So, you’re a new 5th grade teacher…
Are you overwhelmed? Excited? Terrified?
Maybe you’re all of these things!
It is my hope that after reading this blog post, you will feel prepared and confident to meet your new 5th graders!
This year, I am starting my fourteenth year of teaching.
For eight of those years, I have had the honor of being a 5th grade teacher. Seriously, 5th grade is the best and most fun grade to teach!
Below are three insider tips about 5th graders to start us off!
Three important things to know about 5th graders
First, 5th graders are social creatures. To save your sanity, just accept this fact and use it to your advantage. Plan activities that require some amount of talking and interaction.
Second, If you don’t establish yourself as the authority in the classroom, they will take over. Teaching 5th grade is not for the faint of heart!
Third, 5th graders are genuine. They can see right through someone who is being insincere or “fake” with them.
What should you do before school starts?
First, set up your classroom to allow interaction and movement.
You don’t want traffic jams when students are moving around because this will lead to unnecessary talking and noise.
Do you notice how my desks are clustered for interaction but far enough apart to allow free movement?
Another tip is to place desks in such a way that no students have their backs to you. It’s ok if they are facing to the side, but you don’t want to teach in the front of the room and see students’ backs, that’s just asking for off-task behavior.
Second, plan your first couple weeks of welcome activities and curriculum.
If you teach social studies, writing, or science, these resources might help you: TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS RESOURCES
Sit down with your standards or curriculum and plan the first few weeks of lessons and activities. You will feel so much more confident and prepared if you do this!
The first three days of school, at a minimum, should be used to get to know students and build your classroom community.
Look for icebreakers and welcome activities that will be fun and interactive for students. These are the activities that I use in my classroom at the very beginning of the school year:
Third, make a plan to teach procedures.
I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase a million times, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”
If you don’t set up your classroom procedures, your 5th graders will set them up for you!
Sit down in your empty classroom with a notepad.
Decide how you want students to enter your classroom in the morning.
Think about what you want them to do when they need to sharpen their pencils.
Is it ok for more than one student to be out of his/her seat at a time?
How and where do you want your students to turn in their work?
Think of your classroom days and how you want your classroom to run.
I cannot stress enough to you how crucial it is to ESTABLISH your PROCEDURES!
What should you do to ensure a smooth first week of 5th grade?
Be sure to stand at your door to greet students.
This will help your students to know that you are interested in them and that you’re glad they came to school.
You will also be able to catch that hallway behavior before it becomes a problem!
TEACH your PROCEDURES! Don’t just tell the kids what your procedures are…Make them practice.
For example, when I tell my students about morning procedure, I make them stand a group at a time, gather their backpacks, and stand in the hallway. I open the door and allow them to enter the room and practice morning procedure.
The rest of the class watches and then claps for them when they get it right.
For me, morning procedure is most important because it sets the tone for the entire day.
Be consistent and firm!
If you watched The Sound of Music 10,000 times as a child, like me, you may remember Maria singing her fear away as she travels to the Von Trapps’ home for the first time. In the song, she tells herself, “I will be FIRM but KIND.” Use this attitude with your 5th graders.
Be kind and sincere but also be firm and consistent.
Do you hear a student talking while you are giving instructions? Stop your instructions and give your class a reminder about listening while you are speaking.
Did Jeff blow off the steps of your morning procedure on the third day of school? Call him on it!
My rule of thumb is that students get away with NOTHING but perfect behavior the first month of school. Yes, it’s exhausting, but you will enjoy the rest of the year so much more if you’ve taken the time to consistently enforce procedures early on. Trust me!
Remember, you set the tone for your classroom!
As a teacher who loves 5th graders and knows how to handle them, this comes naturally to me. However, it’s not easy for new teachers.
I want you to take this phrase to heart: “You teach people how to treat you.”
This is a big deal at the beginning of the school year.
Maybe your students are coming from home backgrounds where disrespect is the norm.
Maybe your students’ 4th grade teachers didn’t establish a standard of respect in their classrooms.
It’s up to you, new 5th grade teacher, to set the tone in YOUR classroom. Here are my best tips:
Speak to students with respect at all times. Leave the sarcasm at the door. (This is really hard for some of us but it’s worth it!) Yes, as a teacher, you deserve respect at all times. However, with a lot of kids, you have to give that respect first to get it in return.
Maintain a professional relationship with your students’ parents. Whether it’s right or wrong, parents talk about you in front of their children. How their parents feel about you will have a lot to do with how students view you and feel about you.
5th graders are going to test you and try their limits. Don’t get frustrated or angry! It’s part of adolescence to find out how far they can push authority figures.
One day, usually the second week of school, you’re going to have a student pipe up and give you some attitude or backtalk. A hush will fall over the classroom as students look from the offending student to you to find out how you’re going to handle the situation and to see if they can get away with it too.
Put on your best poker face and stay calm! You can handle this! Let the student know, firmly, that you will only be spoken to with a respectful tone and with respectful words.
