3rd-5th Grade - Gateway 2

The text quality, volume of reading, and independent reading guidance in myView meet expectations for indicator 2a. The materials provide a balance of informational and literary texts, aligning with grade-level standards and incorporating a variety of subgenres. Texts include both full short-form texts and excerpts, though none of the core texts are long-form, which could limit students’ skills in reading longer texts. During Small Group Independent Activities, teachers may incorporate longer texts through book clubs. The selections are well-crafted, content-rich, and engaging, featuring compelling narratives, strong character development, and thought-provoking themes in fiction, while informational texts provide rich content on science, history, and the environment with engaging text features. Persuasive and argumentative texts present multiple perspectives, encouraging students to evaluate evidence and form their own opinions, while poetry, drama, and myths enhance literary understanding. Independent reading is supported through an online library with some teacher guidance for monitoring and feedback, as well as student accountability structures such as reading logs and strategies for self-selecting texts. However, independent reading guidance is primarily embedded in unit introductions, with limited additional support beyond the Teacher’s Edition or the Book Club Trade Book guidance.

• Materials reflect the balance of informational and literary texts required by the grade-level standards (50/50 in K-5), including various subgenres. Materials include a range of full texts and excerpts (including long-form and short-form texts), depending on their stated purpose. (This criterion is evidence only and not considered in scoring)

  • The texts in myView span a variety of genres and include both full texts and excerpts. All core texts are short-form texts, and reading long-form texts is limited to book clubs that use trade books, some of which are available within the Savvas Realize platform. Teachers may opt for students to engage in these book clubs during small-group instruction.

    • Grade 3

      • Grade 3 contains 14 informational texts and 16 literary texts, which closely aligns with the 50/50 split indicated in the standards at 47% informational and 53% literary.

      • Informational texts include articles, scientific texts, opinion texts, books, biographies, and literary nonfiction. Literary texts include short stories, folktales, realistic fiction, myths, historical fiction, poems, and fables.

      • Grade 3 includes 19 full texts and 11 excerpts, all of which are short-form texts. In the publisher-submitted text information, the materials provide a general statement for the rationale for excerpts: “This myView Literacy title was excerpted in order to provide access to the specific topic/genre and allow students to fully explore a meaningful text within available time frames.”

    • Grade 4

      • Grade 4 contains 15 informational texts and 15 literary texts, which matches the 50/50 split indicated in the standards.

      • Informational texts include memoirs, articles, essays, research, historical texts, scientific texts, autobiographies, and books. Literary texts include epics, poems, realistic fiction, fantasy, folktales, legends, plays, short stories, historical fiction, and myths.

      • Grade 4 includes 21 full texts and nine excerpts, all of which are short-form texts. In the publisher-submitted text information, the materials provide a general statement for the rationale for excerpts: “This myView Literacy title was excerpted in order to provide access to the specific topic/genre and allow students to fully explore a meaningful text within available time frames.”

    • Grade 5

      • Grade 5 contains 16 informational texts and 13 literary texts, which closely aligns with the 50/50 split indicated in the standards at 55% informational and 45% literary.

      • Informational texts include books, historical texts, scientific texts, texts about the arts, autobiographies, argumentative texts, biographies, and news articles. Literary texts include novels, historical fiction, poems, realistic fiction, legends, folktales, and graphic novels. 

      • Grade 5 includes 18 full texts and 11 excerpts, all of which are short-form texts. In the publisher-submitted text information, the materials provide a general statement for the rationale for excerpts: “This myView Literacy title was excerpted in order to provide access to the specific topic/genre and allow students to fully explore a meaningful text within available time frames.”

• Materials include core/anchor texts that are well-crafted, content-rich, and engaging for students at their grade level. 

  • The texts in Grades 3-5 are well-crafted, content-rich, and engaging for students because they offer a diverse mix of literary and informational texts that build knowledge, encourage critical thinking, and foster engagement with real-world issues. The fiction selections, including folktales, historical fiction, and realistic stories, feature compelling narratives, strong character development, and meaningful themes such as perseverance, environmental responsibility, and social justice. Informational texts provide rich content on science, history, geography, and the environment, using engaging text features like infographics, labeled diagrams, and firsthand accounts to deepen understanding. Persuasive and argumentative texts present multiple perspectives on complex topics, teaching students to evaluate evidence and form their own opinions. Biographies highlight influential figures from history and science, inspiring students with stories of resilience and achievement. Poetry, drama, and myths further enhance literary appreciation by incorporating rhythm, figurative language, and cultural storytelling. Among the included texts are award-winning published texts by a variety of authors.

• Materials include some teacher guidance (including monitoring and feedback) and student accountability structures for independent reading (e.g., independent reading procedures, proposed schedule, tracking system for independent reading). (This criterion is evidence only and not considered in scoring)

  • Within the Savvas Realize platform, each grade level includes an Independent Reading Library that houses books students can choose to read independently. Accompanying each book is a Teacher’s Guide that provides teachers with text complexity information, how to launch the book, feedback prompts to give students when monitoring their reading, discussion questions, teaching points, and a writing task.

    • In Grade 3, Independent Reading Library, In Short Supply, the materials provide guidance for teachers during Observe and Monitor that says, “Observe students as they read, and monitor their comprehension. Talk with students about their Noticings, Connections, and Wonderings.” The materials then go on to explain to teachers how students can complete a graphic organizer to aid in their comprehension.

  • During the introduction to each unit, the materials provide some guidance for teachers to implement independent reading during that unit. The associated Student Interactive includes guidance for students about selecting an independent reading book and a reading log to track how long they read and how they would rate the book. The materials do not provide additional guidance beyond this in Teacher’s Edition for each unit.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 4, Impacts, the materials direct teachers to have students

      • “Choose books based on their interests.

      • Read at a steady and comfortable rate.

      • Spend increasing amounts of time reading independently throughout the unit.”

    • In Grade 5, Unit 1, Journeys, the materials direct teachers to have students

      • “Self-select texts by identifying favorite authors or genres.

      • Choose texts with a reading level that challenges them but allows them to read independently.

      • Increase the frequency of independent reading time throughout the unit.”

  • Each unit includes a Book Club Trade Book that students can participate in while the teacher works with small groups. The Savvas Realize platform contains a digital copy of the trade book, a Trade Book Lesson Plan, and a Book Club Teacher’s Edition. The Trade Book Lesson Plan provides teachers with guidance on how to teach the book with the whole class or in small groups, while the Book Club Teacher’s Edition provides guidance for planning the book club, the book club routines, supporting students within the book club, and how to schedule reading and meeting across the unit. For example, in Grade 3, Unit 5, the book club option is Do Tornados Really Twist?: Questions and Answers about Tornados and Hurricanes by Belvin and Gilda Berger. The Book Club Teacher’s Edition provides a schedule for the book club meetings, a weekly focus for the reading, graphic organizers for students to collect their thinking, and guidance for collaborating during discussions.

The text complexity analysis in the myView materials meets expectations for indicator 2b. The materials provide a detailed text complexity analysis for core texts, ensuring appropriate placement within the curriculum. Text Complexity Charts include both quantitative measures, such as Lexile levels, sentence length, and word frequency, and qualitative measures, such as levels of meaning, text structure, and knowledge demands. These measures are rated on a scale from simple to exceedingly complex, with a rationale explaining each rating. The charts also offer teaching ideas aligned with the qualitative measures to support instruction. Based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis and their relationship to student tasks, the anchor texts are appropriately complex for students. The materials outline the necessary scaffolds to support comprehension and engagement with these texts, ensuring accessibility while maintaining rigor.

• Accurate text complexity analysis and a rationale for educational purpose and placement in the grade level accompany core/Anchor texts and a series of texts connected to them.

  • The materials contain Text Complexity Charts for each grade level. The charts include the recommended placement in the grade based on quantitative and qualitative measures and have Teaching Ideas based on those measures. The quantitative measures include Lexile, average sentence length, word frequency, and word count. The qualitative measures include levels of meaning, text structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands. These measures are represented on a scale from simple to exceedingly complex, with a rationale for why each measure is at that place on the scale. The charts also include teaching ideas based on the qualitative measures.

• According to quantitative and qualitative analysis and their relationship to the associated student task, core/anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade. 

  • Anchor texts have the appropriate level of complexity based on their text complexity analysis and the associated reader and task. myView’s Text Complexity charts describe what support students might need with the texts and tasks as well as teaching ideas for the different qualitative measures.

    • Grade 3

      • Quantitatively, 20 texts fall within the grade band Lexile range of 420L-820L, while five texts fall above that range. The other texts are plays and poems, which do not have a Lexile.

