1st Grade - Gateway 3

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for providing teacher guidance with useful annotations and suggestions for how to enact the student materials and ancillary materials, with specific attention to engaging students in order to guide their mathematical development. 

Materials provide comprehensive guidance that will assist teachers in presenting the student and ancillary materials. Examples include:

• i-Ready Homepage, Success Central, Preparing for a Unit of Instruction, “Before delivering each unit of instruction, make sure to peruse the unit-level resources in your Teacher’s Guide. Learn about the unit goals by reading the Unit Opener, take note of the vocabulary and language supports, and study the mathematics in the unit by watching the Unit Flow and Progression Video or reading the Math Background pages.” 

  • Program Overview provides the teacher with information on program components and a description about i-Ready classroom Mathematics implementation. 

  • Plan is broken down into Unit, Lesson, and Session. 

  • Teach gives information on practice, and differentiation. 

  • Assess includes support for the diagnostic, reports, and data. 

  • Leadership informs the teacher on getting started, building routines, fostering discussions, making connections, and top leader actions. 

• Program Implementation includes numerous supports such as digital math tools, videos, discourse cards, vocabulary, language routines, graphic organizers, games, correlations with standards and practices, etc.

• Each unit has a Beginning of Unit document that provides the teacher with extensive information on Unit Flow and Progression, Unit Resources, Unit Opener, Unit Prepare For, Unit Overview, Lesson Progression, Prerequisites Report Overview, Professional Development, Understanding Content Across Grades, Language Expectations, Math Background, Cumulative Practice, Yearly Pacing for Prerequisites, and Unit Lesson Support. Examples include:

  • Unit Opener, Self Check, “Take a few minutes to have each student independently read through the list of skills. Ask students to consider each skill and check the box if it is a skill they think they already have. Remind students that these skills are likely to all be new to them and that over time, they will be able to check off more and more skills.”

  • Prerequisites Report Overview, “Diagnostic data generates the Prerequisites report, which helps you identify students’ prerequisite learning needs and provides guidance on how to best integrate prerequisite instruction into your grade-level scope and sequence for the year.” These are specific to current students and classes providing valuable data about entry points for students. Note: Diagnostic assessments are an optional additional purchase.

  • Under the Prepare column, there is a Unit and Lesson Support document that provides multiple On-the-Spot Teaching Tips for each Unit. These tips provide information on what to reinforce from prior learning promoting scaffolding to current content.

Materials include sufficient and useful annotations and suggestions that are presented within the context of the specific learning objectives. Throughout each lesson planning information, there is narrative information to assist the teacher in presenting student materials throughout all phases of the unit and lessons. Examples include:

• Program Implementation, Teaching & Learning Resources, Discourse Cards, provides instruction on how to use the Math Discourse Cards. “These questions and sentence starters provide a way to engage all students in meaningful mathematical conversations. These cards will help students initiate, deepen, and extend conversations with partners, small groups, or the whole class. Each card has two questions or sentence starters on it-one on the front and one on the back. With each question, be sure to have students explain their reasoning for their response.”

• Unit 1, Lesson 5, Solve Word Problems to 10, Session 2, Develop, Apply It, How Did It Change?,”To support children in making sense of each word problem, use the Three Reads routine. Read each word problem aloud to them, one at a time. Remind children to answer the questions: What is the problem about? What are we trying to find out? What is the important information in the problem?”

• Unit 3, Lesson 12, Solve Compare Problems, Session 2, Develop, Discuss It, Support Partner Discussion, “After children have worked independently on Try It, have them respond to Discuss It with a partner. If children need support in getting started, prompt them to ask each other questions such as: What does more mean? How can finding the difference help you solve the problem? Common Misconception If children associate more with addition and fewer with subtraction, then have them use counters to model and solve compare problems. Have them connect their model to each part of the problem and describe what is known and what is unknown. Reinforce that compare problems may be solved with addition or subtraction, so it is important to understand the math action.”

• Unit 6, Lesson 22, Shapes, Session 2, Develop, Discuss It, Select and Sequence Strategies, “One possible order for whole class discussion: Using pattern blocks; Drawing lines inside the outline to show shapes; Drawing shapes to make the characters.”

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for  containing adult-level explanations and examples of the more complex grade-level concepts and concepts beyond the current course so that teachers can improve their own knowledge of the subject. 

