1st Grade - Gateway 3

The materials reviewed for STEMscopes Math 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. Within each Scope, there is a Home dropdown menu, where the teacher will find several sections for guidance about the Scope. Under this menu, the Scope Overview has the teacher guide which leads the teacher through the Scope’s fundamental activities while providing facilitation tips, guidance, reminders, and a place to record notes on the various elements within the Scope. Content Support includes Background Knowledge; Misconceptions and Obstacles, which identifies potential student misunderstandings; Current Scope, listing the main points of the lesson, as well as the terms to know. There is also a section that gives examples of the problems that the students will see in this Scope, and the last section is the Coming Attractions which will describe what the students will be doing in the next grade level. Content Unwrapped provides teacher guidance for developing the lesson, dissecting the standards, including verbs that the students should be doing and nouns that the students should know, as well as information on vertical alignment. Also with each Explore, there is a Preparation list for the teacher with instructions for preparing the lesson and Procedure and Facilitation Points which lists step-by-step guidance for the lesson. Examples include:

• Scope 3: Add and Subtract within 20, Elaborate, Spiraled Review–Fast Food Fun, Procedure and Facilitation Points, provides teacher guidance. “1. You may need to provide reading assistance in order for some students to complete this activity. 2. Read the story on the first page to engage student interest before moving on to the questions. 3. Use this spiraled review as a warm-up in class, or send it home for homework, but be sure to discuss answers and strategies with the class as a whole group. 4. Refer to the standard in the lower right-hand corner of each question box to assess the students’ content knowledge or need for further intervention.”

• Scope 7: Two-Dimensional Shapes, Explain, My Math Thoughts, Preparation, guides the teacher while preparing for the lesson. “Print a copy of the My Math Thoughts handout for each student. Gather any mathematical tools and models used in this Scope to aid students in the writing process.”

• Scope 10: Time, Explore, Skills Basics–Reading/Saying/Writing Time on Digital and Analog Clocks, Preparation. Teachers “prepare to have students work as a whole group to complete this activity. Print the Clock Mat for each student. Laminate or place it in a plastic sheet protector to use with a dry-erase marker. Separate 2 colors of about \frac{1}{8}of a container of modeling clay for each student. Re-create the printed Clock Mat on a whiteboard for all students to see.”

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

Each Scope has a Content Overview with a Teacher Guide. Within the Teacher Guide, information is given about the current Scope and its skills and concepts. Additionally, each Scope has a Content Support which includes sections entitled: Misconceptions and Obstacles, Current Scope, and Coming Attractions. These resources provide explanations and guidance for teachers. Examples include:

• Scope 2: Add and Subtract within 10, Home, Content Overview, Teacher Guide, Vertical Alignment, Future Expectations. It states, “In second grade, students expand their knowledge of base-ten numbers by forming units of 100 by bundling groups of 10. Students solve one- and two step problems by adding and subtracting numbers up to 100 using a variety of strategies. Second graders begin to represent the location of numbers on a number line and represent whole-number sums and differences on a number line.”

• Scope 5: Addition and Subtraction Problem Solving, Home, Content Support, Coming Attractions. It states, “Knowledge gained about patterns within base-ten numbers between kindergarten and Grade 5 builds an essential foundation that is used to support algebraic thinking in later grades. Sixth graders become proficient using all 4 operations with decimals and fractions. In Grades 6 and 7, students begin to work with negative numbers. Sixth-grade students identify the bases and heights of triangles and parallelograms, and they apply shape composition and decomposition to derive and understand the formulas for area and volume. In Grade 8, students begin work with irrational numbers. From Grade 6 on, the domain “Number and Operations in Base Ten” is replaced with the domain “Ratios and Proportional Reasoning.””

• Scope 7: Two-Dimensional Shapes, Content Support, Current Scope. It states, “Students distinguish between defining attributes and non defining attributes, and they draw shapes to possess defining attributes. Students compose two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, and quarter-circles) to create composite shapes.”

• Scope 10: Length, Home, Content Overview, Teacher Guide, Current Scope. It states, “Students use nonstandard measuring tools to measure length. They illustrate that the length of an object is the number of same-sized units of length that, when laid end to end with no gaps or overlaps, reach from one end of the object to the other.”

