But the question was, in a setting like this, what reading program do I use? With one full time Teacher's Aide and a whole lot of advance planning, I had figured out a way for my 2nd through 4th grades to work independently while I focused on reading with the younger children. Another school in my district had Kindergarten through 8th in one class.) (You thought this kind of classroom only existed in history books from the 1800's, right? I did, too! Many small rural towns across the country have to consolidate their grades into one classroom.
My class would consist of 19 students: Three Kinder, 2 First grade, 1 second grader, 8 third graders and 5 in the fourth grade. It was my first year of teaching and I had been hired by a small district in the mountains of Northern California.
