Boring, but it needed to be written down...for me

Today was one of those "teaching" kind of days.  Of course, I always go to school with the intention of teaching.  The lesson plans are prepared, copies made, resources reviewed, games assembled...I'm ready.  However, despite my best intentions and ample preparation, some days, it feels just like I'm just teaching "at" the kids instead of "with" the kids.  It's as though I'm simply going through the motions, and then the day is over, and I realize that the kids were doing the same.

Today was different.  I'm not sure exactly how it was different other than the way that it felt.  Just as I can't pinpoint what happened, I'm certain that the kids will not be able to verbalize the exact skills that they were working on today.  Yet learning was occurring.  They were heading towards deeper thoughts.  I could see it.  I could read it in their readers' response notebooks.  They weren't just skimming the surface.  They were really thinking...on their own...well...mostly on their own.

The focused skill was writing a summary of a story.  BEAT MY HEAD AGAINST THE WALL...WILL THE TORTURE NEVER END???

Strangely, this is extremely difficult for little people to master.  Or at least it is in my classroom.  Either they say too little or rewrite a six page story.  I've heard other educators admit as much during meetings, so I know that I'm not the only one struggling with this skill.  It's kind of one of those things that teachers beat year after year with only minimal growth.

Today, it happened.  Somehow, I walked them through the important ingredients in a summary salad.  We wrote notes over the story and outlined the basic story elements including main character, setting, problem, and solution.  The kids took these notes, the rubric, and a formula of such that we prepared together, and produced a concise yet informative summary over the story that we had just read.  

When they go home tonight, I highly doubt that they will report to their parents that they utilized their knowledge of basic story elements and  plot structure to produce a perfect summary, yet I saw it. I saw it with my own eyes.  Not only did I see it, I could feel it happening as we walked through the steps together.  I knew, throughout the entire journey, that they were going to end up at the exact predetermined destination.

Looking back over my teaching career thus far, I see how weak of a teacher I once was.  I don't believe that I'm a great teacher at this point.  In fact, I wouldn't even state that I am a strong teacher.  However, I'm a growing teacher, and I know this because I can now finally see exact elements of my teaching that have improved over the year.  Not only do I see areas that have improved, but I can feel them improving as I make my way through a lesson. 

Why did I succeed today?  Was it the combination of the concise formula and rubric along with the notes that we prepped prior to writing?  Was it my years of experience?  Was it the countless mistakes that I've made while teaching this same lesson in the past?  Was it because I was absolutely sick of failing? I don't know, and I don't really care.  I DID IT!  I DID IT!  I DID IT! 

Can they do it again?  Uhhh....let's just be thankful for today.

Can I do that again?  Uhhh....let's just be thankful for today.