You can never predict when a teachable moment will arise–but when one does, you have to go with it!
One arose last week when students in Room 123 were sitting down in front of the easel for a vocabulary lesson. So that our discussion wouldn’t disturb the class across the hall, I asked a student to please close the classroom door. Because I frequently make that request, another student asked if it would make sense to add “Door Closer” to our weekly classroom jobs.
So, instead of a vocabulary lesson, we discussed how best to make that decision. I asked students to recall how they decided whether to trade places and live in another country: they listed pros and cons about taking the action and weighed their importance. Students applied this method to the current question, and soon made their decision. Take a look at their thinking:
With this background in place, we can use this process in the future when other decisions arise!