5th Grade - Gateway 1
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Focus & Coherence
Gateway 1 - Partially Meets Expectations | 78% |
|---|---|
Criterion 1.1: Focus | 2 / 2 |
Criterion 1.2: Coherence | 4 / 4 |
Criterion 1.3: Coherence | 5 / 8 |
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 Everyday Mathematics partially meet the expectations for Gateway One. Future grade-level standards are not assessed, and the materials devote a majority of the time to the major work of the grade. At times, the instructional materials connect supporting work with the major work of the grade, but often, the materials do not. Although the materials provide a full program of study that is viable for a school year, students are not always given extensive work with grade-level problems. Connections between grade levels and domains are missing. Overall, the instructional materials meet the expectations for focusing on the major work of the grade, but the materials are not always consistent and coherent with the standards.
Criterion 1.1: Focus
The Grade 5 Everyday Mathematics materials meet the expectations for not assessing topics before the grade level in which they should be introduced. All items on Unit assessments are focused on Grade 5 standards.
Indicator 1a
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for focus within assessment. Overall, the instructional materials do not assess content from future grades within the summative assessment sections of each unit.
The program allows for a Beginning-of-Year, Mid-Year, End-of-Year, and Unit Assessments which assess the Grade 5 standards. There are also eight unit assessments/progress checks. The unit assessments/progress checks have portions for Self Assessment, Unit Assessment, Open Response Assessment (odd numbered units), Cumulative Assessment (even numbered units), and a Challenge. These assessments can be found in the Assessment Handbook. The Individual Profile of Progress for tracking and class progress are present in both paper (pages 113-124 in the Assessment Handbook) and digital formats. Most lessons have an Assessment Check-in that can be used as either formative or summative assessment as stated in the implementation guide.
Assessment Check-Ins are part of most lessons and mostly assess grade level content. For example, in the teacher guide on page 64, lesson 1-8, the Assessment Check-In focused on 5.MD.3, 5.MD.3.B, and 5.MD.4, volume, and gives additional questions for the students who excel.
All unit assessment items are on Grade 5 level. There are no scoring rubrics provided for the educators; however, all assessments do provide answer keys.
Criterion 1.2: Coherence
Students and teachers using the materials as designed devote the large majority of class time in each grade K-8 to the major work of the grade.
The Grade 5 Everyday Mathematics materials do meet expectations for devoting the large majority of class time to the major work of the grade level. The Grade 5 Everyday Mathematics engages students in the major work of the grade approximately 74 percent of the time.
Indicator 1b
Instructional material spends the majority of class time on the major cluster of each grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for focus by spending the majority of the time on the major clusters of the grade. This includes all the clusters in 5.NBT and 5.NF and cluster 5.MD.C.
The Grade 5 materials do spend the majority of class time on the major clusters of the grade. Work was not calculated by units since the units spiral and are not clustered by groups of standards. There are eight units with between 12-14 lessons per unit. Assessment days were not included in these calculations. Additionally, each unit has a 2-day open-response lesson; the open-response lessons were counted as one lesson. At the lesson level, the lessons are divided into Warm Up, Focus, and Practice. Each day consists of 5 minutes on warm-ups, 35-45 minutes of a focus lesson, 20-30 minutes of practice. To determine the amount of time on major work, the standards covered in the focus lessons were considered since that is where direct instruction takes place and the majority of the lesson takes place during this time.
- Seventy-eight lessons out of the 105 are focused on the major work. This represents approximately 74 percent of the lessons. Additionally, another nine lessons, or approximately 9 percent are supporting work which truly supported the major work of the grade bringing the time spent on major work to approximately 83 percent.
- Two lessons out of the 105 are focused on off grade-level work. Lessons 2-13 and 3-3 focus on 4.OA.A.3, interpreting remainders.
Criterion 1.3: Coherence
Coherence: Each grade's instructional materials are coherent and consistent with the Standards.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the expectations for coherence. At times, the instructional materials use supporting content as a way to continue working with the major work of the grade, but often the materials do not. For example, connections between geometry and major work of the grade are missed. The materials include a full program of study that is viable content for a school year, including approximately 32.5 weeks of lessons and assessment. Content from prior grades is not clearly identified or connected to grade-level work, and students are not always given extensive work with grade-level problems. Material related to prior, grade-level content is not clearly identified or related to grade-level work. These instructional materials are shaped by the cluster headings in the standards; however, only surface-level connections are made between domains. Overall, the Grade 5 materials partially support coherence and are not consistent with the progressions in the standards.
