Standards-based education is centered around the idea that there are specific elements of knowledge and skill that all students should know and be able to apply as a result of their own learning experience.
For those of us who spent our formative years in traditional, single-grade K–12 classrooms, the idea of a multigrade classroom may seem like a foreign concept.
Multiple grades? In the same room? How well does that work?
Very well, as a matter of fact. Multigrade classrooms combine students of different ages, subject areas, and abilities in one classroom that is taught by a single educator. Although they’re uncommon in U.S. school districts, multigrade classrooms have many academic, social, and spiritual benefits for students.
Working outside of a traditional classroom can be challenging. Here are four things to keep in mind as a multigrade educator.
Flexibility is a non-negotiable commodity.
When reviewing a new curriculum, it is important that there is a well-structured lesson plan to map out daily and weekly lessons year-round, also known as a pacing guide. By clearly identifying a lesson structure and preparing a well-organized curriculum you will have the upper hand in the management of your classroom.
Let’s talk pacing...
Pacing is an important part of a well-managed classroom. When pacing is clearly identified, educators and students can work with little to no lesson direction.
What is Kendall Hunt’s Pathways2.0 curriculum?
Pathways2.0 is a comprehensive, easy-to-use elementary reading program with integrated language arts for grades 1-8. It addresses ten key principles: Reading instruction, spiritual growth, reading motivation, writing and expression, selective topics, reading comprehension, phonics skills, assessments, classroom management, and today’s focus spelling instruction.
Customized curriculum, such as Pathways2.0 and ByDesign Science, emphasizes collaborative learning because of its proven positive impacts on the student experience. There are many benefits of collaborative learning, but students don’t always see it that way. So many students have expressed their distaste for group projects that there’s now an official term for the phenomenon: “group-hate,” or the negative feelings that people have toward working in groups.
As the summer season approaches, we gather with family and friends to enjoy more of the things we love, it’s important to teach the young learners in our lives the importance of counting our blessings.
Activities like gratitude journals, joy jars, and thank-you notes are all wonderful classroom activities. But one of the most powerful ways to create a grateful classroom is for teachers to simply live with gratitude. Here are four easy ways that teachers can integrate a grateful mind-set into their teaching that’s perfect for inside and outside the classroom during summer break.
