Evaluation for 3.2a
Materials include explicit (direct) prompts and guidance for educators to build knowledge by activating prior knowledge, anchoring big ideas, and highlighting and connecting key patterns, features, and relationships through multiple means of representation.
The materials provide educators with guidance in activating prior knowledge. The materials support educators in understanding what students need to know before the lesson. The grade 6 "Scope and Sequence" document includes a general overview of what students will learn in each lesson and explains how prior knowledge from earlier grade levels will help support new learning in the lesson. For example, in Lesson 3: "Similarity and Scale Drawings," the grade 7 "Scope and Sequence" document states that students will "build on prior knowledge of ratios, rates, and proportions to extend their understanding to geometric concepts involving similarity and scale." Each lesson plan dives deeper into providing specific prompts and guidance for educators to help build and activate prior knowledge and anchor big ideas. For example, in the "Engage" section of the grade 7 Lesson Plan: "Similarity and Scale Drawings," educators are provided with specific grade 6 questions to project to students as well as guidance on strategies to use, such as a Think-Pair-Share. This guidance supports educators in activating prior knowledge and anchoring big ideas in the lesson. In the grade 7 Lesson Plan: "Equations," educators are provided with guidance to highlight and connect key patterns, features, and relationships through multiple means of representation. In the "Explore," "Explain," and "Elaborate" sections educators are given the option to choose between various practice opportunities for students, such as guiding questions, instructional videos, worksheets, and instructional activities such as Thumbs Vote, Discuss and Do, and Rally Rounds.