Keowee students are as sharp as tacks!

I spent time at Keowee Elementary yesterday, and I visited in three classrooms.

My first stop was fourth grade, and these students were starting a new language arts unit.  They were beginning a two week study of figurative language.  Today’s topic was similes.  As the teacher started the unit, she did a quick pre-assessment.  “Do any of you remember this topic from last year?” She went on, “Give me some examples.”  The students complied and were getting the hang of it.  Many examples seemed to be gender based, so she prompted and probed a little more.  The teacher even got them to come up with a few similes for some of the nonfiction they were reading (“Lincoln was as wise as an owl.”).  They played a quick game that got them moving.  It was great for the teacher to point out the importance of figurative language in “voice” and word choice (which is part of the rubric used in our state for writing assessment).  I have to admit, these students were as sharp as tacks.

I moved down the hallway and entered a third grade classroom.  The students were finishing up an Everyday Mathematics sheet on fact patterns.  I am always intrigued by the Everyday Mathematics curriculum, and this was an interesting worksheet representing multiplication in different ways by 10s, 100s, and 1000s.  The worksheet used multiple ways of showing the same multiplication facts, and the teacher worked to get them to understand that such things as 2[10s] is the same as 2 x 10.  They moved to “number stories.”  I think this is a much better name for “word problems.”  The students were using animals they had learned about in a science lesson on habitats.  The students were comparing weights of animals.  They were just beginning to solve and create number stories with this data as I made my exit.  One interesting fact I learned:  I weigh as much as the largest mountain goat!  These students were engaged and excited about learning.

My final stop was kindergarten.  These kindergartners were in groups at tables.  They were studying teeth (several kids showed me new or missing teeth as they smiled at me).  The activity they were doing required the powers of observation, prediction, drawing, and writing.  Each table had an egg sitting in a plastic cup of an unnamed cola.  The students were observing and drawing.  They were to predict what would happen to the egg as it sat in the cola.  Young children this age are such divergent thinkers (a skill that seems to diminish as they progress through the grades).  I heard all kinds of predictions or hypotheses (it would break, melt, swell, crack, etc.).  They did an excellent job with writing their prediction and drawing a picture of it.  The plan for the next day was to again observe the egg in cola and use a toothbrush to try and remove any discoloration.  I know the students will soon make a connection with the enamel of teeth and the need to use a toothbrush. 

I love my job.  There are days that may be difficult, but there are rewards that very few experience outside this field of endeavor.  I had one of those rewarding experiences while in the kindergarten class yesterday.  A young kindergartener in glasses came up to me.  She asked me to look at her work and provide feedback on her efforts.  I told this young lady that I loved her color selection.  I read her passage addressed to her mom and dad.  I further explained that I bet the drawing of a rainbow would bring a big smile to her parents when they saw it.  She looked at me through her glasses, opened her arms wide, and gave me a real big hug as I sat in a little person’s chair.  I have something to reflect upon when I have one of those difficult days.  

Yes, Keowee Elementary students are certainly as "sharp as a tack" in my view.