The instructional materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectation for developing conceptual understanding of key mathematical concepts, especially where called for in specific content standards or cluster headings. There are demonstrations by the teacher and independent explorations for the students (with concrete materials). Conceptual understanding is targeted through concrete materials and multiple visual representations.

During Independent Digital Lessons, students engage with visual representations and virtual manipulatives. Multiple visual representations are presented with connections made between them. Students work flexibly with these visual models. For example, in Mission 4, Add and Subtract Bigger Numbers, focuses instruction on understanding place value (1.NBT.B) and using place value to add and subtract within 100 (1.NBT.4 and 1.NBT.6):

• In Lesson 2, students decompose two-digit whole numbers through place value to identify the tens and ones using unifix cubes, writing a number sentence, and using a place value chart to present multiple representations of the given numbers. One example question is: “17 will be in 2 parts. What parts will they be?”
• In Independent Digital Lesson 4, students use visual models to find two-digit numbers, decompose those numbers by examining pictures of unifix cubes and number bonds, and complete the corresponding addition sentences to represent the sum of the ones and tens for the given number.
• In Independent Digital Lesson 5, students use drawings and virtual manipulatives to identify 10 more, 10 less, 1 more, or 1 less than a given two-digit number.

Overall, Lessons within Missions, whether Teacher-Led Instruction or Independent Digital Lessons, present opportunities for students to develop conceptual understanding of the mathematics. Students engage in multiple addition and subtraction problems as described in Table 1 of the CCSSM. Students encounter multiple representations of whole numbers including through place value, decomposing and recomposing of numbers with hands on and virtual manipulatives, and through place value charts. These representations are linked to addition and subtraction sentences within 100.

The instructional materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectation for giving attention throughout the year to individual standards that set an expectation of procedural skill and fluency.

Missions address procedural skill and fluency in both the Independent Digital Lessons, with Fluency activities titled Number Gym, Sprint, and Blast, and in Small Group Instruction, with Fluency activities for most lessons.

• In Mission 2, Lesson 1 Teacher-Led Instruction Whole Group Fluency students play a game counting on with numbers one through ten and use card games to add within 10. During Independent Digital Lessons, Tower of Power students practice making ten when one addend is nine.
• In Mission 3, Teacher-Led Instruction, Whole Group Fluency Lesson 4, students play a game where pairs of students roll two dice and make a number sentence from the pair, for example 6+0=6 and 4+3=7. In the Independent Digital Lesson 4 students practice 15 questions adding within 20 during Blast (1.OA.6).
• In Mission 6, Teacher-Led Instruction, Whole Group Fluency Lesson 11, the teacher note states, “This activity reviews yesterday’s lesson, where students add and subtract tens within 100.” Using a can and ten dimes and ten pennies, students add and subtract as coins are added or removed from the can. The second activity contains a teacher note that states, “This fluency activity builds on yesterday’s Get to Ten(s) activity to prepare students for G1-M6-Lesson 13.” In this activity the teacher says a number, and students say an addition statement to get to the next multiple of 10.

Overall, Zearn includes time in every lesson during Independent Digital Lessons in Number Gyms, Sprints, and Blasts and in the Teacher-Led Instruction Whole Group Fluency Lessons for building fluency. These lessons are designed to complement one another, reinforcing student development of procedural skills and fluency.

The materials meet the expectation for being designed so that teachers and students spend sufficient time working with engaging applications of the mathematics, without losing focus on the major work of each grade.

Missions address application in most Teacher-Led Instruction Lessons through Whole Group Word Problems that model the situations from Table 1 of CCSSM: “Common Addition and Subtraction Situations.”

