Program Overview - Amazon Web Servicesccsoc.mte.s3.amazonaws.com/ts.production/resources/... · enhance student interactions with the content. – Support the academic behaviors such

SYSTEM OF COURSESP E A R S O N

ProgramOverviewGuideEnglish Language Arts

About This DocumentThis Program Overview Guide provides educators with a look at the research and methodology that inform Pearson System of Courses for English Language Arts (ELA).

For more information about Pearson System of Courses for ELA, please visit pearsonsystemofcourses.com

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. COVER PHOTO: JAY GRAHAM

Program Overview Guide

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ContentsPearson System of Courses: A Coherent and Comprehensive Way to Advance Student Learning 2

The Goals of Pearson System of Courses 4

Pearson System of Courses for ELA 7

Guiding Principles Behind Pearson System of Courses 10

The Academic Core of Pearson System of Courses for ELA 22

The Organization and Structure of Pearson System of Courses for ELA 24

The Three Building Blocks: Units, Lessons, and More to Explore 26

Growth, Mastery, and Diagnostic Assessments 42

Using Information from Assessment Data 46

Personalized Instruction for Students 48

Supporting Students Needing Differentiated Instruction 50

Educational Research Supporting the Development of Pearson System of Courses 56

For More Information 58

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Pearson System of Courses

Pearson System of Courses: A Coherent and Comprehensive Way to Advance Student LearningThe broad adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for ELA and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects and for Mathematics has been rightly recognized as a key turning point for American education. With the standards agreed on, school districts and teachers across the United States now need new learning materials and tools that will help students master standards that require, as never before, that they know how to apply and express what they have learned.

Pearson System of Courses is informed by a new way of looking at student achievement—one that approaches the student as an active and engaged learner. It was also built with coherence in mind, across both subjects and grade levels. The material taught in one grade builds upon the CCSS knowledge and skills acquired in the previous grade, while preparing students for the next. Furthermore, Pearson System of Courses builds upon interna-tionally proven classroom routines so that students can develop the learning habits and practices that ensure both college readiness and international competitiveness. And all of this is achieved with the thoughtful use of the latest mobile and digital technologies that are already revolutionizing the way students and teachers acquire and share knowledge.

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Developed by Leading Educators—for EducatorsLed by Dr. Judy Codding, a national leader in standards-based education and comprehensive school reform, Pearson System of Courses is not a repurposed or realigned set of instructional materials, but an entirely new, comprehensive approach to providing the innovative curriculum, tools, and resources school leaders and classroom teachers need to guide student achievement in relation to the Common Core State Standards. Dr. Sally Hampton, one of the key writers of the CCSS for ELA, is leading the effort. Dorothy Fowler, Ann Peterson, Linda Lewis and Beth Semaya added grade-span expertise, and a national ELA advisory board provided oversight.

Pearson System of Courses Leadership Team for ELAIn addition to Dr. Codding and Dr. Hampton, Pearson System of Courses Leadership Team for ELA includes Dr. Susan Sclafani, who actively manages the framework development, research, and evaluation activities; and Dr. Sherry P. King, who manages implementation models and professional development planning. Mark Nieker leads product design, production, and development; and Alexander Pereira leads the product engineering effort.

AdvisorsDonna E. Alvermann, University of Georgia; Mark Bauerlein, Emory University; Janice A. Dole, University of Utah; Nell K. Duke, Michigan State University; Steve Graham, Vanderbilt University; Walter Kintsch, University of Colorado at Boulder; Carol D. Lee, Northwestern University; Margaret G. McKeown, University of Pittsburgh; Sandra Murphy, UC Davis; P. David Pearson, UC Berkeley; Catherine E. Snow, Harvard University; William J. Strong, Utah State University; Karen K. Wixson, University of Michigan.

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The Goals of Pearson System of CoursesAligning Materials and Instruction to the Common Core State StandardsPearson System of Courses for Mathematics and for English Language Arts is aligned to standards that reflect the most current national and international research on the learning and teaching of mathematics, reading, and writing. These Common Core State Standards define the rigorous content, the requisite skills needed to master and apply that content, and the key behaviors independent learners and critical thinkers must develop to graduate from high school as college- and career-ready individuals. Achieving the vision reflected in the CCSS requires changes to the horizontal and vertical coherence of content across all grade levels, the development of and incentives for student academic behaviors, and careful attention to the needs and motivation of all students through the use of classroom time, student and teacher interactions, and engaging materials.

Collectively, these changes prescribe a series of transformations that go much deeper than modifying the process by which most curricula and textbooks have been developed. Teachers can no longer use learning resources that pursue a “mile-wide, inch-deep” approach to educating students—one that too often emphasizes “coverage” at the expense of depth.

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With the CCSS, on the other hand, teachers are asked to:

• Build knowledge not only through classic literature but also through content-rich nonfiction and informational texts in ELA.

• Require fluency, application, and deep understanding of the critical topics in mathematics.

Pearson System of Courses directly addresses these goals, presenting teachers and students with full courses and supporting resources for Grades K–12 ELA, and Grades K–college-ready Mathematics. Teachers and students have access to a variety of instructional activities—including simulations, games, and interactive tools for doing mathematics, and a full spectrum of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language activities for ELA. Each course includes a powerful set of technology tools that engages and supports students while at the same time providing teachers meaningful feedback and assessment. Additional professional development offerings also help teachers to create a motivating classroom and to better understand the concepts they teach.

Supporting Teachers and Student LearningWith an approach to learning that emphasizes depth of student learning, Pearson System of Courses aims to:

• Promote student academic behaviors within a motivating and engaging digital classroom. These include the ability of students to work independently, to collaborate effectively with others, to take personal responsibility for learning, to persevere in mastering new concepts and ideas, and to continuously revise work to a higher standard of performance.

• Support teachers in the classroom by embedding delivery and content supports in the design of each unit. These teaching supports are integrated within each unit through the use of detailed presentations for teachers on classroom instructional routines, as well as guidance on the delivery and support of specific lesson materials to students.

• Attend to the coherence of the system by carefully sequencing the progression of content, both horizontally within a course and vertically across grade bands.

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The Promise of TechnologyPearson System of Courses comes at a time when students and teachers alike are incorporating more and more digital- and mobile-learning approaches into the classroom experience. But technology is not enough. Transforming student learning and achievement in a manner prescribed by the CCSS requires that the technology used be rooted in sound educational research.

This means that for the technology to be effective in the classroom, it must be aligned to a coherent, standards-based system that improves students’ learning of rigorous content and skills. And it must do what students today expect of technology in their everyday lives—that it engage them and connect them with others.

Pearson System of Courses does both of these things. It provides a curriculum that bridges the gap between the way students learn in school and out of school, between the formal and informal ways of learning. It allows students to learn with tools that provide them the instant communication and timely feedback they have come to expect.

Pearson System of Courses also gives teachers a new set of tools intended to help them meet these expectations. For example, when fully available in 2014, a sharing and social networking component will be included through which students can exchange ideas and interact about mathematics, books, writing, or any of the topics presented in these courses. The social network will provide students with immediate feedback about their ideas, questions, and work. This network will extend to the classroom one of the most popular ways that students communicate every day.

When fully available, the curriculum will also include an assessment system that provides students with real-time, immediate feedback about their work. They will be able to see past accomplishments and current areas of difficulty, taking greater ownership of their learning.

Rooted in ResearchOver the past two decades, a substantial body of educational research has emerged, demonstrating that students learn best when they have a strong teacher who centers instruction on a rich and challenging curriculum—all within the context of a collaborative community that fosters the expression and application of important ideas. Pearson System of Courses, designed with this research in mind, is built on three central tenets:

The teacher matters most. Studies demonstrate that the teacher is the most important school-based factor in improving student achievement. For this reason, we have designed Pearson System of Courses to support the work of the effective teacher. It suggests lines of questioning, helps teachers set up individual and group activities, and provides formative assessments that give teachers fast and accurate feedback.

We learn with and through others. The last 30 years have witnessed a dramatic shift from the conception of the student as a solitary learner to the view of the student as someone who best learns in a collaborative community. Pearson System of Courses, like the CCSS, is built on the premise that students need to be able to discuss, justify, and explain their thinking, and in doing so, contribute to the learning of others. Students’ use of digital devices is important not just for content delivery, but also for facilitating important interactions within the classroom community.

The curriculum matters.Research demonstrates that rigorous content, aligned to demanding standards like the CCSS, must be the focus of the curriculum. By “rigorous,” what’s intended is a “thinking” curriculum that is appropriately high in cognitive demand—a curriculum that students are expected to learn and apply. Pearson System of Courses provides an instructional foundation—along with standards, assessments, and professional development—that helps students master the academic behaviors and skills leading to college- and career-readiness.


