As the school year ends, accomplished teachers are reflecting about their year and already making plans for how they will do things differently next year. I've also been reflecting on where I need to go next with professional development. But for this blogpost I want to write about what went well with our k/1 split class.
Having first graders as models for kindergarten students works! My kids have worked so well together this year that often times people ask me, "Which ones are your kindergartners?"The first graders helped the kindergartners at the beginning of the year to get acclimated to school and they took their job seriously. They reminded the kinders of the rules, where to find places in the building, how to use the playground equipment, and how to go through the lunch line. That was the explicit examples they set. But the implicit examples they set were very powerful. When kindergartners listened to the first graders share their writing, it motivated them to be better writers. It works both ways! When the first graders saw the great stories that the kinders were writing, they upped the ante and improved their writing with more details and more descriptive language. When first graders shared their strategies for solving math problems, the kinders were soaking it up. It wasn't long til they were participating in our number talks and holding their own with their first grade peers.
An unexpected plus that happened was that my first grade parents became mentors to the parents of the kindergartners. My room parents were great to contact parents and get them involved in our school and in our classroom.
Although this split class was formed out of necessity, it turns out that it was a good thing and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a challenge and can differentiate instruction well.
But I'm moving on to new challenges. I'm changing schools to work with Kindergarten and first grade students that are learning to read. This change is bittersweet. I'm excited about a new challenge but sad to leave all my lovely friends at my current school. Change is good and so is growth. I'm keeping green and growing! This quote has resonated with me as I made this decision to move.
"Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely."
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