The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the criteria for anchor texts (including read aloud texts in K-2 and shared reading texts in Grade 2 used to build knowledge and vocabulary) are of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading/listening and consider a range of student interests.

Throughout the Grade 2 materials, the anchor texts included are all published or of publishable quality.  Each module contains three weeks of instruction focused around a text set, which consists of about eight texts centered around the module topic. Anchor texts are of various genres. They contain colorful photographs and/or vibrant illustrations, which match the words in the texts. The texts contain rich academic vocabulary and help students analyze language and author’s craft. Texts are engaging and often relatable in content. All the texts are appropriate for Grade 2 students. 

Examples of anchor texts that are of publishable quality and worth of especially careful reading and listening and consider a range of student interests include: 

• In Module 1, students listen to Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, which is a published fantasy text with a positive message about recognizing one’s own special qualities. There is figurative language, descriptive words, and familiar, conversational language. The text also includes experiences that are common to most readers. The illustrations are colorful, humorous, and supportive in comprehension. 
• In Module 4, students listen to Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems, which is a published fictional text by New York Times Bestselling author. This text puts a spin on the classic tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 
• In Module 5, students listen to Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds, which is a published fantasy text with illustrations by a New York Times bestselling illustrator. The theme is subtle, but the illustrations support the students’ comprehension.
• In Module 6, students listen to Wild Weather: Science Adventures with Sonny the Origami Bird by Thomas Kingsley Troupe, which is a published narrative nonfiction text with photographs, diagrams, and sidebars. The book contains full-bled illustrations and the main character is an origami bird who meets a real duck. The book contains a lot of academic vocabulary related to weather and helps build knowledge.
• In Module 7, students listen to Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle, which is a published poetry book about a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who sets out to do something only boys on her island can do. The book contains descriptive vocabulary that appeals to the senses and contains vivid and powerful images. The poems use images, sounds, and rhythm to express feelings.
• In Module 8, students listen to From Seed to Pine Tree by Suzanne Slade, which is a published informational text supported by illustrations and graphic features that depict the life cycle of a pine tree. 
• In Module 9, students listen to The Long, Long Journey by Sandra Markle, which is a published informational text with fairly complex language and sentence structures. Maps and images help support students’ understanding of the migration of birds. It uses time-order words and a chronological text structure. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

Throughout the Grade 2 materials there is a mix of informational and literary texts throughout each module. Each module has a relatively equal balance of literary and informational texts, including realistic fiction texts, informational articles, poetry, folktales, fairy tales, drama, narrative nonfiction, opinion pieces, procedural texts, fantasy, and biographies. There are also infographics, photo essays, songs, and videos. 

Specific examples of literary texts in the program include:

• Module 1: Students listen to We are Super Citizens (no author), which is a personal narrative where a boy shares his experiences raising a therapy dog. 
• Module 2: Students listen to The Puddle Puzzle by Ellen Weiss, which is a drama about discovering our world. 
• Module 3:  Students listen to Pepita and the Bully by Ofelia Dumas Lachtman, which is a realistic fiction story about bullying. 
• Module 4: Students listen to A Perfect Season for Dreaming by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, which is a fantasy text about a grandfather who shares stories with his granddaughter about his vivid dreams. 
• Module 5: Students listen to Seed by Seed by Esmé Raji Codell, which is a legend about Johnny Appleseed Chapman. 
• Module 6: Students listen to "Cloudette" by Tom Lichtenheld, which is a fantasy story about weather. 
• Module 7: Students listen to "Drum Dream Girl" by Margarita Engle, which is a poem about perseverance. 
• Module 8: Students listen to "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola, which is a legend about an American Indian boy who follows his dreams of becoming an artist. 
• Module 9: Students listen to "At Home in the Wild" (no author), which is a poem and song about habitats and creatures that live in them. 
• Module 10: Students listen to Where on Earth is my Bagel? by Frances Park and Ginger Park, which is a realistic fiction text about world cultures. 

Specific examples of informational texts in the program include:

• Module 1: Students watch the video “Get Involved: Be Awesome” (no author), which is a persuasive piece about how to be a super citizen. 
• Module 2: Students listen to The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown, which is a narrative nonfiction text about discovering our world. 
• Module 3:  Students listen to Gingerbread for Liberty! by Mara Rockliff, which is a biography about heroism. 
• Module 4: Students listen to How to Read a Story by Kate Messner, which is an informational text about how to become a reader. 
• Module 5: Students listen to "What’s Good to Read? Book Reviews for Kids by Kids!" (no author), which is an opinion article about books Ruthie Miller likes to read and the reasons why others should read them too. 
• Module 6: Students listen to Get Ready for Weather by Lucy Jones, which is an informational text that teaches students how to be prepared for different kinds of weather. 
• Module 7: Students listen to How to Make a Timeline by Boyd. N. Giffin, which is a procedural text about making a timeline.
• Module 8: Students listen to From Seed to Pine Tree by Suzanne Slade, which is an informational text about the life cycle of a pine tree. 
• Module 9: Students listen to "The Best Habitat for Me!" (no author), which is an opinion essay about what makes a good habitat as told from the red panda’s point of view. 
• Module 10: Students listen to Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, which is an autobiography about Troy Andrews' journey to becoming a musician in New Orleans. 
• Module 11: Students listen to I am Helen Keller by Brad Meltzer, which is a biography about how Helen Keller did not allow difficulties in her life to stop her from making and achieving her goals. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that texts (including read-aloud texts and some shared reading texts used to build knowledge and vocabulary) have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade level according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and a relationship to their associated student task. Read-aloud texts at K-2 are above the complexity levels of what most students can read independently. 

The texts within the Grade 2 materials are appropriate for students based on their quantitative measure, qualitative measure, and reader and task. While the majority of the texts are read-alouds in Grade 2, these texts are above what students can read independently, which is appropriate for read-alouds at this level. Shared reading texts have a lower Lexile measure and lower qualitative features.  All texts are within the appropriate range for their purpose and the qualitative measures range from slightly complex to very complex. 

Examples of appropriately complex texts in the Grade 2 materials include:

• In Module 2, Lessons 3-4, students listen to Many Kinds of Matter by Jennifer Boothroyd, which has a Lexile measure of 530 and is considered moderately complex. The text has features that enhance the reader’s understanding of the text and graphics that mostly supplement understanding. 
• In Module 4, Lesson 9, students listen to Hollywood Chicken by Lisa Fleming, which has a Lexile measure of 600 and is considered very complex. The text contains some figurative language and some experiences that may be unfamiliar to readers. 
• In Module 5, Lessons 12-13, students listen to Who Are Government Leaders? by Jennifer Boothroyd, which has a Lexile measure of 580 and is considered moderately complex. This shared read has informational text details about our country, states, and city leaders. The text contains discipline-specific vocabulary that may be new to readers and it relies on a moderate level of subject - matter knowledge. Photographs and captions provide supporting information. 
• In Module 6, Lessons 7-8, students listen to Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld, which has a Lexile measure of 590 and is considered moderately complex. The text includes weather vocabulary, but the graphics and story support students’ understanding.
• In Module 7, Lesson 12, students listen to "Drum Dream Girl" by Margarita Engle, which does not have a Lexile measure because it is a poem but is considered very complex. This shared reading text contains fairly complex, abstract language and a complex story structure. Teachers provide scaffolding to help create mental images to deepen student understanding.
• In Module 8, Lesson 12, students listen to Don’t Touch Me! by Elizabeth Preston, which as a Lexile measure of 600 and is considered moderately complex. The text has an implied purpose that is easy to identify and vocabulary that is mostly familiar. 
• In Module 9, Lesson 1, students listen to "The Best Habitat for Me" (no author), which has a Lexile measure of 620 and is considered moderately complex. This is a shared reading, opinion essay, that provides students with an opportunity to explore opinions with supporting evidence. The text uses mostly simple and compound sentence structures and requires some common practice knowledge for understanding.
• In Module 10, Lessons 3-4, students listen to Where on Earth is my Bagel? by Frances Park and Ginger Park, which has a Lexile measure of 590 and is considered moderately complex. This text has some cultural elements and more complex language. The illustrations are engaging and the theme is relevant to students. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials supporting students’ literacy skills (comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade-level skills (leveled readers and series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels). 

Throughout the year students are exposed to increasingly complex texts that help them achieve grade-level independence. Students listen to and read Big Books, Read Aloud books, and texts from the myBook to achieve grade-level independence. Read Aloud Books are more complex and sophisticated texts that build children’s knowledge, academic vocabulary, and comprehension skills and strategies. Big Books help to build knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension, while also supporting print concepts. Texts in the myBook are used for shared reading and independent reading. 

In the beginning of the year, myBooks in Grade 2 are considered 43% slightly complex, 60% moderately complex, and 7% very complex. At the end of the year, 0% of the texts are considered slightly complex, 75% are considered moderately complex, and 25% are very complex. The Lexile levels range at the beginning of the year from 420-590, while at the end of the year Lexile levels range from 460-700. 

Skills also increase in complexity throughout the year to promote independence. Examples of this include:

• In Module 2, Lesson 3, students discuss inferences and use pictures for clues in the text Many Kinds of Matter by Jennifer Boothroyd. At the end of the year, in Module 10, Lesson 3, students listen to Where on Earth is my Bagel? by Frances Park and Ginger Park, which requires students to use events in the story to make inferences about the character. 
• In Grade 2, students begin using evidence to answer questions. In Module 1, Lesson 14, students watch the video, “Get Involved: Be Awesome!” and use evidence to identify the topic. Then in Module 5, students listen to Great Leaders (no author) and locate the part of the essay that tells about rights for women.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that anchor texts (including read-aloud texts in K-2) and the series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis.

The publisher provides a text complexity analysis for the Grade 2 materials that includes quantitative information, qualitative information, and reader and task considerations. The text analysis for all of the anchor texts are found in the Preview Lesson Texts section of each module. 

Examples of information provided in this text complexity analysis include:

• In Module 2, Week 1, students read Many Kinds of Matter by Jennifer Boothroyd during Lessons 3 and 4. The Preview Lesson Texts page states that this text was selected because “Children will regularly encounter nonfiction writing in textbooks, on the Internet, and through other media. In this informational text about matter, children will read about the three states of matter and how matter can change.” The quantitative measure is a Lexile measure of 530 and the overall complexity is moderately complex. The publisher explains that “text features enhance the reader’s understanding of the text, and the graphics mostly supplement understanding.”
• In Module 7, Week 3, students read "Drum Dream Girl" by Margarita Engle in Lessons 12 and 13. According to the publisher, this text was selected because, “Poetry is a way for children to explore the use of descriptive language to tell a story. Children will read about a Chinese-African-Cuban young girl who sets out to do something only boys on her island could do.” Because it is a poem, a Lexile measure is not provided, but it is given a Guided Reading Level of L with a very complex qualitative measure. The publisher explains that the text contains some fairly complex, abstract language, and a complex story structure. 
• In Module 8, Week 2, students read Jackie and the Beanstalk by Lori Mortensen in Lessons 9 and 10. The Lexile measure is 660 and the text is considered very complex because the graphics extend meaning of the text, and it contains some complex language. The text is used to teach students' lessons about honesty. Students learn how to identify features of fairy tales and describe and analyze internal and external character traits. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that support materials for the core text(s) provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to support their reading at grade level by the end of the school year. 

Grade 2 materials include a range and volume of opportunities throughout the day for students to engage with texts. Students read a variety of books during whole-group read alouds, small-group instruction, and independent reading. In Grade 2, materials include Read Aloud Trade Books, leveled readers, independent choice books, a student reader, Start Right Readers (decodable texts), and foundational skills practice books. Students engage with texts during whole-group instruction, small-group and guided reading instruction, and independent work. Texts are also read during Writing Workshop as a mentor text. Students and teachers often read books multiple times for different purposes, including getting a gist about the text, practicing a reading skill, having an academic discussion, or taking notes and writing about the text. 

Students in Grade 2 spend 15 to 20 minutes a day in whole-group time and then 45-60 minutes a day in small-group and independent reading time. During the small-group block, students complete collaborative work, teacher-led small-groups, and independent practice. Small-group instruction is based on student needs and can take the form of foundational skills small-group instruction, English language development, guided reading, or skills and strategies lessons.  Independent reading includes a “reading corner” literacy center in which students read for fluency with a partner, annotate the text, or complete a response journal. Grade 2 lessons include building fluency through Choral Reading, Partner Reading, and increasing students’ reading rate. Students also practice high-frequency words. 

Specific examples of how the range of text types, as well as volume of reading, helps students to achieve grade-level reading proficiency include:

• In Module 1, Lesson 2, students listen to Clark the Shark by Bruce Hall. After learning how to identify and describe the setting in a story, students complete it for the story. Then they complete the same activity with a just-right independent book. In this week, students watch a video, read or listen to a personal narrative, an informational text, and a fantasy all about how being a good citizen makes a difference to others. Additional options for students to interact with a book include fluency with a partner, annotating the text to practice the strategy, and using a response journal to draw or write about what they read.
• In Module 3, Week 2, students listen to and read a fantasy, an informational text, and a biography about solving problems. The fantasy is read aloud, while the other two are read with support in the myBook. During the read-aloud, students learn how to annotate and synthesize information to figure out the big idea of the text. During small-group time, the teacher can differentiate to further help students with completing that skill. Students practice the skills independently in an independent reading book. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 4, students read with the teacher The Contest by Byron Langdo. At times, the students chorally read and at other times, students read silently. In Week 1, students read and listen to an informational text, a fantasy, and a narrative nonfiction all about weather. There is also an online weather video presented to students. During this module, students use the Rigby Leveled Library and Leveled Readers, two Start Right Readers (decodable texts), and the Student Choice library.
• In Module 7, Week 1, students listen to a biography and then read another biography and an opinion essay on their own, but with support. In Lesson 2, students learn how chronological order is a text structure and students practice using it as a strategy with Miss Moore Thought Otherwise by Jan Pinborough. Students then apply the reading strategy to a self-selected book from the Student Choice Library. Additional small-group instruction takes place during the day with the Rigby Leveled Library and decodable text from the Start Right Reader.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-based, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

Throughout the year, the students answer text-dependent questions after hearing a variety of texts. Questions include both explicit and implicit questions that require students to engage directly with the text. Questions about the text are asked during and after the read-alouds as well as during small-group instruction with decodable texts. In addition, students are often asked to underline, circle, and otherwise annotate the text in their myBook to find the answers to the questions for decodable texts.

Specific examples of text-based questions students are asked throughout the program include:

• In Module 1, Lesson 11, after listening to Violet the Pilot by Steve Breen, students are asked, “What does Violet do on her way to the air show?" and "What do Violet’s actions tell you about her character?"
• In Module 2, Lesson 13, after listening to The Puddle Puzzle by Ellen Weiss, students are asked, “What is the purpose of the dialogue?”
• In Module 3, Lesson 2, while listening to Gingerbread for Liberty by Mara Rockliff, students are asked, “What does the baker mean when he says 'No empty bellies here! Not in my America.’”
• In Module 4, Lesson 9, after listening to Hollywood Chicken by Lisa Fleming, students are asked, “How much time has passed since the last diary entry?” and “What has happened to Lily’s acting career in that time?”
• In Module 5, Lesson 3, while listening to Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds, students are asked, “Why does Rafael think there is a problem with Maya’s go-cart on page 23?”
• In Module 6, Lesson 8, students listen to Rocky by Bryan Langdo and are asked, "Did Gail and Dad’s plan work?” and "How do you know?"
• In Module 7, Lesson 12, after listening to "Drum Dream Girl" by Margarita Engle, students answer, “How does the poet describe the timbales in this stanza?” and “How does this help you picture the timbales in your mind?”
• In Module 8, Lesson 6, students listen to The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola and are asked, “What does Little Gopher sometimes long to do?” and “What stops him from doing it?” Then after reading page 39, students are asked, “How do the People thank Little Gopher for bringing the sunset to Earth?”
• In Module 9, Lesson 3, while listening to The Long, Long Journey by Sandra Markle, students are asked, “How do the godwits know where to go?” and “How do they stay together during their long journey?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2  meet the expectation for materials containing sets of high-quality sequences of text-based questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding (as appropriate, may be drawing, dictating, writing, speaking, or a combination).

In each module in Grade 2, there is a choice of culminating tasks as well as a performance-based task. Each anchor text has lessons which include text-based questions and tasks involving all of the skills that lead towards the culminating task. All culminating tasks and performance tasks are rigorous and involve synthesizing the knowledge of the topic learned throughout the module. Most tasks involve some form of writing.

