1. “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
presents
Introducing EMC’s new literature program, Mirrors and Windows. What does the title mean?
Connecting with Literature
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
Sydney J. Harris 1

2. Engage
Motivate
Challenge

3. Rising to the Challenge:
Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work?
A Study of Recent High School Graduates, College Instructors, and Employers.*
High school graduates, college instructors, and employers agree that students are significantly underprepared in writing and math.
2. Areas in which there are gaps include graduates’ abilities to read and understand complicated material, think analytically, apply what they learn to real-world problems, and communicate orally.
3. A low percentage of graduates surveyed said they were challenged in high school. A large majority of graduates said they would have worked harder in high school if more challenging courses had been offered.
*Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies prepared for Achieve, Inc., Feb

4. Closing the Gap Between High School Graduation and College Readiness
Preparing Students for College and Work
“…a strong positive relationship exists between the amount
and kind of high school coursework students take and their
readiness for college. The more courses students take and
the more challenging those courses, the more likely these
students will be college ready and will persist to a college
degree.”
(Crisis at the Core; Preparing All Students for College.)
J. David Armstrong, Jr., Chancellor Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Education; Cheri Pierson Yecke, Ph.D, Chancellor, K-12 April 18, 2006, Florida Department of Education

5. Great Selections in Literature
from The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
“Getting It Right at Ground Zero” by Rudolph Giuliani / “Land of the Living” by Lucy Kaplansky / “On This Day in 2001” by Garrison Keillor
Connecting with Literature
Relevant
“The Rising of the Moon” by Lady Augusta Gregory
High-Interest
“Catch the Moon” by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Classic
The first thing teachers often look for in an anthology is the selections. By looking over our Table of Contents, you will see selections that are relevant…high-interest…classic, and contemporary. We believe that some of our contemporary, cutting-edge selections will continue to be important to the canon for years to come.
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
Contemporary
“Learning to Love America” by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
Sydney J. Harris
“The Ravine” by Graham Salisbury 5

6. Grades 6-10 Key Features
Engaging and motivating readers with three types of connections to the text
Three levels of reading support: guided, directed, independent
Gradual release of responsibility leads students to become independent learners
Assessment practice after selections (gr. 9-12) and at end of unit (all grades)

7. Connecting with Literature Three types of connections:
Text-to-Self Connections
Reader’s Context questions before reading
Mirrors & Windows questions after reading
2. Text-to-Text Connections (three types)
Informational Text Connection
Primary Source Connections
Literature Connections
3. Text-to-World Connections (cross–curricular)
Science Culture
History World History
Literary Humanities
Social Studies
The subtitle for Mirrors & Windows: Connecting with Literature, is well earned, since connections are made carefully and consistently throughout the series. We of course have students connect the literature to their own lives by giving them a Reader’s Context question at prereading and a Mirrors & Windows question at post-reading. We also allow them to make big connections with Related Readings, and smaller connections with Cross-Curricular tie-ins.

8. Here is another way to look at the Gradual Release of Responsibility Reading Model. Notice how reading starts out with the teacher guiding the experience, then moves toward teacher support with students taking over more responsibility, and finally leads to students taking full responsibility of their reading process.
Note that Grades 6-10 work all three stages of Gradual Release. Grades 11 and 12 start with Directed Reading, assuming that students no longer need as much support, and then move on to Independent Reading.

9. Grades 6, 7, 8: Contents in Brief
Eight units
Emphasis on theme (“Meeting the Unexpected,” “Facing Challenges,” etc.)
Highlighting genre within each theme
Two units on fiction
Two units on nonfiction (literary and informational)
Two units on poetry
One unit on drama
One unit on the oral tradition
Introducing independent reading at the end of each unit
Here is a synopsis of the organization of grades 6-8. Notice that within the structure of the eight units for middle school allows us to highlight genre within each theme. We also begin to introduce independent reading at the end of each unit.

10. Grades 9-10: Contents in Brief
Six units
Emphasis on genre
Unit 1: Fiction
Unit 2: Nonfiction
Unit 3: Poetry
Unit 4: Drama
Unit 5: Folk Literature
Emphasis on independent reading
Unit 6: Independent Reading (Strategies and Skills)
Units 1-5 end with a collection of independent readings organized by theme
With grades 9 and 10, five of the six units emphasize genre. The sixty unit emphasizes independent reading.

11. Gradual Release in Grade 10, Unit 1: Fiction
A. Guided Reading (ATE Red background) 1. Model–“The Open Window” 2. Understanding the Plot–3 selections B. Directed Reading (ATE Blue background) 1. Understanding Point of View—2 selections 2. Understanding Character—2 selections 3. Understanding Setting—3 selections 4. Understanding Theme—3 selections C. Independent Reading (ATE Green background) 1. Theme: Choices 2. Twelve selections
Here is a more detailed look at the way Gradual Release is used in Grade 10, Unit 1.