      • Qualitatively, 17 texts are slightly complex, and nine texts are moderately complex.

    • Grade 4

      • Quantitatively, 22 texts fall within the grade band Lexile range of 740L-1010L. Two texts fall below this range, and one text falls above this range. The other texts are plays and poems, which do not have a Lexile.

      • Qualitatively, three texts are slightly complex, 21 texts are moderately complex, and six texts are very complex.

    • Grade 5

      • Quantitatively, 21 texts fall within the grade band Lexile range of 740L-1010L, and three texts fall below this range. The other texts are plays and poems, which do not have a Lexile.

      • Qualitatively, two texts are slightly complex, 22 texts are moderately complex, and five texts are very complex.

The scaffolding in myView meets the expectations for indicator 2c. The materials provide scaffolds that align with the qualitative complexity of texts, ensuring students receive support before, during, and after reading. Text Complexity Charts highlight areas where students may need additional guidance, while Close Read notes offer targeted support throughout the reading process. The structured weekly lesson sequence includes a Weekly Launch to build background knowledge, a First Read with teacher think-alouds and comprehension checks, multiple Close Reads for deeper analysis, and a final reflection to synthesize learning. Teacher guidance is embedded at point-of-use, including First Read prompts, Possible Teaching Points, and Close Read notes that help teachers scaffold instruction based on student needs. Additionally, small group instruction lessons provide further support for comprehension skills, allowing teachers to differentiate instruction and monitor student progress.

• Scaffolds align with the qualitative complexity of the program’s texts to support students in making meaning of each text. 

  • In Getting to Know myView, the Text Complexity Charts provide information about places students may need additional support based on the qualitative complexity. The Close Read notes within the texts address these additional supports.

    • In Grade 3, Text Complexity Charts Grade 3, Nature’s Patchwork Quilt: Understanding Habitats, the materials describe teaching ideas for Text Structure, Language Conventionality and Clarity, and Author’s Purpose, as students may need additional support with those qualitative features. In Unit 2, Week 5, the materials provide Close Read notes about author’s purpose, a Possible Teaching Point about parts of speech, and Close Read notes about visualizing details that support text structure.

• Materials include scaffolds for before, during, and after engaging with a complex text.

  • Across the program, Lesson 1 begins with a Weekly Launch to build students’ knowledge about the unit topic, Essential Question, and Weekly Question, and students engage with some sort of short, engaging text. Within that same lesson, the teacher reads aloud a text on a topic related to the unit and does a think-aloud based on the purpose for reading the text. In Lesson 2, students engage in a First Read of the week’s text independently, in pairs, or as a whole class. The materials provide teacher prompts for thinking aloud during the First Read. After the First Read, the materials provide a Check for Understanding to determine students’ initial responses to the text. In Lesson 3, students go back into the week’s text and use the Close Read notes to annotate and think more deeply about the text. In Lesson 4, students go into the text again for another Close Read, using the Close Read notes to help them annotate. In Lesson 5, the materials provide modeling and questions for students to reflect on what they have learned across the week. While the materials generally follow this same structure each week, the Close Read notes and associated student tasks are tailored to the demands of the particular texts.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 4, Week 3, Lesson 1, the unit launches with a cryptogram students need to solve about the Constitution, which ties to the unit Essential Question, “What does it mean to be free?” and the Weekly Question, “What can government do to protect our freedoms?” The teacher then reads aloud a short informational text called “Freedom of Speech at School,” focusing on text structure through the Think Aloud. In Lesson 2, the teacher previews relevant vocabulary, and students engage in a First Read of an excerpt from the Bill of Rights independently, in pairs, or as a whole class, focusing on the First Read strategies they have been learning, which include Think Aloud teaching points for the teacher. Students complete a Check for Understanding after the first read by discussing and responding to questions in writing. In Lesson 3, students annotate the text using the Close Read notes to help them interpret text structure. In Lesson 4, students annotate again using the Close Read notes to help them summarize the text. In Lesson 5, students respond to the text by writing to sources and answering the question, “What have you learned about the freedoms that people want and need?”

• Materials include teacher guidance on how to enact each scaffold based on student needs.

  • The myView materials provide teachers with point-of-use guidance on how to enact the scaffolds within the weekly texts. This guidance comes in the form of First Read Think Aloud prompts, Possible Teaching Points, and Close Read notes.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 1, Week 5, the teacher reads aloud Barbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss. The First Read Think Aloud note focuses students’ attention on characters, illustrations, vocabulary words, transitions, the weekly question, and genre, among other things. The Close Read notes focus on text structure, summarizing, and vocabulary in context. Many of the Possible Teaching Points focus on Author’s Craft.

  • The materials provide additional small group scaffolding guidance for teachers in the Teacher-Led Small Group Instruction lesson that accompanies each whole class lesson. These lessons provide guidance for comprehension Skill Groups, Foundational Skills Groups, and Intervention Groups.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 1, Week 5, the Teacher-Led Small Group Instruction lessons for the text detailed above include Skill Groups for Analyze Text and Summarize a Text. These small groups use the week’s text but reteach or scaffold the skill further, providing teachers with a teaching point, a section to model for guided practice, and a way to progress monitor.

The myView program meets the expectations for indicator 2d by organizing text sets around cohesive, grade-appropriate themes that build knowledge over time. Each unit contains a central theme, essential question, cross-curricular connections, academic vocabulary, and weekly questions that reinforce the theme. The vertically aligned themes provide continuity across grade levels, ensuring students engage with interconnected ideas. The curriculum includes a variety of text types, all connected to the unit’s theme. Additionally, inquiry projects at the end of each unit encourage students to synthesize their learning. This structure supports knowledge building across disciplines, including social studies, science, and the arts, while also exposing students to academic vocabulary and complex syntax.

• Text sets are organized around a grade-appropriate, tightly-connected topic or theme. 

  • myView’s texts are organized within units that include a Unit Theme, Cross-Curricular Focus, Essential Question, and Academic Vocabulary. Each week within the unit has a Weekly Question that ties into the Unit Theme and Essential Question. These themes are vertically aligned across the grade levels. Each week begins with an engaging launch to build knowledge and a short read-aloud to get students thinking about the topic and genre.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 1, the Unit Theme is Environments, the Cross-Curricular Focus is Social Studies (Geography), the Essential Question is “How does our environment affect us?,” and the Academic Vocabulary words are competition, solve, custom, occasion, and organization. The Weekly Questions align to the Unit Theme and Essential Question:

      • Week 1: “How do people travel in different environments?”

      • Week 2: “How do different cultures relate to their environment?”

      • Week 3: “How can an environment affect lives and relationships?”

      • Week 4: “What creative solutions do people come up with to survive in their environments?”

      • Week 5: “Why should we appreciate our environment?”

      • Week 6: “How does our environment affect us?”

    • In Grade 4, Unit 4, the Unit Theme is Adaptations, the Cross-Curricular Focus is Science (Life Science), the Essential Question is “How do living things adapt to the world around them?,” and the Academic Vocabulary words are acquired, classified, defense, sufficient, and survive. The Weekly Questions align to the Unit Theme and Essential Question:

      • Week 1: “What different purposes do animal adaptations serve?”

      • Week 2: “How do adaptations help animals survive?”

      • Week 3: “What challenges do animals face in their environments?”

      • Week 4: “In what ways do living things depend on each other?”

      • Week 5: “How do adaptations make animals unique?”

      • Week 6: “How do living things adapt to the world around them?”

• Text set organization provides opportunities for students to address facets of the same topic or theme over an extended period (e.g., a unit, module), enabling the development of deeper knowledge. Text sets cohesively build knowledge across various topics in social studies (including history), science, the arts, and literature, exposing students to academic vocabulary, content knowledge, and complex syntax.

  • myView’s text sets are designed to provide opportunities for students to examine various facets of the unit’s theme and essential question to build knowledge. These themes build vertically from Grade K through Grade 5.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 5, the Unit Theme is Features, and the Essential Question is “Why is it important to understand our planet?” Each week focuses on that theme and essential question in a slightly different way, allowing students to learn about the topic from different angles. Across the unit, students read multiple informational and argumentative texts and listen to the teacher read aloud short related texts. The week’s Foldable Readers and myFocus Readers are also connected to the theme, as well as the Book Club choice. Students put this knowledge together in Week 6 with an inquiry project called Danger Ahead! The unit focuses on the academic vocabulary words amazed, border, consequences, label, and preserve, and the materials prompt teachers to teach and expose students to those words at various times throughout the unit.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 5, the Unit Theme is Systems, and the Essential Question is “How do elements of systems change?” Each week focuses on that theme and essential question in a slightly different way, allowing students to learn about the topic from different angles. Across the unit, students read multiple informational texts, a historical fiction text, and an argumentative text about different natural systems and listen to the teacher read aloud short related texts. The week’s myFocus Readers are also connected to the theme, as well as the Book Club choice. Students put this knowledge together in Week 6 with an inquiry project called Persuade the Public! The unit focuses on the academic vocabulary words disturb, cycle, impact, composed, and engineer, and the materials prompt teachers to teach and expose students to those words at various times throughout the unit.

