Cereal City Science
Downloadable Resources
Publisher Response
2022

Cereal City Science

Publisher
Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center
Subject
Science
Grades
K-5
Report Release
06/04/2024
Review Tool Version
v1.5
Format
Core: Comprehensive

EdReports reviews determine if a program meets, partially meets, or does not meet expectations for alignment to college and career-ready standards. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Partially Meets Expectations

Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
Not Eligible
Downloadable Resources
Publisher Response
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Showing:
4th Grade

About This Report

Report for 4th Grade

Alignment Summary

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations for Alignment to NGSS, Gateways 1 and 2. Gateway 1: Designed for NGSS; Criterion 1: Three-Dimensional Learning partially meets expectations. The materials include three-dimensional learning opportunities and opportunities for student sensemaking with the three dimensions. The summative assessments consistently measure the three dimensions for their respective objectives, and the formative assessments rarely measure the three dimensions of their respective objectives to support learning. Criterion 2: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning partially meets expectations. Phenomena and problems are present and are connected to DCIs. Phenomena and problems are inconsistently presented to students as directly as possible. The materials neither elicit nor leverage student prior knowledge and experience related to the phenomena and problems present. Phenomena and problems inconsistently drive learning and use of the three dimensions at both the learning sequence and learning opportunity level.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations for Gateway 2: Coherence and Scope. The materials do not connect units and chapters in a manner that is apparent to students, and student tasks increase in sophistication within and across units. The materials represent the three dimensions across the series accurately, but include some scientific content not appropriate to the grade level. Further, the materials do not include all DCI components and all elements for physical science or earth and space science. The materials do include all DCI components and all elements for life science and engineering, technology, and applications of science. The materials include all of the SEPs at the grade level and all of the SEPs across the grade band. The materials include all grade-band crosscutting concepts and provide repeated opportunities for students to use CCCs across the grade band. The materials include NGSS connections to Nature of Science and Engineering elements associated with the SEPs and/or CCCs.

4th Grade
Gateway 1

Designed for NGSS
16/28
0
14
24
28
Gateway 2

Coherence & Scope
27/34
0
16
30
34
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Partially Meets Expectations
Gateway 3

Usability
Usability (Gateway 3)
Not Rated
Gateway 1
Gateway 2
Gateway 3
Viewing:
Gateway 1
Overview of Gateway 1

Designed for NGSS

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations for Gateway 1: Designed for NGSS; Criterion 1: Three-Dimensional Learning partially meets expectation and Criterion 2: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning partially meets expectations.

Gateway 1
v1.5
Gateway 1

Designed for NGSS
16/28
0
14
24
28
Criterion 1.1: Three-Dimensional Learning
10/16
Criterion 1.2: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning
06/12
Partially Meets Expectations

Criterion 1.1: Three-Dimensional Learning
10/16

Materials are designed for three-dimensional learning and assessment.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations for Criterion 1a-1c: Three-Dimensional Learning. The materials consistently include integration of the three dimensions in at least one learning opportunity per learning sequence and nearly all learning sequences are meaningfully designed for student opportunity to engage in sensemaking with the three dimensions. The materials consistently provide three-dimensional learning objectives at the chapter level that build towards the performance expectations for the larger unit, but inconsistently assess to reveal student knowledge and use of the three dimensions to support the targeted three-dimensional learning objectives. The units also include three-dimensional objectives and include corresponding assessments that inconsistently address the three dimensions of the objectives.

Indicator 1A
Read

Materials are designed to integrate the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) into student learning.

Indicator 1A.i
04/04

Materials consistently integrate the three dimensions in student learning opportunities.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet expectations that they are designed to integrate the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) into student learning opportunities. 

Throughout Grade 4, the learning sequences consistently include learning opportunities that incorporate and integrate the three dimensions. All of the learning sequences in the life and physical science units are three dimensional, as are most of the individual learning opportunities. There are three learning sequences in earth and space science that are only two-dimensional. Almost all the two-dimensional learning sequences and learning opportunities lack a crosscutting concept.

Examples of where materials are designed to integrate the three dimensions into student learning opportunities:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, students observe images of changes in the shape of the land to generate ideas about and find evidence of weathering and erosion to figure out the cause of landslides. Students view a video of a landslide and draw before, during, and after models of their initial ideas about what caused the motion in the landslide (SEP-MOD-E4). Students observe Weathering and Erosion card sets, note how an image represents weathering and erosion, and look for evidence of changes in land. Students are asked to consider the effect of wind and water on the changes in the land (DCI-ESS2.A-P1). During a Science Talk, students share initial ideas about the cause of landslides and what causes changes to the land to occur (CCC-CE-E1). 

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 4, Lesson 4B: Making Sense of Our Earthquake Mapping, students determine why some areas of the world are more prone to earthquakes. Using the mapping data from Lesson 1A, students analyze and interpret the location of earthquakes and discuss patterns related to which areas of the world are most affected by earthquakes and which areas are least affected (SEP-DATA-E1, CCC-PAT-E2). Students compare these patterns with a map of earth that includes tectonic plates and explain the relationships between the locations of earthquakes and the boundaries of plates. Students use a clay model to demonstrate what happens to the surface of the earth when the plates collide, pull apart, or rub against one another (DCI-ESS2.B-E1). Students revisit paragraph two of the article A Shift That Formed a Plateau, A River, and a Canyon in their Student Journal, observe and discuss a simulation of how plates collide, and read about plate tectonics and volcanic/earthquake activity to gather evidence to support the ideas of earth's crust being made up of large plates (SEP-INFO-E1) and to explain "Why are some areas of the world more prone to earthquakes than others (DCI-ESS2.B-E1). 

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Blue-Tailed Skinks Lose Their Blue Tails!, students develop an initial model to explain how the structures of a skink help it survive. In this lesson, students observe a video of a blue-tailed skink. They discuss and sketch an initial model of a skink and label its structures, including how they think the structures function to help the skink defend itself. Students share their models and discuss patterns across their models (SEP-MOD-E4, SEP-MOD-P2). Students develop questions about what they will need to know to understand the purpose of the blue tail, conduct some preliminary online research, and add new questions to a class question board (SEP-AQDP-P1). Finally, students conduct research (SEP-INFO-P1) by reading grade-appropriate texts and/or using media to obtain scientific and/or technical information about patterns between the structure and function of the skink tail and man-made structures. While students make their models, the teacher engages them in a discussion about the different structures the skink has and how they help the animal (observe, run fast, think, escape predators, etc.)(DCI-LS1.A-E1, CCC-SF-P1).

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Turn on the Lights!, students collaboratively develop models of what happens to our eyes when we go from bright sunshine outside to a dim, inside room. In this lesson, students observe pictures of students outside in light, inside in darkness, and students struggling to see in the dark. They develop initial models of why they think students can see in one place but not the other (DCI-PS4.B-P1, SEP-MOD-E4). Students discuss what they think causes us to be able to see (CCC-CE-E1). 

  • In Grade 4, Light and Sound, Activity 1, Lesson 1D: Reflecting Light, students investigate the behavior of light as it illuminates and reflects off objects. Students investigate and record what they discover as they observe the behavior of light when using a flashlight, comb, and mirror (SEP-DATA-P1). Students share their observations with the rest of the class to develop a common language and draw conclusions about how light travels, how it reflects off a mirror, and what happens when it is projected onto white and black paper. They engage in a guided activity to further investigate, observe, and gather evidence to explain how light reflects off a mirror at different angles (DCI-PS4.B-E1, SEP-INV-E3). Students revisit the model of how we see from Lesson 1C and relate the model to what they learned about reflected light. The teacher explains that light reflects off all surfaces, not just shiny ones, to help us see (CCC-CE-E1). Students then update their models from Lesson 1C (SEP-MOD-E2). 

  • In Grade 4, Light and Sound, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: Exploring Energy, students develop an initial model that explains how energy in a system moves from place to place. Students move through six stations that focus on energy transfer, transformation, how speed affects energy, and light energy (DCI-PS3.B-E1). At each station, students discuss the activity and record ideas about how energy is related to the activity. Students identify statements that help to explain what is happening with the energy (SEP-CEDS-E3) and develop a model that explains the energy they observed (SEP-MOD-E2). Students write down questions about energy related to the activity (SEP-AQDP-P1). The teacher is directed to ask students if the stations helped them "explain the cause and effect relationship between energy and the changes or actions observed in the Rube Goldberg" (CCC-CE-C1).

Indicator 1A.ii
04/04

Materials consistently support meaningful student sensemaking with the three dimensions.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet expectations that they consistently support meaningful student sensemaking with the three dimensions.

The learning sequences (Activities) in the materials consistently provide students with the opportunity to engage in three-dimensional sensemaking. If students are working with a larger topic or complex phenomenon or problem, sensemaking may occur over the course of a series of lessons. In other cases, students use all three dimensions in a single lesson to make sense of a concept or phenomenon. In some cases sensemaking opportunities are connected to phenomena or problems, but students also engage in sensemaking connected to a topic or concept that is not connected to phenomena or problems. Student sensemaking also typically takes place in the context of an investigation where students collect and analyze data to explain or develop an understanding of DCIs.

Examples where SEPs and CCCs meaningfully support student sensemaking with the other dimensions in the learning sequence:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 4: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis, students work to explain where earthquakes often occur and why. Students use second-hand data to plot the location of earthquakes on a classroom map and look for patterns and describe where earthquakes occur most often (DCI-ESS2.B-E1, SEP-DATA-E1, and CCC-PAT-E3). Students share their ideas and use maps and an informational text to compare the location of tectonic boundaries to the location of earthquakes and discuss what happens when moving plates collide, pull apart, or rub against one another (SEP-INFO-E1). Students make clay models to demonstrate different causes of earthquakes and changes to the landscape (SEP-MOD-E5, CCC-CE-E1). 

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 3: Fossils and Rock Layers, students gather evidence that explains how fossils and rock layers tell earth’s history. Students observe and record physical attributes of a rock that is a fossil (SEP-INV-E3), identify patterns between one another's observations and measurements, and use those patterns to begin to support the explanation that their rocks are fossils (CCC-PAT-E3). Students observe their rock for evidence of organisms that lived long ago and speculate what type of environment their fossils lived in (DCI-LS4.A-E2). Students then make and share observations of the Grand Canyon, discuss how it provides information about the history of the earth and changes in the earth's surface (DCI-ESS1.C-E1), and gather information from texts and media about how the Grand Canyon is formed (SEP-INFO-E1). Students create a model that represents rock layers and fossils and the process for how sediments deposited from rocks and soil form layers (SEP-MOD-E5). Students use evidence from their investigations to explain how fossils and rock layers provide evidence of the earth’s history (DCI-ESS1.C-E1).

