Units of Study in Reading, Grade 1

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

The materials do not include a scope and sequence document, and the TEKS or ELPS are not mentioned or cited within the instructional materials. The table of contents within each unit includes the title of each bend and session, but does not include the concepts taught. In "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), Bend III is titled, "Learners Become Teachers." Sessions include "Readers Learn, and Then They Teach," "Nonfiction Readers Read with Feeling," and "Using Writing Strategies to Teach Others." At the end of each unit, the materials provide a unit overview that outlines the sessions, or lessons, for each bend, including the titles for each section. However, this overview does not include the concepts taught, or align the lessons to the TEKS or ELPS. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), the unit overview lists session titles such as "Readers Spiff Up the Library with Wish Bins," "Turn to an Expert," and "Characters Learn Lessons."

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)

A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, "What Does the Series Contain?" explains that each unit represents 4–6 weeks of teaching. However, there is no pacing guide or calendar included for year-long instruction. The guide only offers an outline of the time allotment for each component of the reading workshop session as a suggested daily schedule, including the Minilesson (8–10 minutes), Work Time (30 minutes), and Share Time (5 minutes). A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, recommends teachers adjust their sequence of units based on data, stating, "If your assessments reveal that students' skills are currently far below grade-level benchmarks, you might choose to alter your intended sequence of units for the year and borrow a unit or two from your lower-grade colleagues." However, it does not provide a suggested pacing for the alternative sequence of units.

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.

"Understanding the Strategic Design of the Units of Study Curriculum" of A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, outlines the rationale and instructional design intended to support skill development across each unit and its internal sections, referred to as "bends." This section states "One day's teaching links to the next, building students' repertoire of skills and strategies," and references that each unit is linked to the next. Skills are recursive because they are revisited unit by unit to ensure more student mastery. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, provides an example of how fluency develops across the curriculum from rereading familiar texts in kindergarten to building prosody and pace in grade 2. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, also states that the sequence of units is designed to be flexible and can be adjusted based on student data. This flexibility contrasts with the stated rationale that units are intentionally ordered and interconnected. For example, in A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, the materials describe how "critical skills develop across not only the units but also the grades," and emphasize how lessons within and across units build upon one another.

Evaluation for 1.1d
Materials include protocols with corresponding guidance for unit and lesson internalization.

In grade 1, the materials include a "Unit Essentials" section at the beginning of each unit, which supports teachers in establishing classroom routines and understanding the structure of the unit. This section provides an overview of each bend, describing how the instruction progresses, and provides alignment with other products from the same publisher for phonics, writing, and assessment. The materials also offer guidance on what teachers should look for in the classroom, including suggestions for observations and instructional priorities to reinforce the unit’s learning goals. This deep-level overview of each unit guides teachers to internalize the unit. Although the materials outline how teachers should navigate each unit, they do not provide explicit protocols—such as planning templates, pre-lesson analysis guides, or reflection questions—to help teachers internalize lessons before instruction. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, provides guidance on how to teach each section of the reading workshop session; however, it does not provide teachers with corresponding guidance for unit, or lesson, internalization.

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

In grade 1, the materials do not include resources specifically designed for instructional leaders to support teachers with implementation. The content focuses on classroom-level guidance for teachers, including how to use the resources, how work times are structured, and how to consider assessment data during instruction. Supporting All Readers, High Leverage Small Groups and Conferences K–2, provides teachers with guidance for the implementation of differentiated, responsive instruction during work time, but does not mention how instructional leaders should support teachers. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, emphasizes that colleagues serve as teachers’ greatest resource. Although it suggests collaboration with instructional leaders, it does not provide specific guidance.

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 grade 1, the materials include a "Unit Essentials" section at the beginning of each unit Teacher Edition. This section includes a storyline of the unit, which explains each Bend, the assessments, and precursor skills needed for the unit, alignment to other units, and what the teacher needs to prepare in advance. Readers Have Big Jobs to Do (Unit 4), provides detailed implementation guidance and background knowledge on a variety of topics taught within the unit (e.g., decoding words with r-controlled vowels, monitoring reading independently). This supports teachers' understanding of these foundational skills, ensuring they are prepared to effectively teach the content. While academic vocabulary is used within the unit overview, the teacher-facing section does not provide guidance for academic vocabulary instruction. For example, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), the teacher overview introduces academic terms such as prefix and suffix. However, the student materials instead use simplified language like tips and tails. This substitution limits students’ exposure to essential academic vocabulary and may hinder their ability to make connections to future literacy instruction.

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.

A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, "Affirming and Supporting Multilingual Learners" provides information on supporting multilingual learners in the classroom; however, it is not specific to Spanish-speaking students, and family support resources are not provided. The content is intended for classroom teachers and emphasizes a consistent instructional structure, providing text in students’ native languages, and maintaining uniform teaching language across units and grade levels. In grade 1, some units provide a family letter in English that includes suggestions for supporting their student with the skills taught in that unit. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), a family letter provides prompts for families to use when reading with their child, such as, "Did that make sense? Look again! Slide across the sounds. Blend them together." However, these family letters are not included in each unit.

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 (aligned with the TEKS and the ELPS).

Each lesson is presented as a detailed narrative script for the teacher, outlining specific language to use during instruction; however, it lacks alignment to specific TEKS or ELPS. A daily objective is offered in the form of a session teaching point. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 1, the teaching point is, "Today I want to teach you that when word detectives notice a word they see a lot, they learn that word really, really well and make it become a snap word. To do this, they study the word carefully to figure out how each sound is spelled, and they practice writing it." This teaching point shows the objective and is used throughout the session. Tasks are incorporated into both the minilesson and work time portions of the session to engage students in actively working toward mastery of the learning objective. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 1, students partner together to practice reading a list of high-frequency words and identify the ones that are more difficult to read. Students work together to analyze the difficult words, identify the spelling that represents each sound, and practice writing the words. Each session also includes questions and prompts to check for understanding of the teaching point. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, Session 7, additional instructional notes are included alongside the minilesson that provide prompts and supports for the teacher to ensure that students understand the learning objective. For example, this session’s teaching point centers around counting an unknown word’s vowels to determine the number of syllables and begin decoding the word. The instructional support suggests the teacher ask, "Are they next to each other or far apart?" to help a student determine how to count the vowels in a multisyllabic word, accounting for vowel teams. Necessary materials for each session are included in the "Getting Ready" section of each session throughout all of the unit plans. For example, "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, Session 4 lists a demonstration text, an anchor chart, sticky notes, and index cards as necessary materials.

Evaluation for 1.3b
Materials include a lesson overview listing the teacher and student materials necessary to effectively deliver the lesson, and the suggested timing for each lesson component.

In grade 1, each unit includes session plans that outline specific learning tasks and identify the materials needed for instruction. Each session features a section to support teacher and student preparation, organized into two subtitled lists: "You Will Need" and "Students Will Need." These lists reference both program-specific and general classroom materials. In "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), Bend I, Session 3, the lesson overview lists sticky notes and a demonstration text as required teacher materials and book baggies with nonfiction texts as required student materials. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, provides a daily recommended schedule in "The Big Picture of a School Day, of Balanced Literacy, and of a Reading Workshop." In this chapter, the Reading Workshop time is broken down by time as follows: Minilesson (8–10 minutes), Work Time (30 minutes), and Share Time (5 minutes). Guidance is given for the teacher to conduct two small groups during the Work Time block. This guidance is provided for teachers to follow throughout the entire program; however, the suggested timing is not listed on any of the daily lesson overviews. Teachers should read A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, to understand the daily suggested timing.

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

The materials include embedded recommendations for Supporting All Readers through designated Gold Pages interspersed throughout each bend. These pages are designed to help teachers support all readers by offering targeted strategies, scaffolds, and small-group guidance beyond the core lesson. For example, the Gold Pages in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), Bend I, provide instructional support for fluency development with coaching moves to support readers with "rereading to make your voice smoother" and "reading with prosody." Teachers are guided with specific prompts, question stems, and encouragement to use during small-group instruction. This embedded guidance enables teachers to differentiate based on individual student needs within the context of the current unit. An included resource, Supporting All Readers High Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2, provides targeted support across reading development goals for kindergarten through grade 2, including phonics, word recognition, decoding, and fluency. These small-group lessons offer teachers flexible options to extend learning for students who need extra support beyond the core unit sessions. Supporting All Readers High Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2, also provides embedded support for teachers to deliver responsive instruction through coaching strategies designed for struggling readers. The reference materials include "If/Then" charts that outline targeted strategies for addressing specific reading challenges. For example, one chart addresses fluency difficulties: "If a student reads too quickly, breezing through large chunks in one breath, then coach them to slow down to think about what they are reading, providing a demonstration if needed." Other fluency challenges—such as reading in one- to two-word phrases—are also addressed through coaching strategies that support improved phrasing and overall comprehension. These embedded resources support just-in-time differentiation and targeted intervention during reading instruction.

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 opportunities for formative assessment embedded within daily lessons. These assessments vary in task types and questioning strategies. For example, in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), Bend I, Session 3, teachers are encouraged to observe students during partner reading as they engage with nonfiction texts—the focus of that day’s minilesson. Teachers can also assess understanding by observing students as they study images from nonfiction texts and act them out to "help have an even better understanding of the information being learned." These embedded observations allow teachers to assess comprehension and engagement formatively. However, the materials do not include summative assessments after each session or Bend. The materials include summative assessments at the unit level. Each unit ends with a summative assessment, and the following unit includes guidance for supporting students who did not meet expectations. These end-of-unit assessments are teacher-administered and focus on key phonics and phonemic awareness skills taught within the unit. These summative assessments vary in types of tasks and questions. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), teachers administer the Phonic Decoding Assessment. Teachers can also gather data through running records to help determine reading readiness; however, the materials provide minimal guidance for implementing this process and direct teachers to follow district recommendations.

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

Throughout the units, formative assessments are labeled as "informal" assessments, while summative assessments are labeled as "formal" assessments. The definitions of these types of assessments are not included. In grade 1, the "Unit Essentials" section of each unit provides guidance for summative student assessment and provides the purpose and impact on instruction. It also includes precursor skills needed for the upcoming unit based on previous units. The guidance also suggests monitoring phonemic awareness skills closely and frequently so that more complicated decoding word patterns can be taught in this unit. After "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), students are assessed on decoding words with consonant digraphs, silent e, and inflectional endings; high-frequency words taught during the unit; and phonemic awareness. The materials include explicit instructions for teachers, explaining how to interpret the assessment data and determine next steps. Teachers are directed to reteach and reassess skills if mastery has not been achieved, or move forward to the next unit if 80 percent of the class has demonstrated mastery of the Unit 2 skills. This guidance supports data-informed instructional decision-making. Formative assessments are also provided throughout the units. In "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), informal running record guidance is included in Bend II as a formative assessment. The materials guide teachers to understand the purpose of this assessment and how to modify instruction based on the results. Gold Pages at the end of each bend provide additional prompts for the teacher to assess students formatively to plan for instruction. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend I, Session 5, the Gold Page recommends using Supporting All Readers High Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 for students who are struggling to decode CVC words, words with blends and digraphs, or CVCe words. This resource includes multiple formative assessments that include guidance on their intended instructional purpose. These assessments support teachers in identifying specific student needs and delivering targeted, responsive instruction.

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

In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), the Gold Pages at the end of the unit provide a Phonemic Awareness Assessment focusing on blending, segmenting, and isolating phonemes. The materials give an informal overview of the purpose and why these skills are important for the upcoming units. The materials give suggestions for how to assess but leave some decisions up to teacher discretion by offering suggestions rather than requirements on how, when, and where to assess students. Target words and sentence stems are provided to support administration. A proficiency score of 2 out of 3 is given. While the materials provide guidance on how to use this assessment as a planning tool and an ongoing resource, the methods were not found to be methodical or consistent. Assessments are often offered as an option rather than a requirement. "Becoming a Big Kid Reader" (Unit 1) provides limited guidance for administering the summative assessments consistently and accurately. Step-by-step procedures and recommended time limits are not included. The decoding assessment does not indicate time limits or how many attempts students get at decoding each word. Similarly, in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), the decoding assessment does not include time limits or information on whether a student must decode the word automatically, or if they are allowed to sound out each phoneme and then blend the whole word to decode.

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

There is no evidence that the assessments are aligned with the TEKS. While the materials include formative and summative assessments within each unit, they do not provide a systematic approach to diagnostic testing. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), teachers are instructed to introduce high-frequency words, known as "snap words." In the unit’s summative assessment, students are assessed on their mastery of the high-frequency words taught, demonstrating internal consistency within the instructional sequence. However, this alignment is not explicitly linked to the TEKS, and no diagnostic tools are provided to identify student needs at the start of instruction. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), the Gold Page at the end of Bend II, Session 1, provides a formative assessment on phonemic awareness that aligns with the bend objectives. The materials direct the teacher to use an observational tool to evaluate the development of phoneme awareness through writing by analyzing a spelling attempt. The tool provides a checklist that spans the progression of phoneme awareness (e.g., words with two phonemes, words with three phonemes, words with four phonemes). The materials direct the teacher to, "Study a spelling attempt and ask yourself: How many phonemes are in the word? What sounds did the child hear? First sound? Last sound? Medial vowel? Internal consonants? What sounds are missing? Is there a specific sound that seems difficult for this child to hear?" The materials then provide instructional support that aligns with the assessment. In grade 1, the materials provide practice opportunities within lessons and units consistent with the stated objectives. For example, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend III, Session 5, the objective focuses on learning high-frequency words. The corresponding summative assessment at the end of the unit assesses students on their high-frequency word knowledge, showing alignment between instruction and assessment. This consistency supports coherent skill development and reinforces student learning throughout the unit. Similarly, in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), students are assessed summatively on decoding phonics patterns taught within the unit, such as vowel teams and r-controlled vowels.