 The questions, tasks, and assignments in myView’s materials meet expectations for indicator 2g. The instructional materials provide multiple opportunities for students to engage with texts through text-based questions and tasks in various formats, including speaking, writing, and short presentations. Lessons follow a structured sequence that encourages students to read, re-read, and analyze texts, deepening their understanding through annotation, citing textual evidence, and responding to teacher-led and peer discussions. Students also engage in activities that require them to interpret text features, make inferences, and adjust their thinking based on textual details. The materials ensure that comprehension skills develop progressively, incorporating independent and collaborative learning experiences to support meaning-making. 

• Materials provide opportunities to support students in making meaning of the texts being studied through text-based questions and tasks in varying formats (i.e., speaking, writing, etc.).

  • Each week during the Reading Block, students have multiple opportunities to make meaning of the texts being studied through text-based questions and tasks, including annotating the text, citing textual evidence, and responding to questions during and after reading.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 5, Week 1, Lesson 3, Analyze Text Features, students respond to questions during their Close Read of Deep Down and Other Extreme Places to Live by Shirin Yim Bridges. In one of the Close Read notes about analyzing text features, the materials direct teachers to “Remind students that text features may help explain, add, or emphasize information. Have students scan paragraph 5 and underline text details that help them explain the author’s purpose for including the map.” The note also provides a question teachers can ask students: “What can you infer about the author’s reason for including the map?”

    • In Grade 5, Unit 5, Week 5, Lesson 3, Analyze Argumentative Texts, students read People Should Manage Nature by Lee Francis IV using the Close Read notes to help them make meaning of the text. In one of the Close Read notes, the materials direct teachers to ask students, “Have you ever read about or experienced a situation in which people mismanaged nature? What was the result?” Students respond to this question in a discussion with their partner using their background knowledge and understanding of the text so far.

• Materials include text-based questions and tasks that require students to closely read and/or re-read complex parts of texts to deepen their analysis and understanding.

  • Each week during the Reading Block, the lessons progress in a consistent sequence that includes a First Read in Lesson 2, a Close Read focusing on a specific comprehension skill in Lesson 3, and a second Close Read focusing on another comprehension skill in Lesson 4. In Lesson 5, students reflect across texts orally and in writing. The materials provide structured protocols for students to employ during both the First Read and Close Reads.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 3, Week 4, Lesson 2, Read, students engage in a first read of Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya by Donna Jo Napoli independently, in pairs, or as a class. While reading, they employ the First Read strategies they have been learning, like looking for key details, generating questions, connecting to background knowledge, and talking with peers. In Lesson 3, students go back into the text for a Close Read to analyze text structure. In Lesson 4, students go back into the text again for another Close Read, this time focusing on annotating places in the text that are key ideas and details, then using that textual evidence to write a summary.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 2, Read, students engage in a First Read of Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart independently, in pairs, or as a class. While reading, students employ the First Read strategies they have been learning, like determining the topic of the text, identifying key details, generating questions, connecting new learning to prior learning, and responding to the text. In Lesson 3, students go back into the text for a Close Read to analyze the main idea and details and complete a graphic organizer. In Lesson 4, students go back into the text for another Close Read, this time focusing on places where their comprehension decreases, then completing a graphic organizer showing the places they were confused and what they did to overcome that confusion.

The text analysis opportunities in myView meet expectations for indicator 2h. The materials provide structured opportunities for students to analyze key ideas and details, craft and structure, and the integration of knowledge and ideas within and across multiple texts. Through close reading and guided discussions, students learn to identify main ideas, supporting details, and themes, and how authors use literary techniques such as point of view and structural elements to shape meaning. Lessons emphasize using textual evidence to support analysis, encouraging students to annotate, complete graphic organizers, and engage in written and oral responses. Additionally, students reflect on their reading by making connections across texts and forming evidence-based opinions, deepening their comprehension and analysis skills. The materials include CCSS Correlation documents to ensure alignment to grade-level reading standards.

• Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze key ideas and details (according to grade-level standards) within individual texts and across multiple texts to support students in making meaning.

  • Each week, during Lesson 3, students engage in a Close Read of the text, often focusing on reading through the lens of a specific comprehension skill, like analyzing key ideas and details. In Lesson 4, students do another Close Read through the lens of a different skill. 

    • In Grade 3, Unit 4, Week 2, Lesson 3, Identify Main Idea and Key Details, students learn to identify the main idea and key details in a biography. Then they go back into From Frederick Douglass by Josh Gregory for a Close Read to “underline evidence that helps you identify the main idea and key details that support it.” Students then complete a graphic organizer with their annotations about the main idea and key details.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 4, Week 2, Lesson 3, Infer Multiple Themes, students learn that “a theme is a general idea conveyed through the specific details in a work. Sometimes it is stated, but more often it is implied by the details, and readers must infer it.” After the teacher models, students do a Close Read of The Scarlet Stockings Spy by Trinka Hakes Noble using the Infer Multiple Themes notes to help them complete a graphic organizer with textual evidence related to the theme.

• Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze craft and structure (according to grade-level standards) within individual texts and across multiple texts to support students in making meaning.

  • Each week, during Lesson 3, students engage in a Close Read of the text, often focusing on analyzing author’s craft using textual evidence to support their thinking.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 4, Week 1, Lesson 3, Read Like a Writer, students learn that the “author can control what the reader knows by choosing a particular point of view. The narrator of a story has a voice based on the narrative point of view…Word choice is an important way that authors develop narrative voice.” Students then practice reading like a writer and respond to the question, “How do these phrases contribute to the narrator’s voice?”

    • In Grade 5, Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 3, Explain Literary Structure, students learn “that a story consists of paragraphs that may make up chapters, but a play consists of scenes that may make up acts. Plays also contain stage directions and character tags, which give information to readers and instructions to performers. Readers of stories and plays interpret the structural elements of the texts to understand characters and plots.” After the teacher models with one of the week’s texts, The Carp by Marie Yuen, students practice annotating to analyze the literary structure in the week’s other text, The Hermit Thrush, by Dana Crum. Students then complete a graphic organizer that asks them to “Identify the text or texts that use each element. Use the parts you underlined to explain how the elements work together.”

• Materials provide opportunities for students to analyze the integration of knowledge and ideas (according to grade-level standards) within individual texts and across multiple texts to support students in deepening their understanding on a topic.

  • Each week, during Lesson 5, students engage in a Reflect and Share lesson, making connections within texts and comparing across texts, both orally and in writing.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students learn that when writing an opinion, they need to use evidence from the text to support their ideas. After the teacher models, students engage in a Write to Sources activity, which directs them to “Consider all the literary texts you have read this week. Think about the environments featured in each text. How would you describe each environment? How did the environment affect the characters and what happened in the story? Use these questions to help you write an opinion about how important an environment is to what happens in a story.” Students also respond to the Weekly Question, “How can an environment affect lives and relationships?”

    • In Grade 4, Unit 2, Week 5, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students participate in a discussion around the prompt: “This week you read about a unique group: the monotremes. What other animals have you read about in other texts? Did they use their adaptations like the echidna and the platypus do? Integrate, or combine, information from several texts to express and support your opinion about the best animal adaptations.”

 The student practice opportunities for evidence-based discussions meet the expectations for indicator 2j. The materials provide structured opportunities for students to engage in collaborative discussions that require them to use, apply, and incorporate textual evidence to support their ideas. Students participate in discussions that encourage them to make connections between texts, ask relevant questions, and express their opinions using sentence starters and discussion prompts. Additionally, the materials guide students in considering different perspectives by engaging in intellectual discourse, clarifying their ideas, and responding thoughtfully to peers. The materials provide guidance on effective communication strategies, such as making eye contact, speaking at an appropriate pace, and using textual evidence to support opinions, fostering meaningful and structured conversations.

• Materials provide opportunities for students to engage in collaborative conversations about the text being read/read-aloud, which require them to utilize, apply, and incorporate evidence from texts and/or sources.  

