I CAN DO THIS!

Being the teacher in a "Dual Grade Classroom"  (Thanks KM for the term, I like it better than split or combo class!)  is a lot of work!  Ok, so I knew that going in, but it's still true!  Today, however, I actually feel good about it! Thankfully, I had half of my 2nd graders last year.  Having children in the room who already know my routines has been extremely helpful!  Especially for tech support!  They have really jumped in and helped other children get on the computers and on the iPod touches.

Many of you have asked, "How in the world are you supposed to teach two grades?"  Excellent question! (That was my first thought as well!)  Here is a glimpse:

For the Reading block, I explain the seatwork to the 1st graders and get them going. Then I take all the 2nd  graders to the rug/promethean board for their lesson.  After that is my usual Literacy Center/Small Group Instructional time. I can do both grades during that hour easily. We tried out the centers today and it went well.  I will start the small groups next week.  After that time, it's back to Reading Lesson for the 1st graders, and seatwork for the 2nd graders.

The Math Block is somewhat similar:  send the 2nd graders to Math centers first and teach the 1st graders their Math lesson.  Then switch! Send the 1st graders to centers, teach 2nd graders their lesson.

It has been nice to work with only half the class at a time on these vital subjects.  I can check for mastery much faster and provide more individual help as we go along.  It's a lot more work for me, but this way each grade level gets what they need.  After only the second day, I can see how smoothly it will all work once the routines and procedures are down pat.


The key to making this all work is ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATION!  Having the Literacy and Math centers ready is vital, as well as being super organized with the planning.  I keep folders for everything : 1st Grade Reading, 1st Grade Seatwork, 2nd Grade Reading, 2nd Grade Seatwork, etc....(I will actually color-code the folders this week: everything 1st grade in blue folders to match their Reading program, everything 2nd grade in green folders to match their Reading program, and anything that is whole class like Science/Social Studies/Health in another color).  Before I leave for the day, I have always piled the next day's work in a stack on my desk (in order of use). This year, that stack is extremely high!  Good thing I have a nice big desk to spread it all out as I need to!