Amazing 5th Graders

5th graders amaze me.

It’s amazing that they to plug in their laptops when they are low on battery, without me reminding them.

It’s amazing that they can take an outline that they wrote from their research and turn it into a cohesive paragraph.

It’s amazing that the one student who never remembers anything remembered to grab his sweatshirt from the playground on his own.

It’s amazing that kneeling on a chair is a comfortable way for one student to work.

It’s amazing that simply pulling two tables apart makes them a lot more interesting, and more widely used, than when they were pushed together.

It’s amazing that when it’s independent reading, everyone gets a book and reads without interruption.

It’s amazing that they don’t know the keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste, but when I show them, they never forget it again.

It’s amazing that they do their math homework every night, even if I don’t check it every day.

It’s amazing that they like listening to me read aloud to them, whether its a chapter book or a picture book.

It’s amazing that a small group of students can spend 30 minutes arguing about three math problems.

It’s amazing that they can talk about flirting, knock-knock jokes, and arm wrestling all within one lunch period.

It’s amazing that they can recognize the theme from a simple picture book.

It’s amazing that they can multiply and divide decimals.

It’s amazing that they can analyze primary source documents.

It’s amazing that I get to work with 10- and 11-year-olds every day. 🙂