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: No Light! No Sight!, students investigate how light makes things visible. Students use a closed box with an object in it to collect data on what is visible in no light, a small amount of light, and bright light (SEP-INV-E3, SEP-DATA-E1). Students review and analyze their results to develop an explanation about how much light is needed to see and how the amount of light affects our ability to see objects (DCI-PS4.B-P1, CCC-CE-E1). 

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 4: On One Flower, students investigate how organisms use their internal and external structures to help them survive. After reading a story about organisms that interact with goldenrod flowers, students discuss the different traits organisms on the flower possess and how those traits help them survive. Students then draw a model of an animal and explain how its internal and external structures help it survive (DCI-LS1.A-E1, CCC-SF-P1). Students select an organism to investigate in the school yard (SEP-AQDP-P1), observe the animal, make a detailed drawing of the animal including internal and external structures that it has to help it survive, and share it with the class (DCI-LS1.A-E1, CCC-SF-P1, and SEP-DATA-P2). Students conclude by researching additional information about how the organism survives and share their findings with the class (DCI-LS1.A-E1, SEP-INFO-E4, and SEP-INFO-E5).

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: Exploring Energy, students collect data to explain the relationship between force and motion. Students observe and collect data on assorted energy/motion events such as dominos knocking each other over, a ball rolling down a ramp, and stretching and releasing a rubber band. Students use their observations to make models that explain the relationship between energy and the changes occuring in each scenario (DCI-PS3.B-E1, SEP-MOD-E2). Students then discuss what they think explains the cause and effect relationship between energy and what they observed (SEP-CEDS-E3, CCC-CE-E1, and CCC-EM-E3).

Indicator 1B
00/04

Materials are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence for three-dimensional learning.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 do not meet expectations that they are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence for the three-dimensional learning in the instructional materials.

The materials consistently provide three-dimensional learning objectives at the lesson level that build toward the three-dimensional objectives of the unit. The Unit At A Glance names the learning objective and cites which elements of the three dimensions are part of the learning goals for each learning sequence. 

The materials use the work that students do during a lesson, such as an activity page from the Student Journal, as a formative assessment. While each unit includes a table that identifies the unit’s assessments, it is often difficult to distinguish which are formative and which are summative. The materials also frequently cite whole-group discussions or charts as formative assessments, but miss the opportunity to provide the support to record individual student’s progress toward the learning goal. Across the remaining formative assessments only a portion of the learning objectives are assessed and the materials miss the opportunity to assess multiple elements of the three dimensions present in the learning objectives. Additionally, a number of learning sequences do not include formative assessments that provide the opportunity to collect evidence for learning on individual students. 

Learning sequences miss the opportunity to clearly incorporate tasks for the purpose of supporting the instructional process. Although sample answers and “look-fors” are provided, there are no next steps provided for teachers to assist students who are not showing comprehension of the assessed elements.

Examples of lessons with a three-dimensional objective where the formative assessment task(s) do not assess student knowledge of all (three) dimensions in the learning objective, and do not provide guidance to support the instructional process:

  • In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 6: Natural Resources, the three-dimensional learning objectives are “Obtain information to find out how humans use natural resources and the effect of the use of resources on the land,” and “Determine how humans can reduce the impact of the use of resources on the environment,” and comprise four elements. The formative assessments are two Respond to Text journal entries, a lesson handout, and a Journal Entry. Students read a story, describe how a character in the story created a unique civilization, match a list of natural resources in the story to their uses, and then discuss common objects, what resources were used to make them, and whether they are renewable or not. There is a missed opportunity to assess any of the elements in the learning objectives. The Student Journal Answer Key includes guidance on what to look for and sample student responses, but does not provide additional guidance and support for teachers to adjust instruction.

  • In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 7: Humans Change the Shape of the Land, the three-dimensional learning objectives are “Obtain information to find out how humans extract or mine natural resources and the effect of the extraction or mining on the Land,” and “Determine how humans can reduce the impact of the extraction or mining of resources on the environment,” and comprise six elements of the three dimensions. There are no formative assessments included in this sequence.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 4: On One Flower, the three-dimensional learning objective is “Make observations of the diversity of plants and animals in the schoolyard to find out how their internal and external structures help them to survive,” and comprises four elements of the three dimensions. There are no formative assessments included in this sequence.

  • In Grade 4 , Energy and Waves, Activity 3: The Energy of Sound, the three-dimensional learning objectives are “Relate sound to the concept of energy,” “Provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound,” and “Observe how sound is made through vibrations and travels in waves,” and comprise 17 elements of the three dimensions. The formative assessment for this activity is a journal entry. Students describe their observations of the sounds rulers of different lengths make, use their observations to make predictions about the sound of longer rulers, and apply their observations to explaining the sounds of different tuning forks (SEP-INV-E3, SEP-CEDS-E2, CCC-PAT-E3, and CCC-CE-E1). There is a missed opportunity to assess the remaining elements of the learning objectives. The Student Journal Answer Key includes guidance on what to look for and sample student responses, but does not provide additional guidance and support for teachers to adjust instruction.

Indicator 1C
02/04

Materials are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence of three-dimensional learning.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations that they are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence of the three-dimensional learning in the instructional materials.

Materials consistently provide three-dimensional learning objectives for each unit and include a table that provides the elements of the three dimensions that constitute the learning objectives for the unit. Each unit includes a post-assessment with five to six questions on the unit content. Additional summative assessments are taken from student work produced during individual lessons. These are typically student responses in their journals, but also include additional activities, such as a product prototype. In several instances, the materials cite whole class discussions or group activities as summative assessments, but those miss the opportunity for individual students to demonstrate their understanding of the three dimensions . While each unit includes a table that identifies the summative assessments, it is often difficult to distinguish what is an instructional activity, what is an assessment, and which assessments are formative vs. summative. 

Overall, the assessment system does not assess several of the elements associated with the learning goals. Additionally, many summative assessment tasks miss the opportuity to connect to the targeted three-dimensional learning objectives and do not assess any of the targeted objectives.

Examples where the materials provide three-dimensional learning objectives for the learning sequence, but summative tasks do not measure student achievement of all of the targeted three-dimensional learning objectives:

  • In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, the three-dimensional learning objective comprises 13 elements. Assessments include a unit Summative Assessment and various work products collected during instruction, primarily journal entries. The summative assessment includes 12 questions and is administered at the end of the unit. Students answer questions on how plants change the environment and other ways the surface of the earth can be changed (DCI-ESS2.A-E2, DCI-ESS2.E-E1, and CCC-CE-E1), the relative age of rock layers (DCI-ESS1.C-E1), the location of earthquakes and volcanoes (DCI-ESS2.B-E1), reducing the effects of natural hazards (DCI-ESS3.B-E1), and the natural resources used as fuels (DCI-ESS3.A-E1). In Lesson 2A, students use the results of a modeling activity to explain different ways that the surface of the earth changes (SEP-INV-E3). In Lesson 4A, students map the locations of earthquakes (DCI-ESS2.B-E1), and in Lesson 7C, students compare multiple solutions to cleaning an oil spill (SEP-CEDS-E5). The remaining assessments miss the opportunity to assess SEP-CEDS-E3, SEP-INFO-E4, and CCC-PAT-E3.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, & Information Processing, the three-dimensional learning objective comprises ten elements. Assessments include a unit Summative Assessment and various work products collected during instruction, primarily journal entries. The summative assessment includes nine questions and is administered at the end of the unit. Students use a model to support their answers on what is visible in the dark or with a flashlight (DCI-PS4.B-E1, SEP-ARG-E4, SEP-MOD-E4, and CCC-CE-E1). Students also explain how a racoon uses its eyes and how different animals have structures that help them survive (DCI-LS1.D-E1, DCI-LS1.A-E1). The remaining assessments miss the opportunity to assess SEP-ARG-E6 and SEP-MOD-E6. 

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, the three-dimensional learning objective comprises 21 elements. Assessments include a unit Summative Assessment and various work products collected during instruction, primarily journal entries. The summative assessment includes 15 questions and is administered at the end of the unit. Students model and answer questions about speed and energy during bowling and other collisions (DCI-PS3.A-E1, DCI-PS3.A-E2, DCI-PS3.C-E1, DCI-PS3.B-E1, SEP-MOD-E3, and SEP-CEDS-E2). Students answer questions and model light heating different objects (DCI-PS3.B-E2, CCC-EM-E3) and sound causing movement (DCI-PS3.B-E1). In Lesson 2E, students investigate and construct an explanation of the energy transfer during a collision (DCI-PS3.B-E1, SEP-CEDS-E2, SEP-AQDP-E3, SEP-INV-E3, CCC-PAT-E1, and CCC-CE-E1). The remaining assessments miss the opportunity to assess DCI-PS3.D-E1, DCI-PS4.C-E1, and DCI-ETS1.C-E1). 

Criterion 1.1: Three-Dimensional Learning
10/16
Indicator 1A
Read
Indicator 1A.i
04/04
Indicator 1A.ii
04/04
Indicator 1B
00/04
Indicator 1C
02/04

Criterion 1.2: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning
06/12

Materials leverage science phenomena and engineering problems in the context of driving learning and student performance.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations for Criterion 1d-1i: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning. The materials include numerous phenomena and problems throughout the grade. Of those phenomena and problems, they consistently connect to grade-level appropriate DCIs but are inconsistently presented to students as directly as possible. Phenomena or problems inconsistently drive learning and engage students in the three dimensions in both learning sequences and learning opportunities. The materials neither elicit nor leverage student prior knowledge and experience related to the phenomena and problems present. The materials inconsistently incorporate phenomena or problems to drive learning and use of the three dimensions across multiple chapters within each unit.

Indicator 1D
02/02

Phenomena and/or problems are connected to grade-level Disciplinary Core Ideas.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems are connected to grade-level Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs).

Throughout the materials, students are provided with opportunities to build an understanding of grade-level DCIs through activity- and lesson-level phenomena and problems. In Grade 4, each unit focuses on a single science discipline, either life, physical, or earth and space science. Phenomena and problems in each unit typically require the use of at least one DCI from the unit’s focus area.

