Why? Because of a lesson that I already knew, but was retaught today – my student’s know what they need and will show me, through their actions if not their words, as long as I just pay attention.
Class started with a few division questions –to get them thinking while I got other activities set up. I had intended for this to last for about five minutes, but my students had other ideas. Realizing that working independently wasn’t working, some went to classmates for help. Others discovered their inner teacher and started running mini-lessons for friends. I turned around to remind them all that they should be working quietly but stopped in my tracks when I overheard one student say, “Not quite. Come to the easel and we can go step by step.” I paused, trying to focus in on other conversations and heard, “I know you have that one wrong because the remainder can’t be bigger than the divisor. Can you tell me why that’s true?”
Fantastic lesson or not, they weren’t ready to move on. They needed more time to explore… talk… work things through. Instead of my lesson, I spent the next 40 minutes walking around my room, listening for my student’s voices telling me, in oh so many ways, just what it was that they needed to learn.
Allison Smeltzer teaches grade four at Brentwood TLC