My fifth graders are Latino. I'm always impressed by what they know, what they don't know and what 1 them up.
St. Patrick s Day approaching, I want them to have a 2 about it. What is St. Patrick's Day about?" I ask.
A voice blurts, "The ones who 3 over cans."
"What?" I question.
A girl 4 him. "Maybe he means the 'duendes'," she says, 5gnomes (地精） in Spanish folktale. "Like 'leprechauns' in English! 'Lep' equals ' leap','re' equals 'over' and 'chauns' equal ' cans.'" She is cautious and protective in her 6 But I have to laugh. Leap-over-cans, It's a 7. These kids make me laugh a lot.
I 8myself and continue. "Right, leprechauns are fairies the 9believe in. You made a correct 10 about Ireland, ''
I tell them St. Patrick was a kid, 11 older than they are. He was kidnapped to Ireland and made to watch sheep for six years, all 12 in the middle of nowhere. He 13 a lot, not much else to do.
The kids are totally 14 ， big-eyed.
"He decided to escape. He walked about 200 miles and 15 a captain of a boat to bring him back to England. More 16, he went back to Ireland later and converted the Irish people into Christianity. 17 that，he's called a saint."
A hand 18up. I figure here's a critical-thinking question. So I 19.
"St. Patrick left the sheep all alone. What happened to them?"
How am I 20 to know? Class moments like this are what keep teachers going.
