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Report Overview
Summary of Alignment & Usability: Eureka Math | Math
Product Notes
Teacher edition and student edition were reviewed.
Math K-2
The instructional materials reviewed for K-2 meet the expectations for alignment and usability in each grade. The materials spend the majority of the time on the major work of the grade, and the assessments are focused on grade-level standards. Content is aligned to the standards and progresses coherently through the grades. There is also coherence within modules of each grade. The lessons include conceptual understanding, fluency and procedures, and application. There is a balance of these aspects of rigor. The Standards for Mathematical Practice (MPs) are used to enrich the learning, although they are not always appropriately identified, and the lessons do not always attend to the full meaning of each MP. The materials facilitate learning by attending to the criteria for use and design, planning and learning, and differentiation. The materials scored slightly lower in assessment criteria. While the summative assessments are strong there is not enough information for the teacher to use the formative assessments to inform their instruction. Overall the K-2 materials support student learning by attending to alignment to the standards and instructional usability.
Kindergarten
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
1st Grade
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
2nd Grade
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
Math 3-5
The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 3-5 meet the expectations for alignment and usability in each grade. The materials spend the majority of the time on the major work of the grade, and the assessments are focused on grade-level standards. Content is aligned with the standards and progresses coherently through the grades. There is also coherence within the modules of each grade. The lessons include conceptual understanding, fluency and procedures, and application. There is a balance of these aspects of rigor. The Standards for Mathematical Practice (MPs) are used to enrich the learning, although they are not always appropriately identified, and the lessons do not always attend to the full meaning of each MP. The materials facilitate learning by attending to the criteria for use and design, planning and learning, and differentiation. The materials scored slightly lower in assessment criteria. While the summative assessments are strong there is not enough information for the teacher to use the formative assessments to inform their instruction. Overall the Grades 3-5 materials support student learning by attending to alignment to the standards and instructional usability.
3rd Grade
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
4th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
5th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
Math 6-8
The instructional materials reviewed for this grade band meet the expectation for alignment to the Common Core State Standards and partially meet the expectations for usability. For focus, the materials meet the criteria for the time devoted to the major work of the grade. The majority of the chapters and the respective days allocated in the timeline align to the major work of each grade. For coherence, the supporting work is clearly connected to the focus of the grade in a meaningful way. Coherence is also evident in the connections between two or more clusters in a domain and two or more domains in a grade. The instructional material meets the expectations for the criterion of rigor and balance with a perfect rating. Within the concept development sections of each lesson, the mathematical topic is developed through understanding as indicated by the standards and cluster headings. Procedural skill and fluency are evident, with an abundance of examples and computation activities which stress fluency in conjunction with skill development. Application of the mathematical concepts exists throughout each module. The three aspects of rigor are balanced within the lessons and modules. The instructional materials also meaningfully connect the Standards for Mathematical Content and the Standards for Mathematical Practice. Weaknesses were noted in the identification of the Standards for Mathematical Practice and in attending to the full meaning of each practice standard. Overall, the materials meet the quality expectations for alignment to the Common Core State Standards.
The materials reviewed partially met the expectations for usability. The underlying design of the materials distinguishes between problems and exercises. The design is not distracting or chaotic, and supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject. The materials reviewed partially meet the criterion for teacher planning and learning. The materials partially support teachers in planning and providing effective learning experiences by providing quality questions to help guide students' mathematical development. Materials contain a teacher edition with ample and useful annotations and that sometimes includes suggestions on how to present the content in the student edition and in the ancillary materials. However, the materials do not provide strategies for gathering information about students' prior knowledge within and across grade levels. Also, the materials do not meet expectations for differentiated instruction. There are limited notes in the margins and boxes in the teacher materials that provide teachers with strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners, and a variety of solution strategies are not always encouraged.
6th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
7th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
8th Grade
View Full ReportEdReports 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)
Materials must meet expectations for standards alignment in order to be reviewed for usability. This rating reflects the overall series average.
Usability (Gateway 3)
Report for 3rd Grade
Alignment Summary
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 are aligned to the CCSSM. The materials are focused within assessments and spend the majority of time on the major work of the grade. The materials are also coherent, following the progression of the standards and connecting the mathematics within the grade level. The Grade 3 materials include all three aspects of rigor, and there is a definitive balance between conceptual understanding, fluency and application. MPs are identified and used to enhance the mathematical content, but the materials often do not attend to the full meaning of each MP and some are misidentified.
