I got to see the best smile on one of my student’s faces this morning. From earlier posts, this is my student who likes to go by “Mr. Norman” any time that he can. While he is one of my students who often has behavioral issues, K is also my weak spot because he’s such a sweet boy. Two weeks ago, we read an excerpt from the book Because of Winn Dixie in our reading group. As we read, K expressed his interest in wanting to read the book many times and since then he’s been asking to find the full book in the school library.
The teacher in me noticed right away that this book had become a hook to get K motivated to read more. So of course, I hopped on Amazon and ordered a copy which just came in over the weekend. I was so excited to see K’s face when I brought out the book. Of course this morning when I planned to start this as our read aloud, K was the only student in my reading class to come to school.. While he usually likes being in my class, reading is not his favorite. When it’s just us he isn’t thrilled because it means he really can’t get away with not doing work.
While I didn’t really want to start the book without the other three, I decided that it was worth it to reward K for being in school. As he got his things together for the morning, I pulled out the book to surprise him. When I showed him, he let out the briefest and most genuine smile I’ve seen on his face yet. This fleeting moment was the one that keeps teachers going and I was so excited about seeing that smile. I made a big deal of the fact that he got the special privilege of hearing it first while the other kids will catch up another day. For me, today was all about getting K motivated and excited to hear this story. By the time we were done today, he was asking when we’d read the next chapter and was clearly still happy that we’ll be reading this book. I can’t even imagine the look he’ll give when I show the movie at the end of the read aloud:) It’s all about the little moments!
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