11th Hour Clarification

After a month spent reading and writing poetry and learning all about figurative language, I stood in front of the class this morning answering last-minute questions before the test. It seemed like students had a good grasp of the definitions and examples of simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole. They knew the difference between figurative and literal language, too. I was just going to pat myself on the back when someone raised a hand to ask one last question.

"I know the difference between literal and figurative," she started, "but can you give us some examples of figurative language?"

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened, but I kept my composure and tossed the question back to the class. "Can anyone help here?"

There was silence.

"You guys!" I finally said, "All of these things are figurative language! That's what we've been talking about this whole time!"

They tilted their heads in slow motion, a light flickering behind their eyes until suddenly it ignited.

"OOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhh!" they replied collectively.

"Now I get it!" said the first student.

"Well thank goodness you asked," I told her, "because obviously, I didn't make that clear."

Enunciation II

I was leading a class discussion about poetry and called on a student who had raised his hand to comment on the figurative language in the poem. 

"The first paragraph has personification," he noted.

"Stanza," I corrected him.

"And the second paragraph has metaphor," he continued.

"Stanza!" I repeated.

He jumped to his feet, a bit rattled. "The second paragraph also has rhyme," he added shakily.

"STANZA!" I said.

"I am!" he told me. "I am!"

Enunciation

The question was Which of the poetry tools we've learned during the unit did you enjoy most? Why? So many students stop before the "why" that I have taught the person leading the discussion to be sure to ask them before moving on. And so it was today.

"Olivia says simile," the student read. He turned to her and asked, "Why?"

She made a face and shrugged. "Because I like an ass," she informed us.

The room went still. 

"You mean you like using like and as?" the other student primly followed up.

She nodded and the air returned.

Natural Order

A pair of robins kept me company in the garden today. Somewhere they have learned that weeding often uncovers some tasty treats for them, and they were fearless in their companionship. They were also right-- I dug up a bunch of grubs, and although I personally wished them no harm, I knew they would not be beneficial to my future crops. And so I sacrificed them to the robins, tossing them just a few yards away where they were quickly consumed and died not in vain, but rather in service to the food chain.

Or so I like to think.

Whether the Weather

The day dawned gray and raw, even for late April. It mattered little that we knew it would be near 90 in a few days; the house seemed cold, so we built what will likely be the last fire of the season. The cats were so happy! And we kept the crackle and warmth stoked throughout the day. Outside the temperature rose until it was tepid and muggy, but in here? It stayed dry and snug.

And Will Suffice

Years ago I made the decision that I would never say no to a student who asked to go to the clinic, even if I considered the request unnecessary or flagrant avoidance or attention-seeking. I figured that's why we have medical professionals in the building, even if the only thing they can prescribe is ice in a baggie with an institutional paper towel wrapped around it. 

Since then  I've seen little bags of ice held over eyes and on top of heads, tucked into socks and waistbands, and ultimately almost always abandoned. And I've chosen to overlook the inevitable puddles on the tables and floor, as well as the students who bite a little hole in their bag and suck on the cold ice melt before discarding the panacea altogether. 

And although it mystifies me why kids still want to go there for maladies that ice won't help, they continue to ask. "They're only going to give you ice," I warn as they grab the pass and go, limping or grimacing or groaning only to return a short while later with a couple of neatly packaged cubes, born like badges of honor. 

I Kid You Not

For the warm-up to a lesson on hyperbole, I asked students to choose a category and identify their G.O.A.T. Their answers were predictable but still fun. For example, Takis was named the greatest snack of all time. Messi and Ronaldo were both G.O.A.T.s of soccer. Some kids chose themselves as the greatest person of all time. We let them all pass without judgment. 

I offer a little guessing game for those who finish to encourage kids to answer quickly and avoid dragging out the warm-up. Sometimes it's guessing whose name I drew to lead the discussion, sometimes it's guessing the card from Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, or Pizza, sometimes it's something else, anything to speed them along. Today, I got all the goats from Taco, Cat, etc, and an equal number of other cards and we played "Goat or No Goat?"

It was a fun variation, but I was surprised that it took until the last class of the day for someone to notice the connection between our game and the Chat Snap question. "I see what you did there," she nodded appreciatively, and I laughed, because as much as I'd like to think that happens all the time?

I'm afraid it really doesn't.