A BIG OLD FISH

Imagination is alive and well in Miss Moyer’s third grade classroom. 

Call me pushy, I didn’t wait for an invitation before stopping by for a visit one morning last week. The class was fully engaged.  





Students were hanging on the words of their teacher as she read portions of a fabulous picture book called Jangles by David Shannon.  The story was delivered with great animation, Miss Moyer offering small snippets of the tale and reading each section twice.  The students were left to imagine the pictures which might accompany the author’s vivid description and they were writing furiously as they chose key words from the book.

During this movie-themed section of learning, popcorn kernel-shaped stationary is apparently required.  While listening intently, the boys and girls placed words and phrases that “popped out” at them onto these shapes.  Some students were verbose with their kernels while others kept it simple. As the story neared its end, the stash of paper printed with extra kernels grew shorter and shorter.  Eager students were adding words so feverishly; it became necessary for them to jump up and race to the front of the room to retrieve a fresh page.  Who was going to get the last piece of popcorn?!  This is something I wonder when sharing a buttery bucket with my husband at the theater as well.

Miss Lizzy, an industrious student, was regarded as “popcorn crazy” filling SO many kernels with words, her pencil could barely keep up!  

When each “listening” part of the exercise was done, tiny scissors flew as the kernels were snipped and attached to waiting composition journals.  I’ve always disliked those little scissors, probably because I have vivid memories of my kindergarten teacher chastising the boys for taking flight in the classroom while holding them aloft.  “BOYS!  You’re going to put your eye out and your mother will blame me!” I never did like conflict.... Rest assured, there was no running with scissors in Miss Moyer’s third grade while I was present.

Josh carefully cutting out his kernels.

Each child hears a story differently during a visualizing comprehension activity.  As the students began adding their own pictures based on the words they’ve placed on the popcorn, this became increasingly evident. 

The students would get to see the real illustrations at the very end of the activity and most could barely stand to WAIT for the big reveal.

Jacob’s journal was as though underwater and I suspect Jacob’s fingertips are permanently blue from the serious magic marker work he did to make it so. 

Michael’s journal entries were colorful, his kernels marvelously detailed. 

The book is about a big old fish but as soon as the word decorations was tossed out there, Morgan and Hasel’s minds went directly to Christmas trees. It apparently doesn’t matter that it is October; these two are just like the department stores, getting a jumpstart on the holiday.…

Abigail was focused and methodical while dear above-mentioned Lizzy was so busy writing and organizing the abundance of kernels she'd collected, she didn't crack open her journal the whole time I wandered around the desks!

I freely admit- phrases like “big old jaw”, “flipping fishes” and “dragging whole turkeys around the lake” sparked my own imagination.  

My affinity for words caused me to wish (not for the first time) that I, too, could be a student in Penn View’s third grade. What a book! The author’s description of what could only be a smelly old tackle box was made to sound like such a magical treasure-trove; I suddenly felt a longing for some fishing supplies of my own.  There is nothing like good writing and a creative teacher to get the imaginative juices flowing.

Markers down!  Popcorn kernels in place! And smiles wide.

More than 45 years after my brain was permanently etched with the traumatizing scissor reprimand, it is lovely to find that learning has gotten to be such a lot of fun.