Not for the light of heart or PETA members...

Not that I did anything... it's just my sense of humor.

So the other day I was teaching literacy in fifth grade. The story was about forest fires and how they can be helpful as well as harmful. The first part of the lesson I asked the students to come up with ways that fire can be helpful and harmful. I was pretty impressed with some of the things that they came up with. I did have to explain about the burning down to build up the soil to them, but they caught on pretty quickly.

Then we gathered in the back to begin reading the story. I was having the students volunteer to read aloud to the group, stopping at the end of each paragraph to discuss new vocabulary words, or the thinking behind the story. Then we reached this one particular paragraph.

It started out pretty well explaining how fires seem almost alive in their thirst for air, and hungrily eating through acres of forests. It told of the forest animals and how the fastest ones were able to escape and the slower ones unfortunately perished. Then it started to talk about the rabbits.

Unfortunately for the rabbits, they can actually help the spread of the forest fires. The rabbits seem to... um... catch on fire... and then...um... bolt around through the forest spreading the fires further and further.

The end of the paragraph.

Silence.

I bust out laughing.

Then the boys bust out laughing.

Then one of the girls looks teary eyed. She is really upset.

The boys are laughing harder. The girl is begging them to stop.

I finally get myself under control and ask the boys to settle down as well. I explain to them that we really should NOT be laughing... it is kinda disturbing if you think about it.

I was able to regain control and move on.... but even now I am still lol about it!!!