7th Grade - Gateway 1
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Focus & Coherence
Gateway 1 - Meets Expectations | 92% |
|---|---|
Criterion 1.1: Focus | 2 / 2 |
Criterion 1.2: Coherence | 4 / 4 |
Criterion 1.3: Coherence | 7 / 8 |
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet expectations for focus and coherence. The instructional materials do not assess topics beyond Grade 7, and students and teachers using the materials as designed would devote the large majority of instructional time to the major work of the grade. The instructional materials meet expectations for coherence, and they show strength in having an amount of content that is viable for one school year and fostering coherence through connections within the grade.
Criterion 1.1: Focus
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet expectations for not assessing topics before the grade-level in which the topic should be introduced. Overall, there are not assessment items that align to topics beyond Grade 7.
Indicator 1a
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet the expectations for assessing grade-level content. The majority of the Grade 7 assessment content was appropriate for the grade. There are some items in the assessments that align to standards above Grade 7, but omitting or modifying these assessment items would not significantly impact the underlying structure of the Grade 7 materials.
The questions within the Practice and Assessment sections were reviewed for this indicator. The Practice sections within each topic contain multiple questions under the categories of Guided Practice and More Practice. The Assessment sections within each topic contain Automatically Scored questions and Constructed Response questions.
The following questions that include content from future grades are from Topic 13:
- Guided Practice 8, More Practice 1-2, and Automatically Scored 1-2 expect students to work with the central and interior angles of polygons, which aligns to 8.G.5.
- Automatically Scored 10 requires the use of the Pythagorean Theorem to find the perimeter of a right triangle (8.G.7).
Criterion 1.2: Coherence
Students and teachers using the materials as designed devote the large majority of class time in each grade K-8 to the major work of the grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet the expectations for students and teachers devoting the majority of class time to the major work of the grade when materials are used as designed. Overall, the materials spend approximately 72% of class time on the major work of Grade 7.
Indicator 1b
Instructional material spends the majority of class time on the major cluster of each grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet the expectations for spending the majority of class time on the major clusters of the grade. Overall, the instructional materials spend approximately 72% of class time on the major clusters of Grade 7.
For this indicator, the following were examined: all Blocks of instruction within all Topics in Course Contents, Alignment to Standards in Course Materials, the Mathematics 7 Scope & Sequence with Common Core State Standards document in Professional Support, and the Block descriptions for each Topic located within Deliver instruction under Advice for Instruction in Professional Support. There are fifteen topics divided into the following categories: Overview, Explore, Summary, Practice, and Assessment. Each Topic contains 6 to 13 Blocks of instruction, and each Block of instruction represents a 45-minute class period.
In the Block descriptions for each Topic, individual activities are not assigned specific amounts of time, or ranges of time, for the activities to be completed. Thus, when calculating the percentage of class time spent on the major cluster of the grade, two perspectives were appropriate, Topics and Blocks. For these materials, analysis by Blocks is the most appropriate because the Topics do not have an equal number of Blocks within them and the Blocks are not subdivided into smaller increments.
In addition to the Blocks directly aligned to major clusters of the grade, all Blocks aligned to supporting clusters of the grade were also examined. Those Blocks aligned to supporting clusters that were found to incorporate major work of the grade were included in the calculations below:
- Blocks: 102 of the 142 Blocks, approximately 72%, are spent on the major clusters of the grade.
- Topics: 11.5 of the 15, Topics , approximately 77%, are spent on the major clusters of the grade.
Criterion 1.3: Coherence
Coherence: Each grade's instructional materials are coherent and consistent with the Standards.
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet the expectation for being coherent and consistent with the Standards. The instructional materials show strengths in having an amount of content that is viable for one school year but do not always make explicit connections between prior knowledge and future learning and the major work of the grade. Therefore, the progressions in the Standards are not always evident. The materials foster coherence within grade level work.
Indicator 1c
Supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet expectations that supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade. Overall, supporting content is found primarily in Topics 1-2 and 9-15, and the supporting content does enhance focus and coherence by engaging students in the major work of the grade. Examples of the connections between supporting work and major work include the following:
- In Topic 1 Blocks 2, 3, 6, and 11 connect major standard 7.RP.3 to supporting standard 7.G.1. Students are using scale factor in solving a variety of problems with proportional relationships.
- In Topic 2 Blocks 8 and 9 connect major standard 7.RP.3 to supporting standard 7.G.1. Students are using scale factor in solving direct variation problems involving the effects of different sized scopes.
