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Springboard English Language Arts Common Core Edition (2018)
College Board | Twelfth Grade
Home Reports Center ELA Twelfth Grade Springboard English Language Arts Common Core Edition
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Springboard English Language Arts Common Core Edition - Twelfth Grade
The Springboard Language Arts Common Core Edition 2017 materials for Grade 12 fully meet the alignment expectations. The materials include appropriately rigorous texts to engage students in reading and writing as well as working to build research skills. Tasks and questions provided offer students practice in academic speaking and listening as well as comprehensive writing skills development over the course of the school year. The materials are designed to grow students' knowledge and academic vocabulary as they engage with increasingly rigorous texts and tasks.
Text Quality
Building Knowledge
Text Quality & Complexity and Alignment to Standards Components
The SpringBoard Grade 12 instructional materials meet the expectations for text quality and complexity and alignment to the standards. The instructional materials include texts that are worthy of students' time and attention and that support students' advancing toward independent reading. The materials provide opportunities for rich and rigorous evidence-based discussions and writing about texts to build strong literacy skills.
Criterion 1a - 1f
Texts are worthy of students' time and attention: texts are of quality and are rigorous, meeting the text complexity criteria for each grade. Materials support students' advancing toward independent reading.
The SpringBoard Grade 12 instructional materials meet expectations for text quality and complexity. The materials include an appropriate distribution of texts suggested in the CCSS for Grade 12. In addition to literary texts, the program supports student access to strong informational texts. Anchor texts within the materials are of publishable quality, worthy of especially careful reading, and consider a range of student interests. Texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task. Over the course of the year, materials support students' increasing literacy skills through a series of texts at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for Grade 12. The materials are accompanied by text complexity analyses and rationales for purpose and placement in the grade level, and the program's anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.
NOTE: Indicator 1b is non-scored and provides information about text types and genres in the program.
Anchor/core texts are of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading.
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 1a. Anchor texts within the Grade 12 materials are of publishable quality and worthy of especially careful reading and consider a range of student interests.
Materials for Grade 12 include well-known and diverse authors such as Theodore Roethke, E. E. Cummings, Sylvia Plath, Ralph Ellison, Sandra Cisneros, George Orwell, James Baldwin, Amy Tan, George Bernard Shaw, Ovid, Zora Neale Hurston, William Faulkner, Kate Chopin, John Donne, William Shakespeare, Emma Lazarus, and Shaun Tan. Most, if not all, of the texts--print, film, and audio recording-- have been published in some form as books or in notable newspapers and/or journals and magazines, as well as on the screen, in video, or audiocast.
Five thematic units provide anchor texts and supplementary texts encompassing a range of topics relevant and interesting to Grade 12 students: Perception is Everything, The Collective Perspective, Evolving Perspectives, Creating Perspectives, and Multiple Perspectives. Books, dramas, short stories, poems, essays, graphic novels, film excerpts, articles, speeches, and editorials are among the text types studied throughout the year. Using these materials as a touchstone, students explore the concept of perspective and how it is "filtered through values, prejudices, and attitudes." Drawing on a growing understanding of perspectives, students are introduced to literary criticism as a lens for understanding literary texts and the context from which they originated: social, cultural, and historic. Additionally, students build on their own perspectives of literature by analyzing texts that have stood the test of time through more modern forms of literary criticism and evaluate the perspectives of changing times on classic as well as more contemporary literary pieces.
Unit 1: Perception is Everything, a unit of multiple texts
"My Papa's Waltz," a poem by Theodore Roethke
"To the National American Woman Suffrage Association," a speech by Florence Kelley
"On Seeing England for the First Time," an essay by Jamaica Kincaid
"Shooting an Elephant," a short story by George Orwell
Unit 2: The Collective Perspective, a unit anchored in the study of Pygmalion
"Orpheus Sings: Pygmalion and the Statue," from Metamorphoses, by Ovid
Pygmalion, a drama by George Bernard Shaw
Unit 3: Evolving Perspectives, a unit anchored in the study of a drama
The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, by William Shakespeare
Unit 4: Creating Perspectives, a unit of multiple texts examining journalism and bias
"How the Media Twist the News," an article by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 101, a legal document
excerpt from "A Failure of Initiative," a report by the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina
excerpt from "The Need for Science in Restoring Resilience to the Northern Gulf of Mexico," a report by Gregory J. Smith
Unit 5: Multiple Perspectives, a unit of understanding critical perspectives through the study of a graphic novel
The Arrival, a graphic novel by Shaun Tan
Materials reflect the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.
*Indicator 1b is non-scored (in grades 9-12) and provides information about text types and genres in the program.
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 reflect the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards. The materials include an appropriate distribution of texts suggested in the CCSS for Grade 12. In addition to literary texts, the program supports student access to strong informational texts including articles, editorials, speeches, as well as other media including paintings, photographs, and films.
Unit 1, Perception is Everything, includes poetry, essays, excerpts from novels, and film clips among other text types. The following is a sample of text titles and authors:
"Stranger in the Village," essay by James Baldwin
"The White Man's Burden," poem by Rudyard Kipling
"The Poor Man's Burden," poem by George McNeill
Invisible Man, novel by Ralph Ellison
The House on Mango Street, novel by Sandra Cisneros
The Joy Luck Club, novel by Amy Tan
Unit 2, The Collective Perspective, includes films, photographs, drama, children's stories, short stories, and literary criticism among other text types. The following is a sample of text titles and authors:
"Cinderella, the Legend," literary criticism by Madonna Kolbenschlag
The Giving Tree, children's book by Shel Silverstein
Pygmalion, drama by George Bernard Shaw
"Talkin' 'bout a Revolution," song lyrics by Tracy Chapman.
"The Story of an Hour," short story by Kate Chopin
"The Chaser," short story by John Collier
Unit 3, Evolving Perspectives, includes drama, film, musical lyrics, and essays among other text types. The following is a sample of text titles and authors:
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, drama by William Shakespeare
"Othello on Stage and Screen," essay by Sylvan Barnet
"The Right to Love," musical lyrics by Gene Lees and Lalo Schifrin
"The Canonization," poem by John Donne
Unit 4, Creating Perspectives, includes documentary film, articles, speeches, and reports among other text types. The following is a sample of text titles and authors:
"Why Partisans View Mainstream Media as Biased and Ideological Media as Objective," article by Matthew C. Nisbet
"A Failure of Initiative," report by the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina
"News War, Part III: What's Happening to the News," documentary film from Frontline
"The Storm," documentary film from Frontline
"The Need for Science in Restoring Resilience to the Northern Gulf of Mexico," report by Gregory J. Smith
Unit 5, Multiple Perspectives, include a graphic novel, essays, and poetry among other text types. The following is a sample of text titles and authors:
"Comments on The Arrival," essay by Shaun Tan
The Arrival, graphic novel by Shaun Tan
"The New Colossus," poem by Emma Lazarus
"Refugee in America," poem by Langston Hughes
Texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade level (according to quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis).
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 1c. Grade 12 texts have the appropriate level of complexity for the grade according to quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and relationship to their associated student task.
SpringBoard Online provides a Text Complexity Analysis for each of the Grade 12 texts. Each text analysis provides a quantitative rating based on Lexile Measures and a qualitative measure based on the qualitative factors described in Appendix A: Research Supporting Key Elements of the Standards (pages 5-6): Levels of Meaning or Purpose, Structure, Language, and Knowledge Demands. The Text Complexity Analysis also describes the student task associated with the reading and the teaching of text and considers those activities in assigning an overall level of text complexity. Most texts fall within the College and Career Expectations for Lexile Ranges in the 11-12 grade band, and those that do not are balanced with higher level qualitative measures. Examples include:
In Unit 1 Activity 1.12, students read Florence Kelley's speech "to the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia, July 22, 1905." The speech text has a Lexile measure of 1280, within the College and Career Readiness range expected for the 11-12 grade band. The Text Complexity Analysis indicates the speech has an overall complex rating and a moderate qualitative rating. The task demand of analysis is moderate.
In Unit 2 Activity 2.4, students read "Orpheus Sings: Pygmalion and the Statue." The text has a Lexile measure of 1070, below the College and Career Readiness range expected for the 11-12 grade band. The Text Complexity Analysis indicates an overall complex rating and a moderate rating for both qualitative measures and task demand. The text purpose is a description of "very complex concepts such as pride, vanity, and devotion [and exemplification of] the archetype of the transformation story in which an external force seeks to change someone else." The language is "somewhat complex and unfamiliar language is occasionally used in this text, most archaic vocabulary is defined in footnotes." The knowledge demands are relatively great because of the "complicated concepts presented in the text...all of which require complex life experiences to fully understand." On the other hand, the structure is described as rather straightforward. The text relates to the unit's theme and builds the foundation for completing an embedded assessment requiring students to "work with a partner to write a script that transforms a scene from Pygmalion so that it reflects one of the critical perspectives you have studied [and to] write a reflection analyzing and evaluating your process and product."
In Unit 3 Activity 3.10, students read an excerpt from "The Moor in English Renaissance Drama." This piece of literary criticism has a Lexile measure of 1430, well above the College and Career Readiness range expected for the 11-12 grade band. The Text Complexity Analysis indicates an overall complexity measure of very complex, a qualitative measure of high and task demand considered challenging as students are asked to evaluate. The qualitative analysis describes this example of literary criticism as conforming "to the conventions of a specific content discipline, which utilizes highly complex and frequently implicit connections between [complex] ideas, so the connections and many associations to his ideas are difficult to connect unless familiar with subject area content." Also noted is the complexity of the sentence structures, the formality of the language, the "overly academic" diction, the allusions and corresponding footnotes. The task asks students to evaluate "to what extent the author's criticisms are present in the Shakespearean drama." Additionally, students will use their work to participate in a Socratic Seminar.
In Unit 5 Activity 5.13, students read an excerpt from the essay, "Comments on The Arrival" by Shaun Tan. The essay has a Lexile measure of 1470, well above the College and Career Readiness range expected for the 11-12 grade band. The Text Complexity Analysis indicates an overall rating of complex, a qualitative rating of moderate, and a task demand rating of accessible because students "read and interpret the author's thoughts on his own graphic novel." Although the superficial purpose of the essay is explicit, there is also a "more interpretive, abstract assertion."" Structurally, the introspective essay moves deeper and deeper into complex ideas as the text evolves, and eventually becomes "full of paradox and abstract ideas." Scaffolds such as marking the text to identify main ideas, circling unknown words and phrases, and using context clues, word parts, and a dictionary can help students to understand unfamiliar terms. In addition, scaffolds such as rereading and callouts on grammar usage and verb tense aid student understanding.
Materials support students' literacy skills (understanding and comprehension) over the course of the school year through increasingly complex text to develop independence of grade level skills (Series of texts should be at a variety of complexity levels).
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 1d. Over the course of the year, materials support students' increasing literacy skills through a series of texts at a variety of complexity levels appropriate for Grade 12.
Students progressively build literacy skills through work with a variety of texts over the course of the school year. Texts sets are at various complexity levels, quantitatively and qualitatively, and therefore support learners as they develop literacy skills and background knowledge to support independent and proficient reading practices.
In Unit 1, students are introduced to concepts of literary perspective through literary criticism as part of an academic study reflecting on how "one's perception determines his or her interpretation of the world." The unit text sets juxtapose images, novel excerpts, reflective essays, and significant speeches of varying complexity to support students' understanding of Reader Response Criticism and Cultural Criticism. This juxtaposition allows students to practice with Common Core Standard RI.11-12.7 as they "integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem." Although some texts are quantitatively below grade level, such as Sandra Cisneros's "Four Skinny Trees" (690L) and Amy Tan's "Lindo Jong: Double Face (590L), they are presented alongside more complex texts, such as Florence Kelley's speech "to the National American Woman Suffrage Association" (1280L), James Baldwin's reflective essay "Stranger in the Village" (1370L), and Jamaica Kincaid's "On Seeing England for the First Time" (1230L). The Teacher Wrap provides suggestions for supporting readers through these complex texts, grounding a critical study of literature in relevant work and guiding students toward more independent reading and analysis.
In Unit 2, students continue their study of critical perspectives, adding Archetypal Criticism, Marxist Criticism, and Feminist Criticism to the breadth of their academic lens. While the quantitative complexity of the unit's literary selections are below the 11-12 grade band and closer to 9-10 grade band expectations, the qualitative measurements and task requirements make them appropriate for Grade 12 students. With the addition of three new forms of criticism, working with more accessible texts supports developing foundations in the area of literary theory and increases the opportunities for learners to analyze text through those perspectives. The balance between complex ideas and accessible text in content and application allows students to gain strength in literary analysis and become stronger, more independent readers.
In Unit 3, students draw on previous learning for the more complex task of reading Shakespeare's Othello. Not only does the language and structure of Othello make it a complex undertaking, but the series of texts paired with the study of Shakespeare's drama are equally complex in language and concepts. In Activity 3.9, students read "The Moor in English Renaissance Drama" by Jack D'Amico, a literary criticism with a Lexile Measure of 1430. Margin notes for the teacher suggest the text be chunked for readers, and scaffolded text-dependent questions are provided. Later on in the unit, Activity 3.18, students read another critical essay, "Othello on Stage and Screen" by Sylvan Barnet with a Lexile Measure of 1370. Here, the margin notes read, "Although it is tempting to chunk this text to make it manageable for students, it is critical that students to be able to use strategies independently to decipher long, complex texts." The margin notes urge teachers to use their professional expertise to "determine the best way to approach this text" and also offer suggestions such as marking the text, questioning the text, summarizing and paraphrasing while reading, all skills of a proficient and active reader.
In Unit 4, students consider how the various literary lenses they have studied can be applied to real-world events to better understand the conflict in light of society's context. Complexity levels of the unit texts range from an editorial's Lexile Measure of 780 to a web article on BigThink with a Lexile Measure of 1660. The unit is built on informational text and documentaries represented by paired text titles such as, "How Media Twists the News" and "Why Partisans View Mainstream Media as Biased and Ideological Media as Objective." As the unit progresses, students are introduced to and reminded of contemporary issues of national concern, reading contemporary legislation, news articles, editorials, congressional reports, and speeches as well as viewing and discussing how documentaries develop national and personal perspectives on pressing issues of our time. The Teacher Wrap provides tips for supporting readers who struggle with the complexity of the texts and associated performance tasks.
In Unit 5, classroom learning continues in the study of perception through reading and analyzing of a graphic novel using the critical theories studied through the year. Student learning culminates in collaborative project synthesizing the year's learning through a presentation examining critical theory as it applies to a text read independently. The unit allows students to demonstrate literacy proficiencies in reading and analysis, researching and writing, and speaking and listening as they interpret critical lenses to a book or drama of their choosing.
Anchor texts and series of texts connected to them are accompanied by a text complexity analysis and rationale for purpose and placement in the grade level.
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet the criteria of Indicator 1e. The Grade 12 materials provide anchor texts and series of texts connected to them. The materials are accompanied by text complexity analyses and rationales for purpose and placement in the grade level.
SpringBoard Online provides a Text Complexity Analysis complete with rationales for purpose and placement within the online Teacher Resources. Each analysis offers users a choice to download the file or preview the analysis online. The format for each analysis is identical, providing information and discussion in five areas: the context for use, a quantitative analysis with justification if the Lexile level is below grade, a qualitative review, an overview of task and reader considerations, and placement considerations in light of grade level standards.
Anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet Indicator 1f. The program's anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a range and volume of reading to achieve grade level reading proficiency.
Over the year, students are provided with a variety of texts, primarily representing the disciplines of literature and social science, from a wide distribution of media including newspaper, journals, music, film, and the internet. Among the text types are short stories, poems, drama, novels, speeches, editorials, and informational texts; full text listings are provided within Planning the Unit and Resources at a Glance in the Unit Overview. The former lists all titles in the unit and the latter lists the titles in relation to the unit pacing guide and related activities. Additionally, grade level texts are listed in the End Matter PDF found through the Teacher Resources tab among the Book PDFs.
All units are developed thematically. Some units are structured around an anchor text accompanied by supplementary texts while other units provide multiple texts supporting the thematic and skill-based instruction. Regardless, students have the opportunity to achieve grade level reading proficiency through independent reading and study as well as supported reading, e.g., paired reading, small group reading, choral reading, and chunked reading. With the introduction of each new text, the Teacher Wrap encourages teachers to use their "knowledge of their students" to select the most effective format for the first reads. Each reading activity specifically addresses the reading and learning purpose for the text to follow and offers specific lessons designed to support diverse readers in text comprehension and analysis.
Embedded in each lesson are activity features to encourage rereading: Academic and Social Language Preview, Interpret the Text Using Close Reading, Interacting in Meaningful Ways, Academic Collaboration, and Working from the Text. These activity features specifically support close reading, thinking protocols, word consciousness, and grammar and language, all skills that move readers towards greater reading independence. Within all activities, the sidebar Teacher Wrap offers ideas and tips to support diverse readers in the classroom. Additional reading supports are delineated and defined in the Teacher End Materials PDF available through the Resources tab on the grade-level home page. Included in this Resource handbook is a comprehensive list of reading strategies, along with definitions, and purposes for use. Also included in the Resource are numerous graphic organizers aligned to activities specifically noted in the Teacher's Edition, e.g., OPTIC, SMELL, SOAPStone, Web Organizer, and Word Map. Additionally found in the Teacher's Edition Teacher Wrap is specific guidance for adapting teaching methods in the development of grade-level reading skills among diverse readers. Under headings Teacher to Teacher, Adapt, and Leveled Differentiated Instruction are explanations and references for additional supports that are also found in the Resource handbook, e.g., sequencing events, analyzing key ideas and details, charting cause and effect, and unknown word solvers.
Six supplementary close reading lesson sets are also included among the instructional materials: informational/literary nonfiction, poetry, argument, Shakespeare, informational STEM texts, and informational texts in social studies and history. Each lesson set offers three unique texts and instruction for each text follows a four-activity pattern supporting students work toward reading independence:
Activity 1: provides guided reading instruction that emphasizes multiple readings, vocabulary development, and close-reading strategies with a complex text.
Activity 2: gradually releases students from teacher-guided instruction and modeling to a collaborative analysis of a visual text to which students apply the skills and strategies of close reading.
Activity 3: releases students to closely read texts independently to respond to analysis questions and to make connections to previous texts.
Activity 4: requires students to respond to synthesis writing, presentation, or discussion prompts to demonstrate their mastery of the close-reading skills they have practiced in the workshop.
In addition to reading as part of classroom activities, students are expected to complete independent readings. In each unit, Planning this Unit provides a section titled Suggestions for Independent Reading and offers a "wide array of titles which have been chosen based on complexity and interest." At the beginning of each unit, students develop an Independent Reading Plan and are instructed to discuss their reading plan with a partner through a series of questions: "How do you go about choosing what to read independently? Where can you find advice on which books or articles to read? What genre of texts do you most enjoy reading outside of class? How can you make time in your schedule to read independently? How do you think literary theory might change your perspective of the texts you read independently?"
As a mechanism for monitoring their reading progress, students are accountable for monitoring their independent reading using an Independent Reading Log provided in the Resource handbook available in the Teacher End Materials PDF and the Student Front Matter, both found through the Resources tab on the grade-level home page. Independent Reading Link: Read and Connect is a sidebar activity bridging the unit's reading instruction and the students' independent reading. In Unit 2, Activity 2.1 students are told, "In this unit, you will be reading a play that has been adapted into a film. For your independent reading, choose another text that has been made into a film. After watching the film, discuss with a peer how and why the film version differs from the original text. Record notes of your discussion in your Reader/Writer Notebook." Independent Reading Checkpoints are also embedded in each unit. In Unit 2, Activity 2.13, after a study of various critical perspectives, students are instructed to review their independent reading (a text that had been adapted into a film) and "consider which critical perspective would provide the most interesting analysis of the reading (Reader Response Criticism, Cultural Criticism, Archetypal Criticism, or Marxist Criticism). How might you apply this perspective to transform your reading into a staged play? Record your ideas in your Reader/Writer Notebook." In building a volume of reading, students are also encouraged to do their own research, selecting their titles and topics "that intrigue them."
Criterion 1g - 1n
Materials provide opportunities for rich and rigorous evidence-based discussions and writing about texts to build strong literacy skills.
The SpringBoard Grade 12 instructional materials meet expectations for alignment to the CCSS with tasks and questions grounded in evidence. Most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-dependent and require students to engage with the text directly and to draw on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text. The materials contain sets of high quality, sequenced, text-dependent, and text-specific questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding. Culminating tasks are rich and varied, providing opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do in speaking and/or writing over the year. The materials provide frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions--small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class-- that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax, and most materials support students' listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and evidence. The instructional materials also include instruction of grammar and conventions/language standards for Grade 12 and are applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts with opportunities for application context. The materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g., multiple drafts and revisions over time); short, focused projects incorporating digital resources where appropriate; and frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate to the grade level. While the program provides a variety of opportunities for students to write in the modes of argument, explanation, and narrative with writing assignments connected to texts and/or text sets, most writing assignments are explanatory.
Most questions, tasks, and assignments are text dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet the expectations of indicator 1g. Most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-dependent and require students to engage with the text directly and to draw on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text.
Most questions, tasks, and assignments over the course of instruction are designed to encourage students' interaction with the texts under study. Within each unit are recurrent activities such as Second Read and Working from the Text which cause students to consider text-dependent questions regarding concepts related to key ideas and details, craft and structure, and integration of knowledge and ideas. Additionally, Writing to Sources activities require students to engage directly with the text using explicit and valid inferential textual support in the development of analytic and explanatory writing.
Following are some representative examples of how Grade 12 materials employ text-based questions and tasks over the course of the school year:
In Unit 2, Activity 2.9, before reading Act V of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, students are to reread Act I and create a two-column organizer listing character traits for each. Then, while reading Act V, students are to record changes within the characters between acts and compare transformations by considering a variety of questions: "What specifically about each character has changed? How did each transformation occur? How active was each character in the transformation? What is each character's attitude towards the transformation?"
In Unit 3, Activity 3.18, after a study of Shakespeare's Othello, students read "Othello on Stage and Screen" by Sylvan Barnet. Second Read directs students to reread the critical essay and answer a series of text-dependent questions exploring how cultural attitudes have affected the delivery and understanding of Othello across time and culminating in the Working from the Text question: "Through today's critical lens of Cultural Criticism, do you think the answers to 'Does it matter if a black plays Othello?' (paragraph 31) would be different? Why or why not?"
In Unit 5, Activity 5.11, after reading "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, "Refugees in America" by Langston Hughes, and The Arrival, a graphic novel by Shaun Tan, Working from the Text directs students to consider thematic similarities between the poems and how "the themes identified in Lazarus's and Hughes's poems resonate in Tan's graphic novel The Arrival."
Materials contain sets of sequences of text-dependent/ text-specific questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet the criteria for indicator Ih. The materials contain sets of high-quality, sequenced, text-dependent, and text-specific questions with activities that build to a culminating task which integrates skills to demonstrate understanding. Culminating tasks are rich and varied, providing opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do in speaking and/or writing over the year.
Four of the five Grade 12 units present two embedded assessments. Unit 5 has a single Embedded Assessment at the unit's end. In Units 1-4, the Preview of Embedded Assessment 1 occurs on the first day of the unit as students unpack the skills required for the task which culminates midpoint in the unit. Following the completion of Embedded Assessment 1, students are introduced to Embedded Assessment 2, again unpacking the skills necessary to successfully accomplish the end task. In Unit 5, the Embedded Assessment is introduced on day one of the unit. For each Embedded Assessment, the sequence of activities following the unpacking sequentially develops the skills necessary to complete the requirements of the assessment.
The Unit 2, Embedded Assessment 1 asks students to work as a pair in writing a script that transforms a scene from Pygmalion to reflect one of the Critical Perspectives studied during the unit. Unit 2 builds on Unit 1 in introducing literary theory to the understanding and interpretation of literature. In Unit 1, Reader Response and Cultural Criticism were introduced. In the first half of Unit 2, Archetypal Criticism (Activity 2.2) is introduced through an analysis of film, and Marxist Criticism (2.13) is introduced through an analysis of musical lyrics. Students explore the drama first from an archetypal perspective through comparison between Shaw's Pygmalion and Ovid's "Myth of Pygmalion." In Activities 2.6 and 2.7, students learn about Victorian social protocol in actions and wordplay through a study of subtext and the double entendre. Discussion on playwright's choice on the inclusion and/or omission of stage directions supports the culminating script writing. Further activities provide text-dependent questions that lead students to explore the character transformations of the leading man and lady, and the addition of clips from My Fair Lady introduce another perspective to the dramatization of Shaw's work. A second read of selected excerpts in Activity 2.12 returns the readers to earlier scenes in the play for analysis against an archetypal perspective before Activity 2.13 turns to a Marxist interpretation. Activity 2.14 guides the students towards an analysis of Pygmalion in light of power, class, and money before students begin to work in pairs on the performance task, transforming a scene from Pygmalion to reflect one of the four studied Critical Perspectives.
The Unit 4, Embedded Assessment 2 asks students to work collaboratively in creating and presenting a ten- to fifteen-minute argumentative documentary to be presented live or via media of choice. Activity 4.10 tasks students with determining the skills and knowledge they will need to be successful. Activity 4.11 explores the variety of modes and styles in nonfiction television and film using video clips. Activity 4.12 continues the exploration of video shifting from an analysis of mode and style to one of visual images and sounds. Activity 4.13 turns students' attention towards the project as they consider what will be the focus of their documentary and how they will structure the thesis and determine the various roles to be played in developing a compelling narrative. The resulting plan becomes the focus of Activity 4.14 as students evaluate one another's design, evaluating the proposal's effectiveness and offering constructive criticism.
Materials provide frequent opportunities and protocols to engage students in speaking and listening activities and discussions (small group, peer-to-peer, whole class) which encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions--small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class-- that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.
Each unit throughout Grade 12 engages students in a variety of evidence-based discussions within the whole class, as small group conversations, and as partners sharing text-based ideas and information. Embedded within each unit are several Academic Collaboration lessons focused on the current text under study and designed to promote meaningful interaction. The lessons provide a discussion protocol guiding "academic conversation" and sometimes extend into a Language Checkpoint where students work with partners examining syntax related to the anchor text. Academic and Social Language Previews also appear in each unit. These collaborative investigations promote student exploration of word meaning by asking students to determine meaning through the context and then apply the word in a new context. Additionally, the Teacher Wrap supports activities with additional protocols, ideas for increasing pair and small group speaking and listening interactions, instructional advice for differentiation, modeling suggestions, and technology tips for heightening student interaction in effective evidence-based discussion.
Following are some representative examples of how Grade 12 materials provide opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax:
In Unit 2, Activity 2.3, before reading Shaw's Pygmalion, students engage in a gallery walk, viewing a collection of photos from My Fair Lady, the film version of the play, Pygmalion. Students working in groups are provided with a graphic organizer and instructed to "describe the mise en scene" of each photo, detailing the costume, facial expression, and body language of each pictorial subject. Based on their observations, students are asked to answer a set of text-dependent questions aimed at predicting elements of the drama: setting, plot, relationships, etc. When the groups reach the final image in the series, they are to become "experts" on that image for a jigsaw activity to follow. Not only are they to discuss mise en scene but they are also directed to discuss connections between the images in light of literary perspectives studied to date, using textual evidence to support their connections. Students then jigsaw and share their expertise on each image, specifically, to "make sure to express your ideas clearly and build on others' ideas in a focused response."
In Unit 3, Activity 3.9c, while reading Othello, Interacting in Meaningful Ways: Academic Collaboration asks students to "contribute to group discussions about drama by asking and answering questions and following turn-taking rules." Students are directed to work in pairs or small groups with a discussion protocol that ensures "a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue" (SL.11-12.1C) through a clearly defined turn-taking process. The protocol culls out Tier 2 and Tier 3 words for discussion, i.e., villain, pestilence, and soliloquy, and expects students to respond thoughtfully with text-based evidence and logic.
In Unit 3, Activity 3.9, while studying Shakespeare's Othello, students are introduced to Historical Criticism through an essay by Jack D'Amico and asked to prepare for a Socratic Seminar over the texts. The essay is chunked for this activity. During the first read, students read the chunks and annotate with metacognitive markers, i.e., question marks to signal confusion, asterisks for comments, etc. Students then conduct a second read of the essay and answer a series of text-dependent questions. Teacher materials suggest students may conduct both activities independently, as small groups or pairs, or as a whole class read aloud. Additionally, syntax is integrated through a mini-lesson on compound sentences and clauses. Students are asked to examine the essay for these grammatical structures and note their impact. In the final stages of preparation, groups are assigned a single chunk of text and provided a Collaborative Dialogue graphic organizer as a frame for developing Socratic Seminar questions. Students generate multiple questions, practice asking and answering those questions, and then choose at least one to bring to the Socratic Seminar for discussion of the text as whole.
In Unit 5, Activity 5.2, after having studied several literary theories in previous units, students form Literature Circles "to read a shared text with a small group." The teaching materials provide guidelines for organizing the group, creating a reading schedule, organizing the reading, and a protocol for reading group discussion notes that includes a self-evaluation of progress towards the group goals. The Teacher Wrap suggests students identify clear roles within the group and the use of a web-based forum for continuing the discussion asynchronously.
Materials support students' listening and speaking (and discussions) about what they are reading and researching (shared projects) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.
The instructional materials reviewed for SpringBoard Grade 12 meet the expectations of indicator 1j. Most materials support students' listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and evidence.
Throughout the year, students are engaged in a variety of listening and speaking activities including pairing with peers, discussion in small groups, participating in Socratic Seminars, and staging class presentations. Most collaborative activities occur after reading a text and/or a combination of texts sometimes paired with multimedia sources. In most instances, students are required to engage in evidence-based discussions relevant to the year's study, an understanding of literary theory and critical perspectives: archetypal, feminist, Marxist, historical, and cultural. Discussion questions encouraging students to draw on academic vocabulary and syntax are provided within both teacher and student materials and support students' preparation for collaboration to follow.
Four of the five units engage students in Socratic Seminars, most often to question, probe, and advance positions of literary criticism in relation to unit texts. Students become more independent in leading discussions and seminars, often responsible to generate text-related leveled questions--literal, universal, and interpretive--to propel ensuing conversations and discussions. Throughout, students are not only expected to verify and clarify ideas, but also advance differing views, work to persuade others by supporting all information with credible and sufficient evidence, and synthesize the ideas expressed through the discourse. Opportunities to talk and ask questions of peers and teachers about research, strategies, and ideas are present throughout the year. The curriculum includes a host of protocols and graphic organizers to promote and scaffold academic discussions. Guidance for differentiating, extending, and monitoring student learning is provided to the teacher in the Teacher Wrap section provided with each activity.
