These lessons are instructional tools that utilize effective instructional practices and utilize strategies based on the work of Dylan Wiliam’s 5 Key Strategies for Formative Assessment. These elementary lessons were designed by the Kentucky Department of Education and field-tested by Kentucky teachers. They follow the same format as the “formative assessment lessons” or classroom challenges for grades 6-12 found at the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS) Mathematics Assessment Project.

Each formative assessment lesson or classroom challenge is designed to be part of an instructional unit and should be implemented approximately two-thirds of the way through the instructional unit. The results should then be used to inform the instruction that will take place for the remainder of your unit. Instructional practices embedded in the lessons should be utilized throughout instruction.

Use this resource to support the implementation of existing High-Quality Instructional Resources (HQIRs) adopted by school districts as well as educators teaching in districts that have not yet adopted an HQIR in mathematics. The examples and instructional resources should not replace adopted HQIR but should serve to supplement instruction towards the full depth and complexity of the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Mathematics.

For more information regarding high-quality mathematics curricula, districts and school leaders may access the Mathematics Instructional Resources Consumer Guide, a tool for evaluating and selecting instructional resources for alignment to the KAS for Mathematics.

Concept development lessons that are meant to first reveal students’ prior knowledge, then develop students’ understanding of important mathematical ideas, connecting concepts to other mathematical knowledge.

Thank you for your interest in these resources!

Please email the mathematics team at kdemath@education.ky.gov with any feedback or questions.