1st Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet expectations that they are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence for the three-dimensional learning in the instructional materials.

In Grade 1, materials provide three-dimensional lesson objectives tied to performance expectations. Each lesson includes a Lesson Objective stating what students will do in the subsequent explorations. The lesson objectives are supported by the Making 3D Connections feature, which names which performance expectations the lesson is building to and the elements of the three-dimensions that students are supposed to be engaged in. The exception is Unit 1, which only includes engineering performance expectations and does not include DCIs from life, physical, or earth and space science.

Each lesson includes multiple opportunities for formative assessment. The assessments, however, do not consistently reveal student knowledge of all of the elements of the lesson objectives. There is a Making Sense question at the end of each hands-on exploration that asks students to connect the exploration content to the publisher identified phenomenon or science concept presented at the start of the lesson. This question is most often connected to a DCI. The Can You Explain It? question usually mirrors the question found in the Making Sense section. The remaining explorations also include Apply What You Know formative assessments that typically address a DCI. At the end of the lesson, the materials provide the Self Check quiz. This quiz consists of three-four multiple choice, matching, or fill-in-the-blank questions. These questions are most often assessing student knowledge of one dimension, typically a DCI or a portion of an SEP. The materials miss several opportunities to assess student understanding of SEPs and CCCs.

The materials inconsistently incorporate tasks for purposes of supporting the instructional process. They provide suggested responses or scoring guidelines, but only provide support for adjusting instruction for the hands-on explorations. 

Examples of lessons that have three-dimensional learning objectives, formative assessment tasks do not assess student knowledge of all (three) dimensions in the learning objective, and provide limited guidance to support the instructional process:

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1: All About Light, the three-dimensional lesson objective is “Children can make observations to explain how objects can be seen if the objects give off their own light or if a light source shines on them,” and is associated with performance expectation 1-PS4-2. Formative assessment is embedded in the Making Sense, Can You Explain It?, Apply What you Know, and Self Check portions of the learning sequence. In the Making Sense and Can You Explain It? assessments, students use observations to make claims that glow sticks can be seen in the dark because they emit their own light and that objects in a shoebox need light to be seen (DCI-PS4.B-P1, SEP-CEDS-P1). The materials miss the opportunity to assess CCC-CE-P1. While the materials provide remediation guidance for hand-on explorations, the other formative assessments only include sample answers and scoring guidelines.

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3: All About Sound, the three-dimensional lesson objective is “Children can provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can cause materials to vibrate. Children can design a way to use sound to communicate over a distance,” and is associated with performance expectations 1-PS4-1 and 1-PS4-4. Formative assessment is embedded in the Making Sense, Can You Explain It?, Apply What you Know, and Self Check portions of the learning sequence. In the Making Sense and Can You Explain It? assessments, students explain what causes confetti to move on a speaker (DCI-PS4.A-P1, SEP-CEDS-P1). In an Apply What You Know assessment, students test how to make different sounds (CCC-CE-P1) and the Self Check asks students to define requirements for a communication device (DCI-PS4.A-P1). The materials miss the opportunity to assess SEP-AQDP-P3. While the materials provide remediation guidance for hand-on explorations, the other formative assessments only include sample answers and scoring guidelines.

• In Grade 1, Unit 3, Lesson 1: Parts Help Plants Live, the three-dimensional objective is “Children can design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants use their parts to survive and grow,” and is associated with the performance expectation 1-LS1-1. Formative assessment is embedded in the Making Sense, Can You Explain It?, Apply What You Know, and Self Check portions of the learning sequence. In an Apply What You Know assessment, students measure a plant stem and explain how its height might help the plant (CCC-SF-P1). In the Lesson Check, students answer multiple choice questions about how plant parts can help the plant survive (DCI-LS1.A-P1). The materials miss the opportunity to assess SEP-CEDS-P1. While the materials provide remediation guidance for hand-on explorations, the other formative assessments only include sample answers and scoring guidelines.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems are presented to students as directly as possible.

Grade 1 materials present phenomena and/or problems to students as directly as possible in multiple instances but not consistently across the grade level. In multiple instances, the materials provide students with access to the phenomena that leads to a shared common experience and a robust entry point into the phenomena. The materials present the phenomena as a video or image that is accompanied by narration. The lessons that include a video presentation of the phenomenon more often present the phenomenon or problem as directly as possible to the students. In general, phenomena are not presented to students as directly as possible when a change over time or motion is an element of the phenomenon. No instances are present where students engage with the phenomena first hand. Several phenomena and problems require students to have specific background knowledge in order to make connections and understand what phenomenon is being presented. 