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Pearson System of Courses for ELAPearson System of Courses for ELA supports student learning, motivation and engagement, and classroom management by integrating:

• A coherent curriculum in ELA for grades K–12, with course objectives and outcomes that closely mirror the vertical progression of the CCSS for ELA.

• Effective and engaging teaching based on years of research on how students learn. This teaching happens within a classroom design that leverages the social collaboration of learning and pushes students to take increasing responsibility for their own learning.

• A unique digital design created expressly to make use of tablet technology to:

– Deliver instruction where it has the power to enrich the social, collaborative nature of learning and to enhance student interactions with the content.

– Support the academic behaviors such as analysis and problem-solving that are explicit in the ELA standards.

– Motivate students, who find the tools and animations engaging and fun.

– Personalize tasks to meet individual student needs and encourage students to take more responsibility for their own learning.

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Students benefit from a rich, interactive experience, while educators receive an integrated Pearson System of Courses, assessments, analytics, professional development materials, and additional supports that help them meet the demands of today’s classrooms.

Pearson System of Courses is designed to replace the textbook, not the teacher. With a core curriculum tailored for today’s digital, personalized, and more rigorous learning environment, Pearson System of Courses provides the tools teachers need to unlock the potential of CCSS. Students learn to:

• Demonstrate independence with learning.

• Build strong content knowledge from complex texts.

• Respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline.

• Comprehend as well as critique.

• Value evidence.

• Use technology and digital media appropriately.

• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

• Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

About the CurriculumPearson System of Courses includes new, challenging, and interdependent teaching and learning approaches:

• Research-based strategies are thoughtfully applied to help support instruction in every classroom.

• Tiered supports enable teachers to assist students at all levels and promote academic behaviors.

• System-wide coherence aligns standards, assessment, instruction, and professional development with the CCSS expectations.

• The content is delivered to students in a consistent sequence across all lessons for horizontal coherence and also in all grade levels and across grade bands for vertical coherence—from kindergarten through high school.

• The content is designed to foster new student academic behaviors and the engagement students need to adopt them.


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About the TechnologyPearson System of Courses integrates technology to provide students the opportunity to build academic behaviors within each course and across all grade levels. Technology is used where it has the most power to enrich the social, collaborative nature of learning, enhance student interactions with the content, and support the academic behaviors that are explicit in CCSS.

The design and content of Pearson System of Courses provide the following features:

• Scaffolds. In the lessons on the tablet, students get the help they need just in time to master rigorous CCSS content, become critical thinkers and independent learners, and take ownership of their learning.

• Personalization. Support for tutoring and computer-assisted instruction, coupled with effective classroom practice and social learning, helps teachers deliver a new level of personalization. In addition, suggested interventions help teachers meet the needs of all students—including English language learners (ELLs), students with disabilities (SWDs), and gifted and talented learners.

• Feedback. Students get feedback on their assessment performance, and teachers may view real-time updates.

• Engagement. Pearson System of Courses creates a motivating digital classroom and collaborative culture. Evidence-based instructional routines set the pace, and dynamic technology engages students through video, writing and presentation software, animations and simulations, interactive software, games, assessment, and writing tools.

• Teaching supports. Woven into the design of each lesson and unit are delivery and content supports intended to aid teachers’ work with students.

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Guiding Principles Behind Pearson System of CoursesSchool districts face a number of challenges as they begin implementing the CCSS for ELA. The developers of Pearson System of Courses know about these challenges firsthand from their years of work as teachers and administrators in school improvement, large-scale systemic change, and international benchmarking.

The Challenges Schools Face…• A wide range of student proficiencies in each classroom.

• A motivation gap among students whose digital experience outside the classroom is richer, more personalized, and more dynamic than the impersonal and passive ways they are asked to learn inside the traditional classroom.

• A lack of coherence in curricula, in general, within the United States.

• A significant need for teacher support, because to teach using the CCSS for ELA demands major changes in the way students learn and teachers teach.

• A lack of awareness among parents and communities about these new expectations for their children.

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…And the Guiding Principles that Address Them• College and career readiness, as measured by mastery of the CCSS for ELA, is the right goal for all students.

The educational ecosystem is an integrated, coherent system of standards, curriculum, assessment, instruction, and professional development.

• Instruction and assessment are designed to continuously improve teaching and learning.

• The curriculum enhances teacher capacity by offering delivery and content supports as part of daily instruction and readily accessible, on-demand professional development on an ongoing basis.

• The curriculum promotes positive student academic behaviors through a motivating and engaging digital classroom grounded in a real-world context.

• Curriculum and instruction are directly tied to the CCSS for ELA by reflecting the learning progressions both within and between courses and grades.

• The digitized curriculum maximizes coherence, fosters student engagement, and promotes the measurement of deeper learning.

Technology is used systematically to support these beliefs within Pearson System of Courses as the following section describes.

Key Design PrinciplesTo fulfill the promise of technology, we used our experience and understanding of the latest research on student motivation and engagement as well as teaching and learning to establish design principles that support student mastery of standards within the classroom. Each of these principles is explained in more detail below.

Clarity of Purpose The purpose of the work in every unit, in every lesson, is abundantly clear.

The teacher explains the purpose of a lesson at or near the very beginning of the lesson. Once the class is underway, students are able to tell the teacher exactly what they are working on that day.

By making the purpose clear, students can:

• Explain what they are working on without hesitation.

• Explain what they are learning, why they are learning it, and their goals as learners.

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Modeling of LearningModeling occurs in every lesson to show students how successful learners think.

Both teachers and students model learning throughout all units. Although teachers routinely model thought processes, ways of thinking about tasks, and reflections, students also share their thought processes on a regular basis.

Through modeling, students can:

• Recognize and evaluate different ways of analyzing problems and approaching tasks.

• Develop metacognitive skills and strategies that can be applied to future learning.

• Keep the emphasis on learning and problem solving rather than simply getting to the right answer.

Independent Work Lessons, regardless of content, provide time for students to work independently—without teacher direction.

Independent work does not necessarily imply working alone. Students work individually or in collaborative groups on tasks and activities designed to scaffold their ability to work without continuing direction from the teacher. These opportunities push students to take responsibility for learning new concepts and skills. With time and experience, students develop the ability to work on their own.

Through independent work, students:

• Are actively engaged in meaningful work throughout a lesson without continual reliance on the teacher for direction.

• Participate in cognitively demanding, hands-on learning tasks for which they assume responsibility.

• Use background knowledge and prior work to access new learning.

Focused TeachingEvery lesson, every day, regardless of content, includes focused teaching.

Focused teaching—teacher prompts, cues, and questions—targets specific student needs. This type of teaching is directed to one student or a small group and is shaped by the teacher’s ongoing assessment of student needs.

With focused teaching, students learn to:

• Produce work that demonstrates improvement over time toward meeting standards, using feedback from teachers and peers that is specific, constructive, and targeted to standards.

• Discuss their learning to enhance their own understanding.

Key Design Principles

• Clarity of Purpose

• Modeling of Learning

• Independent Work

• Focused Teaching

• Personalization

• Academic Discourse

• Collaboration

• Continual Formative and Self-Assessment

• Closure


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PersonalizationTechnology can play a key role in the personalization of classroom instruction. Instruction is tailored to meet the needs of all learners.

Digital delivery of courses elevates personalization by using the best of what we know about individualized instruction along with the best of what we know about classroom practice and social learning. This form of delivery is the next frontier for technology-enabled instruction, combining the strengths of digital learning with the engagement and collaborative power of social networking—while avoiding over-reliance on rule-based adaptive learning.

Needs of groups such as ELLs, long-term English learners (LTELs), and SWDs are taken into account.

Through personalization, students can:

• Engage in rigorous learning tasks and activities that match their interests.

• Work on learning tasks that challenge them to grapple with new content without getting frustrated.

Academic DiscourseFocused, academic conversations are a centerpiece of the educational experience each day.

Students must develop the ability to reason aloud clearly, with evidence-based arguments that express a logical point of view. Through academic discourse, students put forth knowledge that is accurate and relevant to the issue under discussion, and they constructively evaluate the use of evidence and the points of view expressed by others. Students use evidence in ways appropriate to the discipline, and they follow established norms of good reasoning.

The teacher models the proper use of academic language daily, and students are provided with resources that help them to develop and use academic language properly. Additional support is given to ELLs, LTELs, SWDs, and any students who may struggle with academic vocabulary.

Through academic discourse, students can:

• Engage in classroom talk that supports knowledge acquisition.

• Convincingly use evidence to justify their reasoning.

• Analyze and explain their own way of thinking and the thinking of others.

• Critique the reasoning of others and construct viable arguments.

CollaborationIt is crucial that students have the opportunity each day to collaborate with their peers, develop and justify academic arguments, and critique the reasoning of others.