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

The materials include assessments that do not align with the TEKS. While the materials provide summative assessments at the end of each unit that evaluate skills taught during the unit, the assessments are not explicitly aligned to the TEKS. Although some assessed skills may reflect TEKS-based expectations, the materials do not cite the standards or demonstrate a direct connection between assessment items and the TEKS, limiting the ability to ensure full alignment with state expectations. However, the assessments include tasks that reflect an increasing level of cognitive complexity. For example, in "Stepping into the World of the Story" (Unit 4), on the Phonic Decoding Assessment, students decode words by applying phonics knowledge to blend and read unfamiliar words. This task demonstrates students’ ability to transfer and apply foundational skills, indicating progress toward mastery, even though the assessment is not explicitly aligned to the TEKS. In grade 1, the materials include instructional assessments at varying levels of complexity. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), the High-Frequency Word Assessment measures word recall through the less complex cognitive task of recognizing and remembering high-frequency words. The Phonemic Awareness Assessment measures blending, segmenting, and isolating phonemes in words with four phonemes, which also demonstrates less complex cognitive tasks. Together, these assessments address foundational phonics and early literacy TEKS at basic cognitive levels appropriate for early learners. In "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), students engage in more cognitively demanding assessment tasks by blending, segmenting, and isolating words with 5 phonemes, and applying foundational decoding skills to read unfamiliar words. While the assessments have varying levels of complexity as they build on precursor skills and assist the teacher in informing next steps of instruction for individual and small groups of children based on performance, they are not specifically or intentionally aligned to the TEKS.

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

The materials include assessments at the end of each unit, which provide guidance for interpreting student performance. When the High-Frequency Word Assessment is administered at the end of "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), teachers are guided to assess students on the 38 words taught in kindergarten, along with the 34 words taught during Units 1 and 2, to determine how many of these words are "snappy" for their readers. Teachers are instructed on how to collect and record the data for future reference and told to "make plans to support and monitor any students who are not keeping pace with learning snap words." However, for this assessment, teachers are not provided with scoring criteria; instead, they are directed to "make plans to progress-monitor students’ snap word acquisition across the units that follow this one," without specific progress monitoring tools or guidance for systematically incorporating this into weekly lessons until mastery is achieved. Teachers are provided with the next steps for students who have demonstrated mastery and those who require additional support. For example, the Phonic Decoding Assessment guidance from "Word Detectives" (Unit 2) states, "Probably by now, more of your students will be able to read through the Silent e Words and Inflectional Endings portion of the assessment. If students are able to do so with at least 80% accuracy, you will continue on to the Vowel Teams section of the assessment. This will be the focus of the decoding work across Units 3 and 4. Meanwhile, you will continue to closely track students who are at earlier stages of this assessment, based on your last data checkpoint. You will use this data along with other assessments to inform your whole-group and small-group instruction across Unit 3." This guidance supports data-informed instructional planning and helps teachers respond effectively to individual student needs. The scoring information for summative assessments is inconsistent, particularly in the inclusion of proficiency rates and clear guidance for interpreting student performance. While the Phonemic Awareness and Phonic Decoding Assessments include proficiency benchmarks and scoring guidance, the High-Frequency Word and Running Record Assessments do not provide proficiency rates, making it difficult to gauge student mastery. The Running Record guidance in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1) explains "By the end of Unit 1, your aim will be to conduct running records to determine the level of difficulty that each child can read with at least 96% accuracy, fluency, and comprehension." However, the materials do not specify which texts to use or how to determine complexity. Additionally, the program emphasizes that "children benefit from a balanced reading diet," encouraging the use of both decodable and leveled texts. The only reference to expected text levels is the suggestion that students should be reading at Fountas and Pinnell levels E or F by this point in the year. While the instructional assessments offer general guidance for evaluating student performance, the lack of clear scoring criteria and proficiency benchmarks limits the usefulness of the scoring information in supporting instructional decision-making.

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

At the beginning of each bend, a section titled "The Key Skills and Blueprint Methods of the Bend" provides detailed support for students who did not demonstrate proficiency on the previous unit’s assessments. These supports include targeted tasks and activities for both individuals and small groups, designed to promote continued learning in response to assessment data. For example, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), the Blueprints recommend using a Running Record score of 90 percent accuracy or higher as an indicator that a student is ready to transition to a more complex text. Following this guidance, the materials provide planning support for guided reading groups, including suggestions for book introductions, identification of key vocabulary, scaffolds for text-specific challenges, and comprehension questions to use after reading. The materials also include Gold Pages that include targeted guidance and coaching strategies to help teachers respond to student performance trends. For example, in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), the Gold Pages feature decoding support tailored to student performance trends on the Phonic Decoding Assessment. For students who need additional support decoding words with inflectional endings, the materials direct teachers to a progression titled "Support a Small Group to Decode Words with -s and -ing Endings" in Supporting All Readers: High Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2. This instructional sequence guides teachers in leading small-group activities using word cards and ending cards to help students practice and internalize word structure and decoding strategies.

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

The assessment pages at the end of each unit include tracking forms that allow teachers to document individual student performance across the various foundational reading skills contained in that unit. For example, in "Becoming Avid Readers" (Unit 3), assessment forms are included for Phonic Decoding, Phonemic Awareness, and High-Frequency Word Assessments. All tracking forms are accessible through the online resources platform, enabling teachers to print and use them as needed to record and analyze student progress and growth over time. The materials do not consistently provide student-facing tools to support students in tracking their own progress and growth. The teacher-facing recording tools are designed specifically for teacher use and do not include features or adaptations for student self-monitoring or reflection. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), the materials offer "Tips for Supporting Students in Setting Goals," which suggest creating a "strategy card" to document the student’s goal and using a "familiar chart" to support students in reflecting on something they do well and selecting a new goal to pursue. Students may leave a conference or group session with a small copy of the chart marked with their selected goal. However, this system is not connected to assessment data, and there is no clear guidance on how to implement the process consistently across instructional settings. As a result, the support for student ownership of learning is limited, informal, and inconsistently embedded in the materials. In "Becoming Avid Readers" (Unit 3), a Nonfiction Retelling Rubric is introduced as a student-facing self-assessment tool. Students can award themselves up to three stars based on their ability to name the topic, include three or more details from the text, and add their own thinking to the retelling. However, the materials do not provide guidance on how frequently the retelling rubric should be revisited, nor do they include tools for students to track their progress over time. Similar student-facing tools are not present in other units, indicating a lack of consistency in supporting student reflection and self-assessment across the program.

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

The materials include differentiated instructional guidance in multiple areas, such as Unit Essentials (unit overviews), Bend Blueprints, session scripts, Gold Pages following sessions, and small-group lessons. This guidance appears in varying formats throughout the curriculum. For example, each Blueprint Method is paired with a skill and associated practice opportunities, allowing for repeated use and adaptation based on student needs. Some Blueprints offer differentiated lessons and activities, while others refer back to lessons from previous units or provide expanded explanations of concepts. The Unit Essentials section offers consistent support for differentiation across all units by identifying relevant assessments and precursor skills and providing information on planning for small group support. Sporadic Gold Pages offer suggestions to support differentiation across a variety of topics and frequently refer teachers to Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 for additional small-group lessons or to previous units for reinforcement opportunities. These resources offer flexible strategies to support instruction rather than fixed scaffolds tied to individual lessons, as the core lessons themselves provide limited embedded guidance for differentiation. Teachers must read the Unit Essentials, study the Bend Blueprints, and reference Supporting All Readers to plan differentiated instruction. The materials include supplemental resources that offer explicit teacher guidance for differentiated instruction through scaffolded lessons and targeted activities for students who have not yet reached proficiency in grade-level content and skills. Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 provides comprehensive, fully scripted lessons that span kindergarten through grade 2 and allow teachers to select instruction based on students' individual needs. This resource guides teachers in using assessment data or classroom observation to plan responsive instruction during Work Time. For example, in "Progression 7: Alphabetic Knowledge," the materials support instructional planning by helping teachers interpret student behaviors and select letters for focused reinforcement. Teachers receive guidance on adjusting instruction and implementing supports for engagement, such as magnetic letter centers, as well as strategies to reinforce skills throughout the day. These lessons and activities provide structured routines and flexible scaffolds to support developing learners in building foundational literacy skills. In A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, the section "Ensuring Access for All Learners" provides guidance for identifying student strengths and using them as entry points to address areas of need. For example, the materials advise teachers to offer audiobooks aligned to a student’s emotional maturity, alongside decodable texts, when a student demonstrates strong listening skills but is not yet decoding proficiently. The guidance presents overarching strategies for supporting students across kindergarten through grade 2.

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). (T/S)

The materials include some embedded supports for vocabulary development; however, these are not consistently or systematically incorporated across lessons or units. Vocabulary instruction tends to occur opportunistically when unfamiliar words arise in context, rather than through intentional, pre-planned instruction. In several instances, the teacher script prompts rephrasing or contextual modeling to support student understanding of new words. For example, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend II, Session 2, the teacher guides students in analyzing characters’ emotions and introduces synonyms for the word happy, supporting understanding through illustrations and a discussion of shades of meaning. Similarly, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend II, Session 2, the teacher models how to use storyline cues to anticipate meaning, supporting comprehension through modeling and contextual scaffolding. While some units include guidance for supporting vocabulary, it is not embedded consistently throughout the curriculum. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, Session 1, the materials introduce a strategy called "Text Talk" which provides 5 steps for explicit vocabulary instruction: saying the word and having students repeat it, giving a student-friendly definition, using example sentences, asking deep-thinking questions, and prompting students to recall the word. However, this routine is not carried forward or scripted into the majority of lessons. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend II, Session 5, the lesson titled "Readers Work Hard to Understand New Vocabulary" includes scripting that encourages students to infer word meaning during reading. However, it does not include structured vocabulary pre-teaching before encountering the words in text. The materials do not include instruction or support for understanding figurative language or idioms. Overall, while the materials include occasional vocabulary scaffolds, they do not offer consistent pre-teaching or embedded support for academic or literary language, limiting students' exposure to and practice with grade-level vocabulary in a systematic way.

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 materials provide limited teacher guidance for differentiated instruction, enrichment, or extension activities for students who have demonstrated proficiency in grade-level content and skills. In A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, the chapter "Ensuring Access" focuses primarily on supporting students who need additional help. While the section titled "Individualized Instruction" describes ways to scaffold learning for students not yet meeting grade-level expectations, it does not offer specific strategies or structured lessons to extend learning for students who have already demonstrated proficiency. The Unit Essentials sections at the start of each unit outline assessment expectations and precursor skills. These sections guide teachers in planning interventions based on prior unit data but do not address how to enrich or extend instruction for advanced learners. Similarly, the small-group lessons, Blueprint pages, and Gold Pages embedded within the units focus almost exclusively on remediation. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), one Gold Page provides coaching guidance to help students with monitoring for sense while reading narrative texts. It includes prompts to support skills such as retelling, summarizing, synthesizing, and making inferences and predictions. However, it does not provide concrete, differentiated tasks or enrichment pathways for proficient readers. The materials allocate Work Time in each session for small-group instruction; however, these groups typically support struggling learners. The materials advise teachers to intervene with support during Work Time and refer to Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 as a resource. While this supplemental text contains a progression of scaffolded lessons that increase in complexity, the core program does not present these as enrichment opportunities for students who have mastered grade-level skills. When referencing this resource, the Gold Page in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1) states, "If your students need support in addition to what’s offered in this unit, this page will help you to draw on your assessments and observations to plan responsive Work Time instruction." Although the guidance encourages teachers to look for signs that students may be ready to "skip ahead," it stops short of providing structured extension lessons or targeted enrichment activities. Overall, the materials prioritize intervention and support for learners who have not yet mastered grade-level content and skills, but do not offer systematic or intentional guidance for enriching or extending learning for students who have already demonstrated proficiency.

Evaluation for 3.2a
Materials include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance to support the teacher in modeling and explaining the concept(s) to be learned.

Each session follows a consistent structure and includes a detailed teacher-facing narrative script. The materials provide explicit prompts to guide teachers in modeling and explaining the targeted concepts. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 1, the provided teaching point states: "Today I want to teach you that word detectives have to look closely for an e at the end of a word. That silent e is a clue. It tells you to try a long-vowel sound in the word." The script then guides the teacher to model decoding words with silent e both in isolation and in continuous text. The teacher also models checking that the word makes sense after it is decoded: "The căs of the missing căk would not make any sense! The Case of the Missing Cake is a mystery starring our friend Rasheed!" The materials also provide clear guidance to support teachers in modeling and explaining targeted skills and concepts through the Bend Blueprints of each unit. These overviews outline the essential learning targets and provide instructional support for lesson delivery. For example, in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), Bend I, the Blueprint introduces identifying the main idea and supporting details to retell nonfiction texts. The teacher contrasts narrative and expository retelling by explaining that "if students try to use that same [narrative] structure to retell expository text, they are likely to miss important main ideas." The materials further explain how to model retelling expository texts, stating: "Invite your children to practice retelling their nonfiction books. Coach them not just to retell the book in order, but to think about the larger topic they are learning about and then the important details that go along with that larger topic." The minilessons in this unit include fully scripted language and modeled examples, providing step-by-step instructional routines to support lesson delivery. Teachers have access to both the explicit prompts and guidance necessary to model and explain concepts effectively.

