In my past work with schools, I’ve asked students to read for 30 minutes daily, including reading a nonfiction news article once a week and working toward their personalized goal once a week. Students also write daily reflections to document their experiences over the course of the year.
I use the following sentence frames to encourage reflection throughout the year. A template for students to copy and paste into their homework is available here.
My favorite thing about today was _____.
The most important thing I learned today was _____.
The thing I was most thankful for today was _____.
The book I read today was _____.
Each month, students review their reflections and write about the most important events in their Monthly Reflections, which they post on their digital portfolios.