Students engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (partner, small group, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on relevant topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Through collaboration, students can:

• Speculate about and analyze the thinking of others.

• Demonstrate skills and strategies for working collaboratively.

• Develop a higher level of shared common knowledge and learning.

• Become members of a productive classroom community and celebrate progress of the class as a whole.

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Continual Formative and Self-AssessmentEvery lesson, every day, regardless of content, includes assessment of students’ progress and needs.

Assessment can be formal or informal. The crucial point is that teachers collect and record the data from their formative assessments so they can use the information to make instructional decisions for subsequent instruction.

Assessment of students’ progress and needs happens continually throughout each lesson. Sometimes this assessment is a formal checkpoint or Unit Accomplishment, but on most days it will be less formal, conducted through conversation and observation. The system allows teachers to view all assessment information about a student and use it to review their progress and make instructional plans based on those reviews.

With continual self-assessment, students can:

• Use the digital Notebook and other tools that gather evidence of learning and growth over time.

• Revise their work based on teacher and peer feedback (written and oral).

• Confer with teachers and peers about their work.

• Use rubrics to guide, self-assess, and revise their work and work products.

ClosureThe last thing that happens in every lesson, every day, regardless of content, is closure.

Closure involves revisiting the purpose of the lesson in light of the day’s experience to consolidate learning and prepare students for subsequent instruction. Within a classroom, the teacher leads closure and may quote student work to consolidate the content being learned.

With closure, students learn to:

• Revise their work to meet standards.

• Use high-level cognitive skills to solve problems, synthesize information, and justify their reasoning.

• Upgrade their ways of thinking to incorporate thinking with grade-level content.

• Incorporate speaking and listening skills as a natural outgrowth of lessons.


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The Routines and Subroutines that Promote Deep LearningRoutines and subroutines are the core of the lesson structure in Pearson System of Courses. Teachers use these routines repeatedly, so they become habits for students. In this way, teachers are able to spend less time on classroom management and more time on learning.

Students establish and practice routines and subroutines, such as:

• Guided Reading

• Whole Group Discussion

• Whole Group Share

• Whole Class Review

• Read Aloud

• Think Aloud

• Turn and Talk

• Partner Reading

• Partner Share

• Peer Conference

• Quick Write

• Cold Read (Assessment)

• Cold Write (Assessment)

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Table 1. Key Instructional Routines.

Routine Description

Opening The Opening sets the focus for the day and connects it to the work done previously. Students are immediately engaged in the work, sharing homework, responding to questions, or reading a text or watching a video. Students respond to initial teacher prompts, but the students’ role is to take more responsibility for their own thinking and initiate their own learning.

In reading instruction, the Opening gives students the opportunity to read the same text with a variety of scaffolding. Texts are at or above grade level. Students read them more than once—a method for building comprehension and also for learning to write well. To meet the speaking and listening standards, students sometimes study nontextual media such as video or audio.

In writing instruction, the Opening allows students to write for different purposes depending on the learning goals. When students write in response to commonly read or assigned texts, they may weigh evidence, analyze meaning, or offer opinions. Students may also revise the texts, which helps them with clarity of expression. All of these tasks help them organize their thinking. During this Opening routine, they develop a repertoire of writing strategies and the ability to express themselves in different genres.

Work Time Work Time during both reading and writing instruction helps the student to focus on a particular task independently (without requiring continual direct support of the teacher). Some students will work individually, others with partners or in small groups, while still others will work directly with the teacher.

Closing The Closing is led by the teacher, who often quotes student work and consolidates the content; the purpose of the lesson is revisited in light of what has transpired during the class time. It is about synthesizing the learning while helping learners store it in their memories, so that they can build on it in the future.


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In addition to routines, there are several subroutines in reading and writing.

Table 2. Subroutines in Reading and Writing.

Subroutine

Quick Write Students are prompted to write on a topic for a short period of time—usually no more than 5 minutes. The purpose of the Quick Write is for students to record their thinking on a topic without self-editing for spelling and punctuation. A Quick Write usually has no correct answer. However, what students write should make sense to a reader.

Quick Writes occur frequently in lessons. They may occur in the Opening to focus students on the lesson; during Work Time to help them capture initial thinking about a task, access prior knowledge about a topic, or prepare ideas to contribute to a discussion; and in the Closing of the lesson to reflect on the learning of the day.

Quick Writes are beneficial because they:

• Require students to engage actively in the lesson at key points of instruction.

• Slow down the pace of instruction to allow students space to think and reflect.

• Establish an expectation that frequent writing is required in the class. Students grow in writing fluency over time because of the daily practice of writing.

The teacher scaffolds students who need extra time to get their ideas together before participating in a group activity or whole class discussion. This is particularly important for ELLs, who can participate more fully in whole class and group activities if they have just a little time to rehearse what they will say.

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Subroutine

Partner Share Partner Share involves two or more students talking quietly with each other to share their writing or their thinking about a topic. Frequently, Partner Share follows a Quick Write when partners share their writing with each other. It may also occur in preparation for a class or small group discussion so that students can try out their ideas with one person before offering them to the larger group. After annotating a text, students might be asked to compare their annotations with a partner’s to see if they both have the same understanding of a text.

Frequent partner sharing establishes the expectation that “in this classroom we learn with and from each other.” Talking with a partner allows students to develop their own thinking and learn from their partner’s thinking. It also provides an opportunity for 100-percent participation in a task, because both members of the partnership are engaged during the sharing. Partner sharing scaffolds ELLs by giving them the opportunity to talk with one person before participating in the whole class discussion.

Whole Group Discussion During Whole Group Discussion, students talk to each other about an issue or topic suggested by their reading, viewing, or writing. It is designed to be more like a volleyball game than a ping-pong match. Discussions often occur after reading a text, because talking about a text and listening to others discuss a text enhances comprehension. Discussions may occur in the Opening, the Work Time, or the Closing. Most discussions are oral and occur during class, but students also are engaged in virtual discussions using the Sharing tool.

Whole Group Discussion supports the goals of the CCSS, which describe a college- and career-ready individual as able to “prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.” In addition, discussion enhances comprehension, fosters engagement, and supports collaboration. Since each student brings a different perspective and prior knowledge to any text, discussion enhances everyone’s comprehension.


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Subroutine

Small Group Work Small groups consist of four or more students working collaboratively on a task. Usually each member of the group is held accountable for his or her own contributions to the group’s work. Group work usually occurs in the Work Time.

Small group work helps students meet the Speaking and Listening Standards and promotes active engagement of students. Collaboration skills must be developed through challenging and meaningful activities. Participating in diverse groups supports the learning and participation of ELLs and SWDs.

Text Annotation Annotating texts includes underlining, highlighting, and making margin notes, all ways of fostering better comprehension of a complex text. The Annotation tool in Pearson System of Courses app is used frequently in the reading lessons as a way to encourage close reading—usually when students are reading independently in class or for homework.

Annotation provides key benefits by:

• Helping promote comprehension.

• Giving students a purpose for reading and rereading a complex text.

• Slowing the reading down. Students sometimes think that reading well means reading fast, but complex informational and literary texts require them to slow down and sometimes reread.

Students also share their annotations with a partner to help them check their comprehension.

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Student-Focused Design PrinciplesPearson System of Courses uses technology in ways that help teachers establish motivating and engaging classrooms for students. Digital tools help students focus on learning and sharing rigorous content while developing essential academic behaviors. For example, students must be able to work independently and with others, take ownership of their learning, persevere in mastering new concepts and ideas, and consistently revise work to a higher standard of performance.

To help students to acquire these skills, teachers use various digital tools in Pearson System of Courses to do the following:

• Promote dynamic collaboration and interaction among student groups and student pairs within a larger classroom learning community.

• Support peer feedback. Students can easily share work and provide feedback with small working groups, partners, and collaborative teams, and also with members of the whole class.

• Develop academic discourse in support of the CCSS for ELA Speaking and Listening Anchor Standards by creating opportunities for students to improve their presenting, reasoning, and justifying skills.

• Follow a rigorous course structure that requires students to take increasing responsibility in tackling and completing tasks within and across units.

Importantly, these key design components are all deliberately embedded within Pearson System of Courses.

Technology IntegrationAs part of becoming college- and career-ready, students routinely use technology to:

• Read, write, and communicate with teachers and each other by using the tablet.

• Analyze texts and videos in formal writing.

• Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats and evaluate the motives behind its presentation.

• Integrate multimedia and visual displays into shorter presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

• Create multimedia presentations and shorter or longer videos as work products.

While students create multimedia works, share their achievements and opinions, and play engaging games, they will be learning CCSS for ELA content and behaviors.