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

In each unit, teachers are provided with a structured and consistent instructional framework within each daily session. Lessons follow a gradual release model and incorporate whole-group instruction, guided practice, collaborative learning, and independent application. Within these portions of each session, the teacher engages students in various instructional strategies, such as think-alouds, turn-and-talks, scaffolded instruction, opportunities for student discourse, and flexible grouping. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend III, Session 1, the lesson focuses on how readers notice when they are confused and reread to understand. The teacher models the skill through a think-aloud and then offers students an opportunity to engage in discourse as they turn and talk with a partner about the strategy. Midway through Work Time, the teacher transitions the class from independent work to partner work, having students share "confusing parts" of the story with a partner as they reread the story and discuss the tricky part to build comprehension. During independent time, the teacher also engages small-groups in interactive practice to reinforce the day’s teaching point. This lesson reflects the broader structure found across the materials, where a range of instructional approaches are embedded consistently to support effective lesson delivery and active student engagement. At the beginning of each bend, the "Key Skills and Blueprint Methods of the Bend" section outlines the instructional focus and offers detailed guidance to support lesson delivery. For example, in the guidance preceding Bend III in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), teachers receive support for teaching students how to monitor for sense and use both pictures and words to support inference and synthesis. Instructional approaches vary and include whole-group modeling, think-alouds, student discourse, partner reading, and independent application, all embedded within a consistent structure based on a gradual release model. In Bend III, Session 1, the minilesson includes a teacher think-aloud aligned to the teaching point, followed by opportunities for student talk during the Active Engagement portion. During Rug Time, students read with a partner and practice the objective through turn-and-talk, while sidebars in the script offer scaffolded suggestions, such as using facial expressions to model confusion and referring to pictures for meaning. During Share Time, the teacher revisits the teaching point through another modeled think-aloud, inviting students to contribute to the demonstration. These embedded supports guide teachers in delivering lessons using multiple instructional approaches while reinforcing the day’s objective.

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 Reading Workshop framework, described in A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, outlines the consistent structure of each session. Each lesson follows this structure grounded in a gradual release model: teacher modeling during the Teach portion, guided and collaborative practice during Active Engagement, and independent or partner application during Work Time and Share Time. This overview offers detailed information to help teachers understand and implement the core components of the reading workshop model. Within each lesson, the teacher-facing narrative indicates when students are expected to work independently or with partners, providing direct scripting to support smooth facilitation and transitions. The lesson structure allows for repeated, scaffolded opportunities to practice skills across whole-group, small-group, partner, and individual contexts. For example, in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend I, Session 5, the teacher delivers a scripted lesson focused on using self-monitoring strategies when readers get stuck on a word or a part of the text by asking themselves questions like "Does that make sense?," "What is happening and why?," or "What does that mean?" The teacher begins by modeling the use of those questions to help self-correct their reading and monitor for comprehension. Students participate in guided practice to support the teacher in self-monitoring the word stuck by asking the guiding questions and retelling the story with a partner. Next, students collaborate with a partner to read and self-monitor any "clunks." Finally, students practice the strategy independently. This structured routine provides daily opportunities for multiple types of practice with scripted guidance that supports student learning and instructional effectiveness.

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.

A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, includes a Q&A section titled "Students in the Early Stages of Language Acquisition," which offers general guidance for supporting Emergent Bilingual (EB) students, known as Multilingual Language Learners (MLL) in the program. The materials suggest strategies such as creating a welcoming environment, encouraging the use of multiple forms of communication, and forming partnerships or triads to support peer interaction. The guidance also recommends designating English-speaking students as classroom ambassadors to assist their peers. While these are helpful classroom practices, the materials do not provide linguistic accommodations aligned with specific levels of English language proficiency as defined by the ELPS. As a result, the guidance does not explicitly support students in progressing through increasingly sophisticated academic language across proficiency levels. In A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, a chapter titled "Affirming and Supporting Multilingual Learners" notes that each Unit Essentials section includes an overview for EBl learners, provides blue italicized suggestions that reference how instruction may support EBs, and offers occasional ideas for increasing accessibility. It also references some Work Time opportunities designed to target EBs and promotes the use of translanguaging strategies to help students make meaning using their full linguistic repertoire. However, these supports are not differentiated by proficiency level or aligned with academic language expectations outlined in the ELPS. Blue, italicized sidebars in some minilessons and small-group sessions offer targeted support for EBs. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, Session 2, the sidebar states: "Organizing your MLLs in the earliest stages of language development in triads, paired with two more proficient English speakers. We suggest spotlighting triads as models for the rest of the class periodically to help them feel included and recognized." In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend I, Session 1, the lesson uses an analogy of the clunking noise a flat tire makes to help students understand that when they notice problems ("clunks") in their reading, they should stop to fix them. The sidebar to support EBs explains that "For MLLs in the earlier stages of English language development, analogies can be helpful when introducing new concepts. It is important, however, to make it clear when you are switching between the story of the tire and you, now, as a reader. Use a picture or hold up a book to cue the switch." While these embedded supports offer instructional suggestions for supporting EBs, the materials do not include guidance on providing linguistic accommodations for various levels of language proficiency as defined by the ELPS.

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

The materials include general guidance for supporting EB students, known as Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs) in the materials, but do not provide implementation strategies specific to state-approved Bilingual or ESL program models. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, offers an overview of supports for MLLs, referencing instructional scaffolds such as italicized blue sidebars embedded in lesson scripts and targeted small-group sessions during Work Time. The chapter also describes online preview videos in Spanish designed to help Spanish-speaking students anticipate the content of the minilesson, including unpacking key vocabulary and building background knowledge. The materials also lack alignment with the ELPS and do not provide differentiated implementation guidance based on bilingual or ESL program models. While the materials give broad guidance on ways to support EB students in the classroom—such as offering access to a multilingual classroom library, using visuals and gestures, encouraging partner work, conferring individually with EBs, and promoting language development through read-alouds—it lacks alignment to the structures, expectations, or instructional approaches outlined in state-approved Bilingual/ESL program models. The materials do not include guidance to support teachers in implementing or establishing classroom routines and procedures specifically designed for EB students. Additionally, there is no alignment or reference to consistent practices found in Bilingual/ESL programs or instructional frameworks that support the linguistic and academic development of EB students. There is no support for Dual Language instruction, transitional models, or ESL pull-out/co-teach frameworks. The materials do not offer differentiated implementation steps, timelines, or tools aligned to these program types, which is required for meeting the indicator.

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.

The materials include some embedded teacher guidance to support EB students, though this guidance primarily focuses only on increasing comprehension and building background knowledge through oral language. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), the Unit Essentials highlight opportunities to support EB students in the unit such as providing oral sentence stems or frames, encouraging students to read widely on a single topic to help build background knowledge and reencounter key vocabulary, and the use of translanguaging. Throughout the units, blue, italicized sidebars provide lesson-specific suggestions for supporting EB students. For instance, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend II, Session 7, a sidebar encourages teachers to make connections between students’ experiences and the characters in the texts they are reading. Additionally, all units provide "Possible Coaching Moves" to support students with comprehension. Teachers engage in reading conferences with students and in oral discourse focused on a variety of topics such as monitoring and envisioning in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4). Gold Pages, such as the one in Bend II of this unit, also offer additional lessons to increase comprehension and build background knowledge, though these lessons are not specifically targeting EB students. The supplemental resource Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2, includes a full progression dedicated to developing and expanding oral language for EB students, with separate lessons for early and intermediate proficiency levels. While the progression includes strategies to build background knowledge and comprehension—such as using wordless picture books, extending students’ language, and building on students’ diverse experiences and funds of knowledge—it places responsibility for vocabulary selection on the teacher and does not consistently target academic language development. Although some vocabulary-related guidance is provided (e.g., using gestures to reinforce word meaning), the materials do not offer systematic support for developing academic vocabulary or making cross-linguistic connections through oral and written discourse. Opportunities to increase comprehension and build background knowledge through written discourse are not provided.

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.

This guidance is not applicable because the program is not designed for dual language immersion (DLI) programs.

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

The materials include a clearly sequenced progression of phonics instruction that builds logically and incrementally across the year. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2 outlines this development: early units focus on reinforcing kindergarten skills by decoding CVC words and words with blends and digraphs. Middle units build on this foundation by introducing silent e, inflectional endings, vowel teams, and r-controlled vowels. Later units extend this progression with continued work on vowel teams and introduce more complex word types, including vowel digraphs, diphthongs, and two-syllable words with open, closed, and final stable syllables. The phonics content is organized so that each new skill builds on those previously introduced, reflecting a structured and cumulative approach to skill development. While phonics instruction is sequenced across the year, it is not systematic or consistently embedded throughout the units. Phonics lessons appear intermittently—sometimes in whole-group minilessons, sometimes within small-group blueprints—but there is no consistent placement within the core instructional sequence. The most regular phonics-related component is the daily "Phonological Awareness Extension" that opens each session; however, this feature moves unpredictably between skills and relies on online videos rather than direct, teacher-led instruction. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), only 4 of the 17 mini-lessons include explicitly taught phonics content. This lack of consistent, structured instruction limits the materials’ alignment to the expectations of systematic phonics instruction across the full instructional sequence. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend III features 5 sessions that provide explicit, systematic instruction in decoding words with vowel teams and final stable syllables (-le). These lessons demonstrate a clear phonics focus and build progressively on previously taught content, such as CVCe patterns introduced in earlier units, by extending instruction to more advanced spelling patterns. However, the remaining 10 sessions in the unit do not continue this focus and shift away from phonics as a primary objective. As a result, phonics instruction is limited to a portion of the unit and is not sustained across all 16 sessions.

Evaluation for 4.1b
Materials include explicit (direct) and intentional ongoing practice opportunities for phonics (sound-symbol correspondence) skills, both in isolation and through decodable texts.

The materials include limited opportunities for direct and intentional phonics practice in isolation. In "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), 5 out of 18 sessions provide isolated practice with sound-symbol correspondence skills. These opportunities are not ongoing or embedded across the entire unit. Even in sessions that feature a phonics focus, practice opportunities often lack explicit instruction. For example, in Bend II, Session 4, the stated objective introduces the idea that the letters C and G can make hard or soft sounds: "Readers, there are two letters that work this way. C can make the sound /k/ or it can make a soft sound /s/. G can make the sound /g/ or a soft sound /j/." Students are encouraged to "flex" the sound when decoding. While this addresses sound-symbol correspondence, the instruction lacks explicit teaching on the phonics patterns or spelling rules that determine when each sound is likely to occur. As phonics instruction is present in fewer than half of the lessons across the unit, students’ opportunities to engage in ongoing, targeted phonics practice are limited. Unit Readers are included with the materials; however, these texts frequently introduce patterns that have not yet been taught in the program’s phonics sequence. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 1, the materials guide the teacher in a lesson about CVCe words. The Unit Reader, "The Case of the Missing Cake," is used to demonstrate the reading process with the students. This text also includes words such as missing that include patterns such as inflectional endings and double consonants, which are not taught until later in the unit. This misalignment between the provided texts and the phonics scope and sequence limits the use of the texts as tools for intentional skill application and reinforcement, and students may be exposed to phonics patterns before they have received direct instruction. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, encourages teachers to incorporate the Jump Rope Readers decodable texts; however, these books are not included in the core program. Four Jump Rope Readers are included as a sample in the Trade Book Bundle. Book 1, The Big Hair Cut, is advertised as the review book for kindergarten skills. The text includes the word hair, which introduces the vowel team ai and the multisyllabic word blacktop–two patterns not taught in the kindergarten phonics sequence. There are no explicit directions for when or how to incorporate these sample decodable texts in the core program’s reading lessons.

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

The materials include some sessions with guidance for delivering direct phonics instruction; however, explicit instruction with teacher modeling is inconsistent across units. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), phonics instruction sometimes appears in the whole-group minilesson, but in other cases, it is included only in the small-group component, which not all students may receive. When phonics instruction is present, it often lacks clear, direct teaching of phonics concepts and instead relies on teacher demonstration without explicit explanation. For example, in Bend II, Session 6, the stated objective is "after you figure out a tricky word, you can do a slow check by saying the word slowly as you slide your finger under it and check if all the letters look right." This is not explicit instruction in sound-symbol correspondence, but is instead an example of the three-cueing system. The teacher models this skill two times before asking students to engage in guided practice. Additionally, only 5 of the 17 sessions in this unit include phonics instruction. As a result, the materials do not consistently provide daily, direct phonics instruction with teacher modeling. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend I, Session 2, the teacher explicitly introduces the r-controlled pattern ar by explaining that "whenever we see an A with an R right after it, we should say the sound /ar/ to read the word." The teacher models using the words car and park. The lesson then goes on to explain and model reading words with /er/ and /or/ r-controlled vowels. While this lesson includes direct modeling of a phonics skill, it is one of only six phonics-focused sessions in the 18-session unit. The inconsistency in daily, explicit phonics instruction with modeling limits opportunities for students to receive systematic, skill-based instruction across the curriculum.

