Today I took some time aside from my busy schedule to go into a new school to see if it is somewhere I might want to do my Winter lessons at. Let me begin by explaining that so far, I have mostly only been at a middle school in my hometown volunteering while doing my lessons. The school I went into happens to be in the city, and although it is one of the nicer schools as they call it, I was still amazed at how different it was from what I had been used to in my little bubble.
Now I have been working with 10/11 year old’s in a middle school. Today I walked calmly into a 1st grade classroom with 6/7 year old’s and walked out thinking it was madness. I had only been there for a few hours, but I kept thinking to myself, is it the grade? Could it be that the school is just different? Is this what my towns 1st grade looks like? Am I just used to older students? So many questions raced through my mind.
I thought about it for a while and came to the conclusion that one day I will be applying to a whole bunch of schools and wont get to be so picky. Right now, I’m comfortable with the school I’m at because I went there when I was younger. It’s on the nicer end of schools around us and seeing another side of teaching would be better for myself in the long run. Its all about EXPERIENCING DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. Ruling out the grade right away as well as ruling out a school is not fair, because I simply haven’t seen enough. It may be more challenging to go to this new school where things are done a little differently, and its much bigger, but that’s the real world right?
There’s one thing that’s holding me back though, and I would love to hear others thoughts***
-Right now I’ve been used to creating lessons for 5th graders where they can do small group and individual lessons and I can assess them often. The bulk of my teaching (my advanced classes) will be done over the Winter term, which is why I’m hesitant to drop to such a low grade. I suppose I feel like when it comes to creating lessons for 1st grade, its much simpler.. but almost harder to create these complex lesson plans like we are required to do for GSC. What if it looks like such easy lessons, or even are such easy lessons that I have to show? How is that helping me in the long run, if my FPF’s and TCAP members aren’t seeing this crazy complex work? That is where my worry lies. In the back of my mind, I’m worried that these next two classes are where I should be showing how far I’ve grown with my lesson planning, yet I’ll have lessons that aren’t as complex and great as I would for my older students.
Thoughts? Have you taught 1st or 2nd grade?
Alyssa's Blog 
I can relate to working in a bubble. I think mine is the bubbliest of all bubbles 😉 I can’t comment on working in other districts but I can talk a bit about teaching younger grades. I work in an elementary school (K-4). I think first grade can seem chaotic to someone use to older students. I’ve found that oftentimes, if the class seems out of control it is because there are children with behavior problems that have not been officially identified. This makes it very hard for the teacher, especially if she has no additional assistance. Also, the students are just young emotionally and socially. The difference between Sept and June in 1st grade is enormous!
It can be difficult to put together an assessment for this age because they are still learning to write. So, any assessment that uses writing is limited (I usually ask for 3-4 sentences, which even then is sometimes too much!). Fill in the blank or multiple choice would be an easy way to collect data, however, this method is at the bottom of Bloom’s Taxonomy as it merely asks for recall. Oftentimes, it is easiest to have students give answers verbally. For a pretest, a para and I scribed the answers – I didn’t have time to wait for them to write AND I wanted to understand the answer! A lot of my assessment is informal and done while I’m asking the class questions (who answers, who doesn’t, were answers correct, etc.) or walking around the room and talking to students. I don’t think you need to worry about the lessons looking too easy. For any grade, it’s all about goals and objectives! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Welcome to teaching. I have been lucky in that I have had only to plan for middle school so far. There are challenges in that alone, but that is a separate blog. I have other teachers that have had to switch from middle school grades one year to 1st or 2nd grade the next year, then back. It depends on what you are qualified for and the needs of the district you work for. They may determine that you are needed in a different grade and move you around from year to year. The good news is that you have lot’s of other teachers that have gone through what you are going through. The teachers can also let you know if what you are experiencing is “normal” or out of the “routine.” Many times I have thought, wow what did I do wrong, or do these kids only act that way to me. Going to talk to other teachers I have found they are usually experiencing the same challenges that I am. My biggest recommendation is to talk to the teachers around you and ask how their day has gone and compare notes. Good luck.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Alyssa,
I think first, just take a breath. I have been in 2 districts and in grades 4, 5, 6 (8th observed) and now 1st (teaching) but working with 1-5th in special education.
1st grade is going to be different. The energy level is higher, and they can’t read or write nearly as well as a student in 5th grade, but I can tell you that your lessons will not be any easier to plan, and will certainly not look simpler. My TCAP member last term told me to explore other grades. You shouldn’t stick with one grade the whole time. You will learn so much more by switching it up. If you go to an interview and they ask you what you did during your internship- you want to be able to tell them all the grades you taught in.
I love first grade. The students are full of energy and its fast paced but it’s fun. You can do read alouds and movement activities. Singing and dancing. Don’t think that if you teach in 1st grade it won’t be what the GSC is looking for. The lessons I created this term are definitely keeping me on my toes. Scaffolding is harder because the students are so young and need more help (in my case atleast) then 5th graders. Like stated above, they can’t give you written responses, so your creativity has to increase as an educator. I have done pictures, sentence starters, venn diagram, verbal response and soon a skit!
Just think about it this way – maybe your 1st graders won’t be writing you an essay, but their level of complex is just different than a 5th grader. It will be complex for them to explain their reasoning, or justify their ideas. It will be complex for them to build a simple model of their town ( drawing, using boxes, paper ect) and write 1-2 sentences explaining what they created. A 5th grader could do that easily, but thats complex for a 1st grader.What your objectives include will change. You just need to change your level of thinking to what is complex for the group of students you have, not what is complex for you or I. Believe me, it takes a lot of getting used to – to be able to go from writing a 5th grade plan to a 1st grade plan, but if you do it correctly, it’s not any easier.
If you can find a placement, you should go for it!
Kerry
LikeLike