Project-Based LearningTo further develop academic behaviors and skills, individual students and groups take part in a variety of project-based learning activities designed expressly to meet the needs of the CCSS for ELA. Project-based learning enables students to learn as they progress from planning to execution to final project creation. This hands-on, student-centered approach to problem solving and critical thinking encourages students to pursue their own interests as they acquire essential skills—creativity, collaborative problem solving, and the use of digital media to help complete challenging tasks.


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Teacher-Focused Design PrinciplesTo help with implementation, Pearson System of Courses offers contextual supports. For example, in-line teaching supports are embedded within the instructor version of student materials. Teachers also have access to relevant supports each time they encounter one of the classroom instructional routines—the building blocks of student achievement—and can add notes and comments to those supports.

To support classroom practice, Pearson System of Courses provides the following:

• Easy-to-use unit and lesson designs that foster a classroom learning community based on teacher-student and student-student collaboration.

• In-line supports that make it easy for teachers to present unfamiliar learning content or concepts to the whole class.

• Digital tools that enable teachers to weigh prior performance as they group students and deliver small-group instruction or conferences.

• Specific scaffolds for students needing more support with the core content. For example, digitally delivered questions, prompts, and cues guide, but do not direct, students with their work.

• Clear opportunities to extend and deepen learning for students who demonstrate proficiency.

• Extended professional development through digital notes, videos, and a teacher community portal.

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The Academic Core of Pearson System of Courses for ELAPearson System of Courses for ELA is designed to help students develop:

• The abilities they need to become critical readers and effective writers and speakers.

• Knowledge of literature and narrative, informational, and argument genres.

Each unit in each grade provides multiple opportunities for students to develop the skills outlined in the CCSS for ELA in reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language.

ReadingThe focus of instruction in reading is on close reading of the text, through which students understand the ideas, events, characters, and arguments in the text. Students develop a repertoire of strategies for reading and understanding complex texts. They learn to identify markers of form and genre and use this information to interpret the texts they read and to improve the texts they write.

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WritingThe focus of instruction in writing is on shaping writing for audience and purpose and on using knowledge of genres and techniques of craft. Students also write to learn. They take notes, engage in reflective writing, summarize ideas, and record their thoughts and impressions. They share their notes with other students as a rehearsal for whole-group conversations and as a component of group projects. They practice the habits of writers: collecting ideas, taking notes during reading and discussions, and annotating texts for further reference.

Speaking and ListeningThe focus of instruction in speaking and listening is on participating effectively in discussions (one-on-one, group, and teacher-led) with diverse partners about substantive topics, and on presenting information effectively. Students make strategic use of digital media in presentations and learn to adapt their speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.

Language Content-specific vocabulary related to the unit topics is introduced early in each unit and revisited as the unit progresses. Development of vocabulary is further supported through various online tools. Similarly, attention to language is embedded throughout the units, as students receive feedback on their writing and speaking from their teachers and peers, and as students analyze the language of the texts they read.

CCSS for ELAThe CCSS for ELA are organized into three main sections, each of which is divided into strands.

Section: Grades K–5 Strands: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language

Section: Grades 6–12 ELA Strands: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language

Section: Grades 6–12 Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects Strands: Reading and Writing

Each strand is headed by a specific set of College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards that is identical across all grades and content areas.

24


The Organization and Structure of Pearson System of Courses for ELAThirteen complete, year-long ELA courses comprise 145 lessons for each of grades K, 1, and 2; and 150 lessons for each of grades 3–12. Lessons are organized into units and Unit Accomplishments, which spell out for students exactly what they are expected to achieve. Specifically, there is one course for each grade, K–12.

The curriculum provides 145–150 days of instruction so that teachers can add learning activities, projects, readings, and other elements of student instruction.

In ELA, each course is delivered as a complete program that includes:

• Student materials. Digital edition, which includes texts, interactives, videos, the More to Explore set of resources, and ELA-specific tools.

• Teacher materials. Same as the student digital edition, plus teacher content for each lesson.

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Table 3. Course Contents.

Resource Description

Embedded Resources • More to Explore

• Collaboration tools

• Individual and class project portfolios

• Course updates

Core Tools and Applications • Integrated student and teacher Notebook

• Student-to-student sharing

Data Management Integration • Integrated student information

• Log-in information

• Assessment data

• Usage data

• Student Notebook storage

• Classroom Notebook storage

• Student-created portfolios and files

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The Three Building Blocks: Units, Lessons, and More to ExplorePearson System of Courses for ELA provides an innovative and engaging curriculum that will help students achieve the goals of the CCSS for ELA. The courses are presented in units of instruction that span approximately one month. Within each unit are day-long lessons, which are divided into discrete tasks.

UnitsPearson System of Courses for ELA is organized into units of instruction as follows:

• Grades K–2: Each grade is organized into a series of eight units.

• Grades 3–12: Each grade is organized into a series of approximately five to six units. These grades also include a project unit that often reaches beyond the walls of the classroom.

The first unit in a grade takes approximately 4 weeks of instructional time—3 weeks for setting classroom expectations and procedures at the beginning of the year, and, in Grades 3–12, a week for reflection and establishing protocols for publishing a portfolio at the end of the year. This unit establishes a structure of instruction that includes whole-class instruction, small-group collaboration and teamwork, formative assessment, independent work, and reflection. Secondary units consist of 25-30 lessons that include Cold Reads and Cold Writes. They teach students the routines that will be used throughout the year.

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In addition, each ELA unit includes the following:

• Special calendar—designed to help teachers as they set up classroom routines for the first 30 days of instruction.

• Language arts integration—reading, writing, speaking, listening, and building verbal skills and knowledge.

• Goals—whole-class, procedural, and individual student goals as described in Table 4. Goals are reviewed as Unit Accomplishments.

Table 4. ELA Unit Goals.

Goals Description

Content Knowledge of literature and topics from informational text.

Standards Derived from CCSS

Individual Learning • An assessment is given to help guide reading instruction.

• On-demand short pieces of writing from each student (scored with a rubric derived from the CCSS) determine writing proficiency.

• Assessment components of the program support ongoing assessment to determine and track accomplishment of individual learning goals.

Procedural The daily routines of the classroom and ongoing self-monitoring of accomplishment inform student-teacher conferences.

Unit FeaturesEach unit features multiple opportunities for student learning through the following mechanisms:

• Independent reading and partner reading.

• Whole-class instruction:

– For reading: Core grade-level text with teacher-led modeling and probing questions embedded in the curriculum. For literary/historical knowledge: Core literary and informational texts plus contextual materials presented and discussed by the teacher and students.

– For writing and language: Lessons on text features and structure, vocabulary, and language.

• Small-group discussions.

• Guided reading—with a teacher and in small groups.

• Writing and editing tools.

• Response groups.

• Teacher-student reading conferences and writing conferences.

• Proficiency games.

• Digital, interactive learning activities.

• More to Explore, a curated set of resources.

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Unit OverviewEach unit is organized around one or more common reads—texts that all students read, discuss, and write about. The target Common Core State Standards drive the logic and development of the entire unit. Related content is used to support the major work. This architecture provides depth in the focal topic and breadth with connections to supporting texts and topics.

Figure 1. Unit Opening.


29

Guiding QuestionsThe goals of the unit are expressed as Guiding Questions (Figure 2) that require close reading and rereading of texts.

EpisodesEpisodes are used to organize lessons (Figure 2), which have been carefully constructed to emphasize the following evidence-based design elements:

• Clarity of purpose

• Modeling of learning

• Independent work

• Focused teaching

• Academic discourse

• Collaboration

• Continual formative assessment

• Closure

Figure 2. Episode Opening and Guiding Questions.

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Lesson OpeningLessons within each unit and across units focus students on developing skills and knowledge, reinforcing previously learned skills and practices. Within each unit, carefully sequenced sets of lessons fully address the Common Core State Standards within the unit. Some lessons focus on specific skills related to reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language proficiency. Other lessons focus on specific knowledge related to literary and informational or historical texts and contexts.

Students are expected to apply what they learned in the lessons in order to comprehend more challenging texts; build literary, historical, and topical knowledge; and develop more polished writing, including using appropriate vocabulary and complex sentence structures.

Opening RoutineAs students progress through a lesson, they follow a pattern set by the routines. First, the Opening routine sets the stage for the lesson (Figure 4). It may pose a question or ask students to make a prediction about a task; it may define a new concept or revisit a concept from a previous lesson. The Opening is presented through video, exploratory tasks, digital manipulatives, tools, prompts that promote reflection or discussion, and teacher demonstrations.

Figure 3. Lesson Opening. Figure 4. Opening Routine.

Lessons


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Work Time RoutineSecond, in Work Time, students in Grades 3–12 typically work individually, then with a partner or small group (Figure 5). In Grades K–2, Work Time is divided into three subroutines designed to ingrain strong academic behaviors in reading and writing: Reading Foundations, Reading Workshop, and Writing Workshop. Each subroutine begins with a teacher-led discussion or instruction before students move on to work independently and with peers.

