High schoolers partner with kindergartners

Kindergarten has been likened to herding cats. And managing a class full of young learners can be challenging because they are full of energy, but haven't developed much self-control yet. To meet the unique needs of this group of students, Woodland kindergarten teachers employ many strategies. They provide active, hands-on lessons; use repetition to help concepts sink in; and teach important ideas in a variety of ways.

Recently, these innovative teachers also helped teach some of the oldest learners in the district.

High school students enrolled in a child development class started what will become a weekly partnership with the kindergarten classrooms. After a semester of learning about the development of young children, the students took a quick refresher course on entry-level math and phonics. Then they ventured to the elementary hallway to see first-hand how kindergartners learn and behave.

In Melanie Lutes' room, students were paired up with a buddy and went through a number of short activities. They first reviewed each letter name and sound with their buddy. Then they practiced number recognition. After the students had read through their weekly readers with their high school friends, Lutes had prepared a variety of math stations that all reinforced the concept of number bonds. Some partners used Play-Doh to practice, while others used number cubes or two-sided counters.

Eventually, they will practice all of the ways and hopefully have a much deeper understanding of number bonds.

Tahara James helps a kindergartner, Kaelynn Johnson, read the story of the week.Courtesy of Tobi Layton

In Jessica Blattel and Tammy Fulenwider's classrooms, two kindergartners shared one high school buddy, but the drill was the same. The trios read their weekly readers together and then played learning games that would be difficult for the young students to play alone or all together with a solo teacher.

Smiles could be seen all over the room. The kindergartners were excited to have the undivided attention of cool, big kids. And the high schoolers reported having a blast working with kids so excited about their presence -- and math, of all things. Sophomore Aubrey Wood fell in love with the class.

"We had so much fun with our kindergarten buddies," Wood said.

Blattel reported that the first session was a great success.

"I know it will only improve with time," she said. "I can already envision having the older students work on writing with them as well."

The experience, which will be repeated once a week for the rest of the school year, is mutually beneficial to everyone involved.

The army of high schoolers can accomplish in about five minutes what might take a lone teacher all afternoon and be nearly impossible to orchestrate: one-on-one practice with each kindergartner while every student in the room is actively engaged. In return, the young students provide the high schoolers with an eye-opening experience -- what it's really like working with young children in the "wild" -- which can't be learned from a text.

TOBI LAYTON is a family and consumer sciences teacher and FCCLA sponsor at Woodland High School.