Does your elementary school "platoon"?

[DisneyLoverUSA]

My kids are in 5th grade and they started having to rotate classes this year. Up until the 4th grade you stay in one class all day. My kids have to go through 3 different teachers a day. I guess it is getting them use to the type of class changing they are going to have to do in Junior High and High school. Getting use to keeping up with your belongings and moving from class to class helps them. The kids don't like it much because one of the teachers they have to go to is mean and neither kid likes her but they have no choice.

 

[undertheradar]

We had this back in 1970, worked fine for us.

 

[EMom]

I think it would be great. Students could be ability grouped especially for Math and Reading. It might even work with a Kindergarten class, now you have might have a class with students who might not know their letters/sounds combined with ones that can already read.

DD's school started it in 2nd grade. But not for ability grouping. That's dirty word around here. God forbid you recognize children have different abillities.

 

[vettechick99]

We have started and it's not going as smoothly as we wanted. We did it so we could ability group for a reading program but their other classes are not ability grouped. They only separate for that one class. I just wonder how other schools get it to work so easily.

 

[Sparkleshine]

My son is in 1st grade and his school does 'centers' where they are separated based on ability for reading and math (and writing I think) 3 days a week. They also go to 'specials' which are separate music, gym, library, and computer classes with different teachers.


There are 5 first grade teachers each with around 21 kids. Each teacher is assigned a level based on what they teach best and will keep their regular teacher up to speed on how each child is doing. It is more team based.

It also gives the kids a chance to meet up with kids that aren't in their regular class which is good!

 

[golfgal]

We have started and it's not going as smoothly as we wanted. We did it so we could ability group for a reading program but their other classes are not ability grouped. They only separate for that one class. I just wonder how other schools get it to work so easily.

Practice. In my elementary years, they had "always" done it that way . We were also set up for doing this. The classrooms were actually one large room divided by 2 half walls that came out about half way into the room so moving back and forth was pretty easy. We also had a lot of aids in the room (and parent volunteers) to help. Each teacher really only had 5 or 6 kids and would stagger the groups so you spent however long doing your reading with the teacher and then moved to a different area to do something else either led by or supervised by an aid. We had those half-circle tables where the teacher sat in the middle and the kids all around. I was always amazed that the teachers could read upside down . There were probably 20-25 kids in each class with 1 full-time teacher and probably 3 aides and at least one parent volunteer each day (and this was at a Catholic elementary school).

 

[KiminChicago]

Both of my kids had "team teachers" for 3rd through 5th grade. One teacher taught social studies and reading, the other teacher handled math and science. It worked out well for everyone -- the students got used to moving from room to room for classes and the teachers got to teach the classes they most enjoyed.

 

[Pembo]

In our district it starts in 2nd grade. The kids switch for math and science.

In 5th they switch for all 4 core subjects. My ds had a tough time with this. I read somewhere that all that transition can be tough on kids.

 

[vettechick99]

In 5th they switch for all 4 core subjects. My ds had a tough time with this. I read somewhere that all that transition can be tough on kids.

It is. And we are doing it with 6 year olds. It's hard!!