Think About Your Learning and Grow Every Day!

When you stop and think about what you just learned, you are reflecting. Reflecting means thinking carefully about what you did, what you understood, and how you felt. You do this in social studies when you think about Canada, communities, and the people around you.

You already know how to ask questions and gather information. Reflecting is the next step it helps you hold onto what you learned and grow as a learner.

When you reflect, your brain holds onto new information more strongly. You can notice what made sense and what felt tricky. This helps you become a stronger, more confident learner every day.

Reflecting also helps you notice your curiosity. If you think, "I want to learn more about this!" that feeling shows you are engaged and thinking deeply about your learning.

There are many great ways to show and think about your learning. You can draw a picture of what you remember, write words in a learning journal, or talk to a friend about what you discovered. You can also tell a parent one thing you learned at the end of the day.

Your teacher might ask you to give a thumbs up, thumbs sideways, or thumbs down to show how well you understood. This is called a quick self-assessment, and it helps both you and your teacher know how your learning is going.

You can also use a "traffic light" green means you understood, yellow means you are not sure, and red means you are confused. These are all helpful reflection tools.

A reflection question asks you to look back at what you just learned. For example, your teacher might ask, "What is one new thing you learned about Canada today?" or "What was the hardest part of today's lesson?"

When you ask yourself, "Did I understand the lesson?" you are checking your own understanding. Noticing what you do not understand is very important it means you should ask a question to find out more, just like you practiced in Asking Questions.

Reflecting: Reflecting means thinking carefully about what you did or felt. When you reflect, you look back at your learning and think about what happened.

Learning: Learning means finding out something new. Every time you discover a new fact or idea, you are learning.

Remembering: Remembering means keeping a fact or idea in your mind. When you write in a journal or tell someone what you learned, you help yourself remember.

Sharing: Sharing means telling others what you know. You can share your learning by talking to a friend, explaining to your class, or telling your family.

Self-assessment: Self-assessment means checking your own understanding. A thumbs up or traffic light signal is a simple self-assessment tool.

Curiosity: Curiosity means wanting to learn more. When you think, "I want to find out more about this," you are being curious.

Prior knowledge: Prior knowledge means what you already knew before a lesson. Connecting new learning to what you already know helps you understand more deeply.

After a social studies lesson, try writing one new thing you learned in a journal. You can also draw and label what you remember from the lesson. These activities help you reflect and remember your learning.

You can also practice sharing your findings with a partner or your class. When you explain something to someone else, you show that you truly understood it. This connects to expressing ideas, which you have already practiced.

You have already learned skills that help you reflect. You practiced making observations and gathering information. These skills help you have something to reflect on after a lesson.

Reflecting also connects to finding answers, understanding evidence, and making choices. When you think about what you learned, you use all of these skills together. You can also connect reflection to different points of view and finding solutions.

Thinking about your learning now will prepare you for bigger skills ahead, like finding information, sharing ideas, and making decisions. You will also be ready for analyzing evidence as you grow as a learner.

Reflection connects to many other important skills. When you practice sequencing events, you think about what happened in order just like you think back on the steps of your learning. When you explore asking about community, you reflect on what you know about the people and places around you.

You also use reflection when you practice making simple decisions, because good decisions come from thinking carefully about what you know. All of these topics work together to help you become a thoughtful, curious learner who keeps growing every day.