Oh, yes, Joy, this notion of approximations is one that gets me in trouble
(some teachers think I'm too 'easy'...of course, when they learn the content of
the discussion, they think I'm too 'hard,' LOL) and fascinates me. Your quote
from Ray, "What would it look like if they tried it?" is just like Keene's,
"What would you say if you did know?" I'm big on drawing kids out and giving
them LOADS of time to think. In fact, when my principal was doing a formal
observation this year, she actually timed me giving a child 22 seconds (total
silence, most eyes fixed attentively on him awaiting a response)...and he came
up with a great insight. She also said my strength is helping kids interpret
their own thinking--or something like that--which offended me at first because
I DO NOT want to tinker with others' thinking, but then... So, sorry this is
so long, I agree wholeheartedly that giving kids room and time to approximate
and to just think--think as readers and as writers--is of utmost importance.
(What starts out as a joke in my third grade classroom (I ask off-task writers,
"You're thinking about your writing, right?") becomes our reality, and we take
thinking seriously. But they have to have time. So it's not perfect--it's
theirs and they own it.
Judy
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