Write about a time that you learned something new...

This was the prompt my students had on their DC-CAS Writing Composition Exam. I really wish I could have scanned all of their responses into my blog because some had me bursting out in laughter in the middle of the class. Some kids were annoyed that I was being so disruptive. Others, saw me laughing at someone's essay, took it as a good thing and then begged me to read theirs. They almost got me in trouble with the testing monitor. If there is one thing I have taught the crap out of this year, it has been writing. I don't even know why I chose it as an area of focus. Maybe it was that most of my students couldn't write a complete sentence, let alone an interesting sentence, at the beginning of the year. More likely though, I like teaching it. All of my students know how to put commas after transitions. Considering many adults have missed out on this skill, I think it is a huge success for nine-year olds.

Even though I couldn't scan in their interesting work, I did want to share with you a few of my favorite thesis statements. Here they go:

"One time when I learned something new was when I learned to trust my mom's new friend." (She is referring to her mother's new live-in boyfriend)

"At school I learned three new things in one day. I learned how to do reader's workshop, how to divide, and how to write a five paragraph essay." (I liked this one because the student was writing a five paragraph essay about how he learned to write a five paragraph essay and he genuinely didn't see the connection).

"I learned something new when my mom taught me how to braid." (This essay had me laughing out loud)

"In my first day of dance class I learned what to do when you feel embarrassed. " (This one also had me laughing out loud).

Quote of the day: "Ms. Reed, am I black?" This student did not know which ethnicity to bubble in on his score sheet. I thought it was great. We both laughed about it. And then he said, "I'm gonna mark them all." It will probably mess up the scran-tron, but I told him to go ahead if he wanted. Who am I to tell the kid what ethnicity he is?