What and How of 1-Page Grade Level Overviews
Complementary Mathematics / What and How of 1-Page Grade Level Overviews
The What and How of the 1-Page Grade Level Overviews
The 1-pg Grade Level Overviews (GLO) listed below for all grades 3 – 8, contain the essence of the respective grade level expectations found in the Common Core State Standards. They have been specifically designed to fit within 3 columns on a single piece of paper so that students and teachers can quickly grasp the scope of the work expected.
One successful (and our recommended) way of utilizing these overviews is to use them as whole-class activities sprinkled intermittently throughout the school year. Beginning with Form A, have students scan all of the examples in the first column. After scanning, ask the students to rate each of the items in the following manner: Put a “1” beside any item(s) that are easily understood or can be answered instantly by inspection, mark a “2” beside questions that seem familiar but would need a little review or re-teaching to answer correctly, and put a “3” beside any questions that look totally new. Through whole-group discussion, correctly ascertain and answer the questions designated with a “1”. Next, tackle the questions that were marked as “2”s; again making sure all students record the correct answer. Finally, begin with the “3” items, directly teaching and answering these questions even though those topics may not have yet been covered in the curriculum being used. We have found that this approach serves an excellent pre-teaching opportunity and makes the later coverage of these topics more meaningful and efficient.
As with the Fluency Anchors, we recommend staying with the first column of Form A until students can quickly and correctly answer the questions using a blend of understanding and memorization. Use this technique for the second and third columns as well. Following this process, again using a blend of understanding and memorization, the entire Form A should be able to be completed within 45 minutes with at least a 90% rate of accuracy.
We then recommend leaving the 1 pager for a few weeks before reviewing Form A and then launching into Form B. Each iteration of this process should result in a more efficient and deeper understanding of the 1 pager expectations. The commercial side of this website contains Forms C, D and E for each grade level. Those preferring to create their own additional versions of these forms are highly encouraged to do so. The consistency of the stable targets presented in both the Fluency Anchors as well as the 1-Pagers allow students/parents/teachers the opportunity to see and measure growth against a solid, non-moving goal. The focus and diligence necessary to achieve these goals should be acknowledged, recognized, celebrated and rewarded.
Students who have mastered the Fluency Anchors and 1-pagers for their respective grade levels should have little trouble learning the more complex materials of any textbook or math program. There are currently no 1-pagers for grades PK – 2.