Examples of culminating tasks and performance-based assessments found within the modules include, but are not limited to:

• In Module 1, students can choose between creating a super citizen certification for a person who has made a difference and to tell a partner why that person was chosen or to write a letter to themselves to explain their plan for how they will be a good citizen this year. Teachers can also choose to have students complete the performance task where they write a short story about a good citizen using details from the texts to help support their ideas. Module questions and tasks that lead students to complete these culminating tasks include, in Lesson 9, when students discuss what they learned about good citizens after reading Being A  Good Citizen by Rachelle Kreisman and watching “Get Involved: Be Awesome!” and in Lesson 14, when students discuss how the video helps them understand what it means to be a super citizen.
• In Module 2, for the culminating task, students can choose to write five tips to help someone explore or make discoveries, using the texts for ideas, or students can draw or find pictures for each of the different kinds of matter and then make a collage with labels that describe the objects in the collage. The performance task is for students to “write to explain the difference between the three forms of matter. Include facts and details from the texts in the module to support your response.” Tasks and questions that lead to the end of module tasks include: After listening to Many Kinds of Matter by Jennifer Boothroyd, students write to explain how a snowman changes as it melts in Lesson 4. In Lesson 11, students write about their favorite type of rock from the story "If You Find a Rock" by Peggy Christian.
• In Module 3, students learn about how people work out disagreements and are given the choice of making up a song about what to do when a problem occurs or making a glossary of all the words in the texts that tell about solving problems. The performance task option is for students to explain how they would solve a problem with a friend who took a pencil without asking. Students use ideas from the texts to support their response. In Lesson 14, after reading Be a Hero! Work it Out! by Ruben Cooley, students turn and talk to discuss a time they made a mistake and how owning up to the mistake helped them understand what being a hero means. 
• In Module 5, students can choose to write interview questions for leaders in the texts, or students can write a group role-play conversation between the leaders that they read about using details from the texts to explain their ideas. The teacher can also assign the performance task, which requires students to choose two people from the module and write a short report that tells them some important things the people did. Lessons throughout the module prepare students to complete these tasks. An example is in Lesson 4 when students write and explain whether Captain Cat was a good leader in the short text, “Captain Cat Keeps her Cool” (no author). In Lesson 13, students turn to a partner and talk about Who Are Government Leaders? by Jennifer Boothroyd and answer questions such as “What did you learn about government leaders from reading this text?” and “Why is being a good listener an important part of being a government leader?”
• In Module 6, the culminating task options are to write their opinion about their favorite kind of weather using details from the texts, or students can pretend to be a weather reporter and choose one kind of weather to report about, using the texts to help them act out what they may see, feel, and hear. The performance task option is to “Write a story about a creature from another planet who experiences weather on Earth for the first time. Use details from the module texts in your response.” Questions and tasks that lead to the successful completion of these tasks include asking students to describe how the big storm in Claudette's neighborhood reminds them of a real storm after listening to Claudette by Tom Lichtenheld in Lesson 7. In Lesson 13, students hear, Whatever the Weather, a collection of poems, and then write their own poem about weather using descriptive details. 
• In Module 7, students learn about how experiences shape our lives and are given the option of writing six rules a writer should follow to write a great biography, or students can create a poster that shares a life lesson that they learned from one of the texts. The performance task option is to write a story about a meeting between two people in the texts from the module. The story includes facts and details about each person’s life and experiences. Students are given opportunities to complete tasks similar to these tasks in Lesson 6, when they reflect on how Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir were alike and different after reading The Camping Trip that Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and our National Parks by Barb Rosenstock. 
• In Module 9, students can choose between writing an imaginative story that tells what it would be like if the world was made up of an animal habitat from one of the texts, or students can write three trivia questions about the habitats that they read about and play a game with the group. The teacher can also assign the performance task which requires students to choose one animal from the module and write a short report that tells how that animal’s habitat helps the animal live. Questions and tasks that support students in these end of module assignments include: In Lesson 7, students turn and talk to compare the animal habitats after reading the texts, The Long, Long, Journey by Sandra Markle and Sea Otter Pups by Ruth Owens. In Lesson 9, students write about how plants and animals in a desert depend on each other after reading, “Life in a Desert Habitat” (no author). 
• In Module 10, the culminating task includes either writing an opinion about why it is important to learn about people and traditions from different parts of the word using details from the texts or making a collage about how people share their cultures with others and describing their picture. The performance task is to “Write a couple of paragraphs explaining what you learned about different people and different cultures from reading these selections.” Tasks and questions that lead to the successful completion of the end of module tasks include: In Lesson 3, students turn to a partner and talk after hearing Where on Earth is my Bagel? by Frances Park and Ginger Park to discuss how the characters in the story work together to solve the problem in the story. In Lesson 9, after hearing Goal! by Sean Taylor, students turn and talk to discuss why soccer is loved all over the world. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small-groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

Throughout the Grade 2 materials there are ample opportunities for students to engage in evidence-based discussions following a variety of protocols. Protocols include Turn-and-Talks between two students and Think-Pair-Shares for both small-group and whole-group instruction. There are also protocols for Share Chair for Writing Workshop for students to share their writing, sometimes about what they are reading. Teachers also use the PEER acronym for Dialogic Reading with Read-Aloud Books. Teachers are encouraged to use a Gradual Release Model and support discussions by encouraging students to use evidence from the text. 

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies book, there is an entire section on how to engage students in a discussion. Subtopics include aspects of a conversation, focusing on listening and speaking skills, and best practices for facilitating discussions. Teachers are also directed to use the Discussion Routine in the Teacher’s Guide in order to facilitate conversations about the texts. Part of this routine includes how to initiate a conversation, add details in a conversation, respond in a complete sentence, and stay on topic. 

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Book, Dialogic Reading with Read Aloud Books is discussed at length and teachers are taught to use the PEER acronym for discussions. This stands for:

• Prompt children to say something about the book.
• Evaluate the response.
• Expand on the response by rephrasing and adding to it.
• Repeat the prompt to check understanding and give children additional opportunities for using language.

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Book, best practices are included for Shared Reading, which outline not just how the teacher should read the text but ways to support students in their discussion of the text. This includes:

• Ask students to support their answers with evidence from the text.
• Prompt children to listen and respond to each other. 

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Book, the Turn-and-Talk Protocol includes the following steps:

1. Turn toward your partner.
2. Look your partner in the eye.
3. One partner talks while one partner listens.
4. Switch!

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Book, the Think-Pair-Share protocol includes the following steps:

1. Think (children think about the question)
2. Pair (share ideas with a partner)
3. Share (share with the whole group)

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies Book, Share Chair protocols include:

1. Present your work. 
2. Listen to your classmates. 
3. Teachers provide sentence starters to help children discuss their peer’s writing. 

For Collaborative Conversations, the Teacher's Guide provides an Anchor Chart to refer to. The rules include:

1. Listen with care.
2. Stick to the topic.
3. Answer questions with more than one word.
4. Use complete sentences.
5. Be respectful.

Some specific examples of students engaging in evidence-based discussions using the above protocols include:

• In Module 2, Lesson 9, students listen to the book Water Rolls, Water Rises by Pat Mora and then use the Turn-and-Talk routine to discuss mental images they made while listening to the story. 
• In Module 4, Lesson 9, after reading Hollywood Chicken by Lisa Fleming, students use the Turn-and-Talk routine to answer, “How do the places where Lily lives change the story?” and “What clues do you see in the pictures about her success?”
• In Module 6, before beginning the research project, students use a Think-Pair-Share to brainstorm research questions about extreme weather and ways to stay safe. Students use the texts The Story of Snow - The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Marc Cassino and John Nelson as well as Freddy the Frogcaster by Janice Dean, to help them brainstorm research questions. 
• In Module 9, Lesson 7, students listen to, Sea Otters by Ruth Owen and then Turn-and-Talk to answer questions such as, “Which details in the text help you figure out the topic and central idea?” and “Compare the animal habitats in Sea Otter Pups and The Long, Long Journey.”
• In Module 10, Lesson 6, after listening to May Day Around the World by Tori Teller, students Turn-and-Talk to make and confirm predictions about what they read. They also discuss the author’s purpose for writing the text.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading (or read aloud) and researching (shared projects) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

There are many opportunities throughout the Grade 2 materials for students to answer questions and ask follow-up questions. The Interactive Read Aloud sessions incorporate numerous opportunities for students to listen to their teacher read the text, listen to their peers answer questions, and speak about what they are thinking and have learned about the text.

Specific examples of opportunities for students to speak and listen to what they are reading through read-alouds with relevant follow-up questions include:

• In Module 1, Lesson 5, students listen to Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale, and engage in a Collaborative Conversation after reviewing the rules. Questions that they discuss include “Would you like to have Clark as a friend? Why or why not?”
• In Module 2, Lesson 9, after reading Water Rolls, Water Rises by Pat Mora, students work with a partner to discuss the answers to questions such as, “ Why do you think the author wrote this text?” and “What does she want readers to know?” 
• In Module 3, Lesson 6, students listen to Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester L. Laminack, and students discuss the answers to questions such as, “Why do you think people stop to admire the peacock?” and “How does the peacock feel about the hens calling him lazy?”
• In Module 4, Lesson 2, students listen to Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Williams, and then they answer questions such as, “What is Goldilocks like?” Students are supported by the teacher as they analyze the story structure by discussing the conflict, events, resolution, and plot of the story. 
• In Module 5, Lesson 7, students listen to the biography Wilma Rudolph: Against All Odds by Stephanie E. Macceca, and then they are asked questions to discuss with a partner such as “Why is her story still important to people today?” and “Why do you think the author included a timeline on the last page?” Students are reminded to wait their turn until their partner has finished speaking before asking a clarifying question or adding new information. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 8, students listen to Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld and discuss the text with a partner by answering questions such as, “How do the other characters in the story feel about Claudette?” and “What does Cloudette learn about herself?”
• In Module 7, Lesson 12, students listen to "Drum Dream Girl" by Margarita Engle, and as they listen, they are asked questions such as, “Has the girl’s teacher decided whether her drums deserve to be heard? How do you know?” and "What does the drum dream girl dream about?”
• In Module 8, Lesson 3, students listen to From Seed to Pine Tree: Following the Life Cycle by Suzanne Slade, and they discuss questions such as “What are the steps in a life cycle of a shortleaf pine tree?” and “Why are shortleaf also called evergreen trees?”
• In Module 9, Lesson 3, students listen to  The Long, Long Journey by Sandra Markle, and as they listen, students are asked questions such as, “Who are the other hunters’ that come searching for food? What clues help you know?” and “What do you think will happen to the little female?"

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing grade-appropriate writing (e.g. grade-appropriate revision and editing) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

Within the Grade 2 materials, there is a Writing Workshop section for each module that always begins with a mentor text. During this time, students receive skill-based mini-lessons and time for process writing daily, including all of the steps from prewriting to publishing and sharing. In addition, the Grade 2 myBook and Teaching Pal offer many opportunities for students to produce on demand, short writing tasks in response to reading. The materials cover a year’s worth of writing instruction. 

Students participate in process writing in each module throughout the year in Writing Workshop. Students take several weeks to complete one piece. Examples include:

• In Module 3 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 4, students write about an issue in which they have an opinion. They describe the issue, state their point of view, and provide evidence about why others should support their point of view. Students spend 15 lessons on this writing task and experience the writing process from planning to drafting to editing to revising. Students publish a final copy and present it to the class.
• In Module 4 in the Writing Workshop, students write a narrative imaginative story where they write about an imaginary friend or place. Students spend 15 days on the writing project where they brainstorm, draft, edit, revise, confer with a peer, and write a final copy. 
• In Module 6 in the Writing Workshop, students write a poem using the poem “When the Moon is Full: A Lunar Year” by Penny Pollack, as a mentor text. After students decide on a topic about weather, students draft, revise their poems for sensory details, confer with peers, and then revise again to be sure the poem is in first-person point of view. Students publish on day 14 and share on day 15. 
• In Module 7 in the Writing Workshop, students write an imaginative story about characters they create and their adventures. Students begin by brainstorming and organizing character traits. Students develop a draft, integrate dialogue, revise in small group conferences, edit for dialogue, and then write a final copy. 
• In Module 11 in the Writing Workshop, students write about a time they tried something new. Students begin by brainstorming and then develop a draft with a conflict and a resolution. Students then revise by adding details and revise in a small group conference. Students edit and peer edit before making a final copy and presenting it to the class. 
• In Module 12 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 6, students write an opinion essay the importance to believe in yourself when learning new skills. Students go through 15 lessons and work on analyzing a mentor text, revising for linking words, and participating in peer proofreading, all before finalizing the writing and presenting it to the class. 

Throughout the year on-demand writing is found in the myBook and the Teaching Pal, which gives students an opportunity to respond to the reading via drawing and writing. Examples of this include:

• In Module 1, Lesson 4, students read Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale and respond to the prompt, “How do you know that Clark wants to do the right thing? Use details from the words and pictures to explain your ideas.”
• In Module 3, Lesson 4, students listen to The Best Name (no author) and respond to the writing prompt, "How does the family feel about their dog? How can you tell?”
• In Module 4, Lesson 10, students complete a shared reading of Hollywood Chicken by Lisa Fleming, and then students write a movie ad for “Crossing the Road: The Other Side.”
• In Module 5, Lesson 10, after listening to Kids for President! (no author), students write their opinion about whether they believe kids would be good presidents using details from the text. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 10, students read Protect Yourself (no author listed) and respond to the writing prompt “Choose one type of weather and write a paragraph explaining how to protect yourself from that kind of weather.”
• In Module 7, Lesson 10, students read The Stories He Tells by James Bruchac and then respond to “What would you say in a letter to Joseph Bruchac? What questions would you ask him?” Students are provided a graphic organizer to plan the facts and question in a chart before writing the letter. 
• In Module 8, Lesson 10, students listen to Jackie and the Beanstalk by Lori Mortensen and then write how the story would be different if the cow told it. 
• In Module 9, Lesson 13, students listen to Abuelo and the Three Bears by Jerry Tello, and then they write a short drama to tell what would happen if they woke up in the Three Bears’ house. 
• In Module 10, Lesson 13, students listen to Poems in the Attic by Nikki Grimes, and afterwards, students make a poem about a memory like the poems in the book. 
• In Module 11, Lesson 11, after reading Sea Otter Pups by Ruth Owen, students write a few sentences they would like to tell someone about sea otters and their pups.
• In Module 12, after rereading "Clark the Shark" by Bruce Hale, students write and illustrate a journal entry about what the first day at school is like for Clark the Shark.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing (year long) that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

Instructional materials provide frequent opportunities across the school year for students to learn, practice, and apply what they have learned about narrative, opinion, and informational writing. Each module includes writing lessons about the text that they read. In addition, students are taught about the three genres in Writing Workshop, where they engage in longer pieces over the course of three weeks. 

Narrative writing prompts are found in myBook after reading a text as well as in Writing Workshop Modules 1, 4, 7, and 11. Students also engage in writing poetry in Module 6. Specific examples include:

• In Module 1 in the Writing Workshop, students write a personal narrative about something they have done to make the world a better place. Students discuss what it takes to be a good citizen and brainstorm ways they help their families, friends, and community. Then students select an idea for a personal narrative before drafting. 
• In Module 4 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 15, students write their own fable or fairytale that teaches a lesson that kids can use in their everyday lives. 
• In Module 7 in the Writing Workshop, students write an imaginative story about characters they create and their adventures. Students need to think about what the characters might say or do before writing. 
• In Module 8 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 10, after hearing Jackie and the Beanstalk by Lori Mortensen, students write the story as if it was told by the cow. Students are instructed to think about how the cow’s point of view is different from the other characters’ points of view.
• In Module 11 in the Writing Workshop, students write a personal narrative. They are given the sentence, “The first time we do something, it can be scary or exciting.” Then students think about something new they did or tried and write about their experience doing that new thing. 

Informational writing is found in myBook after each text as well as in Writing Workshop Modules  2, 5, 8, and 9. In Module 10, students also learn how to write a letter. Specific examples include:

• In Module 2 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 15, students “Write five tips to help someone explore and make new discoveries.” Students use the texts throughout the module for ideas. 
• In Module 5 in the Writing Workshop, students write a personal essay about what makes them different from others. Students organize information about themselves and identify the central idea to explain before drafting. 
• In Module 8 in the Writing Workshop, students complete a procedural text, where they write the steps to complete an activity that needs to be done in a set order. 
• In Module 9 in the Writing Workshop, students write a research report about animals that have a special relationship with others. Students help each other choose an animal to research and then write research questions before beginning their research and drafting. 
• In Module 11, Lesson 15, after rereading Sea Otter Pups by Ruth Owen, students write a few sentences they would like to tell someone about sea otters and their pups. 

Opinion writing is found in myBook as well as in Writing Workshop Modules 3 and 12. Specific examples include:

• In Module 3 in the Writing Workshop, students think about an issue in which they have heard people disagree. Then students write about the issue by describing it, stating their own point of view, and providing evidence about why others should support their point of view. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 4, students listen to Wild Weather by Thomas Kingsley Troupe and then explain why they recommend the book. 
• In Module 8, Lesson 13, students listen to, Don’t Touch Me by Elizabeth Preston and then respond to the prompt “In your opinion, which plant in Don’t Touch Me has the most extreme defenses?”
• In Module 12 in the Writing Workshop, students think about something new they have learned to do. Students write an opinion essay on whether or not it is important to believe in yourself when learning a new skill.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials including regular opportunities for evidence-based writing to support recall of information, opinions with reasons, and relevant information appropriate for the grade level.

