Lecture Busters
and
Exit Tickets
We've all seen it happen. You're in the middle of your lecture, teaching the finer points of this particular state standard, unlocking the mysteries of the universe (or at least the next standardized test), and you look up and see this:
Yes. The desks are occupied by zombies. The virus spreads rapidly. You know if you don't bust the boredom quickly, you'll have lost them all.
Even adults can listen to a lecture only about 12 minutes before their attention is spent. And students really can't listen to you if they're trying to take notes. So we know we need to break up the lecture and give students opportunities to make sense of what they've just heard.
These strategies are easy-to-employ ways to spice up any lecture or presentation or check for understanding at the conclusion of a lesson. Most require few, if any, special supplies and encourage students to really think deeply about your content. And all give you opportunities to gauge what your students are understanding.
Pick a letter and think of a term, starting with that letter, that relates to the lecture content. Bonus exit ticket version too!
Strike a Pose
Your students respond to multiple choice questions by striking corresponding poses a la Madonna in Vogue
Who doesn't love a good meme? Now students can use memes to describe their learning. Exit ticket version available too!
#It leverages students' love of tagging on social media to describe their progress or a topic. Exit ticket version available too!
Students reach and think deeply to connect random objects to your lecture content.
Students name a movie title that describes their learning. Exit ticket version available too!
Pose a multiple-choice question, and students evaluate each answer choice, giving you quick feedback how they're doing in an active way!
Every play the party game? Now your students can play to connect two ideas from your lecture.
Students identify the ingredients of your topic and the steps to make it happen.
4 Corners
Students stand in designated students to demonstrate their answer to your multiple choice questions
Stay or Go
Students stay or go to demonstrate whether they agree or disagree with your statement
D-Ball
Liven up class discussions by tossing around a "discussion ball"
Scavenger Hunt Notes
Take note-taking from passive to active with this simple adaptation.