2nd/3rd grade split?

[Anonymous]

Just found out our school will have a 2/3 split classroom this year. How does that work? My husband thought it may be some of the strongest 2nd graders mixed worth some of the weaker 3rd graders? We won't be able to discuss this with the school until next week. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My friend's kid did this for K in K & 1 class. At first my friend was nervous but they all ended up liking it and it was a good experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend's kid did this for K in K & 1 class. At first my friend was nervous but they all ended up liking it and it was a good experience.

How does it work? Seems like a disadvantage to the 3rd graders, especially if they are more advanced?

[Anonymous]

Back when I was in ES, I was a third grader in a 3rd/4th split class. It was fine, I just remember there were some kids A LOT taller than me. It was a mix of average and accelerated and somewhat behind students from both grades, at least as far as the reading groups went. I was in a group with some 4th graders. Other 3rd graders were in another group.

[Anonymous]

I also know quite a few people who did this for K/1. Most didn't like it.

I would be opposed for my child, especially in the higher grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also know quite a few people who did this for K/1. Most didn't like it.

I would be opposed for my child, especially in the higher grade.

I can see why parents of kids in the lower grade might not object. But how does this benefit the kids in the higher grade? It's purely for the school's convenience, not for the students' benefit.

[Anonymous]

My daughter was second grader in a 2/3 split. They said they put the kids who were able to work "independently" in it --
but it was clear it was the second graders who needed more challenging work. I am not sure what type of third graders were chosen for the class, but they seemed nice normal kids, not behind.

The kids still had to follow their grade's curriculum, but the second graders just moved more quickly through it compared to the other 2nd grade classes.

I'm sure different schools and teachers do it differently, though, so you will just have to see.

The downside was that there were only four other second grade girls in my DD's class, so that was disappointing for her. Otherwise she loved it!

[Anonymous]

My DD was in a 4/5 split. I was really worried that 5th grade would be a boring repeat for her, but it wasn't. She became very good friends with a nice girl a year older. I think the key is to have a good teacher doing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend's kid did this for K in K & 1 class. At first my friend was nervous but they all ended up liking it and it was a good experience.

How does it work? Seems like a disadvantage to the 3rd graders, especially if they are more advanced?

It's my understanding that this is the structure of Montessori schools generally. I assume they would have reading / math groups based on ability like they do in regular classes, so presumably the third graders would be in a higher reading group or a higher math group if relevant. I am not a proponent of redshirting but I could see that there could be a benefit to getting a chance to be the older kid and getting a chance to be more the leader by virtue of being older in such a classroom structure.

That said, I've never been a complainer about my kids being bored in school. I think making up their own work or things to do in their free time allows them to be more creative and become more of an independent thinker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend's kid did this for K in K & 1 class. At first my friend was nervous but they all ended up liking it and it was a good experience.

How does it work? Seems like a disadvantage to the 3rd graders, especially if they are more advanced?

It's my understanding that this is the structure of Montessori schools generally. I assume they would have reading / math groups based on ability like they do in regular classes, so presumably the third graders would be in a higher reading group or a higher math group if relevant. I am not a proponent of redshirting but I could see that there could be a benefit to getting a chance to be the older kid and getting a chance to be more the leader by virtue of being older in such a classroom structure.

That said, I've never been a complainer about my kids being bored in school. I think making up their own work or things to do in their free time allows them to be more creative and become more of an independent thinker.

Exactly. My kids go to a montessori school, and one of the things I love most about it is the mixed ages. It's not like every child in the classroom is working on the same thing all the time. There is huge benefit from peer-to-peer learning, and in a single grade classroom, there is far less opportunity for an individual kid to be both the leader and the learner. (ie, in a single age class, the same kid is always the one ahead doing the helping, while a different kid is always the one being helped. In a mixed grade class, you can almost always find an opportunity for the older kid to be the leader, even if they aren't the strongest student for their grade level.)
A good teacher can really make a mixed aged class be an awesome learning environment for all the kids.

[Anonymous]

It is done ALL the time. It will be fine.