Kindergarten - Gateway 1

The materials reviewed for ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 Kindergarten meet expectations for assessing grade-level content and, if applicable, content from earlier grades. 

Each Grade Level consists of 12 modules. Each module contains two types of summative assessments. Check-ups assess concepts taught in the module, and students select answers or provide a written response. In Interviews, teachers ask questions in a one-on-one setting, and students demonstrate understanding of a module concept or fluency for the grade. In addition, Quarterly Tests are administered at the end of Modules 3, 6, 9, and 12.

Examples of assessment items aligned to Kindergarten standards include:

• Module 1 Interview, students are given 5 counters and count the number of counters by saying numbers 1-5 aloud in sequence (K.CC.1).

• Module 5 Checkup, students identify which numerals correspond to the number of counters shown, assessing knowledge of number names and counting within 100 (K.CC.1).

• Module 7 Checkup, students connect the names of various 3D shapes to both the model and real world example of the shapes (K.G.2).

There are some assessment items that align to standards above Kindergarten; however, they can be modified or omitted without impacting the underlying structure of the materials. Examples include: 

• Module 12, Check-Up 1, Problem D, students solve, “13 cents has the same value as ____ dime and  ____ pennies.” In Check-Up 2, Problem C, students solve, “1 dime and ____ pennies has the same value as 17 cents.” In the Interview, “Correctly identified the value of each coin. ___ dime ___ nickel ___ penny. Correctly represented values using coins. 13 cents, 17 cents, 12 cents. Correctly describe the coins required to make a value 14 cents, 19 cents, and 15 cents.” These problems align to 2.MD.8. 

• Modules 10-12, Quarterly Assessment, Test A, Question 6, students determine the equivalent for 1 dime and 3 pennies. In Test B, Question 6, students determine the equivalent for 1 dime and 5 pennies. These problems align to 2.MD.8.

The materials reviewed for ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 Kindergarten meet expectations for the materials giving all students extensive work with grade-level problems to meet the full intent of grade-level standards.

Extensive work is provided as students engage with different types of problems in each Kindergarten lesson. There is a Student Journal with problems aligned to the day’s objective and Maintaining Concepts and Skills page that includes additional practice opportunities with grade level skills. Each Module includes six whole-class lessons and twelve small-group activities and, according to the materials, “It is recommended that Kindergarten teachers teach a whole-class lesson on one day and follow up with the two accompanying small-group activities on the next day.” Examples include:

• Module 2, Lessons 1-5 engage students in extensive work with K.CC.3 (Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects). In Lesson 1, Number: Creating groups to match numerals (6 to 10), Student Journal, page 23, students count to match a quantity to a given numeral. Student’s are asked to, “Color fruit to match each numeral.” In Lesson 3, Number: Writing numerals 1 to 6, Student Journal, pages 29 and 31, students practice writing the numerals 1 through 5 to match a given quantity. Students are directed to, “Follow the arrows. Trace then write the matching numerals.” In Lesson 5, Number: Introducing the number track, Student Journal, page 37, students write a number sequence. Question 1, “Trace over the gray numerals. Then write the numbers that are missing on each number track.” 

• Module 3, Lessons 4-6, engage students in extensive work with K.MD.2 (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.” In Lesson 4, Length: Making comparisons, Student Journal, page 49, students use a piece of string to compare lengths. Directions instruct students to, “Color the pictures blue that are shorter than your string. Color the pictures yellow that are longer than your string.” In Lesson 5, Mass: Making comparisons, Student Journal, page 51, includes six questions with a picture of a balance scale and two different objects on each scale. The scale is not equally balanced, as one object is higher in the air than the object on the other side. The materials instruct students to, “Circle the toy that is lighter.” In Lesson 6, Capacity: Making comparisons, Student Journal, page 53, Question 2, “Circle the glass that is holding more water.” Question 3, “Look at all the glasses in question 2. Write L on the glass that is holding the least amount of water.”

• Module 5, Lessons 2-4 and Module 10, Lesson 2 engage students in extensive work with K.OA.3 (Decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in more than one way, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each decomposition by a drawing or equation (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3 and 5 = 4 + 1). In Module 5, Lesson 3, Equality: Identifying two parts that balance a total, students practice decomposing numbers in more than one way. Step 2 Starting the lesson teacher notes, “Show a train of five connecting cubes. Ask two students to come to the front and break the train of five cubes into two groups. The students then identify the number of cubes in each group (for example, two and three). Ask, Who can break the five cubes in a different way? Choose another pair of students to break a second train of five cubes into two different groups (for example, one and four). Repeat the activity and discussion by breaking up a train of eight connecting cubes.” In the same lesson, Student Journal, page 73, students see a picture of a balance scale with quantities of circles on one side, and a different quantity on the other side. Directions instruct students to, “Draw a circle in each empty box to make each balance picture true. Then complete the sentence to match. ___ and ___ is the same value as ___” or “___ is the same value as ___and ___.” In Module 10, Lesson 2, Addition: Decomposing numbers (up to 10), Student Journal, page 139, students color a unifix cube train to show decomposing a number. Students now progress to writing an equation to match their cube train. Directions ask students to, “Color some of the blocks. Then write an equation to match.”

