We’ve all heard of a daily check-in with our students. But what if we did a check out? We need to do a reflection on our school day. The best way to do that is by installing a daily check-out within your classroom. Last year I would Post a daily check in first thing in the morning for my students. This is a way for me to see how my students night was, if they have any questions for me, or just how they are feeling that day. At the end of the day, I would post a daily check out. This check out gave the students a chance to reflect on your day. I was able to identify any concerns about a skill that they learned, how they feel about going home, or any other concerns that happened throughout the day.
Benefits
Some of the benefits of having a daily check-out may be so small that you may not even realize it.
- Feel safe
- Feel heard
- Recognize their emotions within themselves
- Can express how they feel about a topic
- Can inform the teacher if they are worried about something at home or school
- Teachers can connect with students on a deeper level
Making a Daily Check-Out
Creating a daily check out for your students does not have to be really hard. You could have them write on an index card how they’re feeling about a specific topic. You can have them write you a three sentence letter about their day. As long as the students are reflecting on their day you can have a successful daily check out.
I highly recommend that you use the zones of regulation to guide your questions. There’s also regulations can be found on CASEL’s website. You can also target one of the SEL components and relayed the question back to the zones of regulation. Ask the students about the strengths or weaknesses from the day. You can also ask the students to leave any comments that they want to you to know.
Google Forms
If you are looking for ways to keep it super simple and easy, you can also use Google Forms. I created year-long Google Forms for you to use in your classroom immediately. The best part is that it is paperless. All you have to do is assign and GO! Get to know your students on a deeper level and understand what they may be going through.