Closing RoutineThe Closing routine finishes a lesson. In Grades K–2, students share and reflect on their learning at the end of each routine. Students in higher grades are prompted to reflect on their learning at the end of each lesson (Figure 6). In addition to consolidating learning for each individual, this routine of self-reflection and sharing provides the teacher with an informal assessment of the students’ levels of understanding, and a sense of the types of questions students still have.

Figure 5. Work Time Routine. Figure 6. Closing Routine.

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More to ExploreThis set of supplemental resources gives teachers and students access to a unique collection of curated grade-level articles, books, videos, educational web resources, productivity tools, apps, and games that help students delve into the topics that interest them, and engage more deeply with the subject matter and their world.

Figure 7. More to Explore.


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Each unit in More to Explore starts with an overview page that spotlights featured content. Users may also navigate to other units at their grade level or four additional sections:

• Topic Readings feature informational texts including articles, historical documents, and excerpts in written, audio, and video formats for students to further investigate lesson subject matter.

• Independent Readings offer students a library of up to 24 e-books per grade—novels, plays, poems, short stories, or essays—in addition to a list of other suggested readings they can seek out on their own.

• Claims and Quests are designed specifically to challenge the most able and highly motivated students with a series of research activities encouraging them to expand their thinking on lesson materials. “Claims” are made up of provocative statements based on lesson readings that students must analyze and then prove or disprove using evidence from the text. “Quests” are fun and engaging challenges that are designed to spark discussion groups and deeper research, and often entail creating presentations to share with the whole class.

• Beyond the Classroom features external tools and resources specifically selected to support lesson content. In addition, students may explore news and current events, online museum collections, reference sites and materials, and curated apps such as educational games and productivity tools.

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Scope and Sequence: ELA

Figure 8. Grades K–2 Scope and Sequence.

Rhythm and Rhyme Family Stories

Explanatory/Informational

Narrative/How-To

Narrative andExplanatory/Informational

Narrative andExplanatory/InformationalExplanatory/

InformationalResearch

Opinion/Argument

What’s theWeather?

Meet theAuthor Bugs! Tell Me

a TaleCommunities

Baby Animals

Best Friends

Narrative/Realistic Fiction Explanatory/

InformationalExplanatory/Informational

Narrative Poetry and


Opinion/Argument

What Is It? All About Animals

Meet theAuthor Fame! Animal Tales It's Spring!

PowerReaders!

What a Character!Narrative:Memoir

Realistic Fiction

Narrative/Comparing

Folktales


Living or Extinct?

Meetthe Author

Inventors andInventions

FamilyHistories

It's Almost SUMMER!

1 Cold Write

1 Cold Write

1 Cold Write

DRA

DRA

DRA

DRA

DRA

DRADRA

1 Cold Write

1 Cold Write 1 Cold Write 1 Cold Write

1 Cold Write 1 Cold Write

3 Cold Writes

3 Cold Writes

3 Cold Writes

DRA

NarrativeNarrative/

Realistic Fiction

Narrative Explanatory/Informational

Narrative Poetry andExplanatory/Informational

Explanatory/Informational/

OpinionOpinion/

ArgumentNarrative andExplanatory/Informational

Folktales andFairytales

Read, Write,Learn

Routines

Routines

Routines

K.1 K.2 K.3 K.4 K.5 K.6 K.7 K.8

15 days

20 min

20 min

20 min

20 min

20 min 20 min 20 min

20 min 20 min

20 min ea.

20 min ea.

20 min ea.

15 days15 days

20 days

20 days 20 days 20 days

20 days

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8

15 days 15 days 15 days 20 days 20 days20 days 20 days

20 days

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8

15 days

15 days 15 days 20 days20 days 20 days 20 days

20 days

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade


35

Rhythm and Rhyme Family Stories


Narrative/How-To


Narrative andExplanatory/InformationalExplanatory/

InformationalResearch

Opinion/Argument

What’s theWeather?

Meet theAuthor Bugs! Tell Me

a TaleCommunities

Baby Animals

Best Friends

Narrative/Realistic Fiction Explanatory/

InformationalExplanatory/Informational

Narrative Poetry and


Opinion/Argument

What Is It? All About Animals

Meet theAuthor Fame! Animal Tales It's Spring!

PowerReaders!

What a Character!Narrative:Memoir

Realistic Fiction

Narrative/Comparing

Folktales


Living or Extinct?

Meetthe Author

Inventors andInventions

FamilyHistories

It's Almost SUMMER!

1 Cold Write

1 Cold Write

1 Cold Write

DRA

DRA

DRA

DRA

DRA

DRADRA

1 Cold Write

1 Cold Write 1 Cold Write 1 Cold Write

1 Cold Write 1 Cold Write

3 Cold Writes

3 Cold Writes

3 Cold Writes

DRA

NarrativeNarrative/

Realistic Fiction

Narrative Explanatory/Informational

Narrative Poetry andExplanatory/Informational

Explanatory/Informational/

OpinionOpinion/

ArgumentNarrative andExplanatory/Informational

Folktales andFairytales

Read, Write,Learn

Routines

Routines

Routines

K.1 K.2 K.3 K.4 K.5 K.6 K.7 K.8

15 days

20 min

20 min

20 min

20 min

20 min 20 min 20 min

20 min 20 min

20 min ea.

20 min ea.

20 min ea.

15 days15 days

20 days

20 days 20 days 20 days

20 days

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8

15 days 15 days 15 days 20 days 20 days20 days 20 days

20 days

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8

15 days

15 days 15 days 20 days20 days 20 days 20 days

20 days

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

36


Figure 9. Grades 3–5 Scope and Sequence.

Communityand Culture

Leadership and Community

AssessmentUnit A

Informational

AssessmentUnit A

AssessmentUnit A

AssessmentUnit B

AssessmentUnit B

AssessmentUnit B

Narrative/Informational/

OpinionNarrative Opinion/

InformationalOpinion/

Informational

Narrative/Explanatory

Opinion

TellingOur Stories

Animal Stories FindingYour Voice

Project:CHANGE!

Signs and SymbolsNarrative/Opinion/


InformationalInformational/

ReportNarrative

CreativeStorytelling

Are AnimalsCreative?

Ideas andInventions

Project:Creative Juices

Look at It Another Way

Grapevinesand Networks Informational/Video/Opinion

Narrative/Opinion/

(Information)InformationalNarrative

(Information)Information/

Opinion/(Some Narrative)

Doing the Right Thing

Choices Project:Connections

Ideas!

Narrative/Opinion/

Informational

Rituals

Rituals

Rituals

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6

30 days

30 days

20 days 5 days

5 days

5 days

5 days

5 days

5 days

25 days 25 days

15 days

25 days

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

20 days

20 days 20 days

25 days25 days

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6

30 days21 days

21 days 21 days

26 days

20 days

(either/or)3 Cold Writes 20 min ea. 3 Cold Writes 20 min ea.

3 Cold Writes 20 min ea.

(either/or)

Cold Read


(either/or)

Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


DRADRA

Cold Read

Our Ecosystem: Earth

Making aDi�erence

Informational

Who Cares About

Rainforests?

Informational/Opinion

HealthyChoicesAnimal

Adaptations

Informational

Opinion/Informational

Poems/NarrativeInformational/

Opinion

Lions andTigers and

BearsInformational/

Narrative/Video

Fables



DRA


37

Communityand Culture

Leadership and Community

AssessmentUnit A

Informational

AssessmentUnit A

AssessmentUnit A

AssessmentUnit B

AssessmentUnit B

AssessmentUnit B


OpinionNarrative Opinion/


Informational

Narrative/Explanatory

Opinion

TellingOur Stories

Animal Stories FindingYour Voice

Project:CHANGE!

Signs and SymbolsNarrative/Opinion/


InformationalInformational/

ReportNarrative

CreativeStorytelling

Are AnimalsCreative?

Ideas andInventions

Project:Creative Juices

Look at It Another Way

Grapevinesand Networks Informational/Video/Opinion

Narrative/Opinion/

(Information)InformationalNarrative

(Information)Information/

Opinion/(Some Narrative)

Doing the Right Thing

Choices Project:Connections

Ideas!

Narrative/Opinion/

Informational

Rituals

Rituals

Rituals

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6

30 days

30 days

20 days 5 days

5 days

5 days

5 days

5 days

5 days

25 days 25 days

15 days

25 days

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

20 days

20 days 20 days

25 days25 days

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6

30 days21 days

21 days 21 days

26 days

20 days

(either/or)3 Cold Writes 20 min ea. 3 Cold Writes 20 min ea.


