Student: "Ms. Foyle, what are grits?"
Me: "Grits are a breakfast dish in the South. They're kind of grainy and mushy, almost like a porridge. They have different flavors. My mom really likes them."
Student: (holding out Bridge to Terabithia) "Well, Ms. Foyle, then this doesn't make sense."
Me: "What doesn't?"
Student: "You tell me grits are like porridge, but here it says, '...And no one had more grit than he.' I don't get it."
Me: (realizing the double meaning) "Oh, well, grit(s) has more than one meaning. There are grits like porridge and then there is grit like determination."
Student: "Oh...that makes more sense now. I was really confused. Now I get it...Thanks."
How I love Literature Circles! It is during our discussions and prep time that such conversations come up.
Amazingly enough, this student did not just read over the term without thinking about it. She carefully turned it over in her head, finally coming to me for clarification. Cheers to that! I love when students are thinkers!
He definitely did not have more porridge than anyone else...
Oh children...
remember my story about my student who thought the word "bandage" was "banana?"... student: i didn't think he would put a banana on his cut- that's just silly! ;P
ReplyDelete