  • Throughout the program, students have opportunities to engage in various types of collaborative conversations about the text they are studying.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 1, Week 1, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students engage in a discussion about the prompt, “When Grandma leaves her daughter’s house, she hides inside a gourd to travel through the jungle. Think about the other forms of travel that you have read about this week. What other forms of travel might Grandma have used to get home? Use examples from the texts to support your responses.” The materials also provide guidance on asking relevant questions and sentence starters to help students ask relevant questions during the discussion.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 4, Week 5, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students “use evidence from this week’s texts to complete the Talk About It on Student Interactive p. 400 by describing how Ezekiel’s experiences connect with their own experiences.” The materials provide guidance to students about how to connect textual evidence to their personal experiences and sentence starters to help them discuss with their classmates.

• Materials provide opportunities for students to consider others’ perspectives and engage in intellectual discourse about texts and topics they are reading (or read aloud).

  • The myView materials provide students with guidance for considering others’ perspectives during a discussion about the texts they are studying.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 3, Week 5, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students participate in a group discussion where they “use evidence from this week’s texts to discuss ways in which characters act like heroes.” The materials provide guidance about how to ask and answer questions from their partners, including:

      • “Ask questions to clarify something you do not understand.

      • Ask questions to better understand someone else’s thoughts or ideas.

      • Answer questions about your own points to clarify or add detail to your response.

      • Consider how your partners’ comments may have changed your ideas.”

The materials also provide sentence starters to guide students in formulating questions for the discussion.

• In Grade 4, Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students engage in a discussion about the prompt, “In Feathers, Melissa Stewart describes the many ways birds use their feathers. Think about all the texts you have read this week. What other living things have you read about? What characteristics help them survive? Use these questions to help you express an opinion about how animals must adapt.” The materials provide guidance about how to express an opinion so that others can understand. The guidance includes:

  • “Make eye contact with other people in your group.

  • Speak at a natural rate and volume.

  • Use details from the text to clarify your points and respond to questions your partners ask.”

  The materials also provide sentence starters to help students express their opinions to their classmates.

Teacher guidance for explicit vocabulary instruction in myView’s materials meets expectations for indicator 2k. The materials provide a structured approach to vocabulary instruction, ensuring multiple exposures to key academic and text-specific words before, during, and after reading. Each unit introduces academic vocabulary through an Oral Vocabulary Routine, reinforced in weekly lesson plans and integrated into comprehension and discussion activities. Students preview and interact with text-specific vocabulary through guided reading, graphic organizers, and oral practice, while the materials provide teachers with sample language and scaffolding strategies to deepen understanding. The materials emphasize independent word-learning strategies, such as context clues, morpheme analysis, and discussion of word relationships. The Reading Routines Companion Flipbook also supports explicit vocabulary instruction with structured routines, corrective feedback, and differentiation, helping students build vocabulary knowledge across various texts and contexts. While the materials provide some rationale for the text-specific vocabulary words, the rationale for selecting unit academic vocabulary is not detailed beyond these being words that “help student access ideas.”

• Attention is paid to vocabulary essential to understanding the text and high-utility academic words. Materials provide multiple exposures to key vocabulary within (i.e., before, during, after reading) and across texts.

  • The myView materials have a structured process for introducing key vocabulary words within each unit. During the unit introduction, the teacher takes students through an Oral Vocabulary Routine to familiarize them with the unit’s academic vocabulary words. The Weekly Planner shows the Words of the Week, which include the unit’s academic vocabulary and the vocabulary specific to the week’s texts. During Lesson 1 each week, the materials direct teachers to incorporate the unit’s academic vocabulary into the Weekly Launch activity as a way to provide multiple exposures to words and increase understanding of those words. Later in Lesson 1, students learn about words related to the unit’s academic vocabulary words to deepen their understanding. In Lesson 2, prior to reading the week’s texts, the materials direct students to preview text-specific vocabulary. The materials encourage teachers to point these words out as they read aloud and have students look for them. Later in Lesson 2, teachers deepen students’ understanding of the text’s vocabulary words and formatively assess their understanding. For students who need additional vocabulary support, the materials direct teachers to provide additional instruction during small group instruction. In Lessons 3, 4, and 5, when working on the week’s comprehension skill, the materials provide sample language the teacher can use to integrate both the unit and the week’s vocabulary into the instruction. In Week 6 of each unit, students participate in a Project-Based Inquiry, and the materials direct teachers to remind students to use the vocabulary they have learned through the unit.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 3, the teacher introduces the Academic Vocabulary words conflict, accomplish, expand, and challenges while introducing the unit using the Oral Vocabulary Routine. The Weekly Planner for Week 5 lists the Selection Vocabulary for the week (plunge, thud, trilled, buoy, flocked), Academic Vocabulary (conflict, accomplish, expand, challenge, participate), and the week’s spelling words. In Week 5, Lesson 1, the materials provide guidance to teachers about using the unit vocabulary: “Academic language helps students access ideas. After you discuss the infographic, ask: How might reading poems from different times and cultures expand your understanding of the world? Would you like to participate in a youth poetry slam? Why or why not?” Later in the lesson, students learn about parts of speech and how suffixes can change the part of speech of a word. The teacher models and the students practice with the unit vocabulary. In Week 5, Lesson 2, the teacher introduces and defines the selection vocabulary: plunge, thud, trilled, buoy, and flocked. The teacher encourages students to highlight the words as they come up in the text. Later in the lesson, the teacher models deepening understanding of the vocabulary through the denotation and connotation of words and having students complete a graphic organizer. In Week 5, Lessons 3, 4, and 5, the materials provide guidance to teachers about how to integrate the unit Academic Vocabulary. For example, in Lesson 5, the materials say, “Offer students oral practice using the unit Academic Vocabulary words to reflect on the poems and make connections to other texts, the unit theme, and the Essential Question. Ask: What do the speakers in the poems accomplish? How does learning about diversity challenge your ideas about the world?” The Academic Vocabulary words are integrated throughout all of the weeks in the unit, including Week 6, which is the Project-Based Inquiry. In Week 6, Lesson 1, Introduce the Project, the materials direct teachers to “Have students complete the activity on p. 197. Have partners discuss their responses using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate. Encourage students to use some of the Academic Vocabulary words in their letters.”

  • Each myView unit has a set of Academic Vocabulary Words that teachers and students use throughout the six weeks. The words are introduced and defined at the beginning of the unit, and as the unit progresses, they are used in different contexts based on the week’s text selections.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 5, the Academic Vocabulary words are analysis, threat, damage, anticipate, and pollution. The materials provide guidance throughout the unit for deepening students’ understanding of these words beyond any one text. For example:

      • In Week 1, Lesson 3, students read Deep Down and Other Extreme Places to Live by Shirin Yim Bridges. The materials provide guidance to teachers to “Offer students oral practice using unit Academic Vocabulary words to talk about how nature changes people’s lives. Give students sentence starters, such as these: One kind of threat in nature that changed people’s lives is _______. When people anticipate future natural disasters, they can ______.”

      • In Week 2, Lesson 4, students read Earthquakes, Eruptions, and Other Events that Change Earth by Natalie Hyde. The materials provide guidance to teachers to “Offer students oral practice using the unit Academic Vocabulary words to help them synthesize information. Ask: How can volcanoes be both a threat to land and a builder of land? Why do scientists complete an analysis of every tsunami?”

  • In addition to the unit Academic Vocabulary words, the materials provide vocabulary words specific to each week’s texts. The students preview these words in Lesson 2 and work with them throughout the week.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 1, Week 5, Lesson 2, students read Picturesque Journeys by Yanitzia Canetti. The vocabulary words for this text are inspired, express, exhibit, imitated, and compositions. There are student-friendly definitions embedded in the text at point-of-use. Later in the lesson, students learn that these words are domain-specific words to help readers understand more about art, and they complete a graphic organizer after the teacher models.

• Materials include structured and explicit practices for introducing key vocabulary words and independent word-learning strategies within the context of the texts (student-friendly definitions, analyzing morphemes, etymology, word maps, and discussion of word relationships/shades of meaning, dictionary skills, context clues). 

  • Each grade level in myView contains a Reading Routines Companion Flipbook. This guide is designed to ensure alignment with science of reading practices and includes connections to lessons, explicit teacher talk, digital practice, targeted corrective feedback prompts, and differentiation. The Reading Routines Companion Flipbook also contains vocabulary routines for each grade level.

