What matters most here
| Rank | Practice | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A structured curriculum with teacher-led instruction (principle 13) | Evidence grade: Proven in classrooms Proven; the four-curriculum trial was in grades 1–2 (Mathematica(opens in a new tab)) |
| 2 | Daily fact practice from memory, mixing old and new facts (principles 6, 7) | Evidence grade: Strong Strong in principle; specific fact programs not yet reviewed on this site |
| 3 | Explicit teaching: model with objects, then drawings, then numbers (principle 2) | Evidence grade: Strong Strong for explicit teaching; the objects-drawings-numbers sequence itself is Promising |
| 4 | Whole numbers on number lines, preparing for fractions (principle 11) | Moderate in the federal fractions guide (summary(opens in a new tab)) |
A lesson in this room
Five minutes of addition facts to 10, out loud and on boards. Teacher models making ten with counters, then drawings, then numbers. Students practice on whiteboards; teacher checks every board. Independent sheet mixes today's facts with last week's.
Leader look-fors
- Daily fact practice, answered from memory
- The teacher models before students work alone
- Every student shows an answer at once
Stop doing
Asking young students to invent their own strategies for a new skill before being shown one. In second grade in the curriculum trial, more frequent requests for multiple strategies went with lower achievement (IES(opens in a new tab)).
Where the evidence runs out
Little classroom research on most memory strategies for children under 7 (EEF via Tes(opens in a new tab)). The curriculum trial tested older editions of four programs.