New Reviews: NYSED’s EngageNY OER (Elementary School Math Series)

The New York State Education Department provides a comprehensive set of free open-educational resources (OERs) to support the transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The downloadable materials, known as EngageNY, provide lesson plans in mathematics for students in grades PK-12. Across grade levels, instruction focuses on exploring fewer topics in greater depth. This post discusses EngageNY’s elementary products. Subsequent posts will examine resources for middle school and high school. Learning List has recently published reviews of K-5 OER materials.

At the elementary grades, EngageNY develops students’ ability to solve problems using basic operations with whole numbers and fractions. At grades K-2, instruction focuses on addition and subtraction of whole numbers, and at grades 3-5, instruction focuses on multiplication and division of whole numbers and fractions (see Grade 5 video example). Content is organized using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines, which structures instruction by providing multiple means of engaging students, representing content, and expressing and acting upon learning. Further, lesson plans strive to meet the rigor of the CCSSs by balancing conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and the practical application of mathematics to real-world problems. To achieve this goal, EngageNY lessons are presented in four-parts:

1. Fluency Practice includes activities that develop proficiency, connect to prior learning, and preview new concepts.
2. Concept Development provides core instruction in new concepts and skills.
3. Application Problems allow students to practice using problem sets that are related to the instruction provided in the Concept Development portion of the lesson.
4. Student Debrief provides opportunities for students to discuss and share what they have learned. Debriefs close with an “exit ticket” –a short formative assessment of the day’s learning as students leave the classroom.

The Mathematical Practice Standards (MPS) are integrated throughout EngageNY lessons at grades K-5, and teacher resources include comprehensive support to help teachers adapt to the new standards and integrate the practices in instruction. Each lesson addresses one or more MPS and lesson plans highlight how the standards are incorporated in the day’s instruction. Across grades, lesson plans provide opportunities for students to model with mathematics (MP 4), focus on precision (MP 6), make sense of problems (MP 1), and reason mathematically (MP 2). Lessons provide opportunities for students to use mathematical tools (MP 5) and make use of structure (MP 7). Student debriefing sessions provide daily opportunities for students to express their reasoning (MP 8) and construct arguments and critique the reasoning of others (MP3).