    • In Grade 3, the vocabulary routines are Oral Vocabulary: Build Background Knowledge, Use Resources, Context Clues: Synonyms, Context Clues: Antonyms, Context Clues: Surrounding Text, Word Parts for Meaning, Figurative Language: Similes, Figurative Language: Metaphors, and Figurative Language: Analogies.

    • In Grade 4, the vocabulary routines are Oral Vocabulary: Build Background Knowledge, Use Resources, Context Clues: Direct Definitions and Appositives, Context Clues: Synonyms, Context Clues: Antonyms, Context Clues: Examples, Context Clues: Surrounding Text, Word Parts for Meaning, Figurative Language: Similes, Figurative Language: Metaphors, Figurative Language: Analogies, and Figurative Language: Idioms.

    • In Grade 5, the vocabulary routines are Oral Vocabulary: Build Background Knowledge, Use Resources, Context Clues: Direct Definitions and Appositives, Context Clues: Synonyms, Context Clues: Antonyms, Context Clues: Examples, Context Clues: Surrounding Text, Word Parts for Meaning, Figurative Language: Analogies, Figurative Language: Idioms, and Figurative Language: Adages.

The vocabulary practice opportunities in myView’s materials meet expectations for indicator 2l. The materials provide structured opportunities for students to develop independent word-learning strategies, such as using context clues and morphological awareness, to understand challenging words. Students practice these strategies through teacher modeling and guided application using unit vocabulary. Additionally, students engage with academic and content-specific vocabulary in various contexts, such as analyzing character development, categorizing words by subject area, and using new words in discussions. Vocabulary instruction is reinforced through repeated exposure, with opportunities to apply learned words across different activities, including word formation with affixes, identifying context clues, and exploring word relationships through synonyms, antonyms, and analogies.

• Materials include opportunities for students to use independent word-learning strategies to understand the meaning of challenging words (inferring from context, using morphological or etymological awareness). 

  • Students have numerous opportunities throughout each unit to use the independent word-learning strategies taught in the lessons. These strategies often involve using context clues to determine challenging word meanings and morphological analysis to break words apart. These opportunities take place using the unit and text-specific vocabulary.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 2, Week 4, Lesson 1, Word Study, students learn about Greek roots and that roots are the core part of the word. After the teacher models, students complete a graphic organizer where they provide examples of words that use the listed Greek roots.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 1, Context Clues, students learn that they should look for clues in a text when they encounter a word they do not know. After the teacher models, students practice identifying the context clues in sentences about the unit Academic Vocabulary.

• Materials include opportunities for students to use academic and content-specific vocabulary in various contexts.

  • The myView materials include multiple opportunities for students to use academic and content-specific vocabulary across various contexts, as the unit and text-specific vocabulary is woven throughout the lessons in each unit. Students also have opportunities to use these words in writing, in whole-class and small-group discussions, and in the Project-Based Inquiry.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 2, Develop Vocabulary, students learn that authors choose words carefully to describe characters and show how the characters change. After the teacher models, students complete a graphic organizer showing how the character Alejandro from Cocoliso by Andrés Pi Andreu changes from the beginning of the story to the end using the text-specific vocabulary, amazing, bored, and dreams.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 5, Introduce the Unit, students learn the unit Academic Vocabulary words amazed, border, consequences, label, and preserve. The directions in the Student Interactive tell students to “Read the words and definitions in the chart. Check the boxes to show in which each subject the word might be used. Use each newly required word to explain to a partner how the word relates to the subject area.”

• Practice opportunities incorporate review of previously learned words based on their connection to the topic of study. 

  • Throughout each unit, the Academic Vocabulary words taught at the beginning of the unit are integrated and used across many activities and tasks based on what is being studied each week.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 3, Introduce the Unit, students learn the unit’s Academic Vocabulary words encourage, defeat, distinguish, achieve, and command. In Week 1, Lesson 1, students learn about roots and word parts that make words have different meanings. Students practice creating words related to the unit Academic Vocabulary using affixes and using the newly-created words in sentences. In Week 3, Lesson 1, students practice identifying the context clues that help them understand these Academic Vocabulary words.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 2, Introduce the Unit, students learn the unit’s Academic Vocabulary words expert, focus, visible, relate, and detect. In Week 2, Lesson 1, students practice synonyms and antonyms related to these words. In Week 4, Lesson 1, students practice using these words in analogies to learn more about relationships and connections between words.

The on-demand and process writing opportunities in myView’s materials meet expectations for indicator 2o. The materials provide a balance of on-demand and process writing opportunities that align with grade-level expectations. Students regularly engage in on-demand writing through comprehension checks, responses to author’s craft questions, and writing activities tied to the unit’s themes and texts within the reading block. The process writing follows a structured, multi-week approach that guides students through prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, culminating in a related on-demand assessment. Writing opportunities within the reading block are intentionally connected to what students are reading, reinforcing students’ understanding of genre, purpose, and content while supporting skill development across different writing formats. Additionally, the distribution of process writing across persuasive, informative, and narrative tasks generally reflects the standards’ expectations.

• Materials include a mix of grade-appropriate on-demand and process writing.

  • Throughout the reading block, students have many opportunities for on-demand writing each week. These include activities like Check for Understanding questions during early reads of a text, comprehension questions, author’s craft questions, responses to the Weekly Question, and Write to Sources. 

    • In Grade 3, Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students compare the texts they read during the week and complete a Write to Sources activity where they use textual evidence to respond to the prompt, “Milton Hershey followed his dream of building the Hershey Chocolate Company. Consider the biographies you have read so far in this unit. How did the subjects of the biographies achieve their goals? What challenges did they face? Write a response about the character traits that helped the subjects of two biographies achieve their goals and overcome challenges.”

  • Process writing occurs within each myView unit and follows a predictable pattern: Week 1—Prewrite, Week 2—Draft, Week 3—Draft, Week 4—Revise and Edit, and Week 5—Publish. Within each lesson, writing instruction encompasses the following parts: Teach, Model, Guided Practice, and Independent Practice. At the end of Week 5, students complete an on-demand writing assessment based on the text type learned throughout the unit, which also connects broadly to the unit’s theme and essential question.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 2, Writing, students learn how to write an informational article. In Week 1, Prewrite, they analyze multiple mentor texts to learn about features of informational texts, set a purpose, and plan their article. In Week 2, Draft, students develop their ideas, determine specific facts and details, develop those details with definitions and quotations, and add visuals. In Week 3, Draft, students write their introduction and conclusion, add transitions, and ensure their article is correctly formatted. Week 4 is focused on revising and editing for precise language, verb tense, adverbs, simple and compound sentences, and prepositional phrases. In Week 5, Publish, students edit their articles, publish, and celebrate. At the end of Week 5, students complete an on-demand Writing Assessment: Informational Article where they “Write an informational article about the ways you could observe or protect wildlife at home,” which connects to the writing type learned in the unit and the unit Essential Question, “How do we learn through observations?”

  • Each unit in myView ends with a Project-Based Inquiry, where students apply what they have learned throughout the unit, connecting both the content and literacy skill knowledge they developed. 

    • In Grade 4, Unit 5, Week 6, the Project-Based Inquiry students engage in is to “develop the idea of Features by following a research plan and writing an opinion article arguing that a particular type of storm or other environmental event is the single most dangerous.” In Lesson 2, students learn about the structures of argumentative texts and then begin planning their research. In Lesson 3, students learn how to reach out to an expert on a topic to learn from that person and plan specific questions to ask. In Lesson 3, students analyze a student model of an argumentative essay and research primary and secondary sources. Lesson 4 continues the research through online archives. Students also revise and edit in Lesson 4 and do a peer review. In Lesson 5, students share their articles and reflect on the process.

• Materials reflect the distribution indicated by the standards for process writing (K–5 30/35/35 persuade/explain/convey experience).

  • In Grades 3-5, the writing distribution in myView is relatively aligned with what is indicated in the standards. In all three grades, the distribution of process writing is 40% to persuade, 30% to inform, and 30% to convey experience. 

• Writing opportunities are appropriately aligned to the purpose, genre, and/or topic of the unit’s reading. 

  • The writing opportunities within the reading block in myView are aligned with the topics being studied in each unit’s texts. Throughout the reading lessons, students respond to questions related to what they are reading. During the writing block, the genre students focus on is broadly related to what students are reading, either through the topic or purpose. Students also complete a culminating task, which is also related to the overall unit theme and texts being studied.