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

The materials do not include daily phonics instruction, and when explicit instruction is provided, it lacks consistent opportunities for guided practice with immediate or corrective feedback. In each session, following the Connection and Teaching portions of the minilesson, students typically engage with a partner during the Active Engagement section and then transition to independent practice during the Link. Although teachers are encouraged to take frequent observational notes, the materials do not provide structured guidance for offering timely or corrective feedback. Responsibility for addressing errors often shifts to peer partners, rather than being led by the teacher with intentional support or redirection. The sessions include guided instruction, where the teacher models a skill and students try it with a partner while the teacher circulates. "Possible Coaching Moves" are included in the sidebars of some of the sessions during guided practice time. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend I, Session 4, the sidebar focuses on supporting readers to think more. It prompts the teacher to say, "What do you see? What do you realize about the story? Ask your partner to say more about that part. What are you wondering?" These coaching moves offer support to the student to think about the text or to support their partner, but they do not offer direct or corrective feedback on how the student is engaging in the task. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend I, Session 3, a lesson focused on monitoring comprehension includes a partner activity in which one student reads while the other prompts them to retell what is happening to ensure they are following the story. While the teacher is directed to "listen in" and "observe pairs," the materials do not provide specific guidance on how to deliver immediate or corrective feedback during this activity.

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

The materials consistently structure each minilesson to include a Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link component. During Active Engagement, students typically work collaboratively with a partner to apply the skill introduced during the Teaching portion, and during the Link, they are sent off to practice independently. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 3, the teacher models reading words that contain the vowel teams ee and ea, and then provides an opportunity for students to read a Unit Reader with a partner to practice applying this pattern. During the Link, students are sent off to read independently. While this lesson offers both collaborative and independent practice with a specific phonics skill, such structured opportunities are not present in all sessions. As a result, while the materials include some lessons that incorporate phonics practice through partner and independent reading, these are not consistently embedded across daily instruction. The materials include some opportunities for students to practice phonics skills through collaborative learning and independent practice; however, these opportunities are not present in daily lessons. In "Readers Have Big Jobs To Do" (Unit 4), 5 out of 18 sessions include activities that involve phonics practice either with a partner or independently. While these sessions provide a mix of collaborative and individual tasks, the practice is not consistent across the unit. For example, in Bend I, Session 3, the teacher models self-correcting a decoding error, and then students work with a partner to practice this skill before independent work time. While these tasks include collaborative and independent phonics practice, they are isolated rather than embedded into a consistent phonics practice routine. As a result, opportunities for phonics application through collaborative and independent work are present but not systematic or sustained throughout the curriculum.

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

The materials provide occasional opportunities for phonics review; however, these opportunities are intermittent, with limited guidance, and inconsistent inclusion across lessons. For example, in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), phonics review is present in only 3 out of 17 lessons, and in several instances, the review occurs only in the small-group portion of the lesson, meaning not all students receive the instruction. For example, in Bend I, Session 4, the teacher directs students to "look at all parts of the word, and read them part by part." Later in the session, the teacher leads a small-group lesson through targeted phonics review of specific patterns, such as double consonants, inflectional endings, vowel teams previously taught (ee, ea), and provides example words to decode and practice these patterns. The Key Skills and Blueprint Methods for each Bend outline the phonics concepts introduced within each unit. Teachers can reference these overviews to identify the intended progression of phonics instruction and to locate opportunities for small-group lessons that support practice and review. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), the Blueprint emphasizes decoding CVC words and beginning digraphs. Bend II builds on these concepts by introducing CCVC and CVCC words. However, by Bend III, the focus shifts primarily to comprehension, and the materials do not include cumulative phonics review in the whole-group lessons. Any review is optional and appears only in small-group instruction during Work Time. Students take a phonics assessment at the end of the unit, but the lessons do not reinforce skills consistently throughout the unit, as there are no embedded reviews, or cumulative practice opportunities within the lesson structure. Therefore, the materials do not provide a consistent, cumulative review, or intentional practice opportunities for phonics skills across the curriculum.

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

The materials include practice opportunities that extend beyond phonics skills explicitly taught within the unit. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), a Blueprint lesson in Bend I utilizes the text The Crash to support instruction on digraphs. The decodable portion of the text includes words such as crash, shelf, bash, and smash, which align with the target phonics pattern. However, the two images in the book that include labeled words—soil and bird seed—contain phonics patterns (vowel teams and r-controlled vowels) that have not yet been taught in first grade, making those parts of the text inaccessible to many students. These words are not fully decodable based on the phonics instruction provided, yet all students are expected to read this text during the lesson. As a result, students are asked to practice with texts that contain phonics patterns beyond their current level of instruction, which may cause confusion and promote reliance on memorization or picture cues instead of decoding strategies. Additionally, the "Getting Ready" section of "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend I, Session 1 instructs teachers to set up baskets with leveled texts for small-group use, recommending ranges such as A–C, C–D, and D–G. These leveled texts are not designed with decodability in mind and often rely on predictable sentence patterns and picture cues rather than phonics-based decoding. As a result, many of these texts likely contain words that students cannot decode using their current phonics knowledge. Because students are regularly exposed to texts with patterns not yet taught, the materials do not consistently provide practice opportunities that align with explicitly taught phonics skills. While the materials provide explicit instruction in phonics skills, corresponding practice activities often include words with untaught phonics patterns. For instance, in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), all students read a shared text titled Bees. On the two focal pages of the lesson, students encounter words such as others, notice, closer, might, delicious, and cleaning supplies—all of which contain phonics patterns (e.g., vowel teams, digraphs, multisyllabic structures, and high-frequency irregular words) that have not yet been explicitly taught in the first-grade scope and sequence. While the instructional focus of the lesson is on using pictures and the narrative to gather information—not decoding—the teacher still prompts students to read and analyze the text. The materials state, "In many texts that are accessible to first graders, there is more information in the pictures than in the words," suggesting that students are expected to rely on illustrations rather than decoding unfamiliar words. This misalignment between instruction and practice may limit students’ ability to apply and reinforce the intended phonics skill with accuracy and confidence.

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

The materials include Unit Readers with one printed copy provided for the teacher and a printable version available through the online platform to create individual student copies of the text. In some lessons, the Unit Readers are aligned with the phonics objective and allow students to practice newly introduced patterns while reinforcing previously taught skills. In other cases, the texts are not controlled for specific phonics features. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 1, students use the Unit Reader, "The Case of the Missing Cake," as part of a lesson focused on the VCe pattern. This text provides students with opportunities to decode VCe words, such as cake and note, while also incorporating previously taught word structures, including CVC, CCVC, and CVCC patterns. The structure of the text aligns with the phonics focus and supports cumulative practice. However, later in the same unit, this consistency breaks down. In Bend II, Session 6, the text "Tiny and the Big Wave" includes words such as shouted, woof, and away that contain vowel teams that have not yet been explicitly taught. This lesson focuses on comprehension rather than phonics, and the text used is not structured as a decodable text. Because these Unit Readers are not consistently controlled for cumulative phonics patterns and often contain untaught vocabulary, they do not reliably support the development or reinforcement of taught phonics skills. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, encourages teachers to incorporate the Jump Rope Readers decodable texts; however, these books are not included in the core program. Four Jump Rope Readers are included as a sample in the Trade Book Bundle. Book 1, The Big Hair Cut, is advertised as the review book for kindergarten skills. The text includes the word hair, which introduces the vowel team ai and the multisyllabic word blacktop—two patterns not taught in the kindergarten phonics sequence. There are no explicit directions for when or how to incorporate these sample decodable texts in the core program’s reading lessons.

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

The materials infrequently include lessons with a clear phonics instructional focus that offer students opportunities to practice both in isolation and within decodable, connected text. When such lessons do appear, they are not consistently embedded across units and often lack alignment between the phonics skill taught and the accompanying reading materials. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend I, Session 2, the teacher introduces isolated phonics practice using the word net, spelled with magnetic letters, and then models decoding the words hit and pond. These words follow CVC and short vowel patterns appropriate for early first-grade instruction. However, students are then directed to continue practicing the skill using the trade book Rusty Plays at the Park, which contains words like park and play—featuring r-controlled vowels and consonant blends (CCVC)—patterns that have not yet been introduced through explicit instruction. Rather than reinforcing taught phonics skills through cumulative, controlled practice, the materials move students into text that includes more advanced patterns without direct support, limiting the effectiveness of skill application. While some Unit Readers include decodable content, they are not consistently paired with focused phonics instruction or isolated practice. For example, in Building Good Reading Habits, the Unit Reader "The Crash" is used to introduce CVCC words. The teacher models decoding lost by stretching and sliding through the sounds, and during Active Engagement, students help decode crash and shelf, which contain CCVCC phonics patterns that have not yet been explicitly taught. Students are then prompted to practice decoding unfamiliar words in their own independent reading books. Because the core materials do not provide these independent reading texts, there is no guarantee that students have access to decodable, controlled texts aligned with the phonics focus. This pattern is consistent throughout the curriculum: texts may include decodable content, but they are not reliably tied to phonics instruction with intentional, scaffolded opportunities for both isolated practice and application in controlled, connected text.

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

The assessment tools included in the materials are developmentally appropriate and follow a clear progression from simpler to more complex tasks, reflecting the trajectory of foundational literacy skill development. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), students take the Phonic Decoding Assessment to review key skills learned in kindergarten, including decoding CVC words and words with consonant blends, consonant digraphs, and silent e. They also complete the Phonemic Awareness Assessment, which targets kindergarten-level skills such as blending, segmenting, and isolating words with three or four phonemes. In addition, Running Records are administered to evaluate students’ ability to decode within continuous texts. As the units progress, the Phonic Decoding Assessment increases in complexity, incorporating words with inflectional endings, vowel teams, r-controlled vowels, vowel digraphs and diphthongs, and culminating in two-syllable words with open, closed, and final stable syllables by the end of the year. Similarly, the Phonemic Awareness Assessment builds in complexity, incorporating words with five phonemes in "Learning about the World" (Unit 3). Beginning in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), teachers are advised to administer the Phonemic Awareness Assessment only to students who have not yet demonstrated mastery of blending, segmenting, and isolating sounds in five-phoneme words, allowing for more targeted and efficient assessment. These progressions support intentional skill development and allow teachers to assess student understanding along a continuum of literacy acquisition. These thoughtfully sequenced assessments support intentional skill development and allow teachers to monitor student progress along a continuum of literacy acquisition. All assessments are administered one-on-one or in small-group settings and are conducted orally or through teacher observation, further reinforcing their developmental appropriateness for early learners. Additionally, the assessments are designed to be brief and focused, minimizing student fatigue and maintaining engagement—an important consideration for young children—while still providing meaningful insight into foundational literacy skills.

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

The materials include unit summative assessments that measure students’ acquisition of phonics skills, and these assessments are referenced to inform small-group instruction. However, formal assessments are not embedded within the daily sessions to systematically measure students’ progress toward mastery of grade-level phonics expectations. This limits the ability to monitor skill development in real time within the instructional sequence. In the assessment guide at the end of each unit, the materials inconsistently recommend administering some assessments at both the beginning and end of the unit, while others are suggested to be used throughout or only at the end of the unit. Although re-administering the same assessment can provide an accurate measure of students’ acquisition of grade-level phonics, there is no guidance to ensure this is done systematically. Assessments are not scheduled at regular intervals, nor are they tied to specific student performance benchmarks. Instead, teachers are given broad discretion to assess whomever and whenever they feel it is appropriate. As a result, there is a lack of structure to ensure consistent, ongoing measurement of student progress throughout the unit. At the end of "Learning about the World" (Unit 3), students take the Phonemic Awareness Assessment again, which includes blending, segmenting, and isolating phonemes in words with five phonemes. For students who are not keeping pace with the majority of the class, the materials suggest teachers "check their progress again in a couple of weeks." However, there is no established schedule or structure for delivering assessments at regular intervals. This lack of consistency may lead to gaps in progress monitoring and missed opportunities for timely instructional adjustments. While the repeated use of the same assessment across multiple units supports accurate tracking of student growth and enables instructional decision-making based on consistent tools and procedures, the lack of a systematic progress monitoring plan limits the effectiveness of this approach.

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

The materials do not include a defined set of beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year assessments aligned to progress monitoring expectations. While some assessments recur across units, students only complete portions based on demonstrated mastery. For example, the Phonic Decoding Assessment is administered throughout the year, with students progressing through subsections only after achieving 80 percent accuracy on the previous one. The Phonemic Awareness Assessment follows a similar structure. These tools help determine a student’s place along a phonics progression but do not serve as screeners or diagnostics that provide an overall skill level. Running Records are used throughout the year but are administered using texts at each student’s current level rather than standardized benchmark texts aligned to expected performance at specific points in the year. The materials include Unit Overviews that outline the instructional focus during Work Time; however, references to assessment are minimal and inconsistently embedded within daily or weekly instructional routines. For example, in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), the Unit Overview suggests that teachers should "set a goal for yourself to get even better at observing children as readers" and make connections between topics of study and informal Running Records. While this example highlights informal assessment opportunities, they are sporadically included in the unit and not part of a systematic progress monitoring framework. The lack of consistently embedded formative assessments limits teachers’ ability to monitor student progress in real time and make timely, data-informed instructional decisions. Additionally, the Unit Overviews do not reference the unit summative assessments, creating a further disconnect between instructional content, progress monitoring, and systematic assessment of student progress within the program.