Indicator 1c
Supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet expectations that supporting content enhances focus and coherence by engaging students in the major work of the grade. In some cases, the supporting work enhances and supports the major work of the grade level, and in others, it does not.
Units 3 and 5 are focused entirely on major work, so no specific opportunities to use supporting content to enhance focus and coherence by engaging students in the major work of the grade are found.
At times, supporting content does enhance focus and coherence by engaging students in the major work of the grade. Examples of the connections between supporting work and major work include the following:
- Lesson 2-6 connects supporting standards 5.OA.1, 5.OA.2 and 5.MD.1 with 5.NBT.5, major work.
- Lesson 6-3 connects supporting standard 5.MD.1 with 5.NBT.2, major work.
- Lessons 6-4 and 6-5 connect supporting standards 5.MD.1 and 5.MD.2 with 5.NF.1, 5.NF.2 and 5.NBT.6, all major work.
- Lesson 6-13 connects supporting standards 5.OA.1 and 5.MD.2 with 5.NBT.1 and 5.NBT.3, both major work.
- Lesson 7-9 connects supporting standard 5.MD.2 with 5.NF.1, 5.NF.2 and 5.NF.4, all major work.
At times, standards listed at the beginning of each unit are logically connected to each other; however, when the specific work of the unit and lessons is examined, some connections are missed or not specifically noted for teachers or students. Also, many lessons address supporting work in isolation from major work of the grade. Examples of lessons without connections between supporting and major work include the following:
- Lessons 4-6, 4-7, 4-9, and 4-10 focus on plotting points on a coordinate grid, 5.G.1 and 5.G.2. These lessons are not truly connected to major work of the grade. Although lesson 4-9 does connect plotting points to 5.OA.3, this standard is also not major work of the grade. Although some lesson activities do include both major and supporting standards, there are missed connections between the listed standards. For example, in Lesson 4-6, the Math Masters worksheet "Plotting Points to Create an Outline Map" is aligned to 5.G.1, 5.NBT.1, 5.NBT.3 and 5.NBT.3.A. Although both major and supporting work are addressed, the major work is the focus of the last two problems of the worksheet disconnected from the supporting work.
- Lessons 7-5, 7-6, 7-7 and 7-8 focus on two-dimensional shapes, 5.G.3 and 5.G.4. The focus portions of these lessons are exclusively on these supporting standards, and no connections to any other standards, including major work, is made in the lessons. Although some lesson activities do include both major and supporting standards, there are missed connections between the listed standards. For example, in Lesson 7-6, the Math Masters worksheet, "The Quadrilateral Hierarchy," is aligned to 5.G.3, 5.NF.7 and 5.NF.7.A. Although both major and supporting work are addressed, the major work is the focus of the last four problems of the worksheet disconnected from the supporting work.
- Lessons 7-10, 7-11 and 7-12 focus on patterns, 5.OA.3. Although patterns are connected to plotting points on a coordinate grid, plotting points is not major work of the grade. Although some lesson activities do include both major and supporting standards, there are missed connections between the listed standards. For example, in Lesson 7-12, the Math Masters worksheet, "Interpreting Tables and Graphs," is aligned to 5.OA.3, 5.G.1, 5.G.2 and 5.NBT.7. Although both major and supporting work are addressed, the major work is the focus of the last two problems of the worksheet disconnected from the supporting work.
Indicator 1d
The amount of content designated for one grade level is viable for one school year in order to foster coherence between grades.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for the amount of content designated for one grade level being viable for one school year in order to foster coherence between grades. The suggested pacing includes 113 days of lessons (105 lessons total) and another 16 days allowed for assessment, making 129 days of materials. According to the Teacher Guide, page xxxvi, each lesson is expected to last between 60-75 minutes. The online curriculum states to use Fridays as a Flex Day for games and intervention work. With Fridays being included as Flex Days, this curriculum allows for approximately 32.5 weeks of instruction.