12. Develop Critical Thinking
Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy
Mirrors & Windows Middle School Program
Mirrors & Windows High School Program
Remembering
Find Meaning:
(Remember)
Refer to Text:
Understanding
(Understand)
Reason with Text: Understand
Applying
Make Judgments:
(Apply)
Apply
Analyzing
(Analyze)
Analyze
Evaluating
(Evaluate)
Evaluate
Creating
(Create)
Create
Here is a closer look at the way we present critical thinking questions using Bloom’s Taxonomy.

13. Critical Thinking Skills
Here is a closer look at the way we present critical thinking questions using Bloom’s Taxonomy.

14. Here is a close-up of the Reading Assessment
Here is a close-up of the Reading Assessment. Notice the mix of multiple-choice and constructed response question types.

15. Independent reading spreads in 9-10 focus on college readiness reading skills.

16. Expert Writing Models
Here is an interesting note from Doris Lessing, one of the authors in this unit.

17. End-of-Unit: For Your Reading List
*EMC Access Editions featured at appropriate grade levels
End of Unit work includes For Your Reading List--suggested readings for independent reading and literature circles for students who want to extend the reading they have done in the unit. In many cases, these titles are EMC Access Editions, which offer similar scaffolded support within each supplemental novel, play, or nonfiction work. (The Access Editions here are A Tale of Two Cities, Nectar in a Sieve, and Things Fall Apart.)

18. Access Edition Lexile Reading
Levels Available
EMC Titles Lexile Level *
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 990L
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 950L
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque 830L
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver 900L
The Call of the Wild by Jack London L
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton L
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley L
The Giver by Lois Lowry L
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens L
Hamlet by Shakespeare NP*
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen L
High Elk’s Treasure by Virginia Driving Sneve 820L
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë L
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes L
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare NP*
My Ántonia by Willa Cather L
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya L
Night by Elie Wiesel L
Othello by William Shakespeare L
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Lexiles now available for Access Edition titles.

19. Grades 11-12: Contents in Brief
Emphasis on chronology & literary analysis
Nine units divided into parts based on theme or literary movements
Highlights
Understanding Literary Forms
Author Focus
Comparing Literature
Understanding Literary Criticism
Literature of the Americas (Grade 11) and Literature of the World (Grade 12)
Development of the English Language (Grade 12)
Independent readings at the end of each part
With Grades 11 and 12, The American Tradition and British Tradition, nine units are split into various parts and reflect a chronological approach. The units feature an author focus for key writers of each period, as well as a feature on literary criticism. Students are taught to read and analyze literature through a critical lens.

20. Grades Key Features
Chronological organization: Time periods divided into parts based on themes and literary movements
In-depth literature study: Author Focus & Understanding Literary Forms
Emphasis on literary analysis: Comparing Literature and Understanding Literary Criticism Assessment practice after selections and at end of unit

21. Unit Opener Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)
Here are some sample pages from Grade 11: The American Tradition. Note first of all that each unit of grades 11 and 12 is divided into parts that allow us to make thematic connections. In this case, Early Twentieth Century literature is divided into Part 1, Modernism; Part 2, The Common Life; and Part 3, The Harlem Renaissance.
Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)

22. Time Lines cover Literature, American, and World History
Because American and British Literature take a chronological approach, we present each unit with a timeline that shows key literary, American history, and world history events.
Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)

23. Author Focus Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)
Grades 11 and 12 also include an Author Focus in every unit, a more in-depth look at the major authors in each time period.
Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)

24. Understanding Literary Forms
Each unit focuses on a specific literary form.
Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)

25. Focus on the Novel Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)
Here is a novel excerpt from one of the authors we have highlighted—in this case, Ernest Hemingway.
Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)

26. Understanding Literary Criticism
Understanding Literary Criticism workshops focus on six major theories of criticism.
Reader-response criticism
Biographical-historical criticism
3. Psychological criticism
4. Political criticism
5. Sociological criticism
6. Feminist-Gender criticism
Literary Criticism

27. Understanding Literary Criticism
Grade 11, Expanding Frontiers (Unit 4)

28. Comparing Literature
Grade 11, The Modern Era (Unit 5)

29. Multiple Selections by Authors

30. Rigorous Literary Topics

31. Other Features within the Unit
Grammar and Style
Vocabulary and Spelling
Comparing Literature
Connections
End-of-Unit materials
For Your Reading List
Speaking and Listening Workshop
Writing Workshop
Test-Taking Workshop
Now that we’ve shown you the three types of selections, here is an overview of features that appear in every unit. These features appear in all high school grade levels, 9-12.

32. Meeting the Standards
The ATE provides a Scope and Sequence organized across the unit.

33. “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
Make it happen.
Thank you for your kind attention to our presentation. We truly appreciate your consideration of the EMC M&W program.
Connecting with Literature
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
Sydney J. Harris 33