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 data-management tools in the Assessment pages of each unit that allow teachers to document and track individual student progress in areas such as phonemic awareness, phonic decoding, high-frequency word knowledge, and reading levels. These tools are available on the program’s online platform for access and printing. Each tool provides an opportunity to track individual student progress through hard copy forms. The materials guide teachers to use assessment results to inform small-group instruction and provide coaching moves with scripted prompts to support struggling students. While the materials do not include explicit directions for how to accelerate instruction, each unit includes small-group Blueprints that offer options for both intervention and extension based on student performance. For example, the Assessment pages at the end of "Word Detectives" (Unit 2) include the Phonic Decoding Assessment for words with consonant digraphs, silent e, and inflectional endings. The materials advise teachers to "continue on to the next section of the assessment based on where you stopped at the end of Unit 1," enabling differentiated assessment administration based on each student’s current progress along the phonics continuum. This approach allows teachers to pinpoint individual progress and tailor instruction accordingly. In the following unit, "Learning about the World" (Unit 3), the Gold Pages provide targeted supports for students who have not mastered reading words with blends and silent e. Teachers are directed to specific instructional progressions in Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2, as well as to the chapter about ensuring access in A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, to guide responsive small-group planning and intervention based on the assessment data.

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

The materials do not include data management tools for tracking whole-class student progress or for analyzing patterns and trends across groups of students. While the unit assessment data-collection tools allow teachers to document individual student progress, they do not provide structures for aggregating or organizing whole-class data. For example, beginning in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), students are assessed on phonic decoding, and guidance is provided for interpreting individual results to inform instructional planning. Teachers are directed to download the individual student assessment forms from the online platform. However, no tools or guidance are provided to help teachers analyze patterns or to determine instructional needs based on class-wide performance data. In A Guide to the Reading Workshops, K–2, the chapter titled "Tracking Kids’ Progress and Using Assessment to Support Instruction" encourages teachers to analyze class-wide trends and use that information to inform instruction. However, it offers no structured approach or tools for doing so. Instead, the materials suggest that teachers "keep experimenting until you find a system that works for you" and use observational notes to guide next steps with individuals, small groups, or the whole class. Without concrete tools or a consistent system, the burden of designing and managing whole-class data tracking falls entirely on the teacher.

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

The materials make recommendations for a suggested timeline for formal assessments at the end of each unit, but do not provide specific guidance on the frequency or structure for progress monitoring. Instead, the responsibility is left to the teacher's discretion, with an emphasis on informal assessment to determine student strengths and needs. In A Guide to the Reading Workshops, K–2, teachers are encouraged to collaborate in developing an assessment timeline, with the guidance stating: "You will need to decide which assessments apply to your classroom and when it makes sense to conduct them. Many of the assessments we recommend are ongoing assessments that are spread out across time, while others might be given just a few times a year." While the materials provide opportunities for informal progress monitoring, they do not include systematic tools or protocols to guide teachers in tracking progress over time based on students’ strengths and needs. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 1), after administering the High-Frequency Word Assessment, teachers are advised to "make plans to progress-monitor snap word acquisition across the units that follow this one." However, the materials do not provide specific guidance for determining the frequency of these assessments. The only reference to monitoring frequency appears in a note suggesting that "if you notice students who seem to learn the majority of snap words fairly easily, you might stop assessing their high-frequency word knowledge as it is likely they will continue to acquire these words with ease." Similarly, in the Phonic Decoding Assessment guidance at the end of "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), teachers are instructed to "monitor any students who are far below benchmark in decoding, checking in again midway through the next unit so that you can continue to plan a targeted cycle of intervention." However, no formal structure, tracking tools, or detailed guidance are provided to support consistent monitoring or help determine when reassessment should occur. In Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2, the materials list the available assessment tools—such as Running Records and the High-Frequency Word, Phonemic Awareness, and Phonic Decoding Assessments—and note that teachers should refer to district guidance regarding additional tools to monitor reading progress. While general suggestions for "checking in" with students appear in the Gold Pages and Blueprint sections of the unit guides, there is no clear plan for how often to monitor progress or how to record and analyze that data over time. As a result, progress monitoring is inconsistent and largely reliant on teacher initiative, limiting the potential for data-informed instructional planning across the year.

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

The materials include lessons and resources intended to support accelerated instruction, though the focus leans more toward remediation than enrichment. While general guidance is provided for using small-group instruction to address student needs, there are no structured pathways or explicit strategies for accelerating learning based on progress monitoring data. Teachers are encouraged to reference assessments to identify skill gaps—even those outside the current unit focus—but the materials lack specific guidance for linking data to targeted instructional resources. For example, in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), the Gold Page in Bend I, Session 5 states, "you will want to continue to provide decoding support to readers based on your observations and assessment data. If students are working to decode CVC words, words with blends or digraphs, or CVCe words, use the Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2, book and consult the chapter about ensuring success in A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2." The guidance also refers teachers to review previous Gold Pages for additional support. While the suggested lessons address topics students may struggle with, they lack clear direction on how or when teachers should intervene in response to assessment data. As a result, while the materials encourage data-informed instruction, they do not consistently support teachers in using assessment data to drive targeted interventions or acceleration. Within the unit Blueprints, small-group lessons and coaching tips are provided; however, they are not consistently based on progress monitoring data. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), a Blueprint for reviewing kindergarten phonics and word-solving skills states, "you will want to identify any students you believe will need extra support" without referencing the use of assessment data. The embedded lessons span 2 sessions and include predetermined word types–CVC words and words with -ck endings–rather than words selected based on progress monitoring data. This inconsistency weakens the alignment between student needs and instructional response.

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). (T)

The materials include explicit instructional guidance for developing oracy, with daily opportunities for students to listen and speak in structured, purposeful ways. Across sessions, students participate in partner conversations, whole-group discussions, and shared reading routines designed to build a language-rich environment. The materials consistently incorporate modeling, guided practice, coaching, and independent practice to support students in developing oracy skills. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), students revisit books with partners and discuss characters and reactions to the story. In "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), students ask and answer questions using nonfiction texts, then share with partners during "rug club" discussions. Teachers are provided with embedded prompts to monitor and guide student responses (e.g., "What do you already know about this topic?"), and structured routines promote turn-taking, vocabulary use, and discussion. However, while oracy is clearly prioritized and taught explicitly, the instruction is not systematic—it is not part of a deliberate, planned, and logically sequenced progression of oracy skills. Instead, oracy routines are integrated across lessons without a clearly defined trajectory for skill development over time. In contrast, the materials do not provide explicit or systematic instruction in oral language through a variety of methods. While students have frequent opportunities to use oral language—such as discussing texts, responding to teacher questions, or retelling events—there is no direct instruction on the foundational components of oral language, including morphology, syntax, semantics, phonology, or pragmatics. These skills are neither named nor intentionally developed across sessions, and instruction is not structured or cumulative. For example, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), students engage in "sneak peeks" of books with partners, describing what they notice and what they expect to learn. These interactions encourage students to speak in full sentences and build vocabulary. However, the teacher is not directed to model, explain, or provide feedback on the structure or function of students' language. As a result, students may engage in oral language use, but there is no explicit instruction to support their development of precise or academic language, sentence structures, or vocabulary expansion. Ultimately, the program’s stance on oral language instruction is made explicit in A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, which states that "nobody has to teach children the basic syntax or semantics of the language(s) they are raised with—they’re wired to pick it up." This philosophical position directly contradicts the expectation for explicit instruction in oral language development and confirms that the materials intentionally do not include direct teaching of essential language components like syntax or semantics.

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

The materials include opportunities for students to engage in both social and academic communication across different contexts, purposes, and audiences. Students participate in daily partner and group interactions that are embedded into lesson structures across multiple units. In "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), Bend II, Session 2, students share nonfiction books with their peers, highlighting interesting facts and key information as part of a persuasive recommendation activity. This interaction supports academic skills such as identifying key details and social skills such as building personal connections based on shared interests. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, Session 3, students engage in structured social conversations about their reading habits and interests to build classroom community. Students discuss when and where they like to read and how they can support one another as reading partners. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 6, students participate in partner discussions to express opinions about characters and share personal responses to texts. Students read and discuss story plots with a partner, using evidence to make predictions and respond to story events. These activities support academic communication through partner dialogue focused on comprehension and analysis. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend III, Session 1, the materials prompt students to "teach someone" about phonics concepts using student-created sound cards. Students explain the grapheme on their card(s), the sound(s) they represent, and example words to a peer, family member, or even a stuffed animal. This activity provides a clear purpose for academic communication with audiences beyond the classroom. Across units, the materials embed routines such as partner reading, group discussions, and collaborative decision-making, providing repeated opportunities for students to engage in oral communication for both social and academic purposes.

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. (S)

Lessons follow a consistent structure that provides daily, authentic opportunities for students to listen actively, engage in discussion to understand information, and share their ideas. A Guide to the Reading Workshop, K–2, outlines a predictable lesson format used across all sessions: a mini-lesson, Active Engagement, Work Time, and Share. In each session, students listen as the teacher models a skill or strategy, apply the learning through guided discussion or independent practice, and reflect on their learning with peers or the class. These repeated structures promote purposeful listening and communication across different contexts and tasks. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, Session 5, students gather during Share Time to revisit favorite books and discuss them with partners. They talk about characters and their personal reactions to the story, such as which parts they liked and what types of books they enjoy. These conversations require students to listen actively to their peers and respond as they share information and ideas. In "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend III, Session 1, the teacher models how to compare personal experiences with those of a character. Students then turn and talk with a partner to discuss similarities between themselves and the character, using the sentence stem "For example…" to support clear communication. This structure encourages attentive listening and engagement in discussion meant to deepen understanding. Across all units, the materials embed routines that encourage students to listen attentively, engage in collaborative discussion, and share information with others. Although teachers frequently model questioning and encourage students to respond to prompts, the materials do not contain consistent opportunities for students to generate their own questions to understand information.

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

This guidance is not applicable to the product.

Evaluation for 5.C.1b
Materials include teacher guidance 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) (T)

This guidance is not applicable to the product.

Evaluation for 5.C.1c
Materials include teacher guidance 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) (T)

This guidance is not applicable to the product.

Evaluation for 5.C.1d
Materials include a variety of activities and/or 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) (S).

This guidance is not applicable to the product.

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

The materials include some instances of letter-sound instruction; however, instruction is not explicitly and systematically designed to introduce letter-sound relationships in a logical or cumulative sequence that supports application to basic decoding and encoding. While students have opportunities to review phonics patterns and apply known relationships during reading and writing tasks, the instructional design does not consistently provide direct, sequenced instruction or sufficient guided practice to support mastery. Additionally, the materials do not include a clearly defined sequence for introducing individual letter-sound correspondences, nor do they ensure repeated opportunities for applying the sounds in decoding or encoding tasks. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), the Unit Overview indicates that students will revisit foundational phonics concepts introduced in kindergarten. Instruction focuses on features such as short vowels, blends, and digraphs, often embedded within name study and other reading routines. In Bend II, Session 1, students review digraphs sh, ch, and th by identifying them in a shared poem. While the lesson provides direct instruction on the concept of a digraph, the activity is positioned as review, assumes prior knowledge, and includes minimal practice in applying the sounds to decode or encode new words. Encoding is addressed only briefly when students are invited to write a poem using digraphs they’ve identified, but this opportunity is not built into a larger sequence of skill development. "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4) introduces additional phonics patterns, such as r-controlled vowels and vowel teams. However, these patterns are not taught in a consistent or systematic order across lessons. Of the 18 sessions in the unit, only six include instruction aligned to the phonics elements assessed at the end of the unit. Instructional coverage often occurs through small-group lessons rather than whole-class instruction, and not all target patterns are introduced before students are expected to decode or encode them independently. For instance, one small-group lesson in Bend I, Session 3 introduces multiple r-controlled spellings for the /er/ sound using word cards and whiteboards. While the lesson provides some decoding and encoding practice, the approach is isolated and not connected to a systematic sequence of prior or future instruction. The materials include sidebar coaching suggestions during reading instruction that provide prompts such as, "Look for a part you know," "Try the vowel team here," or "Reread and see if it makes sense." The coaching suggestions vary in presence and frequency across units. Across the units, the materials assume that students have received systematic instruction in letter-sound relationships through a separate phonics block. As a result, foundational phonics skills are reinforced but not taught explicitly within the reading workshop materials. There is an absence of intentional sequence and a lack of explicit instruction in letter-sound relationships. While the materials offer occasional opportunities to review known patterns and apply them in isolated contexts, they do not provide explicit and systematic instruction in letter-sound relationships that supports consistent application to basic decoding and encoding.

