Monday, March 19, 2007

Don't Be Sad--Yet!

We were racing to see which first grader could read their high-frequency words the fastest. These are words that they have to know in order to get to the second grade. The test is about a month away. Victoria was sad because she didn't know hardly any of the words. Here's what I told her:

"Hey, Victoria, come on, don't be sad! You're only in first grade. You aren't supposed to know all of these words yet. Now, in a month when you take the test, if you don't know the words, and you don't make it to the second grade--THEN you can be sad, but don't be sad until then, it'll only make the words harder to learn. If any of you other kids care about Victoria, you should help her learn these words so she will still be in your class next year."

She calmed down and actually did better the second time she tried the words. I think she was just so nervous that she couldn't focus. Some of the other kids in the class who were doing well with the words started helping her practice them right away. I love it when kids help each other.

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