In the Grade 2 materials, students have frequent opportunities to write about what they read or listen to using evidence from the text. The program utilizes close reading, and students respond to questions in writing after their first read and additional questions after their second read. 

Specific examples of evidence-based writing include:

• In Module 1, Lesson 8, after reading Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, students write about which character is the most important. First, students write about which character they chose and then write several reasons that they chose that character. 
• In Module 2, Lesson 2, after listening to Uncommon Traveler: Mary Kingsley in Africa by Don Brown, students draw their favorite moment from the text and label it with a sentence explaining what is happening. 
• In Module 3, Lesson 4, after hearing The Best Name (no author), students write about how the family feels about their dog. 
• In Module 4, Lesson 3, after listening to How to Read a Story (Kate Messner), students write about what makes reading fun, using details from the story and then adding two different ideas they have created. 
• In Module 5, Lesson 1, after reading Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds, students write a victory speech about what Maya and Rafael would say after the race in the story. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 4, after listening to Wild Weather by Thomas Kingsley Troupe, students write about whether or not they would recommend the story using details to explain what readers will learn from the story. 
• In Module 7, Lesson 4, students listen to I am Helen Keller by Brad Meltzer and then write about a life lesson they learned in the story, using details from the text and pictures to explain. 
• In Module 8, Lesson 10, after listening to Jackie and the Beanstalk by Lori Mortensen, students think about the story as if it was told from the perspective of the cow. Students then write about how the story would be different and how the cow’s point of view is different from the other characters’ point of view. 
• In Module 9, Lesson 8, after reading Sea Otter Pups by Ruth Owen, students write a description of a mother sea otter and her pup in the habitat that helps them to survive. 
• In Module 10, Lesson 4, after reading Where on Earth Is My Bagel? by Frances and Ginger Park, students write a story about how the pigeon would tell the story. Students also explain in writing how the pigeon’s point of view is different from other characters’ point of view. 
• In Module 11, during the assessment, students reread, Jane Goodall and the Chimps by Robert San Souci and write about the central idea of the article, using two pieces of evidence to support their answer. 
• In Module 12, Lesson 6 after rereading Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale, students write and illustrate a journal entry about what a day would be like as a sea creature at the school in Clark the Shark. 

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 Into Reading meet the expectation for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context. 

Grammar and conventions are primarily addressed during Writing Workshop in grammar mini-lessons. All grammar and conventions standards are covered over the course of the year, and most standards are revisited throughout the year in increasing complexity. Lessons are included in the modules and use an I Do, We Do, You Do format.  The lesson formats are as follows:  teacher models and provides examples, students practice with teacher support, students practice with a worksheet,  and students return to their writing pieces and identify and edit for the given grammar or conventions concept. Teachers are provided with resources such as Display and Engage projectables and printables, grammar mini-lessons, printable grammar pages, and sentence examples to use during lessons. Lessons incorporate the language of the standards to allow teachers and students to become familiar with that specific language. Students have opportunities to practice skills in isolation during whole-group instruction with Display and Engage projectables and sentence prompts that students and teachers work on together, independently in context during the lesson with printables provided, and then practice applying the skills as they edit their writing drafts throughout the year. Reading lessons mention and support students’ use of grammar and conventions standards. Each grammar and conventions lesson throughout grades Kindergarten through Grade 2 is similarly structured with color coding, teacher modeling, partner share, graphic organizer/chart, and oral language practice. 

Materials include explicit instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. For example:

Students have opportunities to  use collective nouns (e.g., group). 

• In Module 2, Lesson 13, page W236, the teacher explains, “ ...sometimes we use a noun to name a group of people or things that act together, such as a class of children. Class is a noun that refers to a group, not a single person. This kind of noun is a collective noun.” The teacher models identifying a collective noun using Think Aloud. The teacher completes Display and Engage: Grammar 2.3.3b with the students. The teacher writes herd, flock, and army, and students create sentences with these collective nouns. Students complete Printable Grammar 2.3.3 and edit writing drafts using collective nouns properly for independent practice.
• In Module 3, Lesson 4, page W237, the teacher reviews how to form plural nouns by modeling examples. The teacher reminds the student that a collective noun refers to a group not a single person. Examples given include class, herd, and committee.The teacher writes sentences provided in the materials on the board, and students rewrite sentences with the correct plural noun forms. Students complete Printable: Grammar 2.3.4 and then edit a writing draft using plural nouns and collective nouns properly.

Students have opportunities to form and use frequently occurring irregular plural nouns (e.g., feet, children, teeth, mice, fish).

• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 2.3.2, page W235, the teacher shows students examples of plural nouns with irregular spellings. In addition to the examples on the chart, the teacher is instructed to, “Write the following pairs of words in a column: child/children, man/men, woman/women, foot/feet, goose/geese, and mouse/mice. Point out how each singular noun changed spelling to name more than one.” Students then work as a class to practice selecting the correct noun to complete example sentences. 
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 2.3.4, page W237, the teacher projects Display and Engage 2.3.4a: reviews with students how to form plural nouns including, “Change the spelling of some nouns to name more than one. Examples: child/children, man/men, woman/women, goose/geese.” Students complete Display and Engage: Grammar 2.3.4b with the teacher. The teacher writes sentences provided on the board, and students correct the plural nouns. The students complete Printable: Grammar 2.3.4 for independent practice and edit writing pieces to use plural nouns that change in spelling.

Students have opportunities to use reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves). 

• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 2.7.3, page W256, the teacher writes two sentences on the board:  I walked home by myself. My friend and I walked home by ourselves. The teacher explains that myself and ourselves are reflexive pronouns. The teacher and students complete five sample sentences with the appropriate reflexive pronoun.  Students complete a grammar printable to practice reflexive pronouns and edit a writing draft to correctly use reflexive pronouns.  
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 2.7.4, page W257, the teacher reminds students that pronouns take the place of nouns and, “Reflexive pronouns, such as myself, himself, herself, themselves, and ourselves, refer back to the subject of the sentence and are also used after verbs.” Students complete Display and Engage: Grammar 2.7.4c with the teacher. Students write sentences using the reflexive pronouns myself and ourselves. Students then complete Printable: Grammar 2.7.4 and edit writing drafts using subject, object and reflective pronouns correctly. 

Students have opportunities to form and use the past tense of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told).

• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 3.5.1, page W284, the teacher explains that the verb should match the time that the sentence is telling about and explains that has and have tell about the past and present time. The teacher reminds students that the verb should also match the subject of the sentence and provides several examples. Students work with the teacher to determine which form of have, has, or had best completes four sentences.  Students complete the printable grammar sheet for practice with the irregular verbs have, has, and had.  Students then edit a writing draft checking usage of the irregular verbs have, has, and had. 
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 3.6.4, page W292, the teacher provides a definition and examples of irregular action verbs. The teacher is instructed to, “Review with children when to use the irregular verbs say/said, eat/ate, run/ran, sit/sat, hide/hid, tell/told, give/gave, take/took, see/saw, and go/went. Point out that these verbs are irregular because instead of using -ed to show past tense, each of these verbs has a unique spelling change.” 

Students have opportunities to use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between them depending on what is to be modified. 

• In Module 4, Lesson 9, page T398 of the Teacher's Guide, the following definition for adjectives is provided, “Adjectives describe people, places or things. Adjectives can tell how a person or thing acts of what it is like.” Several examples such as, “sight = narrow, square” and “is like/acts = cozy, excited” are also provided on the chart. Afterwards, the class works together to make a list of adjectives to describe a different person, place and thing. 
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 4.1.1, page W294, the teacher explains that adjectives are words that tell about a person, animal, place, or thing. The teacher tells students some adjectives tell more about how something looks, feels, or sounds and models identifying the adjective in the sentence:  The penguin lays a big egg. The teacher repeats with another sentence, guiding students to recognize the adjective. The teacher displays four sentences on the board and works with students to identify the adjective. Students are then asked to tell whether it describes how something looks, feels, or sounds.  Students use each adjective in a new sentence. Students then complete the printable grammar sheet to practice with adjectives that displays how things look, feel, and sound. Students edit a writing draft using adjectives that describe how things look, feel, and sound.  
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 4.1.1, page W306, the teacher reminds students about the function of adverbs and adjectives. The teacher uses the examples, “The dog is ___ . (quick, quickly)  The dog ran _____ . (quick, quickly)”,  and models how to choose between the adjective or adverb using Think Aloud. The teacher completes Display and Engage: Grammar 4.3.3b with the students and provides additional sentence examples for the students to choose the appropriate adjective or adverb to complete the sentences. The students complete Printable: Grammar 4.3.3 independently and edit writing drafts using adjectives and adverbs. 

Students have opportunities to produce, expand, and rearrange complete simple and compound sentences (e.g., The boy watched the movie; The little boy watched the movie; The action movie was watched by the little boy).

• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 1.2.1, W199, the materials provide the following explanation for complete sentences “A sentence tells what someone or something does or did. A complete sentence has a naming part (subject) and an action part (predicate).” The teacher uses Display and Engage 1.2.1b to have students practice identifying incomplete and complete sentences. To further their practice, students complete a printable grammar page and edit a piece of their writing for complete sentences.
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 1.2.5, page W203, the teacher explains that if sentences are incomplete, students can add either a subject or predicate to make it complete. The teacher models how to correct an incomplete sentence. The teacher displays the group of words provided and students decide if the fragments are subjects or predicates and add to them to create complete sentences. The students complete Printable: Grammar 1.2.5 for independent practice.
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 1.4.2, page W210, the teacher reminds students that a simple sentence has a subject and predicate and that a compound sentence is made up of two shorter sentences joined by and, but, or or with a comma used before joining words.  The teacher tells students that writers sometimes combine related sentences to make stories more interesting and to make their writing flow. The teacher models combining two choppy sentences into a compound sentence. The teacher displays three compound sentences on the board and supports students in identifying the conjunction. Students list conjunctions they can use to form compound students and use those conjunctions in a compound sentence. Students complete a printable grammar worksheet to practice with compound sentences and edit a writing draft using compound sentences to make their writing less choppy.  

Students have opportunities to capitalize holidays, product names, and geographic names.

• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 2.4.3, page W241, the teacher reviews that proper nouns can name special places and things and can be a street, city, country, or proper name.  The teacher reminds students to write the first letter of proper nouns with capital letters. The teacher models identifying proper nouns that name a special place or thing in the example sentence:  I rode the Super Spiral Coaster at Funtime Park. The teacher shares five sentences and helps students identify the proper nouns. Students name special places and things that are familiar to them and write sentences with the special places and things they name capitalized correctly.  Students complete a printable grammar sheet to practice with nouns that name special places and things. Finally, students edit a writing draft correctly using proper nouns that name places and things.  
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 2.5.3, page W246, students learn about the importance of capitalizing holidays. Using Display and Engage: Grammar 2.5.3b, students practice identifying the holiday that needs to be capitalized in sentences. 

 Students have opportunities to use commas in greetings and closings of letters.

• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 5.2.3, page W321, the teacher reviews where to place a comma in dates and place names and explains that in a letter, you put a comma after the greeting and the closing. The teacher writes Dear Mary, Hello Max, and Dear Dad on the board. The teacher circles the comma and tells students that each of these is called a greeting, that greetings begin a letter, and we put a comma after the greeting.  The teacher writes Your friend, Sincerely, and Best Wishes on the board, explaining that these are called closings, and closings have a comma after them. The teacher displays a sample letter on the board and guides students to place commas correctly (after the greeting, in a date, in a location, and after the closing). Students complete a printable grammar sheet to practice with commas in parts of a letter. Students then write a short letter that includes a greeting, date, place, and closing. Students are reminded to check and make sure they have used commas correctly.  
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 5.2.4, page W322, the teacher projects Display and Engage: Grammar 5.2.4a which contains Parts of a Letter, “Dear Aunt Clara, Sincerely” to be reviewed and corrected by the students. Students complete Display and Engage: Grammar 5.2.4b with the teacher. Students complete Printable: Grammar 5.2.4 for independent practice. 
• In Module 10 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 9, W154, students revise a letter that they have written previously. The teacher reviews a list of items that should be included in a letter with students. Among the items on the list are the following: ”there is a comma between the date and the year”, “there is a comma after the salutation”,“there is a comma after the closing”, and “commas are used with items in a series.” 

Students have opportunities to use an apostrophe to form contractions and frequently occurring possessives.

• In Module 1 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 12, page W13, the teacher reviews possessives and contractions with students. Students work as a class to complete a possessives and contractions word sort. The teacher is prompted to, “Ask children to find and circle examples of possessives and contractions in their drafts.” 
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 5.2.4, page W329, the teacher explains that a contraction is a short way of writing two words and that an apostrophe is used to show where letters have been left out.  Examples are presented and the teacher discusses how each contraction is formed (do not, does not, will not, is not, cannot). The teacher displays five sentences on the board and supports students in writing the contraction needed.  Students write their own sentences using contractions with not, and the teacher reminds them to use an apostrophe to form each contraction. Students complete a printable grammar sheet for practice with contractions formed with not and edit a writing draft, checking for correct use of contractions with not and adding contractions with not.  

Students have opportunities to generalize learned spelling patterns when writing words (e.g., cage → badge; boy → boil).

• In Module 1, Lesson 11, page T184 of the Teacher's Guide, students take a pretest on long a and i VCe words. The pre-test words are: cake, mine, plate, size, ate, grape, prize, wipe, race, line, pile and rake. After the pre-test, the teacher is instructed to, “Write plate on the board, underlining ate, and read it aloud. Repeat with prize and ize. Guide children to compare the two words. (Both words begin with p and end with e; both have the VCe pattern for long vowels. The words have different vowels and different vowel sounds. Plate has the long a sound; prize has the long i sound).” 
• In Module 2, Lesson 1, page T282 of the Teacher's Guide, the teacher assigns Basic, Review, or Challenge Spelling words to the students based on the spelling pretest. The teacher teaches the principles of long o, and long u. Students complete a Word Sort with Word List 4.  The teacher asks the students what they notice about each word and models placing the words under the categories of nose or june. 
• In the Writing Workshop Grammar Minilesson 6.1.1, page W339, the teacher writes soap, underlining oa.  The teacher explains that the long vowel sound /o/ can be spelled with the oa vowel team.  The teacher writes words with vowel pairs for each vowel sound (pay, paid, stay, way) and models sorting the words based on their vowel teams for each vowel sound. The teacher presents four sentences and works with students to identify words with vowel teams to underline. The teacher creates a chart with two columns and labels columns ai and ay.  The teacher dictates words and students write the dictated word in the correct column. Students complete a printable grammar review sheet for practice spelling words with vowel teams and edit a writing draft using the correct spellings of words with vowel teams.

Students have opportunities to consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings.

• In Module 4 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 13, page W62, during the proofreading portion of the Narrative, Publishing I: Writing the Final Copy lesson, the teacher shows students the Proofreading checklist in Display and Engage: 4.7. The teacher is guided to “Point out that if children are unsure about how to spell a word correctly, there are several sources they can use, such as a dictionary, a thesaurus, or a friend as a resource for how to spell a word correctly.”  Students proofread their final copies to check for spelling errors.
• In Module 12 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 13, page W190, Opinion, Publishing I: Writing The Final Copy, the Teacher Tip states, “Provide a print or digital dictionary for children to look up misspelled words or words they are not sure are spelled correctly as they create their final draft.”
• In Module 8, Lesson 5, page T334, the teacher reminds students that a glossary lists the meanings and pronunciations of words in the back of books. Students review the glossary in their myBook. The teacher points out that words are in alphabetical order.  The teacher displays a dictionary and explains that a glossary is like a dictionary. The teacher lists words on the board, and students place them in alphabetical order. 

Students have opportunities to compare formal and informal uses of English.

• In Module 1, Lesson 5, page T88 of the Teacher's Guide, the teacher goes over the rules on Anchor Chart 39: Collaborative Conversations with students. The chart contains six rules for Collaborative Conversations, one of which reads, “Decide if you should use formal or informal language.” The teacher is prompted to, “Give examples of when they might use informal language (with friends and family, in casual situations) and formal language (in presentations, with adults they don’t know well). Model the difference with real dialogue.” 
• In Module 3, Lesson 5 of the Teacher's Guide, Anchor Chart 48: Social Communication,  Tip 2 on the chart states, “Choose your language to fit the situation.” Students are then provided with definitions and examples for informal and formal language. “Informal Language: Use when talking to friends, family, and on social media.” The examples “Hey, wait up!” and “Hi, how are ya?” are provided. “Formal Language: Use when talking to most adults and when you present in class.” The examples ‘“Hello, how are you today?”’ and ‘“Mr. Thomas, may I please get a pencil?”’ are provided. 
• In Module 10 in the Writing Workshop, Lesson 5, Anchor Chart W12: Types of Correspondence provides information using a formal tone and an informal tone. Formal tone is called for in formal letter structure, such as the greeting, date, body and closing to be used in business letters, newspaper or government letters. Informal tone is used for thank you notes, get well messages, and invitations sent to family and friends.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 Into Reading meet the expectation for materials, questions, and tasks directly teach foundational skills to build reading acquisition by providing systematic and explicit instruction in the Alphabetic Principle, letter-sound relationships, phonemic awareness, and phonological awareness (K-1), and phonics (K-2) that demonstrate a transparent and research-based progression for application both in and out of context.

