chatboard - Teachers.Net

Join Teachers.Net

Chatboards

Recent Groups

Multiage

MEMBERS

3 Members

+ Join Group

Pinned Posts

ALLAll Teachers

Teachers.Net LIVE CHAT Support group - Tues eve!

Featured Jobs

Full-timeMontessori Teacher

Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

TemporaryTeachers, rural schools

Peace River North School District

Full-timeHead Teacher: 2nd/3rd Grades – Mills College Children’s School

Mills College

Teaching Jobs on Teachers.Net

Featured Job special only $39!

https://teachers.net/jobs

Become a Teachers.Net sponsor!

Multiage Classroom Chatboard

3/4 Teacher Need Help!!!

by Amanda

Jun 14, 2008

I am currently finishing up a very frustrating and painful year of teaching 3rd and 4th graders. I work at a school with 92% free and reduced lunch and a high population of ELL students. I have not recieve any kind of guidance or help this year and this is my 2nd year of teaching. This year my district implemented Everyday Mathematics for K-5 and told me that as a 3/4 teacher I needed to teach both 3rd and 4th grade curriculums to my students and that it was my job to figure out how to do this. This being said I got no help from my administration or the district and this is were the painful part comes in I tried all year to do just this and found it to be daunting and not what is BEST for my students who almost all came to me at least a year behind already and now as this year is winding now I feel I have failed them and as I start to think about next year it worries me as again I will have another 3/4 split. These kids don't deserve this kind of education, but it seems that nobody in ...See MoreI am currently finishing up a very frustrating and painful year of teaching 3rd and 4th graders. I work at a school with 92% free and reduced lunch and a high population of ELL students. I have not recieve any kind of guidance or help this year and this is my 2nd year of teaching. This year my district implemented Everyday Mathematics for K-5 and told me that as a 3/4 teacher I needed to teach both 3rd and 4th grade curriculums to my students and that it was my job to figure out how to do this. This being said I got no help from my administration or the district and this is were the painful part comes in I tried all year to do just this and found it to be daunting and not what is BEST for my students who almost all came to me at least a year behind already and now as this year is winding now I feel I have failed them and as I start to think about next year it worries me as again I will have another 3/4 split. These kids don't deserve this kind of education, but it seems that nobody in my district has any plans to help me improve my math instruction. As far as strategies that I tried this year I tried splitting the kids into the two grade levels and while I teach one grade the other does the ongoing learning and practices and then they switch. We tried this for almost half the year and I found myself using more time managing my students as they don't have those self-monitoring skills yet and although they are great kids they need a more guided practice time and with no aides or support they really are left to their own devices which means the minute they don't understand something they start to goof off and mess around and with almost all of them coming in a year at least under grade level it doesn't take much time for them to start to get frustrated when I can't help them as I am teaching the other grade level group. I have talked with my collegues and we were going to team and collaborate and have my kids go into other classes that way I would only have one grade level to teach, but our school is so small that we don't have enough teachers to do this. As you can probably already tell I need help. Yes, the current school year is over, but I am really trying to figure out what I can do for next year as this year I feel I barely made it through and I can't go through another year like that again. Please if you have any suggestions or anything you think might help, please, please, please, let me know I am a willing to try and learn anything to help my students become successful!

Comment

(3)

report post

Mary Anne Hi Amanda - I feel your pain! I teach a K/1 class and we have an eerily similar population (which adds a unique twist to multi-age) and we use Everyday Math too.

I set up a Math Workshop. I start with a whole group question/discussion that does not necessarily match the "unit". (example: Showing dot flash cards "How did you get the answer ...See MoreHi Amanda - I feel your pain! I teach a K/1 class and we have an eerily similar population (which adds a unique twist to multi-age) and we use Everyday Math too.

I set up a Math Workshop. I start with a whole group question/discussion that does not necessarily match the "unit". (example: Showing dot flash cards "How did you get the answer so fast?" "What combination did you see?" or "What if I wanted to build ___ (a name) a new bed? What measuring tool would be the fastest to use and why?" Which would be the longest tool?" etc) It's an open-ended question that creates a safe space for various levels of skill.

