4th Grade - Gateway 1
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Focus & Coherence
Gateway 1 - Partially Meets Expectations | 71% |
|---|---|
Criterion 1.1: Focus | 0 / 2 |
Criterion 1.2: Coherence | 4 / 4 |
Criterion 1.3: Coherence | 6 / 8 |
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet the expectations for focus on major work and coherence. The instructional materials do not meet the expectations for focus due to assessing topics from grade-levels before they should be introduced. The instructional materials partially meet the expectations for coherence, and they show strengths in having an amount of content that is viable for one school year and fostering coherence through connections within the grade.
Criterion 1.1: Focus
The instructional materials reviewed do not meet the expectation for not assessing topics before the grade-level in which the topic should be introduced. Overall, there are assessment items that align to topics beyond Grade 4.
Indicator 1a
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 do not meet expectations for focus within assessment. Most of the assessments include materials appropriate for Grade 4, however, there are two assessment items that assess above grade level probability and statistics.
In the teacher’s edition, assessments for each unit are listed including portfolio opportunities recommending which student work would be most appropriate. Assessments are found in the Assessment Sourcebook.
In Unit 2, Generating and Representing Measurement Data, there are two assessment items that use language and contexts more appropriate for probability and statistics in Grade 6 (6.SP.4):
- In Unit 2 students are given a line plot and asked to identify the outlier.
- In Unit 2, “Comparing Numbers of Cavities,” students are given the following prompt: “Consider the highest and lowest number of cavities and the outliers. Consider also where the data are concentrated and what you think is typical.”
In Unit 1, Quiz 2, Question 1 asks “Which number is a factor of 200?” This question is aligned to Standard 4.OA.4 (finding all factor pairs for a whole number in the range 1-100) but asks for a factor of a number outside of the range indicated by the standard. However, this question is could be modified to stay on grade level.
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 instructional materials reviewed meet the expectation for students and teachers devoting the large majority of class time to the major work of the grade when the materials are used as designed. Overall, the materials spend at least 65% of class time on the major work of Grade 4.
Indicator 1b
Instructional material spends the majority of class time on the major cluster of each grade.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for spending the majority of class time on the major clusters of the grade. Overall, approximately 68 percent of class time is spent on major work of the grade.
The instructional materials are separated into eight units. Each unit is composed of one, two, three, or four Investigations, and each investigation is divided into sessions. The Implementing Investigations guide states in Part 4 (Classroom Routines) within the Overview that each session includes a Classroom Routine activity that is “introduced as a session activity and are then used outside of math time (e.g., during morning meeting, just before or after lunch or recess, or at the beginning or end of the day) or integrated into the math lesson as the first 10 minutes of a 70-minute math block.” The Ten-Minute Math activity provides practice with current skills or review of previously learned skills. Each session requires sixty minutes. Three perspectives were used when calculating major work of the grade: number of investigations, number of minutes (including Ten-Minute Math), and number of sessions (excluding Ten-Minute Math).
- Approximately 15 of the 22 investigations focus on major work of the grade. This represents approximately 68 percent of the investigations.
- If the Ten-Minute Math activity times are added into the session minutes, approximately 6290 of the minutes focus on major work of the grade. This represents approximately 68 percent of the minutes.
- Approximately 90 of 132 sessions focus on or support the major work of the grade. This represents approximately 68 percent of the sessions.
The third perspective, number of sessions, is the most reflective of the instructional materials because it is based on the sessions which includes the instructional activities, review, and practice but does not include the Ten-Minute Math activity that is done outside of math time. As a result, approximately 68 percent of the materials focus on major work of the grade.
Criterion 1.3: Coherence
Coherence: Each grade's instructional materials are coherent and consistent with the Standards.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet the expectations for being coherent and consistent with the Standards. The instructional materials show strength in having an amount of content that is viable for one school year, but due to not always identifying work that is off grade-level, the materials are not always consistent with the progressions in the Standards. The materials do foster coherence through connections within the grade, but few of those connections are between major work of the grade and supporting work.
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 4 partially meet expectations that supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade. Supporting standards are not always used to support major work of the grade and often appear in lessons with few connections to the major work of the grade.
Although some attempts to connect supporting work to major work are made, students can often complete problems aligned to supporting work without engaging in the major work of the grade.
- In Unit 2 Sessions 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4 students work with height data to record and compare data and develop arguments about what the data shows (4.MD.A) with no support for the major work standards (4.NF and/or 4.OA.A). In Sessions 2.1 through 2.6, students work with data in various way; for example, students are representing and interpreting data on a graph, constructing arguments, and describing data (4.MD.A). There is no support within these lessons for the major work standards (4.NF and/or 4.OA.A).
Occasionally supporting standards are used to support the major work of the grade.
- In Unit 1 Sessions 1.1 through 1.4 students work with arrays and answer questions such as how many items are found in an array. The questions and activities in these sessions connect the supporting work (4.OA.B) with major work of the grade (4.NBT.B).
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 4 meet the expectations for the amount of content being viable for one school year.