Evaluation for 5.C.2b
Materials include teacher guidance 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) (T)

The materials do not provide teacher guidance for offering explanatory feedback based on common student errors and misconceptions. While some lessons prompt teachers to model decoding and support students in connecting phonemes to letters within words, this guidance is typically general in nature and lacks specificity around common decoding challenges. Although the materials prompt teachers to model errors and promote self-correction—for example, by intentionally misreading words and inviting students to "fix the clunk"—this guidance does not include explicit explanations or corrective strategies tied to known decoding errors. Teachers are not provided with specific language or routines to proactively address misconceptions or common errors. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend I, Session 2, a coaching move suggests the teacher prompt, "Does that make sense? Something does not sound right. Check it," when a student misreads a word. Although this encourages rereading and self-correction, it does not offer feedback tied to a specific decoding error or phoneme-grapheme connection. Similarly, in Bend III, Session 3, the materials provide generalized reinforcement such as, "You realized the sound did not match the letter in that word, and you tried the sound another way all by yourself!" While this gives the teacher specific affirming feedback, there is no included instructional guidance based on anticipated misconceptions or common errors students may make. Across the units, the materials often include general coaching language—such as "Try that again. Did it make sense?" or "Oops, that did not match. Try again"—rather than specific feedback tied to phoneme-grapheme relationships. Coaching moves and mini-lessons offer moments of explicit decoding instruction, such as modeling how to slide through sounds. However, the materials do not provide teachers with recommended language to address common misconceptions (e.g., confusing blends and digraphs, producing incorrect vowel team sounds). For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, Session 7, a small-group lesson uses Elkonin boxes to support decoding with blends, but there is no teacher guidance explaining common errors—such as students placing an entire blend into one sound box—or clarifying distinctions between blends and digraphs, a typical point of confusion for developing readers. Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 includes lessons that target specific phonics elements, such as decoding CVC words through additive blending. However, these lessons do not equip teachers with recommended language for responding to typical misconceptions.

Evaluation for 5.C.2c
Materials include a variety of activities and/or 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) (S)

The materials include opportunities for students to develop and practice their understanding of letter-sound correspondence through decoding activities. Students are introduced to decoding one-syllable words beginning in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), and several sessions provide instruction in applying decoding strategies to words in isolation. For example, in Bend II, Session 4, students practice decoding words with new vowel teams with notecards containing words with ai, ay, and oa. While these lessons support the development and practice of decoding in isolation, students are also provided with opportunities to apply those skills in connected decodable text. Several sessions include Unit Readers aligned to the phonics focus of the lesson—such as "The Case of the Missing Cake" in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2) and "Mark the Shark" in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4)—where students decode one-syllable words in context. Small-group lessons also provide transitions from isolated decoding to decodable text, such as when students read word cards and then apply those patterns in a short text that contains mostly decodable text. In addition, the materials do not provide consistent opportunities for cumulative review. While occasional lessons are meant to review previous learning, structured, varied practice using previously taught decoding strategies is not included. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 5, the teacher models reading a text and reviews the unit anchor chart with strategies on "How to Be a Word Detective" (e.g., use clues to understand new words, notice a problem and stop to solve it, read words you know in a snap). Students then choose their own texts to read independently. There is no explicit review in letter-sound correspondence, but instead a focused review on unit reading strategies. As a result, students are not regularly supported in revisiting and reinforcing letter-sound correspondences through intentional, scaffolded practice in either isolated words or connected decodable text.

Evaluation for 5.D.1a
Materials include a systematic sequence for introducing phonological awareness activities in accordance with grade-level 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)

The materials include 5 to 10 minutes of daily phonological awareness extension activities designed to be delivered during whole-group instruction outside the reading workshop block. According to the Unit Essentials in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), these activities are not directly tied to the daily mini-lesson but are designed to follow a research-based sequence supporting students’ foundational reading development across the unit. Many of the Phonological Awareness Extensions provide instruction through video format. Access to these videos was not provided, limiting visibility into their content. The progression of phonological awareness does not consistently follow a path from larger units of sound (e.g., words, syllables) to smaller units (e.g., individual phonemes). In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), students begin the year with phonemic awareness tasks such as manipulating initial sounds in words without first working on adding or deleting phonemes. Additionally, the phonological awareness sequence does not directly align with the grade 1 TEKS, and skill progression shifts in complexity from session to session without a clearly defined path. For example, students are provided with instruction in identifying the individual words in a spoken sentence extensively in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1) although this is not included in the grade level TEKS. Additionally, there is no instruction in recognizing spoken alliteration in any unit, completely bypassing the TEKS 1(2)(A)(ii). In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend I, students begin with early phonological awareness skills such as counting words in spoken sentences, identifying rhyming words, and isolating initial sounds and short vowels. The sequence includes segmenting and blending 2-sound words and introduces more complex phoneme manipulation tasks such as adding and substituting beginning sounds. As the unit progresses, students work with one-syllable CVC and CVCC words and engage in activities such as deleting phonemes and manipulating consonant blends. Students are asked to engage in advanced phonemic awareness tasks before earlier phonemic and phonological tasks are introduced. In later units, such as "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), students segment words with r-controlled vowels and long vowel teams using Elkonin boxes and identify the graphemes that represent each phoneme. These activities offer continued practice with isolating and segmenting sounds, but manipulation activities do not consistently appear in later units. The materials introduce the more difficult task of phoneme manipulation early in the year before less complex tasks, such as isolating final sounds.

Evaluation for 5.D.1b
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) (T)

The materials do not provide explicit instructional guidance paired with recommended explanatory feedback based on common student errors or misconceptions in phonological awareness. Across units, phonological awareness extension activities reference videos intended to model instruction, but digital access to these videos is not provided, limiting visibility into the instructional delivery and feedback mechanisms. Within the printed materials, teacher guidance is minimal and does not include sample teacher language, coaching moves, or corrective prompts that address common misunderstandings. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend III, Session 1, the phonological awareness activity involves identifying initial blends in words through a song, with students tapping their shoulder for the initial sound and swiping their hand down their arm for the full word. The materials state, "They should be familiar with this motion from kindergarten," but provide no guidance on how to support students who are not familiar with the movement or who struggle with the skill. Similarly, in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), Bend I, Session 2, students engage in a variety of phonological awareness tasks while watching a video, including isolating medial vowel sounds (short and long e and u), reading CVC and CVCe words, changing vowels from short to long sounds, segmenting words with final blends, and manipulating phonemes by adding or deleting sounds to form new words. Despite the range of skills practiced, the materials do not provide coaching moves or corrective feedback to help teachers respond to student errors. The supplemental resource Supporting All Readers K–2 includes a general overview of phonological awareness development and small-group lessons, such as Progression 6, which outlines strategies like "Say it slowly" or "Slide across the sounds together." While these prompts support practice, they are not connected to particular student errors and are not embedded within the core lessons. One lesson includes an explanation of vowel types and usage but is not integrated into direct feedback for specific phonological awareness activities.

Evaluation for 5.D.1c
Materials include a variety of activities and/or 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) (S)

The materials provide a variety of activities and resources to support the development and practice of phonological awareness skills. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), the phonological awareness extensions include memory-building strategies such as songs, rhymes, and games. For example, in Bend III, Session 3, students play a game called "Secret Password" to practice segmenting words with r-blends. Afterward, students use Elkonin boxes to identify each phoneme and record the corresponding grapheme. These resources provide multisensory opportunities to reinforce phonological awareness in a format that helps support retention. Activities in the materials involve both oral phonological awareness tasks and explicit connections to graphemes to support the transfer of skills from phonological awareness to phonics through decoding and encoding. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), students engage in phonological awareness activities that include segmenting and writing words with vowel teams, manipulating initial sounds, and reviewing previously introduced vowel patterns. In Bend III, Session 3, a video lesson reviews vowel teams. These instructional routines build familiarity and promote continued practice of grade-level phonological skills. In "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend II, Session 2, students participate in a phonological awareness routine that includes segmenting words with r-controlled vowels using Elkonin boxes, writing graphemes to match each phoneme, and playing a blending game called "Guess the Word." While the materials incorporate a range of activities and memory-building strategies to support practice, they do not include cumulative review of phonological awareness skills across units. Some phonological awareness skills appear in the Phonological Awareness Extensions and minilessons, even if they have not been explicitly introduced in the core instructional sequence. Some skills do not appear consistently across units, and the materials do not provide opportunities to revisit previously taught skills in a cumulative manner. As a result, the materials offer limited opportunities to reinforce phonological awareness skills through cumulative review connected to grade-level expectations.

Evaluation for 5.D.2a
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)

The materials include phonemic awareness activities within both the Phonological Awareness Extensions and the core minilessons; however, these activities do not follow a systematic sequence. More complex phoneme manipulation tasks (such as adding, deleting, and substituting) are introduced before students are provided with sufficient instruction and practice in foundational skills, such as phoneme blending and segmenting. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend I, students isolate initial and medial sounds, bypassing final sounds and also begin to add, delete, and substitute initial sounds. In Bend II, students are asked to isolate final sounds and begin substituting medial sounds. This demonstrates a lack of systematic instruction that progresses from simple to more complex manipulation practices. Students begin the year engaging in more complex phonemic awareness tasks (e.g., substituting medial phonemes), whereas more simple tasks (e.g., isolating final sounds) occur in later units. Similarly, in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), students engage in phoneme-level tasks, such as substituting medial vowel sounds and manipulating onset-rime patterns before consistent instruction on phoneme segmentation has been established. In Bend I, Session 1, students isolate medial sounds to determine short or long vowels, segment words ending in blends, and manipulate vowel sounds to form new words. In Bend III, Session 1, students participate in a substitution game, Presto Chang-o, changing beginning and ending phonemes to form new words. These tasks represent higher-level manipulation before students have had structured and sufficient practice with earlier-developing skills. Although some lessons, such as "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), include isolated activities like Crack the Code (where students blend segmented phonemes orally), these are not embedded in a clearly defined instructional sequence. For example, students may blend 4-phoneme words early in the unit, but the foundational work of identifying and segmenting 3-phoneme words has not been consistently scaffolded beforehand. While assessments and individual activities occasionally reflect an awareness of phoneme complexity (e.g., transitioning from CVC to CCVC words), this progression is not supported by a consistent instructional framework. Tasks such as isolating, blending, segmenting, and manipulating phonemes occur in varying order across units, and lessons often introduce complex manipulation (e.g., substituting digraphs or medial vowels) before students have mastered more basic skills. Many Phonological Awareness Extensions are provided through video; however, video lessons were not accessible, preventing evaluation of whether they present a consistent, research-based scope and sequence. Descriptions of these lessons suggest that skills such as rhyming, segmenting, and manipulating sounds are addressed in isolation or in mixed formats, without clarity about the developmental rationale or progression. Although phonemic awareness is embedded throughout the curriculum, the introduction of these skills does not follow a clearly defined or appropriately scaffolded instructional sequence to help students identify, blend and segment phonemes.

Evaluation for 5.D.2b
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) (T)

While phonemic awareness activities are present in both the core mini-lessons and Phonological Awareness Extensions, they lack explicit teacher guidance for delivering explanatory feedback that addresses common student errors or misconceptions. The instructional supports provided are general in nature and do not equip teachers with tools to respond to predictable phonemic awareness difficulties, such as sound substitutions, omissions, or vowel confusions. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, Session 1, the materials state: "As students transition to isolating initial sounds, you’ll notice that students are asked to isolate the sound before the teacher, and then given corrective feedback." While this suggests that the corresponding video models feedback, the lack of access to the digital content prevents verification. Furthermore, no written teacher guidance is provided to clarify what effective feedback might sound like or which common misconceptions to anticipate. The teacher is not equipped with sample language or strategies for responding when students misidentify or mispronounce sounds. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend II, Session 1, the phonological awareness extension includes a sequence of tasks—listening for long vowel sounds, writing words with vowel teams, and manipulating initial sounds. However, the materials do not provide corrective feedback to address likely challenges, such as vowel confusion or incorrect segmenting during onset-rime tasks. Without diagnostic feedback guidance, teachers are left without support to clarify or correct students' misunderstandings during instruction. Within the mini-lessons and small-group Work Time sections, teachers are sometimes offered "Possible Coaching Moves"—sidebar coaching prompts that support decoding but do not address phonemic errors in depth. For instance, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend II, Session 4, prompts include: "Check it. Does that sound like a word you’ve heard before?" and "Try the other sound for c/g." These cues encourage students to self-monitor, but they do not include specific feedback on why a decoding error may have occurred or how to fix it. Throughout sessions, there is no accompanying teacher guidance that addresses common decoding or phoneme-level errors (e.g., vowel mix-ups, missed phonemes, or misread blends). Instructional routines throughout the units frequently reference the use of video lessons to guide students through phonemic awareness tasks. However, these videos are not accessible for review, and the written session descriptions offer only a general summary of the targeted skill (e.g., blending, segmenting, manipulating). Because the video content cannot be evaluated, and the print materials do not include corrective feedback strategies, it is unclear whether or how common errors are addressed within the video instruction.

