Kindergarten - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Ready Classroom Mathematics Kindergarten meet the expectations that they assess grade-level content. 

i-Ready Teach and Assess is the portal through which both assessments and the Ready Classroom Mathematics Teacher Toolbox are housed. Unit Assessments are found in the Ready Classroom Mathematics Teacher Toolbox, Classroom Resources, Assess. Comprehension Checks are found in i-Ready, Teach and Assess, Assessment. 

The series is divided into units, and each unit has numerous opportunities for both formative and summative assessments that can be administered in online and/or paper and pencil formats. The online Teacher Toolbox includes two versions of Unit Assessments: Form A and Form B. Form A assessments are editable in each one of the units. The Form A assessments also have the grade-level standard identified with a brief narrative of possible ways students could solve the item, and/or reasoning as to why specific multiple choice options are not accurate. Form A assessments also include a standards correlation chart, DOK levels, as well as a correlation to the lesson(s) related to each assessment question. Form B assessments do not include these features.

An additional assessment opportunity is provided through the online i-Ready Comprehension Check portal. This feature presents opportunities for teachers to load class rosters and collect data, and is described as “an alternative to the print Mid-Unit or Unit Assessment. For each of these assessments, the tables (below) provide a Depth of Knowledge (DOK), standard(s) addressed, and the corresponding lesson(s) assessed by each Item.” 

Above grade-level content addressing probability, statistical distributions, similarities, transformations, and congruence do not appear in the assessments. Examples of assessment items from the Classroom Resources aligned to Kindergarten CCSS include:

• In Unit 6, Assess, End of Unit, Unit Assessment - Form A Teacher, Items 1 and 2 state, “Have children compare lengths and weights of objects. For the first Item, have children circle the longer pencil. For the second Item, have children circle the heavier object. Ask students to describe how they chose each item.” In 1, students circle the longer pencil. In 2, students circle a gallon of milk rather than a box of cereal. (K.MD.2) 
• In Unit 2, Assess, End of Unit, Unit Assessment - Form A Teacher, Item 2 states, “For the bottom problem, have children look at the number on the balloon and find the number that is 1 more. Have children circle that number.” The number choices are 4, 5, or 6. (K.CC.4.c.)

Examples of assessment items in the Assess and Teach tab aligned to Kindergarten CCSS include:

• In Comprehension Checks, Comprehension Checks Details, Kindergarten Unit 1 (Lessons 1-5), Preview, Item number  4 states, “Use the frames (5 frames pictured) to help compare numbers. Which is greater? Tap the number. (3 and 5 shown as options)” (K.CC.6) 
• In Comprehension Checks, Comprehension Checks Details, Kindergarten Unit 4, (Lessons 20-25), Preview, Item 5 states, “Count the shapes. (A 10-frame with 3 green dots is shown.) How many more shapes make 10? Complete the equation. Put your answers in the boxes. Use the number bar. 10 = ? + ?.” (K.OA.4). 
• In Comprehension Checks, Comprehension Checks Details, Kindergarten Unit 5 (Lessons 26-30) Preview, Item 1 states, “What teen number do the cubes show?” Students have to count to tell “how many” for teen numbers. (K.NBT.1)

The instructional materials reviewed for Ready Classroom Mathematics Kindergarten meet expectations for spending a majority of instructional time on major work of the grade. To evaluate focus on the grade, alignment to the major work with clusters in K.CC, K.OA, and K.NBT were examined at the levels of unit, lesson, and instructional days. Of the three levels, instructional days were determined to be the most representative of the amount of instructional time spent on major work of the grade.                                      

Evidence: 

• The approximate number of units devoted to major work of the grade (including assessments and supporting work connected to the major work) is 4 of 6, which is approximately 67%.
• The number of lessons devoted to major work of the grade (including review days, assessments, and supporting work connected to the major work) is 26 of 32, which is approximately 81%. (Lessons in this series are taught over a number of instructional days.)
• The number of instructional days devoted to major work (including review days, assessments, and supporting work connected to the major work) is 140 of 174, which is approximately 78%. 

An instructional day analysis is most representative of the instructional materials because most lessons are taught over 4 to 5 days with review and assessment included. As a result, approximately 78% of the instructional materials focus on the major work of the grade.