The Beginning of Unit section for every unit provides an abundance of information for teachers, including sections to support teachers with adult-level understanding of the content:

• Math Background includes Unit Themes, Prior Knowledge, and Future Learning. In the Math Background, as well as throughout the teacher materials, there are insights on the concepts taught, Common Misconceptions, and Error Alerts to watch for when students are incorrectly applying skills. 

• Lesson Progression links each lesson within the current unit to prior and future lessons so teachers know what students need to know to be successful with the current work as well as what the current work is preparing students for. This is important for a teacher’s complete understanding of how to scaffold and bridge the current content. For example, Unit 2, Lesson 8, Lesson Overview, Teacher Edition, Make a Ten to Add - Full Lesson, Learning Progression:

  • “Previously, in Kindergarten, children learned to compose and decompose numbers to 10, and they gained an understanding of adding and subtracting within 5. Earlier in Grade 1, children extended their understanding of these operations, using a variety of strategies to add and subtract within 10, progressing toward fluency. They also came to understand teen numbers as ‘10 and some more.’”

  • “In this lesson, children learn the strategy of making a ten to add within 20. This builds on their work with combining three addends in the previous lesson. As children decompose one addend and associate one part of it with the other addend to make a ten, they make strategic choices about their decompositions. Children also continue to develop the idea that a teen number is ‘10 and some more,’ helping to reinforce their mental math skills and progress them toward fluency.”

  • “Later, in the next lesson, children build on the strategy of making a ten to use a ten to subtract as they subtract one-digit numbers from teen numbers. Later in Grade 1, making a ten is a useful strategy when working beyond teen numbers to add and subtract one- and two-digit numbers within 100. In Grade 2, children work to become fluent with addition and subtraction within 20.”

• Understanding Content Across Grades provides explanations of instructional practices as well as information about necessary prior knowledge and concepts beyond the current course for teachers to improve their own knowledge of the subject. For example, Unit 3, Beginning of Unit, Understanding Content Across Grades related to Lesson 12, Solve Compare Problems:

  • Prior Knowledge, “Insights on Modeling and Story Problems. Children use a variety of models to make sense of relationships between quantities in story problems. A variety of problem situations can highlight the connection between addition and subtraction. Children engage with familiar problem types explored in kindergarten (including add to, take from, and put together/take apart) as they develop a stronger understanding of the relationship between addition and subtraction. For the first time, children will encounter problems where the unknown number may represent a quantity other than the result. They will solve to find a starting quantity or an amount that has changed.As they begin to explore addition and subtraction in a context, it is important for children to choose the models that work best for them. Watching how a child models a problem with manipulatives can help assess whether they understand the context of the story problem.”

  • Current Lesson, “Insights on: Compare Problems. Children use bar models to model comparison problems. Compare problems introduced in this unit ask children to find the difference between two quantities. This can be a challenging cognitive shift for children who are used to modeling mathematical actions to make sense of problems. Encourage the use of manipulatives and drawings to help make meaning of problems. Bar models help children visualize part/whole relationships in compare problems.”

  • Future Learning, “Insights on: Word Problems. Students focus on the relationship between the numbers in each position. Students develop strategies to help them solve word problems, including using start-change-total models, drawing pictures, and using number lines.Students should be given problems with unknowns in all areas: start, change, and total.Model for students how to closely read and determine what is happening in problems and analyze what is being asked.”

• Each lesson includes a Reteach section with several pages called “Tools for Instruction” that provide explicit teacher guidance related to the current work and to prerequisite skills. These pages include adult explanations, step-by-step guidance for teaching, and check for understanding. For example, Unit 5, Lesson 21, Two-Digit Addition with Regrouping:

  • “There are many ways to add with regrouping that do not use the traditional addition algorithm. Working from an understanding of a ten being the same as 10 ones, children can break apart two-digit numbers into tens and ones and add them separately. Before using the standard algorithm, children should understand that it is sometimes necessary to compose a ten by regrouping 10 ones to add. In turn, they need to recognize when it is necessary to regroup. This understanding will help children later understand the process of decomposing a ten to regroup for subtraction.”

