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Checking for Understanding PDF of presentation

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Checking for Understanding PDF of presentation

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It's so important to stop frequently during your lessons to check for understanding with your students. After all, is there a worse feeling than being met with blank faces after you've delivered an entire lesson? Use these strategies throughout the day to make sure everyone is on track. Here are twenty fun and simple ways to see who's good to go, who's almost there and who needs some one-on-one.

1. Use technology.

Source: The Primary Peach

One of the quickest ways to check for understanding is to have your kids hop on their device and use one of the awesome tech tools like Quizlet, Kahoot or Google forms to show what they know.

2. Ask open-ended questions.

Source: Ciara O'Neal

If you ask yes/no questions to check for understanding, some students may default to yes because they don't want to admit that they're not quite there yet. Asking open-ended questions requires a little more thought and helps draw out where they really are.

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3. Ask students to give a physical response.

Image source: YouTube

This can be a fun way to end a lesson, and students love it! Ask students to do something like put their hands on their head for yes and stand on one leg for no. Or ask a question and tell students to clap once if the answer is true and do jazz hands if it is false. Use your imagination and change it up each time.

4. Use emojis.

Source: Teach and Shoot

Prepare cards to leave at students' desks like the one above. Let students attach their clips to show their level of understanding.

5. Ask questions "on the fly."

Stop frequently to ask questions as you go through your lesson. See if students can make connections, define words, answer questions and explain concepts. Make it a natural part of your process so that your students will know they are coming and pay attention.

6. Use checkmarks.

Source: Mrs. Beattie's Classroom

Take a page out of The Daily Five 's book and create these checkmarks to help your students remember to check for understanding as they read.

7. Show your thumbs.

Source: Shutterstock

Sometimes all it takes is a quick thumbs up or thumbs down (or even thumbs sideways) to make sure your students are all still on board. Stop frequently to check in and have your students hold them up high so you can take account.

8. Use exit tickets.

Source: Mr. Elementary Math

Download this cute freebie to create these exit tickets. Students can write the question of the day at the top and turn in their responses on the way out.

9. Flash whiteboards.

Image source: Pinterest

Ask one quick question that shows students are keeping up and have them write their answers on individual whiteboards. Do a quick sweep before they put them down. Pull any students together that still need more and re-teach.

10. Give it a four-finger rating.

Source: Mrs. Wheeler's First Grade Tidbits

Teach your students this quick check method and check in often to see where everyone stands. Pair up students who flash a 3 or 4 with students who flash a 1 or 2.

11. Do a Quick Write.

Source: Sly Flourish

Ask just one question and have students jot a quick paragraph on an index card to show that they understand. Have them share their answer with a partner or collect the cards to review for the next day.

12. Post your name on the stop sign.

Source: Musings From the Middle School

This teacher blogger asks students to check for understanding by writing their name on a post-it, then attaching it to the stoplight on the appropriate color. She then groups students who need re-teaching and advises students who are ready to move on.

13. Give them a Yes/No question.

Check for understanding by asking students to flash a red piece of construction paper for no (they need a little more explanation) or a green piece of construction paper for yes (they get it and are ready to move on). Alternatively, laminate squares of red and green construction paper and glue them back to back to large popsicle sticks to make paddles for your students to show.

14. Do a self-assessment.

Source: Not So Wimpy Teacher

Download this free resource and print up a stack of self-assessment cards in different colors for different subjects. Pass them out as exit tickets to plan for the next lesson period.

15. Draw a T-chart.

Ask your students to tell you five (or whatever number you think is sufficient) things they learned from the lesson. Have them make a T-chart and on the left-hand side write a fact or opinion, and on the right side, give evidence to support their fact or opinion.

16. Do a quick sort.

Source: The Science Penguin

Ask one question that you feel shows an understanding of the concept you are teaching. Have students write their answers on cards and collect them. Sort cards into piles: Got it, Almost There, and Re-Teaching Needed. Divide students into groups based on their answers and keep teaching.

17. Pick a card, any card.

Source: Upper Elementary Snapshots

Print these free cards, laminate them, and connect them together with a ring or twist tie. Give one copy to each student to keep on their desk. When it comes time to check for understanding, students can just flip to the appropriate card, and you can do a quick check by color to see who still needs help.

18. Display mini flip charts.

Source: The Elementary Math Maniac

Make your own or if you're not the crafty sort, buy 12 of these desktop flip charts for $16.49 from Really Great Stuff.

