Perseverance: The Little Engine That Could

If you read my tweets, you'll notice that I often write, "This is a Little Engine That Could Day," which means it's a day where I need to coach myself forward to reach a challenging goal.

Yesterday as students worked to solidify computation skill, I was reminded of this book since it was going to be a "Little Engine That Could Day" for the students as they worked carefully with stamina to develop their computation facility and fluency.

I grabbed the book from my desk and proceeded to read the 84-year old, classic tale to my students. I placed the book under the document camera to enlarge the text and pictures for all to see. The children enjoyed the story and pictures. After that, they all worked individually and collaboratively for a long time to make corrections, practice the skills, and check-in with classmates and teachers to develop their knowledge.

Next time your class is facing a big challenge, you may want to read The Little Engine that Could.