This morning, I told the class that during Show and Tell time today, one of the Grade 1 students was going to share some videos that he made last night about structures. I explained that he made a prediction in these videos, and that I made the same prediction as him, but was also surprised by the outcome.

When Show and Tell time came this afternoon, the student explained to the class what he did. Then the students had to vote on if they thought the card tower or the domino tower would stand up better to an earthquake. All but two students chose the domino tower. The students that predicted this tower would stand up better, felt that since dominoes are heavier than cards, they must be sturdier too. After some students shared their predictions, I asked one of the two students that did not agree with the rest of the class, why she thought differently. Here’s what she said:

Miss Dunsiger, the dominoes are heavier than the cards, and they seem like they would be sturdier too. I think that you and [the other student] would have thought that the dominoes would have stood up better. You told us this morning that you were surprised by what happened, so I’m going to pick the cards. 🙂

Wow! Too cute! While I was impressed that she remembered what I said and applied this information when making her prediction, this situation also made me realize that as teachers, we need to be careful about what we say. How much do our words influence the opinions of our students? If we want students to be great thinkers, then maybe we have to say less. I know that this is a struggle for me, and today reminded me that I have to be even more aware of what I say.

What do you think? As educators, how have your words influenced the contributions of your students? This has definitely given me a lot to think about tonight.

Aviva

The Videos On Structures