  • “Step by Step: 1) Add 21 and 35. Have the child model both 21 and 35 with base-ten blocks. (followed by 2 more prompts) 2) Make a ten to add two-digit numbers. (followed by 2 prompts) 3) Generalize when regrouping is needed. (followed by 3 prompts) 4) Add 72 and 17. (followed by 3 prompts) 5) Add 51 and 29. (followed by 3 prompts)”

  • “Check for Understanding: Give the child the addition problems below. Ask the child to predict the need to make ten in each problem, explain how to tell, model how to add the numbers, and find each total. 62+9, 45+45, 56+11 For the child who can benefit from additional support, use the table below to help pinpoint where extra help may be needed. If you observe… the child may… Then try…”

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for including standards correlation information that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.

In Program Implementation, correlation information is present for the mathematics standards addressed throughout the grade level using multiple perspectives. For example: 

• The Correlations document for Content Focus in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) describes lesson correlation to the CCSSM through multiple lenses. The document identifies the major and supporting areas of focus within the CCSSM, and corresponding lessons that address those standards. Additionally, a table is provided that correlates each lesson with the standards addressed, designating standards as “Focus”, “Developing”, or “Applied” within each lesson. 

• The Correlations Document also identifies the Standards of Mathematical Practice that are included in each lesson; one table is organized by MP, another is organized by lesson. 

• The Unit Review Correlation identifies the associated standard and lesson to each problem within the Unit Review, along with their Depth of Knowledge level. 

• Digital Resource Correlations, Comprehension Check Correlations, and Cumulative Practice Correlations identify the lesson and a statement of the part of the standard it aligns to. 

• The WIDA PRIME V2 correlates the WIDA Standards Framework to examples in the material with descriptions of how they connect. 

• The English Language Arts Correlations provides a table that offers evidence of how the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts are supported in every lesson and unit of the i-Ready Classroom Mathematics material.

In Beginning of Unit for each unit, there are numerous documents provided that contain explanations of the role of the specific grade-level mathematics in the context of the series. For example: 

• The Lesson Progression provides a flow chart delineating how each standard in the current lesson builds upon the previous grade levels and connects to future grade levels. This is developed in detail with examples in the Understanding Content Across Grades document. 

• There is a Unit Flow and Progression video for teachers that provides background about the content covered in the unit. 

• The Unit and Lesson Support document provides descriptions of the purpose and unit themes in each unit. For example, Unit 2, Beginning of Unit, Unit Opener, the opening narrative provides the content of the unit, “Purpose This unit introduces children to addition and subtraction within 20. Children preview the skills they will be learning in this unit and assess what they know and do not know about these skills. Children record their progress after completing each lesson and then reflect on their learning at the end of the unit. Unit Themes The major themes of the unit are: Ten is an important number. Teen numbers are made up of a ten and some ones. You can break apart numbers and put them together in different ways to help you add and subtract. You can use what you know about adding and subtracting up to 10 to add and subtract up to 20.”

• In every teacher's Lesson Overview, the Learning Progression identifies how the standard is addressed in earlier grades, in the current lesson, next lesson, and in the next grade level. For example, Unit 4, Lesson 17, Overview, Learning Progression, “In Kindergarten, children used matching and counting strategies to compare physical groups of objects. They also used the counting sequence understanding that each number you count is one more to compare numbers up to 10. In Grade 1, children have learned that two-digit numbers are comprised of tens and ones. They expanded their understanding of the counting sequence to include understanding that when the ones digit counts past 9, the tens digit increases by 1. In this lesson, children will use this expanded understanding of the counting sequence to arrange physical objects into groups of tens and ones and then compare the tens and ones of two-digit numbers, identifying which number comes earlier or later in the counting sequence. They will model numbers using base-ten blocks and learn the comparison symbols > and <. They will build on this understanding to compare numbers alone using the place value of the digits in the number.”

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for providing explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies.

There are thorough explanations of the instructional approaches of the program. These are easily found under Program Implementation and in Classroom Central. For example:

• Program Implementation, Try-Discuss-Connect Routine Resources, is embedded throughout the program. “i-Ready Classroom Mathematics empowers all students to own their learning through a discourse-based instructional routine. Lessons are divided into Explore, Develop, and Refine sessions and are taught over the course of a week. In Explore and Develop sessions teachers facilitate mathematical discourse through a Try-Discuss-Connect instructional routine.” In i-Ready Classroom Central, videos model the six steps of the Try-Discuss-Connect routine as well as an Exit Ticket.

