Rate your understanding....

Do you use formative assessments in your classroom?  I use it all the time to gauge what my kids are learning....There are many ways to do a quick check - and my favorite is through a simple rate your understanding activity.

How do you do this?  You can do this anytime during instruction.  At the beginning of a lesson you can ask students to share with you how they feel about their understanding of the current content....do you feel like you know it so well you can teach it to others? (thumbs - up) Do you feel like you have a few questions, but generally get it....(thumbs sideways) Do you feel completely lost?  (thumbs down)  Kids begin to feel ownership towards their learning when they are able to tell you if they are on track or not.  Of course, you (the ultimate professional) needs to make sure that you touch base with the student individually so that you can clarify their misunderstandings. 

Some students aren't as comfortable having this information so visible to others...especially in the upper grades.  I recognize that and so another option is to have the students write on their paper - U for up, S for sorta, and D for down.  My students like this because it is more private and personal.  We use this code on our papers, on exit cards, on sticky notes or whatever you wish...


You can download these posters for FREE here.... You can hang these in your classrooms for a visual reminder.