Mission 6, Teacher-Led Instruction, Whole Group Word Problems, Topic B Numbers to 100 includes teacher notes on what addition and subtraction situations are represented. The problems address representing and solving problems involving addition and subtraction (1.OA.1) and determining the unknown whole number in addition and subtraction equations (1.OA.8). For example:

• Teacher-Led Instruction Whole Group Word Problems, Lesson 3: “Tamra has 4 more goldfish than Peter. Peter has 10 goldfish. How many goldfish does Tamra have? The teacher note states that this problem is a “...compare with bigger unknown problem type…”
• Teacher-Led Instruction Whole Group Word Problems, Lesson 4: “Tamra has 14 goldfish. Darnel has 8 goldfish. How many fewer goldfish does Darnel have than Tamra? The teacher note states, “Today’s Application Problem presents a compare with difference unknown problem type.”
• Teacher-Led Instruction Whole Group Word Problems, Lesson 5: “Kiana has 6 fewer goldfish than Tamra. Tamra has 14 goldfish. How many goldfish does Kiana have?” The teacher note for this problem states, “Today’s Application Problem is the last in a series of three problems that use a related context. The three problems can be discussed together during the Student Debrief. As students share strategies and compare and contrast the problem stories, they gain a stronger sense of each particular problem type.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the expectation for balancing the three aspects of rigor. Overall, the three aspects of rigor are not always treated together and are not always treated separately. There is a balance of the three aspects of rigor within Teacher-Led Instruction and Independent Digital Lessons.

In each Mission students develop procedural skills and fluency and conceptual understandings, and apply these to solve real-world problems.

• Fluency is embedded into every Lesson. In Mission 4, Independent Digital Lesson 5 Sprint, students use addition and subtraction to and from 10. Problems include finding the sum and difference as well as finding missing addends and minuends. For three minutes during Teacher-Led Instruction Whole Group Fluency Lesson 6, students practice “Quick Tens” to show and say numbers between 11 and 40 in varied ways. They then count dimes and pennies.
• Conceptual understanding is embedded into every lesson. In Mission 4, Teacher-Led Instruction Small Group Lesson 6, students compare the use of ten sticks and unit cubes to using dimes and pennies. For example, students look at one 10 stick and four unit cubes and find the equivalent expression using one dime and four pennies.
• Application problems are embedded into every lesson and often call for students to model their thinking and make connections to procedural skills. For example, in Mission 4 Teacher-Led Instruction Whole Group Word Problem Lesson 5, students are given the following application problem: “Lee has 4 pencils and buys 10 more. Kiana has 17 pencils and loses 10 of them. Who has more pencils now? Use drawings, words, and number sentences to explain your thinking.” In this task students apply their conceptual understanding to model and compare an addition and subtraction scenario, and they demonstrate procedural fluency in completing the addition and subtraction.

The instructional materials for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectation of the underlying design of the materials to distinguish between problems and exercises.

Every lesson includes problems and exercises.

• Problems are included in Teacher-Led Instruction during Small Group Lessons and Whole Group Word Problems.
• Exercises are built into the Teacher-Led Instruction during Whole Group Fluency and Assessment, which can be found in most lessons.
• Independent Digital Lessons include a variety of activities for students to engage with exercises. During Number Gym students solve exercises to build fluency.
• Optional Homework consists of problems and exercises, depending on the content of the mission and/or lesson.

The instructional materials for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectation the design of the assignments is not haphazard, and the exercises are given in intentional sequences.

• The sequence of topics within each mission is intentional, going from working with a variety of concrete and pictorial representations to more abstract work.
• Progressions are clear, as in focusing on numbers within 20 before extending to larger numbers.
• Concepts are developed in Teacher-Led Instruction. These may be extended into Independent Digital Lessons.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the expectation that there is a variety in what students are asked to produce. Students are asked to produce a variety of products in digital and written form.

Students are asked to demonstrate:

• Multiple representations including models, arrays, number lines, equations, etc.;
• Justification of their thinking on Optional Problem Sets and Assessments;
• Completion of timed fluency activities in both Teacher-Led Instruction Whole Group Fluency and Independent Digital Lessons;
• During Independent Digital Lessons students solve problems using virtual manipulatives.

