Working with groups in KS1

[Fallingstar13]

I'm just wondering how other Year 1/2 teachers work with groups each lesson for English/Maths. At our school we used to work with 1 group per day, the others were doing an independant task and we'd rotate throughout the week so we'd worked with everyone over the week.

Then we had smaller classes (18) and we were asked to work with half the class in one session, then the other half the next day, so all children would work with the teacher twice during the week. The other children were in provision.

We now have full classes of Year 1 and 2 mixed with 30 children and are having to work with all groups everyday, with the rest in provision and rotating through the session, which is really tough going and I'm finding I can't fit it all in in the space of 50 minutes, which means I'm getting behind. With having 30 children too, when I have my group and the rest are in provision, it is sooooo noisy.

How do other KS1 teachers manage their lessons. Do you work with every group every day in each session? Do you have them all sat down at once? Some doing an independent task? I need to find a better way to work it before I go insane!!!!

Do you have to do written work in maths and English every day? I only have year 1 so less complicated but in my morning I have an English or maths input followed by 2 groups, then phonics, then 2 more groups following the first input. Then before lunch I do an input for whichever subject we haven't done. So they get a maths and English input every day but work in books every other day. They also have challenges to do throughout the week and I might put extra bits of work out. Later in the year I would expect to have half the class sat down working at a time.

Thanks, that's more along the lines of how we used to work. We are currently trying to get through all children in 1 day recording for both English and maths but I think we may have to reduce it down and then build back later in the year.

Everything is harder in a mixed year group! As a Y3/4 teacher I'd just say that by the end of Y2 I'd be expecting children to be completing some work independently every day otherwise it makes the jump to KS2 even bigger than it already is.

What are your year 2s strongest at? For mine from last year, if they were mixed with my current 1s (although not all 55 of them!) I would probably aim for my 2s to be recording their maths independently whilst I worked with my 1s and then keep my writing in groups for both 1 and 2 this term. Then increase the independence in the 2's writing through the year and the 1s maths until everybody in maths worked independently (except those needing support) and most of the 2s wrote independently ready for Year 3.

Do you follow Mrs D on Facebook? She has a mixed 1/2 class with CP.

Thanks I'll have a look at that and give it a try.