+413 658 7907
mike@leadinggreatlearning.com
Login
No apps configured. Please contact your administrator.

Login with your site account

No apps configured. Please contact your administrator.

Lost your password?

Mike Anderson ConsultingMike Anderson Consulting
  • Home
  • About
    • Brief Overview
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Testimonials
  • Books
    • Rekindle Your Professional Fire
    • Tackling the Motivation Crisis
    • What We Say and How We Say It Matter
    • Teacher Talk that Matters
    • Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn
    • The Well-Balanced Teacher
    • The Research-Ready Classroom
    • The First Six Weeks of School, 2nd Edition
    • What Every Teacher Needs to Know Series
  • Consulting
  • Online PD
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact
Back
  • Home
  • About
    • Brief Overview
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Testimonials
  • Books
    • Rekindle Your Professional Fire
    • Tackling the Motivation Crisis
    • What We Say and How We Say It Matter
    • Teacher Talk that Matters
    • Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn
    • The Well-Balanced Teacher
    • The Research-Ready Classroom
    • The First Six Weeks of School, 2nd Edition
    • What Every Teacher Needs to Know Series
  • Consulting
  • Online PD
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Blog
  • The Ebb and Flow of the School Year
  • Do Your Students Seem Older?

The Ebb and Flow of the School Year

Do Your Students Seem Older?

  • By Mike Anderson
  • In The Ebb and Flow of the School Year

Original Article: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/do-your-students-seem-older

Have you noticed an age shift in your class now that it’s the middle of the year? It always seemed to me that when we’d come back from February vacation, my students had all grown an inch, seen some new movie that changed the lingo in the room, and were suddenly more mature, for better or worse.

It’s funny—we all acknowledge that there are some pretty profound differences between kindergartners and first graders, or between third graders and fourth graders. Most of us spend the first few weeks of school focused on getting to know our students, and we often come to the conclusion that this year we have an “old” class, or a “young” one. But it’s easy to forget that a group that seems old or young (or normal) at the beginning of the year will change over time. That squirrely bunch of third graders who had a hard time sitting still for more than five minutes in October can suddenly be held captive by The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for a full half-hour read-aloud session after lunch in March. On the other hand, that mellow group of fifth graders who seemed so relaxed, content and amiable in November might be snipping at each other, forming cliques, and developing crushes now.

And so, as our students change, we need to adjust and adapt. I remember having to reconfigure the layout of my classroom one year when my fifth graders hit growth spurts (seemingly in unison!), and kids started bumping into each other and the furniture all day. Another year, when I was teaching fourth grade, a class that spent the first half of the year struggling with being kind suddenly clicked and mellowed out. We were able to take on some really fun group projects (cooking and movie-making) in April that we couldn’t have handled in October.

What kinds of shifts have you seen in your class this year? How has the tone of your classroom changed as students have reached new developmental milestones? How have you had to adjust as a teacher to meet the new strengths and challenges of the students in your room?

Author

  • Mike Anderson
    Mike Anderson

    Mike Anderson has been an educator for many years. A public school teacher for 15 years, he has also taught preschool, coached swim teams, and taught university graduate level classes. He now works as a consultant providing professional learning for teachers throughout the US and beyond. In 2004, Mike was awarded a national Milken Educator Award, and in 2005 he was a finalist for NH Teacher of the Year. In 2020, he was awarded the Outstanding Educational Leader Award by NHASCD for his work as a consultant. A best-selling author, Mike has written ten books about great teaching and learning. His latest book is Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher. When not working, Mike can be found hanging with his family, tending his perennial gardens, and searching for new running routes around his home in Durham, NH.

    View all posts

  • Share:
Mike Anderson
Mike Anderson has been an educator for many years. A public school teacher for 15 years, he has also taught preschool, coached swim teams, and taught university graduate level classes. He now works as a consultant providing professional learning for teachers throughout the US and beyond. In 2004, Mike was awarded a national Milken Educator Award, and in 2005 he was a finalist for NH Teacher of the Year. In 2020, he was awarded the Outstanding Educational Leader Award by NHASCD for his work as a consultant. A best-selling author, Mike has written ten books about great teaching and learning. His latest book is Rekindle Your Professional Fire: Powerful Habits for Becoming a More Well-Balanced Teacher. When not working, Mike can be found hanging with his family, tending his perennial gardens, and searching for new running routes around his home in Durham, NH.

You may also like

Classroom Management 101: A Refresher

  • February 29, 2024
  • by Mike Anderson
  • in Blog
You may think of the first weeks of school as a time to focus on classroom management, and it...
How is a Great Learning Environment Like a Three-Legged Stool?
August 21, 2023
3 Ways to Pace Yourself (and Your Students) This School Year
July 29, 2022
Do Your Students Seem Young?
October 5, 2021

Get Mike’s Newsletter

Subscribe to Mike's Blog

Receive email notifications for Mike's blog posts.

Contact Mike

1.413.658.7907

mike@leadinggreatlearning.com

USEFUL LINKS

  • About Mike
  • News
  • Contact
  • Testimonials

Social Links

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Newsletters

Subscribe to get updates right in your inbox. We promise to not send you spam.

© 2020 - Mike Anderson Consulting

  • Home
  • About Mike
  • Consulting
  • Contact