Students were partnered up all over the room, heads bent together, reading and discussing Secrets of the Stomach. Some sat at adjacent desks, others sprawled on the floor or lay on their stomachs, knees bent, feet in the air. The room buzzed with reading, laughter and conversation. It was the first day back from break, but the kids were working hard, reading about how a trio of scientists investigated and learned how the stomach digests food. The reading involved vomiting hawks, open, unhealing wounds to the stomach and a pretty high “ick” factor: In other words, they were fully engaged.
I circulated, checking in with students as they read together and completed some written follow up. I stopped by one partnership as a student was reading aloud some information about how the stomach uses acids to digest food. He stopped reading suddenly and looked up at me with a puzzled expression on his face. Then he asked earnestly, “Mrs. Hogan, if the stomach is where your food is digested, how do women make their babies?” Oh, dear.
“Not in their stomach,” I replied quickly, torn between laughter and dread.
“Whoa!” he exclaimed, “Now I’m starting to get really interested in how babies are made.” Uh oh.
“Ummmm…” I stammered, “Well…” Hmmmmm…where do I go with this?
I’m not sure what my face looked like, but thankfully, he quickly interrupted, “But that’s not the point now.” He resumed reading with his partner, and I walked away quickly.
Thank goodness for a one-track mind and compelling reading material!
Nix the comfort zone 
Whew! You dodged that question…this time! I think that little guy is quite a thinker with the connections he was making. While not comical at the time (or perhaps maybe it was), it’s moments like these that we can look back and laugh, just laugh!
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Hmmm. Well, this little guy has an inquiring mind! “But that’s not the point now,” shows he knows he needs to be on task. Thanks for a peek into your classroom and the chuckle.
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Oh my! You conveyed the tension in your story with just a few strokes of your keys.
It sounds like that particular reader has the makings of a scientist: analytical, focused…but aware of tangential possibilities for later. I love how he’s moved past Wow facts to really synthesizing information.
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What a great piece. You captured both the energy and engagement of your classroom and the particular enthusiasm of this one pupil. I hope you didn’t get a parent phone call later.
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No phone calls! 🙂
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Moments like these are why I’m glad to be a prospective HS English teacher ;). It was handled skillfully.
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Thanks. I was just lucky he was quickly pulled back into the book!
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Oh, I can see it now! 🙂 And I’m thinking of the possible at home comments / questions that might easily flow out of that simple exchange….
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