Drill Sandwich

What is it?Drill Sandwich – a folding-in strategy of unknown

with known words or facts to enhance student learning

Materials» Index cards» Sandwich sized baggies/envelopes» Graph (to document progress)» Different colored marking utensils

How can I use this to help my child?

STEP 1Have your child read

through the word list/facts three times

.

On the recording sheet, mark every word/fact your child reads automatically (within 2 seconds).

Any words/facts which your child gets correct ALL three times are the KNOWNS.

STEP 2

STEP 3

All other words/facts are UNKNOWNS.

Move these cards into another pile.

STEP 4Create one card for each UNKNOWN word/fact and place these into a

baggie/envelope marked UNKNOWNS.

STEP 5Now create one card for each KNOWN word/fact. Place these cards into a

baggie/envelope and label it KNOWNS.

STEP 6Find your child’s working memory capacity based on their age. This

will be the number of UNKNOWN cards you will use at once. (e.g., for a 7 year old, working capacity is 3, so you will use 3

UNKNOWN letters)

Working Memory What you are paying attention to at any given moment.

Age Capacity3 15 27 39 411 5

STEP 7.

Mark a third baggie/envelope WORKING ON. You will want 10 total cards in the WORKING ON baggie/envelope.

From the working memory chart, select the number of UNKNOWN cards from the capacity column based on the child’s age, the remaining letters come from the KNOWN baggie.

)STEP 8Have your child practice the

card in the following order:

(K=KNOWN, U=UNKNOWN)

K-K-K-U-K-K-U-K-K-U

)STEP 9As a card is mastered (recited 3

times correctly), replace a KNOWN card with an

UNKNOWN.Have the child continue to practice

the cards in the following order:K-K-K-U-K-K-U-K-K-U

Key InformationMost children need to have about 30

exposures to an UNKNOWN word/fact before it becomes KNOWN. For most children, it works best when this is done for 10-15 minutes, 5 times per week.

For review, once each week have the child review all cards in the KNOWN

baggie/envelope as well.

Progress Check

» Once each week (i.e. - every Monday), repeat Steps 1 and 2 to see which cards your child has mastered.

» Based on the assessment, move the cards to the appropriate bags.

Graph your child’s progress:.

Name: ____________________________

Area being worked on: _____________________________

Date

Motivational Ideas:

Beat the Clock

» Time the student going through the stack of flashcards that they are working on.

» Show the student one flashcard at a time. If they do not know it immediately (within 2 seconds), tell them the answer and move it to the back of the pile.

» The time stops after they get every card correct. Graph the time.» Complete this once per week.» Compare this week’s time with the previous week’s time; see if they can “beat

their best time.”

Another Motivational Activity

Rabbit/Turtle or Bike/Motorcycle» Find out what the child is interested in and come up with something

that is fast and something that is slow. For example, for children who love animals - use a rabbit/turtle, for children who love motorized vehicle – use bikes/motorcycles.

» Put the KNOWN cards into the fast pile.» Put the WORKING ON cards into the slow pile.» Explain to the child that after practicing these cards, they will be able

to read them really quickly – “they will be quick like a rabbit.”