Teachers' Note: Please go through the marking key with the students so that they know what they need to achieve and what is expected. Also, I ask my students to complete these questions/activities each week and I mark their work once or twice a term. This helps them to develop their work and for me to assess growth in their analytical, writing and meta-cognitive skills.

This is more suited to lower school English Studies, although it can be adapted to Senior School Studies by asking more specific questions on the implied reader and author, gaps and silences and ideology.

REFLECTION JOURNAL QUESTIONS

Read some humorous responses to some of these questions

Your answers are required to be thoughtful and extended and are to be as different as you can make them from week to week.

Continue the following sentence stems (a) and answer the following questions (b) Each response should be at least 3 lines. Each answer should deal with what you have learnt/studied/viewed/read in English but you may include references to other subject areas when relevant.You need to provide examples as far as possible.

A

  1. This week I learned.........
  2. What I have found difficult about what I have read/viewed/heard this week is.........
  3. My writing and reading skills........(reflect on them and your efforts, areas of strength and weakness providing specific examples)
  4. My listening and speaking skills........(reflect on them and your efforts, areas of strength and weakness providing specific examples)

B

  1. Is what you are currently reading/viewing or studying challenging you in any way? In what way?
  2. What is puzzling you as you are reading at present? (About the author, characters, ideas etc.) What specific questions are being raised by what you are reading?
  3. Can you make any connections between what you are reading/viewing and everyday life, history, situations in the world, any other subject you are studying or your own life?
  4. Write down 3 questions you have for an author of a text you are reading/viewing/studying at present. Explain why you have asked those questions.
  5. What are you learning about yourself from what you are reading/viewing/studying? (Your own values, attitudes and beliefs)