Fables

Today the seventh graders came to our class to read some Fables and write stories. Two very wonderful things happened.

Mrs. Lewis (7th grade teacher) and I began to partner off the students: one seventh grader with each kindergartener. I told Mrs. Lewis that David is an English Language Learner whose first language is Russian, and would probably need another kindergarten partner to help him write his story. Mrs. Lewis told me that she has a girl in her class who is also an English Language Learner whose first language is Korean. This girl was terrified to read her fable. She was so nervous that her partner wouldn't be able to understand her story, or would think that she was dumb. David was a perfect fit. It was so sweet to watch them read and write together in broken English. Neither one could probably understand the other very well, but neither one cared. They knew first hand what the other had gone through this year: learning a new language in a new school. They smiled at each other and communicated more than words ever could.

Mrs. Lewis also has a student with autism. He has an aide who writes everything for him. He ended up being partnered with Luke. Luke's classmates describe him as "very quiet and very smart". Luke hardly ever speaks. Even when he is called on, it takes him a while to say something. I wondered how he was going to dictate a story. The boys went into the hallway to read and write their story. Ten minutes later, Mrs. Lewis came up to me with a look of surprise on her face. She was holding the story the boys had just written: Half a page about a little monkey named banana-lover who chases off a mean gorilla. She told me that she had never seen her student write that much on his own. I told her I had never heard Luke say so many words. I'm not exactly sure how they did it, but those boys were a perfect fit for each other.

This makes my heart smile

Sydney asks: Miss Terrill, can I tell you four things?

Yes, Sydney.

Okay, #1 I love horses.
# 2 I love unicorns.
# 3 I had a really good dream last night.
and #4 I love being at school.