A child was silly and fooling around this week during a few focused unit lessons. I was busy working with individuals, and had to stop a few times to remind the child to get back on track.
Then today it was the child's chance to share his work. I didn't know what to expect as this is the first leg of the unit. He eagerly approached me for the edit. We wrestled with the first sentence to make sure the idea was clearly stated, and then as I read on I became very excited--there was voice, originality, creativity! Truthfully it was one of the best examples of this assignment in the whole class.
The boys' grin reached from ear to ear. "Do you know how good this is?" I asked. He nodded. "We'll have to share this with the class."
It was a breakthrough moment for this child who hadn't had a spectacular moment yet this year--he's been a steady, typical guy. Yet today he shined, and it was the kind of moment I work to repeat a few times for every child during the year, a moment of connection, recognition, and inspiration. Breakthroughs like these brighten a teacher's day (and weekend), and add to the positive momentum for the entire class.
