Stepping Together, Grade 2

Evaluation for 1.1a
Materials include a scope and sequence outlining the TEKS, ELPS, concepts, and knowledge taught in the course.

• The materials include a "Scope and Sequence" that spans the entire school year in" Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide. The "Scope and Sequence" consists of seven modules, each spanning over five weeks. Teachers can view the concepts and knowledge in each module. Each module outlines the instructional objectives for "Phonological Awareness," "Phonics," "Word Study," "Sight Words," "Comprehension," and "Writing." Every lesson component includes the TEKS correlation. For example, the "Phonics" activity for "Module 3, Week 1, Day 1" focuses on making vowel-r combination words with a corresponding TEKS of 2.2B.i, 2.2.C.i, and 2.2.Cii. 
• The materials provide a written description of the TEKS, organized by their correlation to "Phonological Awareness" and "Phonics" activities, as shown in "Appendix B" of the Teaching Guide. 
• The materials include an additional "Phonological Awareness" and "Phonics" "Scope and Sequence" in the Teaching Guide, "Chapter 1," Table 1-2. For example, the long /e/ vowel team /ee/ is covered in "Module 1, Week 1."
• The materials outline the ELPS within the scope and sequence, along with the TEKS for each lesson. In Chapter 7, ‘Follow-Up Activities,’ of the Teaching Guide, they also provide tips for teaching English language learners.

Evaluation for 1.1b
Materials include suggested pacing (pacing guide/calendar) to support effective implementation for various instructional calendars (e.g., varying numbers of instructional days – 165, 180, 210).

• The materials include suggested pacing to support implementation. For example, "Chapter 1" of the Teaching Guide overviews the structure of the weekly lesson plans. It explains that there are seven modules, each with five instructional days of lessons, resulting in a total of 175 lessons taught throughout the year. It states, "On Day 5, students have a chance to reread and revisit shared reading books, and teachers get the opportunity to assess students’ growing literacy knowledge." There is no guidance for varying the number of instructional days.
• The materials do not provide guidance for varying the number of instructional days. The materials provide a detailed scope and sequence within "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide. For every module, the chart details the week/title, "Phonological Awareness" activity, "Word Study" activity, "Phonics" activity, "Sight Word" activity, "Comprehension" activity, and writing focus for each day within the week. The "Phonological Awareness," "Phonics," and "Comprehension" Sections list the TEKS correlation. 

Evaluation for 1.1c
Materials include an explanation for the rationale of unit order as well as how concepts to be learned connect throughout the course.

• The materials include an explanation for the rationale of unit order. The "Scope and Sequence" in "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide outlines the module order and concepts taught. The materials also include a rationale for the progression of the units. The materials also provide a rationale for the structure of a lesson and explain how the concepts across lessons and units connect. 
• The materials explain how concepts connect throughout the course. For example, the Teaching Guide, "Chapter 3, Step 2: Phonological Awareness" activities", describes the correlation between phonology exercises and phonics. For example, the materials state, "The phonological awareness activities within each of the modules develop in a systematic progression, whereby the tasks are sequenced from easy to more difficult…" 

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include guidance, protocols, and/or templates for unit and lesson internalization.

• The Teaching Guide offers detailed guidance and protocols by mapping out the structure of the lessons within dedicated chapters. These chapters include "Phonological Awareness Activities," "Word Study/Phonics Activities," "Shared Reading/Interactive Writing," "Assessments," and "Follow-Up Activities."Teachers are able to internalize the lessons by reviewing detailed explanations of the lesson components, tips on gathering materials for a smooth delivery, and insights on ways to teach the lesson that will make it more effective. 
• The materials provide weekly lesson plans for each module, which outline the instructional objective and supporting strategies. The Teaching Guide provides tables to support teacher internalization of each module. For example, in "Chapter 1," Table 1-2 outlines each module's phonological awareness and phonics scope and sequence. "Chapter 5," Table 5-1, outlines comprehension skills by module and week. 
• The materials provide resources for unit internalization. For example, the "Lesson Modules" guide provides each lesson component's instructional objective and strategies. "Module 1" includes phonological awareness, word study, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, text features, strategic processing, and writing. The guide also includes a vocabulary scope and sequence, materials to gather and prepare, and a weekly book list.

Evaluation for 1.1e
Materials include resources and guidance to support administrators and instructional coaches with implementing the materials as designed.

• The materials include resources to support administrators and instructional coaches in implementing the materials as designed. For example, the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website provides a "Fidelity Implementation Checklist" to indicate whether instruction components are "Evident, A Work in Progress, or Not Observed." Administrators and instructional coaches can use this resource to observe how teachers implement the product in the classroom.
• The Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website also includes 30 video clips that model instruction, such as "Decoding Words in a Controlled Text" and "Advanced Breaking Big Words." The materials include explicit guidance for coaches and administrators on the Fidelity Implementation Checklist. For example, it provides coaches with what to do before, during, and after observing a lesson. The materials also provide guidance on what to expect when doing an informal walkthrough versus a formal observation. It also provides the next steps of what the administrator should do after an observation session.

Evaluation for 1.2a
Materials include comprehensive unit overviews that provide the background content knowledge and academic vocabulary necessary to effectively teach the concepts in the unit.

• In the Teaching Guide, the "Introduction" portion of the chapters provides background knowledge on the concepts of each step in the lesson structure. For example, the "Introduction" of "Chapter 2" explains why exposing children to rhyming text can enhance their awareness of the sound patterns of speech.
• The materials in the "Lesson Modules" resource offer an overview of the instructional objectives and strategies at the beginning of each module and provide details on teaching the concepts in the lessons. For example, at the beginning of "Module 3," the materials provide the following strategies to address phonological awareness: blend phonemes, segment phonemes, delete onset, add rime, add word parts, and substitute rime.
• The "Key Terms" section at the end of the Teaching Guide provides the academic vocabulary to support teachers in effectively teaching concepts in the modules.

Evaluation for 1.2b
Materials contain supports for families in both Spanish and English for each unit with suggestions on supporting the progress of their student.

• The Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website includes a "Beginning-of-the-Year" letter for caregivers that offers a detailed explanation of the Stepping Together phonics program, including the daily lesson design and the objectives of the phonics modules. This letter is available in English and Spanish and provides information on how caregivers can create a reading routine at home. Suggestions include reading every night, finding a quiet spot, talking about the story, rereading, and going on a scavenger hunt to find sight words or phonics patterns. 
• Each module (unit) is described in the "Beginning-of-the-Year" letter for caregivers. The activities listed include suggestions for how families can support their student's progress. The materials also include a parent letter in English and Spanish for each Module. These letters explain the phonics elements students study within the module and activities to reinforce student’s learning.

Evaluation for 1.3a
Materials include comprehensive, structured, detailed lesson plans that include daily objectives, questions, tasks, materials, and instructional assessments required to meet the content and language standards of the lesson.

• The materials provide comprehensive, structured, detailed lesson plans that include tasks, questions, and materials required to meet the content and language standards. For example, in "Module 3, Week 3, and Day 2," after students echo, cloze, and chorally read American Ferries, they discuss the book. The teacher guides the discussion with provided questions such as, "Why did the author write this book?" 
• Each "Module Overview" lists the materials for each lesson in the "Gather" and "Prepare" Sections at the beginning of each module. Then, the materials are specified again within each daily lesson plan.For example, teachers gather the "Stepping Together Letter Cards" for "Module 1" and then utilize it in "Step 3" of the lesson plan for "Day 1, Week 1" of the module.
• The materials provide instructional assessments aligned with the content and language standards within the lesson plans. Day 5 of each weekly lesson includes several assessment options. For example, in "Module 4, Week 5, Day 5," the materials provide guidance on conducting a sight word assessment and phonics assessments over the skills practiced during the week. Students encode and decode words with the vowel team /ea/ pattern on the phonics assessment. 
• The lesson plans include daily objectives at the top. For example, the phonics focus in "Module 6, Week 1, and Day 1" states the fucus as the "Suffix -ful." However, the materials do not include daily objectives to meet the content and language standards of the lessons.
• The materials include comprehensive, structured, detailed lesson plans that include questions, tasks, materials, and instructional assessments required to meet the language standards of the lessons. There are also "Tips for ELL" at the end of the lesson plans each week, located after day 5 of each week in the "Lesson Modules" resource.

Evaluation for 1.3b
Materials include a lesson overview outlining the suggested timing for each lesson component.

• The Teaching Guide details that lessons take 20 minutes. The materials recommend allocating "1-2 minutes for the warm-up, 2-3 minutes for phonological awareness, 3-5 minutes for word study/phonics, and 8-10 minutes for shared reading." The materials specify the time allotted to teach each concept in the daily lesson plan. 
• The materials include guidance on the required time for lessons and activities by including a clock picture with the recommended amount of time. For example, "Module 2, Week 1, Day 1, Step 1 will take 1-2 minutes, Step 2 will take 2-3 minutes, Step 3 will take 3-5 minutes, and Step 4 will take 8-10 minutes." Another example states, "Module 2, Week 1, Day 5, Step 1 will take 1-2 minutes, Step 2 will take 8-10 minutes, and Step 3 will take 5-8 minutes."

Evaluation for 1.3c
Materials include a lesson overview listing the teacher and student materials necessary to effectively deliver the lesson.

• The materials include the teacher and student materials needed for every module in the module overview as well as the beginning of each lesson. The two sections, Gather" and "Prepare," list the materials. For example, under "Gather" in "Module 4" overview, the following materials are listed: "ABC poster, a class set of word study cards, Sally the Cow Puppet, Stepping Together letter cards, lapboards with write-on sleeves, dry-erase markers with erasers, pocket chart, pointer, sentence strip roll, marker, scissors, chart paper, white correction tape, paper and pencils, dry-erase boards (optional)."

Evaluation for 1.3d
Materials include guidance on the effective use of lesson materials for extended practice (e.g., homework, extension, enrichment).

• The Teaching Guide provides guidance on extended practice opportunities. For example, the materials state, "At the end of each week of Stepping Together lessons, we offer follow-up activities for students to do during independent work time…" "Follow-up" activities include completing the sentence starter, writing a book, creating an illustration, and a "Super Story" scavenger hunt.
• The materials include educational online activities through the digital learning platforms that offer interactive learning activities to enrich or extend the lesson. For example, there is a downloadable mini-book where students fill in the blanks and share them with their partners.
• The "Beginning of the Year Letter for Caregivers" outlines the scope and sequence for parents. It informs them of concepts they will learn and ways to create a reading routine for their child at home. It shares that students will bring home decodable passages to practice reading after reading these stories at school. 

Evaluation for 2.1a
Materials include a variety of instructional assessments at the unit and lesson level (including diagnostic, formative, and summative) that vary in types of tasks and questions.

• The materials include a summative assessment provided at the end of each module that measures the comprehension focus, encoding, and decoding of the targeted phonics skills and sight words covered throughout the module. For example, students encode words and sentences, read aloud, verbally answer comprehension questions, and read words from a pre-made list containing the phonics focus. 
• On the last day of every lesson plan, students take a formative assessment of the concepts taught that week. These formative assessments monitor progress on the phonics focus and sight words. The assessments vary in types of tasks and questions. Students encode words dictated by the teacher that follow the phonics focus of the week, decode sight words and words that follow the phonics focus, and write sight words dedicated by the teacher. For example, in "Module 1, Week 4," students encode the words "new," "grew," "chewed," and "screw," which matches the phonics focus of the diphthong vowel team /ew/. Students write three to four sight words the teacher selects from the list: "together, first, use, walk." Students read the decodable text, New Clothes, while the teacher assesses decoding, retelling, and fluency.
• The materials provide ongoing formative assessments with varying questions throughout the lessons. For example, during the word study/phonics activity, students will use cards to create new words to encode and decode while the teacher observes and asks questions. Students demonstrate mastery through various formative tasks, including verbal and written expression. The materials do not provide diagnostic assessments.

Evaluation for 2.1b
Materials include the definition and intended purpose for the types of instructional assessments included.

• "Chapter 6" in the Teaching Guide provides the intended purpose of formative assessments, "Progress Monitoring Assessments," and summative assessments, "Module Summative Assessments." For example, the materials state that the formative assessments allow teachers "to monitor progress and help [teachers] plan follow-up small-group and individual lessons." 
• The materials also explain that the "Module Summative Assessments" are available at the end of each module, located on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website, and "target the comprehension focuses, encoding and decoding of the target phonic elements, and sight words from across the entire module." There are no definitions for the types of instructional assessments included.

Evaluation for 2.1c
Materials include teacher guidance to ensure consistent and accurate administration of instructional assessments.

• The Teaching Guide includes a script for teachers to administer the formative "Progress Monitoring Assessments" efficiently. For example, to assess decoding vowel teams, inflectional endings, vowel-r combinations, and affixes, the teacher says, "You will reread your Super Story with a partner. I will listen to a few of you read." 
• The Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website includes instructions for administering and scoring the "Module Summative Assessments" consistently and accurately.
• The "Appendix" of the Teaching Guide includes various checklists, such as "Appendix J" - "Class Progress Monitoring Recording Sheet," that support the teacher in collecting consistent and purposeful data.

Evaluation for 2.1d
Diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments are aligned to the TEKS and objectives of the course, unit, or lesson.

• Teachers can use various tasks and activities as formative assessments throughout the lessons. To align these tasks with the TEKS, teachers must cross-reference the tables provided in the Teaching Guide. For example, Tables 3-1 and 4-1 show how phonological awareness and word/study phonics activities align with the relevant TEKS. The lessons do not include the TEKS. 
• The formative "Progress Monitoring Assessments" at the end of each weekly lesson plan do not indicate if they correlate with the TEKS. However, these assessments align with each module's instructional objectives and strategies, which align with the TEKS identified in "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide For example, at the end of "Module 2, Week 1," students encode "girl, first, smirk, and twirling," which aligns with the "Module 2 Word Study/Phonics Instructional Objective" to "solve new words by applying phonics skills such as blends, digraphs, inflectional endings, known parts, vowel teams, vowel-r combinations."
• The "Module Summative Assessments" align with each module’s instructional objectives and strategies, which align with the TEKS identified in "Appendix A" of the Teaching Guide. do not list the TEKS. The "Teacher Administration Directions" for the "Module Summative Assessments" on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website state, "What is assessed in each module will correspond to what was taught in that module." For example, the "Module 1" summative assessment requires students to encode the words "spoil, cloud, and grew," which aligns with the "Module 1" instructional objectives to "solve new words by applying phonics skills such as blends, digraphs, inflectional endings, known parts, and vowel patterns."
• The materials do not include a diagnostic assessment. Therefore, no diagnostic assessments are aligned with the TEKS and objectives of the course, unit, or lessons.

Evaluation for 2.1e
Instructional assessments include standards-aligned items at varying levels of complexity.

• Students take formative assessments on day 5 of each weekly lesson. These assessments focus on encoding, decoding, and sight words. Various assessments require students to write, produce words verbally, choose a multiple-choice answer based on a comprehension question, and read words from a pre-made list. Formative assessments at the end of each week vary in complexity based on the time of year and within each module. For example, on day 5 of each lesson, the teacher assesses the sight word taught that week. The formative assessment includes more sight words each week. 
• According to the "Teacher Administration Directions for Module Summative Assessments" found on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website, "summative assessments grow in complexity across the modules to complement the changes in the instruction and learning as the modules progress." The instructional assessments include multiple-choice and open-response items aligned to the standards. Teachers administer some assessment items individually and some to the whole group. For example, on the "Module 1" summative assessment, teachers are instructed to "administer the phonological awareness portion individually to allow for the student's oral response while the teacher conducts the listening comprehension portion to the whole group."

Evaluation for 2.2a
Instructional assessments and scoring information provide guidance for interpreting and responding to student performance.

• The materials do not include guidance for interpreting student performance. The materials provide scoring guides and recording forms for each module summative assessment. The materials provide explicit directions on how to score and record student assessment data. The materials instruct teachers to use the data to plan for reteaching opportunities but do not provide guidance on how to reflect on proficiency levels.
• The Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website provides guidance on responding to student performance on the "Module Summative" assessments in the "Teacher Administration Directions." The guidance instructs the teacher to use summative module data to plan for reteaching and/or small groups. The materials provide strategies to support students based on their assessment proficiency. 
• The website also includes "Stepping Together Differentiation Tables: Second Grade," which provide activities and corrective feedback for skills students have difficulty with or need enrichment.

Evaluation for 2.2b
Materials provide guidance for the use of included tasks and activities to respond to student trends in performance on assessments.

• The "Stepping Together Differentiation Tables" on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website provide guidance in responding to student trends in performance and assessment. For example, the "Phonics Differentiation with Corrective Feedback (Second Grade)" tool provides scaffolding and enrichment activities for the teacher to administer based on trends in phonics skills proficiency.
• The "Using Progress Monitoring Assessment Data" resource, also found on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website, provides guidance for teachers. For example, if a student has not reached proficiency in decoding, the materials suggest using data to determine if there is a pattern to students’ errors in decoding. Modify subsequent lessons to include a targeted review of the phonic element that is not yet controlled." 
• The "Appendixes" Section of the Teaching Guide provides guidance for teachers to respond to student assessment trends. "Appendix E: Phonics Differentiation with Corrective Feedback (Second Grade)" provides feedback for teachers to give students to either scaffold or enrich instruction based on student performance for different formative tasks, such as having students start by blending onset and rime if a student is having difficulty with blending phonemes.

Evaluation for 2.2c
Materials include tools for students to track their own progress and growth.

• The Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website includes a downloadable "Student Data Tracker," allowing students to record and monitor their data on reading phonics words (decoding), reading sight words, writing words (encoding), and comprehension skills. The tracker aligns with module summative assessments. Students track their progress after completing the five-week modules. Students begin tracking their progress and growth in "Module 1."

Evaluation for 3.1a
Materials include teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, activities, and/or paired (scaffolded) lessons for students who have not yet reached proficiency on grade-level content and skills.

• "Appendix D" through "Appendix G" in the "Appendixes" section of the Teaching Guide include specific recommendations for instruction and activities in differentiated/small group lessons to support students who have yet to reach proficiency in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension skills for the grade level. Next to each type of skill, activity, or focus in the charts, teachers are provided with directives on how to scaffold for these students. For example, "Appendix D" recommends activities where students with difficulty blending phonemes practice stretching the sounds, using hand motions, and blending onset and rime first.
• "Appendix E" in the Teaching Guide provides paired (scaffolded) lessons for students who have yet to reach proficiency. For example, for students who struggle decoding words containing previously taught and current phonics skills, the material suggests connecting the word study activities to reading words in connected text.
• "Appendix F" in the Teaching Guide provides differentiated instruction ideas for students who have yet to reach proficiency in fluency. For example, for students who struggle with reading with appropriate pacing, the materials suggest having students read without their fingers once they master one-to-one matching. They also suggest students start by practicing reading two words fluently and gradually increasing the number of words as they reach mastery.

Evaluation for 3.1b
Materials include pre-teaching or embedded supports for unfamiliar vocabulary and references in text (e.g., figurative language, idioms, academic language).

• The materials include pre-teaching for unfamiliar vocabulary and references in the text during the "Shared Reading" component of the lesson plans. For example, in "Module 2, Week 1," the teacher explains the concepts of "pasture," "county fair," and "guinea pig" to introduce the text "The Best Pumpkin."
• At the beginning of each module, a "Vocabulary Scope and Sequence" lists the words to teach for that module. The "Vocabulary Scope and Sequence" also outlines a vocabulary procedure teachers use before reading the book so students can connect to what they already know. 
• The Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website also includes vocabulary graphic organizers to support students' vocabulary development. Three graphic organizers, "Vocabulary 4 Square," "Vocabulary Builder," and "Word Connections," are available for download.

Evaluation for 3.1c
Materials include teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, enrichment, and extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level content and skills.

• The charts in "Appendix D" through "Appendix G" of the Teaching Guide include various options for differentiated instruction and enrichment in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and comprehension. Next to each activity, teachers are provided with directives on differentiating and enriching instruction if a student has reached proficiency. Some examples of differentiation related to phonological awareness are in "Appendix D." For example, if a student successfully blends syllables, then the student starts blending words with different affixes. 
• The "Literacy Center Activities" in "Chapter 7" of the Teaching Guide provide teacher guidance for extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level concepts.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Materials include prompts and guidance to support the teacher in modeling, explaining, and communicating the concept(s) to be learned explicitly (directly).

