The Power of a Good Reflection Prompt [Primary Project]

As I was musing over how K-2 kids come to understand what makes a unit, using the new and novel context of percussive dance patterns, the first and second graders at my second school were reflecting on it too. But, since we had last Monday off from school, I didn't get their reflection sheets until yesterday.

Overall, I am very happy with the reflection prompts I've created. They are doing exactly what I hoped they would do: helping kids settle into the idea of dance pattern units.  And, in addition to watching their moving bodies and listening to them speak in the moment about what they're doing, the sheets are providing me with a comprehensive view of what kids are thinking and understanding about the dance work. Take a look!

This one shows an understanding of the space, the movements we do in that space, and how they are sequenced.

Notice the arrows. Steps get down arrows, jumps get up arrows. Also, notice the chart he created to organize the sequence of events.  Plus, of course, the cool words!

 What I love about this one is that the kid in the picture has her hands raised! How exciting! And, this child was able to remember all the permutations of Jumps and Steps we made that day -- back in the classroom, from memory.

I'm glad they had fun. :-)

"Down jump" is a special term I use when I teach, grown ups and kids alike. It means that we're jumping up just enough to come down again on the beat. I love that the kid here remembered the term. I also love the leg articulations in the drawing. 

This child has created two different representations for "low" and "high" movements. This is not something I said anything about (except for the clarification of the "down jump".)

In case you're not fluent in 2nd grade spelling the writing reads: Jumping + stepping, low jumps, fun work out, movement pattern(s).

Requiring a written reflection may seem obvious, but you really do have to find the right prompt, which is why I'm really pleased with the responses I'm getting. Since the reflection prompts are fairly open ended I am also very excited and amused by all the different ways the kids are representing their understanding.