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The Upper Elementary Years

Ensuring Success in Grades 3-6

By: Christine Finnan

Help your upper elementary school students thrive and achieve!

Written by a passionate advocate for upper elementary students, this detailed guide focuses on a child-centered approach to teaching 8- to12-year-olds, one that helps build students' sense of confidence, belonging, and accomplishment. Readers will find:

A thoughtful overview of child development in the upper elementary years
Teaching strategies and assessment techniques to help students master required curriculum
Discussion of diversity issues, including race and ethnicity, language, gender, socioeconomic background, and exceptionalities
Informative case studies and firsthand insights from students, teachers, and administrators

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Product Details

Grade Level: 3-6
ISBN: 9781412940993
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2008
Page Count: 232
Publication date: November 10, 2008

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Description

"This book reminds me that I became a fifth grade teacher because that time in a child's life is amazing and critical. This book should be required reading for every teacher, especially ones going into the upper elementary grade levels."
—Tracy Pinnell, Fifth-Grade Teacher
Sheppard Accelerated Elementary School, Santa Rosa, CA

Help your upper elementary school students thrive and achieve!

A positive educational experience in the upper elementary years sets the stage for a child's long-term success in school. With increased testing and accountability requirements, upper elementary teachers are challenged to help students master required content while responding to each child's unique needs and way of learning. This inspiring book presents a child-centered teaching approach for Grades 3–6, one that helps build students' sense of confidence, belonging, and accomplishment.

Written by a passionate advocate for upper elementary students, this guide offers teachers detailed information about child development and effective teaching practices uniquely targeted for 8- to12-year-olds. Readers will find:

A thorough look at how upper elementary children develop as learners, based on comprehensive research
Teaching strategies and assessment techniques to help students master upper elementary curriculum
A discussion of diversity issues, including race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic background, language, and exceptionalities
Informative case studies and firsthand insights from students, teachers, and administrators

Gain the knowledge you need to grow professionally and serve your upper elementary students more effectively.

Key features

Provides a solid research base for understanding the unique needs of eight to eleven year-olds
Emphasizes developmentally appropriate teaching methods and strategies for this age group
Includes case studies of students, and examples of effective teachers and classrooms
Addresses a topic which is minimally covered by other resources

Author(s)

Christine Finnan

Christine Finnan holds a joint position as an associate professor in the Foundations, Secondary, and Special Education Department and the Anthropology Department at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. Prior to assuming this position, she was an associate professor in the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Middle Grades Department. In this capacity, she helped develop curriculum for a BS in elementary education, preparing graduates to work in second- to sixth-grade classrooms.

Since 1990, Finnan has been involved in school reform initiatives, particularly the Accelerated Schools Project and more recently Partners for Acceleration. Using her anthropological lens, she examines the interplay between school and classroom culture and reform models. She works closely with teachers, observing in classrooms and providing professional development.

Finnan coauthored Accelerating the Learning of All Children: Cultivating School, Classroom and Individual Change (Westview Press, 2000) with Julie D. Swanson and co-edited Accelerated Schools in Action: Lessons from the Field (Corwin Press, 1996) with Ed St. John, Jane McCarthy, and Simeon Slovacek and has published extensively in edited volumes and journals.

Finnan’s joint appointment reflects her academic training and scholarship. She became interested in studying education through her research on children’s play and folklore. She completed a Master of Arts degree from University of Texas, Austin in anthropology and folklore. Her research focused on the study of third-grade children’s spontaneous play. Finnan completed a PhD in education at Stanford University in 1980, focusing on anthropology and education. While at Stanford, she continued to study children’s play, examining how Vietnamese refugee children used play to assimilate into a new culture.

