Curriculum and Instruction
At Gateway, we strive to implement High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM), engaging and effective instructional practices, and meaningful assessment tools to identify students’ strengths and needs. On this page, you can access the curriculum frameworks for each grade and subject. At the elementary level, these are more broadly defined by grade and subject, while at the secondary level you can view individual syllabi (the course outline) prepared by our secondary teachers.
We encourage families to begin curriculum discussions with your child’s teacher to be sure to have the most accurate information.
Family Friendly Curriculum Frameworks Guides
Pre-K
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during pre-kindergarten. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Kindergarten
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during kindergarten. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Grade 1
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during first grade. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Grade 2
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during second grade. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Grade 3
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during third grade. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Grade 4
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during fourth grade. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Grade 5
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during fifth grade. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Grade 6
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during sixth grade. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Grade 7
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during seventh grade. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Grade 8
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during eighth grade. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
High School
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets expectations, or standards, for what every student will know and be able to do in school. This guide is designed to help you understand those standards and partner with teachers to support your child’s learning during high school. If you have questions about this information or your child needs extra help, please talk to your child’s teacher.
Curriculum Maps
Kindergarten
MATHEMATICS
The big ideas in kindergarten include: representing and comparing whole numbers, initially with sets of objects; understanding and applying addition and subtraction; and describing shapes and space. More time in kindergarten is devoted to numbers than to other topics.
The mathematical work for kindergarten is partitioned into 8 units:
- Math in Our World
- Numbers 1–10
- Flat Shapes All Around Us
- Understanding Addition and Subtraction
- Composing and Decomposing Numbers to 10
- Numbers 0–20
- Solid Shapes All Around Us
- Putting it All Together
In these materials, particularly in units that focus on addition and subtraction, teachers will find terms that refer to problem types, such as Add To, Take From, Put Together or Take Apart, Compare, Result Unknown, and so on. These problem types are based on common addition and subtraction situations, as outlined in Table 1 of the Mathematics Glossary section of the Common Core State Standards.
Grade 1
MATHEMATICS
The big ideas in grade 1 include: developing understanding of addition, subtraction, and strategies for addition and subtraction within 20; developing understanding of whole-number relationships and place value, including grouping in tens and ones; developing understanding of linear measurement and measuring lengths as iterating length units; and reasoning about attributes of, and composing and decomposing geometric shapes.
The mathematical work for grade 1 is partitioned into 8 units:
- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data
- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems
- Adding and Subtracting within 20
- Numbers to 99
- Adding within 100
- Length Measurements within 120 units
- Geometry and Time
- Putting it All Together
In these materials, particularly in units that focus on addition and subtraction, teachers will find terms that refer to problem types, such as Add To, Take From, Put Together or Take Apart, Compare, Result Unknown, and so on. These problem types are based on common addition and subtraction situations, as outlined in Table 1 of the Mathematics Glossary section of the Common Core State Standards.
Grade 2
MATHEMATICS
The big ideas in grade 2 include: extending understanding of the base-ten number system, building fluency with addition and subtraction, using standard units of measure, and describing and analyzing shapes.
The mathematical work for grade 2 is partitioned into 9 units:
- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data
- Adding and Subtracting within 100
- Measuring Length
- Addition and Subtraction on the Number Line
- Numbers to 1,000
- Geometry, Time, and Money
- Adding and Subtracting within 1,000
- Equal Groups
- Putting it All Together
In these materials, particularly in units that focus on addition and subtraction, teachers will find terms that refer to problem types, such as Add To, Take From, Put Together or Take Apart, Compare, Result Unknown, and so on. These problem types are based on common addition and subtraction situations, as outlined in Table 1 of the Mathematics Glossary section of the Common Core State Standards.
Grade 3
MATHEMATICS
The big ideas in grade 3 include: developing understanding of multiplication and division and strategies for multiplication and division within 100; developing understanding of fractions, especially unit fractions (fractions with numerator 1); developing understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area; and describing and analyzing two-dimensional shapes.
The mathematical work for grade 3 is partitioned into 8 units:
Grade 4
MATHEMATICS
The big ideas in grade 4 include: developing understanding and fluency with multi-digit multiplication, and developing understanding of dividing to find quotients involving multi-digit dividends; developing an understanding of fraction equivalence, addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators, and multiplication of fractions by whole numbers; understanding that geometric figures can be analyzed and classified based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures, and symmetry.