Following are some representative examples of how Grade 12 materials support students' listening and speaking about what they are reading, researching, and presenting with relevant follow-up questions and evidence:
In Unit 1, Activity 1.10, after reading "Four Skinny Trees" by Sandra Cisneros, students work collaboratively to ask and answer questions about a literary vignette in preparation for an academic discussion wherein they will express and support their opinions. The Teacher Wrap provides instructions and language to the teacher for building students' strengths in both supporting one's opinion or position and disagreeing or challenging the opinions of others. Students begin by working in small groups or pairs to discuss four questions posed on the Collaborative Dialogue graphic organizer, a teaching tool posing a series of what and how questions alongside response stems, e.g., "What is the narrator's perception of herself? What details from the passage help you determine how she views herself?" and the response stems, "I believe the narrator perceives herself as _____. I think this because _____." After students have conversed, they capture their thinking on the graphic organizer. Next, students work in groups of four and use the graphic organizer to engage in an academic discussion through a collaborative dialogue, after which they move into a related task: analyzing Cisneros' descriptive language and generating questions about word choice, phrasing, and author inspiration. If students need further support in small group discussion, the Teacher Wrap suggests bringing together a group of three students and guiding them through the first discussion question to ensure they are not only citing and quoting text evidence but also paraphrasing and justifying their evidence selections.
In Unit 4, Activity 4.5, after reading Section 101 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, a news article published in The Times-Picayune, and a speech by George W. Bush, "President Outlines Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts," students prepare for and participate in a collaborative discussion. Students' progress through this lesson following the curriculum's pattern: students take notes while independently conducting a first read and then complete Second Read by answering a series of analytic text dependent questions. Once all texts are read, a whole class discussion asks students to consider "the different function of each text and how its purpose may affect the choice of language and structure." Students are then divided into two groups: one to further analyze the new article and the other to further analyze the presidential speech. Students use a series of questions provided in the materials for this purpose. Having worked through the provided questions, students generate additional questions appropriate to probing, evaluating, and clarifying the information among the texts.
In Unit 4, Embedded Assessment 2, students are asked to work collaboratively to "create a documentary text in the media channel of their choice," transforming information gathered from research into argument. The final presentation is to be 10 to 15 minutes in length and presented live or via video. This activity has a suggested timeline of four days and provides students with a guide sheet, from planning to drafting, to evaluating and revising, checking and editing for publication. Students are charged with researching multiple sources to find credible and reliable information, marshaling the evidence to present, writing the script, rehearsing for presentation, filming or recording as needed, acquiring feedback from others to revise and improve on the product. Throughout the latter activities of Unit 4, students are learning about and practicing the skills necessary to make this culminating presentation successful.
In Unit 5, Activity 5.11, after reading "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus and "Refugees in America" by Langston Hughes, students prepare for a Socratic Seminar by answering text-based questions and generating questions on their own. The lesson begins with students taking notes during the first read. Then, Second Read leads students through a series of analytic text-dependent questions for each of the two texts. Following that activity, the Teacher Wrap suggests students create a graphic organizer populated with the ideas from the two poems "in order to see parallels and find a common theme." Working from the Texts expands the consideration of thematic similarities to Amy Tan's graphic novel, The Arrival, read earlier in the unit. Students are then asked to "develop levels of questions," sharing those questions aloud though not providing answers at this time. Additional time for question generation is built into the lesson, anticipating that the first round of question-asking will foster additional questions for use during the Socratic Seminar. In the final stages of the lesson, students are brought together for a "collegial discussion about topics and themes from Lazarus's and Hughes's poems and Part V of The Arrival." Closure to the lesson asks students to complete a Quick Write, "synthesizing ideas shared during the Socratic Seminar" and explaining "to what extent did your ideas change, shift, or thrive...?"
Materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing grade-appropriate writing (e.g. grade-appropriate revision and editing) and short, focused projects.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the indicators for 1k. Materials include a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g., multiple drafts and revisions over time) and short, focused projects incorporating digital resources where appropriate.
On-demand writing tasks are present within most unit activities and focus on specific text/s and/or on a specific writing skill: e.g., quickwrites, double entry journals, reflections, note taking, and answering writing prompts. Standard features of each unit--Working from the Text, Writing to Sources, Argument Writing Prompts, Explanatory Writing Prompts, and Narrative Writing Prompts--ask students to write shorter, on-demand responses that require attention to development, textual evidence, and incorporation of writing skills studied. Additionally, the program offers opportunities for student revisions of many on-demand writing activities.
Following are some representative examples of how Grade 12 materials employ on-demand writing alongside technology, editing, and/or revision tasks over the course of the school year:
In Unit 2, Activity 2.4, after reading Ovid's "Orpheus Sings: Pygmalion and the Statue," students write a summary of Ovid's work attending to the main idea and details but without expressing judgment. In Activity 2.12, after reading George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, students return to their summary of Ovid's myth to review the text of the myth and the summary. Working with a writing partner, students analyze Shaw's adherence or departures from the work of Ovid, answering these questions: "Has the writer included the character of the creator? Has the writer included the character of the created? Has the writer defined the nature of the transformation? Has the writer defined the relationship between the creator and the creation? Following the partner discussion, each student independently writes an argumentative essay, after which they collaborate to enhance their drafts, revising the content by "considering the supporting evidence and logical organization" as well as editing grammar, mechanical, and usage errors.
In Unit 4, Activity 4.12, in preparation for Embedded Assessment 2, students learn how "music and visual rhetoric contribute to the tone in a media text." After reviewing elements of a documentary, teachers show the class a documentary clip, first without sound and then with sound. The Teacher Wrap suggests using Land of Opportunity by Luisa Dantas, as "the 3-minute trailer includes music and other audio worthy of analysis, and many other clips from the film project are available online." After viewing and discussing the visual and audio aspects of the clip, the Explanatory Writing Prompt asks students to write "a paragraph in which you explain how the director uses sound in a particular scene in order to establish tone. What is the intended effect of using music to establish this tone? Be sure to: Consider the specific rhetorical context of the film clip; support your claim with specific evidence from the clip, such as illustrative examples, vivid descriptions, or comparisons; include commentary that explains how specific choices contribute to the tone."
In Unit 5, Activity 5.7, after reading Part III of Tan's graphic novel The Arrival, students are asked "to draft an interior monologue from the point of view of one of the characters. Describe what the character is seeing, doing, and thinking in the chosen sequence of frames, [being] sure to: refer to details of the narrative; use narrative techniques, such as pacing, description, and reflection, to develop the character's interior monologue; use precise words and phrases and sensory details to convey a sense of the mood of the setting and the protagonist's thoughts and experiences."
Process writing is supported in each unit through two Embedded Assessments preceded by a series of instructional and practice activities with concepts ranging from ideation to grammar and syntax choices, writing structures, revision and editing. Embedded Assessments offer a breadth of ELA writing purposes: Writing a Reflective Essay; Writing a Script; Writing an Analytical Essay Applying a Critical Perspective to a Short Story; Creating a Monologue; Writing an Argumentative Essay with an Annotated Bibliography; Creating a Documentary Media Text; Presenting a Literary Work through Multiple Critical Perspectives. Each Embedded Assessment is outlined in Planning the Unit and Unit Overview sections of the Teacher's Edition, and the Teacher Wrap provides general guidance to the teacher in the areas of revision and editing. Each Embedded Assessment also includes a scoring rubric and set of questions encouraging students to consider the elements of planning, drafting, and revising throughout the writing process.
Following are some representative examples of how Grade 12 materials employ process writing in longer written tasks featuring technology, revision, and/or editing over the course of the school year:
Unit 3, Embedded Assessment 1, after a study of Othello and various literary analyses, asks students to follow the writing process over two 50-minute class periods as they construct an argumentative essay defending a critical lens as providing the most "compelling view of literature." The student questioning guide sheet, a document provided for each Embedded Assessment, asks questions leading the writer from the planning stage through stages of drafting, revising, and editing for publication. Students are asked to consider how they will "evaluate the different critical perspectives and select the one [you] feel works best?" Additionally, the questioning guide sheet asks students how they will collect evidence and how they will organize their work. How will students ensure the evidence "clearly and consistently supports" their position? How will they avoid "oversimplifying the critical perspective?" As with all embedded assessments, students have access to the scoring rubric and are encouraged to use it before submitting their final draft.
In the Unit 5 Embedded Assessment, students are asked to work collaboratively in preparing a capstone presentation simultaneously critiquing and enticing their student audience's attention. Having selected a novel or a play of the group's choice, the collaborative group is to summarize the text in a manner so engaging, the audience will be motivated to read the text independently. Following the summary, the group is to present an analysis of the text in a visual or performance-based medium through the lens of several critical perspectives studied across the year: e.g., feminist, historical, Marxist, etc. Students will be drawing on notes, essays, and other work they have generated through the year as well as researching the focus of their presentation. The Teacher Wrap suggests students use computer presentation software in the form of a collage, a short film, a documentary, or other medium students may creatively consider. As with all Embedded Assessments, a student questioning guide is included as is a rubric. Students are encouraged to use both.
Materials provide opportunities for students to address different types/modes/genres of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards. Writing opportunities incorporate digital resources/multimodal literacy materials where appropriate. Opportunities may include blended writing styles that reflect the distribution required by the standards.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.
While the program provides a variety of opportunities for students to write in the modes of argument, explanation, and narrative with writing assignments connected to texts and/or text sets, the distribution of the writing is not appropriate for Grade 12. More than half of the Grade 12 writing assignments are of the explanatory mode, and less than one-third of writing prompts represent the argument mode. Narrative writing prompts make up the remainder. Optional Writing Workshops on all modes are available in the supplementary materials. Although the Common Core provides no specific distribution range among the modes at Grade 12, this program falls short in balancing writing tasks between the modes of inform/explain and argument. The program offers little support for teachers or students to monitor progress within the shorter, on-demand writing tasks. There are few rubrics, checklists, or exemplars provided in either the teacher or student materials. Embedded Assessments offer support through a checklist of questions intended to promote student thinking on the processes of planning, drafting, editing, and revising. Additionally, the Embedded Assessments provide a rubric.
In the Unit 1, Embedded Assessments, students write both an argumentative photo essay and a reflective essay. In advance of the argumentative essay, students review the elements of effective argument and establish a position on a "controversial issue about which you would like to bring about change." They also write essays analyzing an author's point of view and evaluating rhetorical strategies as well as essays on how authors build arguments using facts, examples and reasoning. Prior to writing the reflective essay, in Activity 1.19, students practice writing the reflective essay. Additional writing assignments are aligned to the goal of understanding Cultural Criticism, asking students to analyze a poem through the lens of Cultural Criticism and write an interpretive essay on 19th century advertisements through the same lens.
Unit 2 focuses on explanatory responses and narrative writing. In the lengthier Embedded Assessment 2, students "write an analytical essay applying the Feminist Critical Perspective" to one of two unfamiliar texts: "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin or "'The Chaser" by John Collier. Prior to the embedded assessment, Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text asks students "to write an analytical essay explaining Miss Emily's portrayal in 'A Rose to Emily' from a Feminist Critical perspective." Additionally, after reading an excerpt from Madonna Kolbenschlag's Kiss Sleeping Beauty Goodbye, students are asked to write an analytic essay on how the author builds her argument. The students then read an excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men, and write a comparative analysis of how the two texts treat the assumptions of gender. Earlier in the unit, after reading Shaw's Pygmalion, students practice writing in the narrative mode. Activity 2.9 asks students to create an "alternate ending that adheres to the conventions of a play script, addresses the changes in Eliza's character in the first half of Act V, and reflects one critical theory. Use well-chosen details and a well-structured event sequence to provide a logical conclusion for the story."
Unit 3 develops student skills in the argumentative mode. Embedded Assessment 1 asks students to "construct an argumentative essay that defends the critical lens that you feel provides modern society with the most compelling view of literature…. You will support the claim with valid reasoning and with relevant and sufficient evidence from your reading and observations." Prior to the embedded assessment, students watch two films presenting alternate endings to Shakespeare's Othello and then draft an essay taking a position on which of the two endings best "illuminates" one of play's themes. Additionally, the unit asks students to look at specific scenes of Othello and examine the scene through one of several critical lenses to explain how the selected lens offers a deeper understanding of the scene.
In Unit 4, Activity 4.2, students use one of the critical perspectives to explain what catalyzed the transformation in the news industry, develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant examples from the text, and cite them properly.
Unit 5 presents a longer, process writing project through a single embedded assessment: Presenting a Literary Work Through Multiple Critical Perspectives. Prior to completing the Embedded Assessment, students write critical summaries applying a variety of critical lenses to both required reading and independent readings, argue whether authors' stated intentionality is exemplified through their work, draft thematic statements regarding textual meanings, synthesize ideas as follow-ups to discussions in order to rethink views about specific literary texts, and research historical evidence in relation to historical fiction, commenting on the similarities and differences.
Materials include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support sophisticated analysis, argumentation, and synthesis.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 1m. The Grade 12 materials include frequent opportunities for evidence-based writing to support analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information appropriate to the grade level.
The instructional materials for Grade 12 support the indicator's focus on writing to sources, a key task to grow students' literacy skills. Writing tasks build over the course of the school year, providing students with varied opportunities of growing complexity to learn, practice, and demonstrate evidenced-based writing. Students are asked to analyze texts, create claims, and include clear information and evidence from texts read within the unit as well as texts read independently. Students are often reminded by the materials to "create an organization that logically sequences claims, counterclaim(s), reasons, and evidence" (CCSS W.11-12.1a.) as well as to select the "most relevant" (CCSS W.11-12.2b) evidence in developing the topic or argument. Application of these skills is evident within the on-demand writing assignments as well as in the embedded assessments within each unit.
In Unit 1, Activity 1.7, after students have reviewed rhetorical appeals and learned about visual rhetoric, Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text asks students to analyze a photo essay and write "an interpretive response in which you explain the argument being presented and evaluate whether it is effective or not...[I]nclude a thesis statement that clearly presents your interpretation; explain how the photographer presents an argument, citing specific details from the image or images to support your interpretation; examine the rhetorical appeals used and their effect on viewers; include transitions and a concluding statement."
In Unit 2, Embedded Assessment 2, students "write an analytical essay applying the Feminist Critical Perspective to a short story." The Assessment Scoring Guide indicates an exemplary response "demonstrates a thorough understanding of the short story; perceptively applies the Feminist Critical perspective to the text; uses well-chosen details that support the thesis to analyze the work; [and] successfully weaves in textual evidence from the story." In preparation for the assessment, Activity 2.18 asks students to create "a new interpretation of a story by applying a critical lens" and to develop "claims and support them with textual evidence." In Writing to Sources, students write an explanatory essay that considers the final line of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, "And the tree was happy." Students are asked to write "an explanation of why the tree would or would not be happy. How could a feminist reading of this story give the reader a new or different understanding? Consider the author's portrayal of men and women in the text and the relationship between them as you incorporate principles of Feminist Criticism in your explanation." Students are advised to begin "with a clear thesis statement that presents an explanation for the tree's happiness or lack thereof" and to include "relevant quotations and examples from the text to support your explanation and reasoning." While the text is at a Lexile of 530, the task asks students to apply a critical perspective of feminist critique, a substantive topic aligned to the 11-12 grade band.
