Which grade do you like to teach math best (out of grades 2-8)?

[Vida Winter]

I will be teaching online this fall -- and *might* have a choice of grade to teach math. Thanks for helping me figure this out.

[lmrich]

For online math I would want older kids. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Personally, 6th. It’s a transformative year and one last chance to bring everyone up to speed as you begin to move into pre-algebra. 6th graders are old enough to participate well online and yet they appreciate it when you get a bit silly.

Beyond that, 3rd is also great. 
 

My least favorite is 4th.

 

[Gil]

As you make your choice consider:

1) Testing Years. Do you want to be responsible for trying to coach and prep a Standardized Test online? Especially since your incoming 6th Graders didn't really have a solid 5th grade education/experience?
2) The number of students per grades (so you might have 10-15 3rd graders, or 15-50 8th graders)

Personally, I'd choose those lower grade students. I'd be tempted to take the 2nd grade class.
 

[Not_a_Number]

If it comes to my own kids, who I am sure are well-prepared, then later stuff is really fun.

With other people’s kids, I’ll take the younger kids. It’s basically impossible to fill in major gaps past a certain point, but the gaps also get in the way.

[Not_a_Number]

10 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Personally, 6th. It’s a transformative year and one last chance to bring everyone up to speed as you begin to move into pre-algebra. 6th graders are old enough to participate well online and yet they appreciate it when you get a bit silly.

Beyond that, 3rd is also great. 
 

My least favorite is 4th.

 

Why is 4th your least favorite, out of curiosity?

[Clemsondana]

Most people have a preference for older vs younger kids - personally I like to do 1:1 tutoring with younger kids but for classroom teaching prefer high schoolers.  But for choosing a specific grade within my preferred age range, it would depend on the content in the particular program or scope and sequence that is used.  My MIL was an elementary school teacher and liked 3rd grade because that's when fractions were taught, for instance.  When I tutor, I've found that I like regrouping better than decimals and only like some content if I can teach it from the beginning because it's hard to remediate misunderstandings when students are trying to finish their homework quickly.  

[theelfqueen]

Well I'm a high school teacher by background and prefer teaching older students generallr ... and as a homeschooler I've only done middle school and beyond. I think Pre Algebra and Algebra 1 are my favorite. So upper middle school would be my choice. 

[Not_a_Number]

7 hours ago, Clemsondana said:

When I tutor, I've found that I like regrouping better than decimals and only like some content if I can teach it from the beginning because it's hard to remediate misunderstandings when students are trying to finish their homework quickly. 

Right. That's exactly it. I'd rather teach regrouping right the first time as opposed to discovering in horror that a kid who's "supposed" to be learning long division or decimals can't regroup! 

[Vida Winter]

Thank you all for your replies! You've given me a lot to think about!