Class #28--6th Age Reading Class

Wednesday, December 15, 8:45 A.M. 6th Age Reading Class. Class #28 on my “50 Classes or Bust!” journey. A group of 12 enthusiastic students bursts into Ms. Clark’s classroom on this chilly December morning. Ms. Clark knows this age group well and has activities planned that take advantage of the students’ natural energy and curiosity. For the next 45 minutes, her classroom will brim with vowel sounds, laughter, and learning! Ms. Clark takes her yardstick and points to specific letters on a large alphabet strip above the chalkboard. The students say the letters aloud, and then in the next round, say the sounds made by the letter. The class plays a game called “At the Table” to review vowel sounds. Ms. Clark says a sound, and the students have to act out the sound—after a “u” sound, the boys and girls sit under the table, while after a “o” sound, they (politely!) sit on the table. What fun! The students cut out consonant letters and then see how many “op” words they can make. The students choose letters to make different words, such as “chop,” “hop,” “cop,” “shop,” “stop,” and “flop.” While they are cutting, Ms. Clark reads “funny” sentences, and the class answers “yes” or “no” in unison. She asks, “Do your eyes chew? Can you save money? Does a tiger have stripes? Can a window stretch? Is a ribbon thirsty?” The students take a few minutes to read silently a small booklet called Mop. Ms. Clark reads it aloud, and then the class reads it aloud together in a choral fashion, followed by partner reading. Ms. Clark circulates to each pair of students to see if anyone needs assistance. She sits right on the floor with the children, and there is clearly a strong student-teacher rapport. The class ends with each pupil giving Ms. Clark a firm handshake (with good eye contact, of course!) and providing her an example of a “short o” word, such as “fox,” “mop,” “octopus,” “got”, “lop,” and “pop.” Again, the fundamentals were on full display today, in a very age-appropriate, interactive manner. Congratulations to Ms. Clark and her students for a great class!