• Program Implementation, User Guide, Protocols for Engagement, describes multiple protocols and identifies the traits each protocol validates to help all students “feel accepted and included. Protocols provide structure for activities so that all students have a chance to think, talk, and participate equally in classroom activities. Each protocol incorporates modes of communication common to one or more cultures and leverages those behaviors for a particular instructional purpose.” For example, “Stand and Share: Students stand when they have something to share with the class. Validates: spontaneity, movement, subjectively, connectedness.” Protocols can be found in the Lesson Overview section of the Teacher Guide.

• i-Ready Homepage, Success Central, Building Community, Promote Collaborative Learning, has resources such as using Lesson 0 to introduce the Try-Discuss-Connect Routine and language routines, questions to support discourse, videos about sharing math ideas, ideas for promoting mathematical practices and creating a positive mindset. 

• i-Ready Homepage, Success Central, has a link in the upper right under the search box called Explore all Resources that has all of the additional resources organized in a list of links by category that provide abundant information, including a section called Program Overview.

Materials include relevant research sources. In Program Implementation, Supporting Research, “i-Ready Classroom Mathematics is built on research from a variety of federal initiatives, national mathematics organizations, and experts in mathematics.” A table describes 16 concepts that are embedded in the program with examples of how and where each is used, an excerpt from the research that supports it, as well as an extensive reference list. Examples include: 

• “The Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) Model is a three-part instructional model that enhances students’ mathematical learning.” This model is built into all i-Ready Classroom Mathematics lessons in the Try It, Discuss It, Connect It, and Hands-On Activities. “Using and connecting representations leads students to deeper understanding. Different representations, including concrete models, pictures, words, and numbers, should be introduced, discussed, and connected to support students in explaining their thinking and reasoning.” (Clements and Sarama, 2014)

• “Collaborative learning (partner or small group) encourages students to present and defend their ideas, make sense of and critique the ideas of others, and refine and amend their approaches.” Lessons provide multiple opportunities for collaborative learning during Discuss It and Pair/Share. “Research tells us that when students work collaboratively, which also gives them opportunities to see and understand mathematics connections, equitable outcomes result.” (Boaler, 2016)

• “An instructional framework supports students in achieving mathematical proficiency and rigor within a collaborative structure to develop a greater understanding of how to reason mathematically.” The Try-Discuss-Connect instructional framework is foundational in this program. “Instructional routines are situated in the learning opportunity itself, providing students with a predictable frame for engaging with the content…”  (Kelemanik, Lucenta, & Creighton, 2016)

• Program Implementation, User Guide, Routines that Empower Students identifies 9 research-based language routines. Each routine includes the purpose, the process, and which part of the Try-Discuss-Connect Routine it can be used with. For example, Say It Another Way is used with Try It, “Why: This routine helps students paraphrase a word problem or text so they know if they have understood it. It provides an opportunity to self-correct or to ask for clarification and ensures that the class hears the problem or story more than once and in more than one way.”

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for providing a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities. 

The Lesson Overview for the teacher provides a Materials Required column for each lesson on the Pacing Guide; additional materials are listed in the Differentiation column. Any materials that need to be printed are also provided in the Overview, such as two-color counters or spinners. For example:

• Unit 1, Lesson 3, Session 2, “Materials tab: Spinners (1 per pair), Number Cards Deck (1 set per pair), Numbers 1-3 on Spinner Cards (1 per pair), Number Path 1 to 10 workmat (1 per child), and presentation slides. Differentiation (only noted in the differentiation section): for each pair:  connecting cubes (50 each of two different colors), Number Cards Deck (numbers 1 to 7, 1 set), and Number Path 1 to 10 workmat (1 per child).”

Under Program Implementation, a Manipulatives List provides a document identifying manipulatives needed for each lesson K-8. For example: 

• Manipulative List, Unit 6, Lesson 26, Base-ten blocks: units (50 per small group) and 1-inch foam color tiles (20 per small group). 

Program Implementation also includes digital math tools, discourse cards and cubes, activity sheets, data sets, and graphic organizers.

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for having assessment information included in the materials to indicate which standards are assessed.

