Learn to Think About Your Own Learning

Reflecting means thinking about what you did. When you finish drawing a picture, you can ask yourself "What did I do well?" This helps you understand your learning better.

You can reflect by asking yourself simple questions. "How did I do today?" or "What helped me learn?" These questions help you think about your thinking.

A goal is something you want to learn or do. You can set goals by deciding what you want to learn next. Maybe you want to learn five new shapes or tie your shoes better.

You can use charts or stickers to track your goals. When you reach your goal, you feel proud of your learning!

Monitoring means watching over your own learning. You can ask yourself "Do I understand this story?" while you read. This helps you know if you need more help.

When you check your own understanding, you become a stronger learner. You learn to notice when something is hard for you.

Reflecting: Thinking about what you learned and how you did it. You look back at your work and think about what went well.

Goal: Something you want to learn or do. You make a plan to reach your goal.

Monitoring: Watching over your own learning. You check if you understand what you are learning.

Planning: Deciding what you want to learn next. You think about the steps you need to take.

Setting targets: Making specific goals for what you want to learn. You decide exactly what you want to accomplish.

Metacognition: Thinking about your own thinking. You notice how your brain works when you learn.

You can practice these skills every day. After you finish a puzzle, ask yourself what you learned. When you want to learn something new, make a goal and plan how to reach it.

Try using a star chart to track your progress. Each time you practice something, add a sticker. This helps you see how you are growing as a learner.

These metacognitive strategies connect to many other learning skills. You will use Predicting and Using Prior Knowledge when you think about what you already know before learning something new.

You will also practice Ask Questions For A Variety Of Purposes and Asking Questions About Text Details to help you monitor your understanding while reading.

As you grow as a learner, you will move on to Metacognitive strategies talking and thinking and Reflecting On Learning Comprehension to think even more deeply about your learning.

You are ready to start learning these thinking skills right now! These strategies will help you with all your learning, from reading to math to art projects.