• The materials feature scripted lesson plans with prompts for teachers to model and explain the explicitly taught concepts. For example, in Module 3, Week 5, Day 3, Step 2, the teacher says, "I am going to say a word. We are going to take away one part of the word." It also includes guidance on how to model deleting the onset of the words while using hand motions. 
• The Teaching Guide also provides guidance on phonological awareness instruction in Appendix C: Explicit Instruction of Sounds. This tool provides guidance for the teacher to model, explain, and communicate explicit instruction of sounds. For example, the tool describes how students should form their mouths to make the /h/ sound and that it's unvoiced. It also provides possible corrective feedback for teachers to give students on articulation. 
• Chapter 5 of the Teaching Guide provides a routine to help teachers model and explain Shared Reading/Interactive Writing. It includes Table 5-2: Teaching Points for Shared Reading, which offers teaching points on demonstration and instruction to support teachers. 

Evaluation for 3.2b
Materials include teacher guidance and recommendations for effective lesson delivery and facilitation using a variety of instructional approaches.

• The materials include teacher guidance and recommendations for effective lesson delivery using a variety of instructional approaches, such as active participation, student discourse, and hand motions. In Module 1, Week 2, Day 4, Step 2, students use hand movements to practice substituting rime with long i and vowel team igh. Teachers use the script to guide students through the motions. Within the same lesson, students circulate the room and confer with others for Guided Writing. The guide explains how to assist students during this time. 
• The materials include teacher guidance and recommendations for effective lesson facilitation by providing instructions and procedures for components within each lesson. For example, the Teaching Guide includes a procedure for the daily Warm-Up to guide teachers in facilitation. The procedure specifies the time needed and how to employ various scaffolds for learning. 
• The lesson plans provide guidance for facilitating multiple instructional approaches, such as questioning and modeling blending using Sally the Cow puppet, making words with letter cards, shared reading, and student discourse. For example, when teaching students how to make words with inflectional endings, the teacher is given the following guidance: "Have students stand at the front of the classroom holding the following Stepping Together Letter Cards: c, g, h, i, m, n, o, p, s, t, and add an extra p. Make the word hop. Say a new word for students to make (encode) or tell them the letter(s) to change and have them read (decode): hopping. What letters need to change to make the new word? Have students make or read these words: chopping, chop, chomp, chomping, and stomping."

Evaluation for 3.2c
Materials support multiple types of practice (e.g., guided, independent, collaborative) and include guidance for teachers and recommended structures (e.g., whole group, small group, individual) to support effective implementation.

• The lesson plans and resources support multiple types of practice for students, such as the literacy center activities outlined in Chapter 7 of the Teaching Guide that teachers use to reinforce concepts taught. These literacy centers can be completed independently or in pairs. For example, the Vowel Pattern Matching Game can be played by a group or with partners. The daily lesson plans include guided practice in various forms. In Module 2, Week 1, Day 1, Step 4, students work with a partner to take turns retelling an important event in the story with keywords. On Day 5 of the same week, students engage in independent practice by reading a book from the shared reading basket.
• The scripted lesson plans outlined in the Lesson Modules resource provide guidance and instruction for teachers to teach the routines necessary to achieve effective implementation. For example, in Module 3, Week 5, Day 1, the teacher models how to blend the sounds in words using the Sally the Cow puppet, and then students have an opportunity to practice with different words in guided practice with the words: b-ur-s-t-ing, bursting; s-w-ing-ing, swinging; s-w-ĭ-m-ing, swimming; and s-n-ĭ-f-ing, sniffing. The Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website also includes a downloadable guide called ‘How to Facilitate Effective Discussions’ that explains how to teach, model, and practice implementation of structured conversations.
• The Lesson Modules resource provides instruction for the whole group, small group, and individual during the lesson plans in each module. Whole-group lessons and assessments inform instruction for small group and individual instruction. Follow-up activities, outlined in Chapter 7 of the Teaching Guide, are provided "for students to do during independent work time" and "suggestions for literacy center or independent/small-group practice" to revisit skills previously taught during whole-group instruction, such as Affix Charades.

Evaluation for 3.3a
Materials include teacher guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency [as defined by the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)], which are designed to engage students in using increasingly more academic language.

• The materials do not provide teacher guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency. "Chapter 7" of the Teaching Guide provides teachers with background knowledge on how to support emergent bilingual students, stating, "This includes providing context for concepts and vocabulary, using gestures to convey meaning, implementing sentence frames or stems to support the development of cognitive academic language, and providing repetition where appropriate." 
• The "Tips for ELL" Section of the lesson plans provides general guidance for emergent bilingual students, such as using gestures to support students’ understanding of specific vocabulary. However, the materials do not provide guidance for linguistic accommodations according to ELPS standards for varying levels of language proficiency. 

Evaluation for 3.3b
Materials include implementation guidance to support teachers in effectively using the materials in state-approved bilingual/ESL programs.

• The materials do not provide implementation guidance for effectively using them in a state-approved bilingual/ESL program. However, the materials provide a "Tips for ELL" Section on day 5 of each lesson plan. For example, the tip in "Module 1, Week 1," states, "To support the writing task on Day 4, provide the following sentence starters: In the beginning ___, In the middle ___, At the end ___." It also suggests that students orally rehearse the language before writing.

Evaluation for 3.3c
Materials include embedded guidance for teachers to support emergent bilingual students in developing academic vocabulary, increasing comprehension, building background knowledge, and making cross-linguistic connections through oral and written discourse.

• Each module begins with a "Vocabulary Scope and Sequence" and a vocabulary routine to implement. The materials do not include strategies to support emergent bilingual students in building academic vocabulary. The "Shared Reading" component of the lesson pre-teaches some concepts to build background knowledge and support comprehension, but these supports are not specifically for emergent bilingual students.
• The end of each weekly lesson plan includes "Tips for ELL" students to support emergent bilingual students with academic vocabulary and increasing comprehension through oral discourse. For example, "Module 1, Week 3" suggests using real objects to support the understanding of concepts and vocabulary through oral discourse. "Module 3, Week 3" suggests providing visuals or diagrams to support comprehension. However, the materials do not include embedded guidance for teachers to support emergent bilingual students in building background knowledge or making cross-linguistic connections through oral discourse.
• The end of each weekly lesson plan includes "Tips for ELL" students to support emergent bilingual students with academic vocabulary through written discourse. "Module 1, Week 1" suggests using sentence stems to support academic writing.
• However, the materials do not provide guidance for teachers on supporting emergent bilingual students with background knowledge, or cross-curricular connections through written discourse, or comprehension through written discourse. 

Evaluation for 3.3d
If designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs, materials include resources that outline opportunities to address metalinguistic transfer from English to the partner language.

• The "Tips for ELL" Section of the lesson plans provides general guidance for emergent bilingual students, such as using gestures to support students’ understanding of specific vocabulary.
• Materials are not designed for dual language immersion programs.

Evaluation for 4.1a
Materials include systematic and sequenced instruction of phonics (sound-symbol correspondence) and foundational skills.

• The materials do not include systematic and sequenced instruction of phonics. "Table 1-2: Phonological Awareness and Phonics Scope and Sequence" in "Chapter 1" of the Teaching Guide outlines the phonics skills taught by module and week. For example, "Module 1" does not include a review of the skills taught in grade 1, nor does it include instruction on syllable types, mention of multisyllabic encoding/decoding strategies, silent letters (such as the Kk in ‘knife’ or the Gg in ‘gnat’), or final stable syllable -le. While "Module 6" and "Module 7" include instruction on suffixes -ful, -ly, -er, -less, -ness, -tion, -ous, -ture, –est, -ist, and -al, there is no instruction included on inflectional endings -s or -es. 
• Materials include systematic and sequenced instruction of foundational skills. "Chapter 3" of the Teaching Guide explains that the phonological awareness tasks "are sequenced from easy to more difficult and are organized so that the same type of activity occurs on the same day every week." Table 3-1 delineates each week’s phonological awareness routine for "Module 1" through "Module 4": "Day 1" focuses on blending syllables or phonemes, "Day 2" focuses on segmenting to stretch phonemes and segmenting syllables, "Day 3" focuses on adding rime/word parts/phonemes and deleting onset, and "Day 4" is designating for substituting onset/rime/word parts. 
• Table 3-2 delineates each week’s phonological awareness routine for "Module 5" through "Module 7": "Day 1" focuses on blending syllables, "Day 2" on segmenting syllables, "Day 3" on adding/deleting word parts/affixes, and "Day 4" on substituting onset/word parts/affixes.

Evaluation for 4.1b
Materials include explicit (direct) and intentional daily opportunities for phonics (sound-symbol correspondence) and foundational skills.

• The materials provide intentional daily opportunities for phonics. The "Lesson Modules" resource recommends "spending 3-5 minutes on daily Word Study/Phonics instruction during Step 3 of each lesson." Table 4-1 in the Stepping Together Teaching Guide Second Grade provides an overview of the seven activities students will experience during this component of the lesson. These activities include "Name Game, Picture Sorting, Letter Detective, Making Words, Sound Boxes, Breaking Words, and Decoding Words in Decodable Text." 
• The materials do not provide explicit phonics instruction. The "Word Study/Phonics" component of the "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities for teaching phonics, but these activities do not provide explicit instruction on sound-symbol correspondence. For example, in "Module 2, Week 2, Day 1, Step 3," the "Lesson Modules" resource prompts teachers to introduce /oy/ through the following task: "Have students stand at the front of the classroom holding the following Stepping Together Letter Cards: b, e, j, l, n, o, p, t, and y. Make the word boy. Say a new word for students to make (encode) or tell them the letter(s) to change and have them read (decode): ploy. What letters need to change to make the new word? Have students make or read these words: plot, lot, jot, joy, and enjoy." The scripted part of the lesson, indicated by the italics, does not require the teacher to explicitly model or explain the sound-symbol correspondence for the letters introduced.

Evaluation for 4.1c
Materials include practice of phonics skills both in isolation and through decodable texts.

• The "Lesson Modules" resource details opportunities for students to practice phonics skills in isolation in step three of each lesson. For example, in "Module 3, Week 3, Day 2," students make or read the words "pout, pound, pond, bond, bound, sound" using the "Stepping Together Letter Cards": Bb, Dd, Nn, Oo, Pp, Ss, Tt, and Uu. 
• Decodable texts, called "Super Stories," are introduced in "Module 1," with a new text presented each week. "Chapter 4" of the Teaching Guide states that "[Super Stories] contain the high-frequency word and phonics elements that were taught during the week." For example, in "Module 1, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3," students read the "Super Story" The Bird Feeder, focusing on the long /e/ vowel team, /ee/, in connected text. The phonics skill was taught in isolation on days one, two, and three earlier that week.

