One day in the middle of the school week, teacher Tatiana Ivanovna entered class 2B, asked for silence, and made an announcement to the students.
Kids, today the school won't have bells because something's broken. So you need to sit at your desks, and I'll start the lesson. Today we'll be drawing, and then we'll discuss the work together,
Said the teacher of class 2B.
The children hummed approvingly—they loved drawing and discussing work.
Tatiana Ivanovna asked the students to pay attention and follow instructions precisely. She pulled a large alarm clock from her bag and placed it on the desk. The clock face had large numbers clearly visible, along with hour and minute hands.
Draw the school yard, and don't forget to watch the clock hands. In three quarters of an hour, you'll hand in your drawings, and then I'll tell you what we'll do next. The teacher sat at her desk and began filling in the register, while the students were somewhat puzzled by her words.
Three quarters of an hour! How much is that?
Lena quietly asked Katya, who sat with her at the same desk.
I think it's three or four minutes, probably. I'm not exactly sure.
Katya whispered back and turned to Pete.
Can you tell me, please, what is three quarters of an hour?
We covered quarters in maths class. Tatiana Ivanovna explained how to find a quarter of a number. You have to divide the number by four. But how can you divide one by four? Would that be four hours?
Vasya joined the conversation:
No, there are sixty minutes in an hour, so you need to divide sixty by four. I solved a problem yesterday and remembered how many minutes are in an hour.
So we need to divide sixty by four? But we haven't learned how to divide numbers like that yet!
I found it!
Katya said happily. While the children were talking, she'd been flipping through her maths textbook. She spoke so loudly that even the teacher looked up from the register and shook her head disapprovingly.
A quarter of an hour is fifteen minutes.
The other students came to the same conclusion, and now the kids worked out how many minutes were in three quarters of an hour.
The children's conversation didn't end—they discussed the alarm clock and the hands, trying to figure out which one was the minute hand, before finally getting down to the task. The children drew the school yard, watched the clock hands, and made sure to hand in their work to Tatiana Ivanovna on time.
The students of class 2B handed in their work on time, and the teacher sent them out for break, then began hanging the drawings on the display board. After resting for a few minutes, the kids returned to class, sat down at their desks, and prepared to discuss the work.
Tatiana Ivanovna asked the students to choose the most beautiful drawing, and the children began carefully examining the pictures. Each one thought to themselves that their work was the best and most worthy, so they stayed silent, and it was impossible to choose the best drawing.
After a long silence, Lena raised her hand and said:
I like the drawing coloured with bright colours, and she pointed to one of the works on the board.
Tatiana Ivanovna nodded, accepting her decision, because she really liked it when students explained their choice.
And I liked that drawing over there, the one with the tall tree and you can see the edge of the house.
Pete made his choice.
The tree is lonely and very beautiful.
Even Alyosha, who usually stayed quiet and rarely spoke, said he liked the work in the lower left part of the board.
Tatiana Ivanovna really wanted to encourage Alyosha and asked:
Why?
And he answered again, saying that the drawing had rubbish bins. All the kids in the class started laughing, but the teacher didn't laugh. Instead, she began carefully examining the other drawings.
That's right! Except for Katya, none of you drew the rubbish bins that are in the school yard. Why?
Tatiana Ivanovna asked the children.
They're not pretty!
Lena said, wrinkling her face.
That's not true!
Katya objected quietly.
The bins are actually very attractive, new, bright, and different colours. And thanks to them, the school yard is clean.
The class became noisy, and the students began arguing about whether the rubbish bins should have been drawn. They agreed that the drawing without them was inaccurate and contradicted themselves by saying that rubbish wasn't a suitable subject for a drawing.
Tatiana Ivanovna gave the children time to discuss the situation and even allowed those who needed to leave the classroom for a moment to do so.
Do you know, kids, that there are special rubbish bins in the school yard for separate waste collection?
With these words, the teacher seated the children when they'd calmed down a bit.
They have symbols on them so you can tell what rubbish can go in each one. One collects food waste, which will later be turned into fertiliser for plants. In another bin, they put paper and cardboard boxes, which are sent for recycling to make new paper products.
A bit further away is a bin for collecting plastic items and bags, and another bin for tin cans. Tatiana Ivanovna explained to the students that separately collected waste isn't just rubbish—it's secondary raw material—and told them to write down the information in their notebooks.
The teacher took all the drawings off the board, leaving only Katya's work. The children wrote in their Russian language notebooks: "Separately collected waste isn't rubbish—it's secondary raw material, from which useful goods are made".
Summing up the lessons, Tatiana Ivanovna opened the register and asked the children a question:
What did you learn in maths class today and what did you master?
We learned that a quarter of an hour is fifteen minutes,
Pete answered, and the teacher approved his response.
Then the other children remembered that in maths class they'd learned how to tell the time on mechanical clocks and would never forget that there are exactly sixty minutes in an hour. They'd also worked out how to divide sixty by four without knowing the long division method and learned how to find three quarters of a number without the teacher's help.
Tatiana Ivanovna was pleased with the students' answers and gave everyone a five in maths and in Russian language as well, because all the children except Kolya wrote down the dictated sentence without mistakes.
Kolya didn't finish writing two words, so he didn't get a mark in Russian language. The teacher marked everyone as excellent for the drawing lesson. In environmental studies, only Katya got a five, and all the children agreed this was fair. After all, if it hadn't been for Katya, they wouldn't have found out soon that separately collected waste isn't rubbish—it's secondary raw material.
