As a newcomer curriculum designed to teach Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills in academic settings, this is a well done curriculum. It is authentic, engaging, and combines digital and paper resources in a blended manner to leverage the strengths of each format's ability to meet student learning. It could not be used as a primary curriculum for core standards across grade levels. It also could not be used as a supplement for multilingual students that were not newcomers because it lacks the complexity needed to be a versatile tool to advance language at all levels.
Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
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Alignment | The content of this resource aligns with appropriate grade-level core standards and is current, well-researched and referenced from reliable sources. | The content of this resource aligns with most grade-level core standards but will need supplementary materials to ensure coverage of all the objectives for this course. | The content of this resource aligns with a few grade-level core standards for a portion of the course. | The content of this resource does not align with standards and objectives for this course. | ||
This curriculum, as stated by the publishers themselves, is meant for Newcomers and early literacy grades. The primary focus is on Basic Interpersonal Communication with some representation of reading and writing. The writing sections do align to some of the early literacy grades writing standards. Every chapter does have specific "connections" sections to learn vocabulary in grade level content. For example the 6-8 and 9-12 have connections to courses that students would find in their schedules (STEM, math, history, etc.) The reading in the main text book was much lower than a majority of grade level standards. Additionally, the vertical content of the curriculum is the same so it could not be used in a vertical alignment manner from grade to grade for the majority of students because they would be repeating the same units every year. | ||||||
Scaffolding | Scaffolding supports for these materials are complex and challenging, engage learners from various skill levels, assist all students in enhancing conceptual understanding, and offer opportunities for students to share evidence and research. | Scaffolding supports for these materials engage learners from various skill levels and assist students in enhancing conceptual understanding. | Scaffolding supports for these materials engage learners from various skill levels. | Scaffolding supports for these materials do not engage learners. | ||
Navigation | Students can navigate the material independently. Instructions are clear and understandable. | The material contains instructions that are understandable and easy to navigate. Students may need educator support to navigate material. | The material may be used with direct educator support but lacks clear instructions. | The instructions in this material are unclear, and navigation is difficult. | ||
The teacher materials are user friendly and multi-faceted in terms of the digital tools capability to navigate data and the tracking of the class. The student materials are engaging and easy to follow with icons, sentence frames, and examples. Most of the examples are embedded in contextual illustrations or scenarios. This is appropriate for authentic learning, however it potentially can make it challenging to find and conjugate the appropriate terms for the practice elements. |
Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
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Physical Characteristics | The design of the material is ADA-compliant and can be utilized by all students. In physical terms, this material is durable, interactive, and provides high-quality audio-visual and tactile experiences for all users. The material contains modern, up-to-date, and relatable visuals, including diverse groups of people. | In physical terms, this material is durable, interactive, and provides high-quality audio-visual and tactile experiences for all users. | In physical terms, this material is fragile in construction, and provides limited tactile experiences for students. | In physical terms, this material is designed to be disposable and temporary. | ||
There is a practice book that could be disposable but students and teacher have digital access which makes the materials durable and long lasting. There are connections to online extension and listening activities connected to the book. No sample was provided to determine the level of interaction but it seems apparent based on the descriptions in the teacher's edition. | ||||||
Technical Standards | The material goes above and beyond meeting all the technical standards, ensures student data privacy is safeguarded, and can be easily installed or accessed without technical assistance. Licensing information is clearly stated in the description. | The material meets all the requirements of federal and state laws, along with the accepted technical standards (ISTE Standards and VPAT Compliance). Additional technical specifications and limitations, including hardware requirements, bandwidth demands, student data privacy, and software/ web access restrictions, are adequately noted in the description. The design of the material allows for error-free installation or access without purchasing additional components. | The material is limited by specifications requiring additional materials, technical assistance, hardware, software, or infrastructure. Student data privacy could be at risk. Resources within the material end after a trial period. | Student data privacy is at risk. | ||
There was no information of this nature provided in the review materials to be evaluated. | ||||||
