In what grade did you first have different teachers for different subjects?

[Kathryn]

I just saw someone mention about getting to middle school and having different teachers for different subjects, and I've seen it said before. At my school, that started in first grade. I always assumed that was normal, but I'm starting to think perhaps it wasn't.

 

My mom said she had different teachers for different subjects, but the students stayed put and the teachers moved around when she was in elementary school.

 

So, when did you start having to move around for subjects or have different teachers for different subjects?

Edited May 17, 2012 by kebg11
Typo

[Night Elf]

It was 4th grade for me and the teachers came to us. I changed schools in the 6th grade and my grade level switched classes. That was over 30 years ago.

[Wheres Toto]

In 4th grade we started going to separate teachers for Reading and Math. I think this is also where they started some form of tracking. Starting in Junior High (which was 7th and 8th grade when I was there but has since changed to 6th, 7th and 8th in my hometown) we went to different classes and teachers for every class, just like in high school.

[BamaTanya]

We moved to NC when I was in 3rd and my brother in K. At that time the school's teachers taught in pairs. The K and 1st had "open classrooms" but I'm not sure how teaching duties were shared. Db had 2 teachers. For 3rd and 4th (when I moved away) the teachers split duties on one or two subjects but kept their own class the majority of the day.

Back in Alabama, we had one fourth grade teacher and then one fifth grade teacher for all subjects.

6th grade was the move to middle school and separate subject teachers.

 

You didn't ask, but I think the separate middle school -- especially for 6th graders -- is a pretty bad idea. In grade school I've taught 1st grade up to 8th, so this is my personal AND professional opinion.

Edited May 17, 2012 by BamaTanya

[AdventureMoms]

We started changing classes in 7th grade (Jr High). Up until then we had the same teacher for all classes except music, art, pe, etc. This was in NY state in the early 1990's.

[BinahYeteirah]

It was a gradual thing for me.

 

For first grade through around third grade, we had different teachers in their own classrooms for music, art, and gym (P.E.). Our main teacher delivered us to these special classes and picked us up at the end of class. The main teacher taught everything else.

 

Somewhere around third or fourth grade, we began to have leveled math and reading instruction. If I remember correctly, there were maybe three levels of each of these subjects. The "advanced" students would all meet together in one classroom, the "average" students in another, and the "behind" students in a third. If a student's main teacher happened to be the instructor for his level of math or reading, he would stay in his main classroom, with other students moving to other classrooms. The art, music, and gym teachers were all specialized teachers in their own classrooms for those subjects. The teachers for reading and math were regular classroom teachers who just got all the students from a given grade who fit into their level of math or reading.

 

From fifth grade on, we had different teachers for each subject in their own classrooms, just like in high school.

[tex-mex]

6th grade -- junior high.

[nukeswife]

We started changing classes in 7th grade (Jr High). Up until then we had the same teacher for all classes except music, art, pe, etc. This was in NY state in the early 1990's.

 

This was me as well, except it was WI and in the late 80s (I graduated in 92)

[gardening momma]

7th grade

[Ellie]

Seventh.

 

This was back in the day of junior high (7th through 9th) and senior high (10th through 12th).

 

ETA: I lied, lol. There were two sixth grade classes at the elementary school I went to for 6th; they were 6A and 6B. The 6A teacher taught English and Social Studies to the 6B class, while the 6B teacher taught math and science to the 6A class. The rooms were right next to each other; going back and forth was not a big deal. Truthfully, the 6B class was much more fun than the 6A class, where the students thought they were all that (and the teacher encouraged them).

Edited May 17, 2012 by Ellie

[kokotg]

Other than for stuff like art and music....5th grade. That was when they started getting us ready for middle school by having us go to separate teachers for reading, math, and social studies (IIRC, there were 3 5th grade teachers and each had her own specialty.

[petepie2]

In 4th or 5th grade we had different teachers for reading and math. We started changing classes in 6th grade.

[LibraryLover]

6th.

Edited May 20, 2012 by LibraryLover

[JenneinCA]

Seventh, but we went around as a class of kids from one room to the next. So all of 7A went to math first period and history second and so on.

 

I had my own schedule different from everyone else's starting in ninth grade because I changed schools.

