Interesting Class Action

In one of my Let's Go 2 classes, I had an unusual thing happen this week.

On Tuesday my third grade students in one class were reading their storybooks in pairs, and two of the older (and more skillful) girls finished first.

Sometimes I have alternate activities lined up for more advanced students in these situations, for otherwise the students who finish early might get bored and start speaking Korean, which I want to avoid.

In this case, because the two girls sit right in front of my (the teacher's) table, I waited to see what they would do.  The other students in the class were still reading, so, I thought to myself, watching these two girls, were they going to goof off?

No.  One of them, kind of a leader, seemed to suggest to the other that they begin writing the next exercise in their notebooks, an exercise I had not assigned yet.  I was a bit proud that they they would contemplate doing unassigned work, yet I knew their thinking--let's do it now and we can relax later.

(Generally I frown on students working ahead, but not always.)

Things got busy and I forgot about this little mini drama.

Thursday, the next class, I assigned that same writing activity as an in-class assignment.  As the same two girls were sitting in front of me, I noticed and remembered that they had already completed the activity in the previous class.

I wondered what they would do (note that I always make a teacher's mark--in my case a star--at the end of completed notebook assignments, so that I know what is old and what is new.  This action "saved" me twice today when students tried to pass off--consciously or not--old work as newly completed homework.  However, in the case of these students, I had not "starred" their work, because it had not been assigned . . .)

One student glanced at the other, and I saw the message being telepathed: "Let's pretend to do this."

I gently reached out, took one girl's notebook, and remarked, "You're a fast writer!"

(It was about 30 seconds into a writing assignment that should normally take about 5 minutes.)

Inside I was laughing.

I said, "You two have to write the exercise again, but I will give you an extra homework sticker."  (After a certain number of stickers they get to chose a present, either a pencil or an eraser.)

They were pleased, I was pleased (after all, they did do the assignment twice), and I am curious to see if the two girls cook up another scheme.  That's what keeps me on my toes.