March is almost upon us!
One of my favorite times of the
year. We are coming out of winter and heading into spring.
One teachable moment I would
like to share doesn’t have to do with March at all, but was a great memory from
when I was teaching middle school.
I had a sixth grade class of
second language learners and I taught English, math, and social studies to them.
We had been studying idioms and their origins in English class and Greek
Mythology during social studies. I had bought a fan book which had each of the
Greek gods and goddesses. I told the students that I would copy each page but I
was going to have to cover some of the pictures because the Greeks wore little
clothes and had “too much skin” showing.
Then a week or so later, I was
trying to encourage students to read more and I was sharing how if you find an
author you like, read other books from that author. I happened to have just
bought an adult novel that Judy Blume had published. I showed the kids the book
and shared how I loved her books as a child and I was interested in how she was
as an adult author. One of the students asked me to pass it around so they
could look at it. I told them I didn’t want to do that because she had some bad
words in the text. And that is when one of students said, “The book has too
much skin, Ms. Jackson.” I laughed and said, “Yes, it does.” I loved how this
idiom was born in the classroom! As a teacher, you relish in the times the
students make connections with the lessons that you teach them. It was a great
moment!
Until next time, hope all is
well with you and your students.
