I have no idea how we got here again so quickly! It’s Progress Report time! I was on leave last year and somehow this year feels as though I’m still really trying to get to know my students. Maybe it’s the same every year and I’ve just forgotten but time has really gone quickly. I feel as though every day there’s a new moment of learning for me and I know that my students may be feeling the same way about me and my teaching style.
As we prepare for the Progress Reports to go home, I really think it’s important for students to reflect on their progress so far and to start thinking of at least one area in which to improve. Normally I have students reflect and make notes using paper & pencil but this year, I decided to create a Google Form with questions about each Learning Skill; offering students a few examples of look fors and asking them to justify their responses. I’ve found responses always enlightening. They have also been great sources of conversation as students gain a deeper understanding of what is expected of them in each of the areas.
As educators, we talk a lot about self-regulation but it’s interesting to me that for some of my grade 4s and 5s, this is the first year where they are truly understanding what this term means for them. It’s not about compliance but rather knowing what you need for learning and making sure that you are making choices that align with those needs, so that you can learn optimally. There’s a lot of metacognition involved in self-regulation. How are we modelling this for students as we support them in learning how to self-regulate?
The great thing about Google Forms is that it provides amazing graphs of responses as they submitted their responses. Next week, we will be taking a deeper look at our classroom data and considering what we can work towards collectively as we build our classroom community. Over the coming weeks, students will also think about their own goals based on their responses, their Progress Reports and our Parent-Teacher interviews. 
For some this is an overwhelming time of year and they are nervous about their report cards. I’m really trying to have students think of this time as a check-in and an opportunity to think about what they’ve done well so far and what they will focus on for the next couple of months. I’m also asking them to consider the character that they would like to have and what skills we can work on together, in order to help them achieve that character.
