Part of the fun part of being a teacher is being amused by the funny little stories and random things that kids sometimes say and do... I've decided that I need to start writing these things down, because I'm beginning to realize that as much as I love working with kids, it's easy to lose focus with all the less enjoyable aspects of teaching... meetings, paperwork, politics, high-stakes testing, gossip, etc... It can get exhausting at times... BUT, I don't ever want to become one of those teachers that seem to have forgotten the reason they decided to teach and the joy of working with students... anyways, here's my funny little story from teaching this week that made me laugh:) ...I was teaching a few students in my room about acrostic poems (if you don't know what an acrostic poem is click here... did I mention that this is 3rd grade curriculum, folks?... not to make you feel dumb or anything. ha;) Anyways, the students were to create a web graphic organizer and write down words that describe them, things that they like to do, favorite foods/sports/etc... you get the point... then after they were finished brainstorming they began writing the poems...
One of the girls really got hung up on the letter 'O' in her name and was really frustrated... I tossed out a few ideas off the top of my head, but none of my words seemed to satisfy her... So I handed her a dictionary and said, "There are lots of words that begin with the letter O in here, so search for one that you like!" ... Not too long after, I heard her excitedly yell "Miss Goodman!! I found a really good one!" So I went over to see what she'd come up with and written on her paper was the word "Opossum." ... I laughed on the inside, but trying to be a good teacher and not damage her self-esteem I said "Wow! That IS a great 'O' word, but we need to find one that describes something about YOU." She quickly defended her word and pleaded her case... "I know Miss Goodman!!", she said, "I love opossums... I like to watch them all the time and study them at the zoo!" There are opossums are at the zoo, eh? Who knew!? I was always way more fascinated by the giraffes, monkeys, zebras, and polar bears... to each their own, haha:) So yeah, I'm pretty certain that this time I laughed out loud, whoops!... (I just couldn't contain myself) ... I ended up telling the girl, "Well okay! Then write about why you love opossums in your acrostic." A few minutes later I went over to take a peek at her poem and next to the letter 'O' in her name it said this:
Opossums are really cool and I love to watch them and study them at the zoo!
Haha, kids say the darndest things:)
3 comments:
Hey my name is D.O. and I recently posted a comment on your post about Shane Claiborne telling you about Another World is Possible. Well I've just got one more thing I wanted to tell you about and then I'll leave you alone. The folks who made the AWIP DVD's are making a feature-length documentary called "The Ordinary Radicals." The film will address many of the negative stereotypes that are affiliated with present-day Christianity, and tell the stories of ordinary folks who are disproving these generalizations. People doing pretty amazing things, motivated by their faith. I think you should check it out. Interviews include folks like Shane Claiborne, Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Becky Garrison, and a whole host of others. If you'd like to learn more or pre-order the DVD, check out the website at www.theordinaryradicals.com.
And on a personal note, I can sympathize with the girl whose name contains an "o" when it comes to acrostic poems.
Cheers.
Just wanted to say heyy :)
justin.anna@rocketmail.com
Post a Comment