Evaluation for 4.1d
Materials include opportunities for cumulative review of previously taught skills.

• The scopes and sequences in the Teaching Guide outline the review of previously taught skills. For example, Table 1-2 in "Chapter 1" instructs teachers to begin teaching vowel team /ea/ in "Module 4, Week 3" and then review the skill during "Module 4, Week 5."
• The "Lesson Modules" resource also includes a variety of instructional routines that serve as ongoing reviews by connecting previously taught phonics skills to new ones. For example, the Teaching Guide introduces trigraph /igh/ in "Module 1, Week 2." In "Module 2, Week 1," teachers teach students to decode new words like "mighty" using their knowledge of /igh/. By "Module 6, Week 1," students practice suffix -ful while reviewing trigraph /igh/ with the decodable "Super Story" Rover the Dog. This story connects the previous concept of trigraph /igh/ to suffix -ful so students can decode the word "frightful."

Evaluation for 4.2a
Daily lessons include explicit (direct) instruction with teacher modeling.

• The materials do not provide explicit phonics instruction. The "Word Study" and "Phonics" component of the "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities for teaching phonics, but these activities do not provide explicit instruction with teacher modeling. For example, in "Module 1, Week 3, Day 4, Step 3" of the "Lesson Modules" resource, the teacher is directed to "model decoding strategies for the first few words. Then have students choral read the remaining sentences" of the "Super Story" The Gold. Although the materials include a suggestion to model, they do not provide the teacher with a script, specific language, or strategies for delivering direct instruction through modeling.

Evaluation for 4.2b
Daily lessons include opportunities for explicit (direct) guided instruction and immediate and corrective feedback.

• While there are opportunities for students to practice skills with the teacher as a group, the "Lesson Modules" resource does not provide any script or specific terms and phrases the teacher can use for explicit guided instruction. For example, in "Module 1, Week 2, Day 1, Step 3," the "Lesson Modules" resource states: "Have students stand at the front of the classroom holding the following Stepping Together Letter Cards: f, g, h, i, l, r, s, and t. Make the word lit. Say a new word for students to make (encode), or tell them the letter(s) to change and have them read (decode): light. Have students make or read these words: slight, slit, fit, fight, and fright." The scripted part of the lesson, indicated by the italics, does not include guided instruction on how the students should encode or decode new words. 
• The Teaching Guide contains "Appendix E: Phonics Differentiation with Corrective Feedback," which includes activities to scaffold or enrich instruction with corrective feedback for phonics skills. However, the materials do not provide immediate or corrective feedback within the daily lessons to support explicit guided instruction.

Evaluation for 4.2c
Daily lessons include a variety of opportunities for students to practice through collaborative learning and independent practice.

• Daily lessons include opportunities for students to practice independently during "Follow-Up Activities." For example, "Chapter 7’ of the Teaching Guide offers numerous ideas for activities suitable for students to work on independently, such as the "Super Story" Scavenger Hunt, wherein students "find and color or underline any word in the story that contains the phonic element" that was the focus of instruction for the week. Other opportunities for independent practice occur during the daily lessons. For example, in "Module 1, Week 4, Day 3, Step 3," the "Lesson Modules" resource describes students sorting and writing words dictated by the teacher (crew, grew, ground, sprout, counted, stew, stout) to practice encoding words with diphthong vowel teams /ou/ and /ew/. 
• Daily lessons include an opportunity for students to practice through collaborative learning during "Literacy Center Activities." In "Module 2, Week 1, Day 5," the "Lesson Modules" resource suggests having "students read The Squirt Blaster Super Story to a buddy" as a "Literacy Center" option to practice decoding words with the r-controlled vowel /ir/. The materials only provide collaborative learning opportunities through "Literacy Centers."

Evaluation for 4.3a
Materials include intentional cumulative review and practice activities throughout the curriculum.

• The decodable "Super Stories" are available each week for intentional cumulative review by increasing complexity over the year. For example, the "Super Story" The Snake in "Module 7, Week 1" focuses on the recently taught suffix -ous while also including a cumulative review of the long vowel sound /igh/ and diphthong vowel team /oi/ (both taught in "Module 1") and r-controlled vowel /or/ (taught in "Module 3").
• "Chapter 5" of the Teaching Guide describes how intentional practice of the taught phonics skills through interactive writing occurs on days two and four of each week within the "Lesson Modules." The sentences used for interactive writing include newly taught sight words, the weekly phonic focus, and words with easy-to-hear sounds. The sentences sometimes have previously taught sight words and phonic skills for cumulative review. For example, in "Module 1, Week 3," there are multiple opportunities to practice the diphthong vowel team /ou/. On "Day 1" of this week, in the "Lesson Modules" resource, students make and read words with the /ou/ pattern, such as "pound, bound, sound." On "Day 3" of the same week, students use an "Analogy Chart" to write and sort words with either /igh/ or /ou/, such as "might" and "mouth."

Evaluation for 4.3b
Practice opportunities include only phonics skills that have been explicitly taught.

• The materials do not provide explicit phonics instruction; instruction only happens through practice opportunities. For example, in "Module 1, Week 1, Day 1,": students learn "Long e Vowel Team ee" by making words using "Stepping Together Letter Cards." The teacher instructs students to make the word "speed." This repeats for words "bled, bleed, bleep, steep, step." The materials do not provide direct instruction on blends.

Evaluation for 4.3c
Decodable texts incorporate cumulative practice of taught phonics skills.

• Due to their increasing complexity over the course of the year, the decodable "Super Stories" are available each week for intentional cumulative review. For example, the "Super Story" The Snake in "Module 7, Week 1" focuses on the recently taught suffix -ous while also including a cumulative review of the long vowel sound /igh/ and diphthong vowel team /oi/ (both taught in "Module 1") and r-controlled vowel /or/ (taught in "Module 3").
• Decodable texts incorporate the cumulative practice of taught phonics skills. For example, in "Module 3, Week 1," the "Super Story" Storm Worries focuses on the recently taught phonics pattern vowel-r combination /or/ while also including a cumulative review of long /i/ vowel team /igh/ ("Module 1") and vowel-r combination /ur/ ("Module 2"). Students read words such as "Cora, tractor, might, knocked, brother, turning, tree."

Evaluation for 4.3d
Lessons include an instructional focus with opportunities for practice in isolation and connected text.

• The "Lesson Modules" resource details opportunities for students to practice phonics skills in isolation in step three of each lesson. For example, in "Module 1, Week 3, Day 1," students make or read the words "pout, pound, pond, bond, bound, sound" using the "Stepping Together Letter Cards": Bb, Dd, Nn, Oo, Pp, Ss, Tt, and Uu. The diphthong vowel team, /ou/, was the instructional focus during "Module 1, Week 3."
• Decodable texts called "Super Stories" are introduced in "Module 1" with a new text presented each week. "Chapter 4" of the Teaching Guide states that "Super Stories contain the high-frequency word and phonics elements that were taught during the week." For example, in "Module 1, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3," students read the "Super Story" The Bird Feeder, focusing on the long /e/ vowel team /ee/ in connected text. This pattern was taught as the phonics skill in isolation on "Day 1," "Day 2," and "Day 3" earlier that week. The vowel team /ee/ was the instructional focus during "Module 1, Week 1."

Evaluation for 4.4a
Materials include a variety of assessment tools that are developmentally appropriate.

• The materials include a summative assessment at the end of each module that measures the comprehension focus, encoding, and decoding of the targeted phonics skills and sight words covered throughout the module. For example, students encode words and sentences, read aloud, verbally answer comprehension questions, and read words from a pre-made list containing the phonics focus. 
• On the last day of every lesson plan, students take a formative assessment of the concepts taught that week. These formative assessments monitor progress on the phonics focus and sight words. Students encode and decode words with the phonics focus. Also, the teacher dictates a sight word for the students to write. 
• The materials provide ongoing formative assessments with varying questions throughout the lessons. For example, during the word study/phonics activity, students will use cards to create new words to encode and decode while the teacher observes and asks questions. Students demonstrate mastery through various formative tasks, including verbal and written expression. 

Evaluation for 4.4b
Materials include clear, consistent directions for accurate administration of assessments.

• There are clear and consistent directions for accurately administering the "Module Summative Assessments," called "Teacher Administration Directions: Modules 1-7" on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website. These directions include guidance on when to administer portions of the assessment individually versus when to administer in a whole-group setting, as well as the steps, materials, and a scoring recording form. For example, for the "Writing Sentences" component of the "Module Summative Assessments," teachers are directed to, "Begin by dictating the sentence from the Teacher Assessment Script. Have students repeat the sentence a few times. Some students may need to have the sentence dictated in phrases. Remind students to write the sentence on the lines and use their best handwriting." This guidance ensures consistency throughout the administration of all "Module Summative Assessments."

Evaluation for 4.4c
Materials include progress monitoring tools that systematically and accurately measure students’ acquisition of grade-level phonics skills.

• "Appendix J: Class Progress Monitoring Recording Sheet" in the Teaching Guide provides a progress monitoring tool to systematically and accurately measure students’ acquisition of phonics skills by assessing their encoding and decoding of the targeted phonics skills over the year. Teachers record the number of words spelled correctly, the number of words assessed, and the incorrect spelling if a student misspells the word. The materials instruct the teacher to "Record errors on words containing the phonic element by writing the attempt over the actual word in the text." For example, in "Module 1, Week 4, Day 5, Step 3," the teacher assesses encoding of the diphthong vowel team /ew/ by dictating the "Words Square": "new, grew, chewed, screw," and assesses decoding of the same diphthong by having reread the decodable "Super Story" for the week.

Evaluation for 4.4d
Materials include assessment opportunities across the span of the school year aligned to progress monitoring tools.

• Progress monitoring happens weekly through formative assessments on day five of each "Lesson Module." These assessments align with the "Class Progress Monitoring Recording Sheet" ("Appendix J" of the Teaching Guide). Additionally, these tools align with the "Module Summative Assessments." For example, the "Module 3 Summative Assessment" requires students to read the words "shorter, flipping, studied, scoring, trading." By the end of "Module 3," teachers have recorded student progress on encoding and decoding words with inflectional endings.

Evaluation for 4.5a
Materials include data-management tools for tracking individual student progress to make appropriate instructional decisions to accelerate instruction.