For example, in Mission 4, Teacher-Led Instruction Lesson 13, students describe and explain why their solutions demonstrate their understanding, using pictures. The Independent Digital Lesson 13 also encourages students to engage with material to use manipulatives and drawing.

The instructional materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectation that manipulatives are faithful representations of the mathematical objects they represent and are appropriately connected to written methods. Manipulatives are embedded in both Independent Digital Lessons and Teacher-Led Instruction to represent mathematical ideas and build conceptual understanding. Examples include place value disks, Unifix cubes, and craft sticks. They are often connected to written representations.

For example, in Mission 2, Teacher-Led Instruction, Lesson 7, students use 10 blue and 10 yellow linking cubes and ten-frames to represent various addition equations within 20, with a focus on making 10 as an addition strategy (i.e. when solving 8+5, students are asked to group their cubes in fives representing 8+5 = 5+5+3 = 10+3). In the corresponding Independent Digital Lesson, students explore the same concept using virtual hats to represent addition and then write number sentences.

The instructional materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectation that materials provide strategies for gathering information about students' prior knowledge within and across grade levels.

In Small Group Lessons the materials note where the content is building on from prior knowledge, whether it be within the grade or from previous grades. This information, as well as regular reports from Independent Digital Lessons, can be utilized as students begin the program and progress toward mastery for each Mission. Informal observation is included in the teacher notes for a lesson and is also used to gather information regarding a student’s prior knowledge. During Small Group Lessons students are regularly asked to comment and share with each other and the whole group by responding to question prompts from the teacher. Information from the daily Exit Tickets that students complete give the teacher an opportunity to check for prior knowledge, review, and provide feedback.

"Independent Digital Lessons include embedded remediation throughout that address gaps in knowledge from both the current and prior grade levels; all students begin on the first Mission of their grade and progress through their grade level sequence at their own pace.", according to page 6 of Zearn Math's Teaching and Learning Approach.

The Zearn Grade 1 instructional materials meet expectations for ongoing review and practice, with feedback, for students in learning both concepts and skills.

The materials provide many opportunities for review and practice. Teacher-Led Instruction and Independent Digital Lessons include:

• A fluency section to practice and review what has been learned.
• Guided instruction for students to practice new concepts or skills.

The Independent Digital Lessons provide instant feedback to students if they get a problem right or wrong. When a student misses a problem they are given a second chance to get the problem correct. If their second attempt is still wrong, the answer is provided to the student. Students also have a digital notebook which is reviewed by teachers.

In Teacher-Led Instruction, students work with partners to share feedback regarding the instruction for the day.

The materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectation of assessments clearly denoting standards that are being emphasized. Summative assessments are offered in the middle and at the end of each Mission. Each assessment is followed by a rubric indicating the standards assessed and the progressive indicators for mastery.

For Independent Digital Lessons, formative assessments are offered throughout the online lessons, with reports sent to the classroom teacher on each student’s progress towards mastering the standards.

The materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectation of assessments including aligned rubrics and scoring guidelines that provide sufficient guidance to teachers for interpreting student performance and suggestions for follow-up. Each assessment includes a 4-step rubric indicating the standards assessed and the criteria and indicators for mastery. A Progression Toward Mastery is provided to describe steps that illuminate the gradually increasing understandings that students develop on their way to proficiency. This rubric provides a 4-step process that goes from 1, which shows “little evidence of reasoning without a correct answer,” to a 4, which is “evidence of solid reasoning with a correct answer.” The assessment also includes exemplars of student work.

Although there are no rubrics for activities in the Independent Digital Lessons, the teacher can access information on the digital component of the system at any time. In addition, an alert is triggered when a student struggles repeatedly on the same concept.

The materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectations for this indicator by including strategies to help teachers sequence and scaffold lessons.

