The Fab 5 - Middle School Math Spiral Review of the Basics
Overview
The FAB 5 is a 30 week spiral review of basic math skills. Each week there are 25 problems (5 each day) that cover fundamental skills of math. It is geared mainly for 7th grade, but it is still a nice resource for 6th & 8th grade students.
The Set Up
Each day the students do 5 FAB 5 problems. The first problem is usually addition (could be fractions, decimals, integers, or just basic whole numbers). The second is usually subtraction, third is multiplication, fourth is division and the fifth is a random problem. The problems are designed to be straightforward and basic.
The first 5 weeks focuses on basic adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing of whole numbers. 20 of the 25 during these first 5 weeks focus on these basic skills while the other 5 problems cover a variety of other basic skills such as rounding, factors, etc.
During weeks 6-10 the amount of Whole Number problems is reduced to 8. During this time decimals (8 problems) and 1 step equations (4 problems) are introduced.
For weeks 11-20, the heart of the school year, all the basic operations are covered. Each week includes 4 whole numbers, 4 decimals, 4 integers, 4 fractions, and 4 one step problems along with a variety of 5 other problems.
The last 10 weeks we continue with 4 one step equations, but the amount of whole number, integer, fraction, and decimal problems is reduced from a total of 16 to 8 problems. During these last 10 weeks Ratios & Proportions, Equations & Expressions, Geometry, Probability and Statistics represent 13 of the 25 problems.
Goals of the Fab 5
1) Helping students to keep their basic skills sharp. A lot of little things like lining up decimals when adding or borrowing when subtracting are easy to forget if not done on a regular basis.
2) Diagnose basic gaps in student understanding. Because the order of problems (add, subtract, multiply, & divide) is usually the same it's easy to glance at a graded Fab 5 and notice trends. It's not unusual to see a paper with 4 of 5 division or subtraction problems wrong. Often it's one simple mistake that is easy to correct.
3) Allowing core class lessons to go smoother. Lessons will not lose their momentum because of the need to stop as often to review basic skills.
How I use the FAB 5 in my class
I use this as my class warm up activity. I have students complete the day's five problems and I collect them as they finish (the students have a weekly assignment they can work on as the others finish). The next day the process continues.
I try to grade the work daily. If I see a student struggling I can pull them aside and help them. I don't write the correct answers on the paper so if needed I can give the students a chance to correct missed problems.
At the end of the week I average the total of all the problems for the week for one weekly grade.
