Mar 27

Mar 27 Slice of Life: Day 27 - Can You Sit in a Circle? #SOL22 #TWTBlog

I walk in the room, looking down to remember the focus of our coaching session today.

Ms. H. isn’t here. She had to leave. Her daughter is sick.

I stop and try to process what to do. I typically don’t stay if the teacher isn’t there, that really isn’t coaching. I look around. These kindergarteners are all sitting at their desks awaiting my arrival. I scrap our plans and decide to read aloud. Who can resist an opportunity to read aloud to kindergartners?

Hello Readers! How are you today?

Lots of goods and thumbs-ups greet me.

Great! I am going to read you a text today and then we will have a chance to respond with each other. Let’s push the desks back and make a circle.

No one moves. They look around.

Let’s take this first row and push it back. Then we can push the next row and that will make room for our circle.

Still nothing.

Ok. Watch me. I will do this desk and then you can each move your desk.

I slowly and carefully model how to move a desk.

Ok, go for it.

It takes at least five minutes, but they finally get the desks in an arrangement that gives us space to make our circle. We are ten minutes into our session, so I want to get moving.

Great! Let’s get into our circle.

Once again, crickets.

Have you come upfront and made a circle? Like for a story or morning meeting.

Heads all signify the negative.

I know what a circle is.

I look up and find my lifeline.

Do you want to show us?

I hold up a dry erase marker and point to the whiteboard. My young friend is hesitant but does come up. I hand over the marker. I am not sure what shape is drawn, but I know it is not a circle. We are now fifteen minutes in, but I am unwilling to give up. Social distancing mandates recently changed in the district, so these students have NEVER sat in a circle. If I do nothing else for this teacher, I will do this. I do a short lesson on shapes and then I use tape to mark out a circle on what would be the rug area if they were allowed to have rugs. We all take a minute to admire the circle. I then quickly give each reader a post-it note and ask them to write their name. They then come up one by one and I assign them a spot to place their post-note.

Stop and look at where your spot is, you will need to remember it.

After each student has placed their name and returned to their seat, I explain how they will come to the circle when I invite them to read aloud. They seem to be with me.

Readers, carefully, quietly, and quickly, come join me for our read-aloud.

There is a bit of a traffic jam, a few minor collisions, and some re-navigating. Finally, all twenty-five readers are in their spot. We are now at twenty-five minutes so I need to adjust my plan. I am determined to read aloud. I go back to my reading bag and choose something a bit shorter.

I begin to read, realizing this is the first time these readers have been able to gather in a circle to enjoy, discuss and respond to a text together. I was a bit late for my next session, but I know it was totally worth it.