A Story of Units- Curriculum Overview
Sequence of Sessions
Overarching Objectives of this May 2013 Network Team Institute
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Participants will understand the focus of each module presented, the instructional path, and the student outcomes; and be ready to teach
and/or prepare their colleagues to teach these modules.
Participants will examine the K–5 progressions documents and the sequence of standards foundational to developing an understanding of
Number and Operations in Base Ten, thereby enabling participants to enact cross-grade coherence of NBT development in the classroom
and to train their colleagues to do the same.
Participants will understand the purpose and implementation of Fluency, Worksheets, Student Debriefs, Exit Tickets, Application
Problems and Conceptual Development within A Story of Units. They will be prepared to use these components as tools through which to
meet the needs of diverse learners.
Participants will examine formal and informal assessment within the Modules and develop an understanding of how to use the data
generated to make instructional decisions.
High-Level Purpose of this Session
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Review the centrality of the Standards, Progressions and Instructional Shifts in the development of A Story of Units in order to understand
the rationale for the curriculum and show the tight alignment to the Standards
Expand the understanding of the coherence of the curriculum for effective implementation of the curriculum
Describe the workflow in developing the curriculum and the foundational decisions upon which it rests in order to develop the underlying
philosophy of the curriculum
Establish the focus and theme of the May NTI in order for participants to understand what they will be learning and be able to train their
colleagues
Related Learning Experiences
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The February NTI presented key features about A Story of Units, how it is built on the CCLS, and key foundational documents for those
standards which built background knowledge about the curriculum
This Curriculum Overview Session will be followed by a session on Assessment
After that there will be a session on how to implement Module 1 for each grade level K, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Key Points
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.A Story of Units is tightly aligned to the Standards, Progressions and Instructional Shifts
There is a strong coherence across the P-12 curriculum
The workflow in developing A Story of Units has been carefully designed to relate every arithmetic idea back to understanding the idea of
a unit. The commonalities among form the interconnectedness of the math concepts, enabling students to more easily transfer their
mathematical skills and understanding across grades.
Session Outcomes
What do we want participants to be able to do as a result of this
session?
Participants will understand :
 The centrality of the Standards and their accompanying
Progressions, as well as the Instructional Shifts, to the
development of A Story of Units allowing participants to
understand the framework of the curriculum
 The vertical coherence within the P–12 curriculum in order
to understand why the modules were developed in a certain
sequence
 The workflow of this curriculum’s development and the
foundational decisions upon which it rests in order to see
the coherence of the curriculum,
How will we know that they are able to do this?
Participants will be able to:
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Describe the role the Standards, Progressions and Instructional
shifts played in the development of A Story of Units
Articulate examples of vertical coherence within the curriculum
Describe the curriculum’s workflow for development
Session Overview 9:30-10:30
Section
Time
Introduction
9:30-9:40
Overview of A Story of
Units
9:40-9:47
Overview
 Participate in sprint activity
 Frame session, referencing
workshop agenda.
 Introduce objectives and
sequence for this session.
 Review instructional shifts
 Review Vertical coherence as
reflected in curriculum maps
Vertical Coherence of
the P-12 Curriculum
9:47-10:10
 Discuss vertical coherence
 Discuss alignment to standards
Philosophy and
Workflow of A Story
10:1010:26
 Discuss workflow and how the
unit as the means of connection
Prepared Resources
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Session PowerPoint
Facilitator Preparation
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Review session notes and
PowerPoint presentation
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Session PowerPoint
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Review session notes and
PowerPoint presentation
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Session PowerPoint
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Review session notes and
PowerPoint presentation
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Session PowerPoint
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Review session notes and
of Units
PowerPoint presentation
Framework for this
NTI
10:2610:30
 Review focus of remaining
sessions
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Session PowerPoint
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Review session notes and
PowerPoint presentation
Session Roadmap
Section: Introduction
Time: 9:30-9:10
[10 minutes] In this section, you will…
Materials used include:
•
•
•
Participate in a sprint activity in order to build knowledge and
skills in leading sprints and to provide a high energy activity to
engage the audience
Frame session, referencing the agenda in order to orient the
audience to what they will be learning
Introduce objectives and sequence the session in order to provide
expectations for what they are expected to learn
•
Session PowerPoint
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
30 secs.
Slide 1
NOTE THAT THIS SESSION IS DESIGNED TO BE 60 MINUTES IN LENGTH;
Whole
Group
This opening session will be followed by a session on assessment in A Story of
Units, Module Focus sessions on each of the first modules for grades K
through 5, Module in Practice sessions emphasizing instructional choices in
delivery of instruction, and a coherence session on Number and Operations—
Base Ten
10 min.