The instructional materials provide opportunities for all students to engage with the full intent of Kindergarten standards through a consistent lesson structure. Examples of meeting the full intent include:

• Module 5, Word Problems, Module 10, Word Problems, and Module 11, Lessons 2, 3, and 6 engage students with the full intent of K.OA.2 (Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.) In Module 5, More Math, Word Problems, “Natalie has 9 counters in total. Some of the counters are red, and some of the counters are blue. How many blue and how many red counters could Natalie have?” In Module 10, More Math, Word Problems, “Morgan has 8 stickers. She gives some stickers to her friend Antonio, and some stickers to her sister Susan. She has no stickers left. How many stickers could she have given to each person?” In Module 11, Lesson 2, Addition/Subtraction: Solving word problems (act out), Student Journal, page 153, “Use blocks to act out each problem. Then write an equation to show the answer.” Question 2a, “7 birds were sitting on the fence. One bird flew away. How many birds are left?” Question 2b, “Claire counts 3 blue cars and 3 red cars. How many cars did she count in total?”

• Module 8, Lesson 2 and Module 10, Lesson 4, engage students with the full intent of K.CC.2 (Count forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence). In Module 8, Lesson 2, Subtraction: Writing equations (take apart), Starting the Lesson, “Say the counting sequence from 20 to 50. Then have the students say the sequence with you a number of times. Invite a student to start counting by 20. Repeat with other students, starting from 30 or 40. Then invite students to count from 26, 36, or 46.” In Module 10, Lesson 4, Addition: Introducing the think big, count small strategy, Starting the Lesson, students count from 1 to 100. “Start the counting sequence from one, with each student saying just one number name as the count moves around the circle. Stop the sequence at 30. Start the count at 20 and move in the opposite direction around the circle stopping at 50. Repeat at other times of the week with other number ranges between 1 and 100.”

• Module 9, Lesson 5 and Module 11, Lesson 5 engage students with the full intent of K.G.5 (Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes.) In Module 9, Lesson 5, 3D Objects: Identifying and using objects, Small Group 1 activity, “Each student uses the 3D objects as models to help them make at least three 3D objects from the modeling clay.” In Module 11, Lesson 5, 2D Shapes: Drawing shapes, Step 2 Starting the Lesson, the teacher describes a 2D shape. students draw the shape and the teacher asks “for a volunteer to share their shape and explain how it matches all the clues”.

Materials do not provide opportunities to engage all students with the full intent of one standard that is major work of the grade:

• K.NBT.1 (Compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into ten ones and some further ones, e.g., by using objects or drawings, and record each composition or decomposition by a drawing or equation (such as 18 = 10 + 8); understand that these numbers are composed of ten ones and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones.) The full intent of K.NBT.1 is not realized as students do not have the opportunity to compose or decompose teen numbers into ten ones and some further ones by using objects and drawings. Students are given picture prompts on cards or in the Student Journal to show the composition or decomposition. In Module 7, Lesson 4, Number: Analyzing teen numbers, teen numbers are identified as having 1 ten and some ones instead of ten ones and some extra ones. For example, Student Journal, page 101, Question b, students are given a picture of a filled ten frame and five circles outside the ten frame. “Write the number of tens and ones. ___ ten and ___ ones.”

The materials reviewed for ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 Kindergarten meet expectations that, when implemented as designed, the majority of the materials address the major clusters of each grade.

• The approximate number of modules devoted to, or supporting, major work of the grade is 8 out of 12, which is approximately 67%.

• The approximate number of lessons devoted to major work of the grade is 49 out of 72, which is approximately 68%. 

• The number of days devoted to major work (including assessments and supporting work connected to the major work) is 71 out of 96, which is approximately 74%. 

A lesson-level analysis is most representative of the instructional materials because this calculation includes all lessons with connections to major work with no additional days factored in. As a result, approximately 74% of the instructional materials focus on major work of the grade.

The materials reviewed for ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 Kindergarten meet expectations that supporting content enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade. Materials are designed so supporting standards/clusters are connected to the major standards/clusters of the grade. These connections are sometimes listed for teachers on a document titled, “Grade __ Module __ Lesson Contents and Learning Targets” for each module. Examples of connections include:

• Module 1, Lesson 6, Data: Making yes/no graphs, Step 3 Teaching the lesson, connects the supporting work of K.MD.3 (Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.) to the major work of K.CC.5 (Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.) and to the major work of K.CC.4 (Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.) Students use sticky notes to create a graph and then answer questions about the data. “Discuss the information on the yes/no graph. Ask, What do you see happening on this yes/no graph? What do the faces tell us? Encourage the students to discuss their ideas. Ask a student to count the number of faces in each column. Make sure the correct number name is assigned to each sticky note and that they know the last number name said tells the total number of sticky notes. Ask, do we have more or fewer students who like dogs, or do not like dogs?”

