Use this behavior reflection sheet to separate the learner's account, the effect they observed, and a repair they want to propose. A filled fictional example shows how to answer without guessing someone else's feelings. A separate blank sheet gives learners room for their own words.
Show a completed reflection before handing out the blank
In this original fictional classroom example, Rowan moved three labeled cards from a group display without asking. Sam put those three cards back. Rowan thought the changed order would read more clearly; afterward, Rowan noticed that the group had already agreed on an order.
| Reflection prompt | Rowan's model response |
|---|---|
| Describe what you did. | I moved three labeled cards from our group display without asking. |
| Explain your thinking at that moment. | I thought my order would make the display easier to read. |
| Describe your thinking now. | I notice that the others had already agreed on an order. I changed their work without checking with them. |
| Record what you observed afterward. | Sam put the three cards back. |
| Identify what you still need to ask or hear. | I have not heard Sam's account or how the change affected Sam. |
| Propose a next step to discuss. | I could ask Sam whether help restoring the layout would be useful and suggest checking together before a future change. |
| Record a later agreement or observation. | Leave blank until the conversation happens. |
The proposed next step invites a response. Sam might want something different, and the last row gives the teacher a place to record what was actually agreed later.
The question sequence draws on the event, thinking, impact, and repair questions discussed in IIRP's archived teacher article on restorative questions. The card-layout incident and model wording here are original teaching examples.
Keep the observation separate from the other person's account
Select Action, Observed effect, Unknown perspective, or Proposed repair in the example to highlight the relevant lines. Each part answers a different question.
“Sam put the three cards back” is an observation supplied in the scenario. “Sam was angry and forgave me” adds a feeling and a later response that the scenario never supplies.
Choose Unsupported sentence to inspect that second wording, then Revised sentence to see:
Sam put the three cards back. I have not heard how the change affected Sam. I can ask what would help.
This leaves Rowan responsible for moving the cards while giving Sam room to describe the experience. A learner can write their own feelings in the reflection; they should distinguish those from another person's words or a guess about that person.
Avoid filling the final row with “Everyone is happy now” just to finish the sheet. Return to it after the conversation and record the actual agreement or observation.
Give learners a blank version with enough room
Choose Blank sheet to work with these prompts:
Describe what you did:
Explain your thinking at that moment:
Describe your thinking now:
Record what you observed afterward:
Identify what you still need to ask or hear:
Propose a next step to discuss:
Record a later agreement or observation:
Keep the completed model available separately so the learner can see how specific an answer might be without copying Rowan's account into their own reflection. Short phrases can be enough to begin a conversation. For example, a learner who writes “I moved the cards” can be asked which cards and whether the group had discussed the change.
Read the proposed next step together. “I will never do it again” offers little detail about the next group task. “I will ask before changing the group's layout” identifies an action to discuss and later observe.
The web sheet's practice entries last only while the page remains open. Use the teacher's usual classroom materials for actual responses and follow-up. The example does not grade a learner, label their character, or decide whether a repair has worked.
Make a sheet for your class
Copy this prompt and replace the bracketed fields. Include a fictional model if you want to demonstrate the task without using a learner's personal account.
Create one complete self-contained HTML behavior reflection sheet.
Learner group and language needs: [FILL IN]
Reflection prompts I want to use: [PASTE]
Optional original fictional scenario: [PASTE OR NONE]
Facts supplied by that scenario: [PASTE]
How the teacher will discuss and follow up on the sheet: [FILL IN]
Use plain, nonjudgmental wording. Separate the learner's action,
thinking at the time, thinking now, observed effect, another person's
account still to hear, proposed next step, and later agreement.
Do not invent another person's feelings, an apology, forgiveness,
agreement, completed repair, or improved behavior. No scores,
character labels, automatic advice, or claims of effectiveness.
Include this separate original fictional model:
Rowan moved three labeled cards from a group display without asking.
Sam put those three cards back. Rowan thought the new order would
read more clearly. Rowan now notices that the group had already
agreed on an order. No account from Sam or later agreement is supplied.
Use these exact seven prompts and model answers:
Describe what you did: I moved three labeled cards from our group
display without asking.
Explain your thinking at that moment: I thought my order would make
the display easier to read.
Describe your thinking now: I notice that the others had already
agreed on an order. I changed their work without checking with them.
Record what you observed afterward: Sam put the three cards back.
Identify what you still need to ask or hear: I have not heard Sam's
account or how the change affected Sam.
Propose a next step to discuss: I could ask Sam whether help restoring
the layout would be useful and suggest checking together before a
future change.
Record a later agreement or observation: leave blank until a
conversation happens. Do not generate its result.
Provide separate Model reflection and Blank sheet views. Keep the
fictional scenario and model distinct from the reader's practice inputs.
In the model, Action highlights the first response; Observed effect
highlights Sam putting the cards back; Unknown perspective highlights
the account still to hear; Proposed repair highlights the proposed
next-step response. Labels must explain the highlight without color.
Provide Unsupported sentence and Revised sentence controls.
Unsupported: Sam was angry and forgave me.
Revised: Sam put the three cards back. I have not heard how the change
affected Sam. I can ask what would help.
Explain that the unsupported version invents a feeling and forgiveness.
Switching the sentence comparison must not change the seven model
answers, the blank practice entries, or the blank later-agreement row.
The blank sheet has seven labeled text areas matching the prompts.
Preserve exact typing across all view, highlight, and sentence changes.
Clear practice asks for confirmation. Cancel retains all entries;
confirmed clear empties only practice entries and leaves the model
and selected teaching state unchanged. Do not mark writing completed
or assess it just because a field contains text.
Use readable paragraphs, at least 16px text, native keyboard-accessible
controls, visible selected states and focus, and room to write. Stack
at 360px without horizontal page scrolling. Inline CSS/JavaScript only;
no network, student-record storage, submission, scoring, or fake export.
User entries remain text and last only in the open page. Return the
complete HTML.
Check the generated model against the supplied event. Its observation should remain the three cards being put back; its proposed conversation should remain a proposal. Check that the final row stays open for a real follow-up.
Review the prompts before using the sheet
A colleague can spot a question that assumes too much. “How did you make Sam feel?” asks Rowan to supply an answer that belongs to Sam. “What did you observe, and what do you still need to ask?” gives Rowan a more careful starting point.
Put the blank teacher-preparation copy and fictional model in your NOS workspace for that review. If a question assumes another person's feelings, edit its wording directly on the page, then let your colleague reopen the same link to check the revision. Keep actual learner responses in your usual classroom materials. Use those responses to begin the conversation and return later to what the people involved agreed to do.