Examples of phenomena and design challenges that are connected to grade-band DCIs:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, the phenomenon is that a landslide causes big changes to the surface of the earth. Students watch a video of a landslide and discuss as a class what caused the shape of the land to change. Students record their ideas in a What We Think Chart then work independently to develop an initial model of what they think happened before, during, and after the landslide that explains the cause of the landslide (DCI-ESS2.A-E2). 

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Reducing the Impact–Planning, the design challenge is to reduce the impact of a natural disaster. Students are challenged to design a blueprint for a solution to reduce the impacts of a natural hazard (DCI-ESS3.B-E1). As a class, students discuss how to/if you can prevent natural hazards and things people do to reduce the impacts of natural hazards. Then, in small groups, students come up with a list of materials and a design for another possible solution to reduce the impacts of a natural hazard in their Student Journal.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Turn on the Lights!, the phenomena are when a child enters a dark room after being outside in bright light or a child in a dark room suddenly has lights turned on, it is difficult to see. Students create models of what happens to one’s eyes when they go from very bright light outside to very little or no light inside, including arrows to show how light travels. Students use the models to describe how light reflects off of objects and enters the eye, allowing objects to be seen (DCI-PS4.B-E1).

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Sharing our Research Findings on the Blue-Tailed Skink, the phenomenon is that a detached blue tail wiggles and moves on the ground. Students share research findings to describe the external and internal structures that a blue-tailed skink uses to detach its tail and how this function is a defense mechanism that helps the skink escape predators (DCI-LS1.A-E1).

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 3, Lesson 3A: Exploring the Energy of Sound, the phenomenon is that when a bass speaker plays, nearby windows shake. Students watch a video of loud bass music that causes a window and nearby objects to vibrate. Then, in their Student Journal, students develop a model that explains what causes the window to vibrate when the loud music is played, explaining how energy is moving from the speaker to the glass (DCI-PS3.A-E2). Students share their models in small groups and develop a group model to share with the class.

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 6, Lesson 6A: Light, the design challenge is to melt a piece of butter so that it can slide down a metal ramp without using a candle flame or direct heat source. Students watch a portion of a YouTube video of a Rube Goldberg device in which a stick of butter slides down a ramp when a candle is lit beneath it. Students are challenged to develop a plan and create a model to demonstrate how you could melt the butter in the Rube Goldberg video without using a flame or direct heat source. Students follow an investigation in their Student Journals in which they place thermometers in a black balloon and a white balloon and then add a heat lamp and record the temperature of each balloon every 10 minutes, observing how the temperature of the two balloons are different (DCI-PS3.B-E2, DCI-PS3.A-E2). Students use what they learned from the investigation to design a means to melt the butter in the Rube Goldberg Cake Serving device from the video (DCI-PS3.B-E1) using a means other than a candle.

Indicator 1E
01/02

Phenomena and/or problems are presented to students as directly as possible.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems are presented to students as directly as possible. 

Materials present phenomena and problems to students as directly as possible in multiple instances. Many of the phenomena and problems were presented directly but there were also a number of missed opportunities to present phenomena and problems directly. When phenomena and problems are presented directly to students, they either observe a teacher demonstration, watch a video, or read a trade book. The majority of videos are from YouTube. Sometimes the materials provide a link to a specific video, while in other cases the materials only provide suggested search keywords. None of the videos are hosted by the publisher. Phenomena and problems that were not presented directly were often because of a broken link for a video.

Examples of phenomena and problems that are presented as directly as possible:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: Temperature Erosion-Ice Wedging, the phenomenon is that when a canister of water with a lid is left in the freezer overnight, the lid pops off and the can bulges outward. The teacher presents a bottle of water to students, asks what would happen if it was frozen overnight, and then puts the bottle in the freezer so students can observe what happens when they come to class the next day. The next day, the bulging, frozen canister is revealed. The demonstration provides a direct, common, and shared experience of the phenomenon.

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Reducing the Impact-Planning, the design challenge is to reduce the impact of a natural hazard. Students identify natural hazards based on their prior experiences. Students identify natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and/or weather events that they have learned about in previous lessons. They use these common experiences to identify a problem that relates to reducing the hazards associated with one or some of the natural hazards. Students are then given the design challenge to reduce the impacts of the specific natural hazards that were identified by the class. Reviewing prior learning on natural hazards and discussing their possible impact provide students with context to have a shared and direct understanding of the design challenge.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, & Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Blue-Tailed Skinks Lose Their Tails!, the phenomenon is that a blue-tailed skink has a long, bright blue tail. Students watch and discuss a video about a blue-tailed skink. The video provides students with a direct, common, and shared experience of the phenomenon.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, & Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Sharing our Research Findings on the Blue-Tailed Skink, the phenomenon is that a detached blue tail wiggles and moves on the ground. Students watch and discuss a video of a detached blue tail wiggling on the ground. The video provides students with a direct, common, and shared experience of the phenomenon. 

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Looking for Evidence of Energy, the design challenge is to create a Rube Goldberg device. Students are introduced to the design challenge by watching a video of a Rube Goldberg machine. They then select one of four “performance tasks” that require a Rube Goldberg machine. The video and performance task descriptions provide students with context to have a shared and direct understanding of the design challenge.

  • In Grade 4, Waves and Energy, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Heat and Motion, the phenomenon is that a stick of butter slides down a metal ramp that has a candle under it. Students are introduced to the phenomenon using a segment of a Rube Goldberg video in which a candle heats a metal ramp, causing a stick of butter to slide down. The video provides students with a direct, common, and shared experience of the phenomenon. 

Examples of phenomena and problems that are not presented as directly as possible:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, the phenomenon is that a landslide causes big changes to the surface of the earth. Students are supposed to be shown a video to illustrate a landslide in action; however, teachers aren’t provided with a link to a specific video. Instead, teachers are given criteria to use to search for a video. Additionally, many of the videos found provide detailed explanations/narratives of the phenomenon. Given the lack of a specific video, there is a missed opportunity to provide a common entry point for students. 

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 3, Lesson 3A: Animal Eyes and Survival, the phenomenon is that some animals' eyes appear to glow in the dark. Students listen to the first fifty seconds of narration of the story White Fang. Students engage in a discussion around the question “Why do some animals’ eyes glow in the dark at night?”. There is a missed opportunity for the narration to provide students with sufficient information for a shared understanding or observation of what the phenomenon is.

  • In Grade 4, Waves and Energy, Activity 3, Lesson 3C: Building Instruments, the design challenge is to design and build an instrument that can produce two or more different sounds. The design challenge is presented to the students by asking them to share their experiences with different instruments and then having them read handouts about different types of instruments (e.g., strings, drums, horns). There is a missed opportunity for direct presentation of this  design challenge because not all students may have experiences to draw upon, and reading about the instruments does not provide a direct enough experience of an instrument making different sounds.

Indicator 1F
01/02

Phenomena and/or problems drive individual lessons or activities using key elements of all three dimensions.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems drive individual lessons or activities using key elements of all three dimensions.

The materials provide multiple lessons that use phenomena or design challenges to drive student learning and engage with all three dimensions. The majority of lessons, however, are not driven by a phenomenon or problem. In instances where there is a phenomenon present but does not drive learning, the phenomenon is only addressed at the beginning and, sometimes, the end of the lesson, and the activities in the lesson are not directly connected to explaining the phenomenon or solving the problem. When a phenomenon or design challenge does not drive learning or is not present, the lessons are typically driven by a science concept or disciplinary core idea, and a few are driven by an activity. When a phenomenon or problem drives the lesson, students consistently engage with the three dimensions as they develop explanations or solutions. 

Phenomena and design challenges are presented in several ways. There are anchoring problems and design challenges that span multiple activities and lessons within a unit, there are activity level phenomena and design challenges that span a few lessons within an activity, and there are phenomena that are present at only the lesson level.

Examples where phenomena or problems drive student learning and engage students with all three dimensions:

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function and Information Processing Lesson 5A: Blue-Tailed Skinks Lose Their Blue Tails!, the phenomenon driving instruction is that a blue-tailed skink has a long, bright blue tail. Students observe a video of a blue-tailed skink and sketch an initial model of a skink and label its structures, including how they think the structures function to help the skink defend itself. Students share their models and discuss patterns across their models (SEP-MOD-E4, SEP-MOD-P2). Students create questions about what they will need to know to understand the purpose of the blue tail (SEP-AQDP-P1) and conduct research to gather information about patterns between the structure and function of the skink tail and man-made structures (SEP-INFO-P1). As students make their models, the teacher engages them in a discussion of the different structures the skink has and how it helps the animal, including its bright blue tail (DCI-LS1.A-E1, CCC-SF-P1).

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves Lesson 2D: Collisions and Energy Transfer, the phenomena driving instruction is that players in bubble soccer bounce off each other and travel in different directions. Students plan and conduct an investigation to see how keeping two tennis balls further apart prior to collision changes the motion of one or both objects in motion (SEP-INV-P2, SEP-INV-E3). Students record their data, explain what the data shows, and discuss results to relate the data to energy and energy transfer (SEP-DATA-E2, SEP-DATA-E1, SEP-CEDS-E2, and SEP-AQDP-E1). Students use patterns in terms to explain the causes and effects of the motion of the bubble soccer players (DCI-PS3.B-E1, DCI-PS3.C-E1, CCC-CE-E1, CCC-PAT-E3).

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, the phenomenon driving instruction is that a landslide causes big changes to the surface of the earth. Students share their initial ideas and develop a model of the causes of the landslide (SEP-MOD-E4, CCC-CE-E1) Students relate the forces of moving water, gravity, and moving soil from one place to another. Students return to their initial models, consider the effect of wind and water on the land, and revise their ideas (DCI-ESS2.A-P1).

Examples where phenomena or problems do not drive student learning:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 4, Lesson 4A: Mapping Earthquakes, a phenomenon or problem does not drive instruction. Instead, an activity to determine where earthquakes occur most often on Earth is the focus of instruction. Students engage in a class discussion about natural hazards and the difference between natural hazards caused by weather versus geologic causes like earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. Students share initial ideas about the frequency and location of where most earthquakes occur. Students review skills necessary for reading maps, then working in small groups of 3-4 students, they use one day of data on the Mapping Earthquake handout to plot the coordinates of earthquakes and use pins to mark earthquakes on a classroom map. 