In Unit 3, Activity 3.8, after watching two film versions of Othello, Writing to Sources: Argument asks students to consider the critical lens apparent in each of the directors' productions of the Shakespearean drama. Students are to write an argumentative essay making a claim identifying the critical perspective in each film and providing evidence to support the claim "using relevant evidence from the text."
In Unit 4, Embedded Assessment 1, students write an argumentative paper examining how a specific issue is presented in through media texts. Additionally, students are to "argue for the use of a particular critical lens to interpret" the event and support their argument with evidence from at least five texts. The Assessment Scoring Guide indicates an exemplary response "effectively combines the sources and the writer's position to argue for using a particular lens to interpret a single event discussed in multiple texts; contextualizes the event and presents the critical lens in a clear thesis; sequences material to aptly reinforce the ideas of the argument; uses transitions that enhance the essay's coherence; includes an extensive annotated bibliography; demonstrates a mature style that advances the writer's ideas; employs precise diction and a skillful use of syntax and punctuation to create an authoritative and engaging voice; and follows standard writing conventions, including accurate citation of sources,"criteria aligned to Common Core Standards W.11-12.8 and W.11-12.9.
In Unit 5, Activity 5.9, after reading Shaun Tan's graphic novel The Arrival, Writing to Sources: Argument asks students to choose "one critical perspective ...for analyzing the graphic novel." Students are to draft an argument supporting their position and use their notes from Activity 5.5 as a guide, "adding to them as necessary." Students are reminded to "clarify the relationships among [your] thesis statement, reasons, and supporting evidence from the graphic novel; anticipate and address your readers' opposing viewpoints; include one or more of rhetorical devices to appeal to your readers."
Materials include instruction and practice of the grammar and conventions/language standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application in context.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 1n. The instructional materials include instruction of grammar and conventions/language standards for Grade 12 and are applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts with opportunities for application context.
Direct instruction and practice with grammar and conventions/language standards are explicitly delineated and also embedded within the activities of unit lessons. Each of the five Grade 12 units is introduced with Planning the Unit and Unit Overview, Teacher Resource pages detailing the unit's instructional activities. Appearing on Planning the Unit is Unit Resources at a Glance, a categorical list of unit features: Language Skills, comprised of Language and Writer's Craft featured on activity pages; Grammar and Usage, identified on activity pages through a sidebar; Writing Workshop with Grammar Activities, available through Teacher Resources; and English Language Development. Beneath each of these categories are specifically listed conventions and applications of grammatical structures taught and practiced throughout the unit. On the other hand, the Unit Overview provides a sequenced listing of texts under study, sidebars noting academic vocabulary and literary terms culled out for direct instruction (L.11-12.4-6), and Language and Writer's Craft featured in specific lessons.
For example, Unit 4, Planning the Unit, Resources at a Glance lists the studies of Language and Writer's Craft as citing quotations and using hyphens to create compound modifiers (L.11-12.2a). Grammar and Usage conventions to be studied are listed as integrating quotations, sentence variety, hyphens, rhetorical devices (L.11-12.3). The Unit 4 Unit Overview specifies where within the unit Language and Writer's Craft lessons appear: Citing Quotations and Using Hyphens in Activity 4.2. Additionally, features such as Word Connections and Academic and Social Language Preview address specific language concepts (L.11-12.4-6) and provide opportunities for student practice.
In Unit 4, Activity 3, vocabulary callout boxes provide definitions and audio pronunciation support for glossed Tier 2 words: apathy, trivialized, and substantive. The activity also highlights a Grammar and Usage sidebar focusing on sentence variety and pointing student attention to the varied sentence length within the mentor text. Thereafter, additional Tier 2 words are culled out: impervious, predispositions, and status quo. A second Grammar and Usage sidebar focuses attention on integrating quotations. After pointing out how the author in the mentor text varies the integration of quotations, students are asked to consider how decisions of style support reader engagement while clarifying the source of the quotation (L.11-12.3). Also featured in this lesson is the callout box for Literary Terms and the word, paradox is defined. Following the first read, Second Read engages students in text-based questions, some which support language standards. For example, the question, "In paragraph 12, why does Liaugminas put 'experts' and 'news analysts' in quotation marks?" will elicit discussion on "usage [as] a matter of convention" (L.11-12.1a) to build sophistication both in use and understanding of language structure and meaning.
Additionally offered in each unit are lessons titled Academic and Social Language Preview, which typically precede lessons titled Interpreting the Text Using Close Reading. Unit 4 offers three such lessons. Academic and Social Language Preview offers an opportunity for students to determine word meaning through a context sentence prior to reading an entire text and then to check their definitions against a formal source (L.11-12.4a & 4d). The lesson is followed by the close reading and study of the associated mentor text. For example, Unit 4, Activity 3a provides students with 11 Tier 2 words prior to reading the full article in Activity 3b. Within Activity 3b, Interpreting the Text Using Close Reading, is a callout box on Word Connections, yet another opportunity to study language--in this instance, a study of roots and affixes associated with the word forgone, found in the mentor text. Additionally, the callout box Language Resource focuses attention on irregular nouns with a lesson on the word, media. Optional Language Checkpoints, a class period activity, is another feature of the Grade 12 studies associated with language standards. There are Language Checkpoints available in Grade 12, Unit 1 and Unit 2. Included among these lessons is instruction and practice in placing modifiers and using commas, parentheses, and dashes.
Among the resource materials found under the Teacher Resource tab on the SpringBoard landing page are Grammar Activities aligned to specific grades, units, and activities (currently bearing the 2014 copyright date) as well as a Grammar Handbook for grades 9-12 (2014 copyright). Writing Workshops (copyright 2014), accessed through the Teacher Resources tab, also include instruction and practice with Language and Writer's Craft, using mentor texts. For example, Writing Workshop 2: Argumentative Response Revising for Language and Writer's Craft provides instruction on rhetorical questions and practice in evaluating and rewriting provides prose to create a rhetorical question. Then, students are asked to review their own argumentative response to determine if they "already employed examples of rhetorical questions. In what places could ideas be rephrased to exploit this rhetorical technique in a subtle but powerful way?" In so doing, students are addressing the spirit of the language standards as they "choose words, syntax, and punctuation to express themselves and achieve particular functions and rhetorical effects (CCSS, page 51).
Building Knowledge with Texts, Vocabulary, and Tasks
The SpringBoard Grade 12 instructional materials meet the expectations for building knowledge. The instructional materials build knowledge through integrated reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language.
Criterion 2a - 2h
Texts are organized around a topic/topics or themes to build students' knowledge and their ability to comprehend and analyze complex texts proficiently.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2a. Texts and text sets are organized around a topic/topics to build students' knowledge and their ability to read and comprehend complex texts proficiently.
Grade 12 units and corresponding text sets are developed around a thematic focus on the concepts of perception and perspective as students examine how "values, prejudices, and attitudes" shape one's view of reality. Additionally, throughout Grade 12, students learn about various literary perspectives by reading and discussing six literary theories:
Unit 1, Perception is Everything, introduces students to the first two of six literary perspectives, Reader Response Criticism and Cultural Criticism. Students read and discuss Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" through the lens of Reader Response Criticism, which suggests that "readers' perspectives often determine their perceptions." The second lens, Cultural Criticism, is introduced midway through the unit: "[T]his form of criticism examines how different religions, ethnicities, class identifications, political beliefs, and individual viewpoints affect the ways in which texts are created and interpreted." Thereafter, students explore Luis J. Rodriguez's poem, "Speaking with Hands," and George Orwell's short story, "Shooting an Elephant," using the lens of Cultural Criticism.
Unit 2, The Collective Perspective, introduces students to three new literary perspectives: Archetypal, Feminist, and Marxist. The unit asks students to "focus [their] attention on characters, characterizations, and the relationship between and among individuals and groups in a variety of texts, including fiction, drama, film, and non-fiction." Students apply the Archetypal lens to their reading of Ovid's "Orpheus Sings: Pygmalion and the Statue" and Shaw's play, Pygmalion. Students are then introduced to Marxist Criticism which "asserts that economics is the foundation for all social, political, and ideological reality" and about which Marxist critics would argue creates "a power structure that drives history and influences differences in religion, race, ethnicity, and gender." After developing an understanding of Marxist Criticism, students return to Pygmalion and reevaluate the play with a Marxist lens. The final literary theory introduced in this unit is Feminist Criticism, examining "the patterns of thought, behavior, values, enfranchisement, and power in relations between and within the sexes." Students apply the Feminist lens to various texts including "Cinderella, the Legend" by Madonna Kolbenschlag. Students demonstrate the store of knowledge gained in this unit through Embedded Assessment 2, writing an analytical essay "applying the Feminist Critical Perspective to a short story...either 'The Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin [or] 'The Chaser' by John Collier."
Unit 3, Evolving Perspectives, continues to develop the students' awareness of the various lenses studied thus far through the application of Cultural Criticism and Marxist Criticism to Othello. Additionally, the unit introduces the sixth and final lens to be studied, Historical Criticism. Understanding Historical Criticism "considers the time period in which a work was created and how that time period may have influenced the work…[or] the text's themes, characters, events, ideas, and structure." Students read an excerpt from "The Moor in English Renaissance Drama" by Jack D'Amico and analyze Othello in an argumentative essay confirming or countering D'Amico's assertions.
Unit 4, Creating Perspectives, asks students "to assess how the various critical lenses they have been exploring may be applied to real-world events to inform an understanding of the underlying tensions that contribute to the resonance and importance of an event in the context of society." Students read a variety of articles about Hurricane Katrina and as a collaborative group choose one text for the focus of critical analysis, identifying what "critical lenses are evident in how the text approaches the issue? Which dominate or are absent? What specific language reveals the lens(es) at work?"
Unit 5, Multiple Perspectives, causes students to consider multiple critical lens as they read the graphic novel, The Arrival by Shaun Tan. Following the whole class analysis of Tan's novel through each of the six lenses studies, students demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and reading skills by working collaboratively to analyze a text they have read independently through multiple lenses.
The sequence of texts and lesson scaffolds are designed to support students as they read to comprehend complex texts. Students read text independently, in small groups, and as whole group read alouds. In addition, students are asked to actively monitor their reading comprehension through the guiding questions of the Setting a Purpose for Reading and Second Read sections. Unit texts are distributed at varying levels within the quantitative and qualitative measures appropriate to the grade band. Finally, in each Activity, students are provided with text-dependent questions to engage them actively and provide scaffolding for students in need.
Materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher order thinking questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2b. Grade 12 materials contain sets of coherently sequenced higher order thinking questions and tasks that require students to analyze the language (words/phrases), key ideas, details, craft, and structure of individual texts in order to make meaning and build understanding of texts and topics.
The Grade 12 program uses literary criticism as a vehicle for sequencing a progression of higher order thinking questions and tasks, fostering independence in students' ability to analyze all facets of a text and examine the concept of perspective in relation to those texts, primary and secondary. Within most activities of each unit, students work independently, in small groups, and as whole group responding to questions and completing tasks that require analysis of individual texts and text sets. The sequence of texts and tasks are designed to support students as they build knowledge and skills through progressively more complex text-based interactions.
Each unit activity introducing a new text follows a common pattern. An activity feature, Preview, explains the what and why of the lesson/activity followed by Setting a Purpose, an activity feature fostering self-monitoring through "while-reading" task engagement with the text. For example, in Unit 2 Activity 4, Preview tells students what they will be reading, a myth that inspired the writing of the play Pygmalion, and the why, to "analyze and summarize." Setting a Purpose asks students to "underline words or phrases that reveal aspects" of the protagonist's character and "circle unknown words and phrases. Try to determine the meaning of the words by using context clues, word parts, or a dictionary." Following the first reading, Second Read asks students a series of increasingly rich, text-dependent questions, each classified as a question related to better understanding Key Ideas and Details or Craft and Structure. In some question sets, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas is also included within this portion of the lesson.
Following Second Read, students become engaged in Working from the Text, a frequently collaborative activity typically engaging students in a directed but more personally responsive work, e.g., working with a graphic organizer, preparing a summary, classifying text ideas, comparing and contrasting concepts and approaches, etc. In Unit 2, Activity 4, students are asked to return to the text to "look for archetypal characters: the creative person, the object of his affection, and the being who grants his wish." After students work through the activity text in various ways, Check Your Understanding asks them to respond briefly to a guiding question, typically in writing but sometimes through discussion. For example, in Unit 2, Activity 4, students are told that many cultures draw on Ovid's myth of Pygmalion; they are asked to consider why "this myth exists in different cultures[.] What is it in human nature that inspires in us a desire to create life?"
Although some unit activities end with Check Your Understanding, another feature, Language and Writer's Craft, appears in many units and builds student knowledge and practice to complete the Writing to Sources feature. For example, in Unit 2, Activity 4, after moving through the standard activity features, the lesson continues with Language and Writer's Craft: Summarizing. The section provides an overview of the purpose of a summary and delineates six tips as guidelines to summary writing. Students are asked to practice the technique by writing a one paragraph summary of Ovid's myth. Writing to Sources follows the practice paragraph and asks students to extend the summary that was just written and use their "knowledge of common archetypal motifs to explain two themes in the story." In writing this response, students are instructed to begin with a thesis statement, include direct quotations, use a coherent organizational structure, and "employ transitions effectively to relate textual evidence to the themes."
The unit activities and texts work progressively, leading students to toward the first of two Embedded Assessments appearing midway through the unit and again at the unit end. The Unit 2, Embedded Assessment 1 draws on skills and knowledge practiced through various activities of Unit 2, Activities 2.1 through 2.13. The assessment tasks students to collaboratively write "a script that transforms a scene from Pygmalion so that it reflects one of the critical perspectives you have studied." In transforming a scene, students need skill in summarizing, analytic insight in understanding how aspects of a character reveal characterization, and knowledge of literary theory, each facet having been practiced through the features of Activity 2.4.
Materials contain a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2c. Grade 12 materials contains a coherently sequenced set of text-dependent and text-specific questions and tasks that require students to build knowledge and integrate ideas across both individual and multiple texts. Within most activities of each unit, the sequence of questions, texts, and tasks are designed to build student knowledge and strengthen student skills. Teaching and learning materials provide explicit instruction in research-based reading strategies and text annotation, analytic discussion, and academic writing.
Reading closely is a central activity of every unit: "During the first read, students are encouraged to engage with the text and annotate it with questions and thoughts. When they return to the text for a second read, students search for answers and evidence in response to thoughtful text-dependent questions found after each passage. The questions have been written to tap into the complexity of the text: thematic complexity, structural or linguistic complexity, or content knowledge demands." Overall, these questions are text-specific and/or text-dependent and are framed across texts. The concepts and lenses of literary criticism are taught throughout Units 1-3 and continued in application in Units 4 and 5. Additionally, many Second Read questions reference learning related to themes, literary elements, literary devices or conventions, further supporting the acquisition of knowledge within and across texts.
