Hello all! This year will be my first year teaching, and I will be teaching fifth grade! I'm sure I will be visiting these boards frequently for advice and ideas, but I wanted to know (from all of you fifth grade teaching veterans) if you have any particular tips for fifth graders? Any special things your kids love, or anything that you have found to be unique to this age group? I'm really excited, because I know that fifth grade is a very special year for the kids. I am working on putting my classroom together and any help/tips would be greatly appreciated!
They still love to be read to, both novels and picture books. They also work well with structure and routine. It might take a couple of years to get your groove...don't worry it will happen. I have taught fifth for six years so feel free to message me with any questions.
This is a great age. You'll think you have everything down perfectly, kids are behaving and understanding your expectations, and then...bam! Spring break hits. Suddenly, they're doodling their crushes' names all over their homework, rotating through best friends daily, and rolling their eyes so much you'll think their eyes will get stuck. All of a sudden...they are 6th graders. 5th graders will test you, because they want to see how much you care. They want to love you. Respect you. But first, they want to test you to see if you deserve it. You'll pass the test if you don't allow them to outwit you, you respect them, and you laugh with them. They want to see you as fair leader. Give them big-kid responsibilities, but allow them to occasionally act like the young kids that they are. They'll love knowing you believe in them. Competition is a big motivator for them, and it'll take some work to show them that what they really want is achievement. You'll go to great lengths to convince them that "gonna" and "wanna" are not good word choices in writing; you'll learn to be over-dramatic to get a point across; you'll become familiar with Ariana Grande and any other Disney/Nickelodeon stars. Prepare for a debate on the best one. Because, unless you're prepared to either end it or incorporate it, that discussion will take precedence over fractions. 5th grade is so much fun. It is such an interesting developmental year. You'll have days where you could either laugh or cry. Laugh!