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 1, Lesson 1C: How Light Travels, the phenomena that when a child enters a dark room after being outside in bright light, and when a child in a dark room suddenly has lights turned on, it is difficult to see, does not drive learning. Rather the disciplinary core ideas that objects can only be seen when light is available to illuminate them and that light travels in a straight line are the focus of instruction. The teacher shines a flashlight on an object two meters away. Students map the path of light from the flashlight to the objects using string. Some powder is added to the beam of light to make it more pronounced. Students make a model of the demonstration to explain how they can see the object. They also explain how mapping the path of light from the flashlight to the object provides evidence of how light travels in a straight line. Students discuss their observations and make updates to their original model of what makes things visible.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 4, Lesson 4A: Schoolyard Field Trip, the phenomenon that a stink bug, butterflies, caterpillars, and spiders are a community of animals on a goldenrod flower does not drive learning. Instead, the lesson is focused on a trade book, On One Flower, and how many different organisms can live in one place. Students listen to the introduction to the trade book On One Flower and then brainstorm the different organisms they might find on a goldenrod flower. In their Student Journal, they draw and label a model of the plant and the insects they might find and describe how the different animals can survive on the flower. Students read the trade book in small groups and discuss the traits and behaviors of the different insects that help them survive. The teacher focuses their attention on sensory traits and how the spider would know to avoid the stink bug. Students then write a personal account of a time when they saw an animal that makes its habitat on a plant. They are told to include a drawing that shows the internal and external structures that help the animal survive, but do not explain why multiple organisms use the flower to help them survive. 

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7C: Reading about Electricity, a phenomenon or problem does not drive learning. Instead, a book walk activity is the focus of the learning. Students read the trade book Charged Up: The Story of Electricity to gather information about electricity, static, and electricity in currents. Students use new information and prior knowledge about electricity to write a story about what happens when you flip a switch to turn a light on. The trade book explains all the ways energy is transferred from the electric plant to a person’s home. Students work in pairs or a small group to write a story about how electricity gets to their house as a follow-up to their own reading and learning.

Indicator 1G
Read

Materials are designed to include both phenomena and problems.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 are designed to include both phenomena and problems. There are numerous phenomena and design challenges found in Grade 4.

The materials are broken out into three units: Processes That Shape Earth, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Energy and Waves. Each unit focuses on a different content area: life science, physical science, and earth and space science. Each unit is broken into five to eight Activities, then each Activity is further broken down into two to five Lessons. 

Throughout the materials, phenomena are introduced at the lesson level, and are most commonly found in the first or second lesson of an activity. Most drive instruction across multiple learning opportunities, but a few only drive instruction in one. 

Examples of design challenges in the materials:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Reducing the Impact-Planning, the design challenge is to reduce the impact of a natural hazard. Students decide what natural hazard they would like to investigate further, research risks associated with that hazard, and explain how they would reduce some of those risks. Students plan, design, and build (if necessary) their solution. They test and adjust their solution if it includes a device. Students present their solutions to the class. 

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 3, Lesson 3C: Building Instruments, the design challenge is to design and build an instrument that can produce two or more different sounds. Students share their experiences with different instruments, such as guitars, violins, ukuleles, drums, and horns to share initial ideas of how different instruments make sounds. Students are provided with several materials and are tasked with brainstorming ways they can work together to produce two or more different sounds by building an "instrument" using the materials they are given. Students brainstorm in teams, develop a model to describe how their plan to make two or more sounds will work. Students must explicitly illustrate why they chose the material they chose, what is vibrating, how energy is transferred to the surrounding air, and how the instrument makes different pitches. 

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7B: Electrical Switch, the design challenge is to make a switch to turn a light bulb on and off. Students explore how to make an intentional break in a circuit so that they do not have to unscrew the light bulb in order to turn it off. Using the materials provided, students design, build, and test an electric circuit with a switch to turn on and off a lightbulb.

Examples of phenomena in the materials:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, the phenomenon is that a landslide causes big changes to the surface of the earth. Students develop a model of what they think happened before, during, and after a landslide to explain what triggered the landslide and what caused the motion. They engage in a variety of activities over several days that focus on different agents of weathering and erosion. Over the course of several lessons, students learn how water, ice wedging, chemical weathering, and gravity can cause a landslide to occur.

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 2, Lessons 2B: Temperature Erosion-Ice Wedging, the phenomenon is that when a canister of water with a lid is left in the freezer overnight, the lid pops off and the can bulges outward. Students relate what happened in the canister to changes they have seen on the playground and in other examples they investigated. They watch an animation of ice wedging and update their models on weathering and erosion. Students discover that when water freezes it expands. They use this information to explain how freezing water can speed up the weathering of landforms.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 3, Lesson 3A: Animal Eyes, the phenomenon is that some animals' eyes appear to glow in the dark. Students role-play the interaction between a mountain lion and a rabbit as each tries to find the other. Students identify the senses one needs to catch prey or escape its predator, discuss why sight is important for survival of both prey and predator, and generate a list of animals that act like mountain lions and rabbits. Students write their initial ideas of how animals use their senses and explain how eyes glowing in the dark help an animal survive.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Sharing out Research Finding on the Blue-tailed Skinks, the phenomenon is that a detached blue tail wiggles and moves on the ground. Students watch a video of a skink’s detached tail wiggling and work in small groups to identify what internal and external structures function to detach the blue tail from its body when the animal feels threatened. Students draw and label a model that explains how the skink receives and processes information and reacts by detaching its tail. 

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Heat and Motion, the phenomenon is that a stick of butter will slide down a metal ramp that has a candle under it. Students engage in activities to explore how thermal energy can be generated including rubbing their hands together and transferring the heat generated from that motion to a thermometer, and using candles to heat up cans of water. Students conclude that thermal energy can be transferred from a burning candle to the air, to a metal ramp, and then to the butter. The increase in temperature melts the butter and allows it to slide down the ramp. 

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7A: Electricity, the phenomenon is that a switch turns lights on and off. Students investigate how energy can move from one place (battery) to another (bulb) using electricity by constructing a simple, complete circuit. Students determine that the bulb will light only if there is a complete path from the battery, to the bulb, and back again to the battery. They learn that a break in the circuit will cause the light to go off.

Indicator 1H
00/02

Materials intentionally leverage students’ prior knowledge and experiences related to phenomena or problems.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 do not meet expectations that they intentionally leverage students’ prior knowledge and experiences related to phenomena or problems.

In most instances across the grade the materials do not address students’ prior knowledge and experience related to phenomena and problems.

Lessons that do not elicit students’ prior knowledge and experiences often provide opportunities for teachers to elicit knowledge and experience from a previous lesson but not students’ previous knowledge or experience outside of the classroom. The materials often ask about a science topic but not the phenomenon/problem that was presented. While students may use their background knowledge or experience to develop initial explanations or predictions about phenomena, problems, or science topics, the materials do not explicitly ask students to think about their prior experiences related to the phenomena and problems. When students’ prior knowledge and experiences are explicitly elicited, the materials miss opportunities to leverage them later on in instruction.

Examples where students’ prior knowledge and experiences of problems and/or phenomena are not elicited nor leveraged:

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Blue-Tailed Skinks Lose Their Blue Tails!, the phenomenon is that a blue-tailed skink has a long, bright blue tail. Students watch a video about a blue tailed skink and make observations about what they see. There is a missed opportunity to elicit students’ prior experiences and knowledge from outside of the classroom and apply it to the phenomenon.

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7B: Electrical Switch, the design challenge is to make a switch to turn a light bulb on and off. Students share explanations of what happens when lights are turned on and off and are asked how a switch changes the ability of energy to move from place to place based on what they learned in a previous lesson. Then, students design a switch that turns a light bulb on and off. There is a missed opportunity to elicit students’ prior experiences and knowledge from outside of the classroom and apply it to the design challenge.

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Looking for Evidence of Energy, the problem is to design a Rube Goldberg device. Students watch a video and write what they think is evidence of energy, engineering, and/or technology. Students choose an action and model what is happening before, during, and after the action. There is a missed opportunity to elicit students’ prior knowledge and experience of Rube Goldberg devices, chain reactions, or energy transfer and apply it to the design challenge.

  • In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, the phenomenon is that a landslide causes big changes to the surface of the earth. Students watch a video of a landslide and model initial ideas of what caused the landslide. There is a missed opportunity to elicit students’ prior experiences and knowledge from outside of the classroom and apply it to the phenomenon.

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: Temperature Erosion-Ice Wedging, the phenomenon is that when a canister of water with a lid is left in the freezer overnight, the lid pops off and the can bulges outward. Students revisit findings from a prior lesson about weathering and erosion on the schoolyard and share initial ideas about how holes and cracks may have formed. There is a missed opportunity to elicit students’ prior experiences and knowledge from outside of the classroom and apply it to the phenomenon

Examples where students’ prior knowledge and experiences of problems and/or phenomena are elicited but not leveraged:

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 3, Lesson 3A: Animal Eyes, the phenomenon is that some animals’ eyes appear to glow in the dark. Students are asked to share their experiences with eyes glowing or shining in the dark and are encouraged to ask questions about how and why some animals have eyes that shine in the dark. After eliciting students’ prior experiences with animals that have glowing eyes, the teacher moves into a role-play focusing on the importance of the senses of sight, hearing, and smell for a mountain lion and rabbit. While this lesson elicits prior experience from students, it misses the opportunity to support the teacher in leveraging what students bring to the lesson.

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 3, Lesson 3C: Building Instruments, the design challenge is to design and build an instrument that can produce two or more different sounds. Students are asked to share their experiences with different instruments and to share their initial ideas of how different instruments make a sound. These ideas are recorded on the What We Think chart. While this lesson elicits prior experience from students, it misses the opportunity to support the teacher in leveraging what students bring to the lesson.

Indicator 1I
02/04

Materials embed phenomena or problems across multiple lessons for students to use and build knowledge of all three dimensions.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations that they embed phenomena or problems across multiple lessons for students to use and build knowledge of all three dimensions.

In the instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4, phenomena or problems drive learning across multiple lessons, engage students in all three dimensions, and provide multimodal opportunities for students to develop, evaluate, and revise their thinking, but not consistently. In several cases, phenomena or problems are present across multiple sequences and students encounter the same phenomenon or problem at various times during the unit. In some of these learning sequences, student learning is driven by explaining, solving, or making sense of the phenomenon or problem. This, however, happens inconsistently. In some instances, learning sequences are connected to a phenomenon or problem, but there is a missed opportunity to use them to drive learning. Instead, the phenomenon or problem is used as an introduction, but student learning is guided by a science concept or activity, not explaining, solving, or making sense of the phenomenon or problem across the lessons. In other cases, the phenomenon or problem only drives learning in individual lessons and there is a missed opportunity to use the phenomenon or problem to drive learning across the sequence as a whole.

