Materials in Units 4, 5, and 6 include instructional strategies and learning experiences that support students learning at different levels of knowledge. Each unit contains teacher instructions to support all three levels of small groups. In an Approaching Level small group lesson in Unit 5, Week 1, students work on phonological awareness. The teacher provides oral intervention to allow students to recognize and identify the sounds s, c, z, and x. For the On Level small groups lesson, students participate in writing and use the “Tableros de fonética y fotografía.” For the Beyond Level small groups, activities no longer focus on phonemic awareness and instead support other skills such as vocabulary and reading. In addition, materials provide guidance to support teachers’ understanding of the progression of literacy skills across specific grade levels. For example, for phonics, the combinations of cl, tr, and cr are introduced in Unit 4. Unit 5 presents the letters and sounds for z, c, x, the diphthongs, tr, and gue and gui. Unit 6 teaches words with bl, br, pl, gl, pr, gr, and x.

Evaluation for 7.3
Materials provide implementation guidance to meet variability in programmatic design and scheduling considerations.

The materials provide implementation guidance to meet variability in programmatic design and scheduling considerations as well as strategic implementation without disrupting the sequence of content that must be taught in a specific order following a developmental progression. In addition, materials are designed in a way that allows LEAs the ability to incorporate the curriculum into district, campus, and teacher programmatic design and scheduling considerations.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

The materials are explicit about the order in which foundational literacy skills are taught and align with the progress of the learning content. The “User’s Guide” states: “Print and phonological awareness are strong predictors of reading success.” “Phonological/phonemic awareness is a key for word works.” Instruction for phonics is explicit and is embedded daily through routines such as word work, reading, and writing. The materials provide guidance on how to sequence content and the specific order in which it must be taught, following a development progression. Within the daily “Word Work” lessons, phonological and phonemic awareness follows the routines of sentence segmentation, rhyme, syllable segmentation, and onset rhyme. The “Instructional Routines” resource also offers lessons to support phoneme categorization, blending, deletion, substitution, addition, and reversal. 

The program design can be adjusted within district curriculum frameworks. Within the User’s Guide, “Choose Your Approach” allows the teacher to select elements that work best in their classroom and framework. The publisher provides digital resources for instructional approaches and frameworks that can be customized by the teacher. Students can “Read to Self,” “Read with a Partner,” and “Listen to Reading” as well as engage in Word Work and Writing. A suggested daily scope and sequence for literacy lessons contains 120 minutes of instruction. Materials are clearly defined, with the flexibility to align to the district scope and sequence. For example, the publisher allocates 65 minutes specifically for small group instruction. 

Materials also include lesson preparation and internalization that is customizable for individual teachers. In the “Teach It Your Way” section, a series of templates allows the teacher to organize mini-lessons and small groups as well as to use the “Daily 5” model and “Blended Learning Station Rotation.” Instruction to teach spelling sounds follows a sequence that supports the meaningful acquisition of skills. For phonics and word recognition, the User’s Guide instructs the teacher to first begin lessons with the primary sounds of each consonant, then progress to the five vowels, then digraphs, then word teams. After students are able to identify the similarities between words, they move on to decoding regularly spelled words and using syllables and morphology to read words in context. For example, in Unit 1, Week 1, the letter m is taught through materials that support editing student writing, align with grade-level expectations, and support the continuum for learning spelling rules. During a shared reading lesson, students read the story “Mi escuela” and take notes by writing the letter m in “Mi libro de lectura y escritura.” By Unit 6, Week 5, lessons have progressed and now focus on the last letter sound and spelling: the letter x. After the shared reading of “Gracias por la Cosecha,” students take notes, write the letter x, or draw something from the story.

Evaluation for 7.4
Materials provide guidance on fostering connections between home and school.

The materials provide guidance on fostering connections between home and school and support development of strong relationships between teachers and families. The materials also specify activities for use at home to support students’ learning and development.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Units 1 and 2 incorporate suggestions and activities for how parents can help support students’ foundational literacy skills at home. Resources provide specific at-home activities that support students’ learning and development and offer online access to resources parents can use easily at home with common electronic devices. Each unit includes the “School to Home Family Newsletter,” which includes a list of learning goals and activities that relate to student outcomes. The newsletter offers information on what the students are learning that week, includes suggestions on how parents can help at home, and provides a section for teachers to manage student profiles and add messages for students. The newsletter also includes resources such as the “Family Time Mini-Guide” to support home viewing of the “Sesame Workshop videos” and provides guidance to engage in, practice, and review “Rules and Routines for Social Emotional Learning.” For instance, Unit 1 includes weekly workshop videos like “Big Feelings” and “It’s Picture Day,” and Unit 2 has the video “Doggy Walk Dilemma.” Additionally, materials in both units include explicit instruction and systematic and multisensory activities for parents to practice new literacy skills (e.g., word work, spelling, and comprehension) at home. In Unit 1, Week 1, activities guide parents (in Spanish) to help children “use the words to make up a question and an answer about school” to support language and speaking exercises with words. To provide support for spelling and phonics, the Week 3 newsletter prompts parents to “say a spelling word aloud and have their child spell it.” The Unit 2, Week 1 newsletter provides a comprehension activity that encourages parents to “help children read sentences about pictures.”