  • In Grade 4, Unit 4, the Unit Theme is Impacts, and the Essential Question is “How do our stories shape our world?” Students have numerous opportunities for writing in response to reading throughout the unit. For example, after reading Can You Guess My Name? by Judy Sierra in Week 1, Lesson 2, students respond to Check for Understanding questions like “What common elements reveal that these three stories are traditional tales?,” “How is the plot of ‘How Ijapa the Tortoise Tricked the Hippopotamus’ different from the plots of the other two stories? Why might this story have been included with the other two?” In Week 3, Lesson 5, students take what they have learned from multiple texts to complete a Write to Sources activity where they use evidence from multiple texts to write an opinion considering the risks and rewards of doing good deeds. During the writing block, students work on an opinion essay, and the materials encourage the teacher to highlight the writing skills students learn in each week’s texts. For example, the materials suggest pointing out how  Can You Guess My Name? includes point of view and strong voice. The Writing Assessment at the end of the unit is an opinion essay about a person or event from the state’s history that made the state what it is today. The Project-Based Inquiry for this unit is for students to explain the origin of a tall tale, folktale, or legend in a blog post.

The opportunities for students to practice the writing processes in myView meet expectations for indicator 2q. The materials provide multiple opportunities for students to engage in the full writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing; however, the opportunities do not always transfer to application in their own writing and are sometimes limited to practice in the Student Interactive. Additionally, these opportunities are not always incorporated into what students are reading and studying. Prewriting activities in each unit’s first week focus on genre study and idea organization, often utilizing graphic organizers to help students structure their thoughts. The drafting phase spans two weeks, during which students compose different sections of their writing, refine organization, and incorporate relevant elements such as text features or literary devices. Week 4 is dedicated to revising and editing, with targeted instruction on grade-appropriate grammar, mechanics, and coherence. Additionally, students learn about digital tools to draft, collaborate, and publish their writing. While students have the opportunity to practice various writing skills throughout the program in the Student Interactive, the application of the skills in their own writing is not always clear or consistent.

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to plan writing (e.g., with graphic organizers).

  • During each writing unit, Week 1 is focused on prewriting, which includes learning about the genre and planning students’ writing, often using a generic graphic organizer to support students in planning their writing. 

    • In Grade 3, Unit 2, Writing, Week 1, Lesson 5, Prewrite: Plan Your How-to Article, students begin planning their article by freewriting the steps in their process using a graphic organizer in the Student Interactive. The graphic organizer helps them organize their thinking by First, Next, and Finally.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 1, Writing, Week 1, Lesson 4, Prewrite: Brainstorm a Topic, students learn about selecting a purpose and intended audience for their personal narratives. Students then brainstorm the task, purpose, audience, and topic using a graphic organizer in their Student Interactive. 

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to draft their writing. 

  • During each writing unit, Weeks 2 and 3 are focused on drafting, which includes composing various parts of the writing piece, working on organizing ideas, and adding graphics or text features, if applicable.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 4, Writing, Week 2, students work on drafting an opinion essay. In Lesson 1, they develop a topic and opinion. In Lesson 2, students develop reasons, and in Lesson 3, they develop supporting details and facts for those reasons. In Lesson 4, students compose a concluding statement, and in Lesson 5, they use technology to compose their opinion book. In Week 3, Lesson 1, students compose the introduction and conclusion. In Lessons 2 and 3, they organize reasons and supporting details. Lesson 4 is focused on using transition words and phrases, and in Lesson 5, students collaborate using technology.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 5, Writing, Week 2, students work on drafting poems. In Lesson 1, they focus on seeing like a poet, and in Lesson 2, they add rhythm and rhyme. In Lessons 3 and 4, students work on adding figurative language, and in Lesson 5, students focus on interjections. In Week 3, Lesson 1, students choose line breaks for their poems, and in Lesson 2, they develop stanzas. In Lesson 3, they focus on punctuation. In Lesson 4, students develop a rhyme scheme, and in Lesson 5, students rewrite to ensure precise meaning. 

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to revise and edit their writing with grade-appropriate strategies and tools.

  • Week 4 of every writing unit is focused on revising and editing the unit’s writing piece, often for grade-level appropriate grammar and mechanics concepts. In the Additional Student Resources section of the Savvas Realize platform, the materials provide a Writing Peer Feedback Form that students can use to give each other feedback, though teacher guidance for using this form is limited. While students have opportunities to practice revising and editing skills, these opportunities are sometimes limited to practice in the Student Interactive rather than authentically in their own writing or the guidance for how to apply these skills to their own writing is limited. 

    • In Grade 3, Unit 5, Writing, Week 4, students work on revising and editing their poems. In Lesson 1, they focus on revising the structure. In Lesson 2, students rearrange ideas for coherence and clarity. In Lesson 3, they focus on editing nouns, and in Lesson 4, students edit for comparative and superlative adjectives. In Lesson 5, students focus on their punctuation.  Sometimes students practice these skills in the Student Interactive only and sometimes, the teacher directs them to revise their own writing.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 1, Writing, Week 4, students work on revising and editing their personal narratives. In Lessons 1 and 2, students focus on adding and deleting ideas for coherence and clarity. In Lessons 3, 4, and 5, students focus on editing for adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns.  Sometimes students practice these skills in the Student Interactive only and sometimes, the teacher directs them to revise their own writing.

• Materials include some opportunities for students to use technology to produce and publish writing. 

  • Depending on the type of writing done in the unit, students can use digital tools to publish their writing. While students have opportunities to learn about technology tools to help them produce and publish their writing, those opportunities do not always transfer to the application of those tools in their own writing. 

    • In Grade 3, Unit 4, Writing, Week 3, Lesson 5, Draft: Use Technology, students learn about why writers might want to use technology to draft their writing. The directions in the Student Interactive direct them to “Use a computer to type a draft of your opinion essay. Then, share your draft with your Writing Club. Follow rules for working together. This includes printing copies for everyone in your Writing Club, taking turns reading one another’s essays, and offering suggestions. Discuss how this collaborative process was helpful.”

    • In Grade 5, Unit 3, Writing, Week 2, Lesson 5, Draft: Use Technology to Produce Writing, students learn about how to best reach their intended audience and what technology they might want to use to publish their opinion essay. In the Student Interactive, students then determine what format their essay should be in and what technology they should use to produce their essay.

The opportunities for students to practice evidence-based writing in myView meet expectations for indicator 2r. The materials provide frequent writing opportunities that require students to refer to details and examples from texts to explain information and draw inferences. Students regularly engage in writing prompts that encourage recall, analysis, and opinion formation through close reading and evidence-based responses. In Lesson 5 of each week, students engage in a Reflect and Share lesson, which often includes a Write to Sources activity where students consolidate their learning by crafting responses supported by textual evidence. These activities guide students in analyzing informational and literary texts, comparing themes, and developing argumentative writing, with explicit support for using relevant details to strengthen their responses.

• Materials provide frequent writing opportunities that require students to refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. Materials provide frequent writing opportunities focused on students’ recall or analysis of information to develop opinions from reading closely and working with evidence from texts and sources. 

  • Throughout the program, students have numerous opportunities to respond in writing to prompts that require them to ask and answer questions about key details in the texts being studied, along with knowledge built across each unit. These prompts also often require students to use information from the texts being studied to form an opinion. Within many units, Lesson 5 of each week has students engage in a Write to Sources activity, where they consolidate the knowledge learned throughout the week in a writing prompt that requires them to use textual evidence in their response.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 2, Week 2, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students learn that when writing a response to an informational text, they should demonstrate an understanding of the text. After the teacher models, students respond in the Student Interactive to the following prompt: “In this unit so far, you have read about patterns in nature and animal friendships. How do patterns and helping relationships help plants and animals survive? Use evidence from the texts to write a response to this question.” The materials also provide guidance on how students should write these responses, including using relevant details from the text.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 4, Week 4, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students learn about comparing two texts in a literature response. After the teacher models, students respond in the Student Interactive to the prompt: “Early in The Secret of the Winter Count, Emma’s father says, ‘Old stories won’t save us front a draught, but this dugout will.’ Later, the dugout fails to fill with water. How does this failure affect Emma’s father? What other stories have you read in which an old way of doing something did not work? Use the following process to write and support a response.” The Take Notes process detailed below the prompt indicates, “Writing a response to literature requires taking notes to support ideas with text evidence.”

    • In Grade 5, Unit 1, Week 3, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, students learn about the characteristics of argumentative texts. After the teacher models, students respond in the Student Interactive to the prompt: “In this unit so far, you have read about real and fictional people who traveled great distances. Consider all of the texts you have read this week. Sometimes the journey was internal, what someone learned. Sometimes the journey was external, going from one place to another. Use the following questions to help you write an opinion about which journey teaches us more about ourselves.” The materials go on to provide additional guidance for using textual evidence to support an opinion statement/claim.

