Re: Please help!

I certainly feel your frustration. I teach grades K-5 in one
classroom. I'm a special education teacher, and in my district
here in VA, it is a very common practice to lump all the grades
together in one room, with varying exceptionalities and kids all
along the spectrum. I'm assuming you are a general education
teacher. I would love to have just two grades. I will give you
these pointers, from the special ed. side of things: First,
since the curriculum varies so much, teach ALL the kids the same
thing. So, if only the fourth has elapsed time for math, teach
ALL the kids elapsed time, then pull the fourth aside to
reinforce, practice, do the application part of lesson plan,
while 3rd practice another skill. Eliminate the running back and
forth between two grades as much as possible, but for the sake of
lesson planning and observations, make the clear distinction in
your lesson plans. Also, how about having peer tutors. Can the
4th tutor the 3rd, or whoever is stronger in something become a
class tutor? I hope this helps. I am mainly on the sped. and
grade level chatboards, so feel free to email me at
cmbanks2@liberty.edu. if you would like some more ideas.

Candice

On 11/20/11, David Wilson wrote:
> I'm a first year teacher and was given a 3/4 split nine weeks
> into the year and I hate it. Unlike the previous respondent,
> teaching Math simultaneously has been a huge flop because of
> the vast differences in both the level of the students and the
> curriculum. No training is available for this unique class
> and I am dying in there. Working like crazy but feel stressed
> and overwhelmed all the time.
>
> The third and 4th grade kids don't like each other much. I had
> 8-3rd and 11 - 4th and now I have 6 third and 11 fourth. They
> snipe at each other all the time. I'm on my 3rd class
> reorganization and management plan because nothing seems to be
> working.
>
> The third graders are doing well, but they were before. And
> the 4th graders who were scholastically and behaviorally
> challenged are still not doing well.
>
> I did not begin teaching to fail at it and I am very
> frustrated.
>
> No way I'd have my kids in a split classroom.
>
> FWIW,
>
> Davi