Examples of phenomena that drive students’ learning and use the three dimensions across multiple lessons:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Lessons 1A, 1B, and 2A, the phenomenon is that a landslide causes big changes to the surface of the earth. Across the three lessons, students develop a model of the cause of a landslide. In Lesson 1A, students watch a video of a landslide and model their initial ideas about the causes of landslides (SEP-MOD-E4), observe different images of how the land’s shape changes, and name the type of weathering or erosion represented. Students consider the effect of wind and water on the land (CCC-CE-E1). In Lesson 1B, students explore a local schoolyard to generate ideas about and find evidence of, weathering and erosion (DCI-ESS2.A-P1), which they apply to their models of the landslide. In Lesson 2A, after students explore and gather new information about the effects of different forms of erosion such as water, chemical, wind, glacier, temperature, and vegetation (DCI-ESS2.A-E2), students review the landslide video and schoolyard observations and use the new information to explain the changes in the landscape and to revise their initial models (SEP-MOD-E4). Students develop and revise their thinking through modeling, discussion, and writing.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 5: Animal Defenses, the phenomenon is a blue-tailed skink has a long, bright blue tail. Across this Activity, students develop a model of the blue skink and its special internal and external structures that help it survive. Students draw and share a model of the blue-tailed skink, including the structures that help it to survive (DCI-LS1.A-E1, SEP-MOD-E4, and CCC-SF-P1). Students compare models to reach a consensus on the function of the blue tail (SEP-MOD-P2) and ask questions to guide their research to find out the function of the skink’s blue tail (SEP-AQDP-P1). Students research, then share and provide feedback on each others’ claims (SEP-INFO-E5, SEP-INFO-E1, and SEP-ARG-E3). After concluding that the tail detaches, students develop a second model to explain the internal and external structures that work together to detach the tail (SEP-MOD-E4, CCC-SF-P1). Finally, students share, discuss, and revise their models of how the skink receives information, processes the information, and reacts by detaching its tail (DCI-LS1.D-E1, DCI-LS1.A-E1, and SEP-MOD-E4). Students develop and revise their thinking through modeling, discussion, and writing.

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2: The Energy of Motion, the challenge is to design a Rube Goldberg device. Across this Activity, students investigate motion and energy and apply these concepts to their design. Using dropped balls and ramps, students make measurements and collect data to determine the relationship between speed and energy (DCI-PS3.A-E1, SEP-INV-E3, SEP-DATA-E1, SEP-DATA-E2, and SEP-DATA-E3). Students then investigate energy transfer related to sound and collisions (DCI-PS3.A-E2, DCI-PS3.B-E1). Students use patterns in their data (CCC-PAT-E3) to explain the effects (CCC-CE-E1) of collisions between the balls, different types of ramps, and different drop heights. Students discuss where they saw examples of collisions and energy transfer in the sample Rube Goldberg device and how these principles will help them as they design their own. Students develop and revise their thinking through modeling, discussion, and writing.

Example where a problem drives learning, but students do not use all three dimensions.

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 5: Reduce the Impact of Natural Hazards, the design challenge to reduce the impact of a natural hazard drives learning across multiple lessons. However, students do not engage with all three dimensions. Students collaborate to develop a model or diagram of a way to prevent damage from natural hazards (DCI-ESS3.B-E1, SEP-MOD-E5). Students describe and share their solutions with the class (SEP-INFO-E5) and discuss similarities, differences, and relative merits of their solutions (DCI-ETS1.B-E3). There is a missed opportunity for students to engage with a CCC in the sequence.

Examples where phenomena or problems do not drive students’ learning across multiple lessons:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 2: Different Forms of Erosion, the phenomenon that a landslide causes big changes to the surface of the earth does not drive learning. Instead, students engage with the concept of weathering and erosion. Students observe, make sense of, and identify the effects of the different kinds of forces that cause weathering and erosion (e.g., water). Students place a water-filled canister in a freezer to model and investigate the effects of freezing and thawing on rocks and explain what they think happens to rocks and mountains during freeze and thaw cycles. Students connect their observations and models to previous observations in the school yard and classroom weather and erosion stations. Students investigate the effects of a weak acid and water on rocks and minerals through reading and observations and explain how chemical weathering changes the shape of rocks and the land. While Lesson 2A is connected to the phenomenon, it does not drive the other lessons in the sequence.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 3: Animal Eyes, a phenomenon or problem does not drive learning. Instead, a role-play activity is the focus of the learning. Students role-play a predator-prey relationship to help demonstrate the importance of eyesight and compare different animals to the role of a mountain lion versus a rabbit. Then, students read two books (What If You Had Animal Eyes and Eye to Eye) about animals and their eyes, determine how the shape and position of predators' eyes differ from those of prey animals, and how they aid survival.

  • In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 4: On One Flower, a phenomenon or problem does not drive learning. Instead, the concept that animals have structures that help them survive guides student learning during the sequence. Students read On One Flower and discuss the senses and structures that help animals interacting with a goldenrod flower survive. Students make observations of organisms in the habitat surrounding the school to identify their role in the ecosystem and make observations about the functions of the organisms’ structures and how they help them survive. Students then research and record information about their organism.

Criterion 1.2: Phenomena and Problems Drive Learning
06/12
Indicator 1D
02/02
Indicator 1E
01/02
Indicator 1F
01/02
Indicator 1G
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Indicator 1H
00/02
Indicator 1I
02/04
Overview of Gateway 2

Coherence & Scope

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations for Gateway 2: Coherence & Scope; Criterion 1: Coherence and Full Scope of the Three Dimensions meets expectations.

Gateway 2
v1.5
Gateway 2

Coherence & Scope
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Criterion 2.1: Coherence and Full Scope of the Three Dimensions
27/34
Partially Meets Expectations

Criterion 2.1: Coherence and Full Scope of the Three Dimensions
27/34

Materials are coherent in design, scientifically accurate, and support grade-band endpoints of all three dimensions.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations for the Criterion 2a-2g: Coherence and Full Scope of the Three Dimensions. The materials rarely support students in understanding connections between units. The materials, and corresponding suggested sequence, reveal student tasks related to explaining phenomena or solving problems that increase in sophistication within each unit and across units. The materials represent the three dimensions accurately, but with numerous minor errors include scientific content not appropriate to the grade level. Further, the materials do not include all DCI components and all elements for physical science and earth and space science. They do include all DCI components and elements for life science and engineering, technology, and applications of science. The materials include all of the SEPs at the grade level and all of the SEPs across the grade band. The materials include all grade-band crosscutting concepts and provide repeated opportunities for students to use CCCs across the grade band. The materials include NGSS connections to Nature of Science and Engineering elements associated with the SEPs and/or CCCs.

Indicator 2A
Read

Materials are designed for students to build and connect their knowledge and use of the three dimensions across the series.

Indicator 2A.i
00/02

Students understand how the materials connect the dimensions from unit to unit.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 do not meet expectations that students understand how the materials connect the dimensions from unit to unit.

The Grade 4 materials are made of three units that are each made up of a series of lesson sequences called Activities. Each Activity is typically made up of two to four individual learning opportunities called Lessons. The materials consistently demonstrate how the dimensions connect between Lessons in the same Activity and often connect content between different Activities. However, the materials miss the opportunity to make connections between the dimensions across Units, contexts, or grade levels.

The materials most frequently make connections between disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) across Lessons and Activities. These sequences often address the same, or closely related, topics and the connections between the DCIs of the Lessons in an Activity are often clear. These connections do not make it clear that there are connections between the three dimensions at a larger scale.The connections for the science and engineering practices (SEPs) and crosscutting concepts (CCCs) are less frequently made explicit to students. The materials inconsistently demonstrate how SEPs or CCCs may be connected across different contexts.

The materials include a Teacher Background Information section at the beginning of each Unit, Activity, and Lesson. This includes scientific information to support the teacher’s understanding of the concepts and how they are connected, teaching practices, and common misconceptions. While this section may include information that helps the teacher understand the connections between DCIs from different lessons or units, it misses the opportunity to support teachers in making those connections explicit to students.

Indicator 2A.ii
02/02

Materials have an intentional sequence where student tasks increase in sophistication.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 3-5 meet expectations that they have an intentional sequence where student tasks increase in sophistication. Materials are designed with an intentional or suggested sequence and student tasks related to explaining phenomena and/or solving problems increase in sophistication within each unit and across the grade band.

Across the 3-5 grade-band, the materials have a recommended sequence with three units divided by physical, life, and earth and space science assigned to each grade level. Within grade levels, the units can be sequenced in any order.

Materials increase in sophistication across the grade band as students engage with phenomena and problems. As students progress through the grade band, student expectations as they engage in activities connected to phenomena and problems increase. Supports for students are also gradually released, and by Grade 5, they are doing more work independently or with fewer aids. Because the order of units within a grade level is not suggested, there is not a general increase in sophistication within a single grade. However, there are instances where student expectations increase within a single unit.

Examples of student tasks increasing in sophistication across the grade band:

  • The materials increase in sophistication as students work with data connected to phenomena and problems. By the time students reach Grade 5, the teacher provides less scaffolding and more work is done independently by students. For example, in Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: Variations in Air Temperature, students collect data on weather conditions using a pre-made table. The teacher then guides a discussion with scaffolded prompts to help students make sense of the data comparing the temperature at various points in the day. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Energy of Motion – Bounce, students now play a part in designing a chart to collect data on bouncing balls from various heights. The class has a discussion about the data, but the teacher provides less support and only asks for “patterns in the data” rather than asking specific questions about the data. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 6, Lesson 6C: What is the Effect of Temperature on Dissolving?, students collect data on the effect of water temperature on how quickly Kool-Aid dissolves. Now, students create their own charts without support from the materials. In Lesson 1B: Mapping the Odor in the Neighborhood, from the same unit, students analyze data more independently. Instead of starting with a class discussion of their data on odor traveling through a neighborhood, students first work in small groups to evaluate the data on their own.

  • The materials increase in sophistication as students build and use arguments related to phenomena and problems. By Grade 5, students make a greater number of arguments and receive less support from the teacher to construct those arguments. For example, in Grade 3, Life Cycles and Survival, Activity 1, Lesson 1C: Communicating Like Frogs, students share devices they made to communicate using sounds. As students share their ideas, they use sentence stems from an anchor chart, such as “What do you mean by … ?”, to help them respectfully disagree, ask clarifying questions, add to ideas, and otherwise engage in argumentation discourse. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, the teacher provides less support as students engage in argumentation. As a whole class, students share and discuss their claims about examples of weathering and erosion they found on the schoolyard. The teacher provides general prompts such as, “What evidence do you have that makes you think that?” giving students fewer and less specific prompts than in Grade 3. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: The Puddle is Missing, students construct arguments for why a puddle of water disappeared over the course of the day. Students develop a model and then share them with a small group. The teacher provides little support beyond “Encourag[ing] a free exchange of ideas and changes based on the ideas of their peers.”

