Keep this key out of learner practice until both fresh checks are complete. It is a formative guide, not a Year 3 grade, diagnostic tool or stand-alone achievement-standard judgement. Record reading of printed words, meaning from an adult-read passage, composition, oral explanation and number-model understanding in separate columns. Note exact response, access mode, prompting and not yet observed for any item without an individual sample. A pupil who uses a scribe may show strong explanation; their independent spelling still needs a separate sample. A pupil who rereads a shared passage after adult help has not shown independent fluency.
Daily glance key and immediate next moves
| Day | Evidence that would count | A useful next move after difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Two green targets make “green shape” ambiguous; Nia's “hot rush” suggests a feeling, not proof of one emotion | Show the two green labels side by side; reread one exact story phrase before inviting an inference. |
| 12 | A verb such as move, turn or stop names an action and gives enough reference to the printed page | Move a token with “go”, then one with “move one square up on the page”; ask which detail changed. |
| 13 | Test and revise is the heading for repairing a paused route, with a reason; labels distinguish similar symbols | Offer two heading cards and ask which one contains the action needed. |
| 14 | Child keeps draft 1, notices a particular reader pause, changes an action/landmark/end and retests | Model a single observable pause. Ask for one precise word change rather than decorating the whole card. |
| 15 | See Check A below; retain listening, map use, writing and word reading separately | Teach whichever component broke down, then use a new small example rather than repeat the check. |
| 16 | First label and regrouped label differ, but both name 24 306; the equal-value exchange is the reason | Put one ten-thousand card beside ten thousand cards; say equal value while pointing. Do not score a copied label as mathematical proof. |
| 17 | “We exchanged... stayed...” reports completed action; “Exchange... check...” instructs a present action | Sort one report and one instruction by purpose before practising verb forms. |
| 18 | Example, change and check form related idea groups; a visual's values agree with words | Sort the three teacher sentence strips, then co-compose a new two-paragraph explanation. |
| 19 | The chosen audience receives amount, exchange and unchanged-total reason in usable order; learner responds to one question | Supply three picture/sentence prompts; ask what an absent classmate would need defined. |
| 20 | See Check B below; distinguish explanation quality from five-digit computation and word reading | Use category-specific next teaching below; do not assign a blanket score. |
Check A · Day 15
Freshness: the mail-table map and the words refill, painter, shaping are kept out of Lessons, Materials, Learner, art and print alternatives. Check any local adaptation for accidental preview. If a pupil saw this check early, use a genuinely new map and words, not a reported “held-out” result.
- Listening inference: Zed paused because “round mark” could fit DOT (the starting mark) or RING; no exact path was supplied. Arin changed the words to numbered movements on the page and an exact STAR end. Merely saying “Zed was bad at maps” misattributes the problem; ask what the text says.
- Following directions: DOT is bottom left. Two squares up reaches BELL (top left); two squares right reaches STAR (top right). If a token moves diagonally or leaves the printed 3×3 grid, reteach the meaning of one square on this page rather than guessing a reading deficit.
- New route: FLAG is bottom right; BELL is top left. Valid examples include “From FLAG, move two squares up on the page, then two left; stop at BELL” or “move two left, then two up”. Other paths through named squares are fine if each action and endpoint is testable. A student can dictate/point rather than write; record mode.
- Word transfer:
refill=re-+fill(“fill again” in this context);painter=paint+-er(a person who paints);shaping=shapewith finaledropped before-ing. Record separately whether the pupil recognised a part, decoded the whole word and explained a relevant meaning. Do not demand a word meaning without context.
Example response worth keeping: “Zed could choose the dot or the ring. Arin added up two, right two, and STAR.” This has a text-grounded reason and identified revision. “The arrow was wrong” without naming the conflicting choices is too thin; offer the two symbols and ask which words made the route uncertain. A beautifully written route to the wrong end is a different need from a clear spoken route with emerging transcription.
Tomorrow's groups: (1) can follow but cannot compose → jointly rehearse start/action/end and make a new 2×2 route; (2) composes but a reader pauses → peer test with one observer note; (3) interprets text but word parts uncertain → teach one locally appropriate prefix/suffix or final-e pattern using new words; (4) supports all parts → compare two routes and justify which words reduce ambiguity for a reader using a tactile map.
Check B · Day 20
Freshness: the 13 204 passage and rebuild, builder, tracing are first seen in Check B. The practice model is 24 306 and the lesson model is 340. If the number itself is a barrier, supply both already printed correct groupings and assess the learner's language; keep mathematical understanding in its own column.
- Text meaning: first label is 1 ten-thousand +3 thousands +2 hundreds +4 ones = 10 000+3 000+200+4 = 13 204. Second is 13 thousands +2 hundreds +4 ones = 13 000+200+4 = 13 204. The number of thousand groups changes because one ten-thousand becomes ten thousands. The total and tokens do not change. A child need not independently derive the regrouping for this English comprehension evidence.
- Composition/explanation: look for an amount, an equal-value exchange, an unchanged-total reason, ideas in sensible related groups, a feature selected for the visitor, and a revision if the feature misleads. Two short paragraphs or two oral/AAC sections can suffice. Do not require the child to copy the stock text. If their drawing shows 14 thousands, it conflicts with the provided second label; ask them to compare it and repair. If they write “there are more tokens”, replay the exchange with cards.
- Word transfer:
rebuild=re-+build(build again here);builder=build+-er(a person who builds);tracing=tracewith finaledropped before-ing. The pupil should apply known phonics/graphemes, not identify parts by sight only. Record any adult model.
Example response worth keeping: “The card says 13 204 tokens. Its groups can be changed without adding anything. One ten-thousand becomes ten thousands of equal value. So the second label has 13 thousands, and the total is still 13 204.” It could be split into an opening paragraph and an explanation paragraph; it is not a script to demand. A shorter valid explanation with a labelled diagram can show the same reason. “There are 13 thousands now because the number is bigger” is false; use a physical equal-value card exchange and an oral correction before editing punctuation.
Next teaching: (1) word reading weak, explanation strong → teach the specific grapheme/morpheme combination and sample new words; (2) passage meaning weak, number model understood → locate “no token added or removed” and ask what that rules out; (3) explanation clear orally, difficult to transcribe → preserve dictated/AAC idea, then separately teach a manageable writing goal; (4) number reasoning uncertain but language coherent → coordinate with maths teaching, do not convert the English check into an unsupported maths judgement; (5) extension → compare a diagram and words for consistency, or explain why a label can mislead a reader even when the total is correct.
Rights: Original teacher key © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, SubjectNest, CC BY 4.0. Credit, link and indicate changes. Answers use invented tasks; ACARA descriptions have separate rights in the crosswalk.