Indicator 1e
Materials are consistent with the progressions in the Standards i. Materials develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions in the Standards. If there is content from prior or future grades, that content is clearly identified and related to grade-level work ii. Materials give all students extensive work with grade-level problems iii. Materials relate grade level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the expectation for being consistent with the progressions in the standards. Content from prior grades is not clearly identified or connected to grade-level work, and students are not always given extensive work with grade-level problems.
Material related to prior, grade-level content is not clearly identified or related to grade-level work. The Grade 5 materials have two instances where prior, grade-level content is present and not identified as such. The lessons are taught as if this is the first introduction to the content. Lessons 2-13 and 3-3 focus on 4.OA.A.3, interpreting remainders in problems.
The content does not always meet the full depth of standards. This mainly occurs because of a lack of lessons addressing the full depth. For example, there are four lessons listed for 5.MD.B.2; however, only one lesson actually aligns to the full depth of the standard. Lesson 8-6 has students creating line plots using 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2. The other three lessons only have students creating line plots using 1/2, a Grade 3 standard. Another example is 5.OA.A.1, using parentheses and brackets in equations and expressions. While there are 50 exposures to this standard according to the online tracker, only four of the exposures are Focus lessons. None of those four lessons teaches students how to use parentheses or brackets; they just expect students to be able to use them. There are only two lessons for division, three for multiplication, three sharing multiplication, one for addition, one for subtraction and two sharing addition and subtraction. The other two lessons are not aligned to the standard. When looking at 5.NBT.6, finding whole-number quotients of whole numbers with up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors, there are 110 exposures according to the spiral tracker; however, there are only 13 lessons. Of those, only one lesson includes in-depth work with four-digit dividends with two-digit divisors. (Nine of the 13 lessons are misaligned.)
Everyday Mathematics Grade 5 materials do not provide extensive work with grade-level standards. For example, the instructional materials do not provide extensive work with the following standards:
- 5.NBT.A.1: The spiral tracker lists 9 instances of lessons aligning to this standard, however only five lessons were found to be aligned.
- 5.NBT.A.3- There are nine Focus lessons aligned to this standard.
- 5.NBT.B.4- There are five Focus lessons aligned to this standard.
- 5.NF.A.1: The spiral tracker lists 11 instances of lessons aligning to this standard, however only 6 lessons were found to be aligned and only one of those focuses on subtraction.
- 5.NF.B.5- There are ten Focus lessons aligned to this standard.
- 5.NF.B.7- There are only three Focus lessons aligned to this standard.
- In lessons where prior knowledge is needed, it is not stated that prior knowledge is being used. When future, grade-level concepts are introduced, there is no mention that the concept will be used in future grades. If the teacher uses the spiral trace at the beginning of the lesson or unit, the teacher will know where prior knowledge is used based on the spiral trace. They also tell when the student will use the skill/concept again in the future of that unit. The spiral tracker is listed by lessons and not connecting standards. It does a little better job at the beginning of each unit explaining the spiral trace and what will occur by the end of the unit, but not any further and not connecting to the next standard.
Indicator 1f
Materials foster coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the Standards i. Materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings. ii. Materials include problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain, or two or more domains in a grade, in cases where these connections are natural and important.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 partially meet the expectations for fostering coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and when the standards require. Overall, materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings, but there are missed opportunities to provide problems and activities that connect two or more clusters in a domain or two or more domains when these connections are natural and important.
Instructional materials shaped by cluster headings include the following examples:
- Lesson 2-2, "Exponents and Powers of 10," is shaped by 5.NBT.A.
- Lesson 3-12, "Solving Fraction Number Stories," is shaped by 5.NF.A.
- Lessons 4-8 and 4-9, "Solving Problems on a Coordinate Grid," are shaped by 5.G.A.
- Lesson 6-11, "Division of Decimals by Whole Numbers," is shaped by 5.NBT.B.
While the materials have many instances where two or more domains are connected, often the connections are only surface-level connections. For example, lesson 6-4 shows connections between 5.MD.1 5.MD.2, 5.NF.2 and 5.NF.1 However, the lesson is divided into parts, and the parts only truly address one standard at a time.