The materials reviewed for STEMscopes Math Grade 1 meet expectations for including standards correlation information that explains the role of the standards in the context of the overall series.

Correlation information is present for the mathematics standards addressed throughout the grade level and can be found in several places including a drop-down Standards link on the main home page, within teacher resources, and within each Scope. Explanations of the role and progressions of the grade-level mathematics are present. Examples include:

• In each Scope, the Scope Overview, Scope Content, and Content Unwrapped provides opportunities for teachers to view content correlation in regards to the standards for the grade level as well as the math practices practiced within the Scope. The Scope Overview has a section entitled Student Expectations listing the standards covered in the Scope. It also provides a Scope Summary. In the Scope Content, the standards are listed at the beginning. This section also identifies math practices covered within the Scope. Misconceptions and Obstacles, Current Scope, and Background Knowledge make connections between the work done by students within the Scope as well as strategies and concepts covered within the Scope. Content Unwrapped again identifies the standards covered in the Scope as well as a section entitled, Dissecting the Standard. This section provides ideas of what the students are doing in the Scope as well as the important words they need to know to be successful.

• Teacher Toolbox, Essentials, Vertical Alignment Charts, Vertical Alignment Chart Grade K-5 provides the following information: “How are the Standards organized? Standards that are vertically aligned show what students learn one grade level to prepare them for the next level. The standards in grades K-5 are organized around six domains. A domain is a larger group of related standards spanning multiple grade levels shown in the colored strip below: Counting and Cardinality, Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Number and Operations in Base Ten, Number and Operations–Fractions, Measurement and Data, Geometry.” Tables are provided showing the vertical alignment of standards across grade levels.

• Scope 5: Addition and Subtraction Problem Solving, Home, Scope Overview, Teacher Guide,  states, “Vertical Alignment, Background Knowledge, In Kindergarten, students modeled the action of joining to represent addition and the action of separating to represent subtraction. They solved contextual word problems involving familiar scenarios with sums up to 10 and differences within 10. Students used the process of decomposition to find number pairs that add to the total amount. Students explained the strategies they used to solve addition and subtraction problems using spoken words, concrete and pictorial models, and equations. Future Expectations, In second grade, students expand their knowledge of base-ten numbers by forming units of 100 by bundling groups of 10. Students solve one- and two step problems by adding and subtracting numbers up to 100 using a variety of strategies. Second graders begin to represent the locations of numbers on a number line and represent whole-number sums and differences on a number line.”

• Scope 11: Length, Home, Content Unwrapped, Vertical Alignment, Grade K, Standard. It states to “Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has “more of”/“less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/shorter.” Grade 1, “Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end; understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps. Limit to contexts where the object being measured is spanned by a whole number of length units with no gaps or overlap.” Grade 2, “Measure the length of an object twice, using length units of different lengths for the two measurements; describe how the two measurements relate to the size of the unit chosen.” Grade 3, “Solve real world and mathematical problems involving perimeters of polygons, including finding the perimeter given the side lengths, finding an unknown side length, and exhibiting rectangles with the same perimeter and different areas or with the same area and different perimeters.” Grade 4, “Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table. For example, know that 1 ft is 12 times as long as 1 in. Express the length of a 4 ft snake as 48 in. Generate a conversion table for feet and inches listing the number pairs (1, 12), (2, 24), (3, 36),...”

The materials reviewed for STEMscopes Math Grade 1 meet expectations for providing explanations of the instructional approaches of the program and identification of the research-based strategies. 

The Teacher Toolbox contains an Elementary STEMscopes Math Philosophy document that provides relevant research as it relates to components for the program. Examples include:

• Teacher Toolbox, Essentials, STEMscopes Math Philosophy, Elementary, Learning within Real-World, Relevant Context, Research Summaries and Excerpts, states, “One of the major issues within mathematics classrooms is the disconnect between performing procedural skills and knowing when to use them in everyday situations. Students should develop a deeper understanding of the mathematics in order to reason through a situation, collect the necessary information, and use the mechanics of math to develop a reasonable answer. Providing multiple experiences within real-world contexts can help students see when certain skills are useful. “If the problem context makes sense to students and they know what they might do to start on a solution, they will be able to engage in problem solving.” (Carpenter, Fennema, Loef Franke, Levi, and Empson, 2015).