3rd Grade
Alignment (Gateway 1 & 2)
Usability (Gateway 3)
Overview of Gateway 1
Focus & Coherence
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for gateway 1. These materials do not assess above-grade-level content, and they spend the majority of the time on the major clusters of each grade level. Teachers using these materials as designed will use supporting clusters to enhance the major work of the grade. These materials are consistent with the mathematical progression in the standards and students are offered extensive work with grade-level problems. Connections are made between clusters and domains where appropriate. Overall, the Grade 3 materials are focused and follow a coherent plan.
Gateway 1
v1.0
Criterion 1.1: Focus
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this criterion by not assessing any topics before the grade level in which the topic is introduced in the standards. No above-grade-level content was assessed on mid-module or end-of-module assessments in any module. All assessments, rubrics and topics relate to Grade 3 standards. Students are assessed on fluency with multiplication facts, solving two-step word problems and understanding place value among other topics.
Indicator 1A
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for focus within assessment. Overall, the instructional material does not assess any content from future grades within the summative assessment sections of each module.
- No above-grade-level content was assessed on mid-module or end-of-module assessments.
- All assessments, rubrics and topics relate to Grade 3 standards or below.
- The summative assessments focus on grade level topics.
- The mid-module and end-of-module summative assessments, which focus on fractions, use only the denominators of 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8.
- Some of the exit tickets used for formative assessment require students to use denominators beyond the grade level. After clarifying that these exit tickets are not part of the summative assessment program, they were not considered in the review of this indicator. These exit tickets have been addressed on the Eureka website.
Criterion 1.2: Coherence
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meets the expectations for focus by spending the majority of the time on the major clusters of the grade. This includes all clusters within the 3.OA, all clusters in 3.NF and cluster A and C from 3.MD.
Indicator 1B
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectation for focus by spending the majority of the time on the major clusters of the grade. This includes all clusters within the 3.OA, all clusters in 3.NF and clusters A and C from 3.MD.
More than 65% of the lessons are explicitly focused on major work, with major work often included within supporting-work lessons as well.
Of seven modules, modules 1, 3 and 4 address major work exclusively. Module 2 devotes about half of the lessons to major work. Module 5 devotes a few lessons to additional and supporting work.
Modules 6 and 7 spend the majority of the time on additional and supporting work with a few major work lessons included.
Of the 29 assessment days, 19 are devoted to major work.
Criterion 1.3: Coherence
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for coherence. The materials use supporting content as a way to continue work with the major work of the grade. For example, partitioning shapes within the geometry domain is used to support student work on fractions. The materials include a full program of study that is viable content for a school year, including 180 days of lessons and assessments. This set of materials is consistent with the mathematical progression of learning set forth in the standards. All students are given extensive work on grade-level problems, even students who are struggling, and this work progresses mathematically. These instructional materials are visibly shaped by the cluster headings in the standards; for example, one module is called "Fractions as Numbers on the Number Line." Connections are made between domains and clusters within the grade level. For instance, materials make connections between measurement and work with fractions and between area and multiplication. Overall, the Grade 3 materials support coherence and are consistent with the progressions in the standards.
Indicator 1C
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for their use of supporting content as a way to enhance coherence. For Grade 3, reviewers focused on the use of data and shapes as methods for supporting operations and fractions.
- In module 5, students are partitioning shapes into equal parts and labeling each part as a unit, supporting their work on fractions.
- In module 5, students are using a ruler as a number line.
- In module 5, students are marking paper strip rulers into fractional parts.
- In module 6, students are creating scaled bar graphs using multiplication.
- In module 6, students are using data to perform operations and to identify equivalent fractions.
Indicator 1D
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by providing a viable level of content for one school year.
- Materials provide for 180 days of instruction and assessment.
- Lessons are expected to be 60 minutes.
- Lessons generally include fluency practice, application problems, concept development and a student debrief.
- The materials are structured so that a teacher could make modifications if necessary.
- While a district, school or teacher would not need to make significant changes to the schedule set forth, reviewers indicated concerns about the volume of the lessons.