Evaluation for 5.D.2c
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) (T)

Instructional routines prompt students to apply phoneme-level skills to printed text, reinforcing sound-symbol correspondences and supporting early literacy development. In "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, Session 5, the Work Time section includes an activity titled "Making Words: Blending," in which students use magnetic letters to represent the sounds they hear. As students blend phonemes and build new words, they apply their knowledge of sound-symbol correspondence in a concrete, hands-on way. This activity reinforces the connection between spoken sounds and printed letters, supporting early decoding development. This routine explicitly links oral language to print and supports students in making essential phoneme-grapheme connections for both reading and writing. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, Session 7, the materials provide structured guidance to help students connect phonemic awareness to the alphabetic principle. During a decoding activity, students listen to segmented phonemes provided by the teacher and are prompted to identify the sound and its corresponding letter (e.g., "What sound do you hear next? Yes, /l/. What letter spells /l/?"). Students then write the full word on their whiteboards, reinforcing the connection between oral sounds and written words. Similarly, in Bend III, Session 3, students use Elkonin boxes to segment four-phoneme words, represent each sound with a written letter, and blend the sounds to read the completed word. These tasks integrate oral language skills with phoneme-grapheme mapping and support the development of both decoding and encoding skills.

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

The materials include a variety of activities and resources that support the development and practice of phonemic awareness skills; however, cumulative review is not consistently or systematically embedded across the instructional year. Students engage in daily phonological and phonemic awareness activities embedded within the core units and supported through extension lessons. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, Session 3, students use Elkonin boxes to segment four-phoneme words and match sounds to letters, reinforcing phoneme-grapheme correspondence. In Session 7 of the same unit, students participate in a "secret password" activity that builds phoneme segmentation and blending skills through repeated practice. Supporting All Readers, High-Leverage Small Ground and Conferences, K–2 provides additional phonemic awareness lessons that include small-group instruction and targeted interventions. For example, in Progression 6, Lesson 60, students use Elkonin boxes to segment and write four- and five-phoneme words, and in Lesson 61, they manipulate CVCe words using magnetic letters. These activities offer additional practice opportunities but are optional and not guaranteed for all students. The Phonological Awareness Extension lessons in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, Session 3, invites students to play a game to practice ending digraphs and use blending tasks with teacher modeling. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend II, Session 2, students manipulate phonemes across several words on whiteboards as part of a mystery word activity. While the program offers regular opportunities for phonemic awareness instruction and practice, there is insufficient evidence of a consistent, embedded cumulative review structure across units. Some skills are reviewed before being explicitly taught.

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)

The materials do not present a consistent, systematic sequence for introducing grade-level sound-spelling patterns as outlined in the TEKS. While individual lessons offer instruction on sound-spelling patterns, these lessons occur intermittently and are not clearly connected through a cohesive, year-long progression. Some decoding-focused sessions provide isolated instruction on specific patterns. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 1, students are introduced to the VCe (silent e) pattern after reviewing consonant blends and digraphs—an appropriate sequence consistent with the TEKS expectations. However, many other lessons shift focus away from explicit phonics instruction and instead encourage students to rely on reading strategies such as using picture clues or the first letter of a word. These approaches do not consistently support mastery of sound-spelling patterns through direct instruction. Across multiple units, sound-spelling instruction is present but inconsistently applied. For instance, in "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), Bend II, Session 4, a lesson introduces the vowel teams ay, ai, and oa, but this content is not anchored in a broader phonics progression, nor is it revisited in a way that reinforces mastery. Similarly, lessons in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5) briefly introduce the schwa sound, but without a systematic build-up or follow-up across subsequent sessions. Additionally, the core program does not dedicate consistent instructional time to explicitly teach grade-level sound-spelling patterns. Instead, the materials rely heavily on the Units of Study in Phonics program for this foundational instruction. As noted in the "Unit Essentials of Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), the program refers teachers to the phonics units to ensure students receive systematic instruction in sound-spelling correspondences. Without integration of this content into the primary literacy materials, students may not receive regular, embedded instruction in this critical area.

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

The materials include teacher guidance to support explicit instruction of grade-level sound-spelling patterns. While the instruction is inconsistently embedded across the core materials, lessons that do focus on these skills provide clear modeling, guided practice, and support aligned to the instructional goals of the grade level. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), the materials include clear guidance for introducing and practicing the silent e pattern. The Bend II Overview directs teachers to review short vowel CVC and CCVC words from kindergarten and explicitly introduces long vowels spelled with silent e. Teachers are guided to model long vowel sounds and provide repeated practice opportunities for students within connected texts, reinforcing decoding through application. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend I, Session 2, the teacher models how r-controlled vowels change CVC words, using examples such as cat to car, hen to her, and fog to for. The script emphasizes decoding by sound pattern and guides the teacher to model mouth movements and pronunciation, followed by partner practice with feedback. The materials clearly explain how r-controlled vowels function and support students in generalizing the pattern. However, it is noted that phonics instruction in the core materials may be supplemented or replaced by the separate Units of Study in Phonics program, leading to inconsistencies in where and how phonics is embedded. The materials also offer explicit instruction through the supplemental resource Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2. In Progression 9, Lesson 87, the teacher is guided to introduce CVCe words using words such as tame, same, rake, make, mane, and plane, emphasizing the role of silent e in changing vowel sounds. In Lesson 92, the teacher introduces vowel team patterns (ai, ay, oa) and models the corresponding sounds with words like rain, snail, claim, trail, and braid. The materials explicitly state that vowel teams often represent consistent sounds and provide teacher language such as, "Ai almost always spells the sound /ā/. Whenever you see ai, that is the sound you try first." Teachers then guide students through sound isolation and pattern identification in both isolation and context.

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

Materials include a variety of activities to develop and practice grade-level sound-spelling patterns; however, these skills are not consistently reinforced through cumulative review. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, Session 5, students receive explicit instruction on consonant blends and digraphs. The teacher models blending and segmenting, and students build words using grapheme cards. During small-group time, students encode words using Elkonin boxes and blend sounds in interactive formats. These activities provide opportunities for students to develop and practice sound-spelling patterns, but they are not structured to include systematic review of previously taught content. Similarly, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend I, Session 4, the teacher introduces r-controlled vowels ore and air and models decoding using a word list. Students engage in partner reading and apply the pattern during independent reading. While the lesson includes explicit instruction and a variety of activities to develop and practice skills, the lack of ongoing cumulative review limits opportunities for long-term mastery of sound-spelling patterns. Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 also offers small-group lessons that provide a range of activities for practicing sound-spelling patterns. For instance, in Progression 9, Lesson 90, students review vowel team graphemes through card-based activities like peer teaching and memory games. In Lesson 94, students decode r-controlled vowel words using a visual anchor and then apply the skill in the connected text Catching Fireflies. Although these lessons help reinforce taught skills, they are designed to be optional and are not embedded into the core sequence. As a result, they do not ensure cumulative review unless a teacher deliberately integrates them.

Evaluation for 5.E.1d
Materials provide a variety of activities and/or 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) (S)

The materials include some activities and resources to support students in decoding words with taught sound-spelling patterns in both isolation and decodable connected text; however, opportunities for encoding are limited and inconsistent. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 1, the teacher models how adding a silent e changes a CVC word into a CVCe word, such as cap to cape. Students practice reading CVCe words in isolation and apply their learning while reading "The Case of the Missing Cake," a decodable text that supports application of the silent e pattern. While decoding is clearly addressed, there are no opportunities for students to encode the same pattern through spelling or writing practice. In this unit, only 9 of the 17 sessions include a focus on taught sound-spelling patterns. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend I, Session 2, students learn about r-controlled vowels. The teacher models reading r-controlled words such as car, fork, and tiger and then guides students in reading a list of these words in isolation. Students then read the decodable text "Mark the Shark," which provides practice decoding r-controlled vowel patterns in connected text. While this lesson includes decoding in isolation and in text, students are not prompted to spell or write r-controlled vowel words, and there are no encoding tasks to reinforce the taught pattern. In "Boosting Reading Power" (Unit 4), Bend II, Session 2, students use the decodable text Mabel’s Sled to develop and practice decoding CCVC words. The lesson focuses on applying letter-sound correspondences to read CCVC words in connected text that builds on prior instruction. In Session 5, the teacher models decoding digraphs (sh, ch, th) using Elkonin boxes and example words like ship, chair, and thumb. Students practice decoding words such as chin, shin, and thin using Elkonin trains and then apply their skills in partner and independent reading of "Mabel’s Chips." While these lessons support decoding in isolation and in connected text, they do not include any guidance or activities for encoding these same sound-spelling patterns. Students are not prompted to write or spell the CCVC words they decode, either in isolation or in connected text. While the materials include multiple examples of decoding activities in isolation and in connected text, encoding opportunities are rare and not systematically integrated. Although supplemental lessons in Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 occasionally offer encoding practice, these lessons are not embedded in core instruction and are intended for small-groups based on assessed need, which means not all students receive this instruction. In the core materials, encoding is typically not connected to taught decoding skills, and students have few opportunities to apply phonics patterns in writing tasks.

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

The materials include a systematic sequence for introducing both regular and irregular high-frequency words. In each unit, the Gold Pages provide a list of high-frequency words separated into two categories: decodable (regular) words and irregular or temporarily irregular words. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, the Gold Pages recommend teaching regular high-frequency words such as then, but, let, us, run, and yes, alongside irregular or temporarily irregular words such as said, saw, they, say, his, and her. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, teachers are encouraged to introduce two to five words per week, including regular words like make, take, came, and big, and irregular or temporarily irregular words like eat, out, have, and little. These lists build in complexity over time and are aligned with phonics patterns introduced in each unit, demonstrating a consistent and intentional sequence. While the Gold Pages include systematically sequenced word lists and reference digital "Building Blocks of High-Frequency Words" videos to support instruction, the high-frequency word instruction is not embedded into the core mini-lessons themselves. Instead, the Gold Pages provide suggested word lists and point to optional supports like small-group lessons and instructional videos. Teachers are expected to introduce the unit’s high-frequency words at appropriate times, based on student need and classroom context. In this way, the program relies heavily on teacher discretion to determine when and how to incorporate high-frequency word instruction into daily lessons. Additionally, the digital video content referenced in the materials was not available for review, so it is unclear how the words are introduced or reinforced in those resources.

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

The materials do not consistently include teacher guidance for explicit (direct) instruction in decoding and encoding regular or irregular high-frequency words. Although the Gold Pages provide a systematically sequenced list of high-frequency words across units, these words are not regularly accompanied by scripted, embedded lessons that offer clear modeling or instructional routines within core sessions. Instead, decisions about how and when to introduce or reinforce these words are left to teacher discretion. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend II, the Gold Pages identify words such as then, but, let, us, and her to be introduced at a rate of two to five words per week. While the resource offers this sequence, the core mini-lessons do not provide consistent, direct teacher guidance on how to decode or encode these words. The only support within Bend II is a single small-group lesson focused on decoding high-frequency words in isolation and connected text, along with some coaching tips. The materials reference the Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 supplemental guide, which includes a routine for teaching high-frequency words using sample words like is. Lesson 114 models how to highlight irregular features (e.g., the /z/ sound in is spelled with s), helping students focus on the "heart part" of a word. While this resource supports explicit instruction in principle, it is not directly tied to the specific high-frequency words listed in the Gold Pages for each unit. Teachers are expected to generalize the routine independently without scripted lessons aligned to the program’s scope and sequence. Some lessons include activities that provide practice with reading and writing high-frequency words, but these opportunities are limited and inconsistently embedded. For instance, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend II, Session 5, students use a "How to Learn a Word" chart in partnerships to reinforce target words. This routine—Read it, Study it, Spell it, Write it, Use it—supports both decoding and encoding through repetition and application. While this offers a strong example of decoding and encoding practice, similar lessons are infrequent and do not reflect a comprehensive or cumulative instructional approach across the year. Several small-group activities also include opportunities for decoding and encoding high-frequency words, such as a Guided Reading lesson to practice decoding high-frequency words in connected text in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2). However, these supports are primarily housed in optional small-groups and are not part of the core sequence all students experience. As a result, many students may not receive consistent instruction in these skills. Additionally, the program references "Building Block High-Frequency Word" videos as instructional resources. However, access to these videos was not provided for review, so their instructional quality and level of explicitness could not be verified.

Evaluation for 5.E.2c
Materials include a variety of activities and/or 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) (S)

The materials provide a variety of activities and resources that support students in developing and practicing decoding and encoding both regular and irregular high-frequency words. Across units, the Gold Pages, Bend Blueprints, and small-group lessons offer targeted instructional routines. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, Session 2, students participate in a small-group lesson titled "Building Automaticity with Learning Irregular Words You Know in a Snap," in which they say the word said, segment the sounds, analyze grapheme–phoneme correspondences, and then encode and decode the word in connected text. In Bend I, Session 6, the mini-lesson focuses on using known high-frequency words to read fluently. Students practice encoding regular high-frequency words such as this and irregular words such as here. A small-group lesson in this session also focuses on decoding high-frequency words (e.g., what, want, this, they, and said) in the connected text "Fish in a Funk." Similar small-group routines appear in other units and optional lessons. Additional support comes from the Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 supplemental guide, which offers flexible small-group lessons aligned to high-frequency word instruction in Progression 11. These lessons include a range of practice opportunities such as segmenting sounds, writing words in various formats, playing word games, and searching for high-frequency words in text. Lesson 121, for example, includes explicit guidance for decoding, encoding, and applying high-frequency word knowledge during independent reading. Students study a word by matching sounds to spelling, write the word, reread it, and then apply the skill during independent reading by searching for snap words in texts. However, while materials provide ample opportunities for development and initial practice, they do not include structured tools or embedded systems for cumulative review. Teachers are expected to determine how and when to revisit previously taught words, and references to ongoing review are general rather than systematic. For example, in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), the Gold Page lists the words taught in the previous unit and states: "Continue to support your children’s familiarity with these words as they automatize them." The materials then describe the new words that will be taught in the unit, with no continued guidance on reinforcing previously taught words. As a result, while students engage with high-frequency words across the year, the materials do not ensure consistent reinforcement or cumulative practice over time.

