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22 Powerful Closure Activities

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Quick activities that can be used to check for understanding or emphasize key information at the end of a lesson.

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Quick story: In high school I was always a part of the school musicals. It was one of my favorite times of year. Each spring, I can remember spending almost everyday after school in the school auditorium practicing songs, dances, and memorizing lines for the the show. As we got closer to show time, I can remember my director saying things like "If we have a strong beginning and a strong ending, the show will be a big hit! No one remembers the middle!" (Of course, this was typically said on dress rehearsal night when everything seemed to be going wrong...)

Well, that wasn't necessarily the case, but to some extent, it did have some truth. If you've ever sat in the audience of a musical, you typically do remember the grand opening number with all of the cast members on stage, and the show-stopping finale with a concluding high note by the lead character. Ah- the crowd goes wild!

The same goes true for our teaching, I think. Presenting our lessons to our students is kind of like a musical performance. We want an epic beginning that grabs our students attention right from the start ( I talked about how to do exactly that in this post) and then, we want that standing ovation at the end of our lesson. (Oh, wouldn't that be nice!)

Last week I gave you a list of engaging ways to begin your lessons. Did you miss that post? You can check it out here.

I also believe that how you end your lesson is just as important as how you start your lesson. (and of course, the middle of your lesson matters, too!) You don't want to go through all that work of planning an amazing lesson only to end it with "Ok, put your books away, time to get ready for lunch!"

So, today, like last week, I'm going to attempt to give you some show-stopping ways to end your lesson on a high note!

60 Second Challenge: After you end your lesson, challenge a student to speak about what they learned during your lesson for a whole minute (or 30 seconds if you have less time). Involve more of the class by having them do this with a partner. As partners share, you can walk around and jot down what you hear your students saying and then share those ideas with the class as a final review.

Do the Hive-Five Hustle: (adapted from here)Have students stand up and spread throughout the room. Play the song "Do the Hustle". While the song is playing, students hustle/dance around the room to find a partner. Stop the music abruptly (like you would if you were playing musical chairs) and have students quickly find a partner to "high-five." This is their hustle-buddy. Give students a question to discuss, based on your lesson. When students have had a few moments to answer your question, start playing the music again and have them hustle to another person and a different questions. Repeat for as long as time allows.

Show What You Know! This is a quick way to check for understanding. I talk about how this works in great detail in this post, but basically, students have a set of cue cards with several answers on it. You ask them a question and students put their finger over the right answer on their card to show you. You can snag a set of already prepped cards here!

5 Words Or Less: Challenge several students to sum up your lesson in 5 words or less. This activity really makes students think carefully about the words they use and forces them to choose the most important key words from your lesson to best summarize what they learned.

What, So What, Now What?: (source) Students can either discuss or write:

so what (relevancy, importance of learning the concept, how it helps us)

now what (where do we need to take our learning from here, how does this affect our thinking?)

What "Stuck" With You Today: This is a great lesson ender as well as a great day-ender. Students use a post-it note to write down one thing that "stuck" with them from the lesson.

Exit Gallery Walk: Have students create a quick visual representation of what they learned (illustration, word cloud...etc...) and post their visuals around the room. Students can then walk around the room and comment and ask questions about each student's visual. Give students a time limit for creating their visual. For example, you can explain to students that they have 5 minutes to create a visual to represent the lesson. No need to worry about crayons or markers. Easy sketches will do!

Be the Teacher: Invite students to reteach the key points everyone should have learned during the lesson to the rest of the class.

Exit Slips: Using a slip of paper, students answer an essential question, ask for clarification, or record a thought about the day's lesson. These slips are then turned in to the teacher to be reviewed. These exit slips make great lesson starters for the next day.

3-2-1: Have students write or discuss 3 things they learned, 2 questions they have, and one "AH-HA" moment from the lesson.

Now - go get that standing ovation your teacher-self deserves :)

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Quick story: In high school I was always a part of the school musicals. It was one of my favorite times of year. Each spring, I can remember spending almost everyday after school in the school auditorium practicing songs, dances, and memorizing lines for the the show.