- Some lessons may take longer than indicated.
- Days are included at the end of the year for culmination activities and preparation for summer practice.
Indicator 1E
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 are consistent with the mathematical progressions in the standards, meeting the expectation for this indicator.
- The types of problems included in the application problems show an increasing level of difficulty in multiplication.
- Foundational standards from Grade 2 are included for each module.
- In later modules, standards from earlier in the school year are listed as foundational standards. For example, 3.OA.1 and 3.OA.2 are covered in module 1 and then listed as foundational standards in module 3. Standards 3.MD.5, 3.MD.6 and 3.MD.7 are taught in module 4 and then listed as foundational standards in module 7.
- Problem sets in each module offer students extensive work on grade-level problems.
- Students are asked to multiply and divide with 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 before working with 6, 7, 8 and 9.
- Students are reminded of their work in Grade 2 with fractional halves, thirds, and quarters before working with sixths.
- The differentiation sections give teachers suggestions for supporting struggling students while continuing to expect that students work on grade-level problems.
- Suggestions for supporting English language learners (ELLs) continue to reflect the high level of expectations for these students.
- Teacher notes include suggestions for advanced students to continue working within their grade level while deepening their understanding of the content.
Indicator 1F
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 foster coherence through grade level connections.
- The title for module 5, "Fractions as Numbers on the Number Line," is shaped by the cluster heading, "Develop Understanding of Fractions as Numbers."
- In module 1 the lesson objective, "Model the Relationship Between Multiplication and Division," is related to the cluster heading, "Understand Properties of Multiplication and the Relationship Between Multiplication and Division."
- Module 4 is called "Multiplication and Area," which is informed by the cluster heading that includes the words "relate area to multiplication."
- Connections are made between measurement problems and fluent addition and subtraction within 1,000 and place value in module 2.
- Connections are made between measurement and geometry in module 7.
- Module 5 relates geometry to fractions.
Overview of Gateway 2
Rigor & Mathematical Practices
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for gateway 2. The materials include each aspect of rigor: conceptual understanding, fluency and application. These three aspects are balanced within the lessons. The materials partially meet the expectations for the connections between the MP and the mathematical content. There are missed opportunities for identifying MPs, and some instances where they are misidentified. The materials do attend to the mathematical reasoning that is embedded in the standards.
Gateway 2
v1.0
Criterion 2.1: Rigor
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this criterion by providing a balance of all three aspects of rigor throughout the lessons. Within the concept development sections of each lesson, the mathematical topic is developed through understanding as indicated by the standards and cluster headings. In Grade 3, fluency and procedures include "Single-digit Products and Quotients (Products from Memory by End of Grade 3)" (3.OA.C.7) and "Add/Subtract within 1,000" (3.NBT.A.2). Application problems occur in almost every lesson depending upon the focus Mathematics of the lesson. This is expected to last around 5-20 minutes for each lesson. The three aspects are balanced within the lessons and modules.
Indicator 2A
The materials reviewed in Grade 3 for this indicator meet the expectations by attending to conceptual understanding within the lessons.
- Within the concept-development sections of each lesson, the mathematical topic is developed through understanding as indicated by the standards and cluster headings.
- Significant time is spent developing understanding of multiplication and division and fractions as numbers.
- In module 1, students are asked to compare multiplication strategies.
- In module 5, students are asked to explain how they know two fractions are equivalent and to explain their reasoning using a number line.
- Time is spent on using the properties of operations as a strategy for multiplying.
- In module 1, students are asked, "How does what the quotient represents affect the way a tape diagram is drawn?"
- Understanding of multiplication and division is built through contextual problems and the idea of equal groups.
Indicator 2B
The materials reviewed in Grade 3 for this indicator meet the expectations by attending to fluency and procedural work within the lessons. In Grade 3 this includes single-digit products and quotients, including products from memory by end of Grade 3 (3.OA.C.7) and to add and subtract within 1,000 (3.NBT.A.2).
- Within the distribution of instructional minutes, the schedule allows for 10-20 minutes per day to practice fluency. This varies according to the timeline of the school year and the focus mathematics in the module.
