Reflection Journals

I heard a lot of talk about reflection journals at Harvard, and Ron Ritchhart refers to them often in Intellectual Character. I talked to some coworkers about ways they use journals, but I quickly realized I was going to have to figure out on my own what worked best for my classroom. We have had the journals since the beginning of the year and have been using them sporadically at best. We have been using them more frequently lately, though, and I can se that the boys are becoming more and more comfortable with the act of reflecting. The first or second day of school I had them choose a throughline to reflect on, and I remember looks of complete confusion. They had no idea what to do. With time, they have become less worried about what they are "supposed" to write and are able to really sit down and put their thoughts on paper. This week they reflected on their understanding of pronouns after a pronoun test and on their strengths and weaknesses as writers after getting back their LWW contrast paragraph. Now my entire attitude toward tests has changed- even though they are summative assessments, I still want there to be formative aspects to them. Last year, I just sent tests home after they were graded and never looked at them again. This year, they are keeping their tests (after they've been sent home for parents to see), and I want them to refer back to this portfolio throughout the year so they can see their progress. I am amazed at how this simple practice of reflecting on their understanding after a test enables me (and them) to have a better gauge of where they are...it's now hard for me to imagine not taking the time for this!

VA Games

I've found that the boys develop a much better understanding of our VA words if I make sure to weave the words into everything we do during that week. I've also gotten some great ideas from other teachers who teach VA. Liz Parks shared a game called "If _____ is the answer, what is the question?" from Harvard. We used this in class the other day-- I had the boys work in groups, and they generated questions for several VA words and wrote them on index cards. We placed the cards around the room, and everyone tried to match up the words with their corresponding questions. They realized that the best questions used specific examples, and I will definitely use this routine again. I have attached several boys' reflections on this routine.

Untitled from Courtney Humphreys on Vimeo.

Pronoun Cafe

We did a cafe yesterday to review before our test on pronouns, and it was maybe the best experience I've had yet with a cafe. The four stations were as follows: 1) Write two sentences with your group- using 1 subject pronoun and 1 object pronoun in each sentence. Label the pronoun with subject/object, singular/plural, and 1st/2nd/3rd person ; 2) Use possessive pronouns to list items you might find in a gym; 3) Use reflexive pronouns to write sentences related to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; 4) Write a sentence using "its" and "it's" correctly and another sentence with "their" and "they're". As I watched the boys, I realized how much joy I get from watching their excitement. They have grasped some really difficult concepts, and I am much more proactive about talking about their understanding of concepts instead of rushing to the next thing. The stoplight cards have been really helpful with this as well as our conversations after a thinking routine or other experience. I have attached video of the cafe itself and of several boys' reflections after-- I asked them to reflect on how their understanding of pronouns has changed.

Pronoun Cafe from Courtney Humphreys on Vimeo.

Untitled from Courtney Humphreys on Vimeo.