Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Learning from our Students












One of the fun things about teaching young adults is that invariably I learn from them also. Right now I am teaching a small group of home school girls who are excited about creating their own stories. Last week when I asked them what every story needed, Savannah Ann answered, "A point. Every story needs a point." Hmmm… I hadn't thought of that and promised her if my book goes into a third edition I'd consider including that.

This week, I introduced the concept of creating a character FAST. In Teaching the Story I said that the acronym stands for:


F- Feelings
A-Actions
S- Speech
T- Thoughts

On Monday when I introduced the concept I just wrote "FAST" on the board and asked the girls what they thought each letter stood for. Caleigh said that she thought "A" should stand for "Attitude" or "Appearance." Hmmm again. Another addition to the third edition!

“Being a knower/learner communicates to the student that we’re in this together. We’re on the same page.” Peter Johnston, wrote in Choice Words. (Stenhouse Publishers, 2004)

Not only is it fun, but learning from your students empowers them.
How about you? What did you learn from your students today?

1 comment:

Jean said...

From the mouth of babes.

Brilliant, that every story needs a point, I mean.

Grace & Peace,
Jean Hall

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