The other day, during a vocabulary lesson with a group of sixth graders who struggle in all areas of reading, I made an attempt to show them how to create their own defintion for the word enthusiast.
"Forget the dictionary," I said. "With a few simple strategies, you can efficiently use the text to discover your own defintions for words you may not know the meaning of."
I used my own example, and explained how I am an enthusiast of airplanes. We talked about enthusiasts in general, and one student was able to explain how he was an enthusiast of cars, mirroring my likeness of airplanes, of course. Providing examples of proper word usage is one step closer to mastering new vocabulary terms. I was accomplishing my objective. The imparting of knowledge was obviously evident, as I patted myself on the back.
And as we talked through it and a few moments passed, the student in the class with the lowest ability level turned to me and said, "If you are such an enthusiast of airplanes, how come you are working here?" I paused. That was a question I couldn't answer.
Interesting, how hours of reflection are spent analyzing the trajectory of one's life, and yet the wisest, simplest, and most sensible question came from the thoughts of the sixth grade student with the most complex academic struggles. That sixth grader may never know it, but for that moment, he became the teacher for a 32 year old student.
"Forget the dictionary," I said. "With a few simple strategies, you can efficiently use the text to discover your own defintions for words you may not know the meaning of."
I used my own example, and explained how I am an enthusiast of airplanes. We talked about enthusiasts in general, and one student was able to explain how he was an enthusiast of cars, mirroring my likeness of airplanes, of course. Providing examples of proper word usage is one step closer to mastering new vocabulary terms. I was accomplishing my objective. The imparting of knowledge was obviously evident, as I patted myself on the back.
And as we talked through it and a few moments passed, the student in the class with the lowest ability level turned to me and said, "If you are such an enthusiast of airplanes, how come you are working here?" I paused. That was a question I couldn't answer.
Interesting, how hours of reflection are spent analyzing the trajectory of one's life, and yet the wisest, simplest, and most sensible question came from the thoughts of the sixth grade student with the most complex academic struggles. That sixth grader may never know it, but for that moment, he became the teacher for a 32 year old student.