[Kathryn]

Hmm, it looks likes my elementary experience really was strange. We had shared gym, art, and music teachers for the school where our homeroom teacher dropped us off once a week. Then, we had different teachers for math, science, social studies, and language arts in each grade. We were divided into two units and so there were two math teachers per grade, two science teachers per grade, etc. Math and language arts were leveled from the beginning.

[NancyNellen]

5th grade.

[Lawana]

In 4th grade we rotated as a class to 2 other teachers, one for math and social studies, and the other for art and music. My homeroom teacher taught science and something else,:confused: I've forgotten.

 

In 5th and 6th, we got a new, individualized program, meaning that we all worked at our own speed, but consequently there was no actual instruction. What a disaster.

 

7th grade was jr. high, and we had 7 periods a day.

[jasar31629]

I believe it was 4th. I can't recall that we did that before then. We switched classrooms for science and history. We had our regular teacher for the rest of the subjects. Oh yes...save for PE and music...those went to other teachers too.

[Jean in Newcastle]

We started changing classes in 7th grade (Jr High). Up until then we had the same teacher for all classes except music, art, pe, etc.

 

:iagree: (But I was 20 years earlier. . . )

[JFSinIL]

5th grade one teacher did art while another did ...not art. I forget. We moved into his classroom.

 

6th grade we moved into different classrooms as the four 6th grade teachers each took a different level of math and reading.

 

7th grade started regular kids moving form class to class for all subjects.

[MinivanMom]

7th

 

Our junior high was 6-8th, but the 6th graders had a single classroom teacher who taught all subjects (and no electives). We started rotating for 7th and 8th, but we still had a core teacher who taught us both English and history. We only rotated for math, science, p.e., and our elective.

 

In our area kids rotate for "specials" starting in kindergarten (art, music, p.e., computers) and then start doing full 6-period rotations in 6th. There are also magnet elementary schools in our district that do a full high school-style rotation starting in 3rd grade. They have a different teacher for each of their core subjects (reading, math, ss, science) and then two electives. I have a friend who teaches 4th grade science at one of the magnets and she functions like a high school teacher. She has a homeroom class and then teaches six periods of 4th grade science each day. She complains constantly about the utter chaos that reigns in her school, because (according to her) 8-year-olds are just not ready for high school schedules.

[momma2three]

We started changing for math in 1st grade, and then for Science and Social Studies in 4th grade. Art, music, gym, and health we started in kindergarten.

[gardenmom5]

I remember going to music and library in early elementary. don't remember what grade it was.

my older kids had different teachers for music, art, and PE.

I think you have to "think about" that being different teachers since those are maybe once a week and most time is spent in a single classroom. Middle school is the student goes to different classrooms mutliple times a day.

[Matryoshka]

In 6th grade (still elementary in my town), we had a team of two teachers; one taught math/science and the other langauge arts/social studies. Their rooms were right next door with a connecting door.

 

In 7th it was junior high with switching classes/teachers every period all day long.

 

 

ETA: Reading a PP, we always had different teachers for art/music/PE even in elementary - I wasn't thinking of those. Music teacher just came to our room. I think we went as a class once or twice a week to art/PE? Can't remember exactly. I was thinking of the more academic subjects.

Edited May 18, 2012 by matroyshka

[elegantlion]

7th grade, junior high. Until then we only had different teachers for PE, art, and music.

[higginszoo]

In 5th grade, we went to another classroom for math. In that school (small Catholic school with 20-25 kids per grade), 6th-8th switched classes more.

 

Here, 6th graders pretty much stay and the teachers rotate and then 7th and up change classrooms.

[nmoira]

High school - Grade 9.

 

We did have a French teacher and a music teacher in elementary, but they came to our classrooms.

[QueenCat]

First grade. We switched teachers for reading and math groups.

[Tap]

I was in private school until 4th grade. Aside from music/art we had the same teacher.

 

Public school in 5th....the teachers moved around and the students moved too for various core subjects.

 

 

At my daughters private school art, music, science are specific teachers otherwise the kids are with their homeroom teacher K through 8th grade.

[nono]

First grade. I went to a Catholic school. Each grade had 3 homerooms and each of the 3 teachers handled certain subjects. So all three taught all of us. It was the same at the next Catholic grade school I went to after I moved. This was throughout the 70s.

[Wabi Sabi]

Not until 6th grade when I started middle school. In elementary you had the same teacher all day (with the exception of gym, art and music, of course.)

[MyThreeSons]

In first grade, I was sent to a second grade classroom for reading. But that wasn't the norm.