- As described within "How to Implement A Story of Units," "Fluency is usually first-by beginning class with animated, adrenaline-rich fluency, students are more alert when presented with the Concept Development and Application Problems."
- Attention is paid to the use of the words "fluency" and "fluent" within the standards.
- Required fluencies are listed within the section called "Curriculum Overview Sequence."
- Lessons include mental strategies, skip counting, sprints, dashes, problem sets and flashcard activities.
Indicator 2C
The materials reviewed in Grade 3 for this indicator meet the expectations by attending to application within the lessons.
- Application problems occur in almost every lesson depending upon the focus mathematics of the lesson. This is expected to last around 5-20 minutes for each lesson in Grade 3.
- If the focus standard of the lesson includes language requiring application, the application problem will become the major portion of the lesson.
- Contextual multistep word problems are used with a variety of problem types that increase in difficulty throughout the year. These problems focus on a variety of operations.
Indicator 2D
The materials reviewed in Grade 3 for this indicator meet the expectations by providing a balance of rigor. The three aspects are not always combined together nor are they always separate.
- The distribution-of-minutes chart and the structure of the lessons show a balance of the three aspects of rigor.
- Application problems often call for fluency and procedural skills.
- Fluency work and application problems are used to develop conceptual understanding.
- Conceptual problems often involve procedures.
Criterion 2.2: Math Practices
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet this criteria. The MPs are often identified and often used to enrich mathematics content. There are many missed opportunities for identifying MPs, however, and some instances where they are misidentified. In module 1, only 14 out of 21 lessons identify an MP. All occur within the concept-development or the application portion of the lessons. The materials often attend to the full meaning of each practice. However, there are instances where the students are not using the practice as written. There is little explicit reference to modeling (MP4), and lessons identify this practice incorrectly. There are lessons in which the tools are chosen for the students or the modeling expected is a simple representation. The materials reviewed for Grade 3 attend to the standards' emphasis on mathematical reasoning. Students are prompted within problem sets and application problems to explain, describe, critique and justify. Each lesson includes a debrief section with questions for the teacher to use in facilitating classroom discussion about the mathematical content.
Indicator 2E
The Standards for Mathematical Practice (MPs) are often identified and often used to enrich mathematics content. There are missed opportunities for identifying MPs, and some instances where they are misidentified.
- MPs are listed at the beginning of each module with a description of the explicit connection to the mathematics of the module.
- In module 2 covers MP2 ("Reason Abstractly and Quantitatively"). Students decontextualize metric measurements and time intervals in minutes as they solve problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication. They round to estimate and then precisely solve, evaluating solutions with reference to units and with respect to real world contexts.
- MPs are listed in the margins of the teacher notes, mostly in the concept development portion and the student debrief of some lessons.
- In module 1, 14 of 21 lessons identify MPs. All of these occur within the concept development or the application portion of the lessons.
- In module 5, 17 of 30 lessons identify MPs. These occur within the concept development, application, and/or student debrief portions of the lessons.
- While reviewers appreciate that MPs standards are not over identified or used in contrived situations, there are many missed opportunities for identifying MP in order to enrich the content in these lessons.
- The debrief section of the lessons offers an opportunity to highlight, for both teachers and students, how they might reason abstractly and quantitatively (MP2) and construct arguments and critique the reasoning of others (MP3).
- There is little explicit reference to modeling (MP4) and some lessons identify this practice incorrectly.
Indicator 2F
The materials often attend to the full meaning of each practice. However, there are instances where the students are not using the practice as written. For example, in many lessons the tools are chosen for the students or the modeling expected is a simple representation.
- Students are using MPs when engaging with the content as designed, fully meeting Publisher's Criteria #9.
- Throughout the lessons the debrief section includes opportunities to construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others (MP3).
- In module 1, students are making meaning of multiplication and numbers, within a multiplication story and within the context of a story problem.
- In module 6 a large part of lesson 3 address MP6 ("Attend to Precision").
- Many lessons list MPs without attending to the full meaning of the standard. For example, in module 1, students are making arrays to match equations, however in MP4 a real-world context must be present. In module 2, students are directed to use certain tools rather than selecting the appropriate tool on their own, which would meet the meaning of MP5.
- MP4 ("Model with Mathematics") is irregularly applied. There is ambiguity over whether "model" means to draw a picture representing the problem or whether it means to create a mathematical representation in a real-world context.