• Module 9, Lesson 5, 3D objects: Identifying and using objects, Small Group 2, connects the supporting work of K.G.5 (Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes.) to the major work of K.CC.5 (Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.) Students build and count shapes. “Organize students into pairs to create a stack of five to eight blocks. They take a photo of their stack, then disassemble it, and lay the objects on the ground to take a photo of the blocks. At a later time, the photos can be shared with the whole class. The other students can identify the number and type of blocks used in the picture of the stack, before the second photo is shown.”

• Module 10, Lesson 6, 2D shapes: Analyzing attributes of shapes, Student Journal, page 149, connects the supporting work of K.G.4 (Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices/"corners") and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length) to the major work of K.CC.3 (Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects). Students see a picture of a square. Question a, “Write the number of sides and corners for each shape.” On the journal page, students practice with 5 additional shapes.

The materials reviewed for ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 Kindergarten meet expectations for including problems and activities that serve to connect two or more clusters in a domain or two or more domains in a grade.

Materials are coherent and consistent with the Standards. Examples of connections include:

• Module 4, Lesson 4, Number: Working with benchmarks of five (five-frame), Students work in partners for the whole group time to count the number of objects on cards and then recognize that the last number stated is the total (K.CC.4). The program states that it also addresses K.CC.3, in which students write numerals up to 20 connecting to K.CC.B, Count to tell the number of objects, to K.CC.A, Know number names and the count sequence. 

• Module 7, Lesson 7, Number: Matching representations for 19, 18, and 15, Teaching the lesson, connects K.CC.A as students write the numerals and K.CC.B as students draw a given number of objects. Two students show 15 fingers to the class. Students count the fingers. The teacher says, “Just like the numbers, 14, 16, and 17, these numbers are written with the 1 at the start to remind us there is one group of ten. Work with the students to write the numerals 15, 18, and 19.”

• Module 8, Lesson 8.2, Subtraction: Writing equations (take apart), Teaching the lesson, Lesson notes connects K.CC.A with K.OA.A as students count the numbers and represent a given situation as a subtraction equation.

The materials reviewed for ORIGO Stepping Stones 2.0 Kindergarten meet expectations that content from future grades is identified and related to grade-level work, and materials relate grade-level concepts explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades. 

Materials relate grade-level concepts from Kindergarten explicitly to prior knowledge from earlier grades. These references are consistently included within the Topic progression portion of Lesson Notes and within each Module Mathematics Focus. At times, they are also noted within the Coherence section of the Mathematics Overview in each Module. Examples include:

• Module 3, Lesson 6, Capacity: making comparisons, Lesson Notes connect K.MD.2 (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.) “In early years, children may have had experience with describing the amount of liquid they see in a container, such as a drinking glass or a bath. In this lesson (3.6), students make direct comparisons to compare the capacity of three different containers. Language associated with capacity and liquid volume is then explored.”

• Module 7, Mathematics, Focus, “Students coming to your classroom from a formal Pre-Kindergarten or early childhood curriculum may have experience and exposure to the following concepts: Naming common 3D objects (sphere, cube, cylinder, rectangular-based prism, and pyramid), Joining 3D objects to compose 3D structures, Describing and sorting 3D objects”.

• Module 12, Lesson 1, Money: Identifying coins, Lesson Notes connect K.NBT.A (Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place) to the work from early years. “In early years, children may have had experience with money, coins, and their values. In this lesson (12.1) students describe the distinguishing features of a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. They then identify each of these coins.”

Content from future grades is identified within materials and related to grade-level work. These references are consistently included within the Topic Progression portion of Lesson Notes and within the Coherence section of the Mathematics Overview in each Module. Examples include:

• Module 4, Lesson 6, Number: Working with unstructured arrangements, Lesson Notes connect K.CC.3 (Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).), K.CC.4 (Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.), and K.CC.5 (Count to answer "how many?" questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.) to the work of grade 1 (1.NBT.1). “In this lesson - Students identify numbers that are represented in unstructured arrangements on a ten-frame. The lesson builds upon Lessons 4.4 and 4.5, as students visualize the counters being moved to form a representation that is more familiar. In Lesson 1.1.1, students identify numerals and number names that match collections of up to ten objects.”

• Module 9, Mathematics Overview, Coherence “Lessons 9.1-9.4 focus on working with numbers through 20, including work with comparison and relative position.” This “serves as a foundation to representing two-digit numbers (1.3.1-1.3.8).”

• Module 10, Lesson 4, Addition: Introducing the think big, count small strategy, Lesson Notes connect K.OA.2 (Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem) to the work of grade 1 (1.OA.6, 1.OA.8,1.NBT.1). “Students use the technique of starting with the greater number and counting on the lesser number, regardless of the order presented in the addition fact. In Lesson 1.2.1, students review the concepts of add to and put together addition.”