The instructional materials reviewed for Ready Classroom Mathematics Kindergarten meet expectations that supporting work enhances focus and coherence simultaneously by engaging students in the major work of the grade. 

i-Ready Teach and Assess is the portal through which the Ready Classroom Mathematics Teacher Toolbox is housed. Supporting standards/clusters are connected to the major standards/clusters of the grade. Example of when supporting standards and clusters are connected to major standards and clusters found from the Classroom Resource tab include:

• Lesson 9, Student Worktext, Session 1, Explore, connects supporting cluster K.MD.B (Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category) with major cluster K.CC.C (Compare numbers) as students count and compute. It states, “Ask children to sort themselves. Have them count and compare the numbers in each group… Write the totals on the board and have children write them. As a class, compare the numbers using language such as more than, fewer than, the same as, and equal. Repeat, having the class sort themselves by hair color and by shoe type.”
• Lesson 12, Session 5, Refine, Apply It, connects supporting standard K.G.2 (Correctly name shapes) with K.CC.5 (Counts to answer how many?) when students pull a shape from the teacher’s bag of shapes and have to describe the shape without saying its name so other students can circle the correct shape on the worksheet. 
• Lesson 14, Session 3, Develop, Connect It, connects supporting cluster K.G.B (Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes) with major cluster K.CC.B (Count to tell the number of objects) when students have to count the number of sides, corners, or the length of sides to determine which of the three shapes are alike. It states, “For each problem, have children ring (circle) the two shapes that are most alike. Have them focus attention on the number of sides, type of corners, or sides that are the same length.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Ready Classroom Mathematics Kindergarten meet expectations that the amount of content designated for one grade-level is viable for one year. 

As designed, the instructional materials can be completed in 179 days. The suggested amount of time and expectations for teachers and students of the materials are viable for one school year as written and would not require significant modifications. 

i-Ready Teach and Assess is the portal through which teachers access the Ready Classroom Mathematics Teacher Toolbox. Pacing information from the publisher can be found in Program Implementation in Yearly Pacing. Yearly Pacing includes a list of units, lessons within each unit, and the number of days each lesson encompasses, a note that sessions are 45-60 minutes in length and the number of days for assessments. The Kindergarten Yearly Pacing document shows 155 days of instruction, 7 days for assessment, and 6 days for i-Ready diagnostic assessments. In addition to the days of math instruction, “Lesson 0” is included with 5 days of instruction at the beginning of the year to teach and establish instructional routines. Review days are also provided at the end of each unit for a total of 6 review days. This brings the total number of instructional days to 179.

Pacing information is also verified in the Classroom Resources tab in each unit for each lesson in Lesson Overview and Family Connection which includes a Lesson Pacing Guide with more detailed information that lists sessions and minutes for each lesson.

The instructional materials reviewed for Ready Classroom Mathematics Kindergarten meet expectations for the materials being consistent with the progressions in the Standards. The instructional materials clearly identify content from prior and future grade levels and use it to support the progressions of the grade-level standards.  

The materials clearly identify connections to prior and future grade-level work and progressions across grade levels. For example, in i-Ready, Ready Classroom Mathematics, Classroom Resources. For example:

• Beginning of Unit includes a Learning Progression Teacher page which clearly identifies the standards that are taught in the unit and information on: “What lessons are children preparing for?” in a chart that shows the current Kindergarten lesson connected to future lessons in the next grade. For instance, Kindergarten, Lesson 12, Naming Shapes, (K.G.2 and K.G.3) links to Grade 1, Lesson 33, Shapes (1.G.1). 
• In each lesson, there is a section that identifies the Learning Progression content from prior grades or prior units within the grade, to the current lesson, and to content in future grades. For example, the Learning Progression section for Lesson 28, states “In Kindergarten, children learn to decompose numbers less than or equal to 10 into pairs in different ways. They relate the number pairs to an equation. Children then explore and count with teen numbers. In this lesson, they express teen numbers as ‘10 and some more’ using pictures, number bonds, and equations. In previous lessons on composing numbers within 10, children examined the different number pairs that can be used to make a total. In this lesson children examine the ‘10 and some more’ number pairs for the teen numbers 11-19. Children also develop a sense of the relative size of teen numbers compared to each other and compared to 10. In Grade 1 children continue to work with teen numbers, learning to see 10 ones as a single unit and use that concept to develop the ‘make a ten’ strategy for addition and subtraction.”

The materials attend to the full intent of the grade-level standards by giving all students extensive work with grade-level problems. Lessons include between four and five sessions (days) focused on grade-level tasks. During Develop, students explore ways to solve problems using multiple representations, digital tools, and prompts to reason and explain their thinking. In addition, the Develop and Refine sections of the lessons allow students to solve problems and discuss their solution methods. For example: 

• Lesson 4, Session 1, Explore, is one of many opportunities students have to attend to the full intent of K.CC.6, which states, “Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies.” Students match the number of snacks to see who has more. The materials state, “Invite two children to come to the front. Give one child 3 snacks and the other child 2 snacks. Have the class count how many snacks each child has.” In Session 2 Develop, students learn about “the same as” when they study a party scene. Students assign numerals to items. In Session 3, Develop, Connect It, students circle the number that is greater: “For each problem, children compare the two groups of objects and circle the greater number, or circle both numbers if the groups are equal. When all 3 problems have been completed, have several children share their answers and thinking.”
• In Student Edition, Lesson 14, Session 3, Develop, the materials state, “Have children make and draw triangles. Give children cut straws of different lengths and small clay balls. Have children use three straws joined by clay to make a triangle. Have children make two more triangles and then draw them all on the page.” This lesson meets the full intent of K.G.5, which states, “Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components.”
• Lesson 30, Session 3 is one of many opportunities that students have to meet the full intent of  K.CC.1 (“Count to 100 by ones and tens”). The materials state, “Have children review counting to 31 using a calendar. Say: A calendar is a chart that shows numbers in order. We use the calendar to count the days in each month. Have children point to the dates in order, and lead the class in saying each number aloud together.” K.CC.1 (Count to 100 by ones and tens.) Lesson 29 addressed counting by tens.
• Additional components of the materials include math centers and enrichment activities which provide students with more time to work on grade level concepts. 