Evaluation for 5.E.2d
Materials include a variety of activities and/or resources (including the use of memory-building strategies) for students to 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) (S)

The materials provide a range of activities and resources to support students in reading and writing high-frequency words in isolation and in reading high-frequency words in connected text. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, students practice identifying and spelling snap words through hands-on activities, such as sorting words they "know," "almost know," or "do not know," and engaging in partner work using snap word baggies. In Session 2, a small-group lesson titled "Building Automaticity with Learning Irregular Words You Know in a Snap" provides explicit routines where students segment sounds, identify grapheme-phoneme matches, and encode the words through writing. The Gold Pages offer further guidance, encouraging teachers to revisit lessons from Sessions 2, 6, and 7 for additional review. In Session 6, students study the words here, is, my, look, at, and this, and apply them while reading "A Crocodile and a Whale" by Annette Smith. However, this text is not included in the materials and must be sourced independently by the teacher. In Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2, Progression 11 includes 13 small-group lessons that use strategies such as Elkonin boxes and shared writing to support decoding and encoding. For example, Lesson 116 engages students in shared writing to create a pattern book featuring high-frequency words, supporting application in connected text. Lesson 123 prompts students to read words in isolation and then in a teacher-selected connected text. However, these lessons are supplemental and optional, requiring teachers to choose the words and texts. Therefore, the materials do not include a variety of activities for students to write high-frequency words in connected text.

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

The materials do not include a systematic sequence for introducing syllable types or syllable division principles as outlined in the TEKS. While some lessons reference longer or multisyllabic words, the materials do not consistently introduce, name, or build knowledge of specific syllable types in a defined order. In "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend III, the Blueprint outlines general strategies for working with longer words, such as breaking them at double consonants. However, the sessions do not identify the types of syllables present or follow a structured progression of syllable type introduction. The instruction does not link concepts across lessons in a way that reflects a sequenced plan for building understanding of syllable types. The materials reference Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2, as a supplemental resource. Lessons within this resource—such as those in Progressions 9 and 10—address open and closed syllables and vowel patterns. However, these lessons are not organized into a systematic instructional sequence and are not embedded in the core whole-group instruction. Later in the year, in "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Session 6 introduces the -le ending within the context of multisyllabic words, but this is not connected to a defined or cumulative sequence of syllable type instruction. Because the materials do not present syllable types or syllable division principles in a structured, sequential manner across the year, they do not reflect a systematic approach aligned with the grade 1 TEKS.

Evaluation for 5.E.3b
Materials include teacher guidance 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) (T)

The materials do not include teacher guidance to provide explicit instruction for applying knowledge of syllable types when decoding or encoding one-syllable words. While students engage in activities that involve reading and spelling one-syllable words with common phonics patterns such as CVC, CCVC, and CVCC, the materials do not include direct instruction that names syllable types (e.g., closed syllables) or explain how syllable structure affects vowel pronunciation. For example, in "Building Good Reading Habits" (Unit 1), Bend I, teachers guide students to blend and segment short vowel words, but the lessons do not reference closed syllables or describe the relationship between the syllable type and the short vowel sound. Throughout additional units, such as "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), students are encouraged to use general decoding strategies like "sliding through" a word or "looking closely," but the instruction does not include explanations of syllable types or how those types support decoding accuracy. Similarly, when spelling one-syllable words, teachers are not guided to make explicit connections between the word structure and the underlying syllable pattern. Although students work with grade-level appropriate one-syllable words, the materials do not include the explicit instruction and accompanying teacher guidance necessary to help students understand how syllable types function in decoding and encoding, as outlined in the grade 1 TEKS.

Evaluation for 5.E.3c
Materials include a variety of activities and/or 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) (S)

The materials do not include a variety of activities or resources for students to develop, practice, and reinforce decoding and encoding of one-syllable or multisyllabic words using knowledge of syllable types or syllable division principles. While students are occasionally prompted to break apart or examine word parts, these strategies are not explicitly linked to syllable types or structured syllable patterns. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend II, Session 4, the teacher introduces the word tape and explains that students can decode it by recognizing the silent e. However, the lesson does not identify this as a VCe syllable type or provide rules to support decoding similar words. Students are encouraged to rely on trial and error rather than apply consistent principles based on syllable structure. Similarly, in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), Bend III, Session 3, students break apart words such as lunchtime but are not taught how syllable boundaries or types affect pronunciation or spelling. The Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences K–2 resource includes a small number of lessons targeting decoding of multisyllabic words, but these lessons are limited in scope and are not embedded within the core sequence. For example, in Lesson 103 of Progression 10, students receive general guidance to break words into parts based on vowel placement, which may signal a short or long vowel sound. However, this instruction does not include systematic naming or application of syllable types or rules for encoding. The anchor chart "Tips on Big Long Words" also presents general chunking strategies, such as "look for starting or ending parts" or "try reading the word another way," but it does not include explicit reference to syllable division principles. Across materials, there is no plan for cumulative review of previously taught decoding and encoding strategies tied to syllable types or division rules, and structured activities to reinforce these skills over time are not present.

Evaluation for 5.E.3d
Materials include a variety of activities and/or 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) (S)

The materials include general guidance and isolated opportunities for decoding and encoding one-syllable and multisyllabic words; however, these opportunities are not explicitly connected to knowledge of syllable types. Instructional strategies such as chunking words, attending to vowel placement, and breaking off prefixes or endings appear throughout the materials. For example, in "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), students are taught to decode the word thousand by experimenting with different ways to break the word into parts. Similarly, anchor charts such as "Tips on Big Long Words" encourage students to look for consonant clusters or recognizable word parts. While these strategies offer support for word-solving, they are not grounded in explicit instruction about syllable types or syllable division principles. The materials do not name or define syllable types, and students are not taught how syllable structure influences vowel sounds or decoding choices. Because syllable types are not explicitly taught, the materials do not provide targeted practice with decoding and encoding that build conceptual understanding or allow for cumulative review. The materials lack structured word lists or decodable connected texts designed to support application of syllable type knowledge in isolation or context. While students engage with words containing vowel teams or inflectional endings, they do not learn to classify words by syllable type (e.g., closed, open, vowel-consonant-e) or apply this knowledge during reading or spelling tasks. Additionally, the materials do not include a cumulative review sequence to reinforce skills related to syllable types. As a result, the materials do not include a variety of activities or resources to support decoding and encoding of one-syllable or multisyllabic words using syllable type knowledge in isolation or connected text.

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

While the materials include limited instruction related to grade-level morphemes, they do not present a systematic sequence for introducing them as outlined in the TEKS. Instructional guidance related to morphemes appears intermittently and primarily focuses on decoding common word endings such as -s, -ing, and -ed. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), Bend I, Session 3, the lesson introduces -s and -ing as "endings added on" and demonstrates how they change the base word. However, these morphemes are not named or defined, nor is their grammatical function or meaning explicitly taught. While a small-group lesson in Bend III, Session 3, highlights that -ed signals past tense and may make different sounds, there is no indication that this concept is revisited or built upon in subsequent units. The Gold Pages throughout the materials occasionally reference small-group lessons from Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences K–2 to support students with decoding word endings. In Progression 10, Lesson 100 offers decoding practice with -ed, including the three different sounds it may represent. However, these lessons do not include explicit instruction on morpheme meaning or a structured approach to morphological awareness. Additional references to endings like -es appear in suggested adaptations or small-group opportunities but are not embedded within whole-group instruction or a broader instructional sequence. Because morphemes are not consistently introduced, named, or taught in a logical progression, the materials do not provide a systematic sequence for introducing grade-level morphemes as required by the TEKS.

Evaluation for 5.E.4b
Materials include teacher guidance 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) (T)

The materials do not provide consistent teacher guidance for delivering explicit instruction that supports recognition of common morphemes and the use of their meanings to aid decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), teachers introduce suffixes -s and -ing as word endings and model adding them to base words, but do not explain their grammatical functions or semantic impact. A subsequent lesson introduces -ed as signaling past tense, yet connections to meaning or encoding are minimal. Instruction on morphemes is mostly limited to decoding, without attention to applying morphological knowledge for broader literacy development. In "Readers Have Big Jobs to Do" (Unit 4), the materials offer some guidance on decoding words with affixes through chunking strategies. In one mini-lesson, the teacher models breaking words such as painter, shouting, and teacher into parts to assist decoding. However, the lesson focuses on chunking for word accuracy without explicitly teaching the meanings of affixes or how morphological knowledge supports comprehension. Similarly, during coaching conferences, students are guided to use known words to decode more complex words (e.g., right to decode brighten), but the materials do not make morphological connections to deepen reading comprehension or encoding skills. The Gold Pages reference small-group lessons from Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences K–2 that address decoding common endings, such as Lesson 100 on the three sounds of -ed. These lessons support decoding practice but lack explicit guidance for teaching morpheme meanings or applying morphological knowledge to encoding or comprehension. While Lesson 102 briefly mentions the meaning of the prefix un- and how it can help students understand words, this example is not representative of consistent or systematic instruction. Overall, the materials offer some teacher guidance focused on decoding words with common affixes but lack consistent, explicit instruction for recognizing morphemes and leveraging their meanings to support decoding, encoding, and reading comprehension as outlined in the TEKS.

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

The materials do not provide a variety of activities or resources for students to develop, practice, or reinforce grade-level morphological skills, including through cumulative review. While some lessons encourage students to decode words with common affixes, the primary focus is on decoding accuracy rather than on building morphological awareness or applying morpheme meanings to support encoding or comprehension. In "Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons" (Unit 5), Bend III, Session 4, students are prompted to break words into parts to support decoding by "cutting off" prefixes or suffixes. Yet, this activity focuses on decoding without explicit instruction on the morphology or meaning of affixes, roots, or base words. There are no embedded opportunities for students to develop, practice, or reinforce morphological skills or to apply morpheme knowledge to encoding or comprehension. Across the materials, affixes are typically introduced through teacher modeling and brief oral guided practice but without explicit instruction on their meaning or impact on word structure and function. Students are not provided with activities to develop, practice, or reinforce grade-level morphological skills in this format. This approach limits students’ exposure to morphology as a meaningful system and constrains their ability to build word awareness. The Gold Pages across the units reference small-group lessons from Supporting All Readers K–2, including Progression 10 lessons such as Lesson 100, which focuses on decoding the three sounds of -ed and provides practice reading words with -ed endings in isolation and connected text. Lesson 102 briefly addresses the meaning of the prefix un-, illustrating how meaning can support word understanding. However, these explicit morphology lessons are limited in number and scope and do not represent ongoing or cumulative review opportunities. Though supplemental lessons offer some targeted activities—such as decoding word endings with word cards, oral guidance, and practice in text—these opportunities lack cumulative review and are not embedded consistently within the core lessons.

Evaluation for 5.E.4d
Materials include a variety of activities and/or 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) (S)

The materials provide some activities that support decoding words with common affixes; however, they lack a sufficient variety of structured opportunities for students to both decode and encode morphemes in isolation and in decodable connected text. While the program includes a few small-group lessons that introduce common affixes such as -s, -ing, -ed, -y, and un-, these are not embedded within the core instructional sequence and may not be accessed by all students. Additionally, the lessons prioritize decoding practice and provide little to no explicit instruction on affix meaning or grammatical function, and encoding opportunities with morphemes are largely absent. For example, in "Word Detectives" (Unit 2), the Bend I Blueprint includes a small-group lesson where students form new words by combining base words (e.g., bend, rock) with the endings -s and -ing, and then read these words in a short decodable text, "Fish in a Funk." While this lesson supports word reading with affixes in isolation and connected text, it does not address the function or meaning of the affixes and omits any encoding tasks. As this is a small-group lesson, not all students have access to the activities. In "Learning About the World" (Unit 3), a similar small-group activity focuses on words with the -y suffix (e.g., stinky, grumpy, fuzzy), with students decoding words in isolation and then in a related decodable text, "Meet the Cat." Again, encoding is not included, and the lessons are isolated and not clearly built on prior morphological instruction. The Supporting All Readers: High-Leverage Small Groups and Conferences, K–2 resource includes several lessons in Progression 10 that incorporate morphemes in isolated and connected text practice. For example, Lesson 99 introduces -s and -ing endings; Lesson 101 addresses -y, and Lesson 102 introduces the prefix un- with a definition ("not") and includes short connected texts. While these lessons do offer affix practice in multiple contexts, the instruction is inconsistent, lacks cumulative review, and is not explicitly integrated into core lesson plans. Most significantly, none of the lessons include encoding activities that require students to construct words using morphemes either in isolation or in context.