We will make sure that everyone has what they need to start the year during August PD, and will be offering professional learning throughout the 2024-25 school year to support your in the moment needs.  However, if you are someone who likes to be extra prepared and get started earlier than August, here are some things you can do now to get ready.

1. Utilize your account to start learning how to navigate the platform and to check out the design on the lessons and units.  

You can access your account by clicking on the il classroom icon in Clever.

We recommend you start by reading the Curriculum Guide (K-5), (6-8)

2. Try out a lesson, section, or even a whole unit by replacing your Go Math content with the content from Illustrative Math.  For example, the last unit for 5th grade in Go Math is the Volume Unit.  Illustrative Math starts the year with volume.  So you could practice teaching what will be your first unit next year right now with your current 5th graders. 

3. Illustrative Math naturally embeds Math Language Routines into the lessons. We have explicitly learned and practices three of the eight Math Language Routines throughout our K-5 district professional learning sessions this year; MLR.6: Three Reads, MLR.1: Stronger and Clearer Each Time, and MLR.4: Information Gap.  In 6-8, we have embedded MLR.6 Three Reads and MLR.1 Stronger and Clearer Each Time.  If you have not tried one or more of those MLRs out with your students yet, give it a go!  The more you introduce and practice this year, the more comfortable you and your students will be with the routines going into next year.
   
   
   

4. Centers are a big component to the K-5 Illustrative Math Curriculum. In grades K-2, they are often built into the lessons.  In grades 3-5, they are in addition to the core lessons.  If you have not yet tried centers in your classroom, one way you can prepare is by trying out one or more of the Illustrative Math Centers as part of your current Math Workshop block. Think about how you will manage and store the materials for centers.  
   Here is the link to the Centers Navigation Tool where you can see which center is appropriate for each grade and is aligned to which content.
   Here is a link where you can access all of the centers in K-5.

We followed the PPS RFP process as is required for all major purchases in the district.  We received 13 submissions in response to the Request for Proposals for a new K-8 Mathematics Curriculum.  27 educators served on the selection committee, at least two per grade level, representing a variety of schools across the district; including ESL and special education.  We also had representation from 9 PPS parents.  We used a rubric that was adapted from Achieve the Core's Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool. 

We would like to extend our gratitude for the curriculum selection committee for all of the hours that were put in outside of school hours reviewing the potential program materials from multiple vendors.  We could not have made this decision without the input of this team of PPS educators.  

Moving around or omitting parts of the curriculum could affect the coherence of the mathematics.  For year 1 implementation, the authors suggest making only small modifications to the curriculum so as to understand the story of the math and the pacing.  The expectation at PPS will be that all units and lessons should be taught in the order in which they appear.  The order of units was thoughtfully designed so that concepts can be developed in a coherent way. Learning is more sticky when new concepts are connected to existing knowledge, and a coherent curriculum can take advantage of that.  

These documents, created by the author team, may add clarity to the reasoning behind the unit sequencing in IM K–5 Math v.1:

• IM – Stories of Grades K-5. 

• See also the K-5 Unit Order Rationale.

• Please see the K-5 Unit Dependency Chart to show which units build upon others. 

• Here is a link to the 6-8 Scope and Sequence and Unit Dependency Chart.

At this time our plan is to utilize the assessments from the curriculum as written as our district common assessments. We do not anticipate that we will need to adapt the unit assessments.  Unit assessment data will be stored in the Imagine Learning platform and DREA will ensure that it is also uploaded into Performance Matters.  

The Illustrative Math Centers in grades K-5 are a required part of the core curriculum.  

• Centers are embedded in the pacing and lesson structure of K–1 and show up as center days in Grade 2. 

• IM K–5 MathTM has centers that are intended to give students time to practice skills and concepts that are developed across the year. There are two types of centers. Addressing Centers address the work of a lesson or section of a unit. Supporting Centers review prior unit or prior grade-level understandings and fluencies. Each center builds across multiple stages that may span several grades. Students in the same class can play different stages of the same center or different centers during “learning station” time.

IM centers will be part of the daily Math Workshop block in all K-5 mathematics classrooms.  Math Workshop will take place after the core lesson every day for 20+ minutes.  Math Workshop time will include the ILIM Centers, teacher facilitated support based on formative assessment data, and DreamBox, the K-5 EdTech tool. 

For grades 6-8 math, teachers should have the core lesson as the priority for the math block, ~60-75 minutes.  The remaining time should be spent with students in small flexible groups with at least one technology and one teacher led.

Materials will be delivered throughout the summer months and all materials will arrive before teachers return in August.

Teachers have access to their accounts now through Clever.  We will not send physical materials with teachers during the summer as it is too challenging to keep track of materials in cases of resignations, displacements, moves, etc.  We need to ensure that every teacher has what they need to start the year successfully. 

