K–5 Eureka Math² in Summer School

Flexible Tools for Responsive Teaching and Engaging Learning

Why is it a good idea to use  Eureka Math²® in a summer school program? There are several reasons! Most importantly, the content, language, and models are aligned to what students experienced during the year. Additionally, teachers can access all levels' lessons and assessments. And, of course, it is highly accessible and engaging. There are many flexible resources available to engage and support students. Here are some tips to help you plan your summer school math program. 

Determine how much time is allotted and your program’s goals. 

An important element of your summer school structure is time. Know how many instructional days are in your summer program and how much time in each day is devoted to math to determine how much math content can be included. Common goals for summer school include review, remediation, acceleration, or enrichment. Choose content based on your program's goal, student data, and the amount of time you have. 

Focus on the major work of the grade and essential foundational knowledge.

Summer school programs often support students who have not yet demonstrated proficiency in grade-level or below-grade-level skills or concepts. When review, remediation, or acceleration is the main objective, focus on the major work of the grade that students just completed. Major work for each grade level is identified in the Achieve the Core "Mathematics: Focus by Grade Level" documents.

After determining the major work of the grade, focus summer learning on the standards in which students did not demonstrate grade-level proficiency as demonstrated by data from End-of-Module Assessments or Benchmark Assessments. If time does not allow for full coverage of all necessary standards, prioritize content that will support students’ success in the first module of the upcoming grade level. You can look at the “Before this Module” section in the module 1 module overview to get more information on prerequisite learning. Use the Scope and Sequence maps, which can be viewed in full by visiting the “Implement” page on the Great Minds® Digital Platform, to isolate which modules, topics, and lessons will target your chosen content.

Eureka Math2 Year at a Glance 3: Units of Any Number

For example, I may have data that shows grade level 2 students are not yet proficient in place value and computation to 1,000. This is major work of the grade and is critical for their success in grade level 3. Use the Scope and Sequence Map: Level 2 to determine that module 1 topic H and module 4 topics B and D contain the necessary content to build the summer school plan.

Another resource on the “Implement” page is the Equip Essential Foundational Knowledge (EFK) map. It helps accelerate student learning by mapping prerequisite knowledge needed for students’ upcoming level. Whether or not you purchased Eureka Math²Equip (grade levels 1–5), this map can help determine critical summer school content by outlining the foundational Achievement Descriptors (ADs) for each level and module in Eureka Math². To view this resource in full, please visit the "Implement" page on the Great Minds Digital Platform.

Eureka Math2 Equip Essential Foundational Knowledge

To use this map for summer school planning, look at the grade level students are about to enter and ask yourselves the following questions:

• Which modules are aligned to major work in the grade level my students just completed?

  • In those modules, which listed ADs/standards are most critical?

    • Which ones have my students not mastered yet?

In grade level 4, you may have data that shows your students are not yet proficient in grade level 3 basic fraction understanding. This is major work of grade 3, and the EFK map shows that in grade level 4, module 4 has several grade level 3 ADs listed as foundational knowledge. These ADs would then be prime content for summer school lessons.

Plan targeted lesson content and utilize assessments.

Once you have some data-aligned goals, you are ready to access and plan content for your students.

If you purchased Eureka Math² Equip, you can directly access Supporting Activities and Teacher Guides for those ADs via the Great Minds Digital Platform. There are typically two lessons for each “item” that are about 10 to 15 minutes long.

Eureka Math² core content may also be used to constitute the summer school lessons and practice. If you have 60 minutes for summer school math, you may plan and customize the lesson for your students as you would during the school year.

If you have a shorter block, customize the lesson to help your students meet the objective in the time allotted. With the Objective, Exit Ticket, and Key Question in mind:

For more detailed information, see the "Response to Intervention Part 1" and "Response to Intervention Part 2" webinars.

1. Select one Fluency to either practice a key skill or prepare for the lesson.

2. Modify the Launch for time.

3. Focus on one Learn segment.

4. Choose problems from the Problem Set for independent practice.

The Apply book's Practice and Practice Partners are ideal resources for summer school instruction and practice.

Track student progress by using lesson Exit Tickets, Topic Tickets, and/or Module Assessments. Consider customizing digital assessments to focus only on content you’re teaching in the summer program.

It is important to note that many students have had experiences of failure or frustration with mathematics. Leverage the simple-to-complex sequences in lessons and concrete-pictorial-symbolic representations to ensure accessibility. Give students opportunities to grapple with higher-level tasks and employ mathematical practices. Always include opportunities for students to discuss their ideas and engage in instructional routines and make sure they have the Talking Tool and Thinking Tool. Be sure to praise students for their efforts and honor mistakes as opportunities for learning.

Often, summer school requires small group instruction to meet varied needs. Consider reusing games, fluencies, counting collections, and other engaging activities from the past year to provide independent practice as you work with a small group. Family Math, also found in the Apply book, is a great source of aligned activities for use in centers. Our Eureka Math² card games may also be used to help build fluency in a fun and engaging way, both at school and at home.

The chart below highlights some locations and resources to support fact fluency:

For enrichment, reach beyond the basics.

Summer school enrichment programs are opportunities for students to deepen or broaden what they learned during the school year. Here are a few enrichment ideas that leverage resources in Eureka Math².

• Use the past grade level’s Optional Lessons if they were not used.

• Almost all lessons have open-middle tasks that are considered “low-floor and high-ceiling”. Encourage students to come up with various new ways to solve them. Then invite them to compare and connect their various strategies and tools. 

• Revisit the previous level’s context videos.  

  • Invite students to notice and wonder about them, and then solve their own wonders.

  • Have students act out, write, video, or draw their own math context “stories.” Where do they see math problems in their own world?

• Explore the previous levels’ digital interactives and facilitate a class discussion. This article from our digital help center and our webinar session that focused on student-centered learning and discourse may be useful.

• The Math Past resource in each module (found in the Digital Platform under Module Overview or in the print Teach book) offers many extension activities.

• The fine art in each module provides a foundation for many math and art projects and problems.

• Counting Collections can be easily differentiated by the type of counter, number of items in a set, and the ways in which students organize to count or record their thinking. Student pairs may combine or compare their collections. Ask students how many more they need to get to a larger benchmark number such as 100 or 1,000.

Always build knowledge. 

Whether your summer school students are revisiting content to review or extend, all students should be joyfully engaging in rigorous mathematics. Help all students develop as mathematicians by engaging in and talking about the mathematical practices or processes of mathematicians.  

Consider math in summer school a time to not only build knowledge of mathematical content and processes but also to build knowledge of self, others, and the world.

Most of all, have fun and enjoy the summer!