Examples of phenomena and problems that are presented to students as directly as possible, providing a common experience of the process(es) and a robust entry point:

• In Grade 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: Engineer It, the problem is that a child's headphones keep getting tangled in her pocket. Students view a video of a child taking headphones out of her pocket and struggling to untangle them. The narration states that Mia has a problem every time she takes her headphones out of her pocket. 

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Exploration 2: Make Observations in Different Light, the phenomenon is that in a cave with light it is easier to see things than a cave in darkness. Students view a picture of a cave in the light and dark, and listen to narration describing the conditions in each cave. There is a clear differentiation between what can be seen in a light or dark cave. 

• In Grade 1, Unit 3, Lesson 2, Exploration 2: Compare Parts, the phenomenon is that the young sunflowers look similar and different from parent sunflowers. The phenomenon is presented as two images of a young sunflower and an adult sunflower. Students can clearly see the difference between the two aged sunflowers, and classrooms may not have access to physical sunflowers. Even if students are unfamiliar with sunflowers it is clear to observe that two types of plants pictured are the same flower. 

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2: Animals and Their Parents, the phenomenon is that a parent dog and its puppies don’t look the same. Students observe a photograph and watch a video of a parent dog with its puppies. The video is accompanied with narration pointing out the different colors of the puppies. Students can clearly see that the dogs are of the same type but are not identical to each other. 

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Exploration 2: Match the Animals, the phenomenon is a pond full of koi fish look different. Students observe a photo of a pond with koi fish that all look different with a narration explaining that the fish are all the same type, but appear different.

Examples of phenomena and problems that are not presented to students as directly as possible:

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: Watch it Glow, the phenomenon is that glow stickers can be seen in a dark room. Students view both a picture of a room with star stickers on the wall and an image of a teacher holding glow sticks. In both cases, it is unclear that the objects are emitting their own light. Studentsare unable to experience how objects that emit light in the dark are different from objects that do not. There is a missed opportunity for the presentation of this phenomenon to provide a common experience of this process and a robust entry point.

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3, Exploration 2: Make Something Move with Sound, the phenomenon is that the water in a bowl on a speaker moves when music is played through the speaker. Students observe a photograph of a bowl of water on top of a speaker. In the image, it is not clear the water is moving. There is a missed opportunity for the presentation of this phenomenon to provide a common experience of this process and a robust entry point.

• In Grade 1, Unit 5, Lesson 1, Exploration 2: Trace a Shadow, the phenomenon is that the sun seems to move in the daytime sky. Students view an image of a child observing a pencil’s shadow on a bright day, with narration that prompts students to ask a question about how the sun seems to move in the daytime sky. The single image does not demonstrate how the sun appears to move. There is a missed opportunity for the presentation of this phenomenon to provide a common experience of this process and a robust entry point.

• In Grade 1, Unit 5, Lesson 2: Patterns of Daylight, the phenomenon is that the sun shines longer in the summer than it does in the winter. Students view two images, one of a family eating when it’s light outside and one of a family eating when it’s dark outside. It is not clear from the images that the sun sets earlier in autumn/winter than it does in spring/summer. There is a missed opportunity for the presentation of this phenomenon to provide a common experience of this process and a robust entry point.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems drive individual lessons or activities using key elements of all three dimensions.

The materials provide multiple explorations or activities within the grade that use phenomena and problems to drive student learning that use elements from the three dimensions. In some of the explorations, the phenomena is used instructionally as a tool to engage students and to pique their interest, but does not ultimately drive student learning. Instead, student acquisition of science content is the focus of learning in these explorations rather than students working to understand the presented phenomena. The explorations often open with the phenomenon but the phenomenon is not discussed throughout the exploration until the end when students revisit the phenomenon or question. As a result, students are not engaged in figuring out the phenomenon through their work. 

While many explorations are not driven by a phenomenon, many do incorporate all three dimensions. In instances where the exploration or activity does not incorporate all three dimensions, the crosscutting concept is frequently missing. Across all disciplines, the crosscutting concept most often present is patterns. Science and engineering practices are frequently found throughout the explorations or activities. Most commonly, students are engaged with the practices of analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations, and designing solutions.

