We spent most of the day today in our workshop talking about teaching kids how to write literary analysis essays. The work was fun, but on the fourth day of a pretty intense week, my brain was pretty tired of comparing and contrasting themes and characters, and it was kind of welcome break when I headed up to the pool to spend some time with a friend and her kids.
At one point, I found myself sitting on the stairs with 4-year-old Lincoln. He was examining Heidi's vast collection of pool toys as his older siblings splashed away in the deep end. I grabbed two plastic figures and held them up.
"Who is this?" I said, lifting my right hand.
"Iron Man," he answered.
"And who is this?" I asked pushing my left hand a little closer to him.
"Captain America!" he smiled.
I widened my eyes. "What if these guys had a fight?" I said. He widened his eyes, too. "Who would win?"
"I don't know..." he told me doubtfully.
"Well," I continued, "what are their strengths? What can this guy do that this guy can't?"
And just like that, he was writing a little comparative essay in the air.
At one point, I found myself sitting on the stairs with 4-year-old Lincoln. He was examining Heidi's vast collection of pool toys as his older siblings splashed away in the deep end. I grabbed two plastic figures and held them up.
"Who is this?" I said, lifting my right hand.
"Iron Man," he answered.
"And who is this?" I asked pushing my left hand a little closer to him.
"Captain America!" he smiled.
I widened my eyes. "What if these guys had a fight?" I said. He widened his eyes, too. "Who would win?"
"I don't know..." he told me doubtfully.
"Well," I continued, "what are their strengths? What can this guy do that this guy can't?"
And just like that, he was writing a little comparative essay in the air.
No comments:
Post a Comment