Reflection and Oh, we really get it!

Over the past week, we have been reviewing work and revisiting what we did and how we did it. The Learning Targets on the board right now have helped the kids keep in mind that this school year has been chock full of academics and social growth. The two say," I can end the school year with the same attention and responsibilities towards class protocols as when I started this year." and " I can accurately reflect upon my work and behavior and explain how I performed." Of course we unpacked these statements to make sure they all know exactly what they mean.
Today we used what is called the Socratic Seminar Rubric to use as the process for discussing the observations they made on Sept. 4 and June 4 of the community area on the south part of our grounds. They all presented to each other in small groups what they had noticed. As participants in the method, certain criteria is evaluated. Participants show respect, are active listeners, stay focused, cite specific references to the text, give input and ask for clarification. This rubric was designed by Kathleen McHugh and is a terrific tool. We came together and after each group assessed themselves and...
the best part of this day was when I pulled up an anchor chart we had created from share outs and debriefing on Narrative Writing and the kids realized, "Hey, we have been doing the Socratic Method all year!" We started the process in our Writer's Workshops in September with Questions, Comments, and Compliments. These brought forth their skills in listening and revising, taking constructive criticism with their writing. They learned to respect each and value each other from day one.
Their communication with each other is very productive and empathic and so their academics have been strong.

So, now they have a name for what we have been doing all year and also know that Socrates's idea was so good that it lives on over 2300 years later. I didn't tell them the end of his story for thinking...next year.:)