In the Teacher Toolbox, each lesson includes Assess which provides Lesson Quizzes, and Unit Assessments. Lesson Quizzes, Teacher Guide lists information correlated to each problem: tested skills, content standards, mathematical practice standards, DOK levels, error alerts, problem notes, Short Response Scoring Rubric with points and corresponding expectations, and worked-out problems. For example:

• Unit 5, Lesson 21, Lesson Quiz, Problem 1, “DOK 2,  SMP 5, 1.NBT.C.4.”

Assess, End of Unit, Unit Assessments, Teacher Guide, Forms A and B are provided and include the content item with a solution. Form A includes Problem Notes, worked-out problems, DOK levels, content standards, Scoring Guide, Scoring Rubrics, and Responding to Student Needs. Form B appears to parallel all of the correlations provided for Form A, though it is not labeled. It is noted in the Scoring Guide, “For the problems in the Unit 6 Unit Assessments (Forms A and B), the table shows: depth of knowledge (DOK) level, points for scoring, standard addressed, and lesson assessed by each problem.” For example:

• Unit 2, End of Unit, Assess, Unit Assessment - Form A, Problem Notes, Problem 7, “DOK 1,  SMP 7, 1.OA.C.6.”

• Unit 6, End of Unit, Assess, Unit Assessment - Form A, Problem Notes, Problem 5, “DOK 2,  SMP 8,  1.MD.A.1.”

Digital Comprehension Checks “...can be given as an alternative to the print Unit Assessment. For this comprehension check, the table below provides the Depth of Knowledge (DOK), standard(s) assessed, and the corresponding lesson assessed by each problem.” For example:

• Program Implementation, Comprehension Check Correlations, Unit 3 Comprehension Check Correlation Guide, Problem 4, “DOK 2, 1.OA.A.1, SMP 4.”

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for including an assessment system that 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.

The assessment system provides opportunities to determine students’ learning that include teacher support for interpreting student performance in the Problem Notes and Rubrics provided, though the rubrics are generic rather than specific to the lesson. Examples include:

• Problem Notes for each problem in the Lesson Quizzes and Form A of the Unit Assessment provide guidance on steps to solve the problem and what students may have done incorrectly. For example:

  • Unit 1, Lesson 5, Assess, Lesson Quiz, Problem 1, “Solutions: 4 crayons; Children may count on to solve the problem. 2 crayons is not correct. Children may have chosen the given addend. 10 crayons is not correct. Children may have found the sum of the given numbers instead of finding the difference.”

  • Unit 3, Lesson 11, Lesson Quiz, Problem 3, “A cook has 7 brown eggs and 9 white eggs. How many eggs does the cook have?” Short Response Scoring Rubric: 2 points - Response includes a correct solution, 1 point - Response includes an incorrect solution but shows some understanding of the concept, 0 points - Response includes an incorrect solution and shows no understanding of the concept.

  • Unit 4, End of Unit, Assess, Unit Assessment, Form A, Problem 2, “There are 77 purple buttons. Children may use a 120 chart, cubes, or mental math to find 10 more than 67.”

  • Unit Assessments contain the Short Response Scoring Rubric and a rubric for Fill-in-the-Blank/Multiple Select/Choice Matrix. 

  • Lesson Quizzes contain Short Response Scoring Rubric. The Short Response Scoring Rubric: 2 points if the “Response includes a correct solution.” 1 point for “Response includes an incorrect solution but shows some understanding of the concept.” 0 points if the “Response includes an incorrect solution and shows no understanding of the concept.”

The Lesson Quizzes and Unit Assessments provide guidance to teachers to follow-up with students although there is no follow-up guidance for the Comprehension Checks. The follow up suggestions reference previous work rather than new material. For example:

• Unit 4, Lesson 12, Assess, Lesson Quiz provides three resources from Teacher Toolbox to reteach, reinforce, and extend the concepts as needed after the assessment: Reteach, Reinforce, and Extend. Implementation Guide, Program Overview, Differentiation, “Reteach: Tools for Instruction provide targeted teacher-led activities to support prerequisite or on-level skills. Reinforce: Learning Activities provide leveled small group collaborative games to reinforce concepts and skills. Extend: Enrichment Activities provide additional challenges through group collaborative activities.”