Slide 2
Engage participants in Sprint routine, followed by short debrief of the activity.
2 min.
Slide 3
Our objective for this session is to _______
Section: Overview of A Story of Units
Time: 9:40-9:47
[7 min.] In this section, you will…
Materials used include:
Session PowerPoint
Curriculm map
Instructional shift visul
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Review instructional shifts to ensure that participants can articulate the
changes required in instruction
Review Vertical coherence as reflected in curriculum maps in order to
show the connectedness of the modules
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
1 min.
Slide 4
NOTE TO FAILITATOR: Assess how many in your audience are familiar with the
Instructional Shifts.
Whole
Group
In previous NTI meetings we have examined key features about A Story of Units
and how it is built on the CCLS and key foundational documents for those
standards. We are going to take a few minutes to go back over the history so that
we all have a common understanding of where this started. As you can see from
the agenda we are going to look at how P-12 flows and each grade prepares
students for the next grade. We will then move into how A Story of Units was
actually written so you can explain to your colleagues the deep thought by
mathematicians and teachers that went into its development.
3 min.
Slide 5
Start with the standards… why…
The authors of the Common Core State Standards tell us that the “standards are
not intended to be new names for old ways of doing business. They are a call to
take the next step.” (CCSSM, page 5) Student Achievement Partners , the writers
of the Common Core State Standards, has described some examples of the “old
ways of doing business,” articulating the kind of instruction to avoid.
In order to move away from these old ways, a new approach to mathematics
education was needed. This new plan was articulated in the form of the
Instructional Shifts, which describe how to implement the Standards as they were
intended so that all students will be career and college ready when they leave
high school.
NOTE TO FAILITATOR: If your audience is not familiar with these Instructional
Shifts, take time to discuss each one.
These shifts have been a driving force in creating A Story of Units.
• Each grade-level focuses on the major work.
• Material is organized into coherent topics, emphasizing natural
connections that exist both within and across grades.
• A balance of rigor is maintained in the daily lesson components as well as
in the assessments.
Practice standards are meaningfully connected to the content standards.
3 min.
Slide 6
The curriculum map for A Story of Units shows the series of modules at each grade
level, revealing the carefully designed coherence from PK through Grade 5. This
coherence across the grades is derived from the learning progressions within the
Standards.
We first shared this map in August, along with the accompanying grade-level
descriptions and standards alignment. This overview/map was created as a
framework from which to begin development of the curriculum. As you might
expect, developing a comprehensive curriculum from this framework has been
and continues to be a massive undertaking. It requires a tremendous effort from
all stakeholders, including our collaborators at NYSED and SAP in addition to our
own team that has grown to well over 100 people serving in various capacities to
bring this curriculum to life. (Many of our team are here this week as we present
sessions on the seven new modules that are now complete and are being posted
on EngageNY. You know some of them from previous Institutes, and you may
know others as colleagues here in New York. We invite them all to stand at this
time.)
The overview/map and How to Implement are living and breathing documents.
They were created initially as a framework within which to begin development of
the curriculum, not to limit our direction. Just as the best trips are carefully
planned, so are they left flexible for unexpected discoveries along the way. There
are a few changes in module titles and a few instructional days have been shifted
from one module to another in order to support the major work of the grade. The
most noticeable change is that Grade 2 now has an additional module. The
decision was made to break two-digit and three-digit addition and subtraction into
separate modules in order to more clearly define the coherence within the grade.
These are the types of changes that you might continue to see through the coming
months as we work toward completion of the curriculum. We will provide
updated versions of the Curriculum Overview and map.
Section: Vertical Coherence of the P-12 Curriculum
Time: 9:47-10:10
[23 minutes] In this section, you will…
Materials used include:
•
•
Discuss vertical coherence in order to understand connectedness
of the modules within a grade and from grade to grade
Discuss alignment to the standards in order to understand how all
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Session PowerPoint
Curriculum map
Video captured at May NTI
standards are covered within the modules
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
1 min.
Slide 7
Agenda
Whole
group
5 min.
Slide 8
Slides 8-11, Facilitator will describe the tight alignment to the Standards, the
progression of mathematics, and intentionality that support and unify the P-5,
6-8, and 9-12 curricula being developed by the Common Core, Inc. team.
Facilitate a discussion about this progression from A Story of Units to A Story of
Ratios to A Story of Functions.
5 min.
Slide 9
Slides 8-11, Facilitator will describe the tight alignment to the Standards, the
progression of mathematics, and intentionality that support and unify the P-5,
6-8, and 9-12 curricula being developed by the Common Core, Inc. team.
Facilitate a discussion about this progression from A Story of Units to A Story of
Ratios to A Story of Functions.
