One Teacher, Three Grades, Forty-Five Minutes

Proposed structure for a 45-minute Nepali or Mathematics period:

• 0–5 min, whole group (all 19): a common opener - mental mathematics or a shared text excerpt - so all three grades start engaged and the teacher is not yet committed to one grade.
• 5–25 min: the teacher works with Grade 5 on the new concept (for the four students who cannot multiply, that means place-value and array work, not the Grade 5 textbook page). Grade 4 does paired practice on already-taught material with self-checking answer keys. Grade 3 does a structured worksheet or self-instructional sheet with picture cues.
• 25–30 min: teacher moves to Grade 3 for a short, high-intensity introduction of new content.
• 30–40 min: Grade 3 works independently; the teacher returns to Grade 5 for guided application and error correction, while a Grade 4 pair checks Grade 3 work against a key.
• 40–45 min: whole-group closure and one oral question per grade.

Defence of the design: new content requires an expert and gets teacher time; consolidation and practice do not, and get independent or peer time. This raises engaged time from about 20 to about 40 minutes. Crucially, the teacher's largest block goes to the group with the greatest unmet need (Grade 5 multiplication), not to the youngest or the loudest. The two-week preparation should be spent writing the self-instructional sheets and answer keys, not on decoration.

Handle the spread through task design, not through additional teacher hours.

Tiered tasks on one concept. One worksheet, three entry points - e.g., two-digit multiplication: Group A completes arrays; Group B completes with a worked example visible; Group C explains why the method works. Same concept, different scaffolding, one answer key.

Structured peer tutoring with reciprocal roles. Pair a stronger and weaker reader for 15 minutes, then rotate. The known failure mode is that the strong student does the work. Prevent it by:

• training tutors to prompt, not tell ("show me where you started");
• giving the tutee a real role - checker, explainer, recorder - so both are accountable;
• keeping the tutor's own learning visible through the same worksheet;
• rotating pairs weekly so no child is permanently labelled the helper or the helped.

Self-checking materials built in the two preparation weeks: answer keys on card, folded so the answer is hidden until the attempt is recorded. This gives instant feedback without teacher marking.

Avoid fixed "ability groups" that sit permanently at the back - the evidence is that they harden the gap. Grouping should be by task and should change.

Use a competency checklist, not marks in a register.

• One A4 sheet per grade listing the term's competencies (e.g., Grade 5: multiplies two-digit numbers; Grade 3: reads a short paragraph aloud with comprehension). Columns are children's names.
• Recording happens during the 5-minute teacher check, not afterwards. 19 children × one minute of oral checking across the week is about 19 minutes total - affordable, and far more valid than a written test the teacher must then mark.
• Self-checking work gives instant feedback to the child but is not the record; the record is the teacher's observed check. This separates feedback from accountability.
• A portfolio of three pieces per child per term (one best, one revised, one chosen by the child) provides evidence for parents and for the School Improvement Plan without additional marking.
• Weekly peer-checked drill (tables, spelling) can be recorded by a monitor on a simple tally, with the teacher spot-checking 20 per cent of entries to keep the data honest.

The design principle is that assessment data must be produced by activity already happening in the room; otherwise it collapses in the third week of term.