• Unit 6, End of Unit, Assess, Unit Assessment, Form A, provides a section called Responding to Student Needs. This section directs teachers back to the relevant lessons for review and where teachers can access the Reteach and Extend options. “For students who answer problems incorrectly on the Unit Assessment, choose from the following resources on the Teacher Toolbox for additional support. Reteach Tools for Instruction, Making Shapes (Lesson 23), Making Equal Shares (Lesson 23), Telling Time to the Hour and Half Hour (Lesson 24), Order By Length (Lesson 25), Measuring Length (Lesson 26). For students who exceed proficiency on the Unit Assessment, choose from the following activities on the Teacher Toolbox. Extend Enrichment Activities Building Shapes (Lesson 22), Sandwich Cuts (Lesson 23), Daily Routine (Lesson 24), Longest and Shortest Scavenger Hunt (Lesson 25), The Long and Short of It (Lesson 26).”

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for providing assessments that include opportunities for students to demonstrate the full intent of grade-level standards and practices across the series. 

There are formative and summative assessments provided as PDFs as well as comparable assessments provided online. Lesson Quizzes and Unit Assessments provided include a variety of item types for students to demonstrate grade-level expectations. For example:

• Fill-in-the-blank

• Multiple select

• Matching

• Graphing

• Constructed response (short and extended responses)

• Technology-enhanced items, e.g., drag and drop, drop-down menus, matching 

Throughout the lessons, there are opportunities to demonstrate critical thinking, develop arguments, or apply learning in a performance task, though these are not typically on the assessments.

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for providing strategies and supports for students in special populations to support their regular and active participation in learning grade-level mathematics.

Materials regularly provide strategies, supports, and resources for students in special populations to help them access grade-level mathematics. i-Ready Success Central provides many suggestions and examples for how to accommodate and support special populations. Lessons have sections called Group & Differentiate to help special populations. Lesson quizzes have suggestions for reteaching. Examples of supports for special populations include:

• i-Ready Homepage, Success Central, Plan & Teach, Differentiate provides information to support the teacher in planning for all special populations.  Personalized Instruction provides resources for students who have taken the Diagnostic and will have access to online learning and instructional paths tailored to their individual needs to reinforce prerequisite skills and build grade-level skills. Support Small Group Instruction, “Every student can excel in mathematics with the right supports. Check out the resources below to help you plan for, organize, and facilitate small groups so you can meet the various needs of your students.” Support All Learners, “Every student can excel in mathematics with the right supports. Use the resources on this page to find ideas and strategies for adapting your instruction to meet the unique needs and learning styles of all students.” There are several links to documents to support teachers. For example:

  • Supporting Students' Needs – Reference Sheet, provides information regarding “Optional built-in supports embedded in i-Ready Classroom Mathematics that educators can choose from to best meet the needs of their students. These resources can be used to: Scaffold instruction by breaking learning experiences into smaller parts to help students reach higher levels of comprehension and skills acquisition with temporary supports along the way Differentiate instruction to meet individual students’ needs by modifying content, altering the delivery method, and/or providing alternate learning tasks.”

  • Tools for Accessible Instruction – Reference Sheet “Highlights i-Ready Classroom Mathematics supplemental tools and examples of student supports that can be used throughout a lesson and session. Examples of student supports may have some overlap with a student’s IEP/504 plan but should not supersede or contradict it, and they may be useful for students regardless of whether or not they have an IEP/504 plan in place.” For example, during Try It, a suggested support is, “Offer multiple means of representation, engagement, and action and expression such as: highlight important numbers, words, and phrases; Invite volunteers to act out the problem for the class; Offer options for how students express their ideas.” During Discuss It, “Use hand signals to agree, disagree, or share an idea.”

• In Refine, the last session of each lesson, the teacher’s edition provides suggestions to Group & Differentiate, “Identify groupings for differentiation based on the Start and problems 1-3. A recommended sequence of activities for each group is suggested below. Use the resources on the next page to differentiate and close the lesson.” Resources are suggested for groups Approaching Proficiency, Meeting Proficiency, and Extending Beyond Proficiency. 

• At the end of the Lesson Quiz in the teacher’s edition, there is a section for differentiation that provides suggestions for Reteach (Tools for Instruction), Reinforce (Math Center Activity), and Extend (Enrichment Activity). Program Implementation, Program Overview, Differentiation, Reteach, “Tools for instruction are mini-lessons for reteaching lesson concepts.” Reinforce, “Learning Games offer fun, challenging, and personalized practice and help students develop a growth mindset.” Extend, “Enrichment Activities Challenge students with higher-order thinking tasks.”

