I worked with you at a previous school. I now have a headship and have subscribed to your site (of course!) However we have mixed age classes Y1/2, Y3/4
Good to hear from you and congratulations on your promotion. Hope all is going well, and really pleased that you are using the Planning Menu.
Based in rural Lincolnshire I have worked with many schools faced with mixed age classes. In fact yesterday I worked with a group of 5 small schools for the day and we had a lot of discussion on differentiation and planning for mixed-age classes.
When I planned the 18 units for each year I organised them in pairs, Y1/2, Y3/4, Y5/6 for this reason. However, differentiation is an issue in one-form entry schools let alone mixed age, and all the techniques to manage that (differentiation by outcome, task, support, response) are needed to maximise learning and progress for the children. NAMA (National Association of Maths Advisors) recommend the following key strategies for managing differentiation:
Based in rural Lincolnshire I have worked with many schools faced with mixed age classes. In fact yesterday I worked with a group of 5 small schools for the day and we had a lot of discussion on differentiation and planning for mixed-age classes.
When I planned the 18 units for each year I organised them in pairs, Y1/2, Y3/4, Y5/6 for this reason. However, differentiation is an issue in one-form entry schools let alone mixed age, and all the techniques to manage that (differentiation by outcome, task, support, response) are needed to maximise learning and progress for the children. NAMA (National Association of Maths Advisors) recommend the following key strategies for managing differentiation:
–Skilful questioning within lessons to promote conceptual understanding
–Identifying and rapidly acting on misconceptions which arise through same day intervention
–Challenging, through rich and sophisticated problems, those pupils who grasp concepts rapidly, before any acceleration through new content.
–Use of concrete, pictorial and abstract representations sometimes linked to levels of conceptual development
Regarding planning, for each class I would suggest looking at the scope and sequence for a specific unit for both years and teach them together within one connecting context when appropriate. Then have both unit planning templates, so that the objectives, AfL and small steps of progression for both years can be viewed together. The small steps of progression in bold are those broadly relevant for that specific year, of course even single age classes have wide abilities, so the small steps are extended to include earlier steps for those needing support and later steps for those needing to be stretched.
Another useful approach - at the start of each unit give each child a section of the small steps of progression for the topic you are working on. They can use this as a self-assessment record of their progress and it will also help you manage the wider ability range in your class, with the children taking some responsibility for their learning.
Just a quick further bit of info - I've just seen this new research of mixed age planning of maths from Devon.
Looks interesting.
Looks interesting.
