5th Grade - Gateway 1
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Focus & Coherence
Gateway 1 - Meets Expectations | 92% |
|---|---|
Criterion 1.1: Focus | 2 / 2 |
Criterion 1.2: Coherence | 4 / 4 |
Criterion 1.3: Coherence | 7 / 8 |
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for Gateway 1. As a whole, students are assessed on prior and/or current grade-level topics. The instructional materials spend the majority of the time on the major clusters of the grade. This includes all clusters within 5.NBT and 5.NF, as well as 5.MD.C. The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for coherence. The materials use supporting content as a way to continue exploring the major work of the grade. For example, students use their data collection for line plots to continue their work with fractions. The materials include a full program of study that is viable content for a school year, including 150 days of lessons and assessments. This set of materials is consistent with the Mathematical progression of learning set forth in the standards with a few exceptions. Support offered to help struggling students continue to work on grade level problems is inconsistent. Some include suggestions for lowering expectations to previous grade levels, instead of supporting students with current grade-level work. For teachers, minimal connections are made to learning from previous grades within the lessons. These instructional materials are visibly shaped by the cluster headings. Connections are made between domains and clusters within the grade level. For instance, materials make connections between line plots and their work on fraction operations. Generally, the Grade 5 materials support coherence, spend the majority of time on major work, and assess grade-level skills and content. The materials do not fully support all students with grade-level work and do not make explicit connections to prior knowledge. Overall, the Grade 5 instructional materials meet the requirements of Gateway 1.
Criterion 1.1: Focus
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for Focus within assessment. The unit review/test items assess prior and/or current grade-level content as written.
Indicator 1a
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for Focus within assessment. The unit Review/Test items included in the Student Activity Books assess prior and/or current grade-level content as written.
Points of discussion:
- In Unit 6, item 10 includes a 5-digit dividend ($90,000), which is beyond the 4-digits called for in 5.NBT.B.6. However, because students could solve this word problem with multiple approaches and draw on their work with understanding place value and the base-ten number system (5.NBT.A), this item is Mathematically reasonable.
- For assessment items aligned to standards that include the possible use of varying strategies (i.e. 5.NBT.B.6-7, 5.NF.A.2, 5.NF.B.3,6-7), the student directions do not explicitly call for the use of any particular strategies.
*Evidence updated 10/27/15
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 for Grade 5 meet the expectation for this criterion by spending the large majority of the time on the major clusters of the grade. This includes all clusters within 5.NBT, 5.NF and cluster C within 5.MD.
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 expectation for this indicator by spending the majority of the time on the major clusters of the grade. This includes all clusters within 5.NBT, 5.NF and cluster C within 5.MD.
- More than 80% of the instructional time is spent on the major work of the grade level.
- Units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 focus exclusively on major work.
- Unit 7 includes additional/supporting work.
- Unit 8 includes both major and additional/supporting work.
Criterion 1.3: Coherence
Coherence: Each grade's instructional materials are coherent and consistent with the Standards.
The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 5 meet the expectations for coherence. The materials use supporting content as a way to continue work with the major work of the grade. For example, students use their data collection for line plot to continue their work on fractions. The materials include a full program of study that is viable content for a school year, including 150 days of lessons and assessments. This set of materials is consistent with the mathematical progression of learning set forth in the standards with a few exceptions. Support offered to help struggling students continue to work on grade level problems is inconsistent. Some include suggestions for lowering expectations to previous grade levels instead of supporting students with current grade level work. Minimal connections are made for the teacher within the lessons to prior knowledge from previous grades. These instructional materials are visibly shaped by the cluster headings. Connections are made between domains and clusters within the grade level. For instance, materials make connections between line plots and their work on fraction operations. Overall, the Grade 5 materials support coherence and are 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 meet the expectations for their use of supporting content as a way to enhance coherence. For Grade 5, reviewers focused on the use of data and conversion of measurements as methods for supporting operations with whole numbers and fractions.
- Unit 8 lessons on 5.MD.A support the work students are doing in 5.NBT. 1, 2, 5 and 6.
- There are missed opportunities in unit 7 for making connections between 5.OA.1, 2 and 3 and the 5.NF and 5.NBT domains.
- There are missed opportunities in unit 8 to highlight 5.NBT.2 within the 5.MD.1 lessons.
- Unit 1 connects line plot data with fraction operations.
- Unit 2 connects conversions to computations with decimals.
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 expectation for this indicator by providing a viable level of content for one school year.
- Materials provide for 150 days of instruction, quizzes, fluency checks and formal assessment.
- Most lessons are appropriate in length for Grade 5.
- Some lessons may take longer than indicated.
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 mathematical progressions partially meet the expectation for this indicator.
- Learning progressions for CCSSM described at the beginning of each unit. This includes explicit connections to the mathematics of the unit.
- Students are not given adequate opportunities to reason about division with whole numbers.
- Students are not given adequate opportunities to use concrete models or drawings in their work with decimal operations.
- Students are given extensive time to work on grade level problems.
- Support offered to help struggling students continue to work on grade level problems is inconsistent. Some include suggestions for lowering expectations to previous grade levels instead of supporting students with current grade level work. This was found in units 1 and 4. This was not identified as previous grade level work.
- Minimal connections are made for the teacher within the lessons to prior knowledge from previous grades.
- A progression chart including Grade 4 and Grade 6 content is included in the planning pages.
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 foster coherence through connections in the grade.
- Lesson objectives include language shaped by the cluster headings.
- For example, students are asked to write and evaluate expressions that contain variables.
- Students are asked to graph ordered pairs and use them to represent and solve real world problems. This is similar to the cluster heading 5.G.A: Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
- Connections are made in unit 3 between addition of fractions and multiplication of fractions.
- Connections are made in unit 4 between area and multi-digit multiplication.
- Connections are made in unit 7 between numerical patterns and graphing ordered pairs.
- Connections are made between 5.NF.B.4 (fraction operations) and 5.NBT.B.5 (whole number operations) in units 3, 6 and 8.
- Connections are made between line plots and fractions in units 1, 3 and 8.