The instructional materials for Common Core Coach Suite Grade 4 partially meet expectations that supporting work enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade.

Throughout the Common Core Suite of books, standards are mostly taught in isolation from other standards. Each lesson focuses on one standard without referencing connections to major work. Additionally, the teacher edition does not provide explicit connections from supporting work to major work; however, some natural connections are made.

Examples of supporting standards not connected to major work:

• Using the standard formula for area and perimeter (4.MD.3) is addressed in Common Core Coach Lessons 26 and 27, Common Core Support Coach Lesson 17, and Common Core Performance Coach Lesson 28. None of these lessons addresses connections to grade-level work with multiplication (4.NBT.B).
• Making line plots to display data sets (4.MD.4) is addressed in Common Core Coach Lesson 28, Common Core Support Coach Lesson 18, and Common Core Performance Coach Lesson 29. None of these lessons addresses connections to placing fractions with different denominators on a number line (4.NF.2).
• Measuring angles using a protractor (4.MD.6) is addressed in Common Core Coach Lesson 30, Common Core Support Coach Lesson 19, and Common Core Performance Coach Lesson 31. None of these lessons addresses connections to decomposing fractions into the sum of fractions as a full angle turn (4.NF.3).

There are some connections made in the lessons; however, these connections are not explicit, and there is no indication of the connections for the student or teacher. For example:

• Common Core Coach Lesson 25 Problem Solving: Measurement addresses using the four operations to solve problems involving distance, time, volume, mass, and money (4.MD.2). The lesson connects knowledge of measurements (4.MD.1), fractions (4.NF.B), and decimals (4.NF.C). Common Core Support Coach Lesson 15 Solving Measurement Problems, Lesson 16 Converting Units of Measurement to Solve Problems, as well as Common Core Performance Coach Lesson 27 Solving Measurement Problems support and extend understandings of these concepts.

The instructional materials for Common Core Coach Suite Grade 4 partially meet expectations for the materials being consistent with the progressions in the standards. Two components of the suite develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions in the standards, and most content from prior or future grades is clearly identified and connected to current grade-level work. However, the materials do not provide students with extensive work with grade-level problems, and the materials do not meet the full depth of the standards.

Examples of how the materials develop according to grade-by-grade progressions and identify content from prior or future grades, relating it to grade-level work:

• The Common Core Coach Teacher Edition contains a progressions chart at the start of each of the five domains, which show the connections between prior and future learning to the current grade-level standard being developed in each lesson. The Teacher Edition states that these connections also appear in the Student Edition on a visual roadmap of the domain progressions, showing “how new content builds upon previous grade levels and domains, and connects to future domains.”
  • Domain 3 for Number and Operations – Fractions, Grade 3 Lesson 15 Understanding Equivalent Fractions (3.NF.3a-c) connects with Grade 4 Lesson 12 Extending Understanding of Equivalent Fractions (4.NF.1) and Grade 4 Lesson 13 Comparing Fractions (4.NF.2). In turn, Grade 4 Lesson 12 connects to Grade 5 Lesson 13 Adding and Subtracting Fractions in Mixed Numbers (5.NF.1).
  • Domain 4 for Measurement and Data, Grade 3 Lesson 17 Time (3.MD.1) and Lesson 18 Mass and Liquid Volume (3.MD.2) connect to Grade 4 Lesson 25 Problem Solving: Measurement (4.MD.2) and progresses to Grade 5 Lesson 21 Converting Units of Measure to Solve Problems (5.MD.1).
• Common Core Support Coach contains lessons that begin with a “Plug In” section, which reviews prior foundational standards. The “Power Up” section includes a grade-level standard that will support the work of the target standard for the lesson. These two are connected in the “Ready to Go” section, which provides students opportunities to work problems using the scaffolded support. Examples include:
  • Multiplying Fractions by Whole Numbers, Lesson 13 supports students multiplying fractions by whole numbers (Common Core Coach Lessons 18-19) (4.NF.4b, 4.NF.4c). The “Plug In” draws on previous understandings of fractions (3.NF.1), the “Power Up” reviews understanding fractions as multiples (4.NF.4a), and the “Ready to Go” practice gives students opportunities to use unit fractions and models to solve word problems involving multiplication of fractions by whole numbers (4.NF.4b, 4.NF.4c).
  • Perimeter and Area of Rectangles, Lesson 13 supports students solving real-world problems involving perimeter and area (Common Core Coach Lessons 26-27) (4.MD.3). During the “Plug In,” students review finding the perimeter of a rectangle (3.MD.8), the “Power Up” reviews finding the area of a rectangle (3.MD.7a), and the “Ready to Go” practice provides opportunities for students to apply the perimeter and area formulas in order to solve real-world problems (4.MD.3).
  • Classifying Two-Dimensional Figures, Lesson 20 supports students to classify shapes by their angles and sides (4.G.2). The “Plug In” reviews identifying shapes (2.G.1, 3.G.1), the “Power Up” reviews points, rays, lines, and angles (4.G.1), and the “Ready to Go” practice draws on these three standards to help students classify shapes based on their angles and lines (perpendicular or parallel) (4.G.2).