• The materials include a "Class Progress Monitoring Recording Sheet" in "Appendix J" of the Teaching Guide. This data management tool tracks individual student progress. Teachers make appropriate instructional decisions to accelerate learning based on student progress by utilizing these checklists and Table 6-1: "Using Progress Monitoring Assessment Data." The table provides instruction decisions for students who have reached proficiency and those who have not. They provide general suggestions for both decoding and encoding. For example, if students have not reached proficiency in decoding, a suggestion is to "Regroup students as needed."

Evaluation for 4.5b
Materials include data-management tools for tracking whole-class student progress to analyze patterns and needs of students.

• The "Teacher Administration Directions: Modules 1-7" on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website provide teachers with a whole-class data-management tool to analyze students' needs in writing words, writing sentences, comprehension, and reading words. However, this tool does not support teachers in interpreting the data to find and analyze patterns.

Evaluation for 4.5c
Materials include specific guidance on determining frequency of progress monitoring based on students’ strengths and needs.

• The "Lesson" Modules resource includes formative assessments at the end of each week (on day five) to monitor progress. However, since every student completes these assessments, progress monitoring is not tailored to individual students' strengths and needs. There is no specific guidance on determining the frequency of progress monitoring based on students’ strengths and needs.

Evaluation for 4.5d
Materials include guidance on how to accelerate learning based on the progress monitoring data to reach mastery of specific concepts.

• "Appendix E" in the Teaching Guide provides general guidance on scaffolding or enriching each type of phonics activity ("Picture Sorting," "Letter Detectives," "Making Words," "Sound Boxes," "Breaking Words," and "Decoding Words" in "Decodable Text"). An example of a scaffold to support students in selecting the correct letter(s) to represent sound is to "Model how to blend the sounds in the word." However, the materials do not explain how to use progress monitoring data to accelerate learning so students can master specific concepts.

Evaluation for 5.B.1a
Materials include explicit (direct) and systematic instructional guidance on developing oral language and oracy through a variety of methods (e.g., modeling, guided practice, coaching, feedback, and independent practice).

• The materials do not include explicit and systematic instructional guidance on developing oral language and oracy. They do provide opportunities for students to practice oral language and oracy. For example, in "Module 2, Week 2, Day 1, Step 4," students discuss the details of headings in the "Table of Contents" of the book they read with partners. In "Module 5, Week 2, Day 2, Step 4," the materials instruct the teacher to have students take turns telling their partner something they learned about chocolate. However, the materials do not provide explicit and systematic instructional guidance, such as expectations and procedures for students' engagement with a turn and talk.
• After "Module 1, Week 4, Day 5," in the "Tips for ELL" section, the teacher is instructed to do the following: "To support the writing task on Day 4, provide the following sentence frame for students: _____ ran away because _____. Orally rehearse sentences with students before they write, as needed. Providing sentence frames supports English language learners in developing cognitive academic language." While this provides more specific guidance, it is not appropriate for all students.
• The Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website provides a tool, "How to Facilitate Effective Discussions," describing oral language examples. For example, the chart describes "Explain Your Thinking" as "Using evidence to support your thinking" and "Adding on to your thinking." However, the chart provides generic teacher guidance rather than explicit and systematic guidance to develop oral language and oracy.

Evaluation for 5.B.1b
Materials include opportunities for students to engage in social and academic communication for different purposes and audiences.

• The Lesson Modules resource provides opportunities for social and academic communication. For example, in "Module 4, Week 5, Day 1, Step 4," after reading the text Princess Pig and the Pink Purse, students engage in social communication by talking with a partner about a time they have done something wrong and how they felt to make a personal connection to the text. In "Module 1, Week 1, Day 2, Step 4," students have academic conversations to support their comprehension of the shared reading text, The Market, by discussing actions that show the main character is caring.
• The "Lesson Modules" provide opportunities for students to communicate with different audiences. For example, in "Module 4, Week 1, Day 2, Step 4," students discuss inferences with a partner. Students use the sentence stems: "I think Chip _____" and "I think Rusty _____" to support their conversations. In "Module 4, Week 5, Day 2, Step 4," the students tell the teacher "what Princess Pig did when she had that feeling" (based on the B-M-E chart created on "Day 1" with feeling words).

Evaluation for 5.B.1c
Materials include authentic opportunities for students to listen actively, ask questions, engage in discussion to understand information, and share information and ideas.

• The "Lesson Modules" resource provides opportunities within lesson plans for students to listen actively to understand and share information and ideas. For example, in "Module 3, Week 1, Day 1, Step 2," students listen to the teacher blend sounds to make words with -or. To show they understand how to blend sounds to make words containing -or, students repeat the sounds and combine them to make the words. In "Module 3, Week 1, Day 3, Step 3," students apply this phonological awareness by actively listening to the teacher dictate words and then sharing whether the word belongs in the r-controlled vowel "OR Column" or diphthong "AW Column" of an "Analogy Chart."
• The "Lesson Modules" resource provides opportunities within lesson plans for students to ask questions to understand and share information and ideas. For example, in "Module 4, Week 4, Day 1, Step 4," students create a comparison question about "Deer and Rabbit" from the story How the Deer Got His Antlers to support their comprehension of the text. Students take turns asking and answering each others' questions, allowing them to share information and ideas about the characters using evidence from the text.
• The Lesson Modules resource provides opportunities within lesson plans for students to engage in discussion to understand and share information and ideas. For example, in "Module 4, Week 5, Day 1, Step 4," students discuss Princess Pig's feelings of jealousy in Princess Pig and the Pink Purse to support students’ understanding of the word "jealousy." When asked to discuss, students share information and ideas: "How do you think Princess Pig feels on this page?"

Evaluation for 5.C.1a (grade K only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing letter names and their corresponding sounds. (PR 2.A.1)

Evaluation for 5.C.1b (grade K only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for teaching and developing student automaticity in the identification of the 26 letters of the alphabet (upper and lowercase) and their corresponding sounds. (PR 2.A.1)

Evaluation for 5.C.1c (grade K only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct and systematic instruction for letter formation for the 26 letters of the alphabet (upper and lowercase). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

Evaluation for 5.C.1d (grade K only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources (including the use of memory-building strategies) for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) alphabet knowledge both in isolation and in the context of meaningful print. (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

Evaluation for 5.C.2a
Materials explicitly (directly), and systematically introduce letter-sound relationships in an order that allows for application to basic decoding and encoding. (PR 2.A.1)

• The "Word Study" and "Phonics" components of the "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities for teaching phonics, but these activities do not provide explicit instruction on sound-symbol correspondence. For example, in "Module 2, Week 2, Day 1, Step 3," the "Lesson Modules" resource prompts teachers to introduce /oy/ through the following task: "Have students stand at the front of the classroom holding the following Stepping Together Letter Cards: b, e, j, l, n, o, p, t, and y. Make the word boy. Say a new word for students to make (encode) or tell them the letter(s) to change and have them read (decode): ploy. What letters need to change to make the new word? Have students make or read these words: plot, lot, jot, joy, and enjoy." The scripted part of the lesson, indicated by the italics, does not require the teacher to explicitly model or explain the letter-sound relationships for the vowel team introduced. Students may struggle to apply letter-sound relationships to basic decoding and encoding without this explicit instruction.
• Table 1-2: "Phonological Awareness and Phonics Scope and Sequence" in "Chapter 1" of the Teaching Guide outlines the phonics skills taught by module and week. However, the skills do not indicate a systematic progression of letter-sound relationships. For example, "Module 1" does not include a review of the skills taught in grade 1, nor does it include instruction on syllable types, mention of multisyllabic encoding/decoding strategies, silent letters (such as the /k/ in "knife" or the /g/ in "gnat"), or final stable syllable -le. While "Module 6" and "Module 7" include instruction on suffixes -ful, -ly, -er, -less, -ness, -tion, -ous, -ture, -est, -ist, and -al, there is no instruction included on inflectional endings -s, or -es. This inhibits students from applying knowledge of letter-sound relationships to basic decoding and encoding.

Evaluation for 5.C.2b
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction focused on connecting phonemes to letters within words with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. (PR 2.A & 2.A.2)

• The "Lesson Modules" resource outlines lesson plans that do not script the teacher’s direct and explicit instruction to connect phonemes to letters within words. Students only engage in activities such as "Making Words" to practice connecting phonemes to letters. 
• The materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction focused on connecting phonemes to letters within words with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. The materials provide feedback support in "Appendix E: Phonics Differentiation with Corrective Feedback" in the Teaching Guide for each of the six activities. The guidance includes support in scaffolding or enriching the activities instruction using corrective feedback. For instance, if a student needs scaffolding with isolating phonemes using sound boxes, the teacher models by slowly saying the word and stretching the sounds while running a finger under the boxes. However, the materials do not provide explanatory feedback for students based on common errors or misconceptions in relation to each lesson.

Evaluation for 5.C.2c (grades 2 and 3 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode one syllable and multisyllable words in isolation and decodable connected text. (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities and resources for students to develop, 
practice, and reinforce their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to 
decode one-syllable words in isolation. For example, in "Module 1, Week 2, Day 1, Step 3," 
students develop their understanding of letter-sound correspondence by decoding onesyllable words ("light, slight, fight, fright") with the newly introduced vowel team /igh/. Lettersound correspondence for vowel team /igh/ is practiced later that week on "Day 3 in Step 4," in 
which the teacher tells the students, "Long i can be spelled different ways. We use i_e like in 
the word guide and fire or the letters -igh in the words light and night." Cumulative review 
occurs during the "Module 1 Summative Assessment." In this assessment, students practice 
applying letter-sound correspondence to decode the one-syllable word "flight" in the 
assessment's "Reading Words" portion.
• The "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities and resources for students to develop, 
practice, and reinforce their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to 
decode one-syllable words in decodable connected texts (known as "Super Stories"). For 
example, in "Module 1, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3," students develop letter-sound correspondence 
by decoding one-syllable words (i.e., "street, tweet, see") with the vowel team /ee/ in the 
"Super Story" The Bird Feeder. Students practice this skill by reading the same text in the 
decoding assessment on "Day 5, Step 3" of the same week. Reinforcement through 
cumulative review occurs in "Module 2, Week 2," in which students practice decoding a onesyllable word with the vowel team /ee/ ("seeds") when reading the "Super Story" The Cowboy 
and the Oyster.
• The "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities and resources for students to develop and 
reinforce their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode 
multisyllabic words in isolation. For example, in "Module 1, Week 1, Day 2, Step 3," students 
develop their understanding of letter-sound correspondence by decoding multisyllabic words 
(i.e. "keeping, "weeping") with the newly introduced vowel team /ee/. Students practice this 
skill in future modules. For example, in "Module 4, Week 3," the phonics focus is "Long e
Vowel Team ea." Students first practice with applying letter-sound correspondences to 
decode multisyllabic words in isolation on "Day 2," in "Breaking Big Words" (i.e. "gleaming, 
dreaming"). Then, on "Day 3," Students continue practice with applying letter-sound 
correspondences in multisyllabic words in isolation in "Analogy Charts" (i.e. "speaking"). 
Cumulative review occurs in the "Module 6 Summative Assessment." In this assessment, 
students practice applying letter-sound correspondence to decode the multisyllabic word 
"weekly" in the assessment's "Reading Words" portion.
• The "Lesson Modules" resource provides activities and resources for students to develop, 
practice, and reinforce their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to 
decode multisyllabic words in meaningful print through decodable texts (known as "Super 
Stories"). For example, in "Module 1, Week 2, Day 4, Step 3," students develop letter-sound 
correspondence by decoding multisyllabic words with the vowel team /igh/ in the "Super 
Story" The Mighty Knight. Students practice this skill by reading the same text in the decoding 
assessment on "Day 5, Step 3" of the same week. Reinforcement through cumulative review 
occurs when students decode the word "frightened" in the "Super Story" The Snake in "Module 
7, Week 1.