  • The materials increase in sophistication as students work with information related to phenomena and problems. By the time students reach Grade 5, they are working with a greater number of resources to collect information from and receive less support from the teacher to collect and share information. For example, in Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Clouds–Making Sense of our Data, students explore the role of clouds in the weather. The teacher leads a whole-class read aloud and periodically pauses to ask scripted prompts that support students to collect information they need to answer questions about clouds and weather. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5C: Animal Defenses, students collect information about animal defense mechanisms. Now, students read in small groups rather than as a whole class. Students are also responsible for taking notes on their own, but they are given a chart to fill out that helps them determine important information. In Grade 5, Earth and Space Systems, Activity 6, Lesson 6C: Develop and Implement A Plan To Preserve and Protect Earth’s Resources and Environment, students develop plans to reduce human impact on the environment. Students are given a variety of texts to use as they develop their plans. They are given little direct support and must now incorporate multiple texts into their work.

Indicator 2B
02/02

Materials present Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) in a way that is scientifically accurate.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 4 meet expectations that they present disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science and engineering practices (SEPs), and crosscutting concepts (CCCs) in a way that is scientifically accurate. Across the grades, the teacher materials, student materials, and assessments accurately represent the three dimensions and are free from scientific inaccuracies.

Indicator 2C
01/02

Materials do not inappropriately include scientific content and ideas outside of the grade-level Disciplinary Core Ideas.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet expectations that they do not inappropriately include scientific content and ideas outside of the grade-level disciplinary core ideas (DCIs).

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 do not include non-scientific content presented as science ideas or below-grade content without meaningful connection to grade-level DCIs. However, the materials contain a few instances of DCIs above the grade that are inappropriately included without supports for extending the grade-level learning.

Examples of above grade-level DCIs without meaningful connection to or support for grade-level DCIs:

  • In Grade 4, Processes That Shape the Earth, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Chemical Weathering, students read What Makes a Chemical a Chemical? and Chemical Weathering in the Student Journal and carry out an investigation to obtain information about chemical erosion and how it changes the shape of the land. Chemical erosion goes beyond the expectations of DCI-ESS2.A-E2 and is more closely associated with DCI-ESS2.C-H1, which expects students to plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on the earth’s materials and surface processes.

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Heat and Motion, students investigate temperature change by rubbing their hands together. During a science talk, instructional materials direct teachers to ask students to describe the heat transfer from their hands to the glass thermometer to the liquid inside the thermometer and to look for ideas that relate to warmer objects to cooler objects, as well as what makes the liquid inside the thermometer expand and go up the tube. The idea of thermal energy transfer is more closely aligned with DCI-PS3.A-M3, which addresses heat and heat transfer due to temperature differences.

  • In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Burning, students engage in an investigation to determine how thermal energy moves from a burning candle to a beaker of water. Instructional materials direct teachers to discuss how thermal energy moves from warmer objects to cooler objects, and this movement of thermal energy is what we refer to as heat. This concept is more closely aligned with DCI-PS3.A-M3, which addresses heat and heat transfer due to temperature differences.

Indicator 2D
Read

Materials incorporate all grade-level Disciplinary Core Ideas.

Indicator 2D.i
00/02

Physical Sciences

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 do not meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level disciplinary core ideas for physical sciences.

Materials do not incorporate all grade-level components of the physical science disciplinary core ideas (DCIs). Two grade-level components, PS4.A: Wave properties and PS4.C: Information technologies and instrumentation, are not present in the materials.

Examples of grade-level physical science DCI elements present in the materials:

  • PS3.A-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: The Energy of Motion, students investigate the energy of motion of a ball traveling down a ramp at different heights. For each ramp height, students record the distance traveled and the amount of time it took the ball to travel down the ramp. Students also investigate the effect of releasing the ball from multiple heights on the ramp. Students share findings and discuss the idea that the faster a ball is moving the more energy it has.

  • PS3.A-E2. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 3, Lesson 3E: Sound Waves Can Make Things Move, students explore a variety of wave models including “the wave,” a chain reaction of a line of dominoes disturbed in the middle of the row, and a water wave model. Students observe sound traveling through air, solid, and liquid. Students use the models and observations to revise a model of how sound can make objects move.

  • PS3.B-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 4, Lesson 4A: Building on Energy, students design and describe a Rube Goldberg device that demonstrates three energy transfers by light, sound, heat, motion and/or electricity.

  • PS3.B-E2. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 6, Lesson 6A: Light, students periodically record the temperature of black and white balloons under a lamp. Students analyze temperature data and conclude that the black balloon became hotter because it absorbed light energy whereas the white balloon reflected light.

  • PS3.B-E3. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7C: Reading About Electricity, students read and discuss the trade book Charged Up: The Story of Electricity, which focuses on electrical energy and electrical circuits. Students write a story about what happens when you flip a switch and turn on a light. In their stories, students explain where energy is generated, how it travels, and where it ends up. Students describe how energy moves from place to place using the path the electricity takes to light the light bulb.

  • PS3.C-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2, Lesson 2D: Collisions and Energy Transfer, students plan and carry out an investigation to figure out what happens when a rolling ball collides with a stationary ball of equal size. Students share findings, analyze data, note patterns, and write a claim-evidence-reasoning statement to explain how the collisions of the balls is related to the transfer of energy from one ball to another.

  • PS3.D-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7A: Electricity, students are given a D-cell battery, one piece of copper wire, and one small light bulb to explore how many different ways they can get the lightbulb to work. The students share what they discovered, then the teacher leads a discussion about how energy is transferred in the circuit from the battery, through the bulb, and back through the wire. The teacher explains how the battery produces electricity by changing it from chemical to electrical current.

Examples of grade-level physical science DCI elements not present in the materials:

  • PS4.A-E1. Waves, which are regular patterns of motion, can be made in water by disturbing the surface. When waves move across the surface of deep water, the water goes up and down in place; there is no net motion in the direction of the wave except when the water meets a beach.

  • PS4.A-E2. Waves of the same type can differ in amplitude (height of the wave) and wavelength (spacing between wave peaks).

  • PS4.C-E1. Digitized information can be transmitted over long distances without significant degradation. High-tech devices, such as computers or cell phones, can receive and decode information— convert it from digitized form to voice—and vice versa.

Indicator 2D.ii
02/02

Life Sciences

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level disciplinary core ideas for life sciences.

Materials incorporate all grade-level components and associated elements of the life science disciplinary core ideas (DCIs). 

Examples of the grade-level life science DCI elements present in the materials:

  • LS1.A-E1. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 4, Lessons 4C: Research and Data Entry, students select one plant or animal from their schoolyard observations to do further research on. Students write and draw the observable external and internal structures of their organism, focusing on things that help the organism survive. They also list behaviors that would help in their survival.

  • LS1.D-E1. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5C: Animal Defenses, students read one chapter of the trade book Animal Defenses: How Animals Protect Themselves to learn about different structures and behaviors animals have that help them survive. Students list the sense receptors and internal structures that work to help the animals respond to danger. This information is shared with the whole class and students discuss how some defense responses may stay in the predator’s memories, guiding future behavior.

Indicator 2D.iii
00/02

Earth and Space Sciences

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 do not meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level disciplinary core ideas for earth and space sciences. Materials do not incorporate all grade-level components of the earth and space science DCIs. One grade-level component, ESS2.E: Biogeology, is not present in the materials.

Examples of the grade-level earth and space science DCI elements present in the materials:

  • ESS1.C-E1. In Grade 4, Processes That Shape Earth, Activity 3, Lesson 3C: Rock Layers and Fossils, students look at pictures of the Grand Canyon and read a short narrative in the Student Journal about the geological history and formation of the canyon. Working in groups, they create a plan to make a three-dimensional model that shows how geological forces and deposited sediments formed the many rock layers found in the canyon.

  • ESS2.A-E2. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: Erosion Stations, students discuss that rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region. Students set up and observe six erosion station models and investigate how the different kinds of forces that cause weathering and erosion break rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller particles and move them around. 

  • ESS2.B-E1. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 4, Lesson 4B: Making Sense of Our Earthquake Mapping, students analyze data they collected on the location of earthquakes. Students read about the formation of canyons, mountains, and other geographic features and connect the location of tectonic plates to the location of earthquakes. Students model how the interaction of tectonic plates can cause earthquakes and relate the location of volcanoes and mountain ranges to the borders of tectonic plates. 

  • ESS3.A-E1. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 7, Lesson 7A: Digging for Resources, students address that energy and fuels that humans use are derived from natural sources and their use affects the environment in multiple ways. Students read articles about coal, natural gas, and oil and discuss how some resources are renewable and others are not. Students discuss how coal, oil, and natural gas were formed and how mining the fuels causes changes to the shape of the land.

  • ESS3.B-E1. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Completing and Presenting our Plans, students develop and present plans for how to reduce the impacts of natural hazards, addressing that a variety of natural hazards result from natural processes and that humans cannot eliminate natural hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts. Plans include ideas for evacuation, getting out of the path of a hazard, building structures to withstand a hazard, and emergency procedures for what to do after a hazard. 

Grade-level earth and space science DCIs not present in the materials:

  • ESS2.E-E1. Living things affect the physical characteristics of their regions.

Indicator 2D.iv
02/02

Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 3-5 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-band and grade-level disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) for engineering, technology, and applications of science (ETS) and all associated elements. 

In Grade 3, no performance expectations (PEs) are associated with physical, life, or earth and space science DCIs that also connect to an ETS DCI. However, the materials do include opportunities for students to engage with ETS elements in this grade.

Examples of ETS DCI elements present in the Grade 3 materials:

  • ETS1.A-E1. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 4, Lesson 4B: Blowing in the Wind, students design and build a device that will measure the speed of wind and indicate the direction the wind is coming from. Students are given time limits and review materials available for building a wind instrument (constraints) as well as a Wind Product Descriptor, which outlines two criteria for the design. Students test their ideas, analyze the performance of the instrument, and make improvements based on trials. 

  • ETS1.B-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: Testing Motion: Toy Vehicle, students work in teams to brainstorm ideas that will help solve the problem of using a battery operated vehicle to move cookies from one room to another. Students test their ideas and then share their work with other groups, making adjustments to designs based on their conversations. 