• Teacher Toolbox, Essentials, STEMscopes Math Philosophy, Elementary, CRA Approach, Research Summaries and Excerpts, states, “CRA stands for Concrete–Representational–Abstract. When first learning a new skill, students should use carefully selected concrete materials to develop their understanding of the new concept or skill.  As students gain understanding with the physical models, they start to draw a variety of pictorial representations that mirror their work with the concrete objects. Students are then taught to translate these models into abstract representations using symbols and algorithms. “The overarching purpose of the CRA instructional approach is to ensure students develop a tangible understanding of the math concepts/skills they learn.” (Special Connections, 2005) “Using their concrete level of understanding of mathematics concepts and skills, students are able to later use this foundation and add/link their conceptual understanding to abstract problems and learning. Having students go through these three steps provides students with a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts and ideas and provides an excellent foundational strategy for problem solving in other areas in the future.” (Special Connections, 2005).” STEMscopes Math Elements states,  “As students progress through the Explore activities, they will transition from hands-on experiences with concrete objects to representational, pictorial models, and ultimately arrive at symbolic representations, using only numbers, notations, and mathematical symbols. If students begin to struggle after transitioning to pictorial or abstract, more hands-on experience with concrete objects is included in the Small Group Intervention activities.”

• Teacher Toolbox, Essentials, STEMscopes Math Philosophy, Elementary, Collaborative Exploration, Research Summaries and Excerpts, states, “Our curriculum allows students to work together and learn from each other, with the teacher as the facilitator of their learning. As students work together, they begin to reason mathematically as they discuss their ideas and debate about what will or will not work to solve a problem. Listening to the thinking and reasoning of others allows students to see multiple ways a problem can be solved. In order for students to communicate their own ideas, they must be able to reflect on their knowledge and learn how to communicate this knowledge. Working collaboratively is more reflective of the real-world situations that students will experience outside of school. Incorporate communication into mathematics instruction to help students organize and consolidate their thinking, communicate coherently and clearly, analyze and evaluate the thinking and strategies of others, and use the language of mathematics.” (NCTM, 2000)

• Teacher Toolbox, Essentials, STEMscopes Math Philosophy, Elementary, Promoting Equity, Research Summaries and Excerpts, states, “Teachers are encouraged throughout our curriculum to allow students to work together as they make sense of mathematics concepts. Allowing groups of students to work together to solve real-world tasks creates a sense of community and sets a common goal for learning for all students. Curriculum tasks are accessible to students of all ability levels, while giving all students opportunities to explore more complex mathematics. They remove the polar separation of being a math person or not, and give opportunities for all students to engage in math and make sense of it. “Teachers can build equity within the classroom community by employing complex instruction, which uses the following practices (Boaler and Staples, 2008): Modifying expectations of success/failure through the use of tasks requiring different abilities, Assigning group roles so students are responsible for each other and contribute equally to tasks, Using group assessments to encourage students' responsibility for each other's learning and appreciation of diversity” “A clear way of improving achievement and promoting equity is to broaden the number of students who are given high-level opportunities.” (Boaler, 2016) “All students should have the opportunity to receive high-quality mathematics instruction, learn challenging grade-level content, and receive the support necessary to be successful. Much of what has been typically referred to as the "achievement gap" in mathematics is a function of differential instructional opportunities.” (NCTM, 2012).” STEMscopes Math Elements states, “Implementing STEMscopes Math in the classroom provides access to high quality, challenging learning opportunities for every student. The activities within the program are scaffolded and differentiated so that all students find the content accessible and challenging. The emphasis on collaborative learning within the STEMscopes program promotes a sense of community in the classroom where students can learn from each other.”

The materials reviewed for STEMscopes Grade 1 meet expectations for providing a comprehensive list of supplies needed to support instructional activities. 