• i-Ready Homepage, Success Central, Plan & Teach, Differentiate, Accessibility and Accommodations, Create Accessible Experiences with Your Program, Start here, Accessibility and Accommodations Update, “To make i-Ready Classroom Mathematics accessible to the widest population of students, we offer a range of accessibility supports that may also meet the requirements of a number of student accommodations.” The table provided lists the Universal Supports, Designated Supports, and Accommodations that are both embedded and not embedded in the program. For example, embedded supports include audio support, closed captioning, calculator, zoom in/out, highlighting, and more. Available non-embedded supports include Native language translation of directions, noise buffer, alternate response options, scribe, and more.

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for providing extensions and/or opportunities for students to engage with grade-level mathematics at higher levels of complexity. 

Materials do not require advanced students to do more assignments than their classmates. Instead, students have opportunities to think differently about learning with alternative questioning, or extension activities. Specific recommendations are routinely highlighted as Teacher Notes within parts of each lesson, as noted in the following examples:

• Each lesson has an Extend: Enrichment Activities column that provides an additional challenge task. For example, Unit 5, Lesson 19, Extend, Reach the Target, students are provided with a challenge situation. “Choose pairs of numbers from the list that add to 63. [A list of 13 two-digit numbers follows] What strategy did you use to find the addition pairs? Choose a two-digit target number. Use the digits 0 to 6 to make a pair of two-digit numbers that add to your target number. Use each digit only once for your pair of numbers.”

• In Explore and Develop sessions in each lesson, the materials contain Differentiation: Extend Deepen Understanding or Challenge for the lesson’s key concepts through the use of discourse with students. For example, Unit 3, Lesson 12, Solve Compare Problems, Session 2, Develop, Centers, Differentiation, and Practice, Extend, “Use with children who have demonstrated ability to find how many more or how many fewer one group has than another. Materials: Number Cards Deck, numbers 1 to 10 (1 set per pair) Arrange children in pairs. Have them mix the cards and place them face down in a pile. Have each child turn over a number card. Ask children to use the two numbers to make up a word problem to find how many more or how many fewer. Then have them each show two different ways to solve. Have children discuss what is the same and different about their models or strategies. Ask which way they liked better for solving the problem.”

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for providing strategies and support for students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English to regularly participate in learning grade-level mathematics. 

Guidance is consistently provided for teachers to support students who read, write, and/or speak in a language other than English, providing scaffolds for them to meet or exceed grade-level standards. For example: 

• i-Ready Homepage, Success Central, Plan & Teach, Differentiate, Support All Learners, Supports for English Learners – Reference Sheet explains where to find and how to use all of the supports built into the Teacher Guide for every lesson to “address the strengths and needs of ELs” such as, Build Your Vocabulary, Connect Language Development to Mathematics, Language Objectives, Connect to Community and Cultural Responsiveness, and Connect to Language Development.

• Program Implementation, Program Overview, Integrate Language and Mathematics shows where teachers can access tips for targeted support using Language Routines in the Teacher Guide for every lesson.

• Program Implementation, Program Overview, Language Development and Discourse Support provides “support at the word/phrase, sentence, and discourse levels so that all students can engage in rigorous mathematics and communicate effectively.”

• Program Implementation, User Guide, Resources for Language Development describes nine features that are embedded in the teacher materials to “build academic language of all students, especially English learners. These supports help students learn how to communicate effectively across the language domains.”

• Program Implementation, User Guide, Routines that Empower Students provides nine language routines. “While these routines support English learners, they are designed to be used by all students as they access mathematical concepts and their growing mathematical understanding.” Three routines, in particular, are differentiated for English Learners: Act it Out, Co-Constructed Word Banks, and Stronger and Clearer Each Time. 

• Program Implementation, User Guide, Support for Academic Discourse describes “a variety of ways to support students in communicating with academic and math-specific vocabulary and language.”

• Program Implementation, Discourse Cards provide sentence starters and questions to help students engage in conversations with their partners, small groups or the whole class such as “Did anyone get a different answer?; What would you add to what was said?”

• All classroom materials are available in Spanish.