Indicator 2G
Indicator 2G.i
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of this indicator by attending to the standards' emphasis on mathematical reasoning.
- Students are prompted within problem sets and application problems to explain, describe, critique and justify.
- In module 1, students are asked the following in an assessment question: "Would Mrs. Tran get the same result if she multiplied 5x4? Explain why or why not."
- In module 3, student materials prompt students to answer the following: "If I know 3x8=24, then I know the answer to 8x3! Explain how this is true."
- In module 5, students are asked to use personal whiteboards to help prove their answers.
- In module 5, students are asked to justify their answers in words and pictures when explaining equivalent fractions.
Indicator 2G.ii
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of this indicator by attending to the standards' emphasis on mathematical reasoning.
- Each lesson includes a debrief section with questions for the teacher to use in facilitating classroom discussion about the mathematical content. For example, "Why is a vertical number line a good tool to use for rounding?"
- In a module 1 lesson a teacher draws a representation on the board and then asks students to "talk in partners about why you agree or disagree with my work."
Indicator 2G.iii
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of this indicator by attending to the standards' emphasis on mathematical reasoning.
- Each module lists terminology for the module including "new or recently introduced terms" and "familiar terms and symbols."
- In module 6, students are expected to use correct terminology when constructing different types of data displays.
Overview of Gateway 3
Usability
Criterion 3.1: Use & Design
The materials meet the criteria for use and design. The problems and exercises are developed sequentially and each activity has a mathematical purpose. Students are asked to produce a variety of assignments. Manipulatives and models are used to enhance learning and the purpose of each is explained well. The visual design is not distracting or chaotic. The visual design supports learning.
Indicator 3A
The design of the materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by providing students with ongoing opportunities to practice previously learned skills as they learn new content. These materials use problem sets and application problems to develop their understanding of new mathematics. These materials use homework, application problems and fluency sessions to practice previously learned concepts.
- Problems sets within the lessons include guidance on how to select and sequence the exercises.
- Fluency exercises within the lessons include guidance on the purpose of each activity allowing the teacher to determine the necessary activities for the students.
- "How to Implement A Story of Units" provides insights for the teacher on the purpose for each lesson section.
- "A Story of Units doesn't wait months to spiral back to a concept. Rather, once a concept is learned, it is immediately spiraled back into the daily lesson structure through fluency and applications." (page 9)
- "The primary goal of the problem set is for students to apply the conceptual understanding(s) learned in the lesson. (page 12)
- "The homework gives students additional practice on the skills they learn in class each day. The idea is not to introduce brand-new concepts, but to build student confidence with the material learned in class." (page 13)
- "The bank of fluency activities for each lesson is intentionally organized so that activities revisit previously-learned material to develop automaticity, anticipate future concepts, and strategically preview or build skills for the day's Concept Development." (page 23)
Indicator 3B
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of this indicator by using intentional sequences in the design.
- Problem sets, exit tickets and homework relate to the mathematical concept developed in the lessons each day.
- Once a concept is developed, it is spiraled back into the daily structure within the fluency and application portion.
- The sequence of topics within each module is intentional going from working with a variety of concrete and pictorial representations to more abstract work with numbers and computation.
- For example, module 1 goes from the meaning of factors, division as an unknown factor problem and arrays, to multiplication and division with units of 2 and 3, then to units of 4, and then to distributive property and problem solving using units of 2-5 and 10.
Indicator 3C
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of this indicator by providing a variety in what students are expected to produce.
- Students are expected to produce answers and solutions throughout the fluency sections and some of the problem sets.
- Students are expected to provide arguments and explanations within the problem sets, exit tickets and homework.
- Students are asked to provide a variety of mathematical responses.
- Arguments and explanations are the basis for the debriefing section of each lesson.
- The "Read, Draw, Write" procedure requires students to represent the problem in a drawing and make connections between the drawing and the equations.
- Throughout the modules and lessons students produce a variety of solutions, using concrete, pictorial and abstract representations.
- In module 3, for example, students are asked to answer a series of questions relating to what 5 sevens means (3.A.21); find unknowns (3.A.34); relate skip counting to multiplication (3.B.9); reason about strategies to use when multiplying (3.B.21); and find products for a sheet of related multiplication exercises.