In addition to discussions fueled by text-dependent questions, a mix of argumentative, explanatory, and narrative writing prompts provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding and analysis of texts through written expression. Performance tasks allow students to integrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired to demonstrate proficiencies in reading and language standards through writing. Most embedded assessments ask students to expand on unit texts by conducting independent research to integrate knowledge acquired on their own with knowledge gained in the classroom.
Unit activities are typically threaded together through a thematic focus connecting one day's lesson to the next day's lesson and therefore, the text of study in one activity to the text of study in the following activities. Additionally, Embedded Assessments occur twice in each unit, with the exception of Unit 5 which offers only one Embedded Assessment at the unit's end. They ask students to use knowledge and skills gained through previous lessons to demonstrate proficiencies and growth. Each unit follows a similar pattern in developing student ability to successfully build knowledge from single texts and synthesizing knowledge among texts. Day one of each unit begins with Preview, an overview of the unit's first Embedded Assessment; thereafter, most activities or lessons build to develop student skills and knowledge in the performance of that assessment. After the completion of the first Embedded Assessment the second half of the unit begins, this time with a preview of the second Embedded Assessment which culminates the unit study. Thereafter, most ensuing activities progress to build student proficiencies to complete the second assessment. Through this reiterative process, students gain knowledge and skills to the immediate text under study while simultaneously considering how to integrate their learning into the upcoming performance task.
For example, in Unit 3, students are expected to apply the critical lenses of Reader Response, Feminist, Marxist, Cultural, and Archetypal Criticism studied in previous units as well as gain knowledge in Historical Criticism. In Unit 3, Activity 5, students are introduced to Shakespeare's Othello through the cast of characters and asked to analyze the characters from a Marxist perspective: "When viewing characters (or a scene) in terms of the organization of society, you are viewing the work from a Marxist critical perspective. Examine the organizational structure of Venetian society in Othello and use the cast descriptions to infer meaning." After reviewing the cast of characters in this way and predicting how Marxist criticism might emerge or present conflict in the play, Unit 3, Activity 6 introduces the actual play following the standard lesson protocol: Preview, Setting a Purpose, Second Read, Working from the Text, and Check Your Understanding. Preview tells students they "will read Act I, Scene I (lines 178-206) from Othello and annotate the scene for a performance. Then you will perform the scene with your acting company and provide rationale" for the interpretation. Setting a Purpose instructs students to be active readers in their first reading by underlining "words and phrases that indicate Brabantio's emotional state,...note...theatrical elements (e.g., costumes, props, lighting, set design, etc.) a director might use to convey the emotion of the scene" and circle "unknown words and phrases." Second Read engages students in deeper thinking with text-based and text-dependent questions, e.g., "What evidence in Brabantio's first speech shows how he is feeling?" In Working from the Text, students are to use their own Reader Response notes from the first read and consider how actors would move and perform on stage to express their emotional states. Check Your Understanding prompts students to draw on their previous learning to consider how their interpretation of the scene may be different through the lens of a Cultural or Marxist perspective. The activity concludes with an Argument Writing Prompt: "Write a paragraph to state your preferred critical perspective that affords the most effective interpretation of the tension in this scene. Defend your choice with relevant and sufficient evidence." Students are reminded to provide a "well-reasoned claim that incorporates the critical perspective; establish the significance of the claim, distinguishing it from alternate or opposing claims; use varied syntax, such as adverb clauses, and proper grammar."
The unit continues to build student knowledge, literary criticism, and skill in the application of the lenses to literary interpretation. In Unit 3, Activity 13, students work with a partner to "choose one critical perspective (Archetypal, Marxist, Feminist, Reader Response, Cultural, or Historical). Draft one literal, one interpretive, and one universal question through that lens. When you have checked your work with another group, repeat the process for a different critical perspective, this time on your own," showing a step toward independence in both their reading and analysis. In Unit 4, Activity 5, having learned to apply the six critical lenses to poetry, fiction, and drama, students are asked to perform a more complex task of applying these lenses to "real-world events and issues." The application of these lenses can be readily seen as students read a series of non-fiction pieces on Hurricane Katrina, culminating in a Working from the Text assignment asking them to revisit one of the informational texts and "briefly annotate evidence that links to any of the critical lenses. Then use the following questions to analyze how the lenses are linked to any bias the texts reveal:
What is being reported (the who, what, where, when, why and how of the event)?
How is it being reported? How objective is the coverage? Identify textual details (slanters, titles, labeling, omission, and so forth) that reveal bias.
What is the target audience for the publication/broadcast? How does the text's rhetorical context affect what it talks about and its language and tone? What inferences can you draw about the writer's or speaker's expectations about the audience's perspective?
If you read only this article or heard only this speech, what would you think is the key issue? In other words, how does the article frame the truth and significance of the event?
What critical lens or lenses are evident in how the text approaches the issue? Which dominate or are absent? What specific language reveals the lens(es) at work?"
The questions and tasks support students' ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. combination of reading, writing, speaking, listening).
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2d. The Grade 12 questions and tasks support students' ability to complete culminating tasks in which they demonstrate their knowledge of a topic through integrated skills (e.g. a combination of reading, writing, speaking, and listening).
During each unit, students complete two Embedded Assessments, one midpoint in the unit and the second at the unit's end; the Embedded Assessments ask students to work collaboratively as well as independently. Each one is a unique performance task that allows students to show knowledge proficiency with texts, concepts, and skills representative of multiple grade-level standards and taught through previous lesson sets. The Embedded Assessments require students to deepen learning through analysis and synthesis, presenting their findings through a variety of products: essays, multimedia presentations, speeches, dramatic interpretations, and anthologies. Each unit strategically builds towards the culminating assessment and provides teachers with usable information about student readiness. Skills needed to complete the performance tasks, e.g., writing processes, technology fluency, and speaking and listening skills, are modeled and directly taught as well as practiced in relationship to the performance task. Further supports exist within the student and teacher materials to ensure students are able to complete the performance task. Additionally, many of the text-dependent questions related to Second Read as well as the questions and activities in Check Your Understanding align to the culminating tasks.
In Unit 1, Embedded Assessment 1 asks students to create an Argumentative Photo Essay after "[examining] models of argumentation and [exploring] how argumentation can be supported with visual imagery." The assessment task tells students to "create and present a photo essay expressing your perspective (position) on an issue or topic of importance to you. You can use the argument you wrote in Activity 1.15 to develop a final product, using at least 10 images to develop a visual argument. Include your intended thesis and a written rationale explaining how your images convey this thesis." In accomplishing this task, students will demonstrate knowledge and skills the conventions of photo essay format, including the design and expression of a thesis stating a perspective or position on an issue. The task requires students "design a layout that presents a clear sequence of ideas that visually advances a position; understand the function, use, and effects of cinematic and stylistic techniques; apply the elements of argumentation to analyze and create arguments." To achieve these objectives, students analyze print and nonprint texts from a literal and theoretical perspectives. The performance task also requires the demonstration of speaking and listening skills as students participate in a gallery walk, commenting on and evaluating the work of their peers. To support students in completion of this task, a series of questions guides students through planning, drafting, evaluating and revising, checking and editing and presentation phases of the task, e.g., "How will you practice to share your work in the gallery walk?; What criteria will you use to evaluate other students' essays (using sticky notes for comments) and identify the unstated thesis of each essay?" Throughout the unit, teachers have the opportunity to assess students' knowledge of and ability to accomplish the smaller aspects of the assessment and provide them with additional learning opportunities if necessary. For example, in Activity 1.11, teachers are guided to use the Check Your Understanding exercise as a means of assessment: "Check that students' analyses make a clear claim about the effectiveness of the ad and provide precise details supporting their claim." If students seem to be struggling, the Teacher Wrap goes on to give teachers suggestions for adapting or extending the lesson: "If students need additional help understanding the connection between argument and a visual image, revisit the media literacy units from previous levels. To extend learning, have students analyze multiple images from an ad campaign or create their own original commercials or print ads incorporating concepts from this activity (framing, angles, strategic placement of objects, rhetorical appeals)."
In Unit 2, Embedded Assessment 1 asks students to work with a partner to write "a script that transforms a scene from Pygmalion so that it reflects one of the critical perspectives you have studied. You will also write a reflection analyzing and evaluating your process and product." In accomplishing the task, students demonstrate knowledge of script writing, understanding of script writing conventions, the concepts of critical perspectives, and the yearlong thematic focus. Additionally, students apply the elements of plot, characterization, dialogue, and subtext to the writing process, using guiding questions to convey a sophisticated understanding of the drama. While students don't present/act out their final products, there are steps along the way to support their growing proficiencies in speaking and listening skills demanded by the assessment. For example, in Activity 2.8 students are asked to work collaboratively to discuss the protagonist and antagonist of Pygmalion and thereafter, "create a dialogue among all three characters. Remember that the subtext is often even more important than the words that are spoken, so include any subtext that seems appropriate by noting it in parentheses at the end of the corresponding line." The Teacher Wrap for Activity 2.8 indicates that students present their dialogues for evaluation based on a series of questions allowing teachers an opportunity to assess student proficiencies essential to success in Embedded Assessment 2.
In Unit 3, Embedded Assessment 2 asks students to make a choice regarding the critical lenses they have studied and apply it to a scene from Othello: "Your assignment is to interpret a scene from Othello using one of the critical perspectives you have studied and then plan, rehearse, and perform the scene." In completing and performing the task, students demonstrate skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening by working collaboratively as an acting company to interpret the selected scene. In the process, they select and apply a relevant critical perspective studied in the previous units; create a notebook appropriate for the role they are playing within the company, and perform the duties of these roles. Thereafter, students reflect on the process, including the company's collaboration on scene analysis and interpretation during rehearsals. Having read the play in the first part of the unit, Activity 3.20 guides students through multiple steps of developing the performance and considering what critical perspective to apply in developing the performance. For example, one tool provided to the students is a graphic organizer to help them plan "how to make each character's vocal delivery, the set, staging, and blocking of the scene to reflect the critical perspective in a performance." The Teacher Wrap provides guidance for how Check Your Understanding can further support student success in preparing for the embedded assessment: "Review the Check Your Understanding task with students. Meet individually with acting companies to ensure clear understanding of the critical perspective they have chosen and its proper application to the scene they will present. The components should clearly show what students plan to do and how they accomplish their goals. Review their graphic organizers for necessary presentation notes."
Materials include a cohesive, consistent approach for students to regularly interact with word relationships and build academic vocabulary/ language in context.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2e. Grade 9 materials include a cohesive, year-long plan for students to interact and build key academic vocabulary words in and across texts. Materials include a consistent approach for students to regularly interact with word relationships and build academic and figurative language in context.
Opportunities to build vocabulary are found throughout the instructional materials. A cohesive, year-long description of vocabulary instruction is found in the Language Development section of The Front Matter, Teacher's Edition found in the listings under the Teacher Resource tab on the program's landing page. The Front Matter describes the program's approach to language skills and knowledge as "part of an integrated approach to reading, writing, speaking, and listening with instruction that focuses on language as a flexible tool that can be adapted for specific contexts." The section goes on to specifically outline four instructional features embedded within each unit: Academic Vocabulary featuring Tier Two terms and concepts; Literary Terms equipping students with Tier Three language from the ELA domain; Word Connections featuring roots and affixes etymology, cognates, word relationships, and multiple-meaning words; and Academic Vocabulary in Context featuring glossed terms at the point of use for words with insufficient context clues to aid in comprehension. Additionally, Language and Writer's Craft activities along with Grammar and Usage sidebars provide language instruction and grammar support in the context of reading and writing within the unit. Language Checkpoint activities offer optional practice opportunities for students to develop or refresh their knowledge of standard English conventions.
Other unit features support teacher instruction and student use of vocabulary in various contexts. The Unit Overview, a feature page of each unit, presents a sidebar listing of Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms introduced, taught, and studied in each unit. Within the activities or lessons, the Setting a Purpose for Reading feature frequently asks students to identify "unknown words or phrases" and determine their meaning using "context clues, word parts, or a dictionary." Additionally, Planning the Unit offers two features, Supporting Students' Language Development and Digital Resource: English Language Development Activities, offering additional supports in scaffolded language instruction to ensure students have opportunities to learn, practice, apply, and transfer the language needed to "develop the content knowledge, skills, and academic language needed to perform well on the Embedded Assessments." The application of words across texts or in ways that support accelerated vocabulary learning in reading, speaking, and writing tasks is most strongly supported through Tier 3 study of language related to literature, rhetoric, and other studies of the ELA domain and reiteratively applied in analysis and communicated through speaking and writing.
In Unit 1, Unit Overview lists Academic Vocabulary and Literary Terms for study across the next 18 activities or lessons. Academic terms listed are: perception, perspective, scenario, marginalize, dominant, subordinate, andimperialism; literary terms listed are: literary theory, Reader Response Criticism, mise en scene, visual rhetoric, imagery, prologue, vignette, and Cultural Criticism. Over the course of the unit, students frequently interact with these words in the context of texts, activities, and tasks. Unit 1, Activity 2 is a lesson on perception. The word, "perception" is featured in a sidebar and defined as "one person's interpretation of sensory or conceptual information." Activity 1.2 focuses further on the term perception by explaining, "Studying literary critical theories can help a reader become aware of competing perceptions of truth, to learn that a text, like life, is seen through a filter of ideologies, theories, and perspectives." The discussion of perception and its meaning integrates into the next activity as students are asked to examine perception puzzles and discuss with a partner "how perception changes as you continue to look at the image." The lesson expands from a visual image as text to an alphabetic text and the examination of aphorisms as an exploration of how "seeing and understanding are always shaped by how we perceive the world." The activity concludes by having students consider how their perceptions are similar to and different from their classmates or the authors they are currently reading. Throughout the unit, all terms listed in the Unit Overview are featured in activity sidebars, and each activity provides similar treatment of featured words; terms are fully defined and contextualized and, thereafter, repeated many times through the unit's study in both receptive and expressive modes. Sidebars supported through activities such as this provide rich, multidimensional interaction with language and accelerate vocabulary learning. These activities are foundational to students as they build academic vocabulary enabling them to read diverse literary texts, research among primary and secondary sources, and become college and career ready.
In Unit 4, Unit Overview lists eight Academic Vocabulary and five Literary Terms for study across the next 14 activities or lessons. The unit feature, Supporting Students' Language Development Section notes that numerous "resources are available in this unit to help teachers differentiate instruction for English language learners or other students who need extra support in English language development." The associated ELL Support Document found on the listings under the Teacher Resource tab on the program's landing page indicates teachers should "consistently apply and practice strategic vocabulary development support for Academic Vocabulary with tools such as interactive word walls, diffusing, vocabulary graphic organizers, and QHT work." The Digital Resources feature indicates where ELD-focused activities for three texts within the unit can be found, i.e.: Academic and Social Language Preview, Interpreting the Text Using Close Reading, and Collaborative Academic Discussion. Each of these activities uses an excerpt from the text under study to support language learning essential to understanding the isolated text, the concepts under study, and the larger goals of the unit. For example, Unit 4, Activity 4.5a draws on vocabulary from the Activity 4.5 text, "President Outlines Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts." The Academic and Social Language Preview activity begins by providing a three-column chart listing selected Tier 2 words for study, e.g., scope, task force, andprivate sector. The second column of the chart provides a contextual reference as a direct quotation from the text. In the third column, students are asked to "work with a partner to see if you can determine the word's meaning using context clues or your knowledge of word parts." Following completion of the chart, students work through a series of Language Practice exercises. In Activity 4.5a, among the exercises is practice matching photographs with vocabulary words or phrases, explaining differences between pairs of words, and writing a sentence using two vocabulary words. Unit 4, Activity 5c, Collaborative Academic Discussion, engages students in small group or paired discussions around academic language and literary concerns. For example, Activity 4.5c asks students, "What is the situation or rhetorical context surrounding President Bush's speech? How do you know?" and then provides a sentence frame for student response: "The rhetorical context of the speech is _______. The evidence in the text is _______." The activity ends with the feature, Asking Questions, which typically begins by providing an explanation of the text's content or message and then asks students to write a response. For example, in Activity 4.5c, students are told, "Presidents usually address questions from the press after speeches. Write questions you would want to ask President Bush about his speech. Make sure to reread the speech and focus your questions on what the speech says directly or what you can infer."