Lessons follow a Gradual Release Model of I Do, We Do, You Do. This lesson format provides students with explicit opportunities to learn and practice phonics with each applicable foundational skills standards. Skills, such as different vowel sounds, are frequently reviewed and revisited. The Foundational Skills Scope and Sequence provides an overview of the progression of skills. Foundational skills instruction is cohesive and builds in difficulty as the year progresses. 

Lessons and activities provide students opportunities to learn grade-level phonics skills while decoding words (e.g. distinguish long and short vowel sounds, apply spelling-sound relationship on common words, decode two syllable words with long vowels). For example: 

Students have opportunities to distinguish long and short vowels when reading regularly spelled one-syllable words:

• In Module 1, Lesson 12, page T198-T199, students blend sounds in words, say the vowel sound, and tell whether the vowel is long or short. Several practice words are modeled by the teacher and completed as a group. The teacher reviews the VCe pattern for long vowel sounds and models with the word tape. The teacher displays letter cards and uses the continuous blending routine to model blending. Students practice as a group by reading words on the board. Students practice independently by writing sentences using two words displayed for blending practice or completing the Know It, Show It page.  

Students have opportunities to know spelling-sound correspondences for additional common vowel teams:

• In Module 5, Lesson 3, page T60-T61, students learn to read words with the long /o/. The teacher introduces long o through VCe, and Vowel Teams oa, ow, and oe with Sound Spelling Cards and Letter Cards.

Students have opportunities to decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels:

• In Module 4, Lesson 6, page T354, students practice reading long vowel two-syllable words. Some of the long a spelling pattern words students practice decode include: label, mistake, basic, became, inflate and delay. 

Students have opportunities to decode words with common prefixes and suffixes:

• In Module 3, Lesson 13, page T212, students learn about words with a prefix. Students identify the number of syllables in words the teacher says.The teacher says a word, and students add a prefix to the word. The teacher uses the process of putting a cap on a water bottle to explain base words and prefixes. The teacher introduces the prefix un- and explains the meaning. Students read words projected on the board as a group. Students identify words with prefixes. Students volunteer to independently read words written on the board.  

Students have opportunities to identify words with inconsistent but common spelling-sound correspondences: 

• In Module 10, Lesson 11, page T430, students learn about long /a/ and /e/. The teacher displays the Sound/SpellIing Card for long /a/ with a-e, ai, ay, ei, and ey. The same is repeated for long /e/. The teacher tells students, “For words you don’t know, say the word with the long /e/ vowel sound first. If it doesn’t sound right or make sense, try the long a sound.” Students practice blending and reading words such as keys, beige, weigh, reins, and prey. 

Materials have a cohesive sequence of phonics instruction to build toward application.  For example:

• Over the course of 12 modules, students practice phonics instruction each day within the foundational skills portion of the lesson:
• Module 1
• Week 1, students practice consonants; short a i, multi-syllable words.
• Week 2, students practice consonants; short o, u, e; multiple syllable words.
• Week 3, students practice long a, i (VCe), soft c and g.
• Module 2
• Week 1, students practice long o, e, u (CV, VCe); review long vowels (VCe).
• Week 2, students practice short and long vowels (CVC, VCe), suffixes -er, -est.
• Week 3, students practice initial blends with l, r, s; inflections -s, -es.
• Module 3
• Week 1, students practice final blends; closed syllables.
• Week 2, students practice double final consonants; inflections: spelling changes. 
• Week 3, students practice consonant digraphs, prefixes un-, re-.
• Module 4
• Week 1, students practice consonants k, ck; silent letters kn, wr, gn, mb.
• Week 2, students practice long a patterns; multisyllabic words: long a.
• Week 3, students practice long e, short e patterns; multisyllabic words: long and short e.
• Module 5
• Week 1, students practice long a patterns, multisyllabic words: long o.
• Week 2, students practice long i patterns; multisyllabic words: long i.
• Week 3, students practice suffixes -ful, -less; multisyllabic words: spelling changes before suffixes -ful, -less.
• Module 6
• Week 1, students practice suffixes -y, -ly; multisyllabic words: spelling changes before suffixes -y, -ly.
• Week 2, students practice prefixe dis-; inflections: spelling changes.
• Week 3, students practice r-controlled vowel ar; multisyllabic words: ar.
• Module 7
• Week 1, students practice r-controlled vowels or, ore; multisyllabic words: or, ores.
• Week 2, students practice r-controlled vowels er, ir, ur; vowel patterns air, are, ear.
• Week 3, students practice vowel team oo; multisyllabic words: oo.
• Module 8
• Week 1, students practice vowel patterns: /oo/; multisyllabic words: /oo/, /oo/.
• Week 2, students practice vowel teams ou, ow; dipthongs oy, oi.
• Week 3, students practice vowel patterns: /o/; vowel patterns ear, eer.
• Module 9
• Week 1, students practice prefix pre-; multisyllabic words.
• Week 2, students practice three-letter blends; contractions.
• Week 3, students practice consonant +le; six syllable types.
• Module 10
• Week 1, students practice prefix mis-; affixes review: prefixes, suffixes; open and closed syllables; syllable division patterns.
• Week 2, students practice: open and closed syllables; syllable division patterns.
• Week 3, students practice long a (ei, ey) and e (y, ey); multisyllabic words: long a, e.
• Module 11
• Week 1, students practice vowel team syllables; syllable division patterns.
• Week 2, students practice r-controlled vowel syllables; multisyllabic words: r-controlled vowel syllables.
• Week 3, students practice final e syllables; multisyllabic words: final e syllables.
• Module 12
• Week 1, students practice final stable syllables; multisyllabic words: final stable syllables.
• Week 2, students review syllable types: open, closed, consonant +le; review o syllable types: final e, vowel teams , and  r-controlled vowels.
• Week 3, students review affixes: prefixes, suffixes, and inflections; review affixes: spelling changes

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 Into Reading meet the expectation for materials, questions, and tasks provide explicit instruction for and regular practice to address the acquisition of print concepts, including alphabetic knowledge, and directionality (K-1), structures and features of text (1-2).

Materials include some direct instruction to address acquisition of print concepts including text structures and features of text through shared reading. Shared reading lessons and small-group lessons provide the opportunity for students to both learn and apply these skills. There are opportunities for students to independently practice text features and text structure.

Examples of materials that include frequent and adequate opportunities to identify text structures (e.g. main idea and details, sequence of events, problem and solution, compare and contrast, cause and effect) include but are not limited to the following:

• In Module 1, Lesson 9, p. T152, the teacher uses Anchor Chart 4: Summarize. Students practice the skills with the shared reading text Being a Good Citizen. The chart provides four steps for summarizing a text:
• 1. Read part of the text. 
• 2. Stop to think about the most important ideas. Say them in your own words. 
• 3. Repeat for the next part. 
• 4. At the end, put it all together. Say all the most important ideas in a few sentences.
• In Module 4, Lesson 1, page T284, the teacher reminds students that authors use informational texts to fit the topic and purpose for their writing. The teacher displays Anchor Chart 27: Text Organization. The teacher reviews that chronological order is when the author writes or tells about events in a certain order. The teacher references the text, Gingerbread for Liberty! as an example. The teacher tells students this text is a procedural text because it is written in a certain order. Students practice identifying text organization when they read the next text Recipe for a Fairy Tale.
• In Module 4, Lesson 14, page T476, students learn about cause and effect using Anchor Chart 28: Cause and Effect. The chart provides a definition and an example for each, “Cause: Why something happens (the reason) It rained a lot.” “Effect: What happens: (the result); so the flowers in the garden grew.” The chart provides “Cause and effect clue words: so, since, as a result, because, if...then.” Students look for cause and effect in the video Those Clever Crows. 

Examples of materials that include frequent, adequate lessons and activities about text features (e.g., title, headings, table of contents, glossary, pictures, illustrations) include but are not limited to the following:

• In Module 3, Lesson 11, page T192, when previewing the story Mice Can Help, the teacher is instructed to, “Draw attention to page 37, the title page. Discuss the title and the pictures on the first few pages. Have children predict who Mr. and Mrs. Mouse will help.” 
• In Module 5, Lesson 8, page T140, the teacher displays Anchor Chart 29: Text Features. The teacher tells students that an author gives information about photos in captions.  During Shared Reading, the teacher discusses how captions help readers. The teacher tells students that headings are helpful for finding information. The teacher tells students that fact boxes are included to give additional information. After the lesson, students reread a previously read text to apply their knowledge of text features. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 1, page T284, the teacher reminds students during Shared Reading that authors use text features to explain an idea or help locate information. The teacher displays Anchor Chart 30: Text Features. The teacher explains the purpose of graphs, maps, and icons. Students practice identifying text features in the text Weather Through the Seasons.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 Into Reading meet the expectation for instructional opportunities are frequently built into the materials for students to practice and gain decoding automaticity and sight-based recognition of high-frequency words. This includes reading fluency in oral reading beginning in mid Grade 1 and through Grade 2.

Students have opportunities over the course of the school year to read grade-level texts with purpose and understanding. In small-group reading lessons, the teacher consistently helps students set a purpose for reading. There are lessons across the school year that focus on fluency skills such as rate, intonation, expression, accuracy, and self-correction. Students have multiple opportunities to develop automaticity of grade- level words to know through word activities. Fluency lessons are included in lessons and follow a Gradual Release Model of I Do, We Do, You Do.  

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to purposefully read on-level text. For example:

• In Module 1, Lesson 6, page T115, the teacher reminds the small group of students that the topic of a text is the person or thing it is about and that details or supporting details give information about the topic. Supporting details are used to figure out the central idea. The teacher demonstrates filling out Reading Graphic Organizer 12 to identify the central idea of The William Hoy Story. In the Apply to Independent Reading portion of the lesson, students identify the central idea of just right books being read independently using question prompts, “What is the topic, or person or thing that your book is about? What details, facts, or examples does the author include about the topic? How does the supporting evidence help you figure out the book’s central idea?”
• In Module 3, Lesson 2, page T50, the teacher explains that point of view is the way someone sees things when those things happen and provides examples. The teacher discusses first-person and third-person point of view and shares an example. The teacher introduces the book, Mango, Abuela, and Me and reminds students the purpose for reading a realistic fiction story is to learn about the characters and to think about the story’s message. 
• In Module 4, Lesson 4, p. T328, students read the text At Home With Kris. The students set a purpose for their reading, and students then silently read the story. 

Multiple opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate sufficient accuracy, rate, and expression in oral reading with on-level text and grade level decodable words. For example: 

• In Module 1, Lesson 8, page T135, the teacher explains to the students, “When good readers read aloud, their reading sounds like talking.” The teacher advises that reading too quickly or too slowly makes the reading harder to understand. The teacher reads from The Red Van as students follow along using Echo Reading. In We Do It, the teacher reads two sentences from page 22 too quickly, asking the students how it sounds. The students use the Choral Reading routine to read with the teacher. In You Do It, the students use the partner reading routine to reread the same story or a story in their myBook as the teacher reminds them they should read at a rate that sounds like they are talking. The teacher tells the students that they may have to slow down for words they do not know. The teacher is to “explain that rereading can help them improve the rate at which they read and make their reading smoother.”
• In Module 2, Lesson 3, page T307, the teacher explains the importance of using correct phrasing while reading to students. The teacher models using correct phrasing. Next, the class Choral Reads a page from the text, The Lone Cat to practice using correct phrasing. Students continue their practice with Partner Reading. 
• In Module 5, Lesson 13, page T211, the teacher tells students that intonation is the rise and fall of readers’ voices when they read and explains the use of punctuation to assist with intonation when reading aloud. The teacher models reading with intonation. Students use the Echo Reading routine to repeat after the teacher when reading a portion of text aloud. Students use Partner Reading to read with intonation. 
• In Module 4, Lesson 8, page T383, the teacher reminds students that good readers think about what they are reading and whether the words make sense.  Students follow along and pay attention to whether the words the teacher reads aloud make sense. The teacher models misreading the first sentence, self-corrects, and re-reads.  Students follow along in their own copy of the text while the teacher models misreading a text and asks a volunteer to explain how and why the teacher self-corrected. Students use Partner Reading to read text aloud and practice self correcting using the text to confirm, if needed.  

Examples of materials that include support reading of texts with attention to reading strategies such as rereading, self-correction, and the use of context clues include but are not limited to the following:

• In Module 2, Lesson 13, page T459, the teacher explains to students that good readers think about what they are reading and if it makes sense. The teacher tells the students to ask questions such as, “Does that sound right? Does that make sense? What would make sense here?” The teacher models reading a sentence incorrectly and asks students if it sounds correct. Then, the teacher reads it correctly telling students it makes more sense the second time. In We Do It, the teacher models reading the Start Right Reader, Not Yet incorrectly and models self-correcting. The teacher selects a student to review the process used to self-correct. In You Do It, students use the Partner Reading routine to read Not Yet or another story in their myBook. The teacher is to “point out that paying attention to words that do not make sense will help them become better readers and better understand what they read.”
• In Module 4, Lesson 8, page T383, the teacher reminds students that good readers think about what they are reading and whether the words make sense. Students follow along and pay attention to whether the words the teacher reads aloud from Tess and Jay Set Sail make sense. The teacher models misreading the first sentence, self-corrects, and re-reads. The students follow along in their own copy of a text while the teacher models misreading a text and asks a volunteer to explain how and why the teacher self-corrected. Students use Partner Reading to read text aloud and practice self-correcting, using the text to confirm, if needed.  
• In Module 7, Lesson 13, page T210, the teacher models misreading a sentence and going back to self-correct. “The air felt chilly as Nan and I heeded down the street. That sounds funny. I know that ea can also stand for the short e sound, so I’ll try headed instead. That sounds right.” Students Partner Read to work on self-correcting. 

Examples of materials that include student opportunities to practice and read irregularly spelled words include but are not limited to the following:

• In Module 3, Lesson 2, page T44, the teacher utilizes the High-Frequency Words routine to review the ten words of the week. Students cut out the high-frequency words from the Printable: Word List 7 and complete the Picture It! Activity. Students think of a sentence with a clear subject and verb and draw a picture to illustrate the sentence. Working in pairs, students guess which high-frequency word was used and tell their partner their sentence. Students repeat the activity using the Picture It! Activity for all of their words. The teacher has the students notice and discuss similarities and differences in their sentences and how the words were used.
• In Module 7, Lesson 9, page T156, the teacher reminds students they have been reading words with vowel patterns air, are, and ear. Students repeat given words from the text and identify which words have those patterns and vowel sound. 
• In Module 10, Lesson 12, page T446, students practice reading words with the more uncommon long a and long e spelling patterns. Students read the first line of words, reined, preys, keyed, and neighs. Then, the teacher asks, “What do you notice about the words? How are they different?” Students continue to practice reading words and sentences with these spelling patterns. 
• In Module 4, Lesson 14, page T472, the teacher reviews the week’s high-frequency words: clean, feel, ground, horse, leave, need, please, queen, seen and tree. Students then play a game called Act It Out to review the words. Students work with a partner to write sentences using the week’s high-frequency words. Students then perform their sentences for the class, and the class tries to guess which high-frequency words were used.

The materials reviewed for Into Reading Grade 2 meet the expectation for materials, questions, and tasks providing systematic and explicit instruction in and practice of word recognition and analysis skills in a research-based progression in connected text and tasks.

Applying word analysis and word recognition skills to connected texts and tasks are part of the weekly instructional routine. Opportunities to apply word recognition and word analysis skills are offered through decodable readers, as well as, during shared reading. The Start Right Decodable readers include numerous opportunities to apply the phonics skills students are learning as they read and write connected text. Start Right Readers also provide students the opportunity to read high-frequency words they have been learning during the week’s lesson sequence. Activities that target high-frequency words are provided in the back of each Start Right Reader.  The weekly lesson sequence incorporates the opportunity for students to complete writing tasks that tie in with both the text and phonics skills that students are working towards mastering. 

Materials support students’ development learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills (e.g., apply spelling-sound relationship on common words, decode regularly spelled two-syllable words with long vowels, decode words with common prefixes and suffixes) in connected text and tasks. For example:

• In Module 4, Lesson 7, page T378, students read the decodable text Tess and Jay Set Sail and look for words with the long a sound. Students write down the long a words they find and underline the vowels/letters making the long a sound. Long a words that are used in the story are jay, sail, bay, waves, made, swayed, wave, making, afraid, may, and faint. 
• In Module 5, Lesson 2, page T54, students read the decodable text On the Move. Students reread one of the pages of the text to look for long o words. Students write down the words they find and underline the letters that produce the long o sound in each word. Words students should write down on this page are close, road, Willow, home, cold, coat, most, and owns. 

