The Great 8 - Middle School Math Spiral Review of Key Concepts
The Problem
Every year my students struggled with retaining information about key topics that we covered in math class. Through the years I have tried a variety of Spiral Review math programs with mixed results. Some of these programs required too much of a class time commitment. Others, seemed unfocused or didn’t hammer away at key concepts.
Frustrated with the options available, I began to experiment and develop The Great 8 Middle School Spiral Review. The classroom has served as my laboratory to test and refine the Great 8.
The Basics
The Great 8 is a 25 week Spiral Review of key mathematical concepts for middle school.
The focal point is for 7th grade, but the Great 8 is also ideal for stronger 6th grade students and 8th and 9th graders that need to review these key concepts.
The Great 8 includes 100 worksheets and 25 Quizzes. Each worksheet and Quiz includes a total of 8 questions. The combination of all the worksheets and Quizzes is a grand total of 1,000 questions. Each week includes 4 worksheets and a quiz.
How it Works
At the beginning of a week a packet of four worksheets is given to each student. The first and third worksheets of the week are the same questions (with different answers) and the second and fourth are also the same.
At the end of the week 4 questions are taken from the first/third worksheets and 4 questions are taken from the second/fourth worksheets and are used to create the quiz.
How I use it in my classroom
I usually pass out the packets on Monday and give them a few minutes to work on in class before I go over the answers. I assign the second worksheet as homework for Monday night and go over in class on Tuesday. I repeat this process for the third and fourth worksheets.
On Friday we have a quiz over the group of four worksheets. On the quiz I allow students to use their packets to help them on the quiz.
The reason I let students use the worksheets is to coax them to write down how we are able to solve the different problems and not just the answers. This is sort of a way to have the students take notes without telling the students we are taking notes. If the students write down the steps to solve they usually crush the quizzes.
I’ve also had quizzes on Mondays. I’ve also gone from Tuesday to Tuesday when dealing with holidays or I just want the kids to have extra time to work on the packet.
How I Grade
I have the students turn in their quizzes and packets at the same time. Usually I will make the packets worth either 50% or 33% of the quiz.
For example, in my class I use a point system so I will make the packet worth 8 points (2 pts per page) and the quiz will be worth either 16 points (2 points per question) or 24 points (3 points per question).
I would make the quiz worth less if I’m trying to emphasize the importance of the packet.
