Unit 01 // For the parent // Two minutes
Worksheets show what the student already knows. Recall is built out loud, fast, with no pencil. Run this before Session A, then every day after it. Two minutes daily beats twenty minutes once a week.
"Ten questions, quick as you can. If you do not know one, just say pass. Pass costs nothing. We stop at two minutes." Then keep to it. If the student stalls, say the answer yourself and move on.
Hold up a dice face, a domino, or your own fingers as one shape. The student says the number without counting. Six quick ones.
You say a number. The student says what goes with it to make 10. Read straight down, no pauses to explain.
Pick one from round 2 and ask how the student got it. This is the whole diagnostic. What the student says tells you what to do next.
| What you hear | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Answers instantly, no visible effort | The student knows it | Move on to Session B |
| Short pause, then correct, "I know 5 and 5, so one more" | The student is working it out from a known fact | Good. Keep going, speed comes later |
| Counts up out loud, or on fingers, one at a time | Not automatic yet | Go back to the ten frame in question 2 |
Banning fingers does not remove the counting, it hides it. The student will count silently instead, which is slower and you can no longer see it happening.
Say this instead: "Show me on the ten frame." Or: "What goes with 7 to fill the frame?" The frame gives the student something to see, and seeing is what replaces counting.
Use the words the teacher uses so home practice reinforces class instead of building a second vocabulary.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | |||||
| Week 2 | |||||
| Week 3 | |||||
| Week 4 |
The aim is not a faster counter. The aim is a child who does not need to count.
MathNest · Unit 01 · Warm up card