Examples of explorations or activities that use a phenomenon or a problem to drive student learning and engage students with all three dimensions:

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3, Exploration 2: Make Something Move with Sound, the phenomenon is that water in a bowl on a speaker vibrates while sound is playing. Students put cereal on plastic wrap stretched over the opening of a metal can. Students then plan and implement a simple experiment to use a pot and spoon to make sound, and cause the can to vibrate and the cereal to move (DCI-PS4.A-P1, SEP-INV-P1). Students record their observations (SEP-DATA-P1). Students make a claim based on their evidence to explain what causes the cereal to vibrate (CCC-CE-P2, SEP-CEDS-P1). 

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 3, Exploration 2: Compare Animal Parents, the phenomenon is baby birds chirping as a parent bird feeds them. Students research the behaviors of organisms to determine the cause of the behavior and its corresponding effect. Students make sense of how parents' behavior can help young survive (DCI-LS1.B-P1). Students draw/write (SEP-DATA-P1) the causes and behaviors of organisms and their young (CCC-CE-P1). Using this data, the students make a claim about how the behaviors of young and parent animals help the young survive (SEP-CEDS-P1).

• In Grade 1, Unit 5, Lesson 2, Exploration 2: Observe Patterns of Sunrise and Sunset, the phenomenon is that the sun sets at different times in summer and winter. In the exploration, students choose a date and its season and find out what time the sun rises and sets on that day. They repeat this for each season and determine how many hours of daylight there are in each day. Students compare the hours of daylight in each season. Students make sense of seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset (DCI-ESS1.B-P1). Students collect data about when the sun rises and sets for a day in each season, then they calculate how many hours of daylight there are in each day and use their data to make observations (SEP-INV-P4, SEP-DATA-P1, SEP-DATA-P3, and SEP-MATH-P2), and finally they describe any patterns they observe (CCC-PAT-P1).

Examples of explorations or activities that do not use a phenomenon or problem to drive student learning:

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 2, Exploration 1: Reflect Light, the phenomenon is that a glass handle produces rainbow colored light on the wall; however, the phenomenon does not drive learning. Instead, the focus of the exploration is the science topic that a mirror can change the direction of light. Students perform an investigation using a mirror and a flashlight to change the direction of light. Students record drawings of their observations and make a claim that a mirror surface causes light to move in a new direction. 

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 1, Exploration 1: Observe Animal Parts, a phenomenon or problem does not drive instruction. Instead, student learning is focused by the concept that animals have body parts that serve specific purposes. Students make observations of a variety of animals and use a table to record what different parts help them see, move, hear, eat, etc. Students then describe how animals use their body parts to meet their needs and how the shape of body parts help animals meet their needs. 

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 3, Exploration 1: Describe How Animals Help Young, the phenomenon is that a koala carries its young on its back. The phenomenon presented does not drive the learning. Instead, the focus of the exploration is the science concept that animal parents help their young. Students observe the koala picture and ask a question, look at images of other animals helping their young, and share their findings with their classmates. Finally, students draw a picture of how different animals help their young and make a claim about how parent animals help their young. 

Example of an exploration or activity that uses a problem to drive student learning but does not engage students with all three dimensions:

• In Grade 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Exploration 1, Explore a Problem, the problem is that a child's headphones keep getting tangled in her pocket.. Students are presented with a problem, multiple headphones are tangled up. They draw a model for a potential solution to this problem (SEP-MOD-P3) and then build their solution to the problem. There is a missed opportunity to incorporate a CCC or a DCI from life, physical, or earth and space science.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet expectations that they intentionally leverage students’ prior knowledge and experience related to phenomena or problems.

The Grade 1 materials consistently provide opportunities for teachers to elicit students’ prior knowledge and experience of phenomena and problems. Phenomena and problems are present at both the learning sequence level, called Lessons, and the learning opportunity level, called Explorations. Phenomena and problems introduced at the lesson level include a question called a TELL Prompt in the Culturally Responsive Education portion of the teacher notes. The TELL Prompt typically asks students for their prior knowledge or experience related to the phenomenon or problem and provides possible student responses for the teacher. When phenomena are present in explorations, the teacher notes sometimes include an Everyday Phenomenon. This provides an alternate phenomenon for teachers to describe to students, along with questions for students to make connections to the alternate phenomenon. In some cases these prompts are clearly connected to the phenomenon for the Exploration and in others they only connect to the alternate phenomenon.

