Are you looking for a creative way for students to reflect on the school year?
Decide on five or six questions that you want students (and yourself) to reflect on. Print each question on a different colour of paper. (Depending on how many students in your class, you may have 3 or 4 of each colour–enough for every student to begin with one page.)
- Give each student (and yourself) one of the pages with a reflection question. Everyone reads the question on their page and writes a short reflection. (There is no need to sign names.)
- Once everyone has responded to the first question, they crumple their page and throw it across the room.
- Then everyone finds a ‘snowball’ of a different colour than their first. They read the question and the first person’s response, before adding their own.
- Again, everyone crumples the page and throws it across the room.
- Each person finds a ‘snowball’ of another colour and adds their reflection to the page. (Repeat the process until everyone has written a response on each of the colours.)
- Once everyone has reflected on every question, take the time to discuss observations and surprises about their peers’ responses.
Note: Be sure to save the ‘snowballs’ so you can read them all yourself afterwards. Answers are often quite candid because the process is anonymous.
Possible reflection questions:
- What did you learn about yourself as a learner?
- What did you accomplish this year that you are most proud of?
- How did you surprise yourself this year?
- Which memory from our class do you think you will remember forever?
- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?
- What advice would you give someone entering grade _____ next year?
- What was your favourite part of the day in our class? Why?
- Of the books you read this year, which was your favourite? Why?
- What did you do this year that you’ve never done before?
- What will you miss most about grade ____ ? Why?