Emoticon Magic

Anyone recognize these guys?

I am sure you all do! We use these faces to convey meanings when we are using informal communication. We use it to show our sarcasm and humor in blogs and emails. It is a form of body language that we have learned to appreciate as our virtual worlds merge with our realities. I use these guys in my classroom!

These three peeps are my buddies and they do so much work for me! I have my students choose a face to put on the right hand corner of the pre- and post-tests. They can also include this on any homework assignment. The smiley guy means - easy peasy, I mastered this in Kindergarten! The middle guy says - I am figuring it out but I am doing okay. And my last friend says "whatcha be talkin' about Willis?" These faces are an extremely simplistic way for my students to take ownership of their learning and to convey to me their thoughts on what they are learning. It is a great reflection tool!

For example, if a student completes a unit exam and puts a sad face in the corner but got an A on the exam, it tells me the student is a great guesser, cheated (hopefully that is not the case but is a possibility), or has little to no confidence with the materials. Knowing my student will allow me to guess which one it is and decide if and where we need to work on things. If this same student did not pass the exam and has a sad face, I know the student may need remedial work to pass this portion of the standardized test later on in the year.

I require all students to use this on exams. Sometimes I request in on a particular assignment or project. They always have the option of adding this to anything if they feel they need to/want to communicate with me. If I need more specific information or they want to tell me something more specific, they can write a note on the back of the page.

What do you do to help your students reflect on their work?