Being a lifelong learner sometimes means telling students we don't know something. But I love those moments because they look at me and think, "You don't know this? But you're the teacher."
That's what happened today. We are practicing interpreting figure language. I wanted to get them up and moving, so I put task cards around the room, gave them a clipboard and an answer sheet, and sent them off. One student asked me to come over to a card. He said, "Mrs. Eck, I don't know what this word means."
The card was a story about a "mutinous" spider on the wall. I told him, "Well, I am not 100% sure either. I know the word mutiny means a kind of revolt, and this word looks pretty close to it. I bet it has something to do with that. I'll go look it up, and we will both learn something today."
I went to good ole Google and searched the word. I am not sure I would call a spider mutinous, but it was a learning moment for both of us.
a space for me and other teacher-writers to share our stories.
The mutinous spider sounds like a winning opening to a story. Love how you share your learning moment with students in this slice. Plus, I think getting kids up and moving is so important to helping them learn. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteI love it! The kids have so much respect when they see we are human. :)
ReplyDeleteWe are learners for life and that is the best example to put in front of kids. I like how you tell them what you do know, your "smart guess" and go on from there, taking them with you! That is a lesson for life.
ReplyDeleteGreat modeling from a master teacher! I'm still thinking about how a spider could be mutinous...
ReplyDeleteI love looking up words to see how the dictionary defines them and then discuss how it applies to context. It is important for kids to see us as learners. I love hearing about your classroom.
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