The explicit instruction of research skills to encourage students to develop knowledge of a topic in myView meets expectations for indicator 2s. Materials incorporate research projects that build toward mastery of grade-level standards by providing structured, scaffolded opportunities for students to develop and apply research skills. Each unit concludes with a Week 6 Project-Based Inquiry that synthesizes learning and requires students to investigate a topic aligned to the unit’s theme through collaborative research and the creation of a final product. These projects include instruction in research skills such as generating research questions, developing and following a research plan, evaluating and citing sources, and using both primary and secondary sources. Students engage with multiple texts and media formats and receive genre-specific writing instruction, including how to incorporate visuals and features like bibliographies. 

• Materials include research projects to build research skills that lead to mastery of the grade-level standards. 

  • Week 6 of each unit is dedicated to a Project-Based Inquiry that ties together the learning from the unit and helps answer the unit’s essential question. This project involves research and the creation of a product to showcase the research and skills taught during the project and align to grade-level research standards. The Scope and Sequence documents show the progression of research skills across each grade level.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 2, Week 6, the Project-Based Inquiry requires students to “address theme related to interactions by collaboratively researching and creating a scrapbook on a beneficial relationship between a plant and an animal.” Working together, students generate questions about relationships in nature to answer as they conduct research, develop a research plan, conduct research using library databases, and learn how to cite sources.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 5, Week 6, the Project-Based Inquiry requires students to “develop the idea of Features by following a research plan and writing an opinion article arguing that a particular type of storm or other environmental event is the single most dangerous.” Working in pairs or trios, students generate questions about natural warning signs and how weather can be predicted, develop a research plan, conduct research by asking an expert for assistance, and learn how to use primary and secondary sources in their research.

• Materials include explicit instruction of research skills that encourage students to develop knowledge of a topic using multiple texts and source materials.

  • During Week 6 of every unit, the materials provide explicit instruction in research skills so that students develop increased knowledge of the topic they have studied using multiple texts or sources. This instruction begins with an introduction to the unit’s project, an exploration of the genre in which students will create their project, lessons on conducting and extending research, and a way to celebrate and share knowledge.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 1, Week 6, Lesson 1, the teacher introduces the Project-Based Inquiry, where students “will address the theme of Networks by developing and conducting a research plan to write a brochure [to] persuade readers that a particular place in their community should be designated a historic landmark.” The teacher prompts students to generate questions they would like to have answered about landmarks and, in Lesson 2, develop a research plan. Later in Lesson 2, the teacher models conducting field research by recording their observations, like taking detailed notes or photographs. In Lesson 3, the teacher guides students through analyzing a student model of a brochure. In Lesson 4, the teacher models using primary and secondary sources, thinking through the purpose of each type of source. The teacher models incorporating media into the brochure in Lesson 4. Teachers have students share their writing and reflect on the process in Lesson 5.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 3, Week 6, Lesson 1, the teacher introduces the Project-Based Inquiry, where students “will address the theme Reflections by collaboratively researching and writing a speech about a person or hero who has had an impact on their lives.” In Lesson 2, the teacher guides students in exploring argumentative writing and planning their research. Later in the lesson, the teacher models how to conduct research using databases and guides students in searching for sources for their projects. The teacher guides students in analyzing a student model in Lesson 3, and, later in the lesson, models how to create a bibliography. In Lesson 4, the teacher models how to add photographs and timelines to the writing piece, and teachers have students share their writing and reflect on the process in Lesson 5.

The opportunities for students to apply research skills to develop knowledge of topics in myView meet expectations for indicator 2t. Materials provide consistent and structured opportunities for students to apply research skills in short, focused projects that require the use of multiple print and digital sources. Each unit’s Project-Based Inquiry asks students to investigate a topic related to the unit’s theme and create a final product that demonstrates their understanding. Students practice essential research skills such as identifying keywords, using search engines, evaluating source credibility, and distinguishing between primary and secondary sources. They also learn to paraphrase and quote information, summarize key ideas, and cite their sources, including the creation of bibliographies. As students progress, they are expected to draw evidence from their research to support their analysis and reflections and develop knowledge of the topic, integrating that evidence purposefully into their written or multimedia products. While students have multiple opportunities across the year to practice the research skills they are learning, this practice often occurs in the Student Interactive, and the transfer to application in their own writing/research is not always clear.

• Materials include multiple opportunities for students to apply research skills to short research projects using multiple texts and sources.

  • In Week 6 of every unit, students engage in a Project-Based Inquiry that helps answer the unit’s Essential Question and connects what they have been learning across the unit. These projects require students to apply various research skills and use multiple sources.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 3, Week 6, students engage in a Project-Based Inquiry where they “explore the theme, Heroes, by working collaboratively to research and write an opinion speech about why it is important to take advantage of opportunities to be heroic.” In Lesson 2, students practice identifying keywords they can use in search engines and take notes on the sources they find. In Lesson 3, they practice paraphrasing and quoting, and in Lesson 4, they collaborate to determine media to add to their speech to make it more persuasive.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 2, Week 6, students engage in a Project-Based Inquiry where they “address the unit theme, Observations, by collaboratively researching and writing a survival guide for visitors to a natural area, such as a national park or wilderness area.” In Lesson 2, students learn how to use search engines to conduct research and practice evaluating the credibility of search engine results. In Lesson 3, they refine their research by identifying primary and secondary sources.

• Materials provide opportunities for students to recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources, summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and (beginning in grade 4) provide a list of sources.

  • The Project-Based Inquiry in each unit provides opportunities for students to use the information they gather from various sources, paraphrase and summarize that information, and learn how to create a bibliography.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 3, Week 6, Lesson 3, students learn the difference between paraphrasing and quoting when using information from sources to help them write their opinion essay about why it is important to take advantage of opportunities to be heroic. They practice with a partner and then review their own writing to include quotations and paraphrased information.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 4, Week 6, Lesson 3, students learn that writers list all the sources they used in their research and how to create a bibliography as they work on writing a blog post explaining the origin of a tall tale. Then, students practice drafting a sample bibliography with a partner and begin drafting their own bibliography.

• Materials provide opportunities for students to draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research (beginning in grade 4).

  • Many of the Project-Based Inquiries require students to use evidence from the texts they find during their research to support their analysis and reflection and to develop their knowledge of their topic.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 2, Week 6, Lesson 2, students learn how to use library databases to conduct research. Once they begin working on the first draft of their poster about an endangered animal, the materials say, “They should also identify which of their evidence comes from primary or secondary sources and how the sources address the same topic. As students start to write, be sure they know the topic and main idea of their work, which facts and examples they will use as supporting evidence, and who their intended audience will be.”

    • In Grade 5, Unit 4, Week 6, Lesson 3, students learn more about identifying primary and secondary sources, then review the drafts of their writing to ensure they are drawing evidence from primary and secondary sources in their speech or poster about what it means to be free.

The formative assessment guidance in myView meets expectations for indicator 2u. Materials include a range of formative assessment opportunities embedded throughout daily and weekly instruction, along with guidance to support teachers in determining students’ current understanding and adjusting instruction as needed. Teachers are provided with tools such as Exit Tickets, Monitor Progress Notes, observations, fluency checks, and Progress Check-Ups to regularly assess student progress. These assessments are flexible, offering teachers options for administration through observation or exit tickets. Based on the formative assessments embedded in the lessons, the materials also provide reteaching through targeted small-group Skill Groups when students struggle. Each Skill Group includes a teaching point, modeling, and guided practice, as well as its own formative check. 

• Materials include formative assessments and support for the teacher in determining students’ current skills/level of understanding.

  • In the Assessment Guide, the materials explain that “Formative assessments are the way to gather continuous data about students’ learning and to monitor student progress as you go. These assessments are called formative because they help ‘form’ the instructional process along the way. Formative assessment may include:

    • Teacher observations

    • Checklists

    • Homework

    • Classwork

    • Weekly tests

    • Fluency checks”

  • The Assessment Guide also provides information about Progress Check-Ups and Exit Tickets:

    • “Progress Check-Ups: formative assessments that will provide you with information each week about your students’ ability to use the skills and standards taught in class.

    • Exit Tickets: a formative assessment option that allows you to quickly check for understanding of weekly content, such as genre, vocabulary, and comprehension.”

  • The Assessment Guide details how teachers should use data to make decisions:

    • “Collect Data: Use a variety of assessment tools to gather data about your students as individuals and classroom as a whole.

