As I promised in my last post, I want to identify for teachers what I consider the most significant time-related strategy to use with children in the classroom in these days of the “hurried curriculum.” We’re so busy doing one thing after another to accomplish all the lessons and assessments that must fit in the academic day that we often feel we don’t have time for this critical activity. What is it? Allowing time at the end of instructional periods, but most especially at the end of the school day, to teach and practice with our students the skill of reflecting about their learning on their own, with each other, and with the teacher.

It’s in this early-stage intellectual pondering that students learn to carefully consider what they’re learning, what they value about it, what more they want to learn, what they need to practice more, and how they can help each other. It’s also in these moments that teachers can actually find out how their instruction has impacted their young learners. It is, in many ways, the most authentic assessment tool the teacher can use, and it’s available for the price of thoughtful and deep listening.

As you start back with your class in January, you might want to pick one lesson period to end 10 minutes early so you can circle the kids up and ask them some engaging questions about how the lesson went for them:

• Who learned a new word this period? What was it? What does it mean? How did you find out?
• What was something you thought about this period that made you want to look something up or ask me a question? What’s the question?
• How do you think we worked as a class during this period? Is there something we could do better tomorrow? What?
• Does anyone have an idea for a project we might use to show what we’re learning in this lesson?

In my book Time to Teach, Time to Learn, I identified this reflection strategy as “make time for closure” (Ch. 9, pages 250-251) and suggested that time for individual children and the classroom community would change dramatically if teachers shut things down 10 to 15 minutes before dismissal, cleaned up early, got all the notices passed out and coats and backpacks gathered and children in the circle on the rug. Then there would be time, whether with kindergartners or sixth graders, to assess how the day had gone, what had been the best part of the day for some students to share about, what had been difficult for the class, and how we could fix that in the morning. Perhaps a reminder about homework, or a quick spelling list practice, or a song to end the day. Closure, respect for who we are as a community of learners. These 15 minutes will probably mean more than whatever we usually try to cram into the last instructional period.

And parents . . . we can do this too, for sure, at bedtime, allowing time to listen and ask just a few questions about the day so we can learn the joys and challenges of our precious ones, not so much to give advice, but to acknowledge that we hear and support and love them as they experience their schooling and friendships and the ups and downs of growing up.

Reflection. A worthy New Year’s resolution.