My go-to phrase is, “I’m so sorry but I absolutely will not accept that tone of voice, attitude, etc. in my classroom. You will speak to me and your classmates with respect. If you have a problem with this, please see me privately after class.”
Congratulations, teacher, you just sent a firm message without humiliating, belittling, or punishing your student! You can be sure that your other students noticed too!
Take Care of Yourself!
It is so easy to get bogged down in school stuff those first few weeks. Take a step back and think about yourself for awhile.
Go to the movies with family or friends. Take walks in the evenings.
Don’t spend your evenings at school and definitely don’t spend all weekend working on your lesson plans or grading! This will lead to frustration and burn-out.
My first couple years of teaching, I was staying at school nearly every night until 7 or 8 p.m. and taking home huge stacks of work every evening and on the weekends.
This got old really quickly and I felt like I was no longer being an effective teacher because I was so stressed.
My best advice is to do as much as you can during school hours (Yes, shut your door during planning time) and walk out the door as soon as your contract day is over.
I have a bunch of other tips for how to leave it all at school in this post: Go home on time: How to leave it all at school!
There will be times when you need to catch up and take things home but don’t make a habit of it. You deserve a break too!
I have a FREEBIE for you! Please sign up on this form to receive my EXCLUSIVE packet: Back to School Resources for New Upper Elementary Teachers! In this packet, I have provided you with my best tips for setting up your classroom, planning the first day of school, and I have included some ready to use, engaging activities for the first day or two of school.
Are you teaching social studies? This free course will help you get started!
56 Comments
This will be my first year teaching 5th! Your blog is eye opening and helpful!
Thank you for your comment, Shannon! I wish you an amazing school year!
Thanks for sharing, this will be my firts yr 🙂
Great advice. I enjoyed reading your blog. 🙂
Thank you,Renee!
Such a great post! Any new teacher could use this advice. I am so glad you decided to blog!
Thank you, Lacey! I appreciate this comment!
Hi Jenifer! I’m so glad that you started a blog. I love your history products and I would have never survived without you last year. I had never taught 6th grade history and so many of your products were on their “level” (I’m so used to teaching 7th and 8th graders). You helped me to grow professionally and to like teaching 6th graders. Please don’t limit your post to just fifth grade teachers, this is my 11th year of teaching and what you say is so relevant for middle school teachers 6-8 as well. You are an inspiration. Look forward to reading more blog posts. 🙂
Thank you, Ashley! This comment just made my day! I love to hear that I’m influencing teachers around the country. I am going to make sure I include older grade levels in my posts. Thanks for that advice!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m a first-year teacher and I was just hired as a fifth grade teacher over the weekend. School starts in two weeks and I’m feeling overwhelmed. This letter has been bookmarked and I know I’ll be coming back to it.
Thank you for this comment, Emilee! I hope you love fifth grade and have a fantastic school year! Remember to just take it one day at a time.
I just got hired for 5th grade as a first time teacher. I have subbed for three years but not much in 5th grade. I’m a little nervous but excited by this age, they will be able to do more tech based activities and hopefully stay engaged all year. Those first few weeks are starting to make me nervous though! I need to figure out procedures! I am so glad to have found your blog and will be back many times I am sure.
Hi! Love this post. I am just finishing my first year in fifth grade. I am not a new teacher, however, my prior experience was third and fourth grade. Fifth is really different. I think we made it through the year okay, but my goal this summer is to fix the things that bugged me the most. I will be reading this blog as much as possible. Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing! I will be a first year 5th grade teacher this coming school year. Without knowing what to expect your blog shared meaningful insight of the importance. I will definitely continue to re-read and use your tips offered. Thanks again!
I will be teaching fifth grade for the coming school year. I am also a first year teacher, so as you can imagine, I have a plethora of emotions running through me! Your blog was really helpful, thank you so much for posting!
Brand new teacher and fifth grade at that! This post really put things into perspective.
Thanks so much!
Thank you!
I have taught for many years but this is my first year in fifth grade. I loved reading your advice. I appreciate you sharing your information. I am looking forward to it!
This has given me my confidence back! Thank you so much!
I’m a brand new teacher who just TODAY got hired to teach fifth grade English. I’m going to be stalking the rest of your blog in the coming days.
I am a first year teacher and this would be the first time I have ever set foot in a 5th grade classroom. Your post was very helpful and I look forward to reading more helpful tips!!
Thank you! Thank you! I am coming in to fifth grade in early November after two different teachers. I have spent most of my career in the younger grades. I am going to have a fifth grade homeroom, two sections of fifth grade math, two sections of sixth grade math. I am very nervous. Your blog really gave me some great ideas. Thank you so much. IF you have any other information that you think would help me, I would love to have it.
Hello! Thank you for your informational blog! I am going from being a specialist to a classroom teacher and your knowledge is greatly appreciated!
You are so welcome, Lorelai! Best of luck to you in the classroom!
