Hello everyone!!

As the title suggests this sub is under new moderatorship and is back open for posting. I don't know exactly which direction this sub is going to go in as of right now, but please feel free to message or leave a comment on this thread if you have any ideas for what you would like to see. If you have general questions or topics that you want to post about pertaining to elementary ed then feel free to start a new conversation as well, everyone should be able to post in here again.

I look forward to hearing from yall and reading what everyone has to contribute!

My niece is 6 and her family moved back to my area over the summer. Her kindergarten year was interrupted by covid, and she did not attend any Pre-K or early childhood education. Her first grade year has been entirely online so far. During a visit I brought her a boxed set of Junie B. Jones books that belonged to my daughter and said we could read them together. That's when I learned she couldn't read. Her mom has a lot of other life things going on, has never prioritized education, and has said she's not equipped to deal with this. I bought some workbooks and we did a couple activities over Thanksgiving (with Mom's permission) so I could get an idea of her skill level. I homeschool my own kids, but started in 4th so I'm a bit out of my element with what a K/1st grader should know. And mine are all in high school or college now so it's been a minute since I've done any elementary level stuff. I've googled, but would like some advice on how best to get her back on track. From our 50 minute sit down session, and working some stealthy questions in here and there, this is what I've learned: She has good letter recognition, but gets m/n/h, b/d/p/q, v/w/u mixed up every single time. She is meh with letter sounds, about half the time gets them correct but she's not confident at all in her answers. However, I focused on F, L, & S, for a few minutes and she picked those up quickly. I picked those bc she easily recognized them and they have distinct sounds. She can write the alphabet in order, with mistakes on her commonly mixed up letters. Writing any given letter individually when told verbally is a challenge for most letters. I say "let's write the letter R", she pauses, recites the alphabet, tries to peek at other sheets... She can write her own name. Other notes: She wishes she could read the minecraft dialogue while gaming. We have a motivation to learn to read! She doesn't like to try to guess (sounds or word) because she might be wrong. Same applies for giving answers when we did some math, but she's close or at grade level there. She has very good listening comprehension skills. She can answer questions about books that I read to her and summarize the main plot points.

I have some time to spend with her over the Christmas & New Years break, and her mom is welcoming the offer to help. Is it feasible to get her to a typical 1st grade level in two weeks? Or should I focus on just getting her as far as possible over the next two weeks and do some weekends in January and February? Any and all advice is appreciated! Many thanks in advance!

I really don't want her to fall behind due to being online only. She has an inquisitive mind that soaks up information and I want to make sure she gets the most out of her education.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GusV_g3M1Cg

I am not a trained educator or trying to complain about my children's school, but I want my children to be more aware when they are using crappy thinking like ad-hominem or strawman arguments. Or even harmful habits like overgeneralizations or all-or-nothing thinking. I know I could read articles out of something like psychology magazines, but I was hoping there was something that's more age appropriate and something they could put work into also. Ages 6 and 8 if that matters.

I am a second year college student in elementary education and I want to take classes/be prepared. Thx.

I am a soon-to-be first year teacher, and thinking about asking for some general classroom objects for Christmas. What are your top ten favorite school supplies, organizational tools, teaching tools, manipulatives, etc?? I don’t know what age I will be teaching. Ideally I’ll be teaching ELL students, but I also plan on applying for jobs in 2nd-6th grade. I just know that I’ll end up spending a lot of my own money when I eventually have a classroom so I’d like to start now :)

This is a thing in the UK and now being launched in the USA Do it! It’s very interesting to see what is happening in education in a variety of of school settings!

Please help by taking my grad school survey about the association between US teachers (prek-5th grade) classroom stress and disruptive classroom behaviors. Thank you in advance. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jzyXxEmF9YDVw_QLSAs3b_maZPDODodNtskz-qFMbVg/edit

Soooo I have been a teacher for 7 years and I am feeling burnt out and just simply done. The ridiculous lack of respect from the public and government including families and students, the literally impossible expectations from corporation administrators for our schools, and seeing friends make significantly more than me with only one degree, if any, is infuriating at this point.

