When doing Reading Option A, which is the reading sequence I suggest for readings based on stories (vs. novels, where R and D works best), we often tend to get locked into the story on the screen in front of us. But we need to learn to follow the energy where it goes.
Last week in one class, in the middle of the reading, when a guy was going to meet a girl in a green Toyota at the end of school, I added in one detail – I just said that Oscar, a kid in the class, was in the back seat of the car as well.
The ensuing conversation was hilarious, bc neither the guy nor the girl could figure out how he got there, creating ample opportunity for lots of questions by me.
The thought of spinning little auditory scenes out of a reading was something I often would resist, but once the thought entered my mind, and I saw the potential in it, I paid attention to my intuition and went with it and we made a little ten minute story within the reading.
To paraphrase Pascal, there are some things that draw our attention in ways that we cannot refuse them- I can’t remember the actual quote. We pay attention to the little things that have energy in class; we learn not to refuse gifts in the form of twists in the discussion. When the energy is seen and felt, we must learn to go with it.
This is why we never know how long our CI will go with a certain story. There are always lots of fun little things that could happen. But we have to learn to be open to them. We have to learn to follow the energy in our classes.
The kids think that they are the most creative people in the world. No – they know so. We are there just to let them show off their brilliance by asking questions and by being fascinated by everything they say.
This is not unlike what Corinne has been doing, in asking questions about readings and challenging the kids on the details. It’s not a lesson plan idea, it’s part of the process of jousting with the kids for the best ideas and calling them on stuff they say all the time. Not just for the reps, but also because, as teens, they invite being challenged on any and everything. And we get to win because it’s our story!