  • ETS1.B-E2. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Using What We Know about Motion, students develop a prototype of a vehicle that will travel a given distance carrying a load. Students test their design, collect data on the tests, and use the data to improve the design.

In Grade 4, two PEs are associated with physical, life, or earth and space science DCIs that also connect to an ETS DCI. The materials include opportunities for students to engage with these ETS elements in this grade.

Examples of the Grade 4 grade-level ETS DCI elements present in the materials:

  • ETS1.A-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 4, Lesson 4A: Building on Energy, students are presented with the challenge of building a Rube Goldberg device that will send a signal or demonstrate the energy is transferred but not used up. Each task presents a problem and criteria required to solve the problem. Students agree upon constraints for completing the challenge and begin work to develop a plan. 

  • ETS1.B-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 6, Lesson 6B: Designing a Device to Melt Butter, students develop a plan to create a device that will melt butter, present their plans to their peers, review their plans, revise them based on new knowledge, and determine how their device will work. Students are given time to develop, test, revise, and present their devices to the rest of the class.

  • ETS1.C-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7B: Electrical Switch, students design an electrical switch that can turn a light bulb on and off. Students are given a chance to develop and test their models, and to share their models with their peers. After the teams present their designs to the class they explain their greatest challenges, compare their different models, and are given time to revise their models based upon feedback, and a review of which classroom models best meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

In Grade 5, no PEs associated with physical, life, or earth and space science DCIs connect to an ETS DCI. However, the materials do include opportunities for students to engage with ETS elements in this grade.

Examples of ETS DCI elements present in the Grade 5 materials:

  • ETS1.A-E1. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Engineering-Designing a Solar Still, students are given the scenario that they are on a small island in the middle of the ocean with no water. They must design and construct a solar still to separate the salt from ocean water, using only the provided materials. Students plan, test, redesign, and test a second solution. Students share and compare their solar stills, giving and receiving feedback.

  • ETS1.B-E3. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 3, Lesson 3D: When the Water Hits the Ground, students are given the design challenge to prevent erosion from water on a hillside. In small groups, students discuss how they will develop their plan before they begin to build their model. After building, testing, making adjustments to their design, and updating their model, students present their models to the class and either recommend building a housing development on the hillside or not. 

  • ETS1.C-E1. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 3, Lesson 3D: When the Water Hits the Ground, students are given the design challenge to prevent erosion due to water on a hillside. Working as a group, students discuss how they will develop their plan before they begin to build their model. Students build and test their model. They make adjustments to the model to prevent erosion, selecting the best solution. They make a recommendation to the builders of a housing development as to whether they should proceed with a project to build on a hillside, or not continue building on the hillside. 

Indicator 2E
Read

Materials incorporate all grade-level Science and Engineering Practices.

Indicator 2E.i
04/04

Materials incorporate grade-level appropriate SEPs within each grade.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level science and engineering practices and associated elements.

Materials incorporate all grade-level science and engineering practices (SEPs) and nearly all associated elements within the grade level. Students are provided with multiple opportunities in which to engage with a variety of SEPs.

Examples of SEPs and elements associated with the grade-level performance expectations that are met in the materials:

  • AQDP-E3. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: The Energy of Motion, students conduct an investigation to determine the effect of bouncing a ball from different heights. Students generate questions about the energy involved in dropping a ball and make predictions about the outcome of their investigation.

  • MOD-E3. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape Earth, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Reduce the Impact of Natural Hazards, students draw a model of a proposed solution to reduce the impact of a natural hazard.

  • MOD-E4. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Heat and Motion, students investigate the effect of friction on objects’ temperatures. Students develop a model to show what is happening before, during, and after rubbing and how energy transfers in the system.

  • INV-E3. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: No Light! No Sight!, using a cardboard light box, students make observations and record their data to answer the question of how much light is needed to see a plastic toy in a dark box. 

  • DATA-E2. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: The Energy of Motion, students investigate how changing the release height of a ball on a ramp affects how far the ball will roll. Students change the starting height twice and conduct four trials for each height. Students analyze and interpret their data to write a claim based on evidence and reasoning that summarizes what they found. 

  • CEDS-E2. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Chemical Weathering, after discussing class results from a chemical erosion investigation and reading and discussing chemical weathering, students write a claim, based on evidence, about the role vinegar plays in changing the surface of limestone and marble.

  • CEDS-E3. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7A: Electricity, students use batteries, wires, and bulbs to create a circuit that will light the bulb. After generating their explanation, students describe the evidence they observed that “shows how energy can move from place to place in an electrical current.”

  • CEDS-E5. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 7, Lesson 7C: Oil Spill, students develop a solution to cleaning up an oil spill. Students design solutions, share them across small groups, compare designs, adjust, and test the solutions. 

  • ARG-E4. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 6, Lesson 6B: Related to Light, students use evidence from prior lessons and a model that shows how energy moves from place to place to explain to a friend why, on a warm, sunny day, it is cooler on the grass than on the asphalt. 

  • INFO-E4. In Grade 4, Structure, Function and Information Processing, Activity 4, Lesson 4C: Research and Data Entry, students collect information from books and websites about a plant or animal found in the schoolyard to explain how different animal structures aid in survival of the animals.

SEPs and elements associated with the grade-level performance expectations that are not met in the materials:

  • MOD-E6. Use a model to test cause and effect relationships or interactions concerning the functioning of a natural or designed system.

  • DATA-E4. Analyze data to refine a problem statement or the design of a proposed object, tool, or process.

Indicator 2E.ii
04/04

Materials incorporate all SEPs across the grade band

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 3-5 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level science and engineering practices and associated elements across the grade band.

Materials incorporate all SEPs and associated elements within the grade band and provide repeated opportunities for students to use grade-band appropriate SEPs across various contexts throughout the band.

Examples of SEP elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are met in the materials:

  • AQDP-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: Investigating Motion, after investigating the speed of an electric car, students ask a question about how changing a variable in the investigation could change the speed of the car. They plan their own investigation and make a prediction about what they might find based on what they already know about the motion of the car.

  • AQDP-E5. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Magnetic Forces Solve a Problem, after completing a design challenge with a fire truck and learning about non-contact forces (static electricity and magnetism), students are given another design challenge: to solve a problem using magnetism. Students define the problem they will solve using magnets (or some other non-contact force) and draw and write how they will solve the problem. They are shown a list of materials they can use but are told they can also use materials from home.

  • MOD-E3. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape Earth, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Reduce the Impact of Natural Hazards, students draw a model of a proposed solution to reduce the impact of a natural hazard.

  • MOD-E4. In Grade 5, Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem, Activity 3, Lesson 3C: What Do Plants Do for Food?, students create a model that explains how they think plants get their food for growth.

  • MOD-E6. In Grade 5, Earth and Space Systems, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: What’s in the Atmosphere?, students use a computer simulation to test the effects of changing the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere.

  • INV-E1. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: Investigating Motion, students collaboratively plan and conduct a second investigation to change the motion of an electric toy car by changing only one variable. They make observations and record data to provide evidence for how they changed the motion of an electric car.

  • INV-E3. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: No Light! No Sight!, using a cardboard light box, students make observations and record their data to answer the question of how much light is needed to see a plastic toy in a dark box.

  • DATA-E1. In Grade 5, Earth and Space Systems, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: What Makes the Wind?, students follow directions for an investigation of air movement that is presented in their Student Journal. Students make a chart to organize their data and look for trends. 

  • DATA-E2. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: The Energy of Motion, students investigate how changing the release height of a ball on a ramp affects how far the ball will roll. Students change the starting height twice and conduct four trials for each height. Students analyze and interpret their data to write a claim based on evidence and reasoning that summarizes what they found. 

  • DATA-E4. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Using What We Know about Motion, students make a toy fire truck that will carry a load, they use data collected during testing to modify and improve their design.

  • MATH-E3. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 3, Lesson 3B: Measuring Matter–Volume, students develop strategies and use tools to measure the weight and volume of solids and liquids.

  • CEDS-E2. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 4, Lesson 4D: Friction–Making Sense of Data, students write a conclusion, based on evidence, to explain how friction impacts the amount of force needed to move an object.

  • CEDS-E3. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7A: Electricity, students use batteries, wires, and bulbs to create a circuit that will light the bulb. After generating their explanation, students describe the evidence they observed that “shows how energy can move from place to place in an electrical current.”

  • CEDS-E5. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 7, Lesson 7C: Oil Spill, students develop a solution to cleaning up an oil spill. Students design solutions, share them across small groups, compare designs, adjust, and test the solutions. 

  • ARG-E4. In Grade 5, Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Introducing Change to the Eco-Players, students construct an argument about what will happen to the ecosystems in the Upper and Lower Peninsula in Michigan if there was an increase in the cougar population that feed on the deer that live there.

  • ARG-E6. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Magnetic Forces Solve a Problem, students identify and use magnetism, or another non-contact force, to devise a solution to a problem such as making a homemade car change direction and travel from one room to another, or another problem of their choosing. Students identify the balanced and unbalanced forces that solved the problem, describe adjustments they made, and identify the easiest and most challenging parts of completing the task.

  • INFO-E4. In Grade 4, Structure, Function and Information Processing, Activity 4, Lesson 4C: Research and Data Entry, students collect information from books and websites about a plant or animal found in the schoolyard to explain how different animal structures aid in survival of the animals.

Indicator 2F
08/08

Materials incorporate all grade-band Crosscutting Concepts.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3-5 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level crosscutting concepts and associated elements across the grade band. The materials include all of the CCC elements associated with the performance expectations for the grade band. Elements of the CCCs are found across all three grades within this grade band. Materials include few elements of the CCCs from above the grade band without connecting to the grade-band appropriate CCC. Across the grade band, students have multiple opportunities to engage with the grade-level CCCs that are implicitly connected to SEPs or DCIs as they build toward grade-level performance expectations. There are fewer opportunities for students to explicitly discuss the CCCs. For example, students have frequent opportunities to use observations to describe patterns in the natural world to answer scientific questions (SEP-DATA-E3) but have limited opportunities to explicitly discuss the importance of using patterns as evidence to describe phenomena (CCC-PAT-E3). 

Examples of CCC elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are present in the materials:

  • CE-E1. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: Variations in Air Temperature, students investigate the relationship between time of day and air temperature by making a class model using lamps at three different angles (to simulate morning, noon, and late afternoon) and thermometers. Students measure the temperatures three times for each angle and compare the results. Students then draw a model in their Student Journal based on the classroom model that explains why the temperature of the air changes throughout the day.

