understanding reflection papers

I don't know about you guys, but I have the hardest time getting kids to understand what I mean when I say "reflection" paper. I am convinced that on some level it's one of those things that you just get...eventually. In the meantime I've been trying to figure out a good analogy to help them "get" it. Enter Brother Kelley. When I was in high school, Brother Kelley was my Trigonometry teacher. He was about 6'7", 350-400 lbs when I first met him. HUGE man, with a booming voice like an African American preacher. Anyway, he use to say..."brothers and sisters, now you know where I'm from, I'm from Missouri (pronounced Missoura) the 'show me state'. Now you know you gotta show me your work." It occurred to me the other day that that analogy might work. Reflection papers are kinda like showing all your work for math. I can't read their minds just like the math teachers can't read their minds. If they dont' tell me how they got from point A to point C then I'm not going to know B ever existed.

Hope this works for someone else.

dana