Grades 1 and 2 Easy-Peasy?

I was overjoyed and excited when I got the opportunity to teach students in grades 1 and 2. I had taught students in higher grades till then and this was my chance to do something new. I love kids. And children at that age are my favourite. I entered the classroom with a lot of hope and clarity. I knew what I had to do. I had my lesson planned. I thought I was ready to impart education.

Then reality hit me like a rock and crushed me. I was unable to handle the classroom. There was chaos and confusion all around me. Instructions did not seem clear. Students did not interpret my body language. I was distraught. I did not know what to do.

That was when a group of LRTT (Limited Resources Teacher Training) fellows visited our school. I was lucky to find a fellow who taught elementary school students to help me out.

Here are a few things I learned from the LRTT fellow that helped me:

1. Objective not Subjective

I realised that children till the age of 7 are still learning and trying to understand the world around them. They do not understand and interpret body language and silent cues like adults do. During class, if the teacher stops explaining and remains silent when the students are distracted and talking during a lesson, they may not interpret it as a silent cue where the teacher is waiting for them to stop to get back to the lesson. They will be clueless and will continue doing what they were doing. This is because young children do not perceive silent cues or body language.

They need the teacher to tell them in words what are expected from them.

2. Rules

Young children need clear instructions. The rules should be simple to follow and constant. It will be good if all the teachers can sit together and come up with common rules that the children can follow. It may take up to a month for the students to internalise it. Spending 5 minutes every day to go over the rules will help manage the class better.

3. Expectations

I have observed that it works well when children are told what you expect from them for that class. You can give them a list of things that they are required to do. This will keep them occupied and remove the confusion of not knowing what to do. Children can very often seem lost when the expectations for the class are not laid out.

4. Activities

Children in grades 1 and 2 learn better through activities. Physical movement can reinforce learning through the sensory approach. When planning a lesson, if you have activities ready, it can go a long way towards engaging the class. Depending on the lesson, you can have group or individual activities. It will take a couple of trials, and errors to find what works best. Do not give up hope and ask for help if you find it hard.

5. Breaks

It is difficult for students in grade 1 and 2 to work continuously for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When planning a lesson, include short breaks to help children relax and stretch. It can be an activity for the class as a whole or can be on a reward basis where the reward is a short play time for completing a task. Breaks can start with 5 minutes and can be reduced to 1 minute by the end of school year which will increase the sitting tolerance of young children.

6. Individual needs

Being aware of the individual needs of students can help you prepare well for the class. Time invested in observing children, their behaviour, and how they learn will be rewarding. It will help you create and plan activities to suit their needs. Also, managing behavioural challenges will be less stressful if you know why a student is agitated. If there is a child who is restless, you can engage that child to distribute books or do an activity that requires movement.

7. Being prepared

As a teacher, you need to be prepared for anything that can happen in a classroom. Some days will be good, some, not so good. When a class does not go as planned or if you sense that children are restless and cannot continue learning, you will need to pull something out of your magician’s hat. A meditation session or slow music in the background can help children relax. It is OK if you decide to do something besides teaching one day. You can plan a movie session or do something fun to keep the children entertained.

We assume that it is easy to teach children in elementary or preschool. It will become easy with a lot of patience and hard work. Early learning is crucial. It cannot be ignored and as educators, we need to be prepared to enable them. I hope you find this article helpful.