• There is guidance provided in the Curriculum Map to clarify the intended sequence of materials to teachers. The Curriculum Map can be downloaded from the Curriculum Overview.
• A weekly schedule provides suggestions for teachers on how to best modify the sequence of lessons to make the content accessible to all learners. The “Recommended Weekly Schedule,” located on page 18 of Zearn Math’s Teaching & Learning Approach, recommends a flex day for day 5 with suggestions on how to adjust groups and instruction based on the needs of the students.
• There are notes in the Teacher-Led Instruction sections of Whole Group Fluency, Small Group Lessons, and Whole Group Word Problems that provide strategies for the teacher to scaffold the content for all learners.

The materials reviewed for Grade 1 meet the expectations for this indicator by including strategies for meeting the needs of a range of learners.

• The notes in the margin for the Universal Design for Learning Framework suggest ways to support students in engagement, representations, and action and expression of the content. These adaptations support a wide range of learners and help teachers make materials accessible.
• There is a general list of strategies labeled, “Special Cases of Differentiation” in the “Zearn Math’s Teaching & Learning Approach” document. The strategies listed for struggling students on page 22 include, Whole Group Supports, Small Group Supports, and Independent Digital Lesson Supports. Strategies include: “During Whole Group Word Problem, adjust the difficulty of the problem by offering different number choices or context.”, "Small Group Supports, Allow students to work with concrete manipulatives to model and explain thinking", "Independent Digital Lesson Supports, Ensure students are familiar with the video player in Independent Digital Lesson that can be paused and rewound so students can view the video again.".
• There are notes in the Teacher-Led Instruction sections of Whole Group Fluency, Small Group Lessons, and Whole Group Word Problems that provide strategies for the teacher in meeting the needs of a range of learners.

The materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectations for this indicator by including support for the English language learner (ELL) and other special populations in order for them to actively participate in learning mathematics.

Within Small Group Lessons, there are notes on Multiple Means of Engagement, Representation and/or Action/Expression that provide timely and direct suggestions for meeting the needs of ELL and special population students. Notes include sentence starters, physical responses, and vocabulary support.

There is a general list of strategies labeled, “Special Cases of Differentiation” in the “Zearn Math’s Teaching & Learning Approach” document. Guidance is provided in the following categories: Whole Group Supports, Small Group Supports, and Independent Digital Lesson Supports. The strategies listed for English Language Learners on page 19 include, “Provide frequent checks for understanding and encourage direct feedback from peers.”, “Allow students to work with concrete manipulatives to model and explain their thinking.”, "Seat students so ELLs work with a variety of learners.", "Ensure students are familiar with the audio buttons in each Independent Digital Lesson that can read text aloud to students.".

The materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectations of providing opportunities for advanced students to investigate mathematics content at greater depth.

• In Teacher-Led Instruction, some Whole Group Word Problems include extensions.
• In Small Group Lessons, Notes on specific problems to use, Multiple Means of Engagement, Representation and/or Action/Expression, sometimes give teachers suggestions about meeting the needs of advanced students.
• Digital Bonuses are provided in some Missions as Enrichment for students who have met their weekly goals.
• There is a general list of strategies labeled, “Special Cases of Differentiation” in the “Zearn Math’s Teaching & Learning Approach” document. Guidance is provided in the following categories: Whole Group Opportunities, Small Group Opportunities, and Independent Digital Lesson Opportunities. The strategies listed for Enrichment on page 21 include, "Encourage students to solve problems in more than one way or understand someone else's reasoning.", "Adjust the difficulty of problems by changing the numbers or the context.", and "Encourage students to progress beyond the recommended four Independent Digital Lessons each week; students could progress deeper in on-grade level content or complete all previous Independent Digital Lessons in prior grades through their My Stuff page.".

The instructional materials reviewed for Zearn Grade 1 meet the expectations for this indicator by providing a balanced portrayal of various demographic and personal characteristics.

• The names and situations in the story problems represent a variety of cultural groups.
• The Teacher-Led Instruction, Whole Group Word Problems include real-world situations that would appeal to a variety of cultural and gender groups.
• There is a balanced approach to the use of gender identification.
• The Independent Digital Lessons represent a variety of cultural groups.