Indicator 3D
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of this indicator by using manipulatives and models as faithful representations of the mathematics they are used to represent.
- The materials use a limited set of concrete and pictorial models throughout the program.
- Each module lists suggested tools and representations that apply to the mathematics in the module.
- Students use a variety of manipulatives including place-value charts, number lines, square tiles, tangrams and fraction strips. They are connected with written methods.
Indicator 3E
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations of this indicator by using a design that supports students in engaging thoughtfully with the subject.
- The visual design is clean and simple and supports students in engaging with the mathematics.
- There are no distractions on the student pages or teacher pages.
- Student pages contain only math problems and pictures/diagrams as part of the problems.
- The materials have very minimal pictures.
Criterion 3.2: Teacher Planning
The materials reviewed for this criteria meet the expectations by including materials that support teachers in learning and understanding the standards. All materials include support for teachers in using questions to guide mathematical development. Teacher editions have many annotations and examples on how to present the content. There are answer keys for all the student problem sets, exit tickets, homework and tests, including written annotations to show what student work should look like. In the teacher edition for each module, there is an overview section that has narrative information about the math content of the module. In each module, at the start of each topic, there is another section that gives a mathematical explanation of the mathematics in the topic. There are a few specific descriptions of the coherence of the mathematics, however there is no discussion of the grade-level content's role in Kindergarten through Grade 12. Materials do provide information on connected content standards and pacing. Eureka has a web page for parents that contains general information about the curriculum as well as a few informational videos. There is also a section on the web page called "Eureka Math Tips for Parents" that gives information organized by grade level and module. There is information about the instructional approaches and research connection in "How to Implement the Story of Units" and "A Story of Units: A Curriculum Overview for Grades P-5." Overall, the materials reviewed include support for the teacher in planning and learning for success with CCSSM.
Indicator 3F
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by supporting teachers in using questions to guide mathematical development.
- Materials provide quality suggested questions throughout the debrief section of each lesson. For example, in module 7, students are asked, "Why can't you find the area of a rectangle when you only have the rectangle's perimeter?"
- Quality questions are also included in the concept development portion, application problems and problem sets of the lessons.
Indicator 3G
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by including a teacher edition with ample and useful annotations and suggestions on how to present the content.
- The sections on concept development include a sample script to help the teacher understand what might happen when presenting the material. These scripts can sometimes mask the mathematical concepts at hand, leading teachers to think that this script is exactly what should happen. A summary of the process and concept before the script would be useful.
- Within the lessons, aside from the teacher script and wording in the teacher directions, most lessons have pictures/representations with annotations, demonstrating the concepts pictorially for the teacher, to provide guidance about how to present the content.
- There are answer keys for all student problem sets, exit tickets, homework and tests, including written annotations to show what student work should look like.
- There are also boxes in the sidebar of many lessons that annotate information about how to present content to students.
- There is a repeated process for solving word problems called the "Read, Draw, Write" approach that the manual explains in the module overview.
- The overview of each module has several suggestions for delivering instruction.
Indicator 3H
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by including adult-level explanations and examples of mathematical topics so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject, if necessary.
- In the teacher edition for each module, there is an overview section that has narrative information about the mathematics content of the module.
- In each module, at the start of each topic, there is another section of narrative that gives a mathematical explanation of the mathematics content in the topic.
- These topic level explanations and overviews include mathematical coherence within and between grade levels.
- "How to Implement A Story of Units" includes adult-level explanations of the models and representations used.
Indicator 3I
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations for this indicator. There are a few specific descriptions of the coherence of the mathematics, but there is no discussion of role of the grade-level content in Kindergarten through Grade 12.
- There are explanations of the role previous content plays in each module. This is listed in the module overview for foundational standards.
- "A Story of Units: A Curriculum Overview for Grades P-5" contains a description of the module sequence that includes the connection to the previous grade and the next future grade. No connection is made to other grade levels.
Indicator 3J
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 do provide information on connected content standards and pacing.
- Within each module overview there is a section called "Overview of the Module Topics and Lesson Objectives." It contains lessons broken down by topic, and cross-references the standards at the topic level.
