“The title of this book is The Case of the Trashed Courtyard. What is a courtyard?”
I posed the question to the two second grade boys across from me to build vocabulary as well a clear sense of the setting. They were about to start the fifth book in a series with Edwin and Abuelo. They knew the characters, Edwin and Abuelo. They knew this intergenerational pair were detectives so they knew there would be a mystery to solve.
M started out “It’s kinda, it’s kinda…” I watched and waited as he found his words. “They can be in park or in schools” .
“Yes. Andy you L, what do you think a courtyard is? Where might you find one?”
“I agree with M and I think they can be in yards, too.”
“I can see that. But mostly they are an outdoor space where there might be picnic tables and grass and maybe trees. It’s usually in the center of a building. Like our courtyard here at school.”
Both boys shook their heads. “I had one in my old school, too.” M piped up.
L sat there pensive. I wondered what he was thinking. He’s quite smart and has a great vocabulary. I couldn’t figure out where his pensive look was coming from and why.
“So, in this book, Edwin and Abuelo…” I started my introduction.
“Mrs. Sherriff?” L interrupted.
I stopped talking and looked at L. He was clearly out of his pensive moment and ready to share his thinking.
“Mrs. Sherriff, when I was little, I used to mix up a courtyard and a graveyard. My sister taught me that a graveyard is for dead people and courtyard is for alive people.”
M shook his head as if to say, “Yeah, I can see how that can be confusing.”
I mean own daughter used to think the pedestrian crossing sign said pediatrician crossing. Words, certainly, can be confusing.
let's observe 
I can picture this pair. I read with them today too. You painted a picture of their interactions and fun with words.
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Including the ongoing dialogue was the perfect way to capture this moment with your students. I now have a few interesting images in mind–tombstone-laden courtyards and a row of white-jacketed pediatricians crossing the road! lol Great slice!
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Loved the dialogue that put me right in the room with them! Interesting way to distinguish the two words! Great moment.
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Yes! It wasn’t until I had my own kids did I realize the minefield of vocabulary! When we “parked” at the “park” my head seemed to explode trying to explain it all. You captured the thinking of these two kiddos so beautifully.
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I love how honest this student was.
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Thank you for taking us right into a beautiful moment of how brains work – your dialogue and word choices (“M piped up” and “out of his pensive moment”) helped us sit right there with you.
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