Materials provide frequent opportunities to read irregularly spelled words​ ​in connected text and tasks. For example: 

• In Module 1, Lesson 11, page T192, students read the text, Zane on a Hike. The text contains many high-frequency words students have been learning about: said, he, set, upon, walk, sure, do and give. At the end of the text, the high-frequency words for the week are listed in a box. Partners read the boxed words on page 43. Then, one partner reads a word from the box for the other partner to use in a sentence. Partners then switch roles. 
• In Module 4, Lesson 11, pages T430-T431, students read words with the long e and short e vowel sounds. In the I Do It portion of the lesson, the teacher displays the Sound/Spelling Card for e Eagle with e, e-e, ee, ea, _y, _ei_, _ey. The teacher tells students Ve is the silent e which lets students know to use the long vowel sound. The teacher reviews the ea sound which makes the long e or short e sound and reviews that y can stand for long e. In the We Do It portion of the lesson, the teacher uses Letter Cards with the Continuous Blending routine to create the words feet and lady, as they review the long e rules. In the You Do It portion of the lesson, the students practice blending words written by the teacher. 

Lessons and activities provide students many opportunities to learn grade-level word recognition and analysis skills while encoding (writing) in context​ ​and decoding words (reading) in connected text and tasks. For example:

• In Module 3, Lesson 7, page T130, students read the decodable text, The Van. The teacher is instructed to “have children reread pages 22-33 to find words that end with double consonants. Have them write the words they find and read their lists to a partner.” Words students find and read are will, Bill, still, full, well, putt, puffs, smell, off, and pass. 
• In the overview of Module 4  Literacy Centers, page T350, Word Work includes a Title Challenge for high-frequency words. Students think of as many movie titles as they can with the high-frequency words the teacher has displayed and records the words. 
• In Module 7, Lesson 5, page T92, after reading the decodable text Work Day, which contains many /ǒr/ words, students are given the task of working with a partner to build /ǒr/ words with their letter cards. Students write down the words that they have built.

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 Into Reading meet the expectation for materials supporting ongoing and frequent assessment to determine student mastery and inform meaningful differentiation of foundational skills, including a clear and specific protocol as to how students performing below standard on these assessments will be supported.

Assessment opportunities are provided frequently and consistently to monitor student progress and determine specific areas where extra support and practice are needed. Assessment types include beginning of the year screening assessments, Module Assessments, Module Inventories, Weekly Assessments, Selection Quizzes, and Benchmark Book Assessments. Additional Progress Monitoring Assessments are available to be used as needed. Answer keys are provided for all assessments. Foundational skills lessons include correct and redirect suggestions for teachers to work with students not mastering the lesson content. Additionally, foundational skills lessons include small-group instruction information for teachers to observe students practicing the skills. If students need additional support, a page with an additional lesson is included. If the student has mastered the targeted skill, an extension lesson is given.  Intervention Assessment materials provide Administering and Scoring Guides to provide specific goals for assessments throughout the year with advice for teachers on how to proceed if students are not meeting the goals. 

Multiple assessment opportunities are provided over the course of the year in core materials for students to demonstrate progress toward mastery and independence of foundational skills. For example:

• Screening Assessments for Grade 2 include Word Identification and Oral Reading Fluency. They help determine if students require additional Diagnostic testing.  
• The Diagnostic Assessments provide information on essential strategies and skills needed to help students become successful readers. The Diagnostic Assessments include the following from Kindergarten through Grade 2, as needed: The Print Concept Inventory includes print, directionality and written language (parts of a book/ sentence). The Letter-Sound Correspondence assesses the student's ability to associate letters and their sounds. The Phonological Awareness Inventory consists of phonological and phonemic awareness skills, which include  sound matching, sound isolation, sound blending, sound segmenting, sound deletion, and sound substitution (blending, segmenting, and deletion of syllables; recognition, production and onset of rhyming words; isolation of beginning, medial, and ending sounds; identifying, categorizing and blending of phonemes; segmenting, deleting, adding and substituting phonemes). 
• Progress Monitoring Assessments provide biweekly checks on student progress. These assessments are oral reading exams to assess a student’s growth or deficiencies in reading skills throughout the year. In Grade 2, there are Oral Reading Fluency passages given biweekly.
• Weekly Module Assessments are administered online and include a CCSS document to allow teachers to see which standards are covered on the assessment and the standards’ corresponding questions. 
• Grade 2 Module Inventories are provided. These inventories are to be given to students one-on-one to assess foundational skills throughout each of the 12 Modules. The tool is intended to “monitor progress of select children for whom a closer eye to their developing foundational skills is warranted.” The teacher can use these inventories as needed, and they may also select a specific portion of the exam to monitor the progress of a certain skill throughout the year. 

Assessment materials provide teachers and students with information on students’ current skill/level of understanding. For example:

• Under the Data and Reports tab for Reading and Language Arts, various reports are available to the teacher for Grade 2 online assessments taken by the students throughout the year (Weekly and Module assessments). Assessment Reports are provided, which contain student data on assessment proficiencies, assessment averages, and individual student test scores. The Standard Report itemizes questions and responses by standard student and domain. This report provides the number of test items along with student averages and a link to available resources throughout the Modules for that specific standard. There is also a Student Growth Report which monitors each students’ online assessment growth throughout the year. 
• In Module 8, Lesson 1, pages T280-T281, the Phonics lesson Vowel Patterns: /oo/  allows the teacher to informally assess students’ knowledge after the introduction of the lesson by observing the students work with the vowel pattern blending words with the teacher and independently. The Correct and Redirect prompt also gives the teacher the recommendation to make notes of types of errors during blending practice and gives the specific example of, “If a child reads rescue as /rē-sky/ in Transition to Longer Words, say rescue, and have the child repeat it. Explain that the letters re at the beginning of a word are not always the prefix re-. Guide the child to divide the word between the two middle consonants, blend each syllable individually, and then say the syllables together.”

Materials support teachers with instructional adjustments to help students make progress toward mastery in foundational skills. For example:

• The Recommendations for Data Driven Instruction located within the Intervention Assessments Guide provide teachers with specific steps to take to help students who are struggling. Each targeted skill provides four steps: 1. Identify student needs, 2. Teach to the need, 3. Scaffold the core, and 4. Monitor progress. For example, for Word Identification, step 1 states “Administer Diagnostic Assessment: Letter-Sound Correspondence to identify missing skills and knowledge about phonics elements.” (Intervention Assessments, T40). In this same manual, if a student is struggling with Oral Reading Fluency, step 4 states, “Monitor Progress with Progress-Monitoring assessments and core assessments.” 
• The Administering and Scoring Assessments document on page T34 provides teachers with Grade 2 Fluency goals for the beginning of the year (40-60 WCPM), mid-year (74-94 WCPM), end of year (90-100 WCPM). The section on Adjusting Instruction includes general recommendations such as, “For improving rate, provide texts at a student’s independent reading level for repeated or coached readings.”

The materials reviewed for Grade 2 Into Reading meet the expectation for materials, questions, and tasks providing high-quality lessons and activities that allow for differentiation of foundational skills, so all students achieve mastery of foundational skills.  

A variety of differentiation opportunities are presented throughout the materials. Teachers are provided with suggestions to address the needs of English Language Learners, students who may need additional support, or students who may need an extension of the concept. Differentiation suggestions are incorporated both as in-the-moment ideas that the teacher could use with the whole class and as ideas that would involve pulling a small group of students later to revisit a concept. Tabletop Minilessons are included to support students in need of additional instruction on specific topics. Students below level receive small-group instruction options for differentiation in targeted skill practice for foundational skills and Correct and Redirect prompts in daily lessons. Above grade-level student materials are provided for independent practice during small-group instruction in Literacy Centers to reinforce and extend concepts learned through direct instruction. Guided reading groups monitored by running-record data with Rigby Leveled Readers provide opportunities for differentiation. Students have multiple practice opportunities within each cycle to master grade-level foundational skills throughout the modules, including text practice with Start Right decodable readers.

Materials provide high-quality learning lessons and activities for every student to reach mastery of foundational skills. For example: 

• In Module 6, Lesson 1, page T280, when students are learning about the suffixes -y and -ly, the Teacher Tip box states, “Looking ahead! When providing practice with the suffixes -y and -ly, avoid base words that undergo spelling changes. Words with spelling changes before endings will be taught later this week.” 
• In Module 8, Lesson 1, pages T280-T281, Phonics Vowel Patterns /oo/ for independent practice through Blending Practice, students read words with different vowel /oo/ patterns written on the board. There is a Transition to Longer Words section where students use what they know about /oo/ patterns to read longer words. In Correct and Redirect, there is specific remediation instruction provided for students who mispronounce rescue, advising the student that re at the beginning of a word is not always a prefix. 
• In Module 9, Lesson 1, page T34, based on the results of the pretest, the teacher differentiates the Spelling Words for students as follows, “Assign the Basic and Review Spelling Words as needed for practice this week. If children do well on the pretest, assign the Challenge Spelling Words.” 

Materials provide guidance to teachers for scaffolding and adapting lessons and activities to support each student’s needs. For example:

• In Module 3, Lesson 1, page T33, students practice blending and reading short vowel words with the CVCC pattern. At the bottom of the page, there is a purple Correct & Redirect box that gives teachers advice on how to help students who are struggling. The following three tips are given: “If a child mispronounces a word during Blending Practice, make note of the error type and address it. If a child reads land as lank, say the correct word. Then use the sound-by-sound blending routine to call attention to each letter and sound. Help the child blend each sound and then blend the word. If a child reads wing as wink, say the correct word. Then determine if the error was a pronunciation error or a blending error and address it accordingly.” 
• In Module 6, Lesson 2, page T294, when teaching the suffixes -y and -ly, teachers are provided with different levels of support to use with English Learners. The instructional adjustments teachers can make are as follows: “Substantial-Provide first language translations of the Blending Practice words. For example, in Spanish, bravely is valientemente. Moderate-Discuss the definitions of the base words used in Blending Practice. Guide children to apply the suffix to the new meaning. Light-Challenge children to use selected Blending Practice words in oral sentences.” 
• In Module 11, Lesson 3 page T30, Options for Differentiation: Reinforce Foundational Skills, the teacher reads aloud page 13 of the Start Right Reader as students follow along, reminding students that good readers change the pitch of their voices to reflect punctuation. The teacher gives the additional support “Point out that you raised the pitch of your voice at the end of  the sentence 'Are we going to the clinic?' to show that Alex is asking a question.” 

Students have multiple practice opportunities with each grade-level foundational skill component in order to reach mastery. For example:

• In Module 6, Week 2, when learning about the prefix dis-, students have numerous practice opportunities with the skill: 
• In Module 6, Lesson 6, page T354, the teacher introduces the prefix dis- to students. The teacher explains the meaning of the prefix, and students practice blending words with dis-. Students also practice blending words with a variety of prefixes and practice identifying the prefix, root, and meaning of words. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 6, page T365, the activity suggestion for Connect to Phonics has students building words with the prefix dis-. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 7, page T369, students practice adding different prefixes and suffixes to form words. Two of the words that students form are disconnect and dishonest.
• In Module 6, Lesson 7, page T370, students practice blending and reading words with dis-.  
• In Module 9, Lesson 2, page T54, during Small-Group Instruction Options for Differentiation: Reinforce Foundational Skills, students practice the phonics lesson for the week with a Start Right Reader decodable book. The teacher reminds students they have been reading words with the prefix pre-. Students read page 6 of the Start Right Reader decodable, The Red Car, to find three words that contain the prefix pre-. 
• In Module 9, Lesson 9, page T148, the teacher is given a lesson plan for high-frequency words and segmenting/counting syllables.  The correct and redirect section provides ideas for students who confuse the high-frequency words.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that texts are organized around a topic/topics to build students' knowledge and vocabulary which will over time support and help grow students’ ability to comprehend complex texts independently and proficiently.

In Grade 2, each module is centered around a topic or a theme that relates to Kindergarten and Grade 1 topics.  Modules include both science and social studies topics that help build knowledge.  

Examples include, but are not limited to: 

• In Module 1, students study the social studies topic of “Citizenship.” Texts in this module include: Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Being a Good Citizen by Rachelle Kreisman, and Picture Day Perfection by Deborah Diesen. 
• In Module 3, the theme is “Meet in the Middle,” where students learn how people can work out disagreements. Texts in this module include: Pepita and the Bully by Ofelia Dumas Lachtman, Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan, and Gingerbread for Liberty by Mara Rockliff.
• In Module 5, the social studies topic is “Leadership.” Students learn about the qualities of a good leader. Texts include: Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds, Wilma Rudolph: Against All Odds by Stephanie E. Macceca, and Who Are Government Leaders? by Jennifer Boothroyd. 
• In Model 6, the science topic is “Weather Wise,” which is about how weather affects us. Texts in this module include: Wild Weather by Thomas Kingsley Troupe, Cloudette by Tom Lichtenheld, and Rain Cloud in a Jar by Sci-Tech Discovery Center. 
• In Module 8, students read all about plants. Texts in this module include: From Seed to Pine Tree: Following the Life Cycle by Suzanne Slade, The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola, and Jack and the Beanstalk by Helen Lester. 
• In Module 10, the topic is “Many Cultures, One World,” which focuses on learning from different people and cultures. Texts in this module include: Where on Earth Is My Bagel? by Frances Park and Ginger Park, Goal! by Sean Taylor, and What’s for Lunch around the World (no author). 
  

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the expectation that materials contain sets of coherently sequenced questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.

Throughout the program students answer a variety of questions that are sequenced that help students analyze language, key ideas, details, craft, and the structure of texts. During every session of the Interactive Read Aloud, teachers engage students in answering text-dependent questions. Targeted questions in the Teaching Pal and BookStix provide the teacher with many opportunities to stop and ask students to turn and talk or think about the text that they are listening to.  However, many questions in the Grade 2 materials engage students in focusing on reading strategy instead of comprehension and knowledge building.

Specific examples of coherently sequenced questions and tasks regarding language and key ideas include:

• In Module 1, Lesson 6, students listen to The William Hoy Story by Nancy Sherman, and after listening to pages 16-25, the students are asked, “What is William Hoy’s problem?" "What details on these pages tell how William Hoy solved his problem?" "What is the most important idea the author wants you to know after reading this text?” and finally to use details to explain the central idea. 
• In Module 3, Lesson 8, students listen to Working with Others by Robin Nelson, and after rereading page 45, students are asked, “What are the two paragraphs are mostly about?” and “What evidence supports the central idea?” 
• In Module 5, Lesson 3, students listen to Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds, and after hearing page 19, students are asked, “How does Rafael feel in this part of the story?”
• In Module 5, Lesson 6, students listen to My Dream Playground by Kate M. Becker, and after rereading pages 12 and 13, students are asked “What words could you use to describe the girl's external traits?” Then after rereading pages 17 and 18, students are asked, “How does the girl respond to the challenge of being a project manager and what does that show about her character?”  

Examples of questions that do not support knowledge building and instead ask students to demonstrate reading strategy include the following: 

• In Module 1, Lesson 12, students listen to Picture Day Perfection by Deborah Diesen, and students are asked, “Who is telling the story?" "What clues help you know?" and "Why do think the author chose that person to tell the story?”
• In Module 2, Lesson 7, students read Water Rolls, Water Rises by Pat Mora, and students are asked, “Why do you think the text uses illustrations instead of photographs to picture the author’s words?”
• In Module 3, Lesson 2, students listen to the book Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina, and after learning about point of view, students are asked, “Who is the narrator in the story after hearing pages 3-4?” Then after listening to page 31, students are asked, “Is the story is told from first-person or third-person point of view?” and “What clues in the story help answer that question?”
• In Module 9, Lesson 4, students listen to The Long, Long Journey by Sandra Markle, and after reading page 24, students are asked, “How does the author organize the text?” and “How does this support the author’s purpose for writing?”
• In Module 5, Lesson 12, students read Who are Government's Leaders? by Jennifer Boothroyd and are asked “Which sentence on this page helps you define governor?” and “Why is this sentence more helpful than the one before it?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent questions and tasks that require students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas across both individual and multiple texts.

Throughout the Grade 2 materials, students are asked a series of coherently sequence questions and tasks to integrate knowledge and ideas across both individual texts and multiple texts. Students compare and contrast information from a text and make connections between texts. The Start Right Readers also give students opportunities to analyze multiple texts. 

