Today was our first day of really getting into the groove of class. After our warm up and collaborative activities, I said to my girls, "Ok, our objectives for today are simplifying expressions and evaluating expressions. Who wants to sit and do the lesson with me in a small group?" Not a single hand goes up. "Ok, who is planning on watching the video as a refresher?" About five hands go up. I'm utterly perplexed at this point. "So what are the rest of you planning to do for this lesson?" There are some whispers between girls, and someone finally says, "We know how to do it. We just need to practice." Oh. Ok, that we can do. And so we did. They spent the rest of class practicing a series of problems of varying difficulty on MathSpace.
I've been thinking about that conversation for the rest of the day. What if I hadn't had this talk with them? What if I'd just forced them into a lesson? It would have been a waste of all of our time. They've "learned" this for at least three years (probably closer to five). The last thing they need is another lesson. Yet they realize that they need practice.
Let's listen to our kids. They know what they need. Sometimes better than we do.
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