Multi-Age Classrooms

Multi-age classrooms present unique opportunities to personalize instruction based on children’s developmental needs rather than their chronological age.

They also present unique challenges in terms of planning, instruction, classroom management and assessment.

Many teachers worry about content coverage and feel overwhelmed by the number of learning outcomes they are responsible for when teaching a multi-age class.

The Ministry of Education has undertaken a project to provide Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs) in multiple formats to address this concern.

It has also developed Key Concepts in the Curriculum: Overview of Mathematics K to 12 and English Language Arts K to 12, a guide for each grade level in English Language Arts and Mathematics.

The Ministry has put this resource together in a booklet using a handy chart format. The document provides high-level overview that can help establish a focus for planning, instruction and assessment.

The Vancouver Island Network has also developed an At-a-Glance document to assist educators in planning for the teaching of Mathematics in multi-age classrooms. 

Heather Johnson, on behalf of the BC Rural and Small Schools Teachers’ Association has prepared a Multigrade Format for K-7 Language Arts IRP.

Many of the classrooms in School District No. 64 (Gulf Islands) are deliberately configured as multi-age classrooms. Teachers on Galiano and Pender islands use differentiated instructional strategies such as literature circles and student-centred projects to meet the needs of their students. For more information, please contact the district.

The Rural and Small School Teachers Association has linked to a handy website of interest to educators of multi-age classrooms.

If you have strategies to share, please contact the Rural Education Network.

 

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