If you find that you have NOT received all materials, please reach out to your math coach.

The core ILIM lessons are written to take approximately 45-70 minutes, with most lessons taking about 60 minutes.  This may take longer as teachers and students are acquainting themselves with the new routines and lesson structure.  Following the ~60 minute core block, teachers will implement the IM centers during a 30 or so minute Math Workshop block.  Centers are an essential part of the curriculum.  For more information, please see the Math Block Guidance page.

For 6-8, it would be similar, only with a station rotation model for the remaining time after the core lesson.  If the Core lesson takes the entire 90-minutes, that is alright for this first year of implementation.  

In a problem-based mathematics classroom, such as Illustrative Mathematics, sense-making and language are interwoven. Mathematics classrooms are language-rich, and therefore language demanding learning environments for every student. The linguistic demands of doing mathematics include reading, writing, speaking, listening, conversing, and representing (Aguirre & Bunch, 2012). Students are expected to say or write mathematical explanations, state assumptions, make conjectures, construct mathematical arguments, and listen to and respond to the ideas of others. In an effort to advance the mathematics and language learning of all students, the materials purposefully engage students in sense-making and using language to negotiate meaning with their peers. To support students who are learning English in their development of language, this curriculum includes instruction devoted to fostering language development alongside mathematics learning, fostering language-rich environments where there is space for all students to participate. 

Visit this page for more detailed information about the access that has been built in for English Learners. 

Mathematical Language Routines (MLRs) are instructional routines that provide structured but adaptable formats for amplifying, assessing, and developing students' language. The MLRs included in this curriculum were selected because they simultaneously support students’ learning of mathematical practices, content, and language. They are particularly well-suited to meet the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students who are learning mathematics while simultaneously acquiring English. 

Visit this page for more detailed information about Math Language Routines.

All materials are available in Spanish and all content on the platform is compatible with Google translate.

In grades K-2, the Common Core and PACore standards are identical.  No changes need to be made.  

In grades 3-5, over 90% of the standards align.  In most cases, the PACore only standards have been addressed in a prior grade or could be addressed with a simple Math Workshop game, task, or mini-lesson.  The curriculum team has also included PACore-only lessons from the ILC Platform into the PPS Unit Maps that are posted in Schoology.

See a list of K-5 PA Core only standards and the guidance for addressing them here.

Illustrative Mathematics is a free and open source curriculum.  This means that any publisher can take and publish the content of the curriculum.  A number of publishers have done just that.  Some of them are considered "certified vendors" (Kendall Hunt, Imagine Learning, Kiddom). Certified vendors promise not to make adaptations to the lessons and tasks within the curriculum and stay up to date on any and all changes that are made.  Others publish their own version of the curriculum (Open Up Resources, and Desmos/Amplify).  Currently there is one certified vendor that has released a free version that can be accessed and printed with a free online account (Kendall Hunt).  While online access is free through Kendall Hunt, they do charge for their print materials and professional learning.  Imagine Learning is also a certified vendor.  While the content is identical, their online platform is more robust and includes additional features that Kendal Hunt's online platform does not.  Some of these features include the ability to take and score assignments and assessments online, a data analysis component, additional videos for teachers, students, and families, digitized centers, and additional practice problems.  The selection committee was presented with multiple options and ultimately selected Imagine Learning because of some of those additional features that make their version of Illustrative Math unique, engaging, and accessible.

Teachers will receive teacher guides as well as online accounts where they will be able to review lesson plans, utilize slides and blackline masters, and analyze classroom data.  Teachers will be receiving manipulative kits as well as centers kits.  We are working to create a comprehensive list, line by line, of all materials that you will need to teach the program, including a list of what is in the manipulative kit and centers kit.  We will publish this list as soon as it has been finalized.  

In the meantime, here is the list of materials from Imagine Learning in K-5. 

Here is the list for Grade 6.

Here is the list for Grade 7.

Here is the list for Grade 8.

Imagine Learning has provided some example lessons from first and second year implementors of the program.  You can access those in your account under Example Lessons.  

From Illustrative Math's authors:

The problem-based approach, instructional routines, and lesson structure draw forth student thinking, reasoning, and communication in ways that challenge all learners from their multiple entry points. IM recommends that students with great interest in and comfort with mathematics go deeper into (rather than moving faster through) grade-level content.

• The K–5 exploration practice problems provide opportunities for students to further explore topics presented in lesson activities. 

• K–5 centers offer different stages that allow students to engage with the same activity at the appropriate challenge level. 

• In IM 6–12 Math lessons, the “Are You Ready For More?” extension activities offer additional opportunities for challenge.

From Illustrative Math's authors:

It may help to understand the “why” of some intentional design decisions about practice. Distributed practice (revisiting the same content over time) is more effective than massed practice (a large amount of practice on one topic, but all at once). Some of the research that informed our thinking includes Daniel Willingham on distributed practiceand Steve Leinwand on a small set of targeted problems. 