Throughout the program, students are asked to integrate knowledge across individual texts. Examples include:

• In Module 2, Lessons 3 and 4, students read Many Kinds of Matter by Jennifer Boothroyd. Students turn and talk with a partner about matter. Students compare the three kinds of matter, and they give examples of those types of matter both from the text and from their own experience. Then students independently write how a snowman changes as it melts using details from the text to explain their answer. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 3, students engage in a shared reading of Wild Weather by Thomas Kingsley Troupe and compare and contrast information found in the text. Students are asked, “In what ways is a hurricane like a tornado?" and "How are they different?” Students are also asked, “Why is a meteorologist’s job important?” 
• In Module 7, Lesson 6, students listen to The Camping Trip that Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Our National Parks by Barb Rosenstock and are asked questions such as, “How were Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir alike?" "How were they different?” and “What effect did the camping trip have on Teedie?” 
• In Module 8, Lessons 11 and 12, students listen to Don’t Touch Me! by Elizabeth Preston and are asked how plants protect themselves. Then students write about which plant they think has the most extreme defenses. 
• In Module 10, Lessons 9 and 10, students read Goal! by Sean Taylor and are asked a series of questions to build knowledge. Students are asked, “Why do you think that soccer is loved all around the world?” prior to writing about what it takes to be a great soccer player. 

Throughout the program, there are multiple opportunities for students to integrate knowledge and ideas across multiple texts. Examples include:

• In Module 4, Lessons 12 and 13, students use details from If the Shoe Fits: Two Cinderella Stories by Pleasant DeSpain to discuss how the two fairy tales are alike and what are the most important differences between them. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 10, students read the Start Right Readers Rocky and The Big Day and make connections between the texts. Students are asked, “What main event connects the two stories?” and “How does the author make the reader want to read Rocky after reading the Big Day?”
• In Module 8, Lessons 11 and 12, students listen to Don’t Touch Me! by Elizabeth Preston and Experiment with What a Plant Needs to Grow by Nadia Higgins.  Students are asked how the texts are alike and what is the most important differences between them. 
• In Module 11, Lessons 4 and 5, students read Missing Mama and Papa Tells His Side by Sara Ford in the Start Right Readers. Students read Pop’s version of the story and then they read Papa’s version of the story. Students then engage in a Think-Pair-Share to answer questions such as, “Why is Pop’s story about Papa funny?” and “Why does Papa tell the story differently than Pop tells it?”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that the questions and tasks support students’ ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic (or, for grades 6-8, a theme) through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).

Throughout the Grade 2 materials, students are presented with opportunities to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate knowledge of a topic or theme through integrated skills. Each module is built around an essential question, which is discussed prior to completing a culminating task or a performance-based task. The performance-based tasks are typically more rigorous and require more writing. However, all end-of-module tasks require students to demonstrate their knowledge of what they read and learned throughout the three week module.  Throughout each module, students engage in tasks that require a combination of literacy skills by participating in close reads, Collaborative Conversations, and speaking and writing tasks, that relate to the texts in which they read or listen. 

Examples of opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic or theme by completing culminating tasks that require them to integrate skills include:

• In Module 1, students learn about citizenship and discuss the question “How can being a good citizen make a difference to others?” while completing a variety of tasks after hearing and reading literary and nonfiction texts. At the end of the module, students demonstrate their knowledge by completing one of several culminating tasks including writing a letter to themselves explaining how they plan to be a good citizen this year.  This task requires the integration of reading, writing, and listening. 
• In Module 2, students learn about how exploring helps us understand the world around us. Prior to completing the end-of- module tasks, students discuss what they have learned from the texts. Students then choose to complete a culminating task or performance-based task to demonstrate their understanding and knowledge from the module. An example is students can write five tips to help someone explore or make discoveries using the module texts for ideas which requires them to integrate writing and reading. Students share this task with a partner, which integrates the skill of speaking. 
• In Module 5, students learn about leadership and discuss the qualities of a good leader throughout the three week module. After listening to and reading several literary and nonfiction texts about leadership, students complete an end-of-module task which integrates reading, writing, listening and speaking. One of these tasks requires students to choose two people from the module and write a short report that tells some of their important accomplishments. Students are required to use multiple texts from the module to complete this task. 
• In Module 6, students learn about weather and how it affects us. Students end the module by discussing information they learned from the module texts and then complete either a culminating task or the performance-based task. One example is students can choose to write their opinion about their favorite kind of weather using details from the text and include an explanation and a picture. This task requires students to integrate reading, writing, and listening since many of the texts are read-alouds. 
• In Module 9, students learn about animal habitats and discuss how living things in a habitat depend on each other through various read alouds and independent reading books. At the end of the module, students are given the option of choosing one animal that they learned about in the module and write a report that tells how this animal's habitat helps the animals live.  They also tell why this habitat is important to their survival.  This task requires students to integrate reading, writing, listening, and speaking to demonstrate their knowledge. 
• In Module 10, students learn about world cultures and focus on what we can learn from different people and cultures. At the end of the module, students discuss what they have learned from the various texts in the module. Then they choose to complete one of the culminating tasks or performance-based task. The performance-based task requires students to write a couple of paragraphs explaining what they learned about different people and different cultures from the various text selections. This requires reading, listening, and writing skills. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact with and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. 

In the Grade 2 materials, students are taught academic vocabulary words including Big Idea Words for the module and Power Words for each anchor text. Each module has three main topic words, and each anchor text has another set of vocabulary words for students to learn. There are vocabulary procedures for learning both types of words. Each module also ends with a cumulative review of academic vocabulary. Students practice the vocabulary words through discussion questions and some myBook tasks. According to the Guiding Principles and Strategies book, vocabulary instruction includes oral language practice when listening to Big Books and read-aloud books. Generative Vocabulary lessons provide weekly opportunities to use known words as springboards to learn new, unknown words with morphological or semantic relationships. In addition, Vocabulary Strategy lessons and cumulative vocabulary lessons are included in the modules. 

Big Idea Words are taught in the beginning of each module and relate to the topic; however, they are not included in most of the texts or questions, but rather relate to the module topic or theme. The routine to learn the words include the teacher saying the word, and the students repeating them. Then the teacher explains the meaning in a student-friendly manner and talk about examples. Some examples include:

• In Module 1, the Big Idea Words are citizen, difference, and kind. The students engage in the vocabulary routine and then watch the video “Super Citizen.”  Students then write their knowledge of each word including synonyms and antonyms and draw a picture of each word. In Lesson 15, during the Let’s Wrap Up activity, one option is for students to  write a letter to themselves to explain how they can be a good citizen, and students use the word difference in the letter. 
• In Module 2, the Big Idea Words are examine, identify, and record.  After watching the Get Curious Video, “Mystery Animal Hunt,” the teacher uses the Vocabulary Routine and the Vocabulary Cards to teach words. Students also learn about suffixes -er and -est, as well as, the vocabulary strategy of synonyms.
• In Module 6, the topic is weather. Students learn the words climate, precipitation, and temperature. The word temperature is found in the text, Wild Weather by Thomas Kingsley Troupe. Students complete a worksheet in their myBook where they draw a box around the temperature on the thermometer. In Lesson 6, students learn about homophones and use the text to identify and discuss different homophones. In the Let’s Wrap Up activity at the end of the module, students write a weather report using the word precipitation. 
• In Module 10, students learn about world cultures. The Big Idea Words are culture, harmony, and heritage. In Lesson 15, there is a cumulative vocabulary review of these vocabulary words and the academic vocabulary words. Students can either do a word sort or use the vocabulary words in writing. 

Power Words are specific to usually only one text in the module and are included in questions and tasks about that text. The process to teach these words is a three-step process. First, the teacher introduces the word on a Vocabulary Card and shows a picture. The teacher also gives examples of the word by acting it out and making connections. Then the teacher helps the students make connections by using question prompts. Finally, students work with partners to draw, discuss, and role-play the words. Examples include:

• In Module 2, Week 1, students learn the words amount, easily, example, forms, hollow, material, petals, planet, sail, space, splashes, tasty, tender, and ticklish.  
• In Module 3, Lesson 12, during a shared reading of Pepita and the Bully by Ofelia Dumas Lachtman, students engage in the Vocabulary Routine to learn the meaning of the words: wrinkled, frown, yanked, dragged, mumbled, nearby, excuses, and hesitant. Some of the activity options include drawing a picture of a person who has a wrinkled face or explaining how one might feel if you wrinkle your face. 
• In Module 4, Week 3, students learn the words: streaming, clue, disturb, rattled, and tackle after listening to How to Read a Story by Kate Messner. 
• In Module 5, Lesson 9, students review the word honored in the book Wilma Rudolph: Against All Odds by Stephanie E. Macceca. Then the teacher explains the prefix dis- and how it changes the meaning of the word honored. Students then use words believe, connect, and honest and decide the meaning if the prefix is added. 
• In Module 6, Week 2, students learn the words advantages, average, depends, develop, flash, gusts, hovers, impressed, joined, layer, articles, supplies, and visible. 
• In Module 7, Lesson 12, during a shared reading of "Drum Dream Girl" by Margarita Engle, students learn the word towering in the story. 
• In Module 9, Lesson 7, before listening to Sea Otter Pups by Ruth Owen, the teacher uses the Vocabulary Routine and Vocabulary Cards to teach the words: surface, wraps, attached, crack, sheltered, weary, hide, and wit. Students then work in partners to engage with the words such as, telling each other how someone wraps a present or drawing a weary hiker resting in a sheltered  tent. 
• In Module 10, Week 3, students learn the words adventures, breathless, clamber, festival, fitting, leave, mound, nimble, public, relatives, shuffled, stacked, and suburb. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials contain a year-long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts.

The Grade 2 materials include writing instruction that spans the whole year and aligns to the standards. Writing instruction supports students’ growth throughout the year. The writing tasks place emphasis on using details and text evidence. Students practice writing in all genres. The materials include well-designed lesson plans covering a variety of genres, both process and on-demand writing, and include teacher and student protocols. Students receive explicit instruction that guides them through the writing process in Writing Workshop lessons. Lessons also include mentor texts that provide students with opportunities to examine the text features of a specific genre and the styles and techniques of authors. The materials also include writing rubrics. 

In the beginning of the year, the Grade 2 expectations are to write various genres with less support than the Grade 1 expectations. Students are expected to use texts for writing and write a complete story. Examples include:

• In Module 1, Lesson 8, students write their opinion about which character in Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal has the most important job. Students can write or draw reasons why they chose that character. 
• In Module 1 of Writing Workshop, students write personal narratives about something they have done to make the world a better place. Students select an idea for their personal narratives, identify and draft events, revise with peers for word choice, and then publish to share with the group.
• In Module 2, Lesson 8, after listening to “Bear Up There” (no author), students write what happens next when the characters Billie and Honeysuckle get home. 
• In Module 3, Lesson 8, after reading Working with Others by Robin Nelson, students write an explanation about how to solve a conflict. Students include details from the text to explain their answer. 
• In Module 3 of Writing Workshop, students think about an issue in which they have heard people disagree. Then they describe the issue, state  their point of view, and provide evidence about why others should support their point of view. 
• In Module 4, Lesson 10, after hearing Hollywood Chicken by Lisa Fleming, students write a persuasive essay to make others want to see the imaginary movie, Crossing the Road: The Other Side. 
• In Module 4 of Writing Workshop, students write an imaginary story about a friend or a place. Students are taught that a good story has three key parts (a beginning, middle, and end) to keep the reader interested. The teacher reviews the elements of a narrative story and the writing process. Students are also taught the revision skill of capitalizing proper nouns. 

In the middle of the year, the expectations are to write various genres with more details. The focus is on text evidence to compare and contrast two stories. Examples include:

• In Module 5, Lesson 10, students listen to “Kids for President!” (no author) and then write their opinion about whether they believe kids would be good presidents using details from the text.
• In Module 5 of Writing Workshop, students write a personal essay about what makes them different from others. Students draw and label pictures of themselves, thinking about what makes them unique during brainstorming. During revision, students add figurative language and transitions. 
• In Module 6, Lesson 5, students listen to “Captain Cat Keeps her Cool” (no author) and write about whether Captain Cat is a good leader using details to support their answer.
• In Module 7 of Writing Workshop, students write an imaginative story about characters that they create and their adventures. During the fifteen lessons, students brainstorm the characters and words to use to describe the characters, use elements of a narrative to develop a draft, use character traits to solve a problem, integrate dialogue, and edit and revise, before publishing and sharing with their classmates. 
• In Module 8, Lesson 10, students read “The Prince and the Tasty Pea” and “The Princess and the Pea” (no author), and then they compare and contrast the two stories in writing.
• In Module 8 of Writing Workshop, students write a procedural text in which they describe the steps needed to complete an activity.

In the end of the year, Grade 2 students are expected to write extended responses to on-demand prompts using details from texts and pictures and to compare and contrast characters, settings, and events, as well as write various genres. Examples include:

• In Module 9, Lesson 8, students write a description of a mother sea otter and her pup in their habitat using details from the text Sea Otter Pups by Ruth Owen.
• In Module 9 of Writing Workshop, students write a research report about animals that have a special relationship with others. Students write research questions and select goals for writing their research reports. Then students conduct the research, add facts to their drafts, revise for compound sentences, and publish and share with the group. 
• In Module 10, Lesson 4, after listening to "Where on Earth is my Bagel?" by Frances Park and Ginger Park, students rewrite the story from the perspective of the pigeon, using details from the text to help them complete the writing task. 
• In Module 11 of Writing Workshop, students write about an experience doing something new that they did not want to do. Over the course of the fifteen lessons, students take a poll about scary and exciting activities, brainstorm topics, choose a topic, develop a draft with conflict and resolution, revise by adding details, edit for run-on sentences, write a final copy, and then share with the class.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.

The Grade 2 materials include research projects across the year. Each module has an Inquiry and Research Project related to the module topic. The projects are three weeks long. They develop students’ knowledge on the topic, as well as, teach students research skills. They also integrate all skills including reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Research-Based Projects often include a creative aspect and involve group work. Often some digital element is included such as online research. There is also one rubric for all of the projects. The Inquiry and Research Project Rubric measures students on collaboration, research and text evidence, content, and presentation. The routine for research is the same throughout the year. In Week 1, students learn about the project and brainstorm ideas. In Week 2, students research and complete their research project. In Week 3, students reflect on their project, share, and celebrate. 

Specific examples of Research-Based Projects in Grade 2 include, but are not limited to:

• In Module 1, students read and write about citizenship. The research project requires students to create a mural that shows community or school helpers. 
• In Module 2, students create a group book modeled after the anchor text, The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. In Week 1, students work in groups to research different types of matter using books and websites. In Week 2, students work in groups to draw and write about the things they choose. This involves reading various texts and using digital tools for research. In Week 3, students share. 
• In Module 3, students write a script and record a public service announcement about good ways to resolve conflicts. During Week 1, students brainstorm research questions about working out disagreements. In Week 2, students decide on a message and a title for their public service announcement, develop the script, and prepare cue cards. In Week 3, students record their public service announcement and show it to the class. 
• In Module 5, students launch a campaign for a story character who they feel will be a good leader. This connects to the module essential question “What are the qualities of a good leader?”
• In Module 6, students create a safety brochure about extreme weather. In Week 1, students work in Think-Pair-Share groups to research different types of extreme weather, and using books and websites, they research safety measures to take in these types of weather. In Week 2, students work in groups to make the brochures. In Week 3, they share their brochures.
• In Module 7, students write an autobiography which supports the essential question, “How do our experiences shape our lives?” In Week 1, students brainstorm important events in their own lives, reflect on experiences by interviewing family members, and browsing through family keepsakes. In Week 2, students make a list of memorable events, organize them into a timeline, and write an autobiography with a final draft including photographs, drawings, or pictures from magazines. In Week 3, students present. 
• In Module 9, students study how living things in a habitat depend on each other. The three-week inquiry project requires students to research an animal’s habitat and create a diorama to share what they have learned with the class. 
• In Module 10, students create a class book about each student’s heritage and its traditions. Each student writes one page about their heritage tradition for the book. In Week 1, students work in Think-Pair-Share groups to brainstorm questions for their families and research their families’ heritage, including the country and the traditions, using books and websites. In Week 2, students create their page for the book, including illustrations or photographs. In Week 3, students share their book pages. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.

Grade 2 materials include multiple supports to foster independent reading. The Guiding Principles and Strategies book contains sections for Building Reading Independence and Family and Community, which explain how to help students become independent readers in and out of the classroom. There is a daily reading block which includes 45 to 60 minutes for small-group reading and independent reading with literary centers, decodable texts, skill practice, and Inquiry and Research projects. At the beginning of the year, students should read five to ten minutes before taking a break, and throughout the year, this time should increase. Each lesson within the module has an “Options for Independent and Collaborative Work” section. There are also tracking sheets such as reading logs included to help keep students accountable. There are also activities for home learning including printables and electronic tools, as well as, family letters. It should be noted though that the home activities appear to be optional. While students are given a reading log, there is no specific guidance for ways to hold students accountable and the time students should spend reading each night. 

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies book for Grade 2, there is a section titled “Building Reading Independence.” In this section, there is guidance on organizing the classroom library, self-selecting books, setting goals, and responding to texts. Materials include a printable reading log to track independent reading books. Teachers are encouraged to create response journals for reading as well. 