The materials provide explicit guidance for teachers and/or students that makes connection to prior knowledge in the Lesson Overview: Prerequisite Skills and at the beginning of some sessions with “Connect to Prior knowledge” in Classroom Resources. For example:

• Lesson 21, Session 1, Explore, “Connect to Prior Knowledge,” notes “Have children work in pairs and sit back to back. One partner chooses an equation from the slide, claps the first addend in the equation, and taps the second addend. The other partner uses his or her fingers to find the total number of sounds and then completes the equation. Repeat, switching roles, until all equations have been completed.” Equations listed are “3+1, 1+3, 4+1, 2+1.” These equations are aligned to K.OA.5 (Fluently add and subtract within 5) and continue the work that was taught in Lesson 17.  The content of Lesson 21 aligns with K.OA.2.
• In Lesson 9, Lesson Overview, Prerequisite Skills, the materials state, “Compare up to 10 objects; Compare numbers to 10.” 
• In Lesson 24, Lesson Overview, Prerequisite Skills, the materials state, “Solve addition word problems with sums to 5, using pictures and objects; Solve take-away subtraction word problems within 5 using pictures or objects; Count up to 10 objects; Read addition and subtraction equations.” These prerequisite skills have been taught earlier in the grade/unit.

The instructional materials reviewed for Ready Classroom Mathematics Kindergarten meet expectations that materials foster coherence through connections at a single grade, where appropriate and required by the standards. 

In i-Ready, Ready Classroom Mathematics, Program Implementation, there is a Correlations Guide. The guide lists each Cluster Heading and the standards for the grade, the Emphasis (Major, Supporting or Additional), and the Lessons that Focus, Develop, or Apply the standard. In Classroom Resources, each lesson includes a learning target that is visibly shaped by the CCSS Mathematics cluster headings.

Materials include learning objectives that are visibly shaped by CCSSM cluster headings. For example:

• In Lesson 4, Lesson Overview, the Content Objective states, “Compare two numbers, presented as written numbers between 0 and 5, without objects.” (K.CC.C.)
• In Lesson 26, the Learning Target states, “Compose and decompose numbers from 11 to 19 into ten ones and some further ones, and record each composition or decomposition by a drawing; understand that these numbers are composed of ten ones and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones.” (K.NBT.A)
• In Lesson 28, Session 1, Explore, the Learning Target states, “Compose and decompose numbers from 11-19 into ten ones and some further ones, and record each composition or decomposition by a drawing or equation; understand that these numbers are composed of ten ones and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine ones.” (K.NBT.A) 

Materials include problems and activities that connect two or more clusters in a domain, or two or more domains in a grade, in cases where these connections are natural and important. For example:

• Lesson 28, Session 1, Explore connects clusters K.CC.A (Know number names and the count sequence) and K.NBT.A (Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value), as students solve: “Then write 11 in a number bond as 10 and 1 on the board. Have children complete the number bond for 11. Then write 11=10+1 on the board and relate it to the number bond.” Students must be able to know, identify, and write numbers up to 19 in order to complete this student page of the unit. 
• Lesson 9, Session 1, Explore connects K.MD.B (Classify objects and count the number of objects in categories) with K.CC.A (Know number names and the count sequence.) and K.CC.B. (Count to tell the number of objects), as students “Classify objects into given categories; count the number of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.” 
• Lesson 16, Session 3, Develop, Fluency and Skills Practice connects clusters K.CC.B (Count to tell the number of objects) and K.OA.A (Understand addition as putting together and adding to and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from), as teachers “Have children match pictures to addition equations. Have children describe how many cubes are being added in each picture. Read each equation aloud together and discuss the meaning of each. Then have children draw lines to match each picture with its equation.” Students must count the cubes in order to be able to “describe how many cubes are being added in each picture.”
• Unit 1 connects domains K.CC (Counting and Cardinality) and K.OA (Operations & Algebraic Thinking) as students “use what they know about counting as they build sets from smaller sets.” 
• Unit 5 connects domains K.CC (Counting and Cardinality) and K.NBT (Numbers & Operations in Base Ten) as students count beyond 10 to 100 using “what they know about counting by tens to help them learn the counting sequence all the way to 100.”