 

In 5th and 6th grades, I was in a gifted program where we had one teacher for math/science and another for social studies and language arts. The teachers stayed in their rooms; the 5th graders were with one teacher in the morning, while the 6th graders were with the other, and then we switched after lunch. Again, not the norm.

 

In junior high (7th and 8th grades), we had 8 classes with (usually) 8 different teachers. We did 4 classes each day, alternating A days and B days.

[annandatje]

6th

[courtney.byrum]

We started changing classes in 7th grade (Jr High). Up until then we had the same teacher for all classes except music, art, pe, etc. This was in NY state in the early 1990's.

 

That's how it was in my town as well. Elementary was K-6th and you had one teacher (excluding special subjects like art, pe, etc). Junior High was 7th and 8th (at the high school) and you changed classes just like in high school. This was in VT in the 80's-90s.

[LizzyBee]

We went to PE, Music, and Art in elementary school, which was 1st - 6th then, but we had the same teacher for everything else. High school was 7th - 12th, so 7th is when we started moving from class to class each period.

[Rosie_0801]

We always did. In primary school there was always a specialist art teacher and librarian. In high school, so from year seven, there were different teachers for all subjects.

 

Rosie

[Laurie4b]

In 6th, there was some rotation of teachers ( I recall a different science and English teacher), but most subjects were in your homeroom. By middle school, each subject was taught by a different teacher. Prior to that, only art & music had different teachers.

[Cinder]

At my elementary school we started switching classes in 3rd (and continued through 6th). My school had 4 classrooms for each grade so we were grouped into 4 ability levels--for the most part as "problem" kids were often put in with the higher academic group. We switched for math, language arts, science and social studies. We did PE and art/music with our homeroom group--PE was with our homeroom teacher and art/music was with another teacher.

 

But in K-2 I was in a special arrangement called 3-on-2. We were in a large double classroom with a K and a 1st grade class and 3 teachers. (For 2nd I was moved to a class with 1st and 2nd.) We had a group time where we did music and other circle-time activities. Then we broke out into various activities--language arts, math, science, art, social studies--moving into different parts of the classroom for each.

[daffodil]

6th grade.

[joannqn]

In 2nd but it was an unusual situation for my school. I was placed in a mixed 1st/2nd grade class, and the 2nd graders joined a "real" 2nd grade class for some subjects.

 

Other than that, it wasn't until 7th grade. Every subject was taught by one teacher in elementary.

[edithcrawley]

In 3rd and 4th grade they pulled out some of us for advanced math and reading, but we had the same teacher for the rest of the day. 5th grade was when everybody had different teachers for each subject.

[Word Nerd]

Other than for things like art, music, PE (and gifted pull-out), we stayed in one classroom until 7th grade. At my daughters' school grades K-5 stay in one classroom (other than the classes listed above), and they don't have different teachers until they start middle school in 6th.

[Paige]

I first remember it in 2nd grade. Outside of the specials (art, music, PE, etc) we only changed for math class. I remember thinking we were super cool. I think we were combined with 2 or 3 other classes for math and each teacher taught a different difficulty level. The kids moved classes- not the teachers. As we got older, we did this with more subjects so that by middle school we were very used to it.

[sparrow]

We stayed put in 5th grade, but our teachers walked across the hall, and switched classrooms, for science and social studies. We had a different teacher for each class when we went to middle school, which was 6th grade.

[Mandylubug]

started changing teachers but stayed together as a complete group with each class room change starting in third. Didn't start having different classes where I change classes and have different classmates and teachers in my classes until 6th.

[Desert Rat]

For me it was 7th, but I moved from a very small, private school that year. I think my brother started moving classes in 6th grade.

[jenn-]

I remember as far back as 2nd grade switching for leveled reading and math classes. It wasn't until 7th grade that we switched for every subject.

[phathui5]

6th grade.

[momtoamiracle]

6th grade. We had four teachers, some taught two subjects, others taught one. My math and science teacher was one teacher, history and spelling was another teacher, English was another, then there was PE.

 

Wow, that was such a long time ago! (I graduated 1985)

[PeacefulChaos]

For regular, core subjects, 4th grade. My class moved together to another teacher for 'social studies', and again for math. Our teacher taught science to the kids in those two classes.

We moved between my 4th and 5th grade school years, and in 5th grade we didn't switch. That officially started in middle school (6th).