QuickSmart Materials for Numeracy and Literacy
Many of the materials required to implement the QuickSmart programs are provided in the kits. The kits for both programs include administrative and organisational information, teaching/learning resources, and a QuickSmart DVD. In addition, QuickSmart provides the Cognitive Aptitude Assessment System (CAAS) software for ongoing assessment throughout the duration of the QuickSmart programs.
QuickSmart Literacy and Numeracy Program User Guides
The QuickSmart Numeracy and Literacy program User Guides provide detailed guidelines for the planning and implementation of the programs. These guidelines include:
- criteria for the selection of targeted and comparison students;
- an overview of the QuickSmart instructional cycle;
- suggested QuickSmart lesson formats and content;
- explanations of assessment procedures used within the QuickSmart program;
- a description of the instruments used to record students’ progress within the QuickSmart program; and
- an outline of how the QuickSmart program itself is evaluated.
Organisation Folders
The Organisation Folder includes master copies of all the forms, permission notes, planning notes, evaluation, assessment and graphing sheets required to implement the program. Electronic copies of all the documents are also included.
Teaching/Learning Resources
Teaching/learning resources are provided for both the Numeracy and the Literacy QuickSmart programs. These teaching/learning resources have been developed in response to the individual learning needs of QuickSmart students involved in the program since its inception in 2001, and it may be necessary to supplement them to meet the specific learning needs of particular students. An electronic copy of all the resource materials is provided. Electronic copies of the resources may be used to modify existing QuickSmart material or as templates for developing new resources as required.
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The Numeracy Resource Folder includes:
The Literacy Resource Folder includes:
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Sample Student Folder
The QuickSmart kits include a sample Student Folder that can be used as a model when making up individual QuickSmart work folders.
At the start of the QuickSmart program, each student receives a work folder that contains:
- information about the program;
- a timetable of lessons;
- lists of focus words or facts;
- reading passages or numeracy worksheets;
- a 'Help' section for strategy cue cards;
- a section to store independent work samples; and
- an assessment and graphing section in which speed and accuracy rates, and flashcard scores or oral reading fluency data, are recorded.
Students are encouraged to personalise their work folders with drawings and stickers.
QuickSmart DVDs
The QuickSmart DVDs for both Literacy and Numeracy provide visual clips of a number of the QuickSmart lesson activities as well as some evaluative feedback from QuickSmart students.
The Cognitive Aptitude Assessment System (CAAS) Software
The Cognitive Aptitude Assessment System (CAAS), a computer-assisted assessment system, is a unique component of the QuickSmart program. Developed by researchers from the Laboratory for the Assessment and Training of Academic Skills (LATAS) at the University of Massachusetts to obtain reliable assessments of student performance, the assessment tasks used are designed and sequenced in order to target and identify the exact nature of the literacy/numeracy problems a student is experiencing (for more information, refer to http://www.educationalhelp.com). The CAAS software is provided on a CD, and is used on a regular basis to monitor the response times and accuracy of QuickSmart students.
Download a print-friendly pdf of this information.
