Halo

Between classes I see Leandro and one of my Yasmins walking through the hall, and I say, "What are you troublemakers doing?" They are not troublemakers at all. Leandro is holding a pass.

Yasmin smiles at me. Leandro says, "Don't you see my--" and he gestures to his head.

"Your halo?"

"My halo. There is my halo, and there is the little angel on my shoulder."

"Halo!" says Yasmin. "Is that what it's called? So that's why the Beyonce song--'Halo'. That's what she's talking about when she says 'I can feel your halo.'" Yasmin is so excited to have figured this out, made this connection.

The song barely makes sense if you do know what a halo is. But this is how to teach vocabulary: link it in with student interests, with relevant vocabulary in their lives. I wish it could always be like that.

(Lyrics here if you've managed to avoid the song and don't want to watch the video linked above.)