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies book for Grade 2, there is a section called “Learning Beyond the Classroom.” This section gives guidance on the messaging that should be sent home. In this section, teachers can find printables, such as eBooks, and iRead, which is a foundational skills online program. In addition, teachers can find printable resources such as Printable Resource Worksheets, Word Lists, and Start Right Readers. Teachers are told to explain the importance of the volume of reading to families. The Family Letter for each module reminds families of the importance of reading with children each day and skills to work on at home. The three sections of the letter are Big Idea Words, Let’s Read Together, and Word Play. The skills include the Big Idea Words, games and activities while reading, and foundational reading skills. For example, in Module 7, an activity is to discuss events and experiences that are important to the characters in the story. At the end of each module, students are also encouraged to take home their myBook so they can read and share the text with family members. 

In each module, there is also guidance for a reading corner. This section describes the reading log for tracking and gives suggestions for students to partner read, annotate the text, and do a response journal. In each module, there are also options for Independent and Collaborate Work. For example, in Module 2, it is suggested that children practice reading using the Student Choice Library and Rigby Leveled Library. Students also practice reading in literacy centers and independent reading with Start Right Readers. It is encouraged that students also set goals. In the Reading Workshop section, it suggests that teachers have conversations about strengths and areas for growth during reading conferences. Teachers are prompted to help students set realistic goals and give strategies for achieving goals.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing. 

The Grade 2 curriculum is divided into twelve modules, with each module taking place over three weeks. The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook and the Teacher's Guide provide extensive information about all components of the module and specific details for each lesson component (with a focus on reading, writing, listening, and speaking). Suggested time frames and ranges for each required daily component of a lesson are provided, which will help schools find time for each part of the lesson.  Time is built into the schedule each day for whole-class instruction, small-group instruction, independent practice, collaborative group work, and reflection. Module Inquiry and Research Projects are included in the daily center rotations.

The Guiding Principles and Strategies resource provides information to support effective lesson structure and pacing. Three anchor texts are introduced each week. In Modules 1 to 10, students have a science or social studies topic, while Modules 11 and 12 are genre studies. In these two modules, students use previously read texts. The specific suggested break down each day include:

• Whole-Class Instruction should be 65 to 105 minutes per day of reading, writing, language, and foundational skills. Specifically, it suggests 60 to 75 minutes for reading workshop (including whole-group and small-group instruction), 15 to 30 minutes for foundational skills, 20 to 30 minutes of writing workshop, and 10 to 15 minutes of vocabulary. 
• Small-Group instruction should be 45 to 60 minutes per day and include independent practice, collaborative work, and teacher-led small-group instruction.
• A daily wrap-up should take place for five minutes a day.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the expectation that the teacher and student can reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.

The Grade 2 curriculum is arranged into twelve modules, with each module covering three weeks. This equates to 180 days of instruction. This does not allow for flexibility within a typical school year including disruptions due to state testing, holidays, snow days, field trips, and other school and district commitments. There are no allocated times for assessments or for instruction in research. There are also no flex days built into the program. It also does not allow for the teacher to introduce and practice routines and procedures, which the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook emphasizes the importance of this in the beginning of the year.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that the student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.).

The Grade 2 student materials provide a variety of resources to practice and review skills. The resources provide clear directions and explanations for students and are all labeled to show alignment to the specific module and week. Printables, graphic organizers, and anchor charts are easily located on the digital site by sorting in accordance with the labeled heading in the Teacher's Guide as well.  Activities that are completed with teacher guidance have directions included in the Teacher's Guide. Resources that are completed independently or in small groups without direct teacher guidance include clear directions and explanations so that the task can be completed. 

The myBook is a write-in student book that provides clear directions and explanations. Each task box is labeled with clear and concise instructions along with a defined box for completing the task. The Teacher's Guide provides clear instructions as well that support the work students complete in their myBook. Some examples include:

• In Module 1, Lesson 13, the teacher reads aloud the prompt on Teaching Pal page 104, which states, “Have children brainstorm ideas about what they learned about the boy. Then have children draw and write their responses to the prompt.” 
• In Module 5, Lesson 12, students complete a graphic organizer for their independent reading book. The Teacher's Guide prompts teachers to say to students, “What are the important ideas in this section in your own words?” and “Did you remember to paraphrase when you write your summary?”
• In Module 9, Lesson 7, students view the myBook prompt that states “Imagine that you are a scientist observing a mother sea otter and her pup in their habitat. Describe what you see and hear.” It then breaks down the task for students by telling them to first make notes about the habitat and then make notes about sea otters, before writing the description. 

Throughout the program, the materials include Vocabulary Cards, printables, Tabletop Minilesson flip-charts, anchor charts, Display and Engage Knowledge Maps, Leveled Readers, rubrics, and Reader’s Theater. They are all clearly labeled and correspond to the appropriate lesson. In each lesson, there is a small picture of the lesson text and a list of materials needed for each lesson.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.

There is a resource that shows an alignment to the Common Core State Standards by listing each standard and the lessons that correlate to the standards. Standard alignment is also located on the digital resource through the Planning Guide and Common Core State Standards link. Assessments are not labeled by CCSS, but the digital data reports have an option for the teacher to review the data based on the standard. In addition, on the digital platform, under Module Resources, there is a document titled “State-Specific Resources,” which provides the weekly overview for each module with state-aligned labeling of standards. Teachers can find the correlation by using the correlation guide. For example, in Module 3, Lesson 1, students are asked, “What is the topic of the text?" "What evidence gives you a clue?" and "What is the central idea of the text on these two pages?” Then the teacher uses the correlation guide to see that those questions respond to R.2.2. The Grade 2 Take and Teach Lessons for the Rigby Leveled Library also provide correlation between the standards and the questions asked during the guided reading session.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that the visual design (whether in print or digital) is not distracting or chaotic, but supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject.

The visual design includes clear instructions and simple designs that do not distract the students. All texts are provided within the student myBook. The materials contain many visual aids to support student learning, including anchor charts, Display and Engage content, graphic organizers, printables, and real images that accompany the text related to the content of the modules. Additionally, illustrations and clip-art utilized on student workbook pages are uncomplicated and appealing to the eye. The font, margins, and spacing provided for student work is appropriate. Color coding is included in the teacher materials to facilitate quick knowledge of the type of task and procedure to use with students. 

Examples of appropriate visual design in both print and digital include:

• The printed myBook design provides color, ample space for students to write, large font for headings and directions, and clear labels for vocabulary and tips for students. 
• The digital version of the materials provides a table of contents drop down menu, making it easy for students to access specific parts of the myBook digitally. 
• The Know It, Show It workbook is labeled with the skill at the top, the module and week at the bottom, and contains clear directions for student completion. 
• Anchor charts are provided and used throughout lessons to support the skill that students practice and apply independently. Anchor charts are colorful and use headings and guiding questions. 
• Take and Teach printables are used along with the writing focal text. The printable includes the title of the book, clear directions with page number references, and labeling.
• In the Teaching Pal, boxes are color-coded for different tasks, and teacher directions for asking students to complete a task are easily located. The text within these boxes is also visually appealing and easy to read, because it is written in bulleted format. 
• Teacher materials on the digital version are not visually busy with too much text. There are icons that can be clicked on for added information about tasks, and then hidden once the task is finished to eliminate visual distraction. 
• The Genre Study printables must be printed from the digital resources. They are black and white, with no visuals or graphics. The printable for each lesson is contained to one page.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials contain a teacher’s edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.

The Grade 2 materials include a Teacher's Guide that provides a clear outline of each module, as well as notes and suggestions on how to present content to students. The Teacher's Guide also includes the objectives of the lesson, explanations of where to find descriptions of routines, and suggested ways to present content. Other features of the Teacher's Guide includes possible questions to ask students, detailed guidance for each part of the literacy block, scaffolded instruction to address learners’ needs, and suggestions and ideas on how to differentiate instruction for those students in need. Within the Teacher’s Guide there are also ideas for how to structure Reading Workshops, literacy centers, vocabulary centers, digital stations, and research-informed instructional routines to support lesson planning. Some of those instructional routines include the following:  active viewing, active listening, vocabulary, reading for understanding, close reading, and response writing. Engagement routines include the following:  choral reading, partner reading, echo reading, Turn-and-Talk, Think-Pair-Share, Share Chair, and Collaborative Discussion. 

The Teaching Pal features specific annotations in support of instructional routines including reading for understanding, close reading, and Collaborative Discussion.  It also includes text-dependent questions that are embedded within the text to support teachers with creating engaging text-dependent discussions during and after engaging in the reading of a complex text. The Teaching Pal provides notes for think alouds, tasks, and questions which are labeled with learning objectives. Each note is also labeled with a Domain of Knowledge for the task, question, or think aloud. 

The Teacher's Guide includes several sections that provide annotations and suggestions on how to present information to students. This includes:

• Module Opener: Provides an essential question, an explanation of the module focus, and a quick overview of the skills students will acquire and practice throughout the module
• Reading Workshop: Provides suggestions on forming small groups in guided reading, English language development, setting reading goals, conferring,and skill strategy groups
• Building Knowledge Networks: Provides an image of the Knowledge Map students will use and how to display the Display and Engage for students throughout the module
• Developing Knowledge and Skills: Gives an overview of the knowledge and skills addressed throughout the module
• Inquiry and Research Project: Provides the learning objectives and weekly focus, providing teachers with detailed plans to guide students through completion of each project
• Notice and Note: Provides specific guidance of areas to instruct, model or ask. There is also a chart that shows the specific lesson, the text, and the comprehension skill, and the Notice and Note signpost will appear
• Kicking off the Module: Provides guidance to teachers on the way to set goals with students and make connections with families
• Week at a Glance: Provides teachers with a weekly overview that provides detailed information on what instruction includes for the week. Colors are assigned to each part, as well as the use of icons and symbols. 
• Literacy Centers: Provides teachers with information on the work that students will engage in, what materials are needed, and how the teacher can monitor student progress. In addition, information on the use of technology and digital stations is provided and where to find printables that accompany these stations 
• Daily Lesson Plan: Provides the teacher with detailed directions for the use of materials, guiding questions, learning objectives, collaborative strategies, learning mindset, English learner support, and professional learning. 

The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook also discusses each part of the lesson plan and describes the materials for each section and how to use each resource. This section also describes how to use the Weekly and Module Assessments and how to use the online digital tools and resources. 

In addition, the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook includes Accessing Online Digital Tools and Resources, which explains, with labeled screenshots, the different features of the digital platform. It shows the modules, resources for teaching, data, and assessments. It also provides information on ways to work with students with disabilities or who are English Language Learners.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials contain a teacher’s edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.

The materials include a Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, that provides specific research, rationales, and explanations, that will help teachers build knowledge of the content. The materials also include a Teaching Pal that accompanies the student myBook. The Teaching Pal provides guidance, notes, and instructional practices and strategies as students work through module texts. Teachers also have access to a digital professional learning module to support their understanding of each module. The Teacher's Guide also contains adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literary concepts. 

The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook provides in depth information about the overview of the design of the program, the research behind the design, and guidance for each part of the module in the areas of Assessment and Differentiation, Family and Community, Classroom Community, and Teaching and Learning. Within this book, the Teaching and Learning section provides explanations to assist the teacher in developing a full understanding of the content. Explanations are provided about Building Knowledge and Language, Foundational Skills, Oral Language and Vocabulary, Reading Worksop, and Writing Workshop. The information presented provides details about best practices to help teachers improve their knowledge of the subject. The digital Professional Learning Module allows teachers to navigate the learning modules at their own pace. Modules are designed to provide teachers with the learning outcomes, hands-on experience, reflection, and application before teaching the module to students. The Teacher's Guide contains a Preview Lesson Texts section that explains in detailed adult-level language the text complexity, connections to other curricular areas, key ideas, and language from the text or texts from the week.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials contain a teacher’s edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.

Teachers are provided a variety of materials that explain the role of specific ELA/Literacy standards. Supports can be found in the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, Teacher's Guide, the Teaching Pal, Assessments, and the Common Core State Standards resource. 

At the beginning of each module in the Teacher's Guide, there is an overview page that lists all of the essential skills. Then, in the Week at a Glance section, the essential literary skills are listed for vocabulary, reading, communication, and writing for both whole-group instruction and small-group instruction. The Teaching Pal contains information for the teacher on think alouds, tasks, and questions for the texts in the myBook. Each is labeled with learning objectives and with the Depth of Knowledge. Common Core State Standards are listed for each lesson in an additional document. Also, assessments are provided and teachers are able to create a standards-based report to assess and monitor student progress in regards to specific ELA/literacy standards. Lastly, in the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, there is a section called Teaching and Learning that has specific curriculum alignment to the Common Core State Standards.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials contain an explanation of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, there is a clear explanation of the instructional approaches and the research behind the program and strategies. The materials also contain a Research Foundations: Evidence Base book that specifically details the instructional approaches and research-based strategies of Into Reading. In this book, research is provided about the instructional model, technology and blended learning, differentiated and personalized learning, foundational reading skills, language and vocabulary development, fluency and comprehension, writing, speaking and listening, social-emotional learning, family and community engagement, and assessments. This book cites over 100 research references. 

The program also includes Professional Learning Modules, which provides explanations of the instructional approaches. Modules are designed to provide teachers with learning outcomes, hands-on experiences, reflection, and application.

Throughout the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, there are blue boxes titled Professional Learning: Research Foundations that state the research theory behind each section. The Research Foundations: Evidence Base book, contains all of the research behind the program. It describes the research and how the program delivers the research theory. Some examples include:

• On page 8, research is provided that supports the balanced literacy approach and guided reading.
• On page 12 and 54, there is research that supports the blended learning environment of both working with students and working with technology.
• On page 15-16, research is provided for the need for differentiation.
• On page 46, the research of Dr. David Dockterman of Harvard Graduate School of Education is provided that explains the integration of mindset into lessons.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials contain strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents or caregivers, about the ELA/literacy program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.

The Guiding Principles and Strategies Handbook dedicates an entire section to Family and Community. In this section, they provide extensive suggestions for how teachers can strengthen the relationship with families and with the community. This section also provides information on how the community can be utilized to better support the knowledge and growth of the students. At the beginning of each module, there is a letter included in the printables and the Teacher's Guide that instructs teachers to connect with families at the beginning of the module by sending a letter home with students. The letter discusses the topic, explores the genre, and builds vocabulary. 

The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook provides a Family And Community section that provides information on engaging families as learning partners, communicating with families, and communicating with all stakeholders. There are six detailed sections including Engaging Families as Learning Partners, Communicating with Families, Learning Beyond the Classroom, Celebrating Success, Supporting Summer Learning, and Connecting with the Community. Some specific examples include:

• Engaging families as learning partners can begin by ensuring that families have access to an abundance of appropriate books during the school year and over the summer.  Coaching parents and caregivers on how to consider children’s interests and allow them to select related texts is also provided. It also suggests that the teacher meets the families, provides a personal letter or postcard to students prior to the beginning of the year, and holds conferences with families to share observations about students’ development and to discuss strategies for working together. 
• Communicating with families by posting family letters and other communication on a board, sharing the student’s reading, writing, and learning goals, letting families know how often they should expect to hear from the teacher, providing translations of any communications and handouts, and making sure all stakeholders have access to online resources.
• Supporting summer learning by providing information on beating summer slide and providing resources on things to do in the summer, providing summer reading lists with suggestions of titles and genres, and providing questions for families to ask before, during, and after reading are all included in this section.
• Connecting with the community by planning meaningful experiences with the community beyond school, engaging in service learning projects to develop social awareness, and reaching out to families and community members to share resources or discuss their expertise are also provided.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.

Throughout the year, there are multiple opportunities to assess students in order to monitor their progress. Assessments include Daily Formative Assessments, Intervention Assessments, Guided Reading Benchmark Assessments, Weekly Assessments, and Module Assessments. The assessments are explained in detail in the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook in the Assessment and Differentiation section. Assessments are available in both the print version and digitally. When given digitally, teachers are able to use two different reports to monitor progress.

Assessments are used to monitor student progress to plan for interventions. This includes:

• Screening Assessments: Used early in the school year to obtain preliminary information about student performance, screen students for interventions, and determine groups for foundational skills instruction. An Oral Reading Fluency Assessment is also provided to assess fluency, accuracy, and rate.
• Diagnostic Assessments: Used as follow-up assessments as needed for students who scored below expectations on the screening assessments. Assessments include Letter-Sound Correspondence Assessments and Word Identification Assessments.
• Progress Monitoring Assessments: Used every two weeks to measure growth in foundational reading skills. The goal is to identify challenging areas for reteaching, review, and extra practice, provide checks of students’ beginning reading skills, monitor the progress of students who are in reading interventions, and help determine when students are ready to exit an intervention. These assessments take three to five minutes. 