After many years in high school, I am unexpectedly moving to 5th grade this fall. Your blog is extremely helpful and provides many great ideas! THANK YOU!!
I am thrilled to hear that, Cathy! Best of luck in your new 5th grade journey!
Wow! What great reminders! When I moved from private to public school 12 years ago, I taught fifth, but then I moved down. I’ve been teaching 2nd for the last 8 years. This upcoming year I’m moving states, so I’m starting over in 5th grade again! It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten, you’re blog was a great reminder! Thanks!
Hi Erin! I’m so glad the information on my blog was helpful to you! Good luck in your new adventure 🙂
Hey Jenifer,
Your post was perfect. Today, I found out I am moving from 2nd grade to 5th grade for my first year of teaching. I am excited, yet so nervous! I tried signing up for the freebie, but didn’t get it!
Hi Ally! I’m glad you liked the post. I’m sorry you didn’t receive the freebie. I think there was a glitch that day in my email system. It should be all fixed now. Go to the blog post and go all the way to the bottom to try again!
http://thriveingradefive.com/dear-first-time-5th-grade-teacher/
I am going into student teaching in a couple weeks and I will be in a 5th grade class for a whole school year. The highest grade I’ve had so far is 3rd, so I was a little nervous to be in 5th grade. This post makes me feel a lot better! Thank you! Great tips!!
Hi Kaley! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
I love that you get to spend a whole year student teaching. That will be a great experience for you. Best of luck to you!
I have been teaching for many years now, over 24! You are never too old to learn new classroom management techniques. I enjoyed reading your blog and plan to implement some of your ideas as I start my new school year in January. I feel that it is so important to support and encourage other teachers so that we can give our children a positive school experience. Thank you for your help.
You are so welcome, Jenny! Thank you for taking the time to leave this comment. I love knowing that I’m helping other teachers!
Thanks so much for your blog! I am new to 5th this year! I wish I’d found this before school started, but I will definitely keep it for next year’s plan. I have been teaching 26 years, and you are so right, 5th is very different. I have used my previous experiences with teaching to help my fifth graders this year. Your blog is so on-point! This is awesome for anyone who is new to teaching (any grade).
Thank you so much, Noel! I appreciate this kind feedback 🙂
Thank you so much for this eye-opening blog post about fifth graders! The 2019-2020 school year will not only be my first year teaching fifth, but I’m fresh out of college as a first year teacher as well! This blog post really helped put me at ease! Thank you!
You are so welcome, Holly! Welcome to the teaching profession 🙂
I love your post. Thank you so much
You are so welcome, Helen! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
New to year 5 this year. Teaching over 20 years. Enjoying your blog.
Thank you so much, Andi! I appreciate your comment!
I’m moving to 5th from 4th, and I’m terrified. I know it isn’t that large of a jump, but it feels like it is! You sound like the friend I need on my side this next year! Thanks for the post!
You are very welcome, Laura! I think you’ll love 5th grade 🙂
I have been teaching third grade for four years now and I have been offered a position in fifth grade at a new school. This was calming for the soul to read as it is very similar to what I have been doing currently. I am well aware of the attitude and personality changes that comes with an older student but after reading your encouraging words, I am feeling much more confident and ready to bring on the new year.
Although, I am looking for more information on how to tackle the virtual teaching with fifth grade and how to encourage participation and excitement in this aspect. Will you be updating your blog with any suggestions that may have worked for you back in March-June?
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Hi Cristina! I have added a couple of blog posts that give suggestions on the challenge of virtual teaching. It’s going to be an interesting year for sure!
Hi,
I went from third to fifth four years ago. I even commented on this post in 2017. I love them! Fifth graders are amazing. You can do it. This year will be challenging for all, but fifth graders are wonderful.
I’m so glad to hear that you are still enjoying your 5th graders, Christine!
Thanks so much for your practical, inspirational, and encouraging advice!
You are very welcome, Lisa! Thanks you for your kind message 🙂
I taught elem ed for 20+ yrs and got moved to middle school this years- yikes! I wish I had seen this earlier in the year. I didn’t practice and reinforce procedures/systems enough and had to backtrack. practice and reinforcement of rules and procedures is so!! important! My middle schoolers will take advantage of me any chance they get- Now I know to teach how to come back into the room from a fire drill/bomb threat. Since I didn’t teach it, they made up their own procedure, which included standing around chatting, pretending they didn’t remember what we’d been doing before the dire drill….
Thank you for sharing this, Polly! I love that you learned some new classroom management ideas. You can always turn things around and make next year better 🙂
I have been teaching 5th graders for 19 years and I love your tips and information! I always tell student teachers and new teachers I work with a lot of these points. Everything is so true and definitely helpful!
Thank you so much, Monica!
Thank you for this! This is my first year teaching and I am all of the things you mentioned above: eager, anxious, excited, and nervous. I look forward to going over more of what you posted. Thank you!
You are very welcome, Chrissy! So glad I was able to help 🙂