Try This: Revisit Your Class Norms with a Journal Prompt

Try this one thing this week: give students a "how is it going?" journal prompt about working together, and let their answers shape a fresh look at your class norms.

Here's why it matters: The honeymoon period doesn't last forever. A few weeks in, the norms you set at the start of the year can fade into the wall. Students are the ones living those norms every day, so they know which ones are working and which ones need a refresh. A private journal prompt gives every student a voice, including the ones who don't speak up in a whole-group conversation yet.

Your first step: Pick one "how is it going?" prompt about working with partners and sharing ideas. Let students think, jot, and talk with a partner they haven't worked with lately, then add or change their ideas. Read their responses for patterns, and bring one or two back to the class as a question: "What should our norms say about this?"

How to run it

1. Post a "how is it going?" prompt. Choose a sentence frame about collaboration (see the ideas below).
2. Give think time. Hand each student a sticky note to jot down their first ideas.
3. Have students find a partner they haven't talked to lately and share their thinking.
4. Send them back to their sticky note to add, clarify, or change anything after hearing another perspective.
5. Collect the sticky notes on journal prompt paper and read them later, looking for patterns. Do several students mention the same thing?
6. Bring one or two themes back to the class (without names) and ask: "What should our norms say about this?" Let students suggest what to keep, revise, or add.

Prompt ideas to try

Bring it to AI Math Coach

Want prompts worded for your grade band? Copy/paste this into AI Math Coach:

A filled-in example:

📄 Journal Prompt Resource Folder: Browse the full library of ready-to-use journal prompts here: ALN Journal Prompt Folder

Want to try it with your class? Open AI Math Coach and bring your results back to share.