Although Common Core Coach and Common Core Support Coach are consistent with the progressions, Common Core Performance Coach does not support the progression of the grade-level standards and does not identify connections to prior knowledge or future work. There is no explicit guidance to show development of the progressions in any of the lessons. For example:

• In Line Plots, Lesson 29, students work with line plots to add and subtract fractions (4.MD.4). Guidance is not provided for students or teachers as to how this connects to previous understandings of representing and interpreting data using picture and bar graphs (3.MD.3) and extends to future learning involving using line plots and fraction measurements to solve problems (5.MD.2).

The instructional materials for Common Core Coach do not attend to the full intent of the grade-level standards and do not provide students extensive work with grade-level problems. Most of the standards that are considered major work of the grade are taught in one lesson. Some above grade-level work is presented, but it not identified as such. Examples include:

• Multiplying Whole Numbers, Lesson 10 and Dividing with One-Digit Divisors, Lesson 11 do not use strategies based on place value and properties of operations as required by the standards. (4.NBT.5, 4.NBT.6) Additionally, Lesson 11 contains practice using the standard algorithm which attends to Grade 5 standard 5.NBT.5, but it is not identified as above grade-level work.
• In Comparing Fractions, Lesson 13, students use four different strategies to compare fractions with different denominators (4.NF.2). There are limited practice problems that allow students to compare fractions, but these do not allow students enough extensive grade-level work using the strategies.

Common Core Support Coach and Common Core Performance Coach provide additional support intended for students needing interventions or additional work with concepts and skills. While these components contain some standards that are not addressed to the full intent of the grade-level standard, including standards that are considered major work of the grade, most lessons do not contain sufficient practice for students to engage in extensive work with grade-level problems.

Examples of standards not addressed in Common Core Support Coach:

• “Use place value understanding to round multi-digit whole numbers to any place.” (4.NBT.3)
• “Recognize angles as geometric shapes that are formed wherever two rays share a common endpoint, and understand concepts of angle measurement: An angle that turns through n one-degree angles is said to have an angle measure of n degrees.” (4.MD.5b)
• “Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.” (4.G.3)

Examples of standards not addressed to the full intent of the grade-level standard by not giving students extensive work with grade-level problems:

• Common Core Support Coach Multiplicative Comparisons, Lesson 1 and Multi-Step Word Problems, Lesson 2 address three standards surrounding the four operations, all major work of Grade 4. (4.OA.1, 4.OA.2, and 4.OA.3)
• Common Core Support Coach Comparing Decimals, Lesson 14 superficially addresses three standards surrounding fractions and decimals, all major work of Grade 4. (4.NF.5, 4.NF.6, and 4.NF.7)
• Common Core Performance Coach Multiplying Whole Numbers, Lesson 11 is the only lesson that attends to 4.NBT.5, a required fluency for Grade 4. There are 8 practice problems presented; this is an insufficient amount of work with grade-level problems.
• Common Core Performance Coach Adding and Subtracting Mixed Numbers, Lesson 17 includes practice problems that contain nine as a denominator, which is outside of the Grade 4 range. (4.NF)

The instructional materials for Common Core Coach Suite Grade 4 partially meet expectations that materials foster coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the standards. Materials are clearly shaped by domain headings but do not connect two or more domains or clusters.

Common Core Coach Suite contains three components: Common Core Coach, Common Core Support Coach, and Common Core Performance Coach. Lessons in Common Core Coach and Common Core Performance Coach are grouped by domain. CCSSM standards alignment can be found in the Table of Contents of the Teacher Edition for each component of the suite. Most lessons in the suite address one standard.

Examples of lessons in Common Core Coach shaped by domain headings include:

• Domain 1: Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Lesson 4 Understanding Factors and Multiples (4.OA.4).
• Domain 3: Number and Operations - Fractions: Lesson 14 Understanding Adding and Subtracting Fractions (4.NF.3).
• Domain 5: Geometry: Lesson 34 Identifying Lines of Symmetry (4.G.3).

Overall, the materials miss important natural connections. Examples include:

• Common Core Coach Lesson 23 Converting Customary Measures and Lesson 24 Converting Metric Measures do not connect work with multiplication (4.OA.1) to fraction multiplication (4.NF.4).
• In Common Core Coach Lesson 28 Using Line Plot Data to Solve Problems, Common Core Support Coach Lesson 18 Line Plots, and Common Core Performance Coach Lesson 29 Line Plots, students use line plots to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (4.MD.4), but the materials do not connect to adding and subtracting mixed numbers with like denominators (4.NF.3c).