The Multiage Neighborhood

Multiage Neighborhood Philosophy  A balance of whole class and small group instruction, cooperative learning groups, and independent activities  Project-based learning  Realistic, student generated products  Authentic and developmental assessment “Childhood is a journey, not a race.” David Elkind

Multiage Neighborhood Overview  Each child is assigned to a home base  Each home base includes 3 rd, 4 th, and 5th graders  Students remain in the same home base for their time at Mindess  All students have the opportunity to work with all teachers  Weekly Neighborhood meetings to celebrate accomplishments, discuss issues, and develop community

Typical Multiage Neighborhood Day  Special subjects: art, music, and physical education  Literacy and Mathematics: taught in performance- based groups  Social Studies: grades 3 and 4 together, grade 5 separate  Science: in home base  Home base: Numerous activities, including writers’ workshop, study skills, research projects, and community building

Benefits of the Multiage Classroom  Creates self-motivated, enthusiastic learners  Flexible grouping by needs, ability, and interest  Students develop the ability to work with different teachers and peers  Younger children stimulated intellectually by older children  Older students improve leadership skills  Children collaborate and build cooperative learning skills  Strong student-teacher-family bonds formed  Allows children to stay children longer

Multiage Neighborhood Inclusion Program Full inclusion program Math and literacy are co-taught by a special education teacher and a general education teacher Support in science and social studies within individual homebase classrooms Individual academic support provided as needed across the curriculum Pull-out services provided if specified in IEP

Benefits for Students with Special Needs Many opportunities for kinesthetic learning Students have the ability to share knowledge in a variety of ways Younger students receive support from older students Older students act as mentors to younger students Varied activities and frequent opportunities for movement help students focus

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