(either/or)

Cold Read


(either/or)

Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


DRADRA

Cold Read

Our Ecosystem: Earth

Making aDi�erence

Informational

Who Cares About

Rainforests?


HealthyChoicesAnimal

Adaptations

Informational

Opinion/Informational

Poems/NarrativeInformational/

Opinion

Lions andTigers and

BearsInformational/

Narrative/Video

Fables



DRA

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Rituals &Routines

Rituals & Routines

Rituals & Routines

8th Grade

6th Grade

7th Grade

Imagination

Informational/Narrative/

Graphic Novel/Argument

6.1

29 days

6.2Assessment

Unit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

Informational/Argument

Smart.Smarter.

Smartest!

6.3

25 days

6.4

28 days

Informational/Websites

Project:The New Kid

6.5

27 days


Poetry30 days

7.1 7.2


Video

Strength and Courage

7.3

26 days

Informational/Speeches/Argument

Call to Action

7.4

25 days

Di�eringPerspectives

Narrative/Informational

8.1

29 days

Witch Hunts

Drama/Informational

8.2

30 days

Argument/ Informational

Order inthe Court

8.3

31 days

Literary/Non�ction

8.4

26 days

Informational/Video/ Websites

Narrative

Project:Stories We Tell

8.5

26 days

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

Images/Narrative/

Informational

Project:I Want Change

7.5

26 days


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

Fantasy and Reality


29 days

Of Speechand Silence


27 days

World View

Myths—Old and New


Do CentsMake Sense?

Poetry/Informational

Once Upona Poem

ReadingUnit

5 days

A NovelApproach

Narrative

LyricPoetry

Narrative/ Informational

UnusualSetting

WritingUnit

(Optional)

5 days

This isa Test


Audio/ VideoImages

Honeybeesand Frogs

ReadingUnit

5 days

Flexing YourReadingMuscles

Images/ Informational/

Argument

Our Oceansand Trash

OptionalWriting Unit

5 days

ArgumentWriting

Poodle orDane? MakeYour Choice


Being Human


39

Rituals &Routines

Rituals & Routines

Rituals & Routines

8th Grade

6th Grade

7th Grade

Imagination


Graphic Novel/Argument

6.1

29 days

6.2Assessment

Unit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days


Smart.Smarter.

Smartest!

6.3

25 days

6.4

28 days

Informational/Websites

Project:The New Kid

6.5

27 days


Poetry30 days

7.1 7.2


Video

Strength and Courage

7.3

26 days

Informational/Speeches/Argument

Call to Action

7.4

25 days

Di�eringPerspectives


8.1

29 days

Witch Hunts

Drama/Informational

8.2

30 days

Argument/ Informational

Order inthe Court

8.3

31 days

Literary/Non�ction

8.4

26 days

Informational/Video/ Websites

Narrative

Project:Stories We Tell

8.5

26 days

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

Images/Narrative/

Informational

Project:I Want Change

7.5

26 days


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

Fantasy and Reality


29 days

Of Speechand Silence


27 days

World View

Myths—Old and New


Do CentsMake Sense?

Poetry/Informational

Once Upona Poem

ReadingUnit

5 days

A NovelApproach

Narrative

LyricPoetry

Narrative/ Informational

UnusualSetting

WritingUnit

(Optional)

5 days

This isa Test


Audio/ VideoImages

Honeybeesand Frogs

ReadingUnit

5 days

Flexing YourReadingMuscles

Images/ Informational/

Argument

Our Oceansand Trash

OptionalWriting Unit

5 days

ArgumentWriting

Poodle orDane? MakeYour Choice


Being Human

40



9thGrade

10th Grade

11thGrade

12thGrade


9.1

28 days

YouthArgument

9.2

28 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 daysInformational

The Nightmare in Literature

9.3

30 days

NarrativeFamily

9.4

28 days

9.5

29 days

A Mirror and Window


28 days

10.1Julius Caesar

Argument

10.2

28 days

Creative Non�ction

10.3

29 days

ArgumentInformational

The Natureof Knowledge

10.4

28 days

Project Unit

What’s forDinner?

10.5

29 days

AmericanDreamersArgument

11.1

28 days

Much Ado About Nothing

11.3

29 days

Informational/Narrative

Revolution

11.4

28 days

Project Unit

Growing UpDigital

11.5

29 days

Narrative

12.1

28 days

Satire and Wit

12.2

28 days

Social Class and the Law

12.3

29 days

ArgumentGlobal Issues

12.4

28 days

Project Unit

Self-Portrait12.5

29 days

The AmericanShort Story

28 days

11.2

Rituals &Routines

Rituals &Routines

Rituals &Routines

Rituals &Routines


Cold Read2 Cold Writes 20 min ea.

1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

Project Unit

Fitting In/Standing Out

AmericanArguments

NarrativeInformational

Things FallApart



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9thGrade

10th Grade

11thGrade

12thGrade


9.1

28 days

YouthArgument

9.2

28 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 days

AssessmentUnit B

5 days

AssessmentUnit A

5 daysInformational

The Nightmare in Literature

9.3

30 days

NarrativeFamily

9.4

28 days

9.5

29 days

A Mirror and Window


28 days

10.1Julius Caesar

Argument

10.2

28 days

Creative Non�ction

10.3

29 days


The Natureof Knowledge

10.4

28 days

Project Unit

What’s forDinner?

10.5

29 days

AmericanDreamersArgument

11.1

28 days

Much Ado About Nothing

11.3

29 days

Informational/Narrative

Revolution

11.4

28 days

Project Unit

Growing UpDigital

11.5

29 days

Narrative

12.1

28 days

Satire and Wit

12.2

28 days

Social Class and the Law

12.3

29 days

ArgumentGlobal Issues

12.4

28 days

Project Unit

Self-Portrait12.5

29 days

The AmericanShort Story

28 days

11.2

Rituals &Routines

Rituals &Routines

Rituals &Routines

Rituals &Routines


Cold Read2 Cold Writes 20 min ea.

1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read


Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

(either/or)


1 Cold Write 1 hour

Cold Read

Project Unit

Fitting In/Standing Out

AmericanArguments

NarrativeInformational

Things FallApart


42


Growth, Mastery, and Diagnostic AssessmentsAssessments within Pearson System of Courses provide three distinct measures of student progress toward college and career readiness:

• Growth assessments that measure student progress year after year.

• Measures of mastery of all relevant Common Core State Standards for a given grade level.

• Diagnostic assessments for formatively guiding instruction.

Collectively, these three types of assessment provide a comprehensive picture of student progress and can be used to monitor that progress dynamically over time.

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GrowthIn ELA, growth measures are presented to students annually in grades. There are two Cold Writes in three genres—a total of six— for K-2; an additional Cold Write per genre is provided for grades 3-5—a total of nine. For grades 6-12, there are three Cold Writes in two genres plus two Cold Writes in the third genre (argument) making a total of eight for these grades. Three Cold Reads in 3-12 enable the teacher to gauge comprehension of informational text. The items comprise not only machine-scored questions, but also those that require graders to score work that requires students to develop responses to prompts or explain their evidence for the choice they selected in a multiple choice question. Some of the machine-scored questions will be technology-enhanced. The brief and more extended constructed-response questions are similar to those proposed by both of the assessment consortia—Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).

MasteryMeasures of mastery enable students to demonstrate how well they have mastered the standards within a given grade level. In ELA, these most often take the form of Unit Accomplishments. These are sets of products students provide as they move through the units. They can be writing, reading, listening, or speaking products. Two additional discrete types of mastery assessments are also included:

• Proficiency games. Games allow students to test their skills based on their responses to given stimuli and situations, actions which can provide measures of mastery. These games vary across the grades.

• Assessment units. These comprise two separate five-day assessment events in ELA (typically following Units 2 and 4) for grades 3-12. Students read related source texts or videos on a topic. Then they synthesize the material and produce either an explanatory, informative essay or an argument that uses information from the texts to support the writing. They also take a reading comprehension assessment on a text of similar complexity. Grade-level texts are selected for complexity, which increases from the first to the second performance assessment. Performance tasks are scored with the same rubrics used by PARCC or the rubric used in SBAC (issued in draft form).

Items and rubrics for growth and mastery assessments are tagged in relation to the standards measured; the cluster of standards to which they relate; the domain for which they are relevant; and the claim for which they provide evidence to produce scores.

Cold Reads and WritesThe Cold Read gauges students’ improvement in reading comprehension. The student reads a text they have never seen before, then answer questions about the text.

The Cold Write is an unassisted and unrevised piece of writing whose purpose is to provide a quick gauge of the student’s mastery of the characteristics of a given genre—narrative, opinion, argument, or informational.

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Diagnostic AssessmentsDiagnostic assessments are presented to students in the form of Cold Reads and Cold Writes, and they appear throughout Pearson System of Courses units and lessons. These assessments enable teachers to determine student strengths and weaknesses and modify their instruction accordingly.