Materials include a cohesive, year-long plan to support students' increasing writing skills over the course of the school year, building students' writing ability to demonstrate proficiency at grade level at the end of the school year.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2f. Grade 12 materials contain a year-long, cohesive plan of writing instruction and tasks which support students in building and communicating substantive understanding of topics and texts.
Opportunities to build and communicate learning of topics and texts through written expression are found throughout the instructional materials. A cohesive, year-long description of writing instruction is found in the Effective Expression section of The Front Matter, Teacher's Edition found in the listings under the Teacher Resource tab on the program's landing page. The Front Matter explains the program provides "multiple opportunities for authentic, task-based writing and writing to sources. As students are learning to write, they learn to consider task, audience, and purpose in structuring and organizing their writing. Direct instruction in writing in different modes—narrative, argumentative, and explanatory—is a primary focus of unit instruction." The section goes on to delineate five areas integrated within unit activities and additional resources available through the teacher resource tab: guided instruction in the major modes of writing; direct instruction emphasizing incorporation of details, reasons, and textual evidence; short and extended research writing focused on evaluating sources, gathering relevant evidence, and citing and reporting findings accurately; integration of research-based strategies supporting the writing process; and formative writing prompts, performance-based embedded assessments and optional mode-specific writing workshops.
Several unit features also support student growth in writing skills. Language and Writer's Craft and Language Checkpoints features "build students' knowledge of grammar and conventions, making them more proficient, confident, and creative writers and more effective self- and peer-editors." Explain How an Author Builds an Argument, another frequent unit feature, presents formative writing prompts encouraging the use of academic vocabulary in various contexts. Additionally, each unit presents two performance-based embedded assessments and a corresponding rubric outlining performance expectations. Instruction is progressive, incorporating strategies and protocols to support students' writing independence as they work towards mastery. Finally, a portfolio of student work is cultivated over the course of the year and acts as a final assessment of student writing development.
Unit 1, Embedded Assessment 1 asks students to create an argumentative photo essay and express "your perspective (position) on an issue or topic of importance to you,...using at least 10 images to develop a visual argument. Include your intended thesis and a written rationale explaining how your images convey this thesis." To prepare students for this task, they complete several writing assignments to build knowledge and skills necessary to the task. In Unit 1, Activity Writing to Sources asks students to write a brief essay "that presents an interpretation of the photo's mise en scène. Be sure to: provide a concise thesis statement that presents your interpretation; cite specific details from the image to support your interpretation; use precise language of photography to describe the image and your interpretation." To aid students in developing the ideas for this brief essay, students use an OPTIC graphic organizer to analyze visuals/art/photographs. In Activity 1.7, students are introduced to the photo essay, an essay revealing an "author's perspective on the subject through a collection of photographic images." Students follow instruction with collaborative practice, analyzing a photo essay by focusing on specific elements: title, image sequence, photographic content, captions, purpose, target audience, issue and position. Following the collaborative analysis, students complete the Writing to Sources feature prompt: "Write an interpretive response in which you explain the argument being presented and evaluate whether it is effective or not." The Teacher Wrap provides guidance in leading class discussions and tips on what to assess: "Check that responses to the writing prompt clearly show how the photographer presents his or her argument. Also, interpretations should draw supporting evidence from the image(s)." The Teacher Wrap also provides adaptations for struggling students, e.g., "provide them with an example of a less ambiguous ad campaign to analyze." These activities, coupled with argumentative assignments such as the Unit 1, Activity 11 on the efficacy of an advertising's visual rhetoric, provide students with the foundations they need to complete Embedded Assessment 1 while simultaneously laying the foundation for stronger analytic and argument writing in the future.
Unit 2, Embedded Assessment 2 instructs students to work "with a partner to write a script that transforms a scene from Pygmalion so that it reflects one of the critical perspectives you have studied. You will also write a reflection analyzing and evaluating your process and product." To prepare for this embedded assessment, Unit 2, Activity 16 and 17 engage students in reading two different essays, "Cinderella, the Legend" and "Why Women Always Take Advantage of Men," and complete a graphic organizer to compare and contrast "the issues raised by each author." These activities simultaneously build student understanding of Feminist Criticism and act as a formative assessment of that understanding. After discussion, students are asked to write "a compare/contrast analysis to explain an assumption of Feminist Criticism from the graphic organizer you completed in this activity." Unit 2, Activity 18 continues to develop students' skills by having them complete a graphic organizer over feminist perspectives in the children's story, "The Giving Tree," before having students write a more complex essay of analysis: "Consider the final line of the story: 'And the tree was happy.' Write an explanation of why the tree would or would not be happy. How could a feminist reading of this story give the reader a new or different understanding?" The Teacher Wrap urges teachers to encourage the reading of this story from different perspectives and modeling "the kind of analytical questioning that is needed to critique literature from a feminist critical perspective." Teachers are also urged to remind students "of the task for Embedded Assessment 2: write an analytical essay applying Feminist Criticism to a short story. Conduct a reflection of skills they have developed so far that will help them be successful with this task." As students complete these assignments, they become more prepared to complete Embedded Assessment 2.
In Unit 5, the single Embedded Assessment asks students "to work with a group to present a novel or play to an audience of your peers. You will collaboratively prepare an analysis of the literary work through multiple critical perspectives and present it in a performance-based or visual medium of your choice. Your analysis should include a summary of the text in the format of a graphic novel." To complete the assessment students will need to be able to summarize the text and apply the format of a graphic novel; analyze the text through a critical lens; present multiple critical perspectives in a single visual or performance-based product; monitor the audience's responses, and adjust the presentation as appropriate. To accomplish this, students draw upon skills developed throughout the activities and embedded assessments of this unit as well as previous units. For example, students draw on the explanatory writing prompt of Unit 5, Activity 4 asking that they draft "a brief response to Part I of The Arrival using the Reader Response critical perspective," as well as an argument response of Unit 5, Activity 9 asking that they "choose one critical perspective that you think is most useful, overall, for analyzing the graphic novel The Arrival. Draft an argument to support your position." Yet another writing prompt, the analysis prompt of Unit 5, Activity 12, asks students to analyze "how Tan uses graphic features such as framing, transitions, page composition, flow, angles, etc. to convey a theme to readers. How does the author develop a theme using visual features rather than words?" to support students in their preparation of the final embedded assessment.
Throughout the year, students have the option to add all stages of their writing to a writing portfolio. Teachers are encouraged to support students in using the portfolio as a repository for the writing process artifacts and as a measure of student growth. Teachers are encouraged to have students see the collected artifacts as part of the process in "successfully accomplishing the task." The Teacher Wrap also suggests students archive their reflective responses following the completion of each embedded assessment and draw on those reflections to get "a sense of their growth as academic thinkers and producers."
Materials include a progression of focused, shared research and writing projects to encourage students to develop and synthesize knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2g. Grade 12 materials include a progression of focused, shared research, and writing projects to encourage students to synthesize knowledge and understanding of a topic using texts and other source materials.
Opportunities to build skill in research as well as synthesize knowledge and understanding across classroom activities and research-based projects are found throughout the SpringBoard materials. The Front Matter of the Teacher's Edition indicates that "SpringBoard provides multiple opportunities for authentic, task-based writing and writing to sources" with many writing tasks requiring students seek evidence beyond those texts provided as part of the curriculum. Additionally, students are engaged in short-term tasks and longer-term projects wherein they practice and demonstrate proficiencies in "evaluating sources, gathering relevant evidence, and citing and reporting findings accurately." Specifically, the Grade 12 materials include a steady "progression of focused research projects to encourage students to develop knowledge in a given area by confronting and analyzing different aspects of a topic using multiple texts and source materials." While the first three units lack a large research project, they do present shorter research projects primarily associated with independent reading and incorporated to support students as they develop knowledge of literary perspectives needed for the completion of larger research projects. Thus, students build skills and knowledge in multiple ways throughout the year, collaboratively and independently. The Teacher Wrap consistently provides teachers with support in "employing projects that develop students' knowledge of different aspects of a topic," as well as "resources for student research." Students are given opportunities to complete short projects as they develop the foundational skills necessary to move on and complete long projects typically encompassed in the embedded assessments.
The Unit 1 Embedded Assessments do not engage students in a traditional or conventional research projects; however, Embedded Assessment 1 requires students to create an argumentative photo essay and use "at least 10 images to develop a visual argument." The development of the visual argument requires research of not only the image but also the context surrounding selected images. Other activities within the unit provide opportunities for independent and focused research projects, fostering a more thorough understanding of the unit's focus. For example, Activity 1.2 introduces students to the Independent Reading Plan, the goal of which is increase "knowledge about topics that fascinate you while also reinforcing and deepening the learning" taking place in the classroom. In Activity 1.15, students are asked to conduct research to represent their independent reading: "Think about the ideas and perspectives from your independent reading from this half of the unit...Do research to find a series of images or photographs that visually summarizes the themes and perspectives from your reading, and present the image series in a small group discussion." Prior to this activity, in Activity 1.12, students read Florence Kelley's address to the National American Woman Suffrage Association, after which, students were asked to discuss "the central ideas in this speech." Included within the text of the speech is an image from 1908. The activity associated with the print text goes on to ask students to "work with peers to find additional photos that would strengthen the claim or enhance the speaker's message." The Teacher to Teacher Note in the Teacher Wrap provides support for this activity, suggesting teachers access the The Library of Congress digital collection containing "thousands of photographs documenting many topics connected to the readings in this course, including child labor. Encouraging your students to do independent photo research for this activity will provide meaningful practice for the Embedded Assessment." Thus, while students are not incorporating textual evidence from research into their project, they are having to research photos that convey their meaning and defend that position in a "written rationale explaining how images convey this thesis."
In Unit 4, after students have developed a thorough understanding of different literary perspectives through short research projects in units 1-3, students engage in longer research projects. Unit 4, Embedded Assessment 1 builds upon the skills used in the Embedded Assessment in Unit 5 of the 11th grade year and incorporates the knowledge of literary perspectives students have attained in the first part of Grade 12: "Your assignment is to write an argumentative essay, including an annotated bibliography, that argues for the use of a particular critical lens to interpret an event, supporting your argument with evidence from at least five texts gathered alone or with your group members." To accomplish this task, students "apply a critical lens to the meaning and significance of a real world event...evaluate textual passages for use as evidence in support of an interpretive claim...and synthesize sources in support of an interpretive argument." To prepare for Embedded Assessment 1, students complete shorter, guided research tasks such as Activity 4.7 where students read a variety of editorials, articles, and reports on Hurricane Katrina, analyze the texts as a group in questions from Working with the Text, plan and deliver a class presentation, and evaluate peer presentations. Thereafter, students write using the "evidence from the various articles you have discussed." The Teacher Wrap provides guidance to teachers and points out examples of the various literary perspectives that can be seen in the different pieces of literature. Through practice, students gain the independence to use a distinct lens as they interpret an event and to support their interpretation with textual evidence.
The Unit 5, Embedded Assessment is not a research project; however, the assessment does require synthesis of multiple literary perspectives. Additionally, throughout the unit, students engage in short research projects building knowledge of graphic novels and deepening understanding of literary perspectives. For example, in Activity 5.3, students conduct research "to find additional information about graphic novels and comics, including examples of each genre...record your notes from your research on how the two text types are similar and how they differ...record bibliographic information so that you can cite the sources you find...use your research findings to write an explanatory text describing the features and conventions of graphic novels and comics." The task continues by asking students to write an explanation of their findings and how they would "revise or add to the definition" as a result of the research. The Teacher Wrap provides teachers not only with step-by-step guidance for the activity but also for assessment of the final product as well as adaptations: "If students have difficulty with the writing prompt, first ensure that they have chosen good examples of a comic book and a graphic novel. Model using a Venn diagram to compare a sample comic and graphic novel. Prompt students to identify the texts' titles and authors, relevant details, and textual evidence."
Materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 2h. Grade 12 materials provide a design, including accountability, for how students will regularly engage in a volume of independent reading either in or outside of class.
Grade 12 materials provide students with numerous opportunities for independent reading both in and outside of classroom. Each unit incorporates two independent reading assignments, except for Unit 5, which has only one independent reading expectation. Independent reading is connected to an aspect of the unit study or theme and sometimes directly related to the embedded assessments. Six close reading workshops of various genres or modes are found in the Teacher Resources tab and provide opportunities for enrichment or accelerated learning. Each workshop provides three texts, each with explicit instruction advancing students' independent reading skills. Each text moves through four activities: a guided activity, a collaborative activity, an independent activity, and assessment opportunities for the entire workshop. Additionally, literature studied by the whole class, e.g., novels and plays, sometimes require independent reading beyond the classroom. Accountability is maintained through double-entry journals, reader/writer notebooks, independent reading links, independent reading checkpoints, and in-class discussions for which students must be prepared. Teachers, meanwhile, are provided with guidance for the inclusion of independent reading within the text and with ideas and suggestions for fostering reading independence through the Planning the Unit guide and the Teacher Wrap.
Unit 1 exemplifies how independent reading is established throughout the year. Each unit requires the students to read two texts independently, one during the first half of the unit and the second during the latter half of the unit. Independent reading suggestions for each unit are found in Planning the Unit page and "have been chosen based on complexity and interest." While typically related to the unit's theme, students have a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts from which to choose. Texts are equally varied by Lexile measures. For example, in Unit 1, some selections students can choose from are Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (870L), The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (960L), or Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1050L) for fiction and The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (1300L) or Jamaica Kincaid: A Critical Companion by Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert (1530L) for non-fiction. Teachers are urged to "encourage students to do their own research and select titles that intrigue them."
In the first days of each unit, students create their Independent Reading Plan and share their plan with a partner: "How do you go about choosing what to read independently? Where can you find advice on which books or articles to read? What genre of texts do you most enjoy reading outside of class? How can you make time in your schedule to read independently? How do you think literary theory might change your perspective of the texts you are reading independently?" Additionally, students are given guidance in their reading selection and how their reading may apply to the unit's theme. For example, in Unit 1 the Independent Reading Link notes, "In this unit, you will study multiple perspectives. For independent reading, find texts representing multiple perspectives from authors such as Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver, Julia Alvarez, Robert Heinlein, and Jamaica Kincaid. Set up a place in your Reader/Writer Notebook to record notes on how the perspectives in your reading are different from your own or from those you are studying in class."
The Teacher Wrap gives teachers guidance in setting up the Independent Reading as well: "Review expectations as noted in the Independent Reading Link. Include a deadline by which selections should be made and reading should begin." Additionally, the Teacher Wrap suggests differentiated approaches to support those who struggle gain independence as readers: "As students develop their independent reading plans, consider giving students who are at an early stage of English language development the option of reading a text in their home language. These students can build on native language literacy as they begin to develop academic English."