• Program Implementation, Multilingual Glossary is available in Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese. There is a Bilingual glossary in the student textbook that includes mathematics vocabulary in English and Spanish.

• Beginning of Unit, Connect Language Development to Mathematics, Language Expectations for Differentiation is a chart that “shows examples of what English Learners at different levels of English language proficiency can do in connection with one of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) addressed in this unit. As you plan for this unit, use these examples of language expectations to help you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of English Learners.”

• Beginning of Unit, Build Academic Vocabulary includes a chart of academic words for the units paired with their Spanish cognates. There are three routines provided in Professional Development to support vocabulary development: Math Vocabulary, Academic Vocabulary, and Cognate Support. 

• Each lesson in Lesson Overview, Teacher Guide’s Full Lesson, includes Language Objectives, Connect to Culture, and Connect to Language. 

• Session 1 of every lesson uses graphic organizers to help students access prior knowledge and vocabulary they will develop in the lesson. Support for Academic language is used during the “Try-Discuss-Connect Language” routines in each lesson. 

• All sessions throughout the lesson embed support including references back to previously listed items.

The materials reviewed for i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 1 meet expectations for providing manipulatives, both virtual and physical, that are accurate representations of the mathematical objects they represent and, when appropriate, are connected to written methods.

Students have access to both virtual and physical manipulatives throughout the program. For example:

• Program Implementation, Digital Math Tools, are available for students. These tools include Counters and Connecting Cubes, Base-Ten Blocks, Number Line, Multiplication Models, Perimeter and Area, and Fraction Models. Also in Program Implementation, support videos are available for each of the digital tools, explaining how they may be used and their functions. 

• Program Implementation, Manipulative List, Manipulative Kits, includes Base-Ten Rods, Base-Ten nits, Number Cubes, Pattern Blocks, Two-Color Counters, GeoSolids, Unilink Cubes, Assorted Buttons, Color Tiles, Transparent Counters, 0-12 Number Cards, Dice.

• Program Implementation, Manipulative List by Lesson has specific manipulatives listed for each lesson. For example, Unit 4, Lesson 11: Two-color counters, Bear counters, Number Cards Deck (set of numbers 6 to 10). There is also a Manipulative Suggestions for At-Home Use document that provides ideas for using items commonly found at home or easily created that could be used in place of the actual manipulative (e.g. Bear Counters could be replaced with Any item to count (e.g., marbles, buttons, pasta, etc.). 

• Program Implementation, Activity Sheet Resources, K-5 Activity Sheet Resources includes a 178-page document full of visual models such as number lines, graphs, grid paper, graphic organizers, etc. 

Program Implementation, Try-Discuss-Connect Routine Resources, Understanding the Try-Discuss- Connect Instructional Routine, the foundational Try-Discuss-Connect routine is designed to “help children achieve greater mathematical agency by encouraging proficiency and rigor within a collaborative structure. Children develop greater understanding of mathematical representations and solution strategies using think time, partner talk, individual writing, and whole-class discourse. Language routines and teacher moves are built into the Try-Discuss-Connect framework to guide teachers and children in this discourse-based instruction.” For example: 

• Try It “begins with one of the five language routines that guide children in making sense of the problem. The Try It section continues as children apply what they learned in the Make Sense of the Problem to represent the situation and begin solving it.” Discuss It “begins when children work in pairs to share their thinking. With a partner, they analyze their representations and strategies, and they reason quantitatively and abstractly about the problem situation.” During the Connect It section, “Teachers and children connect representations and strategies using a combination of individual work time and partner and whole-class discourse. The second part of Connect It, children apply their understanding from the discussion and Connect It questions to new situations.”

• “Tip: Have multiple students share answers orally while writing key words or phrases on the board. Have students use these key words and phrases in their responses to support language production.”

• “Tip: Encourage students to represent and solve problems in more than one way to build flexibility in their thinking.”

The Try-Discuss-Connect routine also integrates the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) model, for example:

• Try It, “Children analyze the problem in a very focused way to help them begin to develop concrete situations.”

• Discuss It, “Children who use concrete approaches begin to make connections to representational or abstract approaches as they engage in partner discussions.”

• Connect It, “Through the Connect It questions, children connect concrete and representational approaches to more abstract understanding as they formalize their connections.”