Alignment With SBACThe assessment blueprints for Pearson System of Courses have been designed to follow the frameworks of both Common Core assessment consortia (SBAC and PARCC). For example, as mentioned above, the growth measures assess student achievement status relative to the standards according to the proportions specified in the content frameworks of both consortia.

Additionally, the test blueprints and item specifications give details about the types of assessments and items that will be included on the various components of both assessment systems.

The following table outlines some of the linkages between these emerging test blueprints and prototypes from PARCC and SBAC and the assessment framework of Pearson System of Courses.


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Table 5. Alignment With Consortia.

PARCC and SBAC Assessment System Pearson System of Courses for ELA Assessment Framework

The PARCC and SBAC test blueprints and item specifications give details about the types of assessments and items that will be included on the various components of each Assessment System.

These documents guided the development of our assessments, which focus on growth, mastery, and mastery measurement.

Will include selected response questions, constructed response questions, extended constructed response questions, and performance tasks.

Our assessments include all of these item types, spread across the various growth, mastery, and diagnostic measures we are developing.

Will include Summative, Interim and Formative measures.

Our assessments will address all of these types of assessments:

The Summative Measures are seen in our mastery and growth measures.

The Interim Measures for ELA are seen in our Cold Reads, Cold Writes, Selected Classroom Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking Activities, Project Units, and our Unit Accomplishments. They are also seen in the two Performance Task Units given at each grade level from 3 and higher.

The Formative Measures are embedded in the instructional process, with teachers using Observational Guides and suggested formative procedures to guide instruction in ELA.

Provides scores for Total and Claims for each content area.

Overall, our growth, mastery, and diagnostic measures will provide scores on these areas as well.

Includes items that go beyond the rigor of traditional multiple-choice questions.

In ELA, our items include:

• The requirement that students identify the sentences or parts of text that provide the evidence for a given answer.

• Essays that summarize what has been read, and those that integrate information from multiple texts and sources.

We focus on a combination of selected response, constructed response, and extended constructed response questions, an approach that minimizes the effect of guessing on performance estimates.

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Using Information From Assessment DataReports from assessment data provide rich instructional information in Pearson System of Courses. Teachers can drill down beyond summary numbers to the next instructional steps. In a class view report, teachers can click a student name to see the student view report, including links to student work with descriptions of misconceptions, errors, or comments from rubric-based scoring.

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The table below summarizes the types of information provided for each assessment event.

Table 6. Reports for Assessment Events.

Individual Group

Event

Examples:

• Cold Reads

• Cold Writes

• Assessment Units

• Unit Accomplishments

Attempt/completion: Did student do the assignment or assessment? (Spotlight indicator)

Performance: How did students do? (Cumulative and discrete scores, spotlight indicators for grade book)

Content-based errors: For example, misconceptions, weak or unacquired skills

Self-reflection—peer observations: Teacher entries about students

Attempt/completion: Did class do the assignment or assessment? (Aggregated data)

Performance: How did students do?

(Red, green, and blue grade book indicator)

Content-based errors: For example, misconceptions, weak or unacquired skills in summary

Self-reflection—peer observations: Teacher entries about specific class responses, for example, Period 1

Claims and Standard Cluster across events

Performance-based:

What standards has student mastered or not mastered?

Performance-based:

What standards has class mastered or not mastered?

Academic and Non-cognitive Behavior

Usage data (analytics):

• Perseverance

• Collaboration

• Organization

Usage data (analytics):

• Perseverance

• Collaboration

• Organization

A teacher dashboard includes assessment data and links to a professional development portal featuring stand-alone, self-paced tutorials about Pearson System of Courses. Through the portal, teachers have access to a national professional learning community of teachers and coaches, and also opportunities to participate in collaborative online courses.

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Personalized Instruction for StudentsPearson System of Courses for ELA takes a new approach that marries the best of what we know about individu-alized tutoring and computer-assisted instruction with the interaction students have with teachers and peers. The result is a new model for integrating technology and teacher-driven instruction, one that aims to:

• Encourage students to explore their own and others’ ways of thinking.

• Enable teachers to focus on individual tutoring sessions for students who need help. PH

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Pearson System of Courses makes this possible by:

• Using technology to make learning a collaborative and social process.

• Using the technology to help the teacher identify students who need tutoring and providing time in the unit design for that individualized instruction.

• Providing students who are well prepared and ambitious with appropriate pathways and tools. For example, the set of ELA resources in More to Explore enables students to go deeper with content.

• Offering extensive opportunities for student choice of how and what they produce and present.

• Providing scaffolded support to ensure that all students receive the help they need while developing ownership of their learning.

• Providing increasing levels of scaffolding for grade-level problems—rather than assuming a student who gets a problem wrong needs easier problems.

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Supporting Students With Differentiated InstructionUsing Pearson System of Courses, teachers can easily give support to students whom they have identified as needing differentiated instruction. Teachers may offer:

• Intervention through Guided Reading Groups in which students meet with the teacher in small, focused groups that target particular areas of reading weakness.

• Engagement via the proficiency game system, in which students can work at their own level to master skills that are integral to the unit, and prerequisites to subsequent units.

• Scaffolded instruction throughout the lessons, by means of explicit and targeted notes to both the teacher and student.

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Differentiated InstructionIn ELA, each unit incorporates opportunities for personalized and differentiated student instruction. Every lesson, regardless of content or tier of instruction, includes focused teaching—teaching that is directed to one student or a small group of students and is shaped by the teacher’s ongoing assessment of the students’ needs. The daily structure always leaves time for focused teaching—it is not something extra that takes away from the regular structure of the lesson.

The Guided Reading Groups are also important vehicles for differentiation and personalization. Groups can be formed based on specific areas of weakness, and books can be assigned that target those areas. Teachers can make a group very small, if needed, and intervene in particular groups more frequently to provide more support. Because of the wide variety of tasks presented in the units—which are offered in a multiplicity of settings—teachers can personalize instruction by guiding SWDs toward task types that will be particularly beneficial to them in mastering grade-level standards..

Support for Diverse PopulationsNot all children learn the same way, or begin their learning with the same set of skills and experiences. For this reason, Pearson System of Courses provides specific supports for ELLs, SWDs, and gifted and talented students.

Pearson System of Courses provides deliberate scaffolding and adaptations for diverse populations in the form of detailed notes to both teachers and students. These teaching notes outline specific supports the students can use as they learn subject content. The supports are built directly within the routines that make up much of the classroom instruction. In addition, through professional development, teachers can more fully understand the way the routines work and the ways in which they can use the adaptations and accommodations to enhance participation and achievement of students representing diverse populations. In addition, specific course components also address the needs of diverse populations.

Support for English Language LearnersTwo interrelated solutions built deliberately into the course design help teachers to provide distinct support for ELLs—within the methodology of the routines that shape ELA instruction, and within the technological components crafted for ELLs.

Support via Instructional RoutinesThe instructional routines embedded within the digital classroom of Pearson System of Courses provide significant support for ELLs. These students share with partners or within small groups during consistent student routines, cyclically repeated throughout the academic year. When ELLs learn the structure of the routines, they do not need to acquire knowledge about how to perform a given task every time they are asked to do so. Thus, routines help lighten the load for ELL students.

The wide variety of tasks shaping the routines enables all students to engage in reading, writing, listening and speaking, using a multiplicity of learning strategies. Research supports the need to give ELLs a variety of ways to represent their thinking and access concepts, because some types of representations have a lower linguistic demand and are more accessible for ELLs. ELL students can find entry points that correspond to their skills and level of language proficiency, no matter which of the four language skills (writing, reading, listening, and speaking) are employed in the instruction’s multiple settings and multiple access points.

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Routines employ several consistent types of group configurations—interactions that foster participation of all students. ELLs benefit from this wide variety of group arrangements; for example, some ELLs find it hard to interact in large groups, but can easily interact in small groups or in pairs. Although Pearson System of Courses provides time for ELLs to work in pairs and small groups, it also encourages and fosters participation in larger groups and whole-class discussions. It is important for ELLs to actively participate in large discussions and hear their own voice aloud as they address a large audience in a second language.

Support via TechnologyPearson System of Courses uses specific technological implementations and a wide variety of instructional media to enhance opportunities for all students to succeed academically.

ELLs in particular benefit from the manner in which technology is applied throughout Pearson System of Courses, which offers these benefits:

• Multiple representations of concepts and content (for example, interactives, videos, animations, and graphics) that enable students to experience the same content in multiple ways.

• Text-to-speech capabilities for text—essential for ELLs.

• A multimedia-rich More to Explore set of resources that provides content and definitions in text, visuals, video, and audio formats.

• Embedded dictionaries and links to language of origin terms where appropriate.

