March SOLC–Day 9
Circulating around my classroom during Readers’ Workshop, I stopped to listen in to a partnership of three.
Sitting in the middle, J was reading smoothly and then stopped suddenly at the word “celery”, her brow furrowed.
She reread, “He chopped the …..” She frowned, concentrating.
“Kel..ur.. eye? Kelureye?” She shook her head.
One partner (Partner 1) said, “You can use the picture.”
“I already did that!” she said. “There are only onions.” She pointed to the word. “That’s not onions!”
“Well, you can look at the whole picture. Like this part here.”
They looked together, pointing.
“I see carrots.”
“Those are potatoes.”
“I don’t know what that is.” (Of course it was very indistinctly illustrated celery.)
Partner 1 continued, “Maybe you can think about what’s happening in the book.”
Partner 2 spoke up, not unkindly, “I know what it is, but I’m not going to say.”
J said, “That’s because partners don’t tell, they help!”
“Well,” Partner 2 said, “You can try two sounds. Remember c can make two different sounds.” She paused and then said in a sing-songy voice, “Sometimes it sounds like another letter.”
J looked at the word again. “sel.. uh.. ree….sel.uh.ree…celery!” Her face lit up. “It’s celery!” she shouted triumphantly!
After congratulating them on all their hard work, I left the group, smiling. It’s lovely to see readers work and grow together.
Nix the comfort zone 
How great to witness that! They are working so hard and supporting each other. That was a great way to start my morning. Thank you for sharing.
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I wish I’d see such effective partner work in my 4th grade class!
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Warms my heart to see such classrooms live and thrive in this day and age. Congrats. No easy task getting these kids to this point. Three cheers, Mrs. H.
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Thanks, Dan!
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“That’s because partners don’t tell, they help!” and “Remember c can make two different sounds.”
Slam dunk, Molly! You should feel so proud! I’m so glad you were able to hear that! You students clearly are helping each other and that’s because of the amazing culture in your classroom!
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Cindy, I haven’t been tempted to post ALL of the conferences I’ve overheard! This one was so encouraging though. Thanks for the kind words.
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What a great story. Your kids are doing a great job. I am sure they are modeling your teaching. Congratulations! Job well done.
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That’s such a lovely classroom scene – great work going on!
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I’m so glad you captured this conversation. The power of partner work! It’s beautiful to witness!
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