The Teacher Toolbox provides an Elementary Materials List that provides a spreadsheet with tabs for each grade level, K-5. Each tab lists the materials needed for each activity. Within each Scope, the Home Tab also provides a material list for all activities. It allows the teacher to input the number of students, groups, and stations, and then calculates how many of each item is needed. Finally, each activity within a Scope has a list of any materials that are needed for that activity. Examples include:

• Scope 3: Add and Subtract within 20, Explore, Explore 1–Counting to Add and Subtract (to 20), Materials, “Printed, 1 Student Journal (per student), 1 Display Case (per teacher, optional), 1 Set of Order Cards (per group), 1 Exit Ticket (per student), Reusable, 1 Projector or document camera (per teacher), 1 Resealable bag (per group)”

• Scope 7: Two-Dimensional Shapes, Elaborate, Fluency Builder–Go Fish, Materials, “Printed, 1 Instruction Sheet (per group), 1 Set of Go Fish Cards (per group), 1 Student Recording Sheet (per student), Reusable, 1 Envelope or resealable bag (per group)”

• Scope 11: Length, Explore, Explore 1–Length Concept, Materials, “Printed, 1 Student Journal (per student), 1 Exit Ticket (per student), Reusable, 1 Pair of scissors (per teacher), Consumable, 1 Roll of red string (per teacher), 1 Roll of blue string (per teacher), 1 Roll of black string (per teacher), 1 Roll of white string (per teacher), 1 Roll of yellow string (per teacher)”

The materials reviewed for STEMscopes Math 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. 

In Grade 1, an Observation Checklist is provided for teachers to utilize as students complete work within the Explore activities of each Scope. Each Scope provides a Show What You Know, Procedure and Facilitation Points, “This element can be used to assess whether intervention is needed for each student.” In addition, students complete Show and Tell assessments, and an Interview Rubric for the teacher to use with each student. 

After students complete assessments, the teacher can utilize the Intervention Tab to review concepts presented within the Scopes’ Explore lessons. There are Small-Group Intervention activities that the teacher can use with small groups or all students. Within the Intervention, the lesson is broken into parts that coincide with the number of Explores within the Scope. The teacher can provide targeted instruction in areas where students, or the class, need additional practice. The program also provides a document in the Teacher Guide for each Scope to help group students based on their understanding of the concepts covered in the Scope. The teacher can use this visual aide to make sure to meet the needs of each student. Examples include:

• Scope 5: Addition and Subtraction Problem Solving, Evaluate, Observation Checklist.  Procedure and Facilitation Points states,“1. As students are working through the Explores for each Scope, take note of what you observe for each standard breakout. 2. This is a good place to document accommodations/modifications used during the Explores, as well as documentation for standards-based report cards.” Observation Checklist provides a table with the headings, Skill, Where to Observe, and Notes. The following is provided:  “Skill, Where to Observe, Notes, Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to and taking from with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem. Explore 1, Explore 2, Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of putting together and taking apart with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem. Explore 1, Explore 2, Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of comparing with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem. Explore 1” (1.OA.1)

• Scope 10: Time, Evaluate, Show and Tell, Procedure and Facilitation Points and Interview Rubric, provide teachers with opportunities to evaluate student learning. In Procedure and Facilitation Points, “1. Meet with each student or group of students at a table separate from the class. 2. Read each Teacher Prompt card, and observe each student as they follow the directions. 3. Ask students to record their thinking on the Student Cards if applicable. 4. Evaluate each student’s performance of the task using the rubric.” The Interview Rubric provides the teacher with a checklist of the work students are to complete as well as points assigned to each item students complete. The rubric also provides intervention tips as needed. “1. Read an analog clock and write the time to the hour and half hour. Student reads an analog clock and correctly writes the time (8 points–2 points for each time). 2. Match a digital clock to an analog clock. Student matches the analog clock to the digital clock (6 points–2 points for each match). Score: ____/ 14, Interventions, If the concern is reading a clock to the hour or half hour, take the following steps: Discuss times (on the half hour) when different events occur during the day. Read clocks only on the hour, and then look at and discuss the difference between a half hour and an hour. Practice with clock manipulatives. Just focus on hour-hand clocks, and discuss what happens to the hour hand when the minutes are passing by.” (1.MD.3)

• Scope 12: Represent Numbers to 100, Intervention, Small-Group Intervention, Procedure and Facilitation Points, provides the following: “Part I, 1. Prior to beginning the activity, ask students to tell you everything they know about numbers up to 120. As students answer, check to see if they understand the concept of place value and how to count groups of ten. Identify student misconceptions. 2. Have students work in pairs. 3. Give bag 1 containing 58 linking cubes to each pair. Do not tell students how many cubes are in the bag. 4. Instruct students to carefully empty their bags and count the cubes. 5. Watch and listen to how students group and count their cubes.”

