The Median Sib

There are many differences between first graders and fifth graders. Today, however, I heard one statement that could be THE one perfect statement to illustrate those differences.

My group of six first graders came into my classroom. Once we had finished the preliminary activities, I held up the book Bill and Pete by Tomie de Paola. We had read the book last week. “Today,” I told the children, “we’re going to read it again. Since you already know the story, this time I want you to think about how we can summarize the story after we finish re-reading it.”

Aden, a particularly effusive learner, piped up, “Oh WOW! This morning I was thinking that I wanted to read Bill and Pete again and write a summary about it!”

I swear that’s what he said. I was so dumbfounded that I wrote it down immediately. My first reaction was to think, “Yea, right!” But then, I looked at him and I saw that he meant it sincerely. His enthusiasm was boundless, and he was genuinely excited at the idea of writing a summary of Bill and Pete. I doubt if he had TRULY thought about it before our group time, but that wasn’t important. He was so happy about the idea that a little exaggeration was okay.

So there you have it - the one statement that can differentiate between first graders and fifth graders.

A fifth grader could very well have said exactly the same thing. As a matter of fact, I can see a couple of my fifth graders making that same remark. However, the sarcasm would have been dripping from their words.