Elementary education

Children attend elementary school from about age 6 or 7 to about 12 or 14. Most elementary schools provide kindergartens for children who are 5 or 6 years old, though elementary education itself usually begins in first grade. Most U.S. communities have at least one elementary school. Elementary schools are also called gradeor grammar schools.

A traditional elementary school is divided into six or eight grades. Children of about the same age are usually in the same grade. They meet in the same classroom with the same teacher during most or all of the day. This traditional classroom arrangement is sometimes called a self-contained classroom. The pupils are supposed to meet the standards for their age group before being promoted to the next grade. But promotion practices differ from school to school.

Some elementary schools have departed somewhat from the traditional method of organization. Some communities have non-graded, or ungraded, schools. In non-graded schools, the pupils are not grouped according to age. Instead, pupils of different ages meet together for certain subjects or activities. Each student is encouraged to advance at his or her own rate of speed. Frequently, the groups are composed of children with similar abilities or interests. In most non-graded schools, pupils receive general evaluations rather than specific grades. Achievement tests indicate a pupil’s progress. Pupils transfer to a secondary school when they reach the required age, provided that their progress is satisfactory. Non-graded plans of organization are also called continuous progressplans.

Some elementary schools use a method of organization called team teaching. In these schools, teachers are organized into groups called teams.Each team is responsible for a large group of students. Each teacher on a team may teach a certain subject or a certain part of a unit of study to the entire group. Or the pupils may be divided into smaller groups to allow more time for individual instruction and group discussion. In some elementary schools, open classroomshave replaced traditional classrooms. These classrooms use space in a variety of ways. Some space is used for studies and projects by individual pupils, and some isused for group studies and projects. A school made up of open classrooms is called an open school. Most open schools use team teaching methods.

Most students enter a secondary school after completing their elementary education. But many school systems have established middle schoolsfor pupils of upper-elementary age-that is, from the age of 10 or 11 to about 14. Most such schools consist of grades 6 through 8, but some also include grade 5. The pupils in a middle school further develop the skills acquired in elementary school and prepare for the more advanced training they will receive in secondary school. Some communities call their middle schools junior high schools. But junior high schools are usually consider

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