    • Document Data: Record and organize the data in a way that you can easily read and understand.

    • Evaluate Data: Consider what the data tells you about individual and classroom learning when reviewed together.

    • Instruct from Data: Plan your instruction to address the evidence of learning or needs of your individual students and classroom as a whole.”

    • In the myView Teacher’s Edition for each unit, the materials list the types of common formative assessments. The Daily Formative Assessments consist of Exit Tickets, Monitor Progress Notes, and Conferences On the Go. The Weekly Assessments consist of Weekly Progress Check-Ups, Cold Reads for Fluency and Comprehension, Weekly Selection Quizzes, and Weekly Standards Practice. The Weekly Planner details for teachers where the formative assessment opportunities fall within each week and what materials they will need, if any.

      • In Grade 3, Unit 2, Week 1, the materials provide various opportunities for formative assessment across the week. In Lesson 1, the Monitor Progress note gives teachers two options for formative assessment about informational texts:

        • “As students work, circulate to check that they can identify the main idea of an informational text, and the facts and features that support it.

        • Exit Ticket: See SavvasRealize.com for an exit ticket on the elements of informational text.”

      Lesson 2 provides formative assessment options related to vocabulary, Lesson 3’s formative assessment options focus on main ideas and details, Lesson 4 provides formative assessment options for monitoring comprehension, and Lesson 5’s focus is on comparing texts. Each of the opportunities provides teachers with choices in how they want to administer the formative assessment: through observation or using an exit ticket.

      • In Grade 5, Unit 3, Week 4, Lesson 1, the materials provide various opportunities for formative assessment across the week. In Lesson 1, the Monitor Progress note gives teachers two options for formative assessment related to poetry:

        • “As students work, circulate to check that they can compare and contrast poetry and realistic fiction.

        • Exit Ticket: See SavvasRealize.com for an exit ticket on the elements of poetry.”

      Lesson 2 includes formative assessment options related to vocabulary, Lesson 3’s formative assessment options focus on figurative language, Lesson 4 includes formative assessment options related to visualizing, and Lesson 5 focuses on comparing texts. Each of the opportunities provides teachers with choices in how they want to administer the formative assessment: through observation or using an exit ticket.

• Materials include broad guidance that supports the teacher in making instructional adjustments to increase student progress.

  • In the Formative Assessment: Monitor Progress notes, the materials provide teachers with options for formatively assessing students and provide guidance that if students are struggling with the lesson’s skill or concept to reteach in the Teacher-Led Small Group Instruction. These lessons provide additional instruction and practice in the day’s lesson.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 5, Week 3, Lesson 2, the Formative Assessment: Monitor Progress note explains, “If students cannot respond to prompts using newly acquired vocabulary or cannot complete the exit ticket, use the Skill Group on p. T174.” For the Develop Vocabulary Skill Group, the materials provide a teaching point, modeling, and guided practice. There is also an additional formative assessment related to determining word meanings.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 4, Week 1, Lesson 3, the Formative Assessment: Monitor Progress note explains, “If students cannot analyze characters in ‘Keeping Mr. John Holton Alive’ or cannot complete the exit ticket, use the Skill Group on p. T54.” For the Analyze Characters Skill Group, the materials provide a teaching point, modeling, and guided practice. There is also an additional formative assessment related to making inferences about characters in stories.

The summative assessment guidance in myView meets expectations for indicator 2v. Materials include culminating tasks and summative assessments that are embedded in each unit and aligned to the unit’s topic or theme, offering students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding through integrated literacy skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Each unit concludes with a Project-Based Inquiry that connects to the unit’s essential question and guides students through a sequence of lessons that build the knowledge and skills necessary to complete the culminating task. In addition to these projects, students participate in on-demand writing assessments aligned to the unit’s genre, as well as formal summative assessments that evaluate comprehension, vocabulary, conventions, and writing through a combination of multiple-choice items and extended responses. Materials include teacher-facing resources, such as the Summative Assessments Teacher’s Manual, which provide scoring rubrics, answer keys, and general guidance for interpreting assessment data to inform instruction. 

• Culminating tasks/summative assessments are evident in each unit/module and align to the unit’s/module’s topic or theme. Culminating tasks/summative assessments provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the unit/module while integrating multiple literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening).

  • The materials provide a Summative Assessments Teacher’s Manual for each grade in the Guides and Manuals section of the Savvas Realize platform. This manual details all of the different types of summative assessments contained in the program, including a baseline test, unit tests, middle- and end-of-year tests, fluency checks, and running records. The manual describes each type of assessment, how to administer them, and how to use the data, although the guidance for instructional next steps is general.

    • In the Grade 5 Summative Assessments Teacher’s Manual, the materials explain, “The Unit Tests are designed to assess students’ progress in Reading Comprehension, Word Study, Conventions, and Writing at the end of each unit. All items test content that has been taught within the unit, and all items are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Some items also help prepare students for technology-enhanced items they may encounter on computer-based tests. Selections and questions in the Unit Tests become progressively more difficult from Unit 1 to Unit 5 to reflect the increasing sophistication of materials students are able to handle. The Middle-of-Year and End-of-Year Tests follow the same design as the Unit Tests, but contain more items. The Middle-of-Year Test assesses material from the first three units. The End-of-Year Test assesses material from all five units.”

  • Each unit ends with a Project-Based Inquiry in Week 6, which ties together the content and skills learning across the unit and aligns to the unit topic/theme and essential question.

    • In Grade 3, Unit 5, Week 6, students engage in a Project-Based Inquiry where they “explore the theme of Solutions by working collaboratively to research and create a travel brochure that persuades readers to visit, or not visit, a place likely to be affected by a natural disaster.” This project ties in what students have been reading and learning about related to the unit essential question, “How does the world challenge us?” and requires students to read, research, write, collaborate, and share with others. 

  • In Week 5, Lesson 5 of the writing block, after students have gone through the writing process for the unit’s writing piece, they participate in an on-demand writing assessment in the same genre they have been learning about throughout the unit.

    • In Grade 4, Unit 2, Writing, Week 5, Lesson 5, the materials direct teachers to “Inform students that they are going to take a writing assessment. They will use the skills they have learned in this unit as they respond to a prompt.” The teacher directs students to “Write a how-to article that helps a new student learn how to do something important in your school.” The materials provide a checklist to students about what to remember to include and a scoring rubric for teachers.

• Materials provide opportunities to support students in gaining the knowledge and skills needed to complete the culminating tasks/summative assessments.

  • The unit, middle-of-year, and end-of-year tests assess students’ reading comprehension, word study, conventions, and writing through multiple-choice questions and writing prompts based on the skills learned throughout the unit. 

    • In the Grade 3, Unit 1 Test, students answer multiple-choice questions to assess their reading comprehension and word study knowledge, and write a personal narrative based on a prompt. Throughout the unit, students learn how to write a personal narrative during the writing block and write an on-demand personal narrative during the Writing Assessment at the end of Week 5.

  • During the Project-Based Inquiry, the materials provide students with instruction and guidance in how to complete the culminating task through a series of lessons leading up to the task, in addition to the related knowledge gained throughout the unit.

    • In Grade 5, Unit 4, Week 6, the Project-Based Inquiry asks students to “address the theme Liberty by conducting a survey about what freedom means to others. Then students will develop a project of their own, such as a speech or poster, about what it means to be free.” In Lesson 1, the teacher introduces the project and builds knowledge. In Lesson 2, students explore information writing, plan their research, and begin conducting their research using a survey. In Lesson 3, students analyze a student model, thinking about their audience. They also learn about using primary and secondary sources. In Lesson 4, students learn how to use online tools to create surveys and revise their questions. They then peer review parts of their classmates’ projects. In Lesson 5, students share what they learned and reflect on the unit as a whole.

• Materials include broad guidance that supports the teacher in determining and evaluating student performance on the culminating tasks/summative assessments in the program. 

  • The Unit, Middle-of-Year, and End-of-Year tests consist of four parts: reading comprehension, word study, conventions, and writing. The Summative Assessments Teacher’s Manual contains an answer key for the multiple-choice questions and a writing rubric to score the writing portion. This manual also provides guidance on interpreting results, informing instruction, and further analysis of the results, though the materials caution that these tests do not “provide sufficient content coverage of individual skills to be truly ‘diagnostic,’ students’ performance patterns can often provide useful clues about particular strengths and weaknesses.”

  • Each Project-Based Inquiry includes a scoring rubric for teachers to use, though the guidance on how to score and how to interpret these scores is limited.