
Why Teaching About Martin Luther King Jr. Still Matters Today
When I was a kid, learning about Martin Luther King Jr. looked very different than it does now.
Hi, I’m Ashley Dickson. I’ve taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, and I’ve been teaching for over 12 years. I make the math and reading resources I wish I had when my small group table had five different levels sitting at it.
Every Bridge the Gap workbook starts with a diagnostic. Each one checks every level from 1st grade work to 5th grade work, four questions at a time, so you can see the exact skill where a student gets stuck. Score it in minutes, and your small groups are ready to go.
Place value, comparing numbers, rounding, addition & subtraction, and decimals
5 diagnostics • scoring sheets • class placement record • answer keys
Multiplying, dividing, equivalent fractions, fraction operations, and area, perimeter & volume
5 diagnostics • scoring sheets • class placement record • answer keys
Money, time, measurement, line plots & graphs, and geometry
5 diagnostics • scoring sheets • class placement record • answer keys
★★ Stars, not grade levels. Every page shows the level with stars, so a 4th grader working on 2nd grade skills sees ★★ instead of “2nd grade.” No one feels behind.
These are the resources teachers grab the most. All of them live in my TPT store.
A diagnostic and leveled workbook for every major math topic, 1st through 5th grade skills.
Centers and games kids actually want to play, one set of facts at a time.
Ten minutes, Monday through Thursday. Steady practice that makes facts stick.
These are my most popular freebie, and they’re the same mats I use with my own small groups. Pop in your email and they’ll land in your inbox.
That’s the exact problem that started Bridge the Gap. I had 4th graders missing skills from way back, and I didn’t know how far back to go.
Now every book starts with a quick diagnostic, so you know where each student should start. Then they work up one level at a time. Same skill, different level, and nobody feels singled out.
I’ve been teaching for over 12 years, and I’ve taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. Right now I’m in a 3rd grade classroom, so most of what you’ll find here started as something I made for my own kids.
A lot of it came from my small group table. One year I had a group of 4th graders who were still missing skills from a couple of grades back, and I couldn’t find anything that let me go back and fill those gaps without making them feel behind. So I made it myself, and that turned into Bridge the Gap.

When I was a kid, learning about Martin Luther King Jr. looked very different than it does now.

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