ERIC Number: ED396292
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1996
Pages: 134
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-435-08889-0
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Multiage Classroom: Choice & Possibility.
Miletta, Maureen McCann
In this book, an experienced elementary school teacher recounts how she and three other teachers of grades 4, 5, and 6 decided to relax the compartmentalization of learning into subject areas and shuffle subject matter into new patterns to offer students a voice in their education. The book describes how the teachers created a multiage classroom--a place where learning is valued, where students can choose what they want and need to study, and where teachers are at liberty to develop imaginative programs. Both theoretical and practical, the book discusses ways teachers can (1) plan and develop a multiage program; (2) refine and expand the choices offered to children; (3) integrate and infuse the arts into the curriculum; and (4) effect change in their schools. The book also includes specific strategies to help children teach their peers, assess their own work, develop their own goals, and evaluate their own progress in parent conferences. The teachers who developed the program described in the book, looked for new ways to "unbuckle the curriculum"--to think creatively about possibilities for integrating reading, writing, and social studies, math, and science. The book notes that reading was something that was done all day long, and that the study of social issues helped define the program. It is hoped that teachers interested in creating similar learning environments or experimenting with new ideas and challenges will find encouragement in this book. An appendix contains sample daily module charts. (NKA)
Descriptors: Classroom Environment, Creative Teaching, Educational Change, Educational Objectives, Integrated Curriculum, Intermediate Grades, Literacy, Multigraded Classes, Peer Teaching, Reflective Teaching, Social Problems, Student Empowerment, Student Needs, Teacher Role, Teacher Student Relationship, Team Teaching, Theory Practice Relationship
Heinemann, 361 Hanover Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801-3912 ($18).
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive; Books
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Foreword by Maxine Greene.