Evaluation for 5.C.2c (grades K and 1 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) their understanding of applying letter-sound correspondence to decode one syllable words in isolation and decodable connected text. (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

Evaluation for 5.D.1a (grades K–2 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing phonological awareness activities in accordance with gradelevel TEKS that begins with simple skills and larger units of sound (e.g., identifying and producing rhyming words, recognizing spoken alliteration, identifying the individual words in spoken sentences) and gradually transitions to more complex skills and smaller units of sound (e.g., adding, deleting, and substituting syllables). (PR 2.A.1)

• Materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing phonological awareness activities in accordance with grade-level TEKS. The materials begin with more complex skills and smaller units of sound before simpler skills. According to Appendix A of the Teaching Guide, the first week of instruction includes activities on blending and segmenting phonemes, deleting onset, and substituting rime. Students do not have the opportunity to produce rhyming words anywhere in the activities included in the Lesson Modules resource. Therefore, the materials do not include a systematic sequence or align with all grade-level TEKS.

Evaluation for 5.D.1b (grades K–2 only)
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction for teaching phonological awareness skills with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. (PR 2.A & 2.A.2)

• The Lesson Modules resource outlines lesson plans that do not script the teacher’s direct and explicit instruction on phonological awareness. For example, in a lesson on blending phonemes in Module 1, Week 3, Day 1, Step 2, the following guidance is provided: "Model: I am going to say the sounds in a word. We are going to put the sounds together to make the word. Use the Sally the Cow Puppet to say the sounds in the word: sh-ou-t. Have students repeat the sounds. Put the sounds together to make the word: shout." The scripted component is in italics. However, the guidance does not provide specific language for explicit instruction on how to blend sounds.
• The materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction focused on phonological awareness with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. The materials provide feedback support in Appendix D: Phonological Awareness Differentiation with Corrective Feedback in the Teaching Guide for Blending, Segmenting, Adding/Deleting, and Substituting activities. The guidance includes support in scaffolding or enriching the activities using corrective feedback. For instance, if a student needs scaffolding while "blending syllables," the teacher can "use hand motions." However, the materials do not provide explanatory feedback for students based on common errors or misconceptions in relation to each lesson.

Evaluation for 5.D.1c (grades K–2 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources (including the use of memory-building strategies) for students to develop, practice, and reinforce phonological awareness skills connected to grade-level TEKS (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The Lesson Modules resource includes activities and resources to develop and practice phonological awareness skills. For example, students develop the skill of deleting onsets in Module 1, Week 1, Day 3, and Step 2. In this lesson, the teacher models deleting the onset of the word need using hand gestures and then engages the students in guided practice (deleting /sw/ from sweet, /ch/ from cheek, /sp/ from speech, and /scr/ from screen). In Module 1, Week 3, Day 3, Step 2, students practice the skill with the same routine (this time, the teacher models deleting the onset /cl/ from the word cloud and then engages the students in the guided practice of deleting /c/ from couch, /b/ from bounce, /gr/ from ground, and /sl/ from slouch). In Module 3, Week 3, Day 3, Step 2, students practice the skill of deleting onset in tandem with the practice of orally producing words with inflectional endings. Again, the teacher models deleting the onset of a word (in this case, smiled) followed by guided practice (deleting /br/ from braking, /sh/ from shaped, /gr/ from grading, and /gr/ from grated). 
• Activities and resources in the Lesson Modules resource include memory-building strategies such as body movements and gestures, poems, songs, chants, and the Sally the Cow Puppet. In Module 1, Week 1, Day 3, Step 2, the students use their fists to represent the onset deletion. In Module 1, Week 2, Day 2, Step 2, students touch their heads, shoulders, and knees as they segment phonemes. In the ‘Warm Up’ (Step 1) of each lesson, teachers "read a familiar nursery rhyme, song, poem, or chant" to practice their rhyming skills.

Evaluation for 5.D.2a (grades K–2 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing phonemic awareness activities that begins with identifying, blending, and segmenting phonemes, and gradually transitions to more complex manipulation practices such as adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes. (PR 2.A.1)

• According to Appendix A of the Teaching Guide, the first eight phonological awareness activities included in the Lesson Modules resource focus on blending phonemes (Day 1), stretching to segment phonemes (Day 2), deleting onset (Day 3), substituting rime (Day 4) in Week 1 and blending phones (Day 1), stretching to segment phonemes (Day 2), adding rime (Day 3) and substituting rime (Day 4) in Week 2. However, according to the guidance in the Lesson Modules resource, Step 2 of Day 4 in Week 1 is focused on substituting the final phoneme (while the guidance says to change the eed in kneed to eel to make kneel, for example, this is only changing the final phoneme: /d/ to /l/), and Step 2 of Day 4 in Week 2 focuses on substituting the medial phoneme (while the guidance says to change the eet in meet to ight to make might, for example, this is only changing the medial phoneme: ē to ī). Therefore, the sequence for introducing phonemic awareness activities does not systematically and gradually introduce more complex manipulation practices.

Evaluation for 5.D.2b (grades K–2 only)
Materials include explicit (direct) instruction for teaching phonemic awareness with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. (PR 2.A & 2.A.2)

• The Lesson Modules resource outlines lesson plans that do not script the teacher’s direct and explicit instruction on phonemic awareness. For example, in a lesson on blending phonemes in Module 1, Week 3, Day 1, Step 2, the following guidance is provided: "Model: I am going to say the sounds in a word. We are going to put the sounds together to make the word. Use the Sally the Cow Puppet to say the sounds in the word: sh-ou-t. Have students repeat the sounds. Put the sounds together to make the word: shout." The scripted component is in italics. However, the guidance does not provide specific language for explicit instruction in blending sounds.
• The materials do not include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit instruction focused on phonemic awareness with recommended explanatory feedback for students based on common errors and misconceptions. The materials provide feedback support in Appendix D: Phonological Awareness Differentiation with Corrective Feedback in the Teaching Guide for Blending, Segmenting, Adding/Deleting, and Substituting activities. The guidance includes support in scaffolding or enriching the activities using corrective feedback. For instance, if a student needs scaffolding while "blending phonemes," the teacher can "use hand motions." However, the materials do not provide explanatory feedback for students based on common errors or misconceptions in relation to each lesson.

Evaluation for 5.D.2c (grades K–2 only)
Materials include explicit (direct) guidance for connecting phonemic awareness skills to the alphabetic principle, to support students in the transition from oral language activities to basic decoding and encoding. (PR 2.A.1)

• According to Table 1-1: Five-Day Weekly Plan in Chapter 1 of the Teaching Guide, each lesson for Days 1 through 4 in the Lesson Modules resource includes a Step 2 Phonological Awareness Activity followed by a Step 3 Word Study / Phonics Activity. For example, Module 1, Week 1, Day 1, students blend phonemes in Step 2 (the phonological awareness activity has the teacher model blending the sounds in the word deep and then lead the students through guided practice) and encode or decode words in Step 3 (the phonics activity has students make the word speed and then either "make or read" the words: sped, bled, bleed, bleep, steep and step). However, the lesson does not provide explicit or specific guidance to connect the oral activity in Step 2 to the decoding or encoding activity in Step 3. 
• In the Lesson Modules resource, the only times students encode is in the ‘Making Words’ activity or assessment for the weekly phonics focus. The ‘Making Words’ activity (in Step 3 in Modules 1 through 4) occurs directly after the ‘Blending: Phonemes’ activity (in Step 2 in Modules 1 through 4). However, the lessons do not provide explicit or specific guidance to connect the oral activity of blending phonemes in Step 2 to the encoding in ‘Making Words’ in Step 3. 

Evaluation for 5.D.2d (grades K–2 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce phonemic awareness skills (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The Lesson Modules resource includes various activities specifically designed to help students develop and practice their phonemic awareness skills within the lesson plans. Activities incorporate gestures, body movements, and other kinesthetic activities (including Sally the Cow Puppet) to help students practice phonemic awareness skills. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 1, Step 2, the students develop the skill of blending phonemes. The teacher uses the Sally the Cow Puppet to model blending the phonemes in the word deep and then leads students through guided practice. 
• The materials include a variety of resources for students to develop and practice phonemic awareness skills. In Module 1, Week 2, Day 1, Step 2, the students practice blending phonemes. The teacher uses Sally the Cow Puppet to model blending the phonemes in the word thigh and then leads students through guided practice. Also, throughout the materials, students use Sound Boxes to segment the sounds in words before encoding. 
• The materials practice this skill in Module 4, Week 5, Day 1, Step 2, when the teacher uses Sally the Cow Puppet to model blending the phonemes in the word thread and then leads students through guided practice.

Evaluation for 5.E.1a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level sound-spelling patterns, as outlined in the TEKS. (PR 2.A.1)

• Table 1-2: Phonological Awareness and Phonics Scope and Sequence in Chapter 1 of the Teaching Guide outlines the phonics skills taught by module and week. However, the skills do not indicate a sequenced or systematic progression for introducing grade-level sound-spelling patterns. For example, Module 1 does not include a review of the skills taught in grade 1, nor does it include instruction on syllable types, mention of multisyllabic encoding/decoding strategies, silent letters (such as the k in knife or the g in gnat), or final stable syllable -le. While Modules 6 and 7 include instruction on suffixes -ful, -ly, -er, -less, -ness, -tion, -ous, -ture, –est, -ist, and -al, there is no instruction included on inflectional endings -s, or -es.