The materials reviewed for STEMscopes Math 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. 

Assessment opportunities are included in the Exit Tickets, Observation Checklists, Show What You Know, Skills Quiz, Technology-Enhanced Questions,and Show-and-Tell Assessments. Assessments regularly demonstrate the full intent of grade-level content and practice standards through a variety of item types, including multiple choice, multiple response, and short answer. While the MPs are not identified within the assessments, MPs are described within the Explore sections in relation to the Scope. Examples include:

• Scope 4: Addition and Subtraction Strategies, Explore, Explore 3–Properties of Operations, Exit Ticket, allows students to demonstrate the full intent of 1.OA.3, Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract. Examples: If 8+3=11 is known, then 3+8=11 is also known. (Commutative property of addition.) To add 2+6+4, the second two numbers can be added to make a ten, so 2+6+4=2+10=12. (Associative property of addition.) “Look at the picture and number sentences below. Draw a picture to show how you would answer each number sentence. 5+4+5=? 5+5+4= ? What do you notice? ____” 

• Scope 5: Addition and Subtraction Problem Solving, Explore, Explore 2–Represent and Solve Problem Types Involving Three Whole Numbers, allows students to demonstrate the full intent of MP1, “Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them: Students explain the meaning of a problem and look for ways to solve it. They check their thinking by asking if the answer makes sense, and if not, they try other approaches.” Explain, Show What You Know Part 2, “Part 2: Represent and Solve Problem Types Involving Three Whole Numbers, Read the problem. Draw a pictorial model to solve and write a number sentence that includes the solution to the problem. 1. Oliver loved kayaking. On his last kayaking trip, he saw 7 fish, 8 turtles, and 2 snakes. How many animals did he see on his trip? Number Sentence ____”

• Scope 12: Represent Numbers to 100, Evaluate, Observation Checklist, allows students to demonstrate the full intent of 1.NBT.4, “Add within 100, including adding a two-digit number and a one-digit number, and adding a two-digit number and a multiple of 10, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used. Understand that in adding two-digit numbers, one adds tens and tens, ones and ones; and sometimes it is necessary to compose a ten.” Procedure and Facilitation Points, “As students are working through the Explores for each scope, take note of what you observe for each standard breakout. This is a good place to document accommodations/modifications used during the Explores, as well as documentation for standards-based report cards.” Observation Checklist is a table with columns labeled, “Skill, Where to Observe, Notes” For example, “Add within 100, including adding a two-digit number and a one-digit number, using strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used. Explore 2, Explore 3, ___”

The materials reviewed for STEMscopes 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.

Within the Teacher Toolbox, under Interventions, materials regularly provide strategies, supports, and resources for students in special populations to help them access grade-level mathematics. Within each Explore section of the Scopes, there are Instructional Supports and Language Acquisition Strategy suggestions specific to the Explore activity. Additionally, each Scope has an Intervention tab that provides support specific to the Scope. Examples include:

• Teacher Toolbox, Interventions, Interventions–Adaptive Development, Generalizes Information between Situations, supplies teachers with teaching strategies to support students with difficulty generalizing information. “Unable to Generalize: Alike and different–Ask students to make a list of similarities and differences between two concrete objects. Move to abstract ideas once students have mastered this process. Analogies–Play analogy games related to the scope with students. This will help create relationships between words and their application. Different setting - Call attention to vocabulary or concepts that are seen in various settings. For example, highlight vocabulary used in a math problem. Ask students why that word was used in that setting. Multiple modalities–Present concepts in a variety of ways to provide more opportunities for processing. Include a visual or hands-on component with any verbal information.”

• Scope 4: Addition and Subtraction Strategies, Intervention, Small-Group Intervention,  provides “a reteach activity that supports student understanding of the concept by reviewing a past skill or reteaching the current skill. Description: Students apply basic fact strategies such as counting on, making ten, using the relationship between addition and subtraction, and applying properties of operations. Students determine the unknown in an addition or subtraction equation and understand the meaning of the equal sign to determine if an equation is true or false.”

