From Morning Meeting to Dismissal our school days are packed with important learning and some days it all seems like a race. Taking the time to slow down and reflect on the day is often placed on the back burner and it is only as our head hits the pillow that we start thinking about the day and ‘fixing’ for tomorrow. Sound familiar?? Today I wanted to share with you a school-wide initiative that helps build intention and reflection into our days – as teachers and as students.
Why Reflection?
Our school is a Leader in Me school and we actively work to engage students in reflecting on their learning. Reflections allows for mega-cognition of learning, greater retention of learning, and provides accountability for choices. Each afternoon, our school has a 10-15 minute block of reflection built into our afternoon schedule. As a Leader in Me school, we use Stephen Covey’s terminology of “Plus and Delta” reflection. A Plus is something that went really well or something we are proud of. A Delta is not necessarily a negative, rather it is something we want to change in the future.
What does it look like in the classroom?
In 1st grade, we meet on the carpet and as a class brainstorm some plus/deltas for the day. As a class, we do talk about the idea that not every plus and not every delta are a ‘good fit’ for every friend. While indoor recess might be a Plus for Jane, it might be a Delta for Josh. It’s all about perspective!
At the beginning of the year, students pick one plus and delta from each column and record it on their own logs. Towards October, we still brainstorm together but students are more comfortable writing highs and lows specific to them. At this point in the year, students are expected to write in a complete sentence.
In this picture, you see my 1st graders 5 days into the school year. In August, it takes about 25-30 minutes for Plus/Delta to happen (and it is PAINFUL). Before launching, we spend the first half week of school just doing whole-group reflection. Then, the Monday of the first full week, I introduce the actual reflection sheets. Honestly, the first week takes many deep breaths and positive affirmations. Slowly, it does get better as students become better readers and writers. #havefaith
This year, I have an up-and-moving group, so we love doing our Plus/Delta standing, laying on the flooring, and perching on classroom furniture. My group last year loved sitting on their desks. Regardless of where students reflect, I do expect for reflection to be done at a Zero Voice Level, giving every one a chance to think about their day.
After students have completed their reflection, they check their color on the Clip Chart and bring their reflection sheet to me. While students are writing and before students bring me their reflection sheets, I have at least 3-4 minutes to write positive notes home. Building this routine into my day keeps me accountable and means so much to my friends. They love seeing who gets a note in his/her folder! (You can snag these positive notes for free here.)
Checking reflection sheets is such a sweet time because I have the chance to check-in with every student, write a note of praise or a reminder on the reflection sheet, and see what were the best parts of our day. It’s been enlightening to see what my 1st graders remember from the day and consider the deltas of their days. (Note – this reflection sheet was from the beginning of the year, hence the one-word reflections.)
After I’ve checked the Plus and Delta sheet, students place their reflection sheet in home folders. When students arrive home, this reflection sheet gives families a solid conversation starter and an easy way to see any notes I may have written. This is a simple form of constant communication and at the end of week, the reflection sheets are hole-punched and go in our Leadership Binders.
Reading & Math Reflection
While end-of-day reflection is important, building opportunities for reflection into our learning blocks is also really important. At the very end of our Daily 5 block and our Guided Math, we do Plus/Delta for the day. This gives me the chance to quickly reflect with every student and plan with students who struggle. I give students the plus and delta sentence stems (Plus – Today I learned… Delta = Tomorrow I need to…). Students are welcome to deviate, but it allows students to complete the Plus/Delta independently. Honestly, we do this process *quickly* and quietly. As soon as students finish, students grab their snack and gather on the carpet for a read-aloud. All-in-all, reflection in the early weeks (Weeks 1-4) takes 7-8 minutes. Once we become faster at it, we can streamline the process into 4-5 minutes. Boom!
Implementing Reflection in Your Classroom
Reflection time (end-of-day and learning) is the perfect way to celebrate success and make a game-plan for tomorrow’s learning. It helps focus our learning and actions, and it provides a great at-home conversation starter. If you are implementing reflection with the start of a new year, here are my tips –
- Model, Model, Model – Take the first week and model exactly what you expect. During these first days, do not have students write their reflections. Do the reflections whole-group and then, have students share their own plus and deltas with a partner.
- Have a Plan for Managing the Paper – At the end of the week, what will students do with the reflection sheets? Have a plan and prepare accordingly. We keep our reflection sheets in our Leadership Binders (so we can reference them at other times in the year), so when I print them I know to go ahead and hole punch them. This makes the end of the week easy because the papers are ready to slip into the binder rings!
- Building in Reflection Time – Those first few days when students are writing their reflections, it does take a chunk of dedicated time. IT DOES GET BETTER. Take some deep breaths and have a Diet Coke ready. Toward the beginning of the year, reflection took about 25-30 minutes for everyone to finish. Now (in January) it takes us 8-10ish minutes for everyone to finish.
- Notice Patterns – One of the benefits of doing daily reflection is the opportunity for me to ‘see’ what students think about our days. If I’m paying close attention, I can see patterns among students and their thinking. I know that my friends HATE missing a math center and it really concerns them when a friend is absent. Afternoon RtI is something we look forward to (which I would *never* guess without these plus/deltas) and this group of friends would choose Indoor Recess over Outdoor Recess every day of the week.
So friends, do you implement end-of-day reflection in your classroom? If so, do you find it worthwhile or have any tips for making it run smoothly? If you don’t do an end-of-the-day reflection, what are your questions and hesitations? I’d love to hear from you!
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Wow!!! I love this idea!! I am going to focus on implementing this in my half day kindergarten classroom when we return in January. As a parent of a preschooler, one thing I treasure is the message board the teacher uses to describe their day. This gives me the perfect place to start a conversation about my daughter's school day. I've been trying to figure out a way to incorporate this in my classroom to help parents feel included in our day. Thanks for the thorough explanation!!!
I love this idea. Since this is school wide, I was wondering what it looks like in the upper grades? Does everyone use the same reflection sheet?
Everyone has a reflection time, but the reflection sheet is grade dependent. The upper-grades include any 'conduct marks' they might has received and then subject-specific plus and deltas.
Looks great. We are a Leader in Me school as well and I love how you implement it so easily into your day. Thank you for sharing your great ideas.
One of my favorite posts!!! So many great ideas…brainstorming and thinking where and how to get started.
Kelly
http://www.learningintwolanguages.com
I saw your post on instagram about this and I loved it! Started using it the very next week with my 1st graders! It's a great way to end the day and give them something to think about for the next day. I also love seeing what's important in their eyes! My favorite "deltas" so far were that I didn't give them long enough to write in their Science Notebook and they want more Writer's Workshop time!! Good problems to have…if only I had more time in my day! Thanks!
Jennifer
Love this idea! Going to try it this next year. A couple questions though; Do your parents sign it each night? On Friday do you send it home then put it in their binder when it comes back on Monday?
It looks like on some days you might put a star on smiley face to show that you have seen it – right? Do you always put some mark on it?
Hi Christine! Yes, I do check and mark each plus and delta every day. It allows me to see what students consider a great part of their day, as well as, communicate with families! 🙂
I LOVE THIS IDEA! We have about 45 minutes at the end of day and this would be a perfect activity for those last few minutes! I can’t wait to try this.
LOVE + and deltas. My kiddos love it, I love it, my co-teaching team loves them. Thank you for sharing. Such a great reflection tool.
Very inspiring. Thinking about something more digital as I am blessed to be one to one with third graders.