Every few weeks, I give the students this "Weekly Reflection" sheet. It is very simple, contains to no frills or clip art, and is straight to the point. I ask the students to tell me what their strengths and weaknesses for the week are (and why they believe that to be true). This gives me a little insight into what the students hold as a measure for success.I then I ask them to reflect upon their behavior. Even for the kids who were "perfect" in their own mind, I ask them to tell me what they could do to be even better. And, for the most part, they always come up with something!
The playground reflections have really helped me to gauge who is friends with whom, who might not have any friends (and then work on remediating that) and to see if anything that needs my attention is going on that the kids didn't necessarily want to tell me about verbally. I have been able to solve many an issue because of the information the students give me on this section. (sorry, no picture of that part :) )
All in all, I really like the insight they are giving me into how my students think. They have helped me to tailor my instruction a bit better, keeping in mind interpersonal relationships, as well as the students' own perceived strengths and weaknesses. So far, I am happy with the results of this little sheet. You can get a copy of it yourself here.
This is an awesome idea! How insightful and helpful for gauging the "temp" in the classroom and how to adjust instruction and chats based on your results! You always have the best ideas! Thanks for sharing:)
ReplyDelete4th Grade Frolics
This is great! Thank you for sharing. I think this will really help with my 6th graders to start seeing how their behavior and attitude have an impact on their week.
ReplyDeleteLOVE it, Steph! (of course) ;) We do a lot of reflections in class, but not nearly enough about our behaviour. This is something I definitely want to do more of next year. I'd like to get organized enough to add it to a weekly take-home folder of their work - maybe add an academic reflection, too. We'll see ... it's that time monster that always gets me!
ReplyDeleteso, so smart as always! I really should do something like this...especially at this point in the year! I hope you are having a nice weekend Steph :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I have been wanting to include PE behavior (and general behavior when teachers aren't watching over them such as bathroom, lunchroom, etc.) as we are having some bullying problems. I believe they will talk if in this confidential way, and even better being non-verbal for my shy ones! Thank you!
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