Multiage Classroom

We have two sections of 1-2 Multiage at Donald J. Yacks Elementary School. This is our fifth year of Multiage education at Donald J. Yacks.

Our program is designed to meet the needs of all learners, regardless of where they are on the developmental continuum. We have whole group instruction time and small group instruction time. Children have the opportunity to work collaboratively as well as independently. A large premise of our program is that children learn in a variety of ways, therefore, it is our aim to promote active learning situations where children learn by doing, learn from interaction with others, and learn by direct instruction. Ours is not the quiet classroom but one in which the casual observer might see a great deal of interaction between learners of all ages!

The students receive several special classes as well. All students have gym, computer lab, music, Spanish, and library. The first and second grade students also receive art once a week.

We have several wonderful parent volunteers who work in the classroom often. They support the students by running an individual spelling program and many center activities that connect to our classroom units of study. We are always thrilled with the dedication and support from our parent volunteers.

We use a guided reading program to support literacy development. Children are grouped by their instructional reading level and are frequently reassessed to see if they are ready to move on. Within the guided reading levels instruction is provided to support their individual learning needs. Because change occurs at different rates and speeds for different children, the groups are often changing in their population. As soon as a child demonstrates their ability and readiness to move ahead they are given an oral reading record and a comprehension check. If the teacher feels that the child is ready to continue on they are reassigned a new level. this is coupled with a daily shared book time where many literacy skills are also introduced and practiced. Students also have daily opportunities for independent reading or buddy reading.

Our math program is in the process of changing and we are piloting two prospective new math series with the students. Trailblazers and Everyday Math. We have divided the students up by grade level while we pilot these two program so that we can better see how they are designed. Once the pilot is complete, we will return to our usual math delivery which is centered around concepts to be taught with various levels of instruction provided based on student needs rather than grade level. We will have a new math series for next year.

We welcome the opportunity to share our program with anyone who is interested in learning more about Multiage! It is a very worthwhile and exciting program to be a part of!