Move from kndg. to 5th

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Fifth Grade Teachers Chatboard

Move from kndg. to 5th

by Allison Thomas

Jun 5, 2012

I am being moved from kindergarten after 12 years to 5th grade comm. arts (not my idea). Any suggestions on classroom management, read alouds, anything? I am willing to take any suggestions.

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Marie For 12 years taught 7th and 5th grade. Last year I was put in first grade on a kinder/first hallway. Biggest differences: their admiration is much more subdued, respect their space and their intelligence, try not to refer to them as "our friends". After the first two months things start to fall into place. My year in first grade was one of my most ...See More

Jun 29, 2012

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ECC That's the great thing about reading a book allowed, you can discuss those themes together so children are not alone with their confused thoughts. Reading allowed enables children to access books they may not otherwise be able to handle independently. Is it because a major character dies? I connect this book to the other historical themes I teach l...See More

Jul 1, 2012

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to ECC Of course I ban books from my fifth grade classroom...and films, You Tubes, media, anything I find objectionable. My students hear from me when they consistently choose junky fiction books and trash novels from the library. They are missing out on a world of rich literature, and I am not going to stand by without saying something...it is why most c...See MoreOf course I ban books from my fifth grade classroom...and films, You Tubes, media, anything I find objectionable. My students hear from me when they consistently choose junky fiction books and trash novels from the library. They are missing out on a world of rich literature, and I am not going to stand by without saying something...it is why most claim they don't like to read when they arrive in my fifth grade class. Why would they like to read checking out the pathetic selections with little plot, weak sentence structure, and pablum for a story line? I could name many such titles that they want to pass around with glee until I intercept. One such book I picked up to preread had a group of children tying up a teacher with rope in the classroom. Wow, there is a great story line (heavy sarcasm.) I have heard the faulty logic that says, "They are exposed to so much in the world, anyway." Certainly that is true. It is therefore all the more important for a teacher to assume the role of a steward who assures that the classroom will not contain the onslaught of vulgarity and pop culture that they are exposed to, largely unrestricted, through irresponsible media. I always ask myself whether or not any parent might find the material objectionable, and if I have any doubt, I err on the side of caring for the child as if that were my own child.

I think it is faulty reasoning to say that what they are seeing on TV is more damaging than what they are reading. Danger is danger, no matter the source, don't you think?

I put "The Giver" (appropriate for more like 8th grade) into a category of classical literature that I would allow with older students, and put "Hunger Games" into a different category of pop fiction. I encourage my fifth graders to read more classical selections. I think that "ban" in a strong word, as my students have always responded to more gentle, guiding discussions about the importance of choosing good books and follow up help when we are together in the library. I use the comparison of a hamburger to a steak. A hamburger is fun to eat, but you want your reading selections to contain mostly steaks so that you can feast your mind when reading. I have had a lot of students finish books I have recommended who have come up to me with a wink and said, "You were right, this one is a steak!" The point is that they learn to discern the difference and are guided to make choices that enrich the mind.

On 7/01/12, ECC wrote: > That's the great thing about reading a book allowed, you can discuss > those themes together so children are not alone with their confused > thoughts. Reading allowed enables children to access books they may > not otherwise be able to handle independently. > Is it because a major character dies? I connect this book to the > other historical themes I teach like Martin Luther King Jr and the > American Revolution. People in a society think their laws are unfair > so they find ways to speak out. Is that a content theme you consider > inappropriate? > > I wonder if people such as yourself would ban books like The Giver or > The Hunger Games from their fifth grade classroom. I've never had a > parent complain about "Among the Hidden", but if I sent a note home > that said some content may be inappropriate, I'm sure I'd get a few > objections. I decided not to read aloud the Hunger Games, but > three-quarters of my class read it anyway this past year. I loved > watching their excitement spread throughout the room. They told me > afterward that they thought the movie was much more violent than the > book. > Kids are being exposed to more than I would like, but I think what > they are seeing on TV and reading online is way more damaging than > what they are reading in books. Am I the only teacher that feels > this way? > > On 6/27/12, Warning: "Among the Children" by Haddix wrote: >> There are many reviewers who have found the book, "Among the >> Children" to have content themes that are not appropriate for >> fifth grade students. Please preread the book before using it as >> a read aloud. Parents may want to preread it and give permission >> if it is used. >> >> >>>

Jul 10, 2012

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Sara Kids are being exposed to more than I would like, but I think what > they are seeing on TV and reading online is way more damaging than > what they are reading in books. Am I the only teacher that feels > this way?

Well, no, you're not alone. I think both the violence and sheer tasteless junk that's on television now is appalling...See MoreKids are being exposed to more than I would like, but I think what > they are seeing on TV and reading online is way more damaging than > what they are reading in books. Am I the only teacher that feels > this way?

Well, no, you're not alone. I think both the violence and sheer tasteless junk that's on television now is appalling - films are even worse in their portrayal of violence than tv. And yes, I think it risks desensitizing children and adults too. We've become a very thoughtless society - we don't really reflect on what we're doing or whether something is worth doing or if it's uplifting in any way. We seem to seek solely to be entertained and to be entertained, we have developed a higher and higher (or lower and lower) threshhold. What was entertaining 20 years ago doesn't work anymore - it needs to be edgier all the time, it needs to be more and more shocking. Which renders many things not shocking at all as we do become desensitized.

Hence, reality tv. Now it's not enough to watch a tasteless plot line of a soap opera or situation comedy. Now we seem to need our fix to be real or at least staged in a way that it looks real. We want real shock on people's faces - "Cheaters" - we want to see people's real discomfort "Swapping Wives". We (not me) want real confrontation. We seem to thrill to that and nothing less will do.

But that I believe all that doesn't mean that I've thrown my own teacher's judgment out the window and jumped on the bandwagon of the casual embrace of portrayed violence in my classroom. I'm rather dismayed with the popularity of the Hunger Games though I'm happy kids are reading. But the object of the game was to kill all the other children? The Bones or that novel the premise of which was the murder of a young girl by a sick neighbor - I wouldn't have it in my classroom but if they want to read that on their own time, I'm left to be glad that at least they're reading.

The difficult times in which we live and the struggle to prevail in the face of things likely explains why kids would embrace such a book though I recoil from it and would have trouble using it in a class. Will either of those books stand any test of time at all?

But I do use The Giver in class and our 8th grade reads Night - there's real violence in that...I will not use Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings though one of my colleagues does - I find the graphic depiction of sexual abuse to a child as portrayed in that book to be unworthy of my 7th graders who, yes, tell me 'they've seen much worse' (what's worse than that?) and 'they can take it'.

But it's not just about whether they can take it or whether it does them harm. It's about whether it does them any good. Good literature is thought-provoking, not titillating. > > On 6/27/12, Warning: "Among the Children" by Haddix wrote: >> There are many reviewers who have found the book, "Among the >> Children" to have content themes that are not appropriate for >> fifth grade students. Please preread the book before using it as >> a read aloud. Parents may want to preread it and give permission >> if it is used. >> >> >>>

Jul 30, 2012

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Maybeme Our last readaloud of the year was "Among the Hidden" in my grade 3/4 class. Throughout the year, my students studied much of what is not pretty in life - we learned about child labour, studied special needs, acid rain and several novels that were complex ... I choose books that work best with the particular children I am working with at the time. ...See More

Aug 3, 2012

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