I had a discussion with some people in one of my classes Monday in which we discussed the best time for electives. Some thought the best times would be in the mornings because it gives students something to look forward to first thing in the morning and may boost attendance, but others thought the afternoon because they thought that the students were so hyper after lunch that this could help them spend some of their energy. What do you guys think?

Hmmm I don't know..I think in middle school I enjoyed my electives in the afternoon because after lunch I didnt' really have anything to worry about...I think a lot of times it doesn't really matter what time of the day you have electives as long as you are with a group of people that u enjoy being around. (that always was a big thing for my middle school).

I know that we always had exploratory classes in the morning during middle school. Looking back, I'm glad that we did, cause I'd probably still be there trying to do algebra or something I think by having the exploratory classes in the morning it allows students to warm up slowly and get going. If I knew that I had to diagram sentences or plot coordinates on an X-Y graph, I would have probably not done so well. I think the students need the time in the morning to get their brains ready and processing. Not to say that exploratory classes are easy or anything, but they do allow for students to start their day off with something other than the "tough stuff". My two cents

How about a little of both? Say, for instance, that a student has Spanish and art classes. Maybe they could go to Spanish in the morning to warm them up and art after lunch to use up some energy. This could work for any combination of classes really. This way, hopefully students who need breaks in the morning can get this. Likewise, if breaks in the afternoon are necessary for other kids, that can be taken care of, too.

aaron, you have a good point--that the exploratory classes were well placed in the mornings to get your mind warmed up and make the transition into the tougher subjects a little more smooth. but upon first thought, i figured the electives were best for the afternoon, because then you work hard all morning to be somewhat rewarded (unles syou jsut hate the electives). hmm, i'm not sure which is better--seems like there's a lot of positives and negatives to both schedules

I have subbed a lot this year, and I have found that it does not really matter whether an elective is placed in the morning or afternoon as much as what it is placed next to. My ideal schedule would be to have electives placed not at the very beginning or ending of the day or immediately following/preceding lunch. It is really nice to have electives sandwiched between classwork, giving it the true meaning of "special." Classes where the elective was at the very beginning of the day did not have that time to forward to, and classes where the elective was at the end of the day were ready to go home and didn't really care about the elective. Lunch is a break for the children in itself, so why not try and have another break in the day instead of extending the lunch break?