Planning...finally

I finally today typed out some student rubrics I made up late in June. They are 4-6 questions aimed at helping my students think about how they are doing. It was a goal of mine last year to do more "metacognition" with them, but I hadn't figured out how to put it into practice beyond posing the stated goal at the start of lessons and at the lesson wrap-up. Late in the year (that's the weird and wonderful part of being a new teacher; wisdom evolves at its own time) I tried a rubric with some of my students in the last couple of weeks of school that was about their preparedness for learning and they seemed to like it. The great thing about this upcoming year is that I will be "looping" with my 4th grade students, that is being the inclusion teacher for them in the 5th grade. This works out great since I know them so well and so can hit the ground running. Since I did half day in the 5th grade two years ago, I know the curriculum so I know what they will need to know. I also know that as learning disabled students, they often are too passive, just waiting for the information to come at them, much of which does not stick easily. So, if they are thinking about whether or not they are ready to learn--do I have the materials I need, am I focused on the person talking, are my hands, feet and mouth quiet (yes or I can do better at this). The other rubric I will use after the first couple of weeks of school is "how can I show that I understand?"-my practice work is correct, my teacher said/wrote that my work is good, I could answer questions even if my teacher didn't call on me. I think all kids need to be more involved in their own learning, but this approach is especially true for LD kids, especially now that they are in 5th grade and more and more, they will need to be self problem solvers in and out of class.
I will also use "incentive pads" this year. They will earn stickers leading up to a prize for things like thinking outside the box, making connections between what they're being taught to something they already know, etc. Not for behavior though, which is often how incentive pads are used. When they are in small group instruction with me, good behavior is expected. Are they always good, "nah," but that will still be the expected norm and it can be acknowledged, but not rewarded.