Adaptability | The material is currently relevant and adaptable for teacher and student use in individualized or group instructional settings across multiple content areas. The material can be customized for the needs of diverse learners. | The material is currently adaptable for a teacher or student to use in a limited instructional setting across a few content areas. The material can be utilized by diverse learners (not customizable). | The material has some features adaptable for students in at least one content area. The material has limited options to address the needs of diverse learners. | The material is not adaptable or easily incorporated into various educational settings or with various diverse learners. | ||
The digital teachers portal is easy to access and the teacher has control of the time period that students have access to material. There are materials ready and also extension materials. There is a student portal and means for teachers to digitally assign opportunities for students. Teacher can assign items to all students or a select number of students. |
Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
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Instructional Support | The material provides multiple examples and strong support to educators of ways to deliver instruction. These may include: -Scaffolding Lesson Plans, Personalized/Differentiated Instruction, Experiential Learning, Concept Mapping, Questioning Techniques, or Family Involvement. Furthermore, this material has content that can be problem/project-based, with incorporated skills and concepts that are integrated with all disciplines equally to support student sense-making. (Transdisciplinary/ Interdisciplinary Content Integration) | The material provides some examples to educators of ways to deliver instruction. It contains a few of the following: Scaffolding Lesson Plans, Personalized/Differentiated Instruction, Experiential Learning, Concept Mapping, Questioning Techniques, or Family Involvement. | The material contains limited instructional support on using the material with diverse groups of students, various skill levels, and student needs. | The material does not provide instructional support or examples for the educator. | ||
There are vocabulary cards, a practice book, an assessment book, and decodable readers. The number and overall quality was not apparent but there are quite a few resources for teachers to use. Additionally, there seem to be some resources available online. | ||||||
Supplemental Resources | The material provides a wide variety of supplemental resources that are evidence-based and are linked to real-world circumstances and current events. | The material references numerous available supplemental resources. | The material references some available supplemental resources. | The material does not refer to any supplemental resources. | ||
The vocabulary cards are appropriate for newcomers. The level of decodable readers at the elementary level would be okay. However, there was not a sample of decodable reader for the 9-12 level so it is unclear if the same decodables would be used -- and potentially not as viable for older grades. The assessments are more based on the content taught than on overall language development. | ||||||
Assessments | The material contains a variety of formative and summative assessments aligned with Utah Core Standards, Personalized Competency-Based Learning, and Universal Design for Learning. It provides appropriate intervention strategies that lead to observable performance and real-world experiences for students. The assessments are ADA-compliant. | The material contains summative assessments aligned with Utah Core Standards with few interventions and is ADA-compliant. | The material contains a limited number of assessments without intervention strategies but is ADA-compliant. | The material does not provide assessment materials. | ||
Assessment materials are primarily summative based on unit content and therefore not based on core objectives. There was not mention of intervention or reteaching. There is opportunity for observable real -world opportunities to learn basic interpersonal communication skills in school and community settings. |
Item | 3 - Extensive | 2 - Adequate | 1 - Inadequate | 0 - None | ||
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Bias Free | This material is free from bias and is in compliance with all relevant federal and state laws, rules, and regulations, as listed in the next “2-Adequate” section for this item. Furthermore, this material focuses on shared identity and includes the unique characteristics & cultural differences of students in Utah. (53E-4-204.1) This material supports civic and character education. (53G-10-204) | This material is neutral and is in compliance with the laws, rules, and regulations below: -It can be used by all students regardless of sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or membership in any other protected class, such as ethnicity, or disability, as described in (R277-328). -This material supports educators to be in compliance with (53G-10-202.4), where they may not use their positions to endorse, promote, or disparage a particular religious, denominational, sectarian, agnostic, or atheistic belief or viewpoint. -The material is free from discrimination and does not support stereotyping of character traits, including hard work ethic. (53G-10-206) -It is free from advertising, e-commerce, or political interest and is in compliance with the law and community standards. | This material may be interpreted as biased. Or promoting advertising, e-commerce, or political interest. Or maybe considered to regard or treat some groups unfairly. | This material does not comply with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. This material is biased and favors a point of view that may be distracting to the educational experience of students. | ||
The materials visuals represent diverse students as the norm and not as an occasional token. The teacher's materials consistently point out cultural considerations for lessons. | ||||||
Cultural Awareness | This item has not been graded. | |||||
Inclusive Components | This item has not been graded. | |||||
Shared Values and Character Traits | This item has not been graded. | |||||
250 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111-3204
Phone: 801.538.7807