While the materials consistently elicit students’ prior knowledge and experiences related to phenomena and problems, they miss the opportunity to leverage those ideas and experience in student learning. The Culturally Responsive Education portion of the teacher notes in each lesson includes generic guidance for the teacher to “use what you learn from children’s responses to help them connect new academic concepts,” but student responses to the TELL prompt are not recorded, returned to later in the sequence, or explicitly incorporated into the sequence.

Examples where the materials elicit but do not leverage students’ prior knowledge and experience related to phenomena and problems:

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1: All About Light, the phenomenon is that glow in the dark jewelry is easy to see in the dark, but children are not. The TELL Prompt asks students to describe what they know about things that are easy and difficult to see in the dark. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the lesson.

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3: All About Sound, the phenomenon is that confetti on a speaker moves when the speaker is turned on. The TELL Prompt asks students to describe what they know about sound moving nearby objects. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the lesson.

• In Grade 1, Unit 3, Lesson 2: Plants and Their Parents, the phenomenon is that young tulips and adult tulips look different. The TELL Prompt asks students to describe what they know about the differences and similarities between plants of the same kind. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the lesson.

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2, Exploration 2: Match the Animals, the phenomenon is a pond full of koi fish look different. In the guidance for the Everyday Phenomenon, the teacher puts students into groups to discuss their experience with seeing animals of the same kind that look different. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the exploration.

• In Grade 1, Unit 5, Lesson 2: Patterns of Daylight, the phenomenon is that the sun shines longer in the summer than it does in the winter. The TELL Prompt asks students to discuss what they know about the earlier sunset in winter compared to summer. There is a missed opportunity to leverage student responses later in the exploration.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 partially meet expectations that they embed phenomena or problems across multiple lessons for students to use and build knowledge of all three dimensions.

Materials provide numerous lessons across the grade that use phenomena or problems to drive instruction and engage with all three dimensions across multiple explorations, but not consistently. Several lessons contain a publisher identified anchoring phenomenon to initially engage students but then use a DCI or other science topic as the focus of student learning across the lesson sequence. 

Grade 1 units are typically four to seven lessons long, and each lesson is made up of an engage activity and two to three explorations. The engage activity introduces the sequence with an image and/or video. Sometimes this video or image is a phenomenon or problem and other times it illustrates the question or DCI guiding the sequence. Students ask questions about the phenomenon, problem, or DCI and answer the Can you explain it? question that asks a question related to the introductory image and/or video. Sometimes, students make an initial claim explaining the image and/or video. In the explorations comprising the lesson, students are presented with another image and/or text introducing a new phenomenon, problem, or DCI. After engaging with the exploration-level phenomenon, problem, or DCI, students answer a question related to the initial, lesson-level, problem, phenomenon or DCI. At the end of the sequence, students revisit the engage activity and are given an opportunity to revise their answer to the lesson-level question. In some cases, the lesson-level phenomenon drives the learning in individual explorations and students return to the lesson-level phenomenon throughout. When phenomena are not driving, students are asked questions about the phenomena at the closing of the lesson, but they do not collect evidence to directly explain the phenomenon that is presented. As a result, students are not consistently engaged in figuring out the phenomenon. 

Examples of lesson sequences where student learning is driven by a phenomenon across multiple lessons and the materials engage students with all three dimensions:

• In Grade 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1: All About Light, the phenomenon is that glow in the dark jewelry is easy to see in the dark, but children are not. Students engage in a series of explorations to help them figure out that things are easier to see in the dark if they produce their own light or if light is present, and objects are difficult to see in the dark if no light is present. Students ask a question about types of objects you can see in a dark room (SEP-AQDP-P1). Students make observations and collect and record data (SEP-DATA-P1) to make comparisons about how easy or difficult it is to see objects in the dark (SEP-INV-P4) and to explain why some objects can be seen only when light is available to illuminate them and that some objects give off their own light (DCI-PS4.B-P1, SEP-DATA-P3, SEP-CEDS-P1, and SEP-ARG-P6). Students ask a question about how objects look in different amounts of light (SEP-AQDP-P1) then they make observations and collect and record data (SEP-DATA-P1) to make claims about how easy or difficult it is to see objects in the dark and with varying amounts of light (SEP-INV-P4, CCC-CE-P2). Students use their evidence to explain why some objects can be seen only when light is available to illuminate them (DCI-PS4.B-P1, SEP-DATA-P3, SEP-CEDS-P1, and SEP-ARG-P6). As students make observations they are given opportunities at the end of each exploration to reflect on what they explored and to use their observations to make sense about why some things are easy to see in a dark room and why some things are difficult to see in a dark room.