19. Use cooperative learning structures.

Source: 4th Grade Racers

This teacher/blogger uses cooperative learning structures to check for understanding in a fun and engaging way.

20. Reference this chart.

Source: Mia MacMeekin

This amazing infographic shows all kinds of imaginative ways to check for understanding. Print out a copy and display it in your classroom for inspiration.

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Avoid the sea of blank faces at the end of a lesson with these teacher-tested and easy-to-use ways to check for understanding.

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How do you know someone has understood your intended message or learning target?

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This is the place to be if you're trying to participate in a live poll

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set of 40

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Stimulate your students with these 10+ creative self assessment ideas

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As a teacher, you have to give constructive feedback all the time. And if you’re really giving so much meaningful feedback, then, that’s terrific! But not all teachers have the time to give students feedback all the time. It’s nice to know that giving feedback and grading your students is not the on…

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Worsksheet

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You don't have to start from scratch. Upload and make any of your favorite PowerPoints, Google Slides, and now, any video interactive. You can even upload videos directly from YouTube.

Or, search our standards-aligned library of 8,500+ interactive lessons and videos across all grades and subjects.

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You don't have to start from scratch. Upload and make any of your favorite PowerPoints, Google Slides, and now, any video interactive. You can even upload videos directly from YouTube. Or, search our standards-aligned library of 8,500+ interactive lessons and videos across all grades and subjects.

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Digit check

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These two students went to Learning Target 2 when asked in which did they feel the most confident.

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What did you like most about this presentation?

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This is the place to be if you're trying to participate in a live poll

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This student is posting a sticker on our chart that lets me know where he feels on the spectrum of knowing nothing about the learning target all the way to knowing so much that he feels he could teach it. We used an acronym MADE for the levels of mastery. Levels are equivalent to those stated in Digit check.

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The Importance of Teacher and Student Relationships

According to the American Psychological Association, "Teachers who foster positive relationships with their students create classroom environments more conducive to learning and meet students' developmental, emotional and academic needs." In addition, a student who feels a strong personal connection to their teacher, talks with their teacher frequently, and receives more constructive guidance and praise rather than just criticism from their teacher "is likely to trust their teacher more, show more engagement in learning, behave better in class and achieve at higher levels academically." An analysis by the Review of Educational Research of 46 studies found that when teacher-student relationships are strong, improvements are seen in key areas, such as student academic engagement, attendance, grades, disciplinary actions, and school dropout rates.

Developing and nurturing trusting relationships between students and teachers is central to building a trauma-sensitive learning environment. Trauma-sensitive schools recognize that educators need support and planning time to prioritize developing positive, caring, collaborative relationships with each other, so that they can in turn prioritize building relationships with students and help students feel welcomed and safe.

With consistent student attendance now being jeopardized by remote or hybrid-learning in many districts, it has become increasingly imperative that school systems not let up on staying connected to students. They must remain focused on creating and maintaining learning environments, whether in-person or remote, that support and strengthen relationships, trust, and respect between teachers and students.

In this excerpt video, we hear that:

Eddie, a 10th grader, feels more comfortable answering questions in class because he feels comfortable around his teachers.

Destiny, a 12th grader, has faith in the resources and support available at her school because of the faith she has in her teachers.

Lola, a 10th grader, is better able to hear and respect what she is being taught in school because of the respect she has developed? for her teachers.

Juliebeth, an 11th grader, credits extracurricular activities with helping her build stronger bonds with other students and the school in general.

As summarized by Ms. Onembo, the Salem Academy Charter School's Dean of Students, "Students do better if they're connected to a community. They also do better when they have relationships with people in the building."
(Earlier, we invited you to watch the excerpt video, "Building Trusting Relationships Between Teachers & Students See the complete video, "What Does a Trauma-Sensitive Middle/High School Look Like? here")
Read More:

Please see Keeping Connections Strong: A Priority for Trauma-Sensitive Remote Learning for input from educators about the importance of maintaining strong connections with students and their families as well as maintaining a sense of cohesion among staff during COVID.

Please visit TLPI's website for additional resources, including our publications, available to download at no cost, as well as other blogs and videos.

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Teacher and Student Relationships: The Power of Trust - Massachusetts Advocates for Children

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By Trauma Learning Policy Initiative The positive influence of trusting relationships on student learning cannot be overstated. Whether the learning environment is in-person, remote, hybrid, or in continual flux, one key factor remains constant: the relationship between students and