• Prolific use of graphic organizers that aid with comprehension as well as storing and retrieving knowledge.

Support for Students with DisabilitiesIntegrated within the course design and the technological components are instructional supports for SWDs.

Support by DesignThe design and framework of Pearson System of Courses supports SWDs in a number of powerful ways. Pearson System of Courses includes:

• Instructional routines students can follow, so that they know what they need to do and can thus give more attention to each lesson.

• Ongoing formative assessment that provides students—and teachers—with specific information for every student.

• Opportunities for personalized, differentiated learning. For example, Reading Groups and Writing Groups are important vehicles for differentiation and personalization of instruction. Teachers can form groups based on specific areas of weakness and assign books for independent reading that target those areas.


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Support via Teacher ContentELA teacher content offers specific adaptations for various classroom configurations. For example, a teacher might make use of a push-in program with a second teacher, or schedule additional help for a group of students with disabilities, or arrange for study within a self-contained classroom.

In addition to lesson-specific adjustments, this content contains:

• Advice on the use of technologies such as text-to-speech.

• Other technology recommendations that go beyond specific requirements of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for reading aloud to a student.

• Suggestions for chunking large texts into more readable sections on the screen.

• Ideas for helping students navigate a screen that might seem confusing if they have difficulty with too much information in front of them at one time.

Support via TechnologyPearson System of Courses applies the most recent advances in tablet technology to support principles of universal design for learning. A few key categories of this support are provided below.

Table 7. Principles of Universal Design for Learning.

Category Pearson System of Courses

User experience The user experience is delivered through the clean, streamlined visual design that makes use of:

• Colors and contrast to display text for easier perception of content.

• Visual and audio cues for dense text and concepts.

• Options for customizing the display of information (font, color, size) for language (text), mathematical expressions, and symbols.

• Alternatives for visual information, such as a text-to-speech option for creating audio of critical reading passages.

• Simple and intuitive icons that help students navigate through units and lessons.

Learning materials A variety of learning objects support the learning materials. They include:

• Engagement and presentation of concepts through interactives—for example, word games, number lines, graphing tools, and maps—videos, animations, and graphics. These materials enable students to visually, audibly, and tactilely explore concepts and content.

• Prolific use of graphic organizers, which help students comprehend, store, and retrieve knowledge.

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Category Pearson System of Courses

Action and expression Students are encouraged to use multiple means of action and expression, including:

• Virtual keyboard, drawing tools, graphic organizers, and annotation tools—readily available and easily identifiable.

• Options that activate background knowledge such as links to explanations of key vocabulary.

Continual feedback Students benefit from continual feedback as a guide for learning, including:

• Multiple media channels for communication. For example, students can notify teachers when they need assistance.

• Response feedback. For example, in key lesson tasks (lesson interactives), the software provides guidance when a student makes an inappropriate response.

Tools for organization Students can use a variety of digital tools for organizing their work, including:

• Student Notebooks that make it intuitive to create, store, and retrieve work.

• Organization tools. Using a dashboard, folder system, and portfolio, students can organize their work in a way that makes it easy to persist with assignments.

Tools for monitoring progress Students can make use of digital tools for monitoring their learning progress:

• Students can see scores and response results immediately, as appropriate for exercises and assessments.

• Options that develop self-reflection and metacognition are embedded as questions in exercises, lesson routines, notations, surveys, and polls.

• Visual tools track individual student progress. Student dashboards include visual displays, such as bar graphs that show assignments completed or mastery of assessment progress.

Additional SupportsFor students with disabilities, Pearson System of Courses provides annotations and notes. Specific to instructional routines and tasks, these supports focus on explicit instruction—such as teacher modeling and opportunities for Think Alouds—and offer suggestions for guided practice, use of academic language and vocabulary in context, and small group instruction.

Graphic OrganizersThroughout Pearson System of Courses, learners can use graphic organizers to map out complex concepts and to aid comprehension. This type of support is of particular help to struggling students as they translate concepts from visual representation to text and abstraction.


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Support for Gifted and Talented StudentsPearson System of Courses provides multiple pathways to help gifted students personalize and maximize their learning experience. Typically, these students are self-motivated, work well independently, and bring extensive background knowledge to the classroom. However, if they are not sufficiently challenged, they may develop discipline problems.

• More to Explore: This set of curated resources includes reading materials from various grade levels. Texts cover topics under investigation in a particular unit. Students can also choose from a range of selections for book clubs and independent reading.

• Project Units: Beginning in Grade 3, each full-year course concludes with a project unit, in which students expand their learning well beyond the classroom. As they create their own projects, students have access to stimulating resources provided by partner museums and libraries.

• Unit Accomplishments: This measure of mastery in each unit enables students to engage in research and development of topics at a level of depth appropriate for the most able or highly motivated students.

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Educational Research Supporting the Development of Pearson System of CoursesFor a discussion of the research, please see the sidebar “Rooted in Research” on page 6.

The Teacher Matters MostCarey, Kevin. “The Real Value of Teachers: Using Information about Teacher Effectiveness to Close the Achievement Gap.” Thinking K-16 8.1 (2004): 3-32.

Darling-Hammond, Linda. Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington, 1999.

Rivkin, Steven G., Eric A. Hanushek, and John F. Kain. “Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement.” Econometrica 73.2 (2005): 417-458.

Hill, Heather C., Brian Rowan, and Deborah Loewenberg Ball. “Effects of Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching on Student Achievement.” American Educational Research Journal 42.2 (2005): 371-406.

Nye, Barbara, Spyros Konstantopoulos, and Larry Hedges. “How Large Are Teacher Effects?” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 26.2 (2004): 237-257.

Rockoff, Jonah E. “The Impact of Individual Teachers on Student Achievement: Evidence from Panel Data.” The American Economic Review 94.2 (2004): 247-252.

We Learn Through and With OthersCohen, Elizabeth. Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom, 2nd edition. Teacher College Press, 1994.

Johnson, David W., and Roger T. Johnson. “An Educational Psychology Success Story: Social Interdependence Theory and Cooperative Learning.” Educational Researcher 38.5 (2009): 365-379.

Johnson, David, Robert Johnson, and Edythe Johnson Holubec. Cooperation in the Classroom, 8th edition. Interaction Book Co., 2008.

Resta, Paul, and Thérèse Laferrière. “Technology in Support of Collaborative Learning.” Educational Psychology Review 19.1 (2007): 65-83.

Slavin, Robert E. Cooperative Learning: Theory, Research and Practice, 2nd edition. Pearson, 1994.

Williams, Susan. The Impact of Collaborative, Scaffolded Learning in K-12 Schools: A Meta-Analysis. The Metiri Group, commissioned by Cisco Systems, 2009.


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The Curriculum MattersDuffett, Ann and Timothy Shanahan. Common Core in the Schools: A First Look at Reading Assignments. Washington, D.C: Thomas B. Fordham Institute, 2013.

Fisher, Douglas, Nancy Frey, and Diane Lapp. Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading. International Reading Association, 2012.

Jago, Carol. With Rigor for All: Meeting Common Core Standards for Reading Literature. Heinemann, 2011.

McConachie, S.M. and A.R. Petrosky (Eds). 2009. Content Matters: A Disciplinary Literacy Approach to Improving Student Learning. Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Resnick, Lauren. “Nested Learning Systems for the Thinking Curriculum.” Educational Researcher 39.3 (2010): 183-197.

Robb, Laura. Unlocking Complex Texts: A Systematic Framework for Building Adolescents Comprehension. Scholastic Teaching Resources, 2013.

The Vision Behind the StandardsFor more information about the standards and their implementation in Pearson System of Courses for ELA, see:

• Common Core State Standards Initiative website. www.corestandards.org.

• “College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening.” Common Core State Standards Initiative website. www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/CCRA/SL/1

• Smarter/Balanced content specification website. www.smarterbalanced.org.

• PARCC Model Content Framework website. www.parcconline.org.

• Common Core Video FAQs with Sally Hampton at commoncore.pearsoned.com/index.cfm?locator=PS11Ye.

For More InformationPearson System of Courses for ELA supports a vision of teaching and learning that provides students and teachers the opportunities and scaffolds to meet the aims of the CCSS for ELA. With an innovative and engaging curriculum, and ongoing product updates throughout the life of the agreement, Pearson System of Courses challenges students to achieve the higher standards of the CCSS for ELA—yet can be adapted for students at any level.

For more information about Pearson System of Courses for ELA, please visit pearsonsystemofcourses.com

About PearsonAs the leading education services company, Pearson is serious about evolving how the world learns. We apply our deep education experience and research, invest in innovative technologies, and promote collaboration throughout the education ecosystem. Real change is our commitment and its results are delivered through connecting capabilities to create actionable, scalable solutions that improve access, affordability, and achievement.

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