A repost from 2011:
When we stir pancake batter, the lumps go away and the batter is smooth. That is what we want to do with our repetitive questions when we circle. Just keep making circles with the wisk in the bowl until the lumps are all gone.
If we don’t make enough circles, we can easily sense that error by looking into our students’ eyes. There is a vacant look on their faces. Those are the lumps.
We must learn how to see those vacant looks for what they are – requests for us to slow down. Make eye contact with the lump, and teach the kid first and the language second. Teach the kid first and the language second.
Of course, the order of circling, when internalized, is a good thing to have – it makes it effortless for both you and the kids. But later, when the training wheels come off, we can take that wisk and stir in any direction.
So don’t fret about the order of circling. Just circle around the parking garage, testing a few spaces for how they feel. Park. When it gets crowded with details on that parking level, go down one level or add a new character or event. You’ll know when. Keep circling.
Concentrate on the kids. Each new detail provided by the kids, if you have properly instructed them in playing the game, you store in the back of your mind. Some you trot out during the story later.
What fun to take details you learned during the PQA and fit them in at the right moment in the story! Remember to circle and park and laugh and concentrate on what the kids give you.
We just need to be interested in creating language in association with our kids, in co-creation (Jason Fritz’ term) with them. That includes every one of them. If a kid looks like a lump remember – they are not. You are just going too fast.
When they experience proper slow circling, the kids will feel less lumpy, and they will really appreciate your efforts to reach them instead of making the curriculum the focus of the class. Make the batter perfect. They deserve no less than perfect pancakes.