A Tough Lesson Learned

We had one of those 'turning point' experiences during a lesson yesterday. Alex's assignment was to write a book report for his quarterly test. He chose to read The Emperor's New Clothes. Alex has always been a good reader, so reading the story was not a problem. The hard part was trying to summarize the story. It took him over two hours to write the book report. We both were frustrated during the process. I may have been too hard on him. He did cry. When I realized that I was not being a good motivator, I had to change my tact. I told him that it was my fault that it was difficult for him. I should have shown him some of the 'tricks' to write a good summary. One of the tricks to writing a summary is that it is okay to write something that only you got out of the story. His attitude changed, and he ended up finishing the book report in less than 15 minutes.

Here is an excerpt from his summary (take into account he's 6y):

The emperor is rich. The swindlers wanted his money so they weaved him invisible clothes. Luckily, a child said hey you have no clothes on! Yes, I liked the story! It teaches you some lessons...#1 - Not to care only about yourself but other people too. #2 - Not to be afraid to tell the truth!