Evaluation for 5.E.1b
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for grade-level sound-spelling patterns. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not provide explicit instruction on grade-level sound-spelling patterns. The Word Study/Phonics component of the Lesson Modules resource provides activities for teaching sound-spelling patterns, but these activities do not provide explicit instruction. For example, in Module 2, Week 2, Day 1, Step 3, the Lesson Modules resource prompts teachers to introduce ‘oy’ through the following task: "Have students stand at the front of the classroom holding the following Stepping Together Letter Cards: b, e, j, l, n, o, p, t, and y. Make the word boy. Say a new word for students to make (encode) or tell them the letter(s) to change and have them read (decode): ploy. What letters need to change to make the new word? Have students make or read these words: plot, lot, jot, joy, and enjoy." The scripted part of the lesson, indicated by the italics, does not require the teacher to model or explain the sound-spelling pattern explicitly.

Evaluation for 5.E.1c
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce grade-level sound-spelling patterns (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A.1)

• The Lesson Modules resource includes activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce grade-level sound-spelling patterns. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3, students develop the sound-spelling pattern for the long e vowel team ee. In this ‘Making Words’ activity, students use the Stepping Together Letter Cards b, d, e, l, p, s, t, and an extra e to make or read speed, bled, bleed, bleep, steep, and step. This skill is practiced the next day (Day 2) in Step 3 when students participate in the ‘Breaking Big Words: Long e Vowel Team ee (eep)’ activity. In this activity, students use Stepping Together Letter Cards: e, g, i, k, n, p, and w (and an extra e) to make the word keeping, break it into parts (k-eep-ing), and read it (they repeat this procedure with the words weeping and beeped). The materials reinforce this skill through cumulative review in the Reading Words portion of the Module 1 Summative Assessment (found on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website), during which students must read the word speed among other words with previously taught sound-spelling patterns.
• Other activities for developing, practicing, and reinforcing grade-level sound-spelling patterns include ‘Decoding Words in Decodable Texts’ (such as in Module 1, Week 1, Day 4, Step 3), assessing the phonics focus through encoding and decoding (occurring on Day 5 of any given week in the Lesson Modules resource), ‘Analogy Charts’ (such as in Module 1, Week 1, Day 3, Step 3), ‘Make a Big Word’ (such as in Module 5, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3), and ‘Advanced Breaking Big Words’ (such as in Module 5, Week 1, Day 3, Step 3).
• The decodable texts, called Super Stories, are additional resources for developing, practicing, and reinforcing grade-level sound-spelling patterns. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, students practice the sound-spelling pattern for the long e vowel team ee when reading The Bird Feeder.

Evaluation for 5.E.1d
Materials provide a variety of activities and resources to support students in decoding and encoding words that include taught sound-spelling patterns, both in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The Lesson Modules resource includes various activities and resources to support students in decoding words that include taught sound-spelling patterns, both in isolation and decodable connected text called Super Stories. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3, students are introduced to the sound-spelling pattern for long e vowel team ee in the ‘Making Words’ activity. In this activity, students have the opportunity to decode words that include the sound-spelling pattern for long e vowel team ee in isolation using the Stepping Together Letter Cards b, d, e, l, p, s, t, and an extra e to read the words speed, bled, bleed, bleep, steep, or step. On Day 4 of the same week, students decode words in a decodable connected text when they read the Super Story The Bird Feeder. 
• The Lesson Modules resource includes various activities and resources to support encoding words that include teaching sound-spelling patterns, both in isolation and in decodable connected text. For example, in Module 1, Week 1, Day 1, Step 3, students are introduced to the sound-spelling pattern for long e vowel team ee in the ‘Making Words’ activity. In this activity, students have the opportunity to encode words that include the sound-spelling pattern for the long e vowel team ee in isolation using the Stepping Together Letter Cards b, d, e, l, p, s, t, and an extra e to make the words speed, bled, bleed, bleep, steep, or step. In the Module 1 Summative Assessment (found on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website), students apply encoding knowledge of previously taught sound-spelling patterns (Module 1 addresses sound-spelling patterns ee, igh, ou, ew, and oi) in connected text when they complete the Writing a Sentence portion of the assessment. The assessment provides the sentence to dictate for students to encode: "Each new day, they walk past many trees together in the bright sun."

Evaluation for 5.E.2a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing regular and irregular high-frequency words. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials lack a coherent sequence for introducing regular and irregular words that align with the sound-spelling patterns taught in phonics. According to Appendix A of the teaching guide, sight words are introduced starting in module 1, with the words walk, use, first, together, and many. However, according to Table 1-2 of the teaching guide, the phonics focus for weeks 1-5 of module 1 includes the sound-spelling correspondences for ee, igh, ou, ew, and oi. These regular and irregular high-frequency words do not follow a common phonic or spelling pattern on which the teacher could provide aligned, systematic, targeted instruction.

Evaluation for 5.E.2b
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for decoding and encoding regular and irregular high-frequency words. (PR 2.A.1)

• According to chapter 5 of the teaching guide, sight words are introduced on day 3 and reinforced on day 4 of the typical weekly lesson plans provided in the lesson modules resource. Day 3 includes the activities Map the Letters, What’s Missing, and Mix It and Fix It. Day 4 consists of the activities Rug Writing and Write and Retrieve. Chapter 5 of the teaching guide outlines the directions for these activities, but the lesson plans do not provide detailed script instruction on teaching sight words. The lesson modules resource does not provide details or guidelines for the high-frequency words taught at the lesson or unit level. 
• The lesson modules resource does not include any scripts or explicitly defined strategies, nor does it include guidance about regular or irregular high-frequency words and how to apply decoding strategies (either to the whole word or parts of words).

Evaluation for 5.E.2c
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce skills to decode and encode regular and irregular high-frequency words (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The materials include various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) skills to decode regular and irregular high-frequency words. According to chapter 5 of the teaching guide, students develop sight words on day 3 of the typical weekly lesson plans in the lesson modules resource through the activities Map the Letters (in which students make "a line on the easel for each sound" and "write the letters spe\lling the sound on the lines"), What’s Missing (in which students are shown a high-frequency word with a missing letter and must tell the teacher which letter is missing) and Mix It and Fix It (in which students make the word using the Stepping Together Letter Cards included in the high-frequency word). The teaching guide directs teachers to "direct students’ attention to any irregular spellings (in this word, ai spells /e/)." For example, module 1, week 1, day 3, step 4 directs teachers to engage the students in Map the Letters, What’s Missing, and Mix It and Fix It for the sight word walk. Day 4 of the lesson modules resource typically includes the activity Decoding Words in Decodable Text, in which students practice reading the sight word introduced the day prior. For example, module 1, week 1, day 4, step 3 directs teachers to say "practice reading the sight word: walk" within the Super Story The Bird Feeder. The materials include reinforcement through cumulative review in the module assessments, in the "Reading Words" section, in which students must read all high-frequency words introduced within the module. For example, students must read the sight word walk in the Module 1 Summative Assessment along with the words many, use, together, and first. Students develop, practice, and reinforce through cumulative review for regular high-frequency words (such as the sight word together in module 1) and irregular high-frequency words (such as the sight word many in module 1). 
• The materials include various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) skills to encode regular and irregular high-frequency words. As previously described, students develop encoding sight words on day 3 of the typical weekly lesson plans in the lesson modules resource through the Map the Letters, What’s Missing, and Mix It and Fix It activities. On day 4 of the typical weekly lesson plans in the lesson modules resource, students practice encoding the previously taught sight word through Rug Writing (in which students use their index finger to "write" the sight word on the rug) and Write and Retrieve (in which the students write the sight word at the bottom of their ABC chart). For example, in module 1, week 1, day 4, step 4, students engage in Rug Writing and Write and Retrieve for the sight word walk. The materials are reinforced through cumulative review through the module assessments in the "Writing a Sentence" section, in which students must write the high-frequency words introduced within the module along with encoding words that contain taught phonics skills. For example, students must write the sight word walk in module 1 summative assessment in the sentence, "Each new day, they walk past many trees together in the bright sun." Students develop, practice, and reinforce through cumulative review for regular high-frequency words (such as the sight word together in module 1) and irregular high-frequency words (such as the sight word many in module 1).

Evaluation for 5.E.2d
Materials include a variety of activities and resources (including the use of memory-building strategies) for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in connected text (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A.1)

• There are a variety of activities and resources (including memory-building strategies) for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation in the lesson modules resource. Students recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in isolation while participating in the Map the Letters, What’s Missing, Mix It and Fix It, Rug Writing, and Write and Retrieve activities (utilizing the Stepping Together Letter Cards, ABC chart, the rug, dry erase boards, etc.). For example, in module 1, week 1, students participate in Map the Letters, What’s Missing, Mix and Fix, Rug Writing, and Write and Retrieve with the sight word walk. 
• There are a variety of activities and resources (including memory-building strategies) for students to recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in connected text in the lesson modules resource. Students recognize, read, and write high-frequency words in the connected text while participating in the Decoding Words in Decodable Text, Dictated Sentence, and Writing a Sentence (found in the modules summative assessments) activities (utilizing sentences to dictate, chart paper, sentence strips, Super Stories, etc.). For example, in module 1, week 1, students participate in Decoding Words in Decodable Text (using the Super Story The Bird Feeder), Dictated Sentence (using the sentence "One sunny day, Caleb walked down the street to the market to get eggs for his mom.") with the sight word walk.

Evaluation for 5.E.3a (grade 1 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types, as outlined in the TEKS. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types and syllable division principles. The materials do not address syllable types or syllable division principles. The lesson modules resource provides teachers guidance on explaining a syllable to a student. For example, in module 2, week 1, day 1, step 4, in the Teach section, the following guidance is given: "Point to the word hopefully. This word has three parts in it. We call the parts syllables. Every syllable has a vowel in it. I’ll write the three syllables on the board: hope-ful-ly. Let’s clap and say the parts." The teacher instructs the students to turn to another page and states, "Point to the word exciting. Say the syllables as I write them on the board: ex-cit-ing. When you come to a big word you don’t know, break the word into syllables." The italics indicate the scripted component of the instruction. That is the only explicit instruction given about syllables. When a student has the opportunity to practice breaking a word into syllables, such as in module 5, week 1, day 1, step 2 (breaking the words relocate, rebuild, reread, recover into syllables), there is no instruction on syllable types or syllable division principles given to guide students in the process.