5 min.
Slide 10
Slides 8-11, Facilitator will describe the tight alignment to the Standards, the
progression of mathematics, and intentionality that support and unify the P-5,
6-8, and 9-12 curricula being developed by the Common Core, Inc. team.
Facilitate a discussion about this progression from A Story of Units to A Story of
Ratios to A Story of Functions.
5 min.
Slide 11
Slides 8-11, Facilitator will describe the tight alignment to the Standards, the
progression of mathematics, and intentionality that support and unify the P-5,
6-8, and 9-12 curricula being developed by the Common Core, Inc. team.
Facilitate a discussion about this progression from A Story of Units to A Story of
Ratios to A Story of Functions.
5 min.
Slide 12
Consider a typical example problem and its connection among the standards.
Have the participants work the problem individually (1 minute). Then have the
participants share at their tables the process that was used (1
minute). Facilitate a brief discussion of how this problem fits in the
progression of standards
Section: Philosophy and Workflow of A Story of Units
Time: 10:10-10:26
[16minutes] In this section, you will…
Materials used include:
•
Discuss takeaways and key points in order to summarize and
cement particpants learning of key points
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
1 min.
Slide 13
6 min.
Slide 14
•
Session PowerPoint
Script/ Activity directions
A Story of Units follows the focus of the Common Core Learning Standards by
relating every arithmetic idea back to understanding the idea of a unit. It is the
study of the commonalities among units that drives the focus of A Story of Units,
so that the concepts learned are prioritized by the CCLS. The commonalities form
the interconnectedness of the math concepts, enabling students to more easily
transfer their mathematical skills and understanding across grades.
From the field of mathematics, learning progressions have been clearly defined
for us in the Common Core Learning Standards. From those, we developed a
framework for the P-5 curriculum. This is illustrated in the curriculum map and
articulated in the accompanying grade-level descriptions of the Curriculum
Overview. From this established sequence of modules, overview and
GROUP
Whole
group
assessments are created. Each topic is then fully developed to include daily
objectives that describe a teaching sequence towards mastery.
3 min.
Slide 15
Take 2 minutes to turn and talk with others at your table. During this session,
what information was particularly helpful and/or insightful? What new questions
do you have?
Allow 2 minutes for participants to turn and talk. Bring the group to order and
advance to the next slide.
Section: Framework for this NTI
Time: 10:26-10:30
[4 minutes] In this section, you will…
Materials used include:
•
Review focus for the rest of the sessions in order to orient the
participants to what they will be needing to learn
•
Session PowerPoint
Time
Slide #/ Pic of Slide
Script/ Activity directions
GROUP
1 min.
Slide 16
Whole
The sessions we have planned for this NTI are designed to provide
you with the information you need to fully implement A Story of Units Group
this September. Please keep track of your questions as they arise. If a
question fits well with content as it is presented we, of course,
encourage you to ask. However, if your question is of a more general
or unrelated nature, please feel free to jot it on a post-it note and add
it to one of the parking lots posted around the room. As always, we
will do our best to respond to all your questions and needs.
We are going to take a few minutes now to discuss the focus of this
NTI.
4 min.
Slide 17
The focus of this NTI is centered on the first module for each grade, K
through 5. Listed here are the seven new modules that are now
complete and are currently being posted on EngageNY. In your
binder, we have provided material that will be useful in our
discussions about preparing for implementation of A Story of Units.
This includes the Module Overview, Assessments, and Topic Openers
for each of these seven modules.
Review binder and agenda. We are going to spend a significant
amount of time working with the content of each module and
practicing how to implement each of the lesson components.
3 min.
Slide 18
Throughout the NTI, as you examine these modules, you will find the
same careful and intense balance of rigor that you saw in previous
modules.
You might recall that our sessions during both the November NTI and
the February NTI were structured around rigor. Both times, we
presented a three-part Rigor Breakdown series, where each session
focused on one component of rigor and provided examples from the
featured modules.
During this NTI our attention to rigor may be less explicit in that you
will not see the familiar structure of the Rigor Breakdown series.
While our explicit focus is on examining modules, attention to rigor is
embedded in those sessions and will continue to be a natural part of
discussion. We anticipate that you will recognize and share examples
of rigor as they are uncovered.
THIS SESSION WILL BE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED BY A SESSION ON
ASSESSMENT IN A STORY OF UNITS.
Use the following icons in the script to indicate different learning modes.
Video
Reflect on a prompt
Turnkey Materials Provided
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PPT
Facilitators Guide
Handouts
Additional Suggested Resources
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Progressions documents
How to Teach A Story of Units
Active learning
Turn and talk