Moving down

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Moving down
By Third grade teacher

Remember, when you start in September, they will essentially be second graders. The previous poster is right in that while they can be more openly loving and enthusiastic than older students, they will possess much less independence,
especially at the beginning. You also will need to remember that they will need a lot more modeling and repetition of important routines in the beginning than older students. In our state, we also have to deal with high stakes state testing in grade three now, putting pressure on the third grade teachers. That being said, a change to another grade level can be seen as a new

challenge. I taught second for five years before moving back to third, and I am grateful for the time spent there because I was able to see the skills that were taught prior to coming to third grade. While the depth of the curriculum might not be there compared to fifth, you still will teach many critical things, and there are many excellent books the children will be reading at this level for literature groups and read alouds. If you are up for a change, third grade is a fun place to be!