In the phenomenological study from which this theoretical article derives, 18 middle school teachers were asked to describe moments when they recognized and responded to a student who did not understand something during an instructional activity. Based on his data analysis, the author identified an essential meaning structure and 10 patterns of meaning that describe the structure. In this article the author explicates the essential meaning structure, highlights the patterns of meaning which were identified, and then illuminates one of the four patterns of meaning specifically related to recognition - perceiving body language. In doing so, the author could then reflect theoretically and practically on this aspect.