- This overview also lists the number of days for each topic, as well as the total number of instructional days for the entire module, including assessments.
- Lessons include a time frame for each activity in the lesson.
- There is a yearly summary of standards and pacing.
Indicator 3K
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 include information and suggestions for parents.
- Eureka has a web page for parents that contains general information about the curriculum as well as a few informational videos.
- The web page also has a section called "Eureka Math Tips for Parents" that gives information organized by grade level and module.
Indicator 3L
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 contain explanation of the instructional approaches of the program.
- The Eureka web page has a section called "Reports." It details key research reports on mathematics instruction and learning.
- There is annotation about the curriculum as it relates to these reports.
- Both "How to Implement A Story of Units" and "A Story of Units: A Curriculum Overview for Grades P-5" contain information about instructional approaches and research connections.
- The opening letter from Executive Director Lynne Munson addresses some of the research and philosophy behind the curriculum.
Criterion 3.3: Assessment
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations for this criterion. While there are no systematic ways to gather information about the prior knowledge of their students, the teachers are offered support in identifying and addressing common student errors and misconceptions. Materials includes opportunities for ongoing review and practice. While the summative assessments include information on standards alignment and scoring rubrics, the formative assessments do not include this same information. There are no systems or suggestions for students to monitor their own progress. Overall, the materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially address the assessment criteria.
Indicator 3M
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 do not meet the expectations for this indicator.
- Foundational standards are listed for most modules, but there are no directions for using these standards to assess prior knowledge.
- There are not systematic ways to gather information about prior knowledge.
- There are no diagnostics included other than within the rubrics for the summative assessments.
- There are no module pretests.
Indicator 3N
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by including strategies to identify and address common student errors and misconceptions.
- Each summative assessment includes a chart titled "Progression toward Mastery" to help teachers with the coherence toward mastery.
- On page 13, "How to Implement A Story of Units" says this about addressing errors and misconception: "Distractors for such questions are written to illuminate common student errors and misconceptions."
- The student debrief section of the lesson is intended to invite the students to reflect and process the lesson. Strategies include partnering to guide students in conversation to debrief the problem set and process the lesson.
- The marginal notes often suggest ways to support students as a whole and subgroups of students who might need support. In particular, the "Multiple Means of..." notes tend to focus on student misconceptions.
Indicator 3O
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by including ongoing review and practice.
- Ongoing review and practice is included within fluency section of lessons.
- Exit tickets can provide feedback depending upon teacher use.
- Review and practice is also found within problem sets and homework that are included in every lesson.
- The summative assessments contain rubrics to provide feedback to the teacher and student as to a student's progression toward mastery.
Indicator 3P
Indicator 3P.i
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations for this indicator. The summative assessments meet the expectations, but the formative assessments do not.
- Mid-module and end-of-module assessments align each item to specific standard(s).
- There are standards listed for each lesson; sometimes multiple standards are listed.
- There are no specific standards listed within the lesson exit tickets. These exit tickets could possibly include multiple standards.
Indicator 3P.ii
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 partially meet the expectations for this indicator. The summative assessments meet the expectations, but the formative assessments do not.
- For the mid-module and end-of-module assessments, there are rubrics for scoring the items, as well as an answer key with sample answers.
- Rubrics and scoring guides are clear and helpful. Examples of student work receiving top grades on the rubric are included.
- In the "Progression Toward Mastery" section of the summative assessments there is a detailed rubric for grading student mastery from 1 to 4. If the student does not achieve total mastery (step 4), then the teacher can look at the next steps to see what or how to follow up with the student. For example, when a student's mastery is step 2, teachers can look at steps 3 and 4 to guide follow-up instruction.
Indicator 3Q
Materials reviewed for this indicator do not include self-monitoring for students. There is one exception within the fluency sprints. Students complete the sprint twice with a goal of increasing their score on the second round.
Criterion 3.4: Differentiation
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the criterion for differentiated instruction. The marginal notes often suggest ways to support students as a whole and subgroups of students who might need extra support or those who may be advanced. This includes support for vocabulary, representations, engagement options, and materials. Application problems, problem sets and homework are included in almost all lessons. These problems can be solved in a variety of ways. Students can choose their own solution strategy and/or representation. Suggestions are included for supporting ELL students and other special populations in order for them to actively participate. Notes within the lessons present the teachers a variety of options for whole-group, small-group, partner or individual work. Materials encourage teachers to use home-language connections and cultural ties to facilitate learning
Indicator 3R
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by including strategies to help teachers sequence and scaffold lessons.
