D—Just what do I have to set up?

You have a week or two to get this ready, but don’t put it off. You get to go to the office supply store. Yea! We know teachers’ affinity for those. We love them too!

You are also going to need to have files (hanging files are highly recommended…yes we know your school does not stock these, ours didn’t either!) for each set (marked by letters) and each progress monitoring test (marked by numbers) in the operation with which you are starting. [That’s a total of 34 hanging files–in case you’re wondering.] OK, we can hear you asking, “But how do I know which operation to begin with?” We’ll get to that in just a bit. If you can’t wait, just jump ahead to the section entitled, “What operation do I begin with?”

THE MATH FACTS CRATE

You’re going to need a place to put your 34 hanging files, probably one of those plastic crates (and no your school doesn’t stock these, ours didn’t either…). [If the office supply store is not a fun option for you we do sell a crate and hanging files to be shipped to you.] If you teach a grade over second, you’re going to want to have the files somewhere the students can get to them easily—so they can get their own replacement sheets. (Scary thought: you may end up having more than one of these as your students move on to other operations!) In your crate you’ll need a hanging file for each set of facts (marked by A to Z letters) and each progress monitoring test (AKA “The two-minute test”) (marked by numbers 1 to 5).


Get the Crate Started Now


Q: How many copies should I put into each folder?

A: At least enough for your whole class. Plan on keeping 25 or 30 copies in each file, so you’ll always be ready for the program to run. Don’t make too much more than that, as you don’t know how many times your students will need to repeat each set, so you can’t predict how many they will need. Plus, the office will get mad at you for running two hundred copies of 30 sheets (and using up a whole box of paper—6,000 pages or 12 reams!…We speak from experience. Our schools got mad at us!)

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