- In Topic 9 Blocks 2, 6, 9, and 10 connect major standard 7.NS.3 to supporting standard 7.SP.8. Students are calculating simple and compound probabilities using rational numbers in various forms.
- In Topic 9 Blocks 4, 5, and 11 connect major standard 7.RP.3 to supporting standard 7.SP.7. Students are using ratios and percentages to solve problems within probability models.
- Topic 11 connects supporting cluster 7.SP.C and major standards 7.RP.3, 7.NS.3, and 7.EE.3 as students are designing an appropriate simulation using proportional reasoning and testing its validity.
- In Topic 12 Blocks 1, 2, and 4 connect major standards 7.EE.3,4 to supporting standard 7.G.5. As students find measures of vertical, adjacent, complementary, and supplementary angles, they are using variables and writing equations that can be solved to find the missing angle measures.
- Topic 13 connects supporting cluster 7.G.B and major standards 7.NS.3 and 7.EE.4 as students are solving a variety of real-life and mathematical problems involving area and circumference of circles and areas of two-dimensional objects.
- In Topic 14 Blocks 2, 3, 5, and 6 connect major standard 7.NS.3 to supporting standard 7.G.6. Students are solving rational number expressions to find the surface area and volume of various figures. Major standard 7.EE.3 is also incorporated into Topic 14 as students are solving a variety of real-life and mathematical problems with positive rational numbers.
- In Topic 15 Blocks 2-6 connect major standard 7.NS.3 to supporting standards 7.G.1,4. Students are using scale factor to calculate differences in area and perimeter of 2-dimensional shapes. Major standards 7.EE.3 and 7.RP.1,3 are also incorporated into Topic 15 as students are solving a variety of real-life and mathematical problems involving proportional reasoning as dimensions are changed and the patterns of change in perimeter and area are examined.
Indicator 1d
The amount of content designated for one grade level is viable for one school year in order to foster coherence between grades.
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet the expectations for the amount of content designated for one grade-level being viable for one school year in order to foster coherence between grades. The suggested pacing contains 15 Topics and 142 Blocks (days) of instruction, including assessments. According to the Agile Mind Mathematics 7 Scope and Sequence, each block is expected to last 45 minutes. Some lessons (Constructed Response, MARS tasks) may take longer than indicated.
Each Block includes the following sections: Overview, Exploring, Summary, and Assessment. The Exploring pages are categorized by math concept and can be discussed and reviewed as a class or by individuals/small groups of students.
Indicator 1e
Materials are consistent with the progressions in the Standards i. Materials develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions in the Standards. If there is content from prior or future grades, that content is clearly identified and related to grade-level work ii. Materials give all students extensive work with grade-level problems iii. Materials relate grade level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 partially meet the expectations for being consistent with the progressions in the Standards. Overall, the materials develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions in the Standards, and they give all students extensive work with grade-level problems. However, content from prior or future grades is not always clearly identified or related to grade-level work, and the materials do not always relate grade-level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.
Examples of Grade 7 materials in which off grade-level content is present and not identified as such includes the following:
- Topic 4 Block 11, aligned to 7.RP.3, extends above grade-level when compound interest is introduced.
- In Topic 5 there are items that have students place rational numbers on a number line (6.NS.6) and order rational numbers (6.NS.7).
- In Topic 7 there are items that have students solving unit rate problems (6.RP.3b) and placing rational numbers on a number line (6.NS.6).
- Topic 8 Block 5, aligned to 7.EE.4, extends above grade-level when students are expected to solve an equation that requires collecting like terms (8.EE.7b).
- In Topic 10 there are multiple items that have students analyze individual sets of data (6.SP.B) as opposed to analyzing and comparing multiple sets of data (7.SP.B).
- Topic 12 Block 6, aligned to 7.G.2, extends above grade-level when “congruence” and “congruent triangles” are used within the explanation (8.G.2).
One example where off grade-level material is identified is in the teacher materials for Topic 10. "Although the Exploring 'Misleading graphs' is not focused on primary standards of the grade, it has strong connections to the ideas of ratio and area. Additionally, it allows for students to reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, and attend to precision.”
The Grade 7 materials provide extensive work with grade-level standards. All students are expected to complete the same problems, and lessons or ideas presented for differentiated instruction also include grade-level problems. The MARS tasks that are included, especially the ones in Topics 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, and 15, are places where students are given the opportunity to engage with the grade-level standards to their full intent.