The the students are free to choose math centers while I pull small groups based on need and individual progress. The centers are open for problem solving, construction/creations, computer work, worksbooks, etc. Because they are self chosen centers the micro-managing on my part is minimal. It takes a lot of work to establish good choices in the beginning of the year but the payoff is worth it. It also requires a good orginzation system for notes, assessment, center activites.

Have you heard of Cognitively Guided Instruction? I use this as the basis of my math teaching and work the Everyday Math curriculum into it. It is fantastic! Try this site: [link removed]

hope this helps, Mary Anne

On 6/14/08, Amanda wrote: > I am currently finishing up a very frustrating and painful > year of teaching 3rd and 4th graders. I work at a school > with 92% free and reduced lunch and a high population of > ELL students. I have not recieve any kind of guidance or > help this year and this is my 2nd year of teaching. This > year my district implemented Everyday Mathematics for K-5 > and told me that as a 3/4 teacher I needed to teach both > 3rd and 4th grade curriculums to my students and that it > was my job to figure out how to do this. This being said I > got no help from my administration or the district and this > is were the painful part comes in I tried all year to do > just this and found it to be daunting and not what is BEST > for my students who almost all came to me at least a year > behind already and now as this year is winding now I feel I > have failed them and as I start to think about next year it > worries me as again I will have another 3/4 split. These > kids don't deserve this kind of education, but it seems > that nobody in my district has any plans to help me improve > my math instruction. As far as strategies that I tried this > year I tried splitting the kids into the two grade levels > and while I teach one grade the other does the ongoing > learning and practices and then they switch. We tried this > for almost half the year and I found myself using more time > managing my students as they don't have those > self-monitoring skills yet and although they are great kids > they need a more guided practice time and with no aides or > support they really are left to their own devices which > means the minute they don't understand something they start > to goof off and mess around and with almost all of them > coming in a year at least under grade level it doesn't take > much time for them to start to get frustrated when I can't > help them as I am teaching the other grade level group. I > have talked with my collegues and we were going to team and > collaborate and have my kids go into other classes that way > I would only have one grade level to teach, but our school > is so small that we don't have enough teachers to do this. > As you can probably already tell I need help. Yes, the > current school year is over, but I am really trying to > figure out what I can do for next year as this year I feel > I barely made it through and I can't go through another > year like that again. Please if you have any suggestions or > anything you think might help, please, please, please, let > me know I am a willing to try and learn anything to help my > students become successful!

Jun 20, 2008

report post

JJ I have done multi-age a few ways, also 3/4, and even a year with a 2/3/4!

I do math much the same way as Mary Anne. I have them work on some other activity (often it's a game to play in a small group) and I work with small groups. I don't do silent seat work, so my room is always a bit noisy, so we work hard on whisper voices during games...See MoreI have done multi-age a few ways, also 3/4, and even a year with a 2/3/4!

I do math much the same way as Mary Anne. I have them work on some other activity (often it's a game to play in a small group) and I work with small groups. I don't do silent seat work, so my room is always a bit noisy, so we work hard on whisper voices during games. But even playing a game involves dice and communication between 4 people so it's never completely silent.

One thing that really boosted my kids this year in math, was to begin the day with a few problems. They each had a journal, and did the problems in there. The third graders saw the fourth graders problems and started to want to do them to, so my third graders advanced more than any other class I have had! I did more computation than my program includes for practice (EDM is much the same, I believe.) Anyway, what ended up happening was that my kids built tremendous fluency with algorithms. They all (fourth graders too) got much farther in math than ever before. I even pushed the fourth graders into some fifth grade math at the end of the year, because they were SO fluent in all the computation skills they needed. (long division, large x problems, etc.) For example: In late May and June we began multiply fractions and mixed numbers, which isn't part of our fourth grade curriculum at all, simply because it had come up as a question during our area lessons, and they were ready. I never would have done this before, but the kids were so able to do it!

I often put two sets of problems on the board, one for the 3rd graders and one for the 4th. They could actually choose the one that looked "right" for them. Sometimes a third grader would challenge themselves with a fourth grade problem, and some fourth graders NEEDED the practice with the third grade skills. It worked out so WELL I will recommend this to ANYONE!

Good luck next year!