• IM K–5 Math  includes practice problems for each unit section. Throughout the year, the K–5 math centers provide meaningful math practice, and the game-like activities are engaging for students. 

Illustrative Mathematics takes a problem-based approach to learning mathematics. Their practice problems are designed to deepen students' understanding of mathematical concepts by engaging them in meaningful problem-solving experiences. Here are some key aspects of their approach to practice problems:

1. **Contextualized Problems**: Illustrative Mathematics often presents problems in real-world contexts or situations, helping students see the relevance of the mathematical concepts they're learning.

2. **Conceptual Understanding**: Practice problems are crafted to promote conceptual understanding rather than just rote memorization or procedural fluency. Students are encouraged to explore different strategies, make connections between concepts, and develop a deeper understanding of the underlying principles.

3. **Multiple Representations**: Problems may be presented in multiple representations (e.g., visual, numerical, symbolic) to help students develop fluency in translating between different forms of mathematical representation.

4. **Open-Ended and Rich Tasks**: Many practice problems are open-ended or rich tasks that require students to think critically, reason mathematically, and communicate their reasoning effectively. These tasks often have multiple entry points and allow for different solution pathways.

5. **Feedback and Reflection**: Illustrative Mathematics emphasizes the importance of feedback and reflection in the problem-solving process. Students are encouraged to analyze their own solutions, discuss strategies with peers, and revise their thinking based on feedback.

Overall, the goal of Illustrative Mathematics' approach to practice problems is to foster deep mathematical understanding, problem-solving skills, and mathematical reasoning abilities in students.

The district team has ordered all of the essential materials for teaching the curriculum.  

This includes:

• Student Workbooks for all units

• Teacher Guides for all units

• Teacher Resource Packs for all units

• Manipulative kits for each grade K-8

• Center kits (K-5 only)  

Schools will still provide consumable materials, as they typically do (graph paper, envelopes, paper clips, dry-erase markers, post-it notes, crayons, colored pencils, and markers, grid poster paper, paper bags, resealable baggies, card stock, pencils, glue sticks, etc.).  It will be helpful to hold onto the manipulatives that are already in classrooms so that you can have a set for whole group instruction and additional sets to keep in pre-made center kits.  

Typically number writing instruction and practice occurs during a writing block and is not included in a core math curriculum.  However, because of teacher feedback, the Illustrative Math authors have added in two additional optional lessons in Kindergarten - Unit 2 in the newer IM360 version of the program.  You can find those optional lessons here and here.  We are working to include these into the PPS curriculum unit maps in Schoology as well.  The activities form this lesson could take place during Math Workshop time so that your pacing does not need to be adjusted.

Yes!  Please see the updated grading guidelines for K-5 and 6-8, which are also posted in the Curriculum Schoology Group.

The following excerpt is from the K-8 Mathematics Curriculum Assessment Guidance document located in Schoology.  

Please visit the full document for more detailed information about the curriculum assessments.  

Accommodations and Modifications

Accommodations - Help students overcome or work around disabilities by changing how they access information and demonstrate learning. Accommodations don't change the content or performance criteria, and they don't lower expectations for learning or performance. Accommodations can include changes to presentation, response format, instructional strategies, time and scheduling, environment, equipment, and architecture. For example, an accommodation could be providing an audio version of classroom text for a student with dyslexia.

Modifications - Change the curriculum itself by altering what students are expected to learn and do in class. Modifications can lower performance expectations for grade-level content, and they can change the content of the curriculum. For example, a modification could be providing a lower-level reader that aligns with grade-level content but has fewer facts and details.

Since the curriculum End-of-Unit assessments are to monitor how students are progressing towards grade level standards, we do NOT recommend modifying them.  Examples of modifications include, but are not limited to; altering numbers to make the problems easier, removing answer choices to increase the probability of selecting the right item, adjusting the complexity of a word problem to go from multi-step to single step, removing the context from a word problem to make it purely computational.  When the assessment is modified, the data in the ILC Platform will no longer represent what a student understands and is able to do against the intent of the grade level standard.

We do, however, encourage educators to make accommodations as needed, regardless of IEP, 504, or ELL status. 
Some helpful accommodations might include:

·   Allowing extra time

·   Administering it in a setting outside of the classroom; independently or with a small group

·   Downloading the test in Microsoft Word to adjust the font size or spacing between items.

·   Adjusting context or names without changing the cognitive demand or content

·   Allowing students to take the assessment paper/pencil, even though the rest of the class may be taking it in the ILC platform, or vice versa.

·   Use of a line guide

·   Reading an item when requested (or the entire test when called for in an IEP)

·   Use of manipulatives, hundreds chart, multiplication chart, patty paper, or other tools as needed.

·   Use of Google Translate or giving the test in a student’s home language.