Situation 1:

Teacher: And here’s a picture of a chunk of iceberg. In this picture, you can see two parts—the iceberg sticking out of the water and the iceberg submerged in the water. Do you see how the iceberg UNDER the water is huge compared to the iceberg jutting out of the water?

Student: Mister, why is the ice floating?

Teacher: …Um, because ice floats.

Situation 2:

Teacher: Now look at this part of the poem: “Avoid any enclosed space where more than three people are wearing turtlenecks. Beware any snow-covered chalet with deer tracks across the muffled tennis courts.” Now, what’s the gist of that? What is the author trying to say?

Student: That we should avoid women.

Teacher: Huh? Why women?

Student: Because women wear turtlenecks.

Teacher: Nooo..not quite. Okay, what about the muffled tennis courts part? What type of people play tennis?

Student 2: Koreans.

Situation 3:

Teacher: I want you to complete this sentence: Writing is like _______. I’ll give you 5 minutes and then I’ll ask everyone to share their best simile.

Student: Writing is like a gallon of milk.

Teacher: Hmmm..very interesting comparison there.