As a Library Media Specialist, I get to work with the entire school; PreK-5th grade.
To be honest, even after 20+ years as an educator, it took me a minute to work out how to teach every grade. Every day.
I thrived as an upper elementary teacher. But teaching little kids? That intimidated me!
I had been pretty in tune with third, fourth, and fifth graders.
Developmentally, I get and appreciate them.
I intuitively know (for the most part) what I may need to tweak to help them be successful. When and how to use humor with them. How to academically challenge them.
But the other grades, the lower grades, I taught myself how to be a rockstar Media Specialist for them.
It is overwhelming to take on multiple new grade levels and new content all at once.
I recommend starting with your strengths.
For me, that meant focusing on the grades that I taught for years. I knew what they needed to be successful learners. From there, I could create engaging lessons that met those needs. That made the new content feel less overwhelming and more manageable.
Due to the high degree of comfort, I decided to focus on a grade level that I thought I’d never be equipped to teach.
PreK.
I spent that first year getting to understand their developmental needs and reshape my teaching practice.
I used what I learned from them to help me prepare engaging lesson for Kindergarten as well.
The following year, I focused on second grade. They were close enough to the other grades I had taught. And I was already familiar with some of their developmental needs.
I dug in and learned more about them my second year as a media specialist.
While I don’t think I was perfect, I do feel as if I had a good handle on how to teach the library media content to these particular grades.
There really is no such thing as a difficult grade. It really comes down to our skills and knowledge to best meet their needs.
The grade that I found the most challenging as a media specialist was first grade.
I just didn’t know how to teach them. I was completely exhausted and frustrated every time I saw a first grade class.
I really struggle with the tantrums, giving up, and moodiness.
The year that I focused on their needs, I learned tons!
I realized that they need a clear structure (like all ages), consistency, loads of encouragement, humor, and lots of opportunity to practice.
Instead, I really dug into the book Yardsticks to learn more about them. To appreciate their strengths and unique qualities.
I’m sure you’re like me, and continuously looking to improve your practice. To decrease behavior issues. Increase engagement.
Which is why I created this cheat sheet for myself. It was so handy while I was focusing on first grade.
It became easier to create engaging lessons for them. It became easier to manage and prevent behaviors because of how aware I became of their needs!
I have a section for each grade level, using information I gleamed from Yardsticks and my 20+ years of teaching.
Each grade has information that really helps me best teach the diverse grades I encounter on a daily basis.
Whenever I find myself struggling with a class or particular grade level, I turn to these developmental cheer sheets.
And I make sure they are reflected in my instructional Scope and Sequence. If not, I tweak the scope and sequence and/or lesson I’m r]teaching to make sure it does!
What do you do when you find yourself struggling with a particular grade?