- The instructional materials are divided into 8 units that have a total of 132 sessions
- Each session is designed to be completed in 60 minutes. Each session is accompanied by a Ten-Minute Math activity that is designed to be completed in 10 minutes outside of math time.
- Each unit consists of 1-4 Investigations. Each investigation ranges from 4-10 class sessions
- Each unit takes between 2.5 to 5.5 weeks to complete according to the “Grade 4 Curriculum Units and Pacing Chart” on page 9 of the Implementing Investigations in Grade 4 guide. Each unit includes an additional 2.5 days beyond the days required to finish the sessions. These days could be used to complete the Intervention, Practice, and/or Extension activities that are included at the end of each investigation.
- These instructional materials include approximately 153 days.
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 materials reviewed for Grade 4 partially meet the expectations for being consistent with the progressions in the Standards. In general, the materials develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions in the Standards, but content from future grades is not clearly identified. The materials provide extensive work with grade-level problems for most standards, but the materials do not relate grade-level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.
The materials develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions in the Standards, but content from future grades is not clearly identified. Examples of unclear identification include:
- In Unit 2, students make line plots to represent data, 4.MD.4, but they also use terms such as range, mode, and outlier to describe the sets of data, 6.SP.B, and compare two sets of data, 7.SP.B. The content from future grades is not identified as such.
- In Unit 4 Session 4.4 students find the area of irregular polygons by decomposing the shapes into rectangles and triangles, 6.G.1. The content from future grades is not identified as such.
- In Unit 8, Session 1.5 has students generate two numerical patterns from two given rules, and the students are also asked questions that compare the two patterns created. This content more closely aligns to 5.OA.3, but it is not clearly identified as content from a future grade.
The materials give all students extensive work with grade-level problems.
- Recommendations for differentiation allow students to primarily work with grade-level tasks.
- The materials have different types of practice for students during each lesson. There are Teaching Resources in the Resource Masters and Activities in the Student Activity Book which are both aids during lessons. There are Daily Practice and Homework pages in the Student Activity Book which are indicated to be session follow-ups that review and practice grade-level content.
- The materials give students extensive work with most domains. However, 4.NBT.A is only found in Unit 5 in eight sessions and Unit 6 in one session. There are 17 ten-minute math practices that also address this standard which is an important standard for “applying concepts of place value and division.” This may not be extensive enough for all students to develop understanding of place value for multi-digit whole numbers. The major work clusters of 4.NF.A, 4.NF.B and 4.NF.C are taught in Unit 6.
The materials do not consistently relate grade-level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades. The scope and sequence found in the Implementing Investigations book gives some limited information relating to knowledge from earlier and future grades by listing major topics and which units in prior and future grades address those topics. Each unit has a “Connections: Looking Back” section at the beginning of the unit. Several units specifically refer to work from prior grades without providing explicit connections to specific standards.
- Unit 1 says the unit builds on the work done in Grade 3 “as students developed an understanding of multiplication and division through work with equal-sized groups, arrays, and area models.”
- Unit 2 describes how students will use learning from Grade 3 where students worked with categorical and numerical data represented by line plots, bar graphs, and pictographs.
- Unit 4 describes building on the work students have done in previous grades that includes measuring with a variety of units of length, finding perimeter and area, and reasoning about 2-dimensional shapes and their attributes.
- Unit 5 “builds on the work students have done in Grade 3 on addition and subtraction, as they extended their ideas about place value and the operations of addition and subtraction.”
- Unit 6 refers back to work done in Grade 3 “as students worked with fractions with denominators of 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8” with various representations including drawing, number lines, and pattern blocks.
- Unit 8 refers to work done in Grade 3 in multiplication and division when students analyzed number sequences from repeating patterns.
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 4 meet the expectations for fostering coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the Standards.
The materials begin each investigation with a planner that lists objectives for each session, and in the session materials, Math Focus points are listed at the beginning of each session. The instructional materials include objectives and Math Focus points that are visibly shaped by the CCSSM cluster headings for Grade 4.
- In Unit 1 Sessions 1.3 and 1.4 students use what they know about multiplication to find all the arrays for given numbers. They discuss special features of some numbers, including prime and square numbers (4.OA.B).
- In Unit 4 Session 2.3 students sort quadrilaterals according to a variety of criteria and construct quadrilaterals with specific attributes (4.G.A).
- In Unit 7 Session 3.4 students represent multi-step problems with equations and solve the problems. They continue to solve division problems and discuss solving division problems efficiently (4.OA.A).
- In Unit 1 Session 1.1 the Math Focus Point is “representing multiplication situations with arrays.” This is visibly shaped by cluster 4.NBT.B, use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic.
The instructional materials include problems and activities that connect two or more clusters in a domain or two or more domains.
- In Unit 2, Sessions 2.5 and 2.6 connect 4.MD.A and 4.MD.B as students solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements based on representations and interpretations of data sets.
- In Unit 5, Session 3.3 connects 4.OA.A with 4.NBT.A as students use place-value understanding of multi-digit whole numbers in order to solve word problems.