- The lessons are sequenced to build from conceptual understanding using concrete and pictorial representations to more abstract representations.
- The marginal notes often suggest ways to support students as a whole and subgroups of students who might need extra support. This includes support for vocabulary, representations, engagement options, and materials.
- Lessons and mathematical topics are sequenced according to the CCSSM progressions of learning.
- A description of the module sequence and layout is provided.
Indicator 3S
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by including strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners.
- The lessons are sequenced to build from conceptual understanding using concrete and pictorial representations to more abstract representations.
- The marginal notes often suggest ways to support students as a whole and subgroups of students who might need extra support. This includes support for vocabulary, representations, engagement options and materials.
- "How to Implement A Story of Units" describes a variety of scaffolds and accommodations (page 13).
Indicator 3T
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by providing tasks with multiple entry points that can be solved in a variety of ways.
- Application problems, problem sets and homework are included in almost all lessons. These problems can be solved in a variety of ways, and students can choose their own solution strategy and/or representation.
- The embedded tasks show the students multiple representations using drawings, charts, graphs, or numbers or words.
Indicator 3U
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by including support for the English language learner (ELL) and other special populations in order for them to actively participate.
- Notes on multiple means of engagement give teachers suggestions about meeting the needs of ELL students. These margin notes include sentence starters, physical responses and vocabulary support.
- On pages 14-20 of "How to Implement A Story of Units," there are suggestions for working with ELL students and students with disabilities. Page 14 states, "It is important to note that the scaffolds/accommodations integrated into A Story of Units might change how a learner accesses information and demonstrates learning; they do not substantially alter the instructional level, content, or performance criteria. Rather, they provide students with choices in how they access content and demonstrate their knowledge and ability."
Indicator 3V
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by offering instructional support for advanced students.
- Notes on multiple means of engagement give teachers suggestions about meeting the needs of advanced students.
- The curriculum specifies that not all pieces of each section of a lesson must be used, so advanced students could be asked to tackle problems or sections a teacher does not use for all students.
- "How to implement A Story of Units" provides teachers with suggestions for working with above-grade-level students (page 20).
Indicator 3W
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet the expectations for this indicator by providing a balanced portrayal of various demographic and personal characteristics.
- The names and situations in the story problems represent a variety of cultural groups.
- The application problems include real-world situations that would appeal to a variety of cultural and gender groups.
- There is a balanced approach to the use of gender identification.
Indicator 3X
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 include a variety of grouping strategies.
- Notes within the lessons offer teachers a variety of options for whole-group, small-group, partner or individual work.
- There are opportunities for different groupings, however the fundamental model is "Modeling with Interactive Questioning; Guided Practice; and Independent Practice."
- There are also suggestions for small-group work within the differentiation pages of "How to implement A Story of Units."
Indicator 3Y
The materials reviewed for Grade 3 encourage teachers to make home-language connections and cultural ties to facilitate learning.
- There are occasions (mostly with Spanish) where students are encouraged to make connections to words in their home languages.
- "How to Implement A Story of Units" offers teachers this guidance: "Know, use, and make the most of student cultural and home experiences. Build on the student's background knowledge.
Criterion 3.5: Technology
Reviews for this series were conducted using print materials, which do not include an instructional technology component. Materials were not reviewed for this criterion.
Indicator 3AA
Reviews for this series were conducted using print materials, which do not include an instructional technology component. Materials were not reviewed for this indicator.
Indicator 3AB
Reviews for this series were conducted using print materials, which do not include an instructional technology component. Materials were not reviewed for this indicator.
Indicator 3AC
Reviews for this series were conducted using print materials, which do not include an instructional technology component. Materials were not reviewed for this indicator.
Indicator 3AD
Reviews for this series were conducted using print materials, which do not include an instructional technology component. Materials were not reviewed for this indicator.
Indicator 3Z
Reviews for this series were conducted using print materials, which do not include an instructional technology component. Materials were not reviewed for this indicator.