★ Grades 1–5 · Math, Reading & Writing
Bridge the Gap
Same skill. Different level. Every kid gets a way in.
Bridge the Gap is the small group system I built for my own classroom. You find out exactly where each student’s gap starts, teach that level, and move them up one step at a time, without making anyone feel behind.
Which volume do I need? Shop on TPT
Why I made it
It started at my small group table
I had a group of 4th graders working on adding and subtracting. A few of them were missing skills from two or three grades back. Making the numbers smaller didn’t fix it, and I didn’t want to buy a stack of 2nd and 3rd grade resources one skill at a time when I didn’t even know how far back to go.
So I sat down and wrote out every skill from 1st to 5th grade, in order, one level at a time. That list on my phone turned into Bridge the Gap.
Five steps, the same way every time. Once your students know the routine, it pretty much runs itself.
1
Diagnose
Give the Form A diagnostic. Students start at Level 1 and keep going until it gets tricky.
Diagnostic · Form A2
Teach
Group kids by starting level and teach with the guided page: I Do, We Do, You Do.
Guided page + slides3
Support
Students practice on their own. Anyone who needs more gets the Additional Practice page.
Practice + Additional Practice4
Retest
Give the Form B retest for that level to make sure the skill really stuck.
Retest · Form B★
Move Up
They passed? On to the next level. Not yet? Reteach and try again. No one gets left behind.
Progress tracker + certificateEvery book has the same pieces, so once you’ve used one, you know how to use them all.
Resource
When to use it
What it does
Diagnostic (Form A)
Before you teach
Shows the exact level where each student’s gap begins
Teaching slides
During your small group lesson
Walks through each problem one click at a time, matched to the workbook
Guided page
While you teach
I Do, We Do, You Do for every skill, so kids see it modeled first
Practice page
Right after the lesson
Independent practice to see who’s got it
Additional Practice
For kids who need more
Extra practice at the same level before the retest
Retest (Form B)
Before moving up
Checks the skill stuck, then it’s on to the next level
Step 1 · Diagnose
Find where the gap starts
Each diagnostic checks every level of one skill, four questions at a time. Level 1 is 1st grade work and Level 5 is 5th grade work. Kids keep going until it gets hard, and it’s totally fine for them to skip what they haven’t learned yet.
Most students finish in 20 to 30 minutes. You’ll know more about where they are from that one page than from a whole unit test.
Step 2 · Score & Group
Score it in a few minutes
Use the answer key and the How to Score page. The first level where a student gets 2 or fewer right is where they start. Write it on the class placement record, and the kids who start at the same level are your new small group.
No guessing, and no reteaching a whole unit to reach three kids.
Steps 3–5 · Teach, Support, Move Up
Everything you need to teach that level
- A guided page (I Do, We Do, You Do) for every skill
- A Practice page and an Additional Practice page for every skill
- Matching teaching slides in PowerPoint and Google Slides, one click at a time
- Form B retests to check before moving up
- Answer keys for every page
- A flowchart, progress tracker, certificate, and family letter
★★
Stars, not grade levels
Every page shows the level with stars instead of a grade. A 4th grader working on 2nd grade skills sees ★★, not “2nd grade.” No one feels behind, and every kid can see how far they’ve come.
The math series comes in three volumes. Each free pack has five diagnostics, scoring sheets, class records, and answer keys.
Volume 1
Place value, comparing numbers, rounding, adding and subtracting, and decimals.
Get Volume 1 free
Volume 2
Multiplying, dividing, equivalent fractions, fraction operations, and area, perimeter and volume.
Get Volume 2 free
Takes about a minute
Not sure which volume to start with?
Answer 5 quick questions about your students and I’ll tell you which free pack to grab first, and which diagnostic to give.
Take the quiz
Math is where it started, but the same leveled setup now covers reading and writing too.
Math
15 topics across 3 volumes, from place value to geometry, plus a bonus Algebraic Thinking book. Every book comes with matching teaching slides.
See the Complete Math Bundle →Reading
Reading Literature and Reading Informational, both focused on Key Ideas & Details, with diagnostics, retests, and slides that keep the passage on screen.
See the Reading Bundle →Writing
Narrative, Opinion, and Informational writing, with sample scoring, organizers, drafts, and a rubric so kids can see what good writing looks like at their level.
See the Writing books →Ready to find the gap?
Start with a free diagnostic, or take the quiz if you’re not sure where to begin.
Take the quiz Shop Bridge the Gap