Reflective Journal Rubric—Elementary

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Reflection

I write about what I am learning from an experience by explaining how the new learning connects to what I knew and believed before, how my thoughts have changed, what questions I still have, and what is important about what I have learned.

I write in concrete language about what I am learning from my experiences.

I have difficulty writing about what I am learning from my experiences.

I do not write about what I learn from my experiences.

Metacognition

I thoroughly explain my working and thinking processes and analyze what went well and what I could do differently and better.

I explain my working and thinking processes and write about how I could improve them.

I describe my processes in vague language, and sometimes think about how I could improve them.

I do not describe my processes or think about how I could improve them.

Exploration

I can explore many different ideas in my writing without worrying about which ones are good.

I can explore different ideas in my writing.

With help, I can explore some ideas in writing.

I do not explore ideas in writing.

Goal-Setting

I carefully analyze the reflections in my journal to set goals for future learning.

I use my journal entries to set goals for the future.

Sometimes I use my journal to set goals for future learning.

I rarely use my journal to set learning goals for myself.

Monitoring Progress

I use my journal to check on how well I am progressing toward my goals and to change them if I need to.

I use my journal to check on how I am doing at achieving my learning goals.

Sometimes I use my journal to check on my goals, but sometimes I forget all about them.

I rarely check my journal to see how I am progressing on my goals.

Conventions

I write so that I can read and understand what I have written, and if someone else is going to read my journal, I follow the conventions so the audience can understand it.

I usually write so that I and others can read and understand what I have written.

I try to write so I and others can read what I have written, but sometimes I cannot figure out what I was trying to say.

I often cannot figure out what I was trying to say in my journal.