"Good evening, everybody!" said the teacher, Donna. "Where is everybody?" That was her daily quip. With summer school in session—only eight weeks long—class attendance was always sparse at the start, gradually filling up as the minutes passed.
"I don't know, teacher. Maybe they late or no come," said one student. "Maybe watching TV football tonight."
"Is there a soccer game tonight? It seems like there's one every night. Oh, well. Let's get started. We're on page 36, studying participles as adjectives. Students often find present and past participles confusing, so we'll practice extensively. Tonight, we focus on the present participle.
"The present participle describes the emotion or feeling the subject causes. For example, 'Grammar is boring' means grammar causes boredom. 'The movie is interesting' means it causes interest. 'The roller coaster is exciting' means it causes excitement. Any questions? Am I confusing you? Is everyone confused?"
The classroom fell silent. Donna saw their blank, confused expressions. She knew understanding would take time. Eventually, the quicker learners would grasp the concept and help their peers. By the end of the session, she hoped most would feel comfortable using the present participle.
Donna erased the board and wrote new examples. She loved guiding her class through challenging topics like this, feeling a thrill each time a look of understanding dawned on a student's face.