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Home : 2007 : Apr : 13
My peer who teaches morning intervention (12 kids) does; I don't. Problem for me is that regular 5th grade classes here have 30 -34 kids who take up A LOT of space, esp. by the time you add their backpacks, larger chairs, bookcases, larger desks, etc. to the mix. If you do choose to have a carpet, you'll need a large one (even if it's just for "small" groups) AND you'll have to cram their desks closely together to make room for it. Also, you probably won't use it nearly as much as you do in grade 2. For me it's not worth it. Do they respond to positive reinforcement? Most do, but some don't. Extrinsic rewards are also more expensive- for the most part they're past the stage of stickers and pencils and need MORE... What motivates them? They're at the stage where they're really developing their own personalities and styles. Everyone is different. You certainly won't be able to motivate/please "all of the people all of the time." Do they hate their teacher? Only if you make them hate you! 5th grade kids are still kids... if they think you care about them, they'll care about you. But with all of this testing I do find that I have to put on my game face more than ever and be firm with them. Some will NOT like you for that, but you just have to get past that. It's not about you. Are they more interested in peers than school? For some, YES YES YES. That is their ENTIRE LIFE as they approach middle school! But that can actually work to our advantage at times. I see a big blossoming in social relationships between 4th and 5th grade. Most can focus in class, though. I've had lots of girl problems again this year, but it varies from year-to-year. Also the discipline problems can be bigger: kissing, more serious "dissing" and even fighting, bringing beer to school, very nasty notes, etc. And be prepared to teach family life too, if your district requires it like ours does. How hard is to grade their work? I have minimal paperwork with second grade because so much of what we do is cooperative or easy to check! If you are seriously teaching to the standards, this is the KILLER QUESTION. It takes A LONG TIME to grade/edit their work, especially their writing. Here in CA, adddressing the 5th grade writing standards alone can take up your whole day. Essays by themselves are supposed be 500-700 words long (and get this: they should make sense and be grammatically correct!). The people who make up these standards must think I'm Superman. I just spent three full days of spring break trying to catch up, and I'm still way behind (despite the fact that we use laptops with lots of automated feedback!). Believe me, 5th graders can crank it out, and the tasks can be quite complicated. Even the rubrics can get complicated. Also, in 5th grade you have your whole class the whole day, with more contact time (more instructional minutes than required for grade 2- also, no "early birds, late birds- as some schools still do that, and probably no afternoon recess or break). Bottom line for grade 5: More kids + more instructional minutes + higher skills + higher standards = lots more paperwork for you. What's the best part of teaching kids this age? For the most part they're still just kids. And the interaction with them is more dynamic and complex than with the younger ones. You can also joke around with them a little more. That's what I like the most.
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