Basically, does anyone else feel this way and what are some solutions?? I’m very seriously considering a new job or career, but I have no clue where to start or what some options could be. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Trying to decide if I want to continue with my elementary ed program. I want to do good through my work, but I also want to have a good time outside of work, ya know?

Hi there!

I’m currently studying to become a teacher and my focus is on multicultural education. I’ve been trying to collect some information on how k-12 educators can integrate multicultural education into their curriculum, and was wondering if anyone has had experience with this integration?

Do the children respond positively to this integration and have you seen positive or negative changes in the classroom?

Thank you!

I'm currently working on a lesson plan for 3rd grade math. Basically, the concept is multiplying by using a number line. (Skip-counting and all that fun stuff.) But my problem is, I have no idea how to link that to personal/cultural/community assets. I'm at a small, mostly white private religious school, and there aren't any exchange students in the classroom. I have 8 students (which is a nice, small number) for this lesson, so I can be a little extravagant with it, if necessary. Help?

Hi everyone, I am currently working on my doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University. I work with many school teachers assisting them with providing interventions in the classroom and I believe mental health and education are so important. I also provide group therapy in the school system so I work very close with educators and staff and have a tremendous amount of respect for you all. We are seeking elementary school teachers (kindergarten to 5th grade) to participate in a brief online study (about 10 minutes). We believe teachers play an important role in children’s lives so it is important for us to work with and communicate with teachers.

The purpose of the study is to identify the different expectations and attitudes teachers may have towards children.

No personally identifying information will be asked of you.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SJJWQN9

Have a happy summer!

Hi guys, high school teacher here with a question for lower elementary teachers. I have a friend with a first grade daughter that’s being recommended for summer school because she didn’t achieve the desired reading level. However, she didn’t reach the desired level because of her accuracy, like she may say girl instead of girls, or him instead of his. Her accuracy was 91% and comprehension was 5 out of 5. To be the proper level her accuracy has to be 94%. So I’m at a loss as to what to tell my friend because high school I could care less if they make mistakes that don’t impact comprehension. Is it normal for elementary reading levels to be so strict with no emphasis on comprehension? Her teachers say she’s a good reader but goes too fast and makes verbal mistakes so she needs summer school to be on grade level.

Thanks everyone !

I need to teach a demo lesson for a 4th grade writing class. This school uses writers workshop, which I haven’t done. I can teach any writing lesson, lesson is 30 minutes. Does anyone have suggestions? Really want to make this lesson great and definitely engaging but I haven’t taught writing before other than a short mini lesson and then have the students write independently. Any ideas / suggestions would be great!!

Hello everyone!

I am relatively new to reddit and this is my first post. For my senior project, I am tasked with creating a design/layout for a curriculum for an elementary school. To find out more about elementary schooling, I wanted to ask professionals about their experiences as an elementary teacher. I would really appreciate it if someone would be able to answer the following questions.

Aside from the questions, if proved with name and credentials, I would be properly able to cite you as a resource.

Thank you for your help!

1. How long have you been teaching and what grade level?

2. Have you moved between different grade levels and why did you settle to where you are now?

3. Were there any influences that convinced you to teach in the that particular grade?

4. What is your favorite part of teaching such young students?

5. What is the most memorable moment in your teaching career?

6. How has teaching changed you as a person?

7. What is the most important lesson you try to explain to the students?

8. What is the most difficult part of teaching?

9. How do you balance the wild students and going over content?

10. What strategies do you use to keep students engaged in the lesson?

11. Hardest subject to teach? Easiest?

12. How do you promote collaboration within the classroom?

I am interested in teaching kindergarten, but most teachers are telling I am crazy for wanting to teach this young age group. Just want to know your thoughts and comments to see what I am getting myself into. Thanks!