4th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet expectations for assessing grade-level content. For this indicator, the review team examined all summative assessments. Overall, there is no content from future grades assessed.

• Each module has “Check-Ups” which contain questions that require students to select the correct answer or provide a written response, “Performance Tasks” which are used to measure depth of understanding, and “Interviews” which assess students’ ability to rote count fluently. There are also four “Quarterly Tests” in Modules 3, 6, 9 and 12 which assess all learning targets from the three modules just taught (tests 1 and 2) or from the previous three modules (tests 3 and 4).

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for focus within major clusters. Overall, the instructional material spends the majority of class time on the major clusters of each grade.

To determine focus on major work, three perspectives were evaluated: the number of modules devoted to major work, the number of lessons devoted to major work, and the amount of time devoted to major work. The number of lessons devoted to major work, which is approximately 71 percent, is aligned with this indicator because it specifically addresses the amount of instruction devoted to major work of the grade.

• Grade 4 instruction is divided into 12 modules with 12 lessons in each module. Of the 144 lessons, 102 are aligned to major work of Grade 4. Therefore, approximately 71 percent of student instruction would be focused on major work.
• Of the 12 modules, 11 have instruction focused on major work of Grade 4 in half of the module or more. Therefore, approximately 92 percent of student instruction would be focused on major work.
• Grade 4 instruction is designed to be taught over 180 days (15 days per module). Of the 180 days, 96 days of instruction focus on major work of Grade 4. Therefore, approximately 56 percent of student instruction would be focused on major work.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for having an amount of content designated for one grade level as viable for one school year in order to foster coherence between grades. Overall, the amount of time needed to complete the lessons is appropriate for a school year of approximately 140-190 days.

• There are 12 modules, each with 12 lessons, making a total of 144 lessons.
• Lessons are designed to take 45-60 minutes.
• Additional instructional time can be added using “More Math” activities which include investigations, problems solving activities, enrichment activities, and cross-curricular activities.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 4 meet the expectations for materials being consistent with the progressions in the standards. Overall, the instructional materials identify and connect prior or future grade-level work to grade-level work. Additionally, students are consistently provided extensive work with grade-level work and connections are made to prior knowledge from earlier grades.

i. Materials develop according to the grade-by-grade progressions. Prior and future content is clearly identified and relates to grade-level work.

• Prior grade-level topics taught are identified: Lessons 1.8 working with whole number lengths (2.MD.6), Lesson 2.10 reviewing time measurement (3.MD.1), and Lesson 8.4 locating 6-digit numbers on a number line (2.MD.6).
• Future grade level topics are not taught.

ii. Materials consistently give students extensive work with grade-level problems.

• Differentiated instruction, at grade level, is available for each lesson (Extra Help, Extra Practice, and Extra Challenge). Connections to lessons in prior grades related to the standard being taught are also available.
• Opportunities for enrichment, at grade level, are available for each module. Additionally, there are separate investigations and problem solving activities for each module. They allow for small groups of students to gather, analyze and represent data to provide more extensive practice with the content.
• Opportunities for fluency practice and practice of grade level content from previous lessons is available in each module under "Ongoing Practice.”
• Fundamental games reinforce and practice computational skills.
• "Extra help" assignments are typically created to provide a tool or scaffold to help make grade level content more accessible (i.e., Lesson 2.11 uses a number line to help with elapsed time problems, Lesson 8.7 provides an "expander tool" to help students see place value patterns when making unit conversion and Lesson 5.5 provides practice with a Venn diagram to help connect to common factors).
• Reviewer Note: Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (4.MD.4) is not addressed. Adding whole numbers (4.NBT.4) is only addressed in Module 2, Lessons 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Subtracting whole numbers (4.NBT.4) is only addressed in Module 2, Lessons 2 - 3, and Module 4, Lessons 1 – 7. Subtracting fractions (4.NF.B) is only addressed in four lessons. Recognizing angle measure as additive (4.MD.7) is only addressed in Lesson 5.12. Classifying 2-dimensional figures (4.G.2) is only addressed in Lessons 5.11 and 10.10. Recognizing lines of symmetry (4.G.3) is only addressed in lessons 10.11 and 10.12. These lessons MAY NOT be enough to cover the true depth of the standard and supplemental material may need to be provided.

iii. Some materials explicitly relate grade-level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades.

• 2.MD.6, in lesson 1.8, has students extend their number line knowledge by rounding 5-digit numbers to the tens, hundreds and thousands.
• 2.MD.6, in lesson 8.4, has students extend their number line knowledge by focusing on the thousands place and their place value understanding.
• Module 2 begins with a review of the addition and subtraction computation strategies that were studied in Grade 3. The module also focuses on formalizing the standard algorithm by reviewing the steps studied in Grade 3.
• Work in measurement reviews and builds on concepts of time intervals learned in Grade 3 - hours, minutes, and seconds.
• Related ideas associated with multiplication are developed. Students apply their understanding of area of rectangles to help establish and reinforce the connection between factors and multiples.
• Students build on their understanding of the properties of multiplication to solve more complex problems by breaking one number into a product of two smaller factors.
• The area model and number lines are used to review and reinforce the concepts of fractions.
• Base-10 blocks and pictures are used to review and extend work with the standard algorithm.
• Grade 3 work with the area model is used to demonstrate how place value can be used to break the factors into parts to multiply.
• Each lesson has clear icons at the top of the screen that identify the larger theme the lesson fits into with easily accessible links to both prior grade content to help with differentiation and making connections to content. There are several examples of strong progressions from prior grade (i.e., use of arrays and area models with multiplication work).

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 s tandards. The standards are referred to throughout the materials. Overall, materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings.

• A comprehensive listing of the CCSSM and the correlating exercises are found under the drop down menu on the home page.
• The cluster headings are clearly identified by hovering over the lesson title.
• Learning Targets are clearly marked in the materials. The learning targets identify objectives and standards of each module.
• Connections are made to prior grade level content.

The instructional materials include problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain and two or more domains in a grade in cases where the connections are natural and important. The materials connect two or more clusters within the grade.

• Solving multistep word problems (4.OA.3) is connected to multiplying whole numbers (4.NBT.5) in lesson 3.7.
• Solving multistep word problems (4.OA.3) is connected to subtracting whole numbers (4.NBT.3) in lesson 4.7.
• Working with factors and multiples (4.OA.4) is connected to finding equivalent fractions with same denominators (4.NF.1) in lessons 5.4 and 5.5.
• Identifying angles (4.G.2) is connected to measuring angles with a protractor (4.MD.6) in lesson 5.11.
• Finding area (4.MD.3) is connected to multiplication (4.NBT.5) in lessons 9.1 and 9.2
• There are missed connections between number patterns and creating tables to explore number patterns (4.OA.5).
• There is not consistent work in reinforcing multiplicative comparison (4.OA.1) or to place value understanding with work in the metric system (4.NBT.1).