Formative Assessments are also included and provide both Weekly and Module Assessments. There is also a culminating task at the end of each module, including an optional Performance Assessment that requires students to synthesize their content learning.  Data reports are provided for the online versions. The assessment report provides class scores for each assessment and analyzes student proficiency data. The standards report assesses students’ progress in standards proficiency. 

There is also a Benchmark Assessment Kit that is used to determine students’ guided reading levels and make instructional decisions. These assessments include both fiction and nonfiction leveled readers.  Rubrics are also provided to assess students’ writing and research projects. There are rubrics for narrative writing, informational writing, poetry writing, correspondence writing, argumentative writing, Collaborative Discussions, response writing, and the Inquiry and Research Projects. The writing rubrics assess students in the areas of organization and presentation, development of ideas, and use of language and conventions. The rubric for the Inquiry and Research Project assesses students in collaboration, research and text evidence, content, and  presentation.

The program also includes Reading Surveys to gather information at the beginning and middle of the year and to gather information about reading interests, attitudes, and preferences. The surveys are used to inform instructional planning and support students with self-selected reading and recommend books. The program also suggests that teachers keep observation notes and take notes during individual conferences, guided reading groups, small-group instruction, and independent reading and writing.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.

Module and Weekly Assessments provide standards alignment. In the print version of the assessments, the answer key provides both the Common Core State Standards and the Depth of Knowledge for each question. In the digital version of the assessments, teachers can access the standards report, which shows students’ progress in standards proficiency. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.

The assessments provide sufficient guidance for interpreting student performance and they provide suggestions for follow-up. The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook explains when to give which assessment and who to give it to. It also provides information on what teachers can do to support students based on the results gained from the assessments. The Teacher’s Edition also provides differentiation guidance for each lesson based on assessment data. This gives teachers information on how to follow-up after assessments for both reteaching and interventions. The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook also includes information on how to administer and score the screening, diagnostic, and progress-monitoring assessments.  It also explains how to use writing rubrics to monitor growth in writing and how to use data to implement a multi-tiered system of supports. 

The Providing Differentiated Support and Intervention section of the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook provides information on guided reading groups, reading skill and strategy support groups, foundational skills support groups, and best practices for intervention support.  Teachers use Formative Assessments, Progress Monitoring Assessments, and Benchmark Assessments to plan for these different groups. In the reading skill and strategy support group, teachers reteach a skill or strategy that has not yet been mastered by a group of students. In the foundational skills group, the teacher provides reinforcement of daily foundational skills lessons during either small-group or one-on-one time. For students who need reinforcement with genres or skills, there are Tabletop Minilessons, which provide teachers with guidance on how to address and reteach students who do not perform well on assessments. 

Data reports are available after students take Weekly and Module Assessments, which provide teachers with data to analyze gaps and gains, to form groups for differentiated instruction, and to locate resources to target students’ needs. The program recommends that teachers use the data reports to determine if students have met the learning objectives for the week or module, look for patterns in students’ errors to choose concepts and skills for reteaching, and decide if students are ready to advance to the next week or module of instruction. 

In addition, for the Weekly Assessments and the Module Assessments, there is information on how to interpret the data. Teachers use the scores and additional classroom information to determine whether students are ready to advance to the next module or may require reteaching of some concepts and skills. It is suggested that for struggling students, the teacher duplicates the answer key, circles the question numbers answered incorrectly for each assessment, and compares the corresponding skills indicated. The teacher can then look for patterns among errors to determine which skills need more reteaching and more practice.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.

The materials contain guidance and routines to monitor student progress. The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook outlines how teachers can use assessment tools to gather data and gain a more complete picture of students’ growth and instructional needs. There are opportunities to monitor progress via Formative Weekly and Module Assessments, screeners, progress monitoring, and Oral Reading Fluency Assessments. Routines and guidance to help monitor progress include portfolios, reading surveys, and observation notes. 

In the Guided Principles and Strategies handbook, there is a map that shows the suggested timeline to plan instruction and administer assessments throughout the year. This plan includes times to administer the Intervention Assessments, Guided Reading Benchmark Assessment Kit, Weekly Assessments, Module Assessments, and Daily Formative Assessments.  The program suggests that Daily Formative Assessments are used along with selection quizzes to provide data for small-group instruction. The Intervention Assessments are used at the beginning of the year with follow-up Diagnostic Assessments used for select students, and Progress Monitoring Assessments are used every two weeks as needed. The Guided Reading Benchmark Assessment Kit is used on an on-going basis to assess students' reading skills.  

Portfolios are set up at the beginning of the year for each student and contain:

• Formal and informal assessments including the Weekly and Module Assessments, Screening and Diagnostic Assessments, Observation Notes, and Project Rubrics
• Work samples that include work from myBook, completed graphic organizers, writing samples, and photos of inquiry and research projects
• Reading Surveys to show reading interests, attitudes, and preferences
• Observation Notes taken during conferences, guided reading groups, small-group instruction, and independent reading and writing 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials indicate how students are accountable for independent reading based on student choice and interest to build stamina, confidence, and motivation.

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, there is a section titled Building Reading Independence. In this section, teachers are provided with resources and strategies to help students become independent and enthusiastic readers. Included in this section are ways to hold students accountable for independent reading. In addition, in the Family and Community section of the handbook, additional information for independent reading is provided, including how to hold students accountable for independent reading at home. Teachers are provided with information on setting up a reading center, helping students self-select books, assisting students in setting goals, and having students respond to reading. 

In the classroom, the amount of time students spend reading in one sitting gradually increases. The students are taught and encouraged to select goals for how much reading they will do.  A Reading Log printable is provided for students to track their progress and to keep track of fiction or nonfiction key ideas as they read. In addition, prior to each independent reading session in the classroom, students set goals based on their reading history and their feelings. Students also create a response journal to document their responses to independent reading books. Students should be encouraged to note what they liked and did not like and why. In the Reading Center of each classroom, students self-select books to build reading stamina, skills, and enjoyment. Books should include a variety of genres, topics, and reading levels, and students should pick books based on interest level. 

To help with independent reading at home, the teacher is encouraged to send home a copy of the Reading Log printable. It is suggested that families set up a time at least once per week to read with their children, to listen to their children read aloud to them, and to discuss what they are reading. Strategies for families to also support students should be sent home including the following:  “five words” so students know if a book is appropriate and “book browse” so students pick books based on interests. Similarly, the teacher is encouraged to provide a summer reading list with suggestions of titles, as well as, questions families should ask students before, during, and after reading. 

Additional support for accountability for independent reading is in the Materials to Reinforce Skills and Strategies section, which states that daily small-group lessons reinforce and extend comprehension skill and strategy instruction by guiding students to apply the skill to self - selected books for independent reading.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.

Throughout the program there are opportunities for the teacher to meet the needs of a range of learners due to the fact that the content is accessible to all learners and helps them meet or exceed the grade-level standards. The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook has a section called Assessment and Differentiation and within differentiation, there is a section about meeting the needs of special populations. This section outlines different populations of students and provides the teacher with several instructional focus strategies that can be used to support students with particular needs. 

There are ways built into the program to meet the needs of all students. This includes guided reading groups, reading skill and strategy groups for students who have not yet mastered the whole-group objective, and foundational skills support to teach prerequisite foundational skills or reinforce daily foundational skills lessons. The materials also provide Tabletop Minilessons for students who need additional support with skills taught in the whole group. These lessons involve student-facing anchor charts on stand-up charts with the teacher support on the back. It is differentiated skills instruction that can be used with any text. 

In Meeting the Needs of Special Populations section of the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, there are strategies for various types of learners. Some of these include:

• If the challenge is concept knowledge and oral language, some supports include building background knowledge, teaching academic vocabulary directly, and providing scaffolds. 
• If the challenge is Dyslexia or word-reading skills, some supports include daily instruction in phonemic awareness, building automaticity of high-frequency words, and daily reading of connected texts.
• If the challenge is visual, hearing, physical, or cognitive disabilities, some supports include options for expressing understanding and ideas, provide ways for digital content to be accessible to students, and allow variations in the pace of the lesson. The materials have a section called Using Digital Features for Accessibility with information on how to access digital features to assist teachers and work with students who would benefit from digital materials.
• If the challenge is engagement in learning, some supports include exploring topics and texts that are suited to students’ skills and interests, providing clear and specific feedback, and promoting choice to build automaticity.

There is also a section called Supporting English Learners, which helps build teacher understanding of students’ first language and the stages of second language acquisition that can help teachers determine appropriate levels of scaffolding and targeted language support.  There is also a section called Meeting the Needs of Accelerated Learners that provides support for students who are exceeding grade-level expectations.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade-level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards.

The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook contains an entire section called Supporting English Learners. This section outlines different strategies to support the learning of English Learner students. Teachers are also provided with background information on English Language Learners in order to better understand the stages of language acquisition. English Learner Support Tips are embedded in lessons as well. 

The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook provides information on the stages of language acquisition, how to support English Language Learners with this curriculum, and evidence-based strategies and practices to support students whose first language is other than English. Specific examples of this includes:

• There is an overview of the stages of acquiring the English Language. These stages are pre-production, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency.
• The curriculum has Tabletop Minilessons that introduce, review, and practice a particular language function. These lessons can be used with any text in the program and are meant to support English Language Learners.
• Evidence-based strategies are provided that can be used in any lesson. Some of the evidence-based strategies including building knowledge by showing videos on module topics, making learning visual by having images on Vocabulary Cards and anchor charts, and providing sentence frames for both verbal and written responses. 
• In the Teacher's Guide for each lesson, there are English Learner Supports provided. Supports are broken down into the following categories: light support, such as having students use instructional vocabulary to point out and discuss facts and opinions in the text; moderate support, such as having students identify facts and opinions in the text; substantial support, such as the teacher pointing out facts and opinions in the text and having students say fact or opinion. 
• A Language Difference resource chart is included to help teachers understand the differences between students’ first language and English. This is an online resource that includes languages such as Spanish, Mandarin, and Korean.
• There is also an entire section called Arriba la Lectura, which is a Spanish reading program that is to be used in conjunction with this curriculum. This program has a Dual Language Implementation Guide, and a section of the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook is dedicated to this Spanish reading program. 

The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook provides additional support for all students to help them access grade-level texts, which benefits students who are learning English as well. Information is provided on how to use data to form small groups in foundational skills, strategic interventions, small-group instruction, small-group weekly instruction, and other customized groups.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.

The curriculum provides extensions or more advanced opportunities for students who perform above grade level. In the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, there is a section titled Meeting Accelerated Learners, which provides teachers with information and strategies to support accelerated learners. The section provides teachers with information and a description of an accelerated learner, parts of the curriculum that support accelerated learners, and strategies for supporting accelerated learners in the classroom and throughout the lessons. Lessons also provide extension work for students who are accelerated or finish early. 

The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook has an entire section on supporting accelerated learners. The program defines accelerated learners as students who skills are above grade level and are ready for more accelerated learning experiences, such as more challenging books, more writing opportunities, or leadership roles. Some specifics from the program include:

• Throughout the program, there are sections labeled Ready for More which are daily opportunities in small-group lessons to extend a skill or strategy.
• Guided Reading Groups and Rigby Leveled Readers provide texts that are above grade level.
• The Tabletop Minilessons provide support as students apply comprehension skills to higher-level texts that they read independently.

Strategies are provided for teachers to consider while planning individual lessons and the culture of the classroom. These include:

• Provide classroom libraries that represent a range of text levels.
• Provide more challenging versions of the activities instead of requiring students to just do more work.
• Use flexible groups and change groups frequently because students may be above level for one skill, but not for another skill.
• Provide opportunities for students to make their own decisions. Accelerated students should take on leadership roles and assist classmates when appropriate.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

The materials provide suggestions and descriptions for a variety of grouping strategies throughout the program. The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook gives an overview of how these group strategies work, and the Teacher's Guide uses labels throughout the program to show teachers when the grouping strategy should be used during the lessons. Strategies for groups include small groups, targeted skill groups, and whole class. Groups can be composed for Guided Reading, English Language Support, Skills and Strategies, or Foundational Skills. Teachers use data to form these groups and to change groups throughout the year. 

In the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook, there is an overview of recommendations for groupings and various strategies to use to form these groups in a section called Forming Flexible Groups. This section helps teachers make the most of small-group time by using data to thoughtfully form groups that will optimize student growth. Flexible groups are formed to teach skills that a cohort of students need to learn or review. In addition, Strategic Interventions for Tier 2 and Tier 3 can be implemented using data from multiple measures. More information on these groups include:

• Guided Reading groups are formed based on the Guiding Reading Benchmark Assessment Kit, Oral Reading Records, and Leveled Reader Quizzes. The program includes the Rigby Leveled Readers, Take and Teach Lessons, and Tabletop Minilessons for reading to teach these groups.
• English Language Support groups are formed based on the state English Language Development assessments. The curriculum includes Tabletop Minilessons for English Language Development, English Language Support lessons, and language graphic organizers.
• Skills and Strategies groups are formed based on Daily Formative Assessments and Weekly Assessments. The materials include Tabletop Minilessons, skills reinforcement and strategies lessons, and reading graphic organizers.
• Foundational Skills groups are formed by Informal Assessments. Foundational Skills lessons and Word Study Studio are available for these lessons.

In addition to these groups, teachers are also instructed during whole-group lessons to have students participate in Collaborative Discussions, Turn-and-Talks, Think-Pair-Shares, and Partner Reads. In addition, there are opportunities for students to Echo Read and Choral Read.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the expectation that digital materials (either included as supplementary to a textbook or as part of a digital curriculum) are web-based, compatible with multiple internet browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.), “platform neutral” (i.e., Windows and Apple and are not proprietary to any single platform), follow universal programming style, and allow the use of tablets and mobile devices.

The curriculum is available digitally and is accessible through the use of a sign-in and password. The digital platform provides all of the same materials that are available in print. The digital materials are available with multiple browsers, including Google Chrome, Firebox, and Safari, and follow universal programming style. Teachers can access the program via tablets and mobile devices; however, on a mobile device, the Teacher’s Guide and Teaching Pal are poorly formatted with half of the content missing on the screen. The option to open the various files on the Teacher’s Guide does not work either.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials support effective use of technology to enhance student learning, drawing attention to evidence and texts as appropriate. 

The materials provide different digital resources to help students engage in learning. Students have digital access to the student book, myBook. Students are able to type directly into the digital version in order to annotate and respond to questions. Students also have access to digital videos to support building knowledge around a topic. Students can also access texts from the Student Choice Library and the Rigby Leveled Library online. 

Additional online resources are available to support students in their learning. One of the small-group stations is a digital station where students demonstrate active listening skills. Online assessments are also available for students on a weekly basis as well as the Module Assessments. This allows teachers to access data that provides specific information on student progress relating to the standards.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that digital materials include opportunities for teachers to personalize learning for all students, using adaptive or other technological innovations. 

The digital components provide multiple ways to personalize learning for all students through the use of adaptive innovations. The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook explains how materials are supported through assistive technology. The adaptive and technology innovations for personalized learning is outlined in the Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook in the section called Using Digital Features for Accessibility. In addition, the teacher can create and save plans and assign specific texts or assessments to different students. 

On the digital version of the program, there are multiple accessibility features, making the learning more personalized for students. These include:

• Closed captioning for videos
• Transcripts for audio
• Contrast and color compliance
• Screen-reader compatibility
• Keyboard encoding
• Read-along audio with synchronized text highlighting
• Tools for students to highlight and take notes

When planning on the digital platform, the teacher can create plans and assign individual texts to students. The teacher can use the assignment option to assign specific texts or assessments to different students. Online resources can be filtered by instructional purpose, audience, Lexile, or guided reading level to assist with assigning appropriate resources. Teachers can also assign assessments to groups of students based on performance.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 meet the expectation that materials can be easily customized for local use.

The Guiding Principles and Strategies handbook explains the digital platform, which can easily be customized for local use. Teachers are able to customize teaching plans to align with district and state requirements, as well as individualize resources for small groups of students as needed. 

Some of the ways that materials can be customized for local use include:

• On the digital platform, there is a create button that allows teachers to customize teaching plans and assessments so they match district requirements.
• The group button allows teachers to create and manage groups of students based on classroom observations and assessments results. Teachers can then assign plans and materials to these groups of students. 
• The add to plan feature assigns resources to individual students or groups of students so teachers can customize materials and plans.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 2 partially meet the expectation that materials include or reference technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other (e.g., websites, discussion groups, webinars, etc.)

The materials include limited opportunities for students to collaborate with each other via technology. The only option that is available is with some projects but not all. Students have a choice to use a technological option to collaborate such as writing a blog post or creating a discussion board, though these are just options and not required or used throughout the program on a consistent basis. 

There are some opportunities for teachers to collaborate with the publisher to get additional support in the material. There is follow-up support for in-person or live online experiences where teachers can choose from a variety of topics for support. Schools can also request on-demand access to program experts to ask questions and the publisher provides consultants for ongoing support and coaching.