In Units 3 and 4, materials support the development of strong relationships between teachers and families and offer activities that help develop foundational literacy skills for parents to connect to the classroom. The School to Home Family Newsletter provides learning goals for the week, word work activities, and comprehension strategies for parents to provide additional support at home. The materials include tips and examples of exemplary family engagement practices and include resources to engage families through a powerful home-school partnership that strengthens social-emotional learning skills. For instance, materials provide enriching media, support hands-on learning experiences each week, and contain the Family Time Mini-Guide to support home viewing of the Sesame Workshop videos. Both units offer specific at-home activities that support students’ learning and development and offer online access to resources parents can use easily at home with common electronic devices. The students’ “Reading/Writing Companion” provides an electronic version of resources, includes activities, and can be assigned online. The resources provide tips for parents to practice new literacy skills at home in an explicit, systematic, and multisensory manner. In Unit 4, Week 4, the newsletter suggests a variety of activities to support spelling, phonics, and comprehension. The “Sentence Clues” activity prompts parents to help their child use words with cr, like crema and escritor, and practice making up sentences about insects. In another activity, parents guide their child to name a word that rhymes with each of the spelling words. Then, to support comprehension, after reading with parents, the child performs a short skit. Children answer questions to show the point of view of the characters. Activities in newsletters use items that are typically available in the home and do not require parents to buy anything or have special training. For instance, materials are reproducible and incorporate review games, flashcards, matching card games, or nightly reader books. There are no materials, ideas, or resources that offer meaningful activities for teachers and schools to use when planning a “Parent Night.” Planning effective parent conferences to report student progress is not supported.

Units 5 and 6 provide support to develop and foster strong relationships between teachers and families and include recommendations for activities to support foundational literacy skills for parents to connect to the classroom. Each unit’s School to Home Family Newsletter is available in Spanish and includes a list of learning goals. For example, in Unit 5, the newsletter states: “This week our class will be focusing on what people can see in the sky. We will discuss and name objects in the daytime sky and the nighttime sky.” Newsletter activities relate to student outcomes, offer information on what the students are learning that week, and provide suggestions on how parents can help at home. For instance, to practice the skill of reading at home, students take home the story “El festejo” and read it with their parents. Unit 6 offers a similar activity to support reading at home, but with the story “Los entrenadores.” The materials suggest activities to support phonics: In the Unit 5 newsletter, the activity “Words to Know: Shades of Meaning” guides parents to help their child use words to make up a story about a picture of a cat and the Moon. There are directions (in Spanish) for parents to follow, such as “Write the sentences down and read them aloud with your child.” For Unit 6, materials guide parents through a spelling/phonics activity that incorporates variant vowel spellings of words with br. Parents listen to their child read words like brazo and timbre aloud and then write the words they remember.

Evaluation for 7.5
The visual design of student and teacher materials (whether in print or digital) is neither distracting nor chaotic.

The materials include appropriate use of white space and design that supports and does not distract from student learning. Pictures and graphics are also supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting.

Evidence includes but is not limited to:

Units 1 and 2 include materials that are well organized, accessible, and easy to navigate when locating important information for lesson planning. The “Teacher’s Guide” is color-coded and tabbed to easily identify content such as Reading and Language Arts. In Unit 1, the first 33 pages of content allow teachers to locate important information for lesson planning and implementation; after page 35, lessons are organized as they will be implemented every day. Units contain weekly resources, students’ outcomes, and the content of each day, including a list of quality questions for lessons. At the beginning of each week, the “Concepto semanal” and “Pregunta esencial” appear in the same place and are consistent throughout the materials, including in the “Student Edition.” For instance, in Unit 1, Week 1, the “Weekly Concept” is “En la escuela,” and the “Essential Question” is “¿Qué haces en tu escuela?” In Unit 2, Week 1, the Weekly Concept is “Trabajos en la cuidad” and the Essential Question is “¿Qué trabajos se necesitan en una comunidad?” “Recursos de la lección” offers tables, charts, and visuals that are clear, concise, and not distracting; they are available in electronic versions. The units have a balance of text resources for read-alouds and shared readings. Unit 1 offers an interactive read-aloud, anchor texts, and “Big Books” with simple text and colorful pictures, like the La vaca estudiosa, the poem “Los sentidos,” and the shared read “Mi escuela.” Unit 2 provides resources like the Big Books El vecindario de Quinito and Bomberos en acción as well as “Paseo por la comunidad” for shared reading. The student materials are appropriately designed and state the intent clearly. Materials like the “Carteles de enseñanza” provide quality lesson support through “Picture Cards,” “Alphabet Cards,” and “Vocabulary Cards,” which integrate illustrations and photographs and provide sound-image associations that allow for letter connections. For example, the Alphabet Cards connect letters to letter sounds and include the letter and picture to support the sounds. The Vocabulary Cards are found in the “Tarjetas de fotos” resource and offer clear and authentic pictures to help define and support new words students are learning.

