How to Use These Worksheets

A worksheet is a diagnostic as much as a drill. These notes are about getting information out of one, not just filling twenty minutes.

Choosing the level

Start one step below where you think the child is. A sheet that is slightly too easy finishes quickly and tells you the foundation is sound; a sheet that is too hard tells you almost nothing, because every error could have several causes. If a sheet is finished accurately in well under the expected time, move up a grade on the same topic rather than adding more problems.

Setting the problem count

The default count on each page is chosen for the skill, not for the page. Long division defaults to twelve because each problem takes a minute or more; single-digit addition defaults to twenty-five because the point is recall speed. Lower the count when you are diagnosing and raise it when you are building fluency.

Printing

Use the Print button rather than your browser's menu. It applies a print stylesheet that removes the site navigation, drops the colour, and keeps the sheet on one page. The answer key never prints with the worksheet — open it separately if you want a copy for yourself.

Download PDF produces the same sheet as a file, which is the option to use if you are emailing it or printing from a different device.

Marking so that it tells you something

Mark for the type of error, not the count. Three wrong answers that are all ten too large is one problem — a borrow that was taken but not paid for — and it takes five minutes to fix. Three wrong answers with three different causes is a different situation entirely. Each worksheet page lists the specific errors that skill tends to produce, which makes the pattern faster to spot.

Timing

For fact-recall sheets — times tables, division facts, single-digit addition — time the sheet and record it. Accuracy alone hides the child who gets everything right by slowly reconstructing each fact, and that child will struggle with column arithmetic later even though their worksheet looked perfect.

Using the same skill twice

Press New sheet and the problems change while the skill stays the same. That is the intended way to use the site: same page, same difficulty, different numbers, until the skill is secure rather than the sheet memorised.