• In Grade 1, Unit 3, Lesson 2: Plants and Their Parents, the phenomenon is that young tulips and adult tulips look different. Students engage in a series of explorations to help them learn that adult plants and young plants of the same kind can look alike but different. Students put two carrot tops in a bowl of water and then make observations (SEP-DATA-P1, SEP-INV-P4) about what happens to the carrots and measure them (SEP-MATH-P3) over time. Students compare the carrots and look for patterns in their parts and sizes and make a claim based on evidence about how plants of the same kind can be alike and different (DCI-LS3.B-P1, SEP-CEDS-P1, SEP-ARG-P6). Students look at photos of an adult carrot plant and a young carrot plant and record their observations (SEP-INV-P4), making note of how they are the same and how they are different. Again, students make a claim based on the evidence they observed about how young and adult plants can be alike and different (DCI-LS3.A-P1, SEP-CEDS-P1, SEP-ARG-P6, and CCC-PAT-P1). As students make observations they are given opportunities at the end of each exploration to reflect on what they explored and to use their observations to make sense about how plants, including tulips, of the same kind can look alike but different.

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 2: Animals and Their Parents, the phenomenon is that a parent dog and its puppies don't look the same. Students participate in several explorations in which they observe the differences in adult organisms and their babies. Throughout the lesson sequence, students collect data to determine the similarities/differences between parent animals and their young (SEP-DATA-P1, DCI-LS3.A.P1). Using this data, the students make a claim about how animals of the same species can look similar and different (SEP-CEDS-P1). Throughout the explorations in the lesson sequence, students identify patterns to support their claim (CCC-PAT-P1). Students develop their thinking by answering the question “How can animals of the same kind look alike but different?”. Students then evaluate their thinking after making claims about how young animals and parents look similar and different, using data they collected in the explorations. Finally, students revise their thinking by again answering the initial question after completing activities that explore the phenomenon.

Examples of lesson sequences where student learning is not driven by a phenomenon across multiple lessons:

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 1: Parts Help Animals Live, there is no phenomenon or problem present. Instead, the ideas that animals’ parts help them survive in different ways and that humans can engineer solutions based on animal parts guide the learning. Students observe images of a gecko and a person climbing a wall and answer the question, “How can observing the shapes of animal parts give people ideas?”. Students then look at pictures of animals and list the parts they see that help the animals eat, drink, stay safe, see, and hear. Students then use images of animals to design an animal-inspired method for hanging a picture. 

• In Grade 1, Unit 3, Lesson 1: Parts Help Plants Live, there is no phenomenon or problem present. Instead, the concept of plant parts guides student learning. Across the learning sequence students explore the different parts of plants by looking at images of plants as well as real plants, and work to figure out how their parts help them live. Students observe a plant with large leaves and a person holding an umbrella and are asked to construct an explanation for how the shapes of plants give people ideas. Students observe a photo of a strawberry plant and ask questions about how leaves and roots help a plant. Students are then given a plant and are asked to observe it and describe the parts of the plant including the leaves and roots. Students make a claim based on evidence about how leaves and roots help a plant. Students investigate the structure and function of stems by observing and drawing celery stalks before and after they have been placed in water with food coloring. Students make a claim based on evidence about how a stem helps a plant. Students then engage in a design challenge to engineer something that will help them stay cool.They look at pictures of plants for possible solutions, make a plan, and build and test their solution. Students share their solutions and describe how their solution was inspired by a plant. Students make a claim based on evidence about how observing plants gave them an idea.

• In Grade 1, Unit 4, Lesson 3: Animals Take Care of Their Young, the phenomena is that a penguin and gull feed their offspring. Student learning in this lesson is not driven by the phenomenon, but rather focused on the science concept that parent animals take care of their young. Students examine pictures of parents and their young and record some ways that parents tend to the young. Students research how parents and their young behave and determine cause/effect for both.