We just started our social issues book group unit, which is heavily focused on discussion, as the unit title suggests, so I moved the desks back into clusters of four from the more socially-distanced pairs that had all faced the front of the room since the beginning of the school year.
The volume and playfulness immediately shot up. It’s like I gently nudged a roomful of puppies out of their slumber.
I don’t know if it’s just them adjusting to a new configuration or if it flipped the switch back to normalcy, but these kids more closely resemble the sixth graders I’ve known and loved since before the pandemic.
As each group took part in their first discussion of the unit, I made my way around to each table to listen and offer support where needed. One group, the one I used as a fishbowl, was on fire. They were adding on, asking questions, using text evidence, and making connections. Another group was holding their own and using some of the strategies they had seen the fishbowl group use. Another group had already zipped through all the questions before I got to them, so I guided them back to one and had them go a little deeper.
Then there’s the group I will probably spend the most time with: they were splitting their time between giggling and accusing each other of not following directions.
And they were all right there under my nose the whole time.
My Corner of the Village 