  • EM-E2. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 6, Lesson 6A: Where’s the Salt? Where’s the Sugar?, students plan and carry out an investigation where they measure the weight of water and sugar before and after mixing to demonstrate that even though the sugar seems to disappear, the weight shows that it is still present in the solution.

  • EM-E3. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 8, Lesson 8C: Energy All Around, students develop a model to explain the energy transfer occurring in a number of first-hand observations including a row of dominoes falling, a ball rolling down a ramp, and a flashlight with batteries.

  • PAT-E1. In Grade 3, Life Cycles and Survival in an Ecosystem, Activity 3, Lesson 3D: Sharing and Comparing Our Life Cycle Research, students share the information they found when researching a plant or animal’s life cycle. They compare the life cycle of the organism they researched to that of a frog and to the organisms other students researched, looking for similarities and differences in the phases the organisms go through and the length of time it takes for the organisms to develop.

  • PAT-E2. In Grade 4, Processes That Shape the Earth, Activity 4, Lesson 4B: Making Sense of Our Earthquake Mapping, students use data about the location of earthquakes to predict what will happen next in areas that are most affected by earthquakes versus areas that have few or no earthquakes.

  • PAT-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 4, Lesson 4D: Friction-Making Sense of Data, after conducting an investigation to determine the amount of force required to move a block of wood across different surfaces such as wood, sandpaper, rubber band, and wax paper, students create a bar graph using class data that shows the number of washers needed to overcome the force of friction. Students discuss the emerging patterns about the amount of force needed to move a block over different surfaces. Students use this evidence to write a conclusion to the investigation.

  • SPQ-E1. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, students compare changes due to weathering and erosion that occurred in their schoolyard with other examples including rock formations, a riverbed, and glaciers. Students discuss the speed of the different changes and whether they happened quickly or slowly.

  • SPQ-E2. In Grade 5, Earth and Space Systems, Activity 3, Lesson 3B: My Rock Tells a Story, students evaluate how much water is used in a variety of day to day activities. Students measure the water used in gallons and compare the unit to a standard one-gallon jug of water.

  • SYS-E2. In Grade 5, Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: What are Balanced Systems?, students identify the components of a closed model ecosystem in a bottle, describe the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers in larger ecosystems, and explain how each part of the system interacts.

Indicator 2G
02/02

Materials incorporate NGSS Connections to Nature of Science and Engineering.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3-5 meet expectations that they incorporate NGSS connections to nature of science and engineering.

Materials incorporate grade-band NGSS Connections to the Nature of Science and Engineering within individual lessons or activities across the series. Elements from all three of the following categories are included in the materials for the grade band:

  • grade-band Nature of Science elements associated with SEPs

  • grade-band Nature of Science elements associated with CCCs

  • grade-band Engineering elements associated with CCCs

Although students engage in all three categories across the grade band, most of these are found  in the physical science units. 

Examples of grade-band connections to NOS elements associated with SEPs present in the materials:

  • NOS-BEE-E2. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Burning, students investigate heat transfer by measuring the temperature of water held over a candle. The teacher explains to students that using a thermometer helps scientists be more accurate when determining the temperature of a substance.

  • NOS-VOM-E2. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: A Skunk in the Neighborhood, students make an initial model of how a skunk’s odor traveled through a neighborhood. The teacher explains that models are one of the tools that scientists use to make thinking and ideas public and visible.

Examples of grade-band connections to NOS elements associated with CCCs present in the materials:

  • NOS-AOC-E1. In Grade 3, LIfe Cycles and Survival in an Ecosystem, Activity 6, Lesson 6A: Finding Out About Fossils, students share their observations of fossils and discuss the questions paleontologists ask to piece together earth’s history. The teacher explains to students that when paleontologists and geologists study fossils and rocks, they assume that the physical laws on earth are constant over time. This applies to forces like gravity, the laws of motion, and the needs of living things.

  • NOS-AOC-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Burning, during a discussion about thermometers, the teacher explains that thermometers help scientists be more accurate when determining the temperature of a substance. Scientists established a standard using physical changes that occur at the same temperature each time. 

  • NOS-HE-E2. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Informational Processing, Activity 4, Lesson 4B: Schoolyard Observations, after the teacher introduces an overview of the Project Noah Website, the teacher tells the class they are going to work in pairs and become naturalists or citizen scientists to plan an investigation into the variety of plants and animals that live in the schoolyard.

  • NOS-HE-E2. In Grade 5, Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem, Activity 4, Lesson 4C: Carrying Out Our Investigations, during a science talk, students share their plans to investigate what plants use for food. The teacher discusses how scientists share information and collaborate and explains that the class is like a community of scientists carrying out different investigations and, at the conclusion, students share their results and findings.

Examples of grade-band connections to ENG elements associated with CCCs present in the materials:

  • ENG-INTER-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Magnetic Forces Solve a Problem, after many investigations exploring how forces affect the motion of different objects, students are told that they are going to become engineers and solve a problem about motion using non-contact forces such as magnetism or electricity. Students can choose to continue with the original design challenge of moving an electric toy car from one place to another without touching it, or they can solve a different problem using magnets or static electricity.

  • ENG-INTER-E4. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7B: Electrical Switch, after investigating electrical circuits, students are told that they are going to use what they learned about electrical circuits and become engineers to design a switch that will turn a light bulb on and off without needing to unscrew the bulb.

Criterion 2.1: Coherence and Full Scope of the Three Dimensions
27/34
Indicator 2A
Read
Indicator 2A.i
00/02
Indicator 2A.ii
02/02
Indicator 2B
02/02
Indicator 2C
01/02
Indicator 2D
Read
Indicator 2D.i
00/02
Indicator 2D.ii
02/02
Indicator 2D.iii
00/02
Indicator 2D.iv
02/02
Indicator 2E
Read
Indicator 2E.i
04/04
Indicator 2E.ii
04/04
Indicator 2F
08/08
Indicator 2G
02/02
Overview of Gateway 3

Usability

Gateway 3
v1.5
Gateway 3

Usability
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
0
16
23
26
Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
Criterion 3.2: Assessment
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
Criterion 3.3: Student Supports
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
Criterion 3.4: Intentional Design
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
Not Rated

Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports

NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE

The program includes opportunities for teachers to effectively plan and utilize materials with integrity and to further develop their own understanding of the content.

Indicator 3A
00/02

Materials provide teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials, with specific attention to engaging students in figuring out phenomena and solving problems.

Indicator 3B
00/02

Materials contain adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade/course-level concepts and concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject.

Indicator 3C
00/02

Materials include standards correlation information, including connections to college- and career-ready ELA and mathematics standards, that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.

Indicator 3D
Read

Materials provide strategies for informing all stakeholders, including students, parents, or caregivers about the program and suggestions for how they can help support student progress and achievement.

Indicator 3E
00/02

Materials provide explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.

Indicator 3F
00/01

Materials provide a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities.

Indicator 3G
00/01

Materials provide clear science safety guidelines for teachers and students across the instructional materials.

Indicator 3H
Read

Materials designated for each grade are feasible and flexible for one school year.

Criterion 3.1: Teacher Supports
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
Indicator 3A
00/02
Indicator 3B
00/02
Indicator 3C
00/02
Indicator 3D
Read
Indicator 3E
00/02
Indicator 3F
00/01
Indicator 3G
00/01
Indicator 3H
Read

Criterion 3.2: Assessment

NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE

The program includes a system of assessments identifying how materials provide tools, guidance, and support for teachers to collect, interpret, and act on data about student progress towards the standards.

Indicator 3I
00/02

Assessment information is included in the materials to indicate which standards are assessed.

Indicator 3J
00/04

Assessment system provides multiple opportunities throughout the grade, course, and/or series to determine students' learning and sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up.

Indicator 3K
00/04

Assessments include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level/grade-band standards and elements across the series.

Indicator 3L
Read

Assessments offer accommodations that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without changing the content of the assessment.

Criterion 3.2: Assessment
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
Indicator 3I
00/02
Indicator 3J
00/04
Indicator 3K
00/04
Indicator 3L
Read

Criterion 3.3: Student Supports

NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE

The program includes materials designed for each student’s regular and active participation in grade-level/grade-band/series content.

Indicator 3M
00/02

Materials provide strategies and supports for students in special populations to support their regular and active participation in learning grade-level/grade-band science and engineering.

Indicator 3N
00/02

Materials provide extensions and/or opportunities for students to engage in learning grade-level/grade-band science and engineering at greater depth.

Indicator 3O
Read

Materials provide varied approaches to learning tasks over time and variety in how students are expected to demonstrate their learning with opportunities for for students to monitor their learning.

Indicator 3P
Read

Materials provide opportunities for teachers to use a variety of grouping strategies.

Indicator 3Q
00/02

Materials provide strategies and supports for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to regularly participate in learning grade-level/grade-band science and engineering.

Indicator 3R
Read

Materials provide a balance of images or information about people, representing various demographic and physical characteristics.

Indicator 3S
Read

Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning.

Indicator 3T
Read

Materials provide guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student cultural and social backgrounds to facilitate learning.

Indicator 3U
Read

Materials provide supports for different reading levels to ensure accessibility for students.

Indicator 3V
Read

This is not an assessed indicator in Science.

Criterion 3.3: Student Supports
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
Indicator 3M
00/02
Indicator 3N
00/02
Indicator 3O
Read
Indicator 3P
Read
Indicator 3Q
00/02
Indicator 3R
Read
Indicator 3S
Read
Indicator 3T
Read
Indicator 3U
Read
Indicator 3V
Read

Criterion 3.4: Intentional Design

NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE

The program includes a visual design that is engaging and references or integrates digital technology (when applicable) with guidance for teachers.

Indicator 3W
Read

Materials integrate interactive tools and/or dynamic software in ways that support student engagement in the three dimensions, when applicable.

Indicator 3X
Read

Materials include or reference digital technology that provides opportunities for teachers and/or students to collaborate with each other, when applicable.

Indicator 3Y
Read

The visual design (whether in print or digital) supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject, and is neither distracting nor chaotic.

Indicator 3Z
Read

Materials provide teacher guidance for the use of embedded technology to support and enhance student learning, when applicable.

Criterion 3.4: Intentional Design
NE = Not Eligible. Product did not meet the threshold for review.
NE
Indicator 3W
Read
Indicator 3X
Read
Indicator 3Y
Read
Indicator 3Z
Read
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