Jessica

On 6/20/08, Mary Anne wrote: > Hi Amanda - I feel your pain! I teach a K/1 class and we > have an eerily similar population (which adds a unique twist > to multi-age) and we use Everyday Math too. > > I set up a Math Workshop. I start with a whole group > question/discussion that does not necessarily match > the "unit". (example: Showing dot flash cards "How did you > get the answer so fast?" "What combination did you see?" > or "What if I wanted to build ___ (a name) a new bed? What > measuring tool would be the fastest to use and why?" Which > would be the longest tool?" etc) It's an open-ended question > that creates a safe space for various levels of skill. > > The the students are free to choose math centers while I pull > small groups based on need and individual progress. The > centers are open for problem solving, construction/creations, > computer work, worksbooks, etc. Because they are self chosen > centers the micro-managing on my part is minimal. It takes a > lot of work to establish good choices in the beginning of the > year but the payoff is worth it. It also requires a good > orginzation system for notes, assessment, center activites. > > Have you heard of Cognitively Guided Instruction? I use this > as the basis of my math teaching and work the Everyday Math > curriculum into it. It is fantastic! Try this site: > [link removed]!

Jun 22, 2008

report post

Sarah Pollard I am a new teacher also, but have children who have worked with Everyday Math since kindergarten. I know that this series spirals so you should be using the same units with each curriculum. Why not differentiate instruction by teaching whole class lessons with differenciated assignments designed for 3 leveled group? This would allow you to give gui...See MoreI am a new teacher also, but have children who have worked with Everyday Math since kindergarten. I know that this series spirals so you should be using the same units with each curriculum. Why not differentiate instruction by teaching whole class lessons with differenciated assignments designed for 3 leveled group? This would allow you to give guided practice to all at the same time (aiding in classroom management), then have the students split into groups by ability levels (similar to reading groups). The lower students would have the easiest practice problems, mid-level students would have harder problems, and the higher students could work on the most abstract of problems. I attended a conference on differentiated instruction in which this concept was presented. This may require some extra prep work, assessing students' abilities during the first week of school, then dividing them into 3 groups, and finally, creating folders of worksheets for each ability level, but as they work independently, you would be available to answer questions. And working in groups offers students the chance to help each other and learn more in the process. Of course, you would still need to use the math journals for part of the assignments to show progress but supplementary worksheets will help bring them back up where they belong and fosters a feeling of success.

On 6/14/08, Amanda wrote: > I am currently finishing up a very frustrating and painful > year of teaching 3rd and 4th graders. I work at a school > with 92% free and reduced lunch and a high population of > ELL students. I have not recieve any kind of guidance or > help this year and this is my 2nd year of teaching. This > year my district implemented Everyday Mathematics for K-5 > and told me that as a 3/4 teacher I needed to teach both > 3rd and 4th grade curriculums to my students and that it > was my job to figure out how to do this. This being said I > got no help from my administration or the district and this > is were the painful part comes in I tried all year to do > just this and found it to be daunting and not what is BEST > for my students who almost all came to me at least a year > behind already and now as this year is winding now I feel I > have failed them and as I start to think about next year it > worries me as again I will have another 3/4 split. These > kids don't deserve this kind of education, but it seems > that nobody in my district has any plans to help me improve > my math instruction. As far as strategies that I tried this > year I tried splitting the kids into the two grade levels > and while I teach one grade the other does the ongoing > learning and practices and then they switch. We tried this > for almost half the year and I found myself using more time > managing my students as they don't have those > self-monitoring skills yet and although they are great kids > they need a more guided practice time and with no aides or > support they really are left to their own devices which > means the minute they don't understand something they start > to goof off and mess around and with almost all of them > coming in a year at least under grade level it doesn't take > much time for them to start to get frustrated when I can't > help them as I am teaching the other grade level group. I > have talked with my collegues and we were going to team and > collaborate and have my kids go into other classes that way > I would only have one grade level to teach, but our school > is so small that we don't have enough teachers to do this. > As you can probably already tell I need help. Yes, the > current school year is over, but I am really trying to > figure out what I can do for next year as this year I feel > I barely made it through and I can't go through another > year like that again. Please if you have any suggestions or > anything you think might help, please, please, please, let > me know I am a willing to try and learn anything to help my > students become successful!

Jul 14, 2008

report post