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BELL RINGER / EXIT TICKET

Rose and Thorn

Grade:

3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Uses:

Self-Assessment and Reflection
/  Feedback

Materials:

Rose and Thorn Reflection handout and writing utensils
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Description

Students reflect on something positive and something challenging from their learning.

Preparation

Identify a rose and a thorn that you can share with students as examples.
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Implementation

Distribute a Rose and Thorn Reflection handout to each student. Tell students to reflect on their learning and then write about one rose (success / positive) and one thorn (challenge / area for growth) related to the current unit, lesson, or skill. When students are done, ask them to turn and talk with a partner, sharing their responses and offering constructive feedback on thorns.

Teaching Tips

  • Use your own example to model meaningful reflection. For instance, share, “My rose is seeing students engage in discussion because it shows deep thinking. My thorn is managing classroom time effectively.”
  • For younger learners, consider inviting them to draw their responses instead of writing them.
  • Collect and review student responses to identify common struggles, and adjust upcoming lessons accordingly.

Supporting All Learners

For students needing additional support: Provide students with sentence frames (e.g., “My success was…because…” or “I’m still struggling with…and need…”).

For advanced learners: Challenge students to propose solutions for their thorns.

For multilingual learners: Allow students to share in their home languages with written responses in English, or allow them to draw and label a picture instead of writing a response.