Lots of children--lots of great minds

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Home : 2002 : August : 16

Lots of children--lots of great minds
By Suezie

Missy,

I teach fifth grade and I had a class of 31 last year (21 boys and 10 girls -- something in the water?). These kids came from grade 4 classes that only had 21 kids in them so it was a shock to their systems too!
I had to convince them, and myself, that a large class contained more brains/ideas and we could have a great year!!
As the other posters have suggested, routines are very important and, you must state and practice your expectations A LOT!! Cut out the routines that take a lot of time or assign (and train) classroom helpers to be in charge of them.
If you feel that you are not paying

enough attention to certain children, do a quick check after school each day. I used to look at my class list and put a check beside a name if I felt like I skipped over that child. This reminded me to pay more attention to them the next day. I now do this more mentally because it has become a habit after lots of years of teaching.

You will do great and just imagine how many more parent volunteers you will have access to!!