Materials in Unit 3 are well organized, easy to navigate, and contain engaging resources that support the topic of each week, the text set, whole groups, mini lessons, and small groups. Each week, materials provide student outcomes; resources; and skills to teach during word work, reading, writing, and workstations. Materials also provide suggestions for lesson plans and offer specific guidance and implementation for daily use. The online version of the Teacher’s Guide offers guidance for whole group and small group lessons as well as skills to cover. All resources are available electronically; they include tables, charts, and visuals that are clear, concise, and not distracting. Pictures and graphics are supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting; materials offer tips and suggestions in separate boxes using different color fonts. The Teacher’s Guide also includes the day, skill, and objectives to cover; suggested time; and clear directions for implementation. The student materials are appropriately designed and clearly state the intent. They are well organized, follow the same structure, and are easy to navigate. The materials contain engaging pictures that are not too distracting. Online student materials are very engaging and include pictures and graphics that are supportive of student learning and engagement without being visually distracting. To showcase letter-sound connections, picture cards include visually clear pictures that match up to plainly marked letter connections on a white background. The materials provide picture cards for phonics that include the letter in uppercase and lowercase, the syllables with that letter, and a picture with a label that represents that sound. The materials also provide “Word-Building Cards” and “Sound-Spelling Cards.” For example, to teach the sound for ll, the teacher uses the cards and the word llave to explain that when the letter l appears twice in a row, it forms the ll blend, and represents the /y/ sound. The teacher says (in Spanish): “This card shows a key. The word llave begins with /y/. To write the /y/ sound, we use the ll blend.” The teacher repeats the activity with the w card to explain that the letter w can also represent the /u/ sound. The unit also offers text resources, such as leveled readers for small groups, decodable readers, and picture books like Peces en equipo. The “Literature Anthology” provides the Big Book Animales en equipo; the “Reading/Writing Companion” contains “La vida en la colmena.”

Units 5 and 6 include well-organized materials that are accessible and easy to navigate when locating important information for lesson planning and implementation. The Teacher’s Guide makes it easy for the teacher to find questions to engage students in partner conversations and collaborations or general questions to ask during whole group reading. The section labeled “Collaborative Conversations” is color-coded in green purposely to match the green box that indicates the partner and conversation activities. Materials color-coded in blue lettering indicate a specific skill to teach, like a reading strategy or listening comprehension. Teacher anchor charts use orange font, making it easy for the teacher to see. Digital resources are also easily located: They appear in a box in the middle of the page with the title “Digital Resources.” In addition, materials include authentic pictures in color for “Visual Vocabulary Cards,” Sound-Spelling Cards, and “Photo Cards.” Each unit contains a set of Visual Vocabulary Cards to support and increase students’ oral vocabulary; they contain clear and authentic pictures. Sound-Spelling Cards offer letters and syllables for the week, contain one picture that corresponds to the letters, and are easily identifiable by students. For example, in Unit 5, Visual Vocabulary Cards show simple pictures of words students need to learn. To teach the word entero and increase students’ oral vocabulary, teachers use a card that shows a picture of a boy holding an empty plate. Teachers give the students the definition “The boy ate the whole sandwich, he was hungry.” In Unit 6, materials include “Interactive Read-Aloud Cards” with vibrant pictures from the text “Los hijos de Anansi.” After the shared reading, students use the cards as visuals to retell the story and make connections to the text. Materials include authentic pictures in vibrant colors. In Unit 6, the text “Un dia con Rosina” shows pictures of a girl and other children similar in age to a first-grade student. Pictures are big and use large fonts, which is appropriate for students to be able to read. Pictures and graphics in the Reading/Writing Companion are also clear; the companion includes simple questions and allows plenty of space for the students to answer or draw. Graphic organizers offer ample white space for the students to write words found in the text and draw images that help them visualize.