Kindergarten - Gateway 2
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Rigor & Mathematical Practices
| Score | |
|---|---|
| Gateway 2 - Partially Meets Expectations | 61% |
| Criterion 2.1: Rigor | 5 / 8 |
| Criterion 2.2: Math Practices | 6 / 10 |
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the requirements for Gateway 2. All three aspects of rigor are present in the materials, but they are not balanced. There is a prevalence of procedural lessons, problems and assessment items. There are few conceptual understanding lessons, problems or assessment items. The MPs are listed in the specifics of the lessons, and the way they are listed enhances the learning. Attention is not paid to the full meaning of each MP and one lesson in each unit focuses on math practices and not content standards. The materials are not strong in their expectation for mathematical reasoning. The students and teachers are not given enough support nor is the vocabulary development sufficient. The materials reviewed for Gateway 2 do not align with the expectations for rigor and mathematical practice.
Criterion 2.1: Rigor
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the requirements for this criterion. All three aspects of rigor are present in the materials, but they are not balanced. Students rarely have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of addition and subtraction. Many of the fluency exercises focus on numbers greater than five. There are many opportunities for students to act out stories or create real-world problems that successfully address application.
Indicator 2a
The materials reviewed in Kindergarten for this indicator partially meet the requirements of attending to conceptual understanding within the lessons.
- There is an emphasis on routines to build counting skills and number sense. For example, unit 4, lesson 13 uses the 10 Partner concept to help students identify partners for 10 and "Finger Wiggles" is used to reinforce this concept.
- Few examples were found of students being asked to demonstrate their understanding of addition and subtraction as expected in K.OA.A.1. In unit 2 lesson 2, students are asked to demonstrate their understanding by discussing the relationship between the five-frame, their fingers on one hand and the linking cubes in sets of five.
Indicator 2b
The materials reviewed in Kindergarten for this indicator partially meet the requirements by attending to fluency and procedural work within the lessons. In Kindergarten this includes fluently adding and subtracting within 5 (K.OA.A.5).
- This standard is addressed in 25 lessons. Many of these actually focus on numbers greater than five. For example, in unit 2, lessons 4 and 9 spend more time on numbers six to 10. In unit 5, lessons 1 and 3 are labeled as attending to K.OA.A.5, but they focus on numbers larger than five.
Indicator 2c
The materials reviewed in Kindergarten for this indicator meet the requirements by attending to application within the lessons.
- Students are given ample opportunities to act out stories and to create their own real-world problems. For example, in unit 4 students use the grocery store to solve addition and subtraction problems.
- The problem types are attended to and described for the teacher.
Indicator 2d
The materials reviewed in Kindergarten for this indicator partially meet the requirements of providing a balance of rigor.
- There is a lack of emphasis on conceptual understanding within the Kindergarten materials.
- The lesson sections addressing fluency to five are lacking.
Criterion 2.2: Math Practices
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the requirements of this criterion. The MPs are listed in the specifics of the lessons and the way they are listed enhances the learning. Attention is not paid to the full meaning of each MP and one lesson in each unit focuses on the math practices and not content standards. The materials are not strong in their expectation for mathematical reasoning. The students and teachers are not given enough support nor is the vocabulary development components in the materials sufficient.
Indicator 2e
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten meet the requirement of this indicator by identifying the MPs and using this identification to enhance the learning.
- MPs are identified in the "Getting Ready to Teach" sections in every unit.
- MPs are identified within the lessons in a way that supports the learning.
- For example in unit 6, MP6 is identified as students are asked to explain three-digit subtraction using place value words. This is a way to use precise vocabulary to enhance the learning.
Indicator 2f
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the requirement of this indicator.
- MP1 is consistently expected as students solve problems throughout the year.
- The full meaning of MP5 is not attended to. Students rarely choose their own mathematical tools.
- The final lesson in each unit uses all 8 MPs as the focus instead of letting the focus be content standards. These lessons do not attend to the full meaning of all 8 MPs.
Indicator 2g
Indicator 2g.i
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the requirement of this indicator of attending to the standards' emphasis on mathematical reasoning.
- Students are rarely prompted to construct viable arguments.
- In the differentiation cards students are occasionally prompted to discuss their strategies with the group.
- Students are asked to analyze a response from the "Puzzled Penguin," but this is simply an opportunity for catching errors and not true reasoning.
Indicator 2g.ii
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the requirement of this indicator of attending to the standards' emphasis on mathematical reasoning.
- The teacher's manual provides questions to promote MP3. In unit 3, lesson 8, students are asked, "What are some ways to show the teen number 16?"
- In several lessons are labeled with "Math Talk in Action" as a way to promote high-quality classroom discussions.
- Teacher questions often simply ask for the answer and not the reasoning nor the opportunity to analyze arguments of other students.
Indicator 2g.iii
The materials reviewed for Kindergarten partially meet the requirement of this indicator of attending to the standards' emphasis on mathematical reasoning.
- There are vocabulary terms listed for most lessons, however this often includes strategies specific to the curriculum instead of mathematical language. For example, the phrase "switch the partners" is listed as a vocabulary word in unit 3. In unit 4 the phrase "tiny tumblers" is listed as vocabulary.