As students proceed through the unit, connections are drawn between their independent reading and in-class readings through the Independent Reading Links found as sidebars throughout the teaching materials. For example, in Activity 1.4 the sidebar notes, "Think about your independent reading text. In what ways does your personal response to the text depend on where and why you are reading the text? Consider how your own experiences and background affect your reading of the text and how someone with a different background might view it differently. Then, write a short reflection on your response to the text." Teachers, likewise, are guided by the Teacher Wrap to engage students in their independent reading throughout the unit and are reminded to draw students' attention to connections between their independent reading and the texts studied in class.
SpringBoard Grade 12 meets the criteria of Gateway 3 for providing instructional supports to support high quality instruction. The materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing. Materials support teacher learning and understanding of the standards as well as providing tools to collect ongoing data about student progress on the Standards. Materials provide teachers with strategies to meet the needs of all learners and support effective use of technology.
Criterion 3a - 3e
SpringBoard Grade 12 materials meet the criteria for being well designed. Materials take into account effective lesson structure and pacing. Materials can reasonably be completed within an academic year. There are ample resources as well as publisher produced standards alignment documentation.
Materials are well-designed (i.e., allows for ease of readability and are effectively organized for planning) and take into account effective lesson structure (e.g., introduction and lesson objectives, teacher modelling, student practice, closure) and short-term and long-term pacing.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3a. Grade 12 materials are well-designed and take into account effective lesson structure and pacing.
Grade 12 materials are purposefully arranged around five units, each with a range of activities or lessons designed with a consistent instructional plan. Each of the five units is divided into two halves, each half concluding with an embedded assessment. Each unit opens with teacher guidance: Planning the Unit and Unit Overview. Planning the Unit describes all instructional and assessment goals for the unit as well as providing the pacing structure and listing unit texts. Instructional activities are designed to be delivered over single and multiple days while the lessons within activities are designed for a 50-minute class period. The Unit Overview provides a descriptive narrative of the unit's breadth and a sequential listing of unit activities and associated texts.
The first lesson in each unit provides learners with a preview of the unit's general learning targets and learning strategies and is followed by Making Connections to develop links between new learning, existing knowledge, and the culminating assessments. Thereafter, each activity or lesson opens with an introduction of specific learning targets, followed by a specific learning strategy, grammar structure, or reading strategy, and the establishment of the reading purpose. The prereading activities are followed by the text or texts, Second Read questions, Working from the Text practice, and Writing to Sources, all crafted to support learning targets in developing literacy skills Throughout, teachers are supported by Teacher Wrap, "the inclusion of an instructional roadmap alongside the student pages" indicating the suggested pacing for the activity. The pacing of individual lessons is appropriate for classes with time allowed for supplementary activities as well.
The teacher and student can reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3b. Grade 12 materials are designed to allow the teacher and student to reasonably complete the content within a regular school year, and the pacing allows for maximum student understanding.
The five-unit curriculum can be effectively delivered over the course of a 30-36 week academic year allowing sufficient time for practice with instructional materials to ensure opportunities for standards' mastery by the end of the course. Instructional Activities and Pacing Guide, provided in Planning the Unit, indicate the total number of 50-minute class periods for the unit's completion and further delineates the associated activity number and suggested class periods for delivery of those lessons. Additionally, the Teacher Wrap, within the margins of the Teacher's Edition, indicates the time to be allotted for each lesson and offers support for block scheduling by indicating combinations of 50-minute sessions or extensions of lessons, optional instructional materials, and the expectation of homework as part of enrichment and/or the class assignment.
The student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions, and explanation, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.).
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3c. Grade 12 student resources include ample review and practice resources, clear directions and explanations, and correct labeling of reference aids (e.g., visuals, maps, etc.)
The student resources include a variety of resources demonstrating specific and clear directions, easy-to-find references and accurate labels. Other resources available to students include text collections, close reading, performance tasks, independent reading plans, as well as digital interactive tools such as Writer's Notebook, text boxes to record answers, and highlighting tools for annotations.
Close reading questions and guides provide students with questions for key details, craft, and structure. Second Read materials include guiding questions engaging students in careful textual analysis. Text-dependent and text specific writing opportunities and writing workshops appear with regularity throughout the units to deepen thought and allow practice with newly taught skills as well as integration of ideas among concepts and skills. Directions for activities are clear and often make use of graphic organizers and rubrics to help students more clearly see the relationship of concepts as well as understand the expectations set before them.
Materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3d. Grade 12 materials include publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed by specific questions, tasks, and assessment items.
Examples of materials of publisher-produced alignment documentation of the standards addressed include the Common Core Correlations page which can be found on the homepage of the digital materials adjacent to the login portal. Additionally, the Teacher Wrap lists The College and Career Readiness Standards associated with each activity and delineates both Common Core focus standards as well as additional Common Core Standards addressed in each lesson.
The visual design (whether in print or digital) is not distracting or chaotic, but supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3e. The visual design of Grade 12 materials (whether in print or digital) is not distracting or chaotic but supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject.
The SpringBoard visual design, whether referencing the textbook or online curriculum, supports student engagement in literature and literacy without distraction. The units offer engaging visual prompts and graphics appropriate for Grade 12 students. The materials are logically presented through balance in layout and appropriate use of white space, uniform throughout. Activities with essential information and tasks are found at the center of the page while supplementary and enrichment information are found in the margins. Additionally, the pdf version of the student text includes space for notes in the margins when there is no additional information provided.
Graphic Organizers are large enough for students to fit their notes in them and are free of pictures and distractions. Additionally, these graphic organizers are also available to be copied from the end matter of the teacher text.
Marginalia is presented as colorized text boxes separated from the page body: Grammar and Punctuation, blue; Word Connections, red; Independent Reading Links, orange; Literary Terms, yellow; Level 2 Academic Vocabulary, beige; and Level 3 Academic Vocabulary, lavender. Standard unit activities are identified through colorized title fonts. For example, Learning Targets, Learning Strategies, Preview, Setting a Purpose for Reading, Second Read, and Working from the Text appear in green font while literary titles are printed in green. Assessments and writing assignments are also coded in colorized fonts, i.e., Check Your Understanding in purple, and Writing to Sources in green.
Criterion 3f - 3j
Materials support teacher learning and understanding of the Standards.
The SpringBoard Grade 12 materials meet the criteria for supporting teacher learning and understanding of the standards. Materials contain useful annotations and suggestions as well as adult-level explanations and examples of advanced literacy concepts. The Specific ELA/Literacy standard roles, instructional approaches and research based strategies are identified and explained. Materials contain strategies for informing all stakeholders about the ELA/Literacy program.
Materials contain a teacher's edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3f. Grade 12 materials contain a teacher's edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. Where applicable, materials include teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning.
Planning the Unit, opening each of the five units, offers teachers a roadmap in preparation for the unit's presentation while Teacher Wrap and Teacher to Teacher, found in the digital and print versions respectively, provide teachers daily step-by-step instructions for delivery. Within the digital teacher edition, sample responses to Second Read questions and completed graphic organizers are provided for teachers as an indication of what student responses should include. In addition to detailing discrete components of the unit, e.g., goals, pacing, assessments, etc., Planning the Unit unpacks the embedded assessments, suggests texts for independent reading, lists English Language Development resources available for each activity, describes instructional activities within the pacing guide, suggests advance preparation of learning guides for differentiated instruction, provides a detailed unpacking of language demands for embedded assessments, and suggests cognates appropriate to the unit for inclusion on a word wall.
The Teacher Resources tab on the SpringBoard dashboard provides background material for teachers and students on the various literary theories to be discussed throughout the Grade 12 course.
Daily support and suggestions are provided to the teacher through Teacher Wrap and Teacher to Teacher following SpringBoard's 4-step approach to instruction: Plan--Teach--Assess--Adapt. Additionally, the marginal guides offer suggestions for student support with instruction on approaches found effective for other teachers and methods for scaffolding questions to differentiate instruction to support of student learning. For example, in Unit 3, Activity 3, the Teacher Wrap suggests, "If students need additional help showing effective use of meter and rhythm, model marking up another section of 'The Canonization' and ask students to read aloud in pairs, stressing the iambic meter. Students can work together to mark up and read aloud self-selected sections. To extend learning, have students mark up the lyrics to 'The Right to Love' or other song lyrics of their choosing."
Within the digital teacher edition, sample responses to Second Read questions and completed graphic organizers provide teachers an indication of what student responses should include.
Materials contain a teacher's edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3g. Grade 12 materials contain a teacher's edition that contains full, adult-level explanations and examples of the more advanced literacy concepts so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, as necessary.
The Teacher's Edition Front Matter supports teacher knowledge regarding the relevance of academic vocabulary as well as knowledge differentiating between Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary, i.e. "Academic Vocabulary features that discuss Tier 2 terms and concepts that students will use in academic discourse" and "Literary Term features that equip students with Tier 3 language from the domains of literature, literary analysis, writing, and rhetoric." Additionally, the front matter establishes the relevance of text features and rigor to preparation for College and Career Readiness. Key Themes of English Language Arts Instruction explains: "SpringBoard is designed to help students make meaning of complex texts and prepare them for the rigorous textual analysis expected of them in Advanced Placement (AP) English and college courses. The skills students acquire in SpringBoard allow them to think critically about and respond thoughtfully to important topics in all disciplines, and in society."
The Teacher Edition End Matter provides teachers with a complete list of reading and writing strategies both defining strategies and establishing purpose behind the strategies. For example, the definition of the reading strategy SOAPSTone is "Analyzing text by discussing and identifying Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, and Tone," and its purpose is "to facilitate the analysis of specific elements of nonfiction, literary, and informational texts, and show the relationship among the elements to an understanding of the whole."
Teacher Wrap provides teachers with information necessary to frame lessons and establish relevance for students. For example, Activity 1.9 provides framing in Step 1: "Read the Preview and the Setting a Purpose for Reading sections with your students. Introduce the idea of a prologue, or introductory passage or speech before the main action of a novel, play, or long poem. Explain that they should highlight lines in the prologue where Ellison conveys what the speaker is and what he is not."
Materials contain a teacher's edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3h. Grade 12 materials contain a teacher's edition that explains the role of the specific ELA/literacy standards in the context of the overall curriculum.
Connections between specific ELA/literacy standards and the context of the overall curriculum are offered within the Teacher Edition Front Matter, Planning the Unit, and Teacher Wrap. Specifically, the Teacher Edition Front Matter explains the "instructional design assures teachers and students that everyday activities are building a foundation of skills and knowledge that will help students perform on the assessments, which ultimately align with the standards" and promises to help "students develop the knowledge and skills needed for Advanced Placement as well as for success in college and beyond without remediation." The Front Matter continues by explaining, "While not every student will take an AP class, we believe strongly that ALL students should be equipped with the higher-order thinking skills, knowledge, and behaviors necessary to be successful in AP classes and post-secondary education. SpringBoard focuses on content connections, pre-AP strategies, and writing tasks anchored in the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful on the AP exams."
Planning the Unit provides a list of activities within the unit that focus on refining "important skills and knowledge areas for AP/College Readiness." Found in the 2014 Edition of SpringBoard Digital but not in the 2018 edition, are clickable CC icons linked to standards associated with the task at hand. Inclusion of a similar link in the 2018 Edition would aid in promoting the connection between specific ELA/literacy standards and unit activities.
Teacher Wrap lists Focus Standards and Additional Standards Addressed at the beginning of each lesson. Within the instructional guide are also listed the Common Core standards associated with each of the Second Read questions.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3i. Grade 12 materials contain explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.
The Teacher Edition Front Matter provides both clear explanation of instructional approaches and identification of research-based strategies relied on throughout the text. Additionally, the text provides an explanation for SpringBoard's instructional approach. The section "Research-Based Pedagogy" sites the use of Wiggins and McTighe's Understanding by Design instructional model and the American Institute for Research "focus on students moving through multiple levels of cognitive engagement: progressing fluidly from understanding and comprehension, to analysis, and ultimately to synthesis." SpringBoard also sites application of Charlotte Danielson's facilitation and flexibility methodologies, Marzano and Pickering's research on "building students' background knowledge in the area of Academic Vocabulary development" and "Robyn Jackson's work on rigorous instruction."
Materials contain strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the ELA/literacy program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3j. Grade 12 materials contain strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students and parents or caregivers, about the ELA/literacy program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.
Found under Teacher Resources of the SpringBoard Dashboard are Family Letters for each of the program's five units. Letters are available in English and Spanish. Each letter provides an overview of the unit including the unit's essential questions, a description of the unit's two embedded assessments, a narrative description of the skills students will practice and learn, as well as a brief overview of the texts students will be reading. The letter concludes with specific tips on how parents can support their child's progress in learning. Also available in the Student PDF Front Matter is a letter from SpringBoard to the student introducing the benefits of the SpringBoard program and highlighting key features of the text and its methods to increase learning and achievement.
Criterion 3k - 3n
Materials offer teachers resources and tools to collect ongoing data about student progress on the Standards.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for offering teachers multiple resources and tools to collect ongoing data about student progress on the Standards. Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities, denote standards being emphasized, and indicate how students are accountable for independent reading.
Materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3k. Grade 12 materials regularly and systematically offer assessment opportunities that genuinely measure student progress.
Short-cycle and long-term assessments integrated within each of the five units provide opportunities for measuring student progress both formatively and summatively. Most activities/lessons feature Check Your Understanding and Writing to Sources, short-cycle assessments allowing teachers to measure student proficiencies and adjust or adapt instructional methods. Long-term assessments are offered twice during the unit, one midway through the unit's activities and the second at the unit's end. Lessons and related formative assessments preceding the embedded assessments typically lead towards the culminating performance task.
Also provided within the program materials are supplementary workshops for close reading and writing as well as supplementary materials for grammar instruction. Each of these lesson sets also includes assessment components consistent with the organization and structure of the core curriculum. Additionally, the SpringBoard Digital dashboard provides an Assessments link offering teachers short-cycle End of Lesson/Activity assessments and End of Unit assessments as well as choices between SpringBoard-developed assessments or custom-built assessments.
The purpose/use of each assessment is clear:
Indicator 3l.i
Assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3li. Grade 12 assessments clearly denote which standards are being emphasized.
Common Core Standards emphasized by instruction and assessment are noted in the Common Core Correlations chart found on the SpringBoard Digital log-in page. Each ELA Common Core Standard is correlated to unit and activity numbers and/or embedded assessments (denoted by EA) addressing the listed standard. Additionally, Teacher Wrap lists both Focus Standards and Additional Standards Addressed for each embedded assessment.
Indicator 3l.ii
Assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3lii. Grade 12 assessments provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow up.
SpringBoard's four-step structure, Plan-Teach-Assess-Adapt, provides a roadmap towards assessment that includes checkpoints and suggestions for adapting lessons and strengthening student skills before they are asked to demonstrate specific skills on culminating embedded assessments. The progression of these four steps is found in Teacher Wrap on the margins of the digital page of the Teacher Edition. For example, after following Plan and Teach steps in Unit 1, Activity 4, Assess guides teachers in evaluating student work: "Students' summary statements and responses to the Check Your Understanding should demonstrate an understanding of the three elements of Reader Response Criticism and the ways these elements may contribute to a reader's interpretation of a text." After the assessment, Adapt suggests, "If you find that your students need additional help with Reader Response Criticism, model interpreting the first two stanzas of the poem (or the entire poem), using the read aloud strategy before asking volunteers to share their interpretations."