• Scope 12: Represent Numbers to 100, Explore, Explore 4–Subtracting Using Place Value, Instructional Supports states, ”1. Assign at least one strong reader to each group to read the Task Cards aloud. 2. If students are struggling with organizing their cubes on the Place Value Chart, suggest labeling their stacks of ten cubes and single cubes using the dry-erase marker. 3. Allow students to have a scribe or to work with partners to help with the drawing part of the experience. This allows an increase in peer interaction and eliminates the need for drawing quickly.”

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

Within each Scope, Scope Overview, Teacher Guide, a STEMscopes Tip is provided. It states,  “The acceleration section of each Scope, located along the Scope menu, provides resources for students who have mastered the concepts from the Scope to extend their mathematical knowledge. The Acceleration section offers real-world activities to help students further explore concepts, reinforce their learning, and demonstrate math concepts creatively.” Examples include:

• Scope 4: Addition and Subtraction Strategies, Acceleration, Math Today–A World-Record Bubble, Question 1 states, “The bubble artist needs to have an equal number of people standing on each section of the floor. He asked 13 people to stand in the first section. Then he asked 9 people to stand in the second section. How many more people does he need to ask to stand on the second section? Solve the problem using mental math to help show how many more people the artist needs to ask to stand on the second section. Write your strategy below.  The artist needs to ask ___ more people to stand on the second section.” 

• Scope 9: Fraction, Acceleration, Math Today–Pakistan Holi Festival, Question 1 states, “Moor put color on half of her mother’s face. Show what her mother looked like by partitioning the circle into halves and then coloring half of the circle.” Question 2, “Tahir put color on one-fourth of Ali’s shirt. Partition the rectangle below into fourths, and then color one-fourth to show what Ali’s shirt looked like.” 

• Scope 12: Represent Numbers to 100, Acceleration, Math Today–Norman, the Scooter Dog, Question 1 states,  “Norman can ride a scooter for 98 feet by himself. Draw a pictorial model of 98. Include the number of tens and ones. Pictorial Model: 10=|1=\square Tens ___ Ones ___” Question 2, “Draw another way to represent 98. Include the number of tens and ones that are used in the pictorial model. Tens ___ Ones ___”

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

Within the Teacher Toolbox, the program provides resources to assist MLLs when using the materials. The materials state,  “In the curriculum, we have integrated resources to support teachers and families. Below are a few features and elements that can be used to support students at their level and provide an opportunity for families and caregivers to engage in student learning.” Examples include but are not limited to:

• “Proficiency Levels by Domain – In this section, you will find a snapshot of language application across domains at different proficiency levels. Teachers can use this tool to help identify a student’s English proficiency level by analyzing how students are able to interpret and produce language." 

• “Working on Words – This open-ended activity allows students to take agency and accountability for their growing vocabulary. This activity also encourages making relevant, personal connections to new terms in different ways, such as identifying cognates.” 

• “Sentence Stems/Frames – Students are able to practice engaging in purposeful discussion. These sentence stems and sentence frames can be used for different intents, such as asking for clarification, defending their thinking, and explaining their responses.” 

• “Integrated Accessibility Features – Across the curriculum, we have embedded tools that allow students to listen to text being read, find the definition of words in the moment, make notes, and highlight words and phrases.” 

• “Parent Letters – Each scope includes a letter tailored to caregivers in which the content of a scope, including its vocabulary, is explained in simplified terms. Within the Parent Letters, we have included an activities section called Tic-Tac-Toe–Try This at Home that students can engage in along with their families. This letter is written in two languages.” 

• “Tiered Supports – Within each Explore lesson, we have included tiered supports and strategies that can be applied during the lesson for students at each proficiency level. These range in focus across all domains.” 

• “Language Connections – Every scope has three Language Connection activities, one at each proficiency level. Language Connections meets the students at their proficiency level by providing teachers with prompts to support students in demonstrating their understanding in each language domain.” 

• “Virtual Manipulatives – Students are able to use these across the curriculum to help them justify their answers when expressive language may be limited. These can also be used as tools for creating meaningful connections to vocabulary terms and skills.” 

