I just read the blog Teaching Moments by Will Richardson http://weblogg-ed.com/ and thought, “Wow, he brings up a really great point!” The blog discussed when teachers, need to stop teaching the lessons out of the book and make the lessons about what is really happening in the world at this moment. A lesson that we all should’ve been teaching on Monday and Tuesday was about the election. There could’ve been so many lessons involved – historical elections, race relations, what it means to be republican/democratic, how to decipher between fact and fiction. How many teachers out there used the election in at least one lesson during the previous weeks? And do you plan on continuing this lesson through out the year? 

Will’s blog stated that these teachable moments (see list below) make our students better citizens and I couldn’t agree more. So teachers, next time your students are fascinated with the leak in your ceiling when it rains – stop and do a mini lesson on water or if they see a really unusal bird outside, do some research on it. Don’t be afraid to put your teaching manual down and teach from the heart. You’d be surprised how natuarally the lesson comes to you.

Some teachable moments according to Will Richardson: please feel free to add your own suggestions.