Evaluation for 5.E.3a (grades 2 and 3 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types and division principles, as outlined in the TEKS. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level syllable types and syllable division principles. The materials do not address syllable types or syllable division principles. The lesson modules resource provides teachers guidance on explaining a syllable to a student. For example, in module 2, week 1, day 1, step 4, in the Teach section, the following guidance is given: "Point to the word hopefully. This word has three parts in it. We call the parts syllables. Every syllable has a vowel in it. I’ll write the three syllables on the board: hope-ful-ly. Let’s clap and say the parts." The teacher instructs the students to turn to another page and states, "Point to the word exciting. Say the syllables as I write them on the board: ex-cit-ing. When you come to a big word you don’t know, break the word into syllables." The italics indicate the scripted component of the instruction. That is the only explicit instruction given about syllables. When a student has the opportunity to practice breaking a word into syllables, such as in module 5, week 1, day 1, step 2 (breaking the words relocate, rebuild, reread, recover into syllables), there is no instruction on syllable types or syllable division principles given to guide students in the process.

Evaluation for 5.E.3b (grade 1 only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for applying knowledge of syllable types to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not provide teachers with guidance, terms, or phrasing about decoding and encoding one-syllable words by applying knowledge of syllable types or syllable division principles. Students read and spell words without learning the syllable types or syllable division principles. For example, in module 3, week 1, day 2, step 3, students make long vowel r-combination words; however, there is no explicit instruction for syllable types of division patterns. The lesson states, "Have students step apart to break off the ending, then at the vowel: s-ort-ing. Hold your hand above students’ heads as they read the three parts."

Evaluation for 5.E.3b (grades 2 and 3 only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for applying knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words. (PR 2.A.1)

• The materials do not provide teachers with guidance, terms, or phrasing about decoding and encoding one-syllable words by applying knowledge of syllable types or syllable division principles. Students read and spell words without learning the syllable types or syllable division principles. For example, in module 3, week 1, day 2, step 3, students make long vowel r-combination words; however, there is no explicit instruction for syllable types of division patterns. The lesson states, "Have students step apart to break off the ending, then at the vowel: s-ort-ing. Hold your hand above students’ heads as they read the three parts."

Evaluation for 5.E.3c
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice and reinforce skills to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The lesson module resource includes various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) skills to decode one-syllable or multisyllabic words. For example, in module 1, week 2, day 1, step 3, students develop the skill of decoding words (light, slight, fight, fright) with the newly introduced vowel team igh in the Making Words activity. Students utilize the Stepping Together Letter Cards: f, g, h, i, l, r, s, and t to build and decode the words. Decoding words with the same vowel pattern (igh) is practiced the same week on day 4 in step 3, in which the students participate in Decoding Words in Decodable Text utilizing the Super Story The Mighty Knight. Students reinforce through cumulative review in the Module 1 Summative Assessment. In this assessment, students decode the flight in the assessment's Reading Words portion and other words with previously taught phonics skills.
• The lesson module resource includes various activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce (through cumulative review) skills to encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words. For example, in module 1, week 2, day 1, step 3, students develop the skill of encoding words (light, slight, fight, fright) with the newly introduced vowel team igh in the Making Words activity. Students utilize the Stepping Together Letter Cards: f, g, h, i, l, r, s, and t to encode the words. On day 3 of the same week, students participate in the Analogy Charts activity, in which they practice encoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words with the same vowel pattern (light, flight, fright, higher, and sighting) using the Word Study Cards and dry-erase markers. In the Module 1 Summative Assessment (found on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website), students reinforce (through cumulative review) encoding words with igh (amongst other previously taught phonics skills) when they complete the Writing a Sentence portion of the assessment. The assessment provides the sentence to dictate for students to encode: "Each new day, they walk past many trees together in the bright sun."

Evaluation for 5.E.3d (grade 1 only)
Materials include a variety of activities for students to practice decoding and encoding one-syllable or multisyllabic words, using knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles, in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

Evaluation for 5.E.3d (grades 2 and 3 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to practice decoding and encoding one-syllable or multisyllabic words, using knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles, in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A & 2.A.3)

• The materials do not include various activities and resources for students to practice decoding and encoding one-syllable or multisyllabic words using knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles in isolation and decodable text that builds on previous instruction. The lesson modules resource provides opportunities for students to decode and encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words in isolation and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction; however, there is no instruction on the syllable types or syllable division principles. Therefore, students do not have the opportunity to apply knowledge of syllable types and syllable division principles to decode or encode one-syllable or multisyllabic words. For example, in module 1, week 1, day 1, step 3, students decode and encode one-syllable words with the vowel team ee (speed, bled, bleed, bleep, steep, and step) in isolation using the Stepping Together Letter Cards b, d, e, l, p, s, t, and an extra e in the Making Words activity. On day 4 in step 3 of the same week, students decode words in a decodable connected text when they read the Super Story The Bird Feeder. In the Module 1 Summative Assessment (found on the Stepping Together Second Grade Resources website), students encode words in the connected text when they complete the Writing a Sentence portion of the assessment by encoding the sentence "Each new day, they walk past many trees together in the bright sun."

Evaluation for 5.E.4a (grades 1–3 only)
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level morphemes, as outlined in the TEKS. (PR 2.A.1)

• According to Appendix A: Scopes and Sequences of the teaching guide, the morphemes re- and un- are introduced in module 5; -ly, -er, and -tion are introduced in module 6; and -est is introduced in module 7. However, the materials do not introduce grade-level morphemes -ion and -sion (outlined in the TEKS). The grade 3 morphemes (outlined in the grade 3 TEKS) dis-, pre-, and mis- are also taught in module 5. Therefore, the materials do not introduce grade-level morphemes in a systematic sequence from least to most common and complex.

Evaluation for 5.E.4b (grades 1–3 only)
Materials include guidance for the teacher to provide explicit (direct) instruction for supporting recognition of common morphemes and using their meanings (e.g., affixes, roots, and base words) to support decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension. (PR 2.A.1)

• The lesson modules resource includes instruction with words that include grade-level morphemes re- (such as in module 5, week 1), un- (such as in module 5, week 2), -ly (such as in module 6, week 2), -er (such as in module 2, week 2), -tion (such as in module 6, week 5), and -est (such as in module 7, week 3). The lesson modules resource does not include grade-level morphemes -ion and -sion instruction. 
• The materials include explicit instruction on using a morphemes’ meaning to support reading comprehension. For example, in module 7, week 3, day 1, step 4, the teacher explains the meaning of -est by saying, "When we add -est to the end of a word, it means the most. For example, "That is the largest apple in the bowl,", or in module 5, week 1, day 1, step 3, when the teacher explains the meaning of re- by saying, "When re- is added to the beginning of a word, it usually means to do something again. For example, when you push the replay button, it will play the video again." The suffix -er is the phonics focus for module 6, week 3, but the materials do not explain the meaning to support reading comprehension. 
• The materials do not provide explicit instruction for using morphemes' meanings to support decoding and encoding or the recognition of common morphemes. The lesson modules resource includes practice in both encoding and decoding words that include some common morphemes, such as in the activities Make a Big Word with the prefix re- in module 5, week 1, day 2, step 3, and Advanced Breaking Big Words with the prefix re- in the same week on day 3, step 3. However, this instruction is not explicit.

Evaluation for 5.E.4c (grades 1–3 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce grade-level morphological skills (through cumulative review). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The materials include a variety of activities and resources to develop grade-level morphological skills (un-, re-, -ly, -est, and -tion) by explaining the meaning of the morpheme with an example used in a sentence. For example, in module 5, week 1, day 1, step 3 of the lesson modules resource, students learn the prefix re- during the Making Words activity. In this activity, the teacher is guided to: "Have students stand at the front of the classroom holding the following Stepping Together Letter Cards: e, m, o, r, v, and an extra e. When re- is added to the beginning of a word, it usually means to do something again. For example, when you push the replay button, it will play the video again. Say the word: remove. Have students clap each syllable. Make the word: remove. Have students step away from one another to break the word into its syllable parts: re-move. Have students step back together to remake the word: remove." The italics indicate the scripted portion of the instruction. 
• Students do not have a variety of opportunities to practice or reinforce morphological skills (application or recognition of the meaning of the taught morphemes). Chapter 7 of the Teaching Guide includes Affix Charades, an activity in which students act out the meaning of words with previously taught affixes, as an option in Literacy Center Activities. The materials do not provide various resources and activities to practice and reinforce this skill.

Evaluation for 5.E.4d (grades 1–3 only)
Materials include a variety of activities and resources for students to decode and encode words with morphemes in isolation (e.g., word lists) and in decodable connected text that builds on previous instruction (e.g., within sentences or decodable texts). (PR 2.A.1 & 2.A.3)

• The lesson modules resource includes various activities and resources, such as the Make a Big Word activity and the Advanced Breaking Big Words activity, in which students utilize the Stepping Together Letter Cards to decode words in isolation. An example of students participating in Breaking Big Words with morphemes occurs in module 1, week 2, day 2, step 3, in which students decode sighting, lighting, and brighter. 
• The lesson modules resource includes a variety of activities and resources, such as the Make a Big Word activity and the Analogy Charts activity, in which students utilize the Stepping Together Letter Cards, Word Study Cards, and dry-erase markers to encode words in isolation. An example of students participating in Analogy Charts with words with morphemes occurs in module 1, week 2, day 3, and step 3, in which students encode sighting and sleeting. 
• The lesson modules resource includes an activity called Decoding Words in Decodable Text in which the students utilize the Super Stories resources to decode words in decodable connected text. For example, in module 2, week 4, day 4, step 3, students decode the words raining, braided, and rained in the context of the Super Story called Braided Hair.
• The materials include various activities and resources for students to encode words with morphemes in context. The lesson modules resource includes an activity called Dictated Sentences in which the students utilize the provided dictated sentence, chart paper, and sound boxes to encode words in decodable connected text. For example, module 2, week 1, day 3, step 4 includes the word helping in the dictated sentence: "Sally did a great job helping Pumpkin win first prize at the fair." The Stepping Together second-grade resources website also includes summative assessments. The Writing Sentences portion of the summative assessments includes the opportunity for students to encode words in decodable connected text. In Module 36, the summative assessment, students encoded the word hunting in the sentence, "While spiders are different from one another in many ways, most of them enjoy hunting flies."