• “Visual Glossary/Picture Vocabulary – Students are able to combine visual representations and mathematical terms using student-friendly language.” 

• “Distance Learning Videos – Major skills and concepts are broken down in these student- facing videos. Students and caregivers alike can engage in the activities at home at their own pace and incorporate familiar objects. In this way, students can apply their own language to math.” 

• “My Math Thoughts/Math Story – These literary elements give students the opportunity to practice reading and writing about math. Students can apply reading strategies to aid with comprehension and practice not just math vocabulary, but situational vocabulary as well. ”

Guidance is also provided throughout the scopes to guide the teacher. Examples include:

• Scope 6: Data Analysis, Engage, Foundation Builder, Possible Misconceptions, provides guidance for challenging words in English. “The English language has many words that have multiple meanings. Suggested Solution: To eliminate any confusion, ensure students have an understanding of the following words:Word, Possible Student Thinking, Our Intention, In Context, Label, A sticker you put on something to identify the content The words that tell the facts about groups of data, What are the labels for these groups?

• Scope 10: Time, Explore, Explore 1–Hour Hand Clocks, Instructional Supports, provides guidance for teachers with challenging words. “The words hour and our are homophones. Ensure students understand the context of the word hour while engaging in this lesson.The word hand is used in this lesson as a part of an analog clock. Ensure students understand the context and meaning of the word hand while engaging in this lesson. If students are struggling to show the time on the Event Cards on their analog clock, consider revisiting and reviewing the Skill Basics lesson to practice showing times with only the hour hand.”

• Scope 13: Compare Numbers to 100, Engage, Foundation Builder, Possible Preconceptions, provides situations where students may need assistance with words. “Students may confuse the terms more/greater than with less/fewer than. Suggested Solution: Using hand motions, say the words more/greater than with arms wide open and less/fewer than with hands close together. Work with students to make vocabulary posters with examples of more/greater than and less/fewer than.”

The materials reviewed for STEMscopes Math 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. Examples include:

• Scope 4: Addition and Subtraction Strategies, Explore, Virtual Manipulative–Rekenrek, provides a virtual rekenrek students can use to add and subtract accurately. 

• Scope 10: Time, Explore, Skills Basics–How to Use a Geared Clock, Procedure and Facilitation Points states, “1. Give a small geared clock to each student. 2. Gather students into a whole group, and discuss the basics of using a geared clock. Show students a large geared clock. Identify the parts of the geared clock: the face of the clock, the red numbers (hours), the blue numbers (minutes), the red hand (hour), and the blue hand (minute). Ask the following questions: a. How should I move the hand on the clock? By moving the blue (minute) hand to the right. b. What happens to the hour hand as I am moving the minute hand? (Demonstrate.) The hour hand is slowly moving to the next number, the next hour. 3. Divide the class into pairs. 4. Model showing various times to the nearest hour and half hour using your large geared clock. Have students show the same times on their small geared clocks. Practice by saying a time and then modeling it while students show the same times on their clocks. Then model a time and see if students can say the time shown. 5. Once students have practiced as a whole group with your guidance, tell students that you will now ask them questions and they must share their answers with their partners. Remind students that they should demonstrate a time to the closest hour or half hour. If they are not sure, they will make their best guesses.”

• Scope 12: Represent Numbers to 100, Intervention, Supplemental Aids–Number Charts, Procedure and Facilitation Points states, “Number charts are a tool that can be used for a variety of mathematical concepts, including the following: Whole numbers, Addition and subtraction, Comparing numbers, Ordering numbers, Rounding, A number chart can be used as a supplemental aid for students who need assistance visualizing numerical concepts. Display the number chart provided on the Student Handout that is applicable to the concepts being taught. Model how to use the chart. Examples include the following: Coloring in numbers while counting, Skip counting by twos, fives, tens, etc., Identifying evens and odds, Counting nickels or dimes, Recognizing multiples, Identifying prime numbers, Rounding to the nearest ten, If possible, provide a laminated copy of the number charts for each student. The students may then use dry-erase markers to utilize the charts to solve a variety of problems. Students may also write their own numbers on the blank versions of the Student Handouts for additional practice.”