The mathematical work for grade 4 is partitioned into 9 units:
- Factors and Multiples
- Fraction Equivalence and Comparison
- Extending Operations to Fractions
- From Hundredths to Hundred-thousands
- Multiplicative Comparison and Measurement
- Multiplying and Dividing Multi-digit Numbers
- Angles and Angle Measurement
- Properties of Two-Dimensional Shapes
- Putting it All Together
Grade 5
MATHEMATICS
The big ideas in grade 5 include: developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, developing understanding of multiplication and division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions), extending division to two-digit divisors, developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations, and developing understanding of volume.
The mathematical work for grade 5 is broken into 8 units:
- Finding Volume
- Fractions as Quotients and Fraction Multiplication
- Multiplying and Dividing Fractions
- Wrapping Up Multiplication and Division with Multi-digit Numbers
- Place Value Patterns and Decimal Operations
- More Decimal and Fraction Operations
- Shapes on the Coordinate Plane
- Putting it All Together
Grade 6
MATHEMATICS
Grade 6 begins with a unit on reasoning about area and understanding and applying concepts of surface area. It is common to begin the year by reviewing the arithmetic learned in previous grades, but starting instead with a mathematical idea that students haven’t seen before sets up opportunities for students to surprise the teacher and themselves with the connections they make. Instead of front-loading review and practice from prior grades, these materials incorporate opportunities to practice elementary arithmetic concepts and skills through warm-ups, in the context of instructional tasks, and in practice problems as they are reinforcing the concepts they are learning in the unit.
One of the design principles of these materials is that students should encounter plenty of examples of a mathematical or statistical idea in various contexts before that idea is named and studied as an object in its own right. For example, in the first unit, students will generalize arithmetic by writing simple expressions before they study algebraic expressions as a class of objects in the sixth unit. Sometimes this principle is put into play several units before a concept is developed more fully, and sometimes in the first several lessons of a unit, where students have a chance to explore ideas informally and concretely, building toward a more formal and abstract understanding later in the unit.
The 6th Grade units are:
6.3 Unit Rates and Percentages
6.7 Rational Numbers
Grade 7
Grade 8
High School
Grade Level Curriculum K-5
Kindergarten
MATH
The big ideas in kindergarten include: representing and comparing whole numbers, initially with sets of objects; understanding and applying addition and subtraction; and describing shapes and space. More time in kindergarten is devoted to numbers than to other topics.
The mathematical work for kindergarten is partitioned into 8 units:
- Math in Our World
- Numbers 1–10
- Flat Shapes All Around Us
- Understanding Addition and Subtraction
- Composing and Decomposing Numbers to 10
- Numbers 0–20
- Solid Shapes All Around Us
- Putting it All Together
In these materials, particularly in units that focus on addition and subtraction, teachers will find terms that refer to problem types, such as Add To, Take From, Put Together or Take Apart, Compare, Result Unknown, and so on. These problem types are based on common addition and subtraction situations, as outlined in Table 1 of the Mathematics Glossary section of the Common Core State Standards.
ELA
Students in Grades K-3 will participate in Amplify CKLA, which follows the curriculum map, scope and sequence listed below. The program is laid out to focus on building schema for students in the knowledge portion of the program, and the foundational skills of reading like phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency and vocabulary are addressed during the skills portion of the program.
Kindergarten:
Grade 1
MATH
The big ideas in grade 1 include: developing understanding of addition, subtraction, and strategies for addition and subtraction within 20; developing understanding of whole-number relationships and place value, including grouping in tens and ones; developing understanding of linear measurement and measuring lengths as iterating length units; and reasoning about attributes of, and composing and decomposing geometric shapes.
The mathematical work for grade 1 is partitioned into 8 units:
- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data
- Addition and Subtraction Story Problems
- Adding and Subtracting within 20
- Numbers to 99
- Adding within 100
- Length Measurements within 120 units
- Geometry and Time
- Putting it All Together
In these materials, particularly in units that focus on addition and subtraction, teachers will find terms that refer to problem types, such as Add To, Take From, Put Together or Take Apart, Compare, Result Unknown, and so on. These problem types are based on common addition and subtraction situations, as outlined in Table 1 of the Mathematics Glossary section of the Common Core State Standards.