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Videos (not just for 4th grade)

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By Page Keeley and Cheryl Tobey

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Mathematics Formative Assessment  Volume 2

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Mathematics Formative Assessment  Volume 2

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By Page Keeley and Cheryl Tobey

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54 Ways to Leave a Lesson (Some

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54 Ways to Leave a Lesson

CLOSURE - what the instructor does to facilitate wrap-up at the end of the lesson - it is a quick review, to remind students what it was that they have learned (or should have learned) and allows you to see where the students are to assist you in planning for the next lesson.

The intellectual work should be done by the students - not the instructor summarizing for the students and telling them what they learned.

Closure allows students to summarize main ideas, evaluate class processes, answer questions posed at the beginning of the lesson, and link to both the past and the future, or in other words - MAKE MEANING.

Closure is an opportunity for formative assessment and helps the instructor decide:

1. if additional practice is needed

2. whether you need to re-teach

3. whether you can move on to the next part of the lesson

Closure comes in the form of information from students about what they learned during the class; for example, a restatement of the instructional purpose. This information then provides a knowledge of the results for the teacher, i.e., did you teach what you intended to teach and have the students learned what you intended to have them learn?

Lesson Closing in a nutshell - can be one or some combination of the purposes below. It should be a meaningfu l end to the lesson.

* Reviewing the key points of the lesson.

* Giving students opportunities to draw conclusions from the lesson.

* Describing when the students can use this new information.

* Previewing future lessons.

* Demonstrating student's problem-solving process.

* Exhibiting student learning.

* Creating a smooth transition from one lesson to the next lesson.

Synopsis - (note: most of these work best in group settings and benefit from the synergy of a well functioning group)

Student must answer in writing questions or reflect in some way about the learning before being allowed to leave the room.

Math example - work a question from the material covered during the lesson, use as formative assessment for the following day, sort into piles: got it/ didn't get it or minor errors / conceptual errors

J I really understood this idea...

K I have a few questions about... before I can say I understand

L I don't even know where to start on ...

! I am excited about...

: I'd like to learn more about...

? a questions I have is...

This point is really clear

One thing that squares with things I already know is...

An idea that is still going around in my head is...

Students prepare a "cheat sheet" that would be useful for having during a quiz over the day's topic.

Students discuss or write

· ?(relevancy, importance, usefulness)

· (how does this fit into what we are learning, does it affect our thinking, can we predict where we are going)

Tell the person next to you 2 (3,4,5,...) things you have learned today, then the groups report out.

Variation is to have students Think/Write/Pair/ Share

Students prepare a short quiz (+ 5 questions with answers) At least 2 of the questions must start How...? or Why...?

Students in groups of up to five are numbered sequentially. As a group they create a list of 3-5 things learned in the lesson and then the teacher calls one number from each group to report t o the class something they learned.

Students summarize the lesson by completing the following sentences: We tarted the lesson...., the opic was......, Our pportunities for practice were...., the urpose of the lesson was...

Students begin the lesson by listing everything they Know about a topic. This information is recorded in the K column of the chart. Students then generate a list of questions about what they Want to Know about the topic. These questions are listed in the W column of the chart. After the lesson, students answer the questions that are in the W column. This new information that they have Learned is recorded in the L column of the KWL chart.

The Daily Dozen
1.) The thing that made the most sense to me today was...

2.) One thing that I just don't understand is...

3.) When someone asks me what I did in math today, I can say...

4.) One thing I would like more information about is...

5.) I need more examples of...

7.) The most important concept that we discussed today was...

8.) Today's class would have been even better if we had...

10.) The thing we did in class today that best fit my learning style was...

11.) The one thing the teacher did today that worked well for me was...

12.) The one thing the teacher did today that did not work well for me was...

__________________________________________________________

Resources used

Kristine Lindeblad - Coach Extraordinaire

Terrific teachers at Grandview Middle and High Schools; Grandview, WA

OSPI Funded Math Coaches 2007-2010

About - Secondary Education Blog

Winning Through Student Participation in Lesson Closure. Patricia Wolf and Viola Supon . EDRS (ERIC)

Educators Reference Desk, How to write a lesson Plan
Recency and Primacy Effects | BrainU

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Lesson Closure - 54 Ways to Leave a Lesson

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54 Ways to Leave a Lesson CLOSURE - what the instructor does to facilitate wrap-up at the end of the lesson - it is a quick review, to remind students what it was that they have learned (or should have learned) and allows you to see where the students are to assist you in planning for the next lesson.

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For math and other subjects

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Thumbs up, down, sideways

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Summer: The time of year where teachers dream of all the things they'll do differently next year.

Yesterday, I posted about wanting to do a better job of group work for next year. Erin Flotte left a comment that included a recommendation for a book on group work (affiliate link). I've already ordered it from Amazon and am looking forward to diving in to it this summer.

Today, I've been hard at work creating a resource for next year because I know that my intentions to do things differently next year need to be coupled with actions to make that possible. Last week, I read a post on Amie Albrecht's blog about One Minute Surveys. It instantly brought to mind the exit tickets I used to give my students at the beginning of my first year of teaching. As a pre-service teacher, I read tons of teacher books and read every math teacher blog I could get my hands on to help me learn how to best run my classroom. All the advice seemed to point to using every minute of class wisely and bringing closure to every lesson. So, I jumped into giving exit tickets every single day. This did not last for long. First year teacher me was overwhelmed with all the tasks that teaching brings with it, and this was one thing that fell by the wayside.

I think the reason it fell by the wayside so quickly was because it was an extra thing that had to be planned every single day. Now, as a teacher going into her fifth year of teaching, I realize the importance of automating as many things as possible. I want to get daily feedback from my students. I want to get to know my students better. I want to know which concepts they are grasping and which concepts are making them grasp at straws. Sure, I could probably make up exit ticket questions off the top of my head now and be just fine flying by the seat of my pants. But, I've got a better plan.

I'm taking my favorite exit ticket questions and making sheets for each question that can be printed and chopped ahead of time. Each day, I'll be able to pull out a prepared stack of exit tickets that match what I'm hoping to learn from my students that day.

I did an online search for exit ticket ideas and compiled my favorites. These should be able to be used with almost any subject/grade level.

I've designed them to print 6 to a letter-sized page. I'm thinking this will make them easy to chop with the paper chopper.

Here are the exit ticket prompts I've come up with so far. If you have others, add them to the comments. I'll add them to the file and update it. :) [ Download here!]

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Summer: The time of year where teachers dream of all the things they'll do differently next year. Yesterday, I posted about wanting to do a better job of group work for next year. Erin Flotte left a comment that included a recommendation for a book on group work (affiliate link).

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Close the Lesson with These FACTs from Mathematics Formative Assessment Books

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Close the Lesson with These FACTs from Mathematics Formative Assessment Books

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Thanks to Nancy Philbrick for correlating these

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141 Exit Ticket Questions and Prompts to Check for Understanding

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Exit ticket questions and prompts are the very essence of exit tickets. Without them, your goal of checking students' understanding of the lesson is futile. Exit ticket questions prompt students to show what they know by responding to a teacher-selected prompt. Based on this data, the teacher differentiates future lessons in order to optimize the learning process.

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Over 100 fun exit ticket ideas to use in your elementary classroom right away

Gather feedback quickly, analyze data to differentiate instruction, document progress over time, and gain a holistic view of students' knowledge.
Exit ticket ideas for elementary teachers, by elementary teachers ❤

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Creative Exit Ticket Ideas For Elementary Teachers

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Over 100 fun exit ticket ideas to use in your elementary classroom right away Gather feedback quickly, analyze data to differentiate instruction, document progress over time, and gain a holistic view of students' knowledge. Exit ticket ideas for elementary teachers, by elementary teachers ❤

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Mr. Elementary