Materials should include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3m. Grade 12 materials include routines and guidance that point out opportunities to monitor student progress.
Teacher Wrap indicates opportunities for monitoring student progress in reading and expression of ideas. Teacher Wrap provides sequentially detailed steps for teaching each lesson. Included within instructional notes for teachers are guides and prompts for monitoring student progress. Additionally, instructional notes indicate what teachers should be monitoring. For example, in Unit 4, Activity 7, teachers are instructed to be sure students "are engaged with the text, recording ideas about rhetorical context, noting critical lenses, and circling unknown words and phrases." The Assess portion of the Teacher Wrap indicates what teachers should be assessing in each activity and offers suggestions for adapting the lesson for students who are struggling or needing more practice.
The Front Matter of the Teacher Edition introduces teachers to two supplemental resources that "support the development of foundational reading skills for students who need continued support with these foundations to become successful at the secondary level." The first of these resources is the Foundational Skills Workshop which "supports teachers in planning and delivering intervention instruction to those students who will benefit from one-on-one or small-group lessons in phonics, word recognition, and fluency." These materials include Observational Look-Fors, Foundational Reading Skills Screening Assessment, Diagnostic Checklist, Individual Progress Monitoring Chart, and Group Planning Chart. The second resource is Routines for Teaching Foundational Skills which "presents mini-lessons and techniques that teachers can incorporate into the core ELA instruction to differentiate for students who need it."
The Teacher Edition provides an Independent Reading Log for students to record "progress and thinking" about "independent reading during each unit." Also provided are a range of graphic organizers for ELA and ELD tasks that can be used to monitor student reading and understanding before moving students into writing assignments.
Materials indicate how students are accountable for independent reading based on student choice and interest to build stamina, confidence, and motivation.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3n. Grade 12 materials indicate how students are accountable for independent reading based on student choice and interest to build stamina, confidence, and motivation.
SpringBoard allows for students to read independently based on choice and interest to build stamina, confidence, and motivation and asks students to show accountability for their independent reading in a variety of ways. Students are required to select a text for independent reading "twice a unit, at the beginning and after the first Embedded Assessment." Reading selections should relate to the themes of the unit. While SpringBoard provides a list of suggested readings, students should not be limited by the list. Rather, students should be urged "to do their own research and select a title that intrigues them." As students progress in their reading, they are held accountable through an independent reading log and encouraged through independent reading links with activities asking them to respond to questions, conduct further research, connect classroom texts and themes, discuss ideas in book talks, and make recommendations to peers. To further support and encourage independent reading, related tasks appear as independent reading checkpoints in the margins of the student edition.
Criterion 3o - 3r
Materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so that they demonstrate independent ability with grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for providing strategies for teachers to meet the needs of a range of learners so that they can demonstrate independent ability with grade-level standards. Teachers are provided with strategies to support all learners within the core curriculum and through the Teacher Resources tab on the SpringBoard dashboard. Every lesson in the SpringBoard program offers opportunities for students to work in groups.
Materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3o. Grade 12 materials provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners so the content is accessible to all learners and supports them in meeting or exceeding the grade-level standards.
SpringBoard curriculum provides accessible content through the integration of texts at varied Lexile level texts in the core curriculum and as suggested titles for independent reading. The unit texts range from slightly below grade level, typically used with introducing a new concept, to at grade level and above grade level. "The Practice of Reading Closely," found in The Teacher Edition Front Matter explains the range of texts as a means of bringing "readers up to the level of the text, not the level of the text down to the reader." Each unit also offers a list of text titles for the Independent Reading Assignments occurring twice in each unit. As in the core curriculum, suggested texts range from below grade level to above grade level, allowing students to choose a text of interest that also connects at reading level.
Teachers are provided with strategies to support learners within the core curriculum and through the Teacher Resources tab on the SpringBoard dashboard. Within the core curriculum, Teacher Wrap provides step-by-step guidance in teaching each lesson. Within most steps, teachers are offered advice, alternatives, and suggestions for connecting new and existing knowledge and skills, and methods for scaffolding in-class reading and assignments. Additionally, Teacher to Teacher and Leveled Differentiated Instruction call out boxes within Teacher Wrap provide specific instruction and guidance for learners needing extra support and English language development.
Materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3p. Grade 12 materials regularly provide all students, including those who read, write, speak, or listen below grade level, or in a language other than English, with extensive opportunities to work with grade-level text and meet or exceed grade-level standards.
Specific resources for below grade-level students and English language learners are provided within the Teacher Resources accessible through the SpringBoard Digital dashboard. English Language Learner Support Guides, available at each grade, offer general guidelines for instructional strategies associated with each of the five units. "Differentiation in SpringBoard is organized around Process, Product, and Content. For ELL support, it may be necessary to adapt the content, the product...or the formative assessments..." The resource guide urges teachers to "refer to the Differentiated Instruction call-outs in the TE Wrap." Call-outs typically provide additional ideas for practice with the lesson concepts. For example, in Unit 4, Activity 11, the call-out box suggests "supporting students who are at an early stage in their English language development by turning on the closed caption subtitles while viewing Trouble in the Water. Viewing film with English subtitles can boost English learners' engagement with the film while also helping them develop vocabulary, recognize word boundaries, and improve listening comprehension."
Also provided within the Teacher Resources tab at each grade level is an English-Spanish Glossary, although currently the resource bears a 2014 copyright. Foundational Skills Workshop material provides resources for interventions at grades 7-11. Seventeen lessons range from phonics and word recognition to fluency as well as an Initial Screening Assessment "that provides teachers with essential information about students' education history, home language proficiency, and English language proficiency." Also provided within the Teacher Resources tab is a Flexible Novel Unit allowing teachers to replace the novel suggested in the core curriculum with a novel differentiated for student needs. The Flexible Novel Unit provides a teacher planning dashboard, a student view of the adjusted embedded assessment, and a teacher view complete with marginalia guidance following the four-step Plan-Teach-Assess-Adapt protocol. Also provided within the Teacher Resources tab are materials for grammar instruction and interventions, graphic organizers (also provided in the Teacher Edition End Matter), and learning strategies.
Within the core curriculum, Planning the Unit, a detailed teacher tool is provided at the beginning of each unit. Planning Support for English Learners is included in the planning page and outlines "unit-specific resources for differentiation." Found in this section of the unit planning are Digital Resource: English Language Development Activities correlated to specific text selections and unit activities, guidance on logging onto ELD resources on SpringBoard Digital, Leveled Differentiated Instruction providing "suggestions on how to differentiate challenging tasks for students at various levels of language proficiency," and a Cognate Dictionary specifically designed for each unit. Also provided are directions for Unpacking the Language Demands of the Embedded Assessments, a resource unpacking the "word-, sentence-, and text-level features of academic language that English learners may need to develop as they work toward the Embedded Assessments." Integrated into each unit are at least three English Language Development Activities which are "supplementary digital activities for every unit that offer a scaffolded approach to vocabulary study, guided close reading, and collaborative activities."
Materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3q. Grade 12 materials regularly include extensions and/or more advanced opportunities for students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level.
The Leveled Differentiated Instruction call-out within Teacher Wrap offers opportunities to extend the learning for those students who read, write, speak, or listen above grade level. For example, in Unit 1, Activity 9, Leveled Differentiated Instruction suggests teachers challenge students to select "another text from the unit and to describe their perception of themselves in the style of that author" rather than to revising "a few phrases or sentences from your quickwrite, or write new sentences, to practice using different syntax for effect."
Occasionally, the Adapt step of Teacher Wrap or the Teacher to Teacher call-out will provide an extension for learning through a challenge. For example, in Unit 1, Activity 11, Adapt suggests teachers extend learning by asking students to analyze "multiple images from an ad campaign or create their own original commercials or print ads incorporating concepts from this activity (framing, angles, strategic placement of objects, rhetorical appeals)."
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3r. Grade 12 materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.
Every lesson in the SpringBoard program offers opportunities for students to work in groups whether reading, writing, or speaking and listening about texts. "Specific strategies for collaboration and oral communication are taught and practiced leading to the development of independent, skillful conduct of academic discussions." Both the Teacher Edition and the Student Edition regularly and repeatedly ask students to work as partners and in small groups. Among the means used to and for grouping are Think-Pair-Share, heterogeneous groups, simple partnering, forming small groups based on interest, working as whole class in discussions and guided writing, and forming jigsaw groups to build and share information and ideas. Additionally, students are grouped for purposes of peer editing and feedback, practice with speaking and speech delivery, and reading discussion groups.
Criterion 3s - 3v
Materials support effective use of technology to enhance student learning. Digital materials are accessible and available in multiple platforms.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 12 support effective use of technology to enhance student learning. The materials work relatively well on multiple digital platforms and using multiple internet browsers. However, the program does not work on all mobile devices. The digital materials are effectively accessed through Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. However, when access is attempted using Android devices, an error message indicating screen size and resolution are not supported. The message suggests site visitors use a larger device to log into SpringBoard. Provided within the Teacher Resources on the SpringBoard Digital dashboard are a number of tools allowing teachers to customize the curricular content of the materials. Also, the digital SpringBoard Dashboard offers a link to Professional Development for teachers as well as a link to the Springboard Community where teachers can collaborate with other teachers who have SpringBoard.
Digital materials (either included as supplementary to a textbook or as part of a digital curriculum) are web-based, compatible with multiple Internet browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.), "platform neutral" (i.e., are compatible with multiple operating systems such as Windows and Apple and are not proprietary to any single platform), follow universal programming style, and allow the use of tablets and mobile devices. This qualifies as substitution and augmentation as defined by the SAMR model. Materials can be easily integrated into existing learning management systems.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 3s. Grade 12 digital materials (either included as supplementary to a textbook or as part of a digital curriculum) are web-based, compatible with multiple internet browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.), "platform neutral" (i.e., Windows and Apple and are not proprietary to any single platform), follow universal programming style, and allow the use of tablets and mobile devices.
The materials work relatively well on multiple digital platforms and using multiple internet browsers. However, the program does not work on all mobile devices. The digital materials are effectively accessed through Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. However, when access is attempted using Android devices, an error message indicating screen size and resolution are not supported. The message suggests site visitors to use a larger device to log into SpringBoard.
Materials support effective use of technology to enhance student learning, drawing attention to evidence and texts as appropriate and providing opportunities for modification and redefinition as defined by the SAMR model.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3t. Grade 12 materials support effective use of technology to enhance student learning, drawing attention to evidence and texts as appropriate.
SpringBoard digital effectively uses technology by providing interactive tools for close reading exercises, vocabulary work, populating graphic organizers, and supporting evidence-based writing. In both the digital Teacher Edition and the digital Student Edition, space is provided to enter answers to questions, attach sticky notes, highlight and mark text with annotations. Students and teachers can add vocabulary to the existing lists provided by the program as well as edit close-reading questions. Additional opportunities for learning provided within the Teacher Resources tab on the SpringBoard dashboard offer consistent organization and structures for using technology as a tool in the learning process. The Teacher Edition provides tips for sharing documents via external programs such as Google Docs. Additionally, there is a digital SpringBoard community supporting conversations among teachers from across the hall or across the country. The additional resources also include online workshops/webinars.
Materials can be easily customized for individual learners.
Indicator 3u.i
Digital materials include opportunities for teachers to personalize learning for all students, using adaptive or other technological innovations.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 partially meet the criteria for Indicator 3ui. Grade 12 digital materials include some opportunities for teachers to personalize learning for students.
Using a generally accepted definition for adaptive technology as objects or systems specifically designed to increase or maintain the capabilities of people with disabilities, reviewers conclude there are few examples of such in the materials. Indeed, the technology available through the digital version allows users to change font size, populate graphic organizers, use word processing technologies, annotate text, and hear audio pronunciations of some vocabulary words, but there is no text-to-speech or speech-to-text adaptations which would truly be adaptive and useful to those with hearing disabilities, vision disabilities, and disabilities related to the hands. Additionally, the program allows teachers to edit questions and use alternative texts, but these means of personalizing instruction are not within the realm of adaptive technology.
Indicator 3u.ii
Materials can be easily customized by schools, systems, and states for local use.
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3uii. Grade 12 materials can be easily customized for local use.
Provided within the Teacher Resources on the SpringBoard Digital dashboard are a number of tools allowing teachers to customize the curricular content of the materials. At each grade and within each unit, a Flexible Novel Unit supports a teaching decision to replace the suggested novel in the core curriculum with a novel differentiating for local needs. The Flexible Novel Unit provides a teacher planning dashboard, a student view of the adjusted embedded assessment, and a teacher view complete with marginalia guidance following the four-step Plan-Teach-Assess-Adapt protocol. Also provided within the resources is a Custom Assessment builder to create Common Core aligned questions to check for understanding. The Letter to Parents, also available through Teacher Resources, is customizable for local needs. Additionally, many features within the unit activities are customizable, supporting the professional judgment of classroom teachers.
Materials include or reference technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other (e.g. websites, discussion groups, webinars, etc.)
The materials reviewed for Grade 12 meet the criteria for Indicator 3v. Grade 12 materials include or reference technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other (e.g. websites, discussion groups, webinars, etc.).
The digital SpringBoard Dashboard offers a link to Professional Development for teachers as well as a link to the SpringBoard Community where teachers can collaborate with other teachers who have SpringBoard. SpringBoard also provides the ability to create "digital 'sticky' notes that can be inserted on-screen and offer on-demand planning and notation for teacher suggestions or student work" as well as "the ability to edit teaching commentary, personalizing it by adding notes and comments to a lesson." Where appropriate, the Teacher Wrap suggests teachers have students work together on a shared document for greater collaboration on projects and assignments.
Summary Gateway 1 Criterion 1a - 1f Criterion 1g - 1n Gateway 2 Criterion 2a - 2h Gateway 3 Criterion 3a - 3e Criterion 3f - 3j Criterion 3k - 3n Criterion 3o - 3r Criterion 3s - 3v
Springboard English Language Arts Grade 12 Student Edition 978‑1‑4573‑0841‑3 Copyright: 2018 College Board 2018
Springboard English Language Arts Grade 12 Teacher Edition 978‑1‑4573‑0848‑2 Copyright: 2018 College Board 2018
Springboard Publisher Response 6‑8
Springboard Publisher Response 9‑12
Technology Information Springboard ELA 9‑12
ELA High School Review Tool
The ELA review criteria identifies the indicators for high-quality instructional materials. The review criteria supports a sequential review process that reflect the importance of alignment to the standards then consider other high-quality attributes of curriculum as recommended by educators.
For ELA, our review criteria evaluate materials based on:
Text Quality and Complexity, and Alignment to Standards with Tasks Grounded in Evidence
The ELA Evidence Guides complements the review criteria by elaborating details for each indicator including the purpose of the indicator, information on how to collect evidence, guiding questions and discussion prompts, and scoring criteria.
Evidence Guide EdReports-Evidence-Guide-ELA-HS-v1.pdf Review Criteria EdReports-Review-Criteria-ELA-HS-v1.pdf

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl