Playing Literary Detectives
Each child in Netaiyah Smith’s class of 3rd and 4th graders is listening intently to her read Scooby Doo and the Sinister Sorcerer by James Gelsey. The kids had previously made a prediction about who the wizard was in the story. These little detectives were listening for clues that they were correct.
After finishing the chapter, Ms. Smith stops and asks, “What do you all think about your predictions?” Almost in unison and with a squeal of delight, the kids said, “Our prediction was wrong!” “Predictions don’t always have to be right,” one youth announced. The children hurriedly started making new predictions with the new information presented in the chapter.
Ms. Smith’s class is one of the groups participating in our spring break camp. During breaks in school, our parents need safe and enriching places to take their kids. We offer spring break and summer camp programs as a way to close the opportunity gap for the children we serve.
This year, both summer and spring break camps’ focus is literacy. Our teachers have created lessons to bring the books to life for the kids. In Ms. Smith’s class, the kids also played bingo using the storyline of the book to assess comprehension and created a how-to guide on living in today’s world for the wizard in the book who was asleep for over 100 years.
Watching our kids enjoy making predictions about this story was a learning experience for me. They were searching for clues and weren’t discouraged by making the wrong prediction. It made me reflect on the fact that making mistakes or being wrong can sometimes be the greatest teacher. At their tender age, our kids are learning this valuable lesson.