What Comes to Mind?

Recently, I was teaching a lesson on syllabication (dividing words into syllables), and I needed to specifically teach about words that end in -le.

In case you were absent the day your fifth grade class learned this lesson, when a word ends in -le, you divide the syllable one letter before the -le. (ap/ple, wrin/kle, thim/ble, etc.)

(I know this is riveting. I bet you didn't sign on today for a lesson in grammar or word analysis, but that's what you get with me. Even over lunch conversation, sometimes. I'm a package deal. My mind is a scrolling SpellCheck.)

Anyway, none of the above listed words would come to my mind when I most needed them. Of all things, the ONLY -le word that would come to my mind was nipple.

I held my dry erase pen and marker in my hand, and I hosted this mental dialogue in my head.

Nipple.

No. Not nipple.

Apple. There we go.

Another example?

Nipple.

No.

Thimble. Good one.

And... Nipple.

NO.

Purple. Whew.

And... Nipple.

NO! Enough with the nipples already!

I managed to pull a few more out of my hat, including triple, twinkle, and nibble. We carefully avoided any audible discussion of a nipple, but only with some careful guidance of my own thoughts.

Good heavens. You'd think a seventh grade boy lives in my head.