Table of Contents

Preface

Purpose and Audience

Background

Organization of the Book

Data Sources and Collection

Acknowledgments

About the Author

1. Why Focus on Upper Elementary Grades and Students?

Upper Elementary Children and Grade Levels

Defining Upper Elementary Teachers: Their Practice and the Profession

Advocating for Upper Elementary Students

2. Development of 8- to 12-Year-Old Children

Development as Learners

Cognitive Development

Language Development

Development as Individuals and Members of Society

Development of Sense of Self

Autonomy and Relatedness

Doing What Is Right

Physical Development

Refining the Broad Strokes of Generalizations

3. Children as Members of Groups

Situating Group Differences: Biological, Cultural, and Societal Influences

Biological Influences

Cultural Influences

Social, Historical, and Economic Influences

Ethnic and Racial Group Affiliation

Race and Ethnicity: Relation to Achievement

Race and Ethnicity: Relation to Social Development

Socioeconomic Group Affiliation

Socioeconomic Influences on Achievement

Socioeconomic Influences on Social Development

English-Language Learners

English-Language Learners and Achievement

English-Language Learners and Social Development

Gender Affiliation

Gender and Academic Achievement

Gender and Social Development

Gender and Physical Development

Exceptional Learners

Achievement of Exceptional Learners

Social Development of Exceptional Children

The Holistic Child: Mixing Group Identities

4. Individual Developmental Differences

Individuals as Learners

Variation in Cognition and Intelligence

Variation in Motivation to Learn

Variation in Expressions of Creativity

Exceptional Variation

Variation in Development of Self-Concept and Social Competency

Physical Variation

Summary

5. Children’s Lives Outside of School

The Multiple Contexts of Children’s Lives

Family and Home

Friends and Peers

Neighborhood and Community

Other Important Contexts

How Children Spend Time Outside of School

Adult-Organized, Sponsored, or Supervised Activities

Child-Driven Activities

Summary

6. The School Environment: Supporting Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement

School Role in Developing a Sense of Accomplishment

Defining and Measuring Accomplishment

Adult Expectations for Accomplishment

Student Expectations for Accomplishment

School Role in Developing a Sense of Belonging

Inviting Spaces and Warm Adult Relations

Belonging Within the Peer Network

Extending the Sense of Belonging to Family

Extending Belonging to the Community

School Role in Engaging Students Academically, Socially, and Physically

Academic Engagement

Social Engagement

Physical Engagement

School Culture, Organizational Structures, Policies, and Procedures

Summary

7. The Classroom Environment: Supporting Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement

Classroom Role in Developing a Sense of Accomplishment

Academic Accomplishment

Social Accomplishment

Physical Accomplishment

Classroom Role in Developing a Sense of Belonging

Belonging in a Community

Joy and Cooperation

Democracy and Equity

Care and Nurture

Extending Community to Others

Classroom Role in Developing a Sense of Engagement

Academic Engagement

Social Engagement

Physical Engagement

Summary

8. Teaching and Learning

Important Knowledge

Addressing What Students Are Expected to Know

Addressing Student Interest and Knowledge

Using Knowledge to Meet Student Needs for Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement

Selecting or Designing Appropriate Assessments

Assessing Acquisition of Desired Knowledge

Assessing Students' Prior Knowledge and Knowledge Assimilation

Using Assessment to Meet Diverse Students' Needs for Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement

Delivering Instruction

Teaching the Content

Teaching the Students

Using Instruction to Meet Diverse Students' Needs for Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement

Importance of Aligning Content, Instruction, and Assessment

Putting the Pieces Together

Issues Surrounding Teaching and Learning

Aligning Content, Assessment, and Instruction to Promote Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement

9. Supporting Upper Elementary Students: Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Professionalism, and Advocacy

A Framework of Upper Elementary Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Actions of Students

Actions of Teachers

Characteristics of the Classroom Environment

Characteristics of the Teaching and Learning Process

Professional Identity

Becoming Upper Elementary Teachers

Supporting Upper Elementary Teachers in the Profession

National Board Middle Childhood / Generalist Certification

Advocating for Upper Elementary Children

Compiling and Encouraging Research on Upper Elementary Children and Teaching

Examining Policies and Practices

What Can You Do to Help Upper Elementary Children?

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Professional Identity for Upper Elementary Teachers

Advocacy

References

Index

Reviews

"In most states, tests designed within the context of accountability mandates target students in Grades 3 through 8. The more we understand about middle childhood, the more we as educators are able to meet children's needs and the demands placed on educators by accountability legislation. The author makes a substantial contribution to this increased understanding."

Lorin W. Anderson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus
University of South Carolina

"This book reminds me that I became a fifth grade teacher because that time in a child’s life is amazing and critical. This book should be required reading for every teacher, especially ones going into the upper elementary grade levels."

Tracy Pinnell, Fifth-Grade Teacher
Sheppard Accelerated Elementary School, Santa Rosa, CA

"Finnan elaborates on the needs for educating upper elementary students: acknowledging their strengths, ensuring their engagement in learning curriculum content, and delineating the required professional development and supports for teachers."

Belinda Williams, Cognitive Psychologist
Miquon, PA

"This book introduces the complex, multifaceted world of the upper elementary school student. With so much focus on standards-based learning, teachers must consider the whole child. The author presents research showing that children come from distinct and different backgrounds that affect the way they approach learning. Educators can use this information to help these children navigate the complexities of their lives and the expectations placed on them."

Renee Ponce-Nealon, Third-Grade Teacher
McDowell Elementary School, Petaluma, CA

Other Titles in: Elementary Teaching Methods

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