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Ask for help > Different ages in the same class
Different ages in the same class
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ARaquelSP
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Different ages in the same class
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Hello, dear teachers.
Can you please give me ideas on how to deal with this problem? I have a group of about 25 students and unfortunately the school doesn �t allow me to divide the group according to the age. So, I have 5 year olds and 13 year olds in the same class. :-( They don �t speak any English, but I must have different activities because the 5 year olds can �rt even read or write. How can I make sure that lessons are not too difficult for the little ones or too boring for the older ones??
Thank you for your help.
Raquel |
28 Jul 2010
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joy2bill
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Work them in groups. It means you have several classes within one which is quite painful.
When I was teaching primary school we had to do this with all maths and reading groups. Sometimes I would have as many as 6 groups (40 students per class!) but 4 is best. Give the 5-7 yr olds some kind of game or drawing activity while you are working with the 12-13 yr olds. Then reverse the process giving the older students written work based on what you have just covered.
Songs can be done together with different worksheets according to age and / or ability.
It won �t be easy but it is possible.
Good luck, Joy |
28 Jul 2010
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ARaquelSP
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Thank you, Joy. That �s helpful advice. It demands a lot of work, but yes, it �s possible.
Have a good day.
Raquel |
28 Jul 2010
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anitarobi
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I agree with joy - group work is difficult but works. Gets easier in time, because the kids adopt the rules pretty quickly if you stick to them. The buddy system also works for some activities - pairing or teaming up a bigger and a smaller kid and giving them a task to work on together - perhaps making a class poster. Here �s a simple example - if you �re doing body parts, the smaller kid draws a monster/alien/animal, and names its body parts and the bigger kid writes the words and adds adjectives (big nose, green hair...). When they become more eloquent, you can also have bigger kids interview smaller ones using yes/no questions. E. g. Has the alien got three eyes? Yes/no... |
28 Jul 2010
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Mallerenga
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I also use "corners". I normally have listening, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, computers, games... and they rotate. In each one of the corners there is a folder with graded worksheets/activities so that everyone is working at his/her level.
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28 Jul 2010
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