In lessons where prior knowledge is included, identification of content from prior grades is mentioned in four components of the materials, but the identification is general and not explicitly connected to a grade-level or standard. Examples from the four components are as follows:
- In the first paragraph of the About the Course section, there is a brief, general overview of topics of which students acquired a foundation prior to Grade 7.
- The first paragraph in Agile Mind Mathematics 7 Scope and Sequence, 2016-2017 briefly references prior work in variables, properties of operations, equations, proportional reasoning, rational number operations, 2-D figures, area, and volume and how these concepts connect to Grade 7 work and beyond.
- The Advice for Instruction section references prior work in different places, although specific standards are not referenced. Some examples of this include:
- The Topic 3 Topic at a glance states, “This topic, Patterns in proportional relationships, is designed to build on students' prior knowledge involving ratios, rates, and proportional reasoning developed in previous topics.”
- The Topic 5 Topic at a glance states, “The topic makes connections to the fractions and decimals students have already studied. Students complete the number line by placing fractions and decimals on number lines along with integers.”
- In Topic 6 the following Prerequisite skills are listed under Prepare instruction: Multiplication and division, Integers as the set of whole numbers and their opposites, Adding and subtracting integers, and Raising a number to a power. The Prerequisite skills are not explicitly connected to any previous, grade-level standards.
- In the Deliver Instruction of Topic 8, page 5 of the Overview states, “This page reminds students about their previous work with inequalities.”
- In Topic 13 a classroom strategy on page 2 of the Overview states, “The formulas presented on this page were introduced in earlier grades. Depending on your students’ prior experiences, they may not recall them or how to apply them. Use this page to connect to prior learning by engaging students in these formulas.”
- The Overview of the student material sometimes informs students what they will learn within the Topic and occasionally gives a general connection to previous learning. For example, the Overview of Topic 1 states, “Ratios and proportions are very useful in everyday life. You may have explored some of these uses in your previous math courses. Do you remember how to represent ratios? Use the animation for some important reminders.”
Indicator 1f
Materials foster coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the Standards i. Materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings. ii. Materials include problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain, or two or more domains in a grade, in cases where these connections are natural and important.
The instructional materials reviewed for Agile Mind Grade 7 meet the expectations for fostering coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the Standards. Overall, the materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings, and they provide problems and activities that connect two or more clusters in a domain or two or more domains when these connections are natural and important.
Some examples of Topic Headings and Goals and Objectives shaped by cluster headings include the following:
- Topic Headings:
- In Topic 3, “Patterns in Proportional Relationships” is shaped by 7.RP.A.
- In Topics 5 and 6, "Multiplying and Dividing Rational Integers" is shaped by 7.NS.A.
- In Topics 9 and 11, “Probability” and “Designing Experiments,” respectively, are shaped by 7.SP.C.
- In Topic 13, “Solving problems with 2-D shapes” is shaped by 7.G.B.
- Goals and Objectives:
- In Topic 1, “apply proportional reasoning in a range of contexts” is shaped by 7.RP.A.
- In Topic 5, “apply previous understandings of rational numbers to add and subtract integers represent real-world situations using integers” is shaped by 7.NS.A.
- In Topic 8, “solve real-life and mathematical problems using linear expressions and equations using concrete models, tables, graphs, and the properties of equality and operations” is shaped by 7.EE.B.
- In Topic 12, “solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measures” is shaped by 7.G.B.
The following are topics that contain problems and/or activities which connect two or more clusters in a domain or two or more domains in a grade.
- In Topic 2, 7.RP.A and 7.EE.B are connected as students solve real-life problems where understanding of the unit rate is central to solving the problems.
- In Topic 3, 7.RP.A and 7.EE.B are connected as students explore proportional and nonproportional relationships in multiple representations and write equations that will describe the proportional relationships.
- In Topic 4, 7.RP.A, 7.NS.A, and 7.EE.B are connected as students solve a variety of multi-step percent problems using written expressions and multiple operations with rational numbers.
- In Topic 7, 7.NS.A and 7.EE.B are connected as students solve a variety of problems involving rational numbers and all operations. As students solve, they are responsible for writing expressions/equations that represent the problems before solving.
- In Topic 7, 7.RP.A and 7.EE.B are connected as students solve a variety of problems based on a given rate or unit price. Students must apply proportional reasoning as they solve.
- In Topic 8, 7.EE.A and 7.EE.B are connected as students use the properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions as a part of solving mathematical problems using algebraic expressions and equations.
- In Topic 10, 7.SP.A and 7.SP.B are connected as students make inferences about a single population in order to draw comparative inferences about two or more populations.