ELA
Students in Grades K-3 will participate in Amplify CKLA, which follows the curriculum map, scope and sequence listed below. The program is laid out to focus on building schema for students in the knowledge portion of the program, and the foundational skills of reading like phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency and vocabulary are addressed during the skills portion of the program.
Grade 1:
Grade 2
MATH
The big ideas in grade 2 include: extending understanding of the base-ten number system, building fluency with addition and subtraction, using standard units of measure, and describing and analyzing shapes.
The mathematical work for grade 2 is partitioned into 9 units:
- Adding, Subtracting, and Working with Data
- Adding and Subtracting within 100
- Measuring Length
- Addition and Subtraction on the Number Line
- Numbers to 1,000
- Geometry, Time, and Money
- Adding and Subtracting within 1,000
- Equal Groups
- Putting it All Together
In these materials, particularly in units that focus on addition and subtraction, teachers will find terms that refer to problem types, such as Add To, Take From, Put Together or Take Apart, Compare, Result Unknown, and so on. These problem types are based on common addition and subtraction situations, as outlined in Table 1 of the Mathematics Glossary section of the Common Core State Standards.
ELA
Students in Grades K-3 will participate in Amplify CKLA, which follows the curriculum map, scope and sequence listed below. The program is laid out to focus on building schema for students in the knowledge portion of the program, and the foundational skills of reading like phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency and vocabulary are addressed during the skills portion of the program.
Grade 2:
Grade 3
MATH
The big ideas in grade 3 include: developing understanding of multiplication and division and strategies for multiplication and division within 100; developing understanding of fractions, especially unit fractions (fractions with numerator 1); developing understanding of the structure of rectangular arrays and of area; and describing and analyzing two-dimensional shapes.
The mathematical work for grade 3 is partitioned into 8 units:
- Introducing Multiplication
- Area and Multiplication
- Wrapping Up Addition and Subtraction within 1,000
- Relating Multiplication to Division
- Fractions as Numbers
- Measuring Length, Time, Liquid Volume, and Weight
- Two-dimensional Shapes and Perimeter
- Putting it All Together
ELA
Students in Grades K-3 will participate in Amplify CKLA, which follows the curriculum map, scope and sequence listed below. The program is laid out to focus on building schema for students in the knowledge portion of the program, and the foundational skills of reading like phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency and vocabulary are addressed during the skills portion of the program.
Grade 3:
Grade 4
MATH
The big ideas in grade 4 include: developing understanding and fluency with multi-digit multiplication, and developing understanding of dividing to find quotients involving multi-digit dividends; developing an understanding of fraction equivalence, addition and subtraction of fractions with like denominators, and multiplication of fractions by whole numbers; understanding that geometric figures can be analyzed and classified based on their properties, such as having parallel sides, perpendicular sides, particular angle measures, and symmetry.
The mathematical work for grade 4 is partitioned into 9 units:
- Factors and Multiples
- Fraction Equivalence and Comparison
- Extending Operations to Fractions
- From Hundredths to Hundred-thousands
- Multiplicative Comparison and Measurement
- Multiplying and Dividing Multi-digit Numbers
- Angles and Angle Measurement
- Properties of Two-Dimensional Shapes
- Putting it All Together
ELA
Students in grades 4-8 will participate in Wit and Wisdom, which bases 4 modules each year on authentic anchor texts. This strategy allows informational texts to be woven in as mentor texts, completing a deep study of a topic using multiple types of text for a more authentic experience for students.
Grade 4:
Grade 5
MATH
The big ideas in grade 5 include: developing fluency with addition and subtraction of fractions, developing understanding of multiplication and division of fractions in limited cases (unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers divided by unit fractions), extending division to two-digit divisors, developing understanding of operations with decimals to hundredths, developing fluency with whole number and decimal operations, and developing understanding of volume.
The mathematical work for grade 5 is broken into 8 units:
- Finding Volume
- Fractions as Quotients and Fraction Multiplication
- Multiplying and Dividing Fractions
- Wrapping Up Multiplication and Division with Multi-digit Numbers
- Place Value Patterns and Decimal Operations
- More Decimal and Fraction Operations
- Shapes on the Coordinate Plane
- Putting it All Together
ELA
Students in grades 4-8 will participate in Wit and Wisdom, which bases 4 modules each year on authentic anchor texts. This strategy allows informational texts to be woven in as mentor texts, completing a deep study of a topic using multiple types of text for a more authentic experience for students.
Grade 5: