Tag Archives: lesson

Teacher Tips

Quick Check for Understanding

After you teach a lesson, even a mini-lesson, always make sure you scan your group to insure they have a clear understanding of what you have taught. Moving on without a check does a disservice to students. Form a small group to reteach the lesson. The hand method is a good visual that goes a step further than “thumbs up, thumbs down.”

Check
For
 Understanding
 Strategy


3‐2‐1/
Fist
 to
 Five/
Thumbs
 Up,
Thumbs
Down


4‐3‐2‐1 

Scoring 
Scale


Students 
communicate 
their 
level
 of
 understanding
 to
 teacher 
using
 their 
fingers


ABCD
Whisper
Students 
should
 get
 in 
groups
 of
 four 
where
 one 
student 
is 
A,
the
n next
 is
B,
etc.
 Each
 student
will
 be
 asked 
to 
reflect 
on
 a 
concept
 and
 draw
 a
 visua l
of
 his/her
 interpretation.
Then
 they 
will
share
 their 
answer 
with
 each
 other
 in 
a
 zigzag
 pattern
 within
 their 
group.

Capacity
Matrix
The
 capacity 
matrix 
is 
a 
charting
 technique
 used 
to 
break
 down
 topic
 areas
 into
 steps 
for
achieving 
a
 specific
 result. 

It
 identifies
 tasks,
knowledge 
levels,
and
 understanding 
of
 the
 topic
area.

Circle,
Triangle,
Square
(Circle)
Something 
that
 is
 still
 going
 around
 in
 your 
head, 
(Triangle)
Something
 pointed 
that
stood
 out 
in 
your 
mind, 
(Square)
Something 
that
“Squared”
or
 agreed
 with
 your 
thinking.



Clickers


Electronic 
surveying 
devices
 that 
give
 instant
 feedback
 and 
data


Decisions,
Decisions
 (Philosophical
Chairs)
Given
 a
 prompt,
class 
goes
 to
 the 
side 
that 
corresponds
 to
 their 
opinion 
on
 the
 topic,
side
share
 out
 reasoning,
and
 students 
are
 allowed 
to
 change 
sides 
after
 discussion

Entrance/Exit
ticket
Each 
student
 will
 be
 given 
a
 ticket
 to
 complete
 before
 leaving 
the
 room
 answering:
What 
is
the 
most 
important
 thing
 I
 learned
today?
 What 
questions 
do I
 still
 have?
These 
tickets
 can
be
 given 
to 
the 
teacher 
when 
exiting 
the 
room 
or
 upon 
entering 
the
 next
 day.
The 
teacher
uses 
this
 information
 to 
guide 
the
 instruction.

Every
Pupil
Response
Each
 student
 receives 
a
 pink
 and 
yellow
 card.
Each 
color
 represents
 a
 specific
 response.
Students 
raise
 the 
card 
to
 provide
 the
 correct 
response 
to 
a
 teacher
 directed 
question.

Example/Non‐Example
Given 
a
 concept,
students 
sort 
or 
write 
various
 examples/non‐examples
 

Example/Non‐Example
Given 
examples/non‐examples,
students
 determine 
concept
 


Fill
 In
Your
Thoughts


Written 
check
 for 
understanding
 strategy
 where
 students
 fill
 the
 blank.


Check 
For
 Understanding 
Strategy


Flag 
It
 Function 
Aerobics


Handprint
 Human 
Graph
 Interlocking
 Paper
 Plates


Description


Students 
use 
this
 strategy
 to 
help
 them 
remember 
information 
that 
is
 important
 to 
them.
They 
will
“flag”
their
ideas 
on
 a 
sticky 
note
 or 
flag 
die
 cut…


Students 
demonstrate 
their
 knowledge
 of
 transformations
 of
 functions
 by
 physically
 moving
 their arms 
and
body


Draw 
your 
handprint. 

In
 each
 finger,
write
 one 
thing
 you 
learned
 today.


A
 kinesthetic
 activity 
where
 students
 in
 the
 class
 physically
 move
 to
 create 
a
 histogram,
where
 each
 student
represents
 a
 data
point 
rating 
their 
view
.

Give 
One,
Get 
One
Cooperative 
activity
 where
 the 
students
 write 
response
 to 
a
 prompt,
meet
up
 with
 another
student
 and
 share
 ideas
 so 
that
 each 
leaves
 with
 something
 to
 add
 to 
their
 list

Onion
Ring
Students 
form 
an
 inner
 and
 outer
 circle facing
 a
 partner.
The 
teacher 
asks 
a
 question 
and
 the
students 
are 
given 
time 
to 
respond
 to 
their 
partner.
 Next,
the
 inner
 circle 
rotates
 one
 person
 to
 the
 left.
The 
teacher 
asks 
another
 question 
and
 the
 cycle 
repeats 
itself.

Pop
It
(Bubble
Wrap)
Students 
write
 what 
they
 want
 to 
know 
about
 a
 topic 
on
 a 
dot
 sticker.

 Place
 each
 sticker
 on
 the
bubble
wrap.

When 
a
 topic 
is 
covered,
 the
 student 
pops
 the
 bubble.

Project
Study
Group
Analyzing 
incorrect
 responses 
in

 multiple 
choice
 questions
 


Quick
 Writes 
 Rubric
 Say Something


Student
 Data
 Notebooks


A 
timed
 writing 
in 
response
 to
 a
 question 
or 
prompt
(can
 be 
used
 before,
during,
 or
 after 
instruction)


A 
scoring 
guide 
using
 subjective
 assessments
 that 
is
 generally
 composed
 of
 dimensions
 for 
judging 
student
performance.


Students 
take 
turns
 leading 
discussions 
in
 a
 cooperative 
group
 on
 sections 
of 
a
 reading 
or 
video


Slap
It
Students
 are 
divided 
into
 two 
teams 
to
 identify
 correct
 answers
 to
 questions
 given 
by 
the
 teacher.
Students use 
a
 fly
swatter 
to 
slap 
the
 correct
 response
 posted 
on 
the 
wall.


Check
For
 Understanding
Strategy


Timed 
Pair
 Share


Triangular 
Prism
(Red,
 Yellow,
Green)


Word
 Sort


Description


Given 
a 
prompt,
students 
pair
 up
 and
 share 
their
 perspective
 for
 a
 given
 amount
 of
 time,
taking
 turns
(A
 talks,
B
 listens,
then
 B
 talks,
A
 listens)


Students 
give 
feedback 
to 
teacher
 by 
displaying
 the 
color
 that 
corresponds 
to
 their 
level 
of
 understanding


Given
 a 
set 
of 
vocabulary
 terms,
 students 
sort
 in
to 
given 
categories 
or 
create
 their
 own
 categories
 for
 sorting


Take
and
Pass
Cooperative group 
activity 
used
 to 
share
 or
 collect
 information 
from
 each
 member 
of
 the 
group;
students 
write
 a
 response,
 then
 pass 
to
 the
 right,
add
 their
 response
 to 
next 
paper,
 continue 
until
they 
get
 their 
paper
 back, 
then
 group
 debriefs.

Whip
Around
Teacher 
poses 
a
 question
 and
 students

 list
 three 
items. 
All 
students 
stand.
 Teacher 
randomly 
calls
 students 
to 
share , 
if
 their
 topic 
is
 called
 they
 sit.
Teacher
 continues
 til 
all
 students
 are
 sitting.


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