7th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the expectations for assessing the grade-level content. There is no content of future grades assessed.

• The rubrics for each assessment indicate which standards are assessed in each question.
• Most questions align to at least one grade-level standard.
• In the mid-module assessment for module 6, questions 3b, 3c and 3d do not align to a grade-level standard but are also not above-grade-level material.
• All of the mid-module and end-of-module assessments are aligned to the grade level standards and do not assess content above the specified grade level.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meets the expectations for spending the majority of class time on the major cluster of each grade. Overall the instructional materials meet the criteria outlined in the CCSSM Publisher Guidelines for the time for the major work of the grade.

• The Grade 7 material spends 145 of 180 days on major clusters.
• All of modules, 1, 2 and 4 and half of module 3 focus on Grade 7 major clusters.
• The second half of module 3 requires students to set up equations before solving area, surface area and volume problems.
• Although modules 5 and 6 focus on statistics and probability and geometry; they also require understanding of expressions and equations, number sense, and ratio and probability.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the expectations for the supporting content enhancing focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade. Overall, the majority of the chapters and the respective days allocated in the timeline align to the major work of this grade level. Furthermore, the chapters and the individual lessons support focus and coherence to the major work of the grade level.

• 7.EE (setting up equations) is enhanced by 7.G (finding angle measures).
• 7.EE and 7.NS (setting up equations) is enhanced by 7.G (solving geometry problems).
• 7.RP (using proportional reasoning) is enhanced by 7.SP (random samplings with populations).
• 7.NS (solving problems involving rational numbers) is enhanced by 7.SP (calculating probabilities).
• Only some of the SP introductory work cannot be linked to a major cluster area.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the expectations for the amount of content designated for one grade level being viable for one school year in order to foster coherence between grades. Overall, the amount of content that is designated for this grade level is viable for one school year.

• There are 180 designated days for all of the modules.
• It is important to note though that each module has built in days for assessment, review, and extra practice. This allows for adjustments needed throughout a school year due to school activities, weather days, and professional judgment to pacing by teachers.
• The following are the designated days for each module:
  • Module 1 (RP/EE/G): 22 lessons + 8 days = 30 days
  • Module 2 (NS/EE):       23 lessons + 7 days = 30 days
  • Module 3 (EE/G):         26 lessons + 9 days = 35 days
  • Module 4 (RP/EE/G): 18 lessons + 7 days = 25 days
  • Module 5 (SP):             23 lessons + 2 days = 25 days
  • Module 6 (G):               27 lessons + 8 days = 35 days
  • TOTAL: 180 days

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the expectations for the material to be consistent with the progressions in the standards. The materials do develop by the grade-by-grade progressions in the standards.

• Each module begins with an overview of standards being addressed in the module: here, foundational standards that have been taught and learned previously and focus standards.
• Ample narrative exists throughout the modules explaining how the materials develop from previous material and sometimes how the material will develop in the future.
• Teachers are provided with information to help see the connections in the standards, tasks and modules or lessons.
  • 7.RP (focus on proportional relationships, equation representation, and multi-step problems involving percents)-Vocabulary and representations (tape diagrams, double number lines, ratio tables and coordinate plane) are directly related to the progressions document. This shows a direct connection to scale drawings (G) in modules 1 and 4.
  • 7.NS (focus on rational number understanding and operations and real-world application: vocabulary and equations)-Vocabulary and representations (equations from ratio tables, coordinate planes, tape diagrams, number lines, area models and geometric figures) are directly related to the progressions document. EE is deeply integrated into modules 1-4 of the Grade 7 curriculum.
  • 7.EE (focus on application of properties in generating expressions and equations and real-world application of expressions and equations)-Vocabulary and representations (equations, expressions, tape diagrams, number lines) are directly related to the progressions document.
  • 7.SP (focus on random sampling and inferences with populations and probability models)-Vocabulary and representations (dot plots, histograms, tree diagrams and tables) are directly related to the progressions document.
  • 7.G (focus on geometric figures and relationships, angle measure, area, surface area, and volume)-Vocabulary and representations (tables, graphs, scale drawings, floor plans, geometric figures, and area models) are directly related to the progressions document

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the expectations of giving all students extensive work with grade-level problems. Overall, the materials do not consistently give students of varying abilities extensive work with grade-level problems.

• The materials provide students with extensive work with grade-level problems.
• Modules contain a large mix of tasks that are grade-level appropriate. Each module also contains at least one extensive problem set designed to help develop students' procedural skill and fluency.
• An online "how to implement" guide contains general scaffolding examples for English language learners (ELLs), low-level learners, high-level learners and students with disabilities, but these are the same as the occasional comments within the teacher material. This guidance is often superficial.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 partially meet the expectations of relating grade- level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.

• Teacher materials include a module overview (one per module) that has a narrative explaining how grade-level standards are introduced and what students will be doing in developing concept understanding. The connection to prior grade-level standards and how they progress into current grade-level standards is included.
• Notes for discussion in individual teacher lessons also reference prior knowledge at various times. There are no explicit connections made for the students in the student material.
• However, some of the narrative reminds students of previously learned material within the grade when it is expected to be recalled.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 7 meet the expectations for fostering coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the standards. Overall, materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings.

• Both teacher and student materials sometimes end with a lesson summary that reviews student outcomes. The summaries are written in language that can be easily aligned to learning objectives (CCSSM standards) and cluster headings.
• The first paragraph of module 2 states on page 3, "Students build on previous understanding of rational numbers to add, subtract, multiply, and divide signed numbers." This appears to be making a connection to the cluster heading. However, the title of the cluster heading for this set of standards is "Apply and Extend Previous Understanding of Operations with Fractions [emphasis added] to Add, Subtract, Multiply, and Divide Rational Numbers." Few fractions are used throughout this topic in this module, thus not truly connecting the standards to the cluster heading.
• No mention of cluster headings is provided to students or made clear in the student material or student outcomes.

The instructional materials include problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain. They also include problems and activities that connect two or more domains in a grade, in cases where these connections are natural and important. Overall the materials foster coherence through connections at Grade 7.

• The connection of two or more clusters or domains often exists in the materials for teacher and student materials and is usually noted in the teacher material.
• It is noted in module 1, lessons 8-15, that 7.EE.B is connected to 7.RP.A as students develop and analyze equations using a constant of proportionality in real-life problems.
• Similar connections are made with these two standards in module 4 with percents and proportional relationships.
• In module 2, lessons 22 and 23 connect 7.EE.B to 7.NS.A after all operations with rational numbers have been covered.
• Module 3 combines two clusters within the expressions and equations domain. The clusters that are integrated are "use properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions" and "solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations."