One of my favorite parts of the day is when I co-teach 5th grade reading. Part of the model we use calls for flexibility and student-led learning--this incidental learning happens every day when students are learning and exploring on their own. One example of incidental learning occurred when our students were digging into texts about Matter. One student came across new learning on the law of conservation of mass and asked to create an anchor chart. We didn't have a formal lesson plan on this topic for another week, but it opened a window for conversations. The student created her anchor chart and then shared it with her guided reading group. That group then dug into the law of conservation of mass together and taught it to the whole class. This created more conversations, deeper understandings, more engagement, and rich language opportunities.
