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Classroom shortcuts for the win!

Molly Sinnott

What's one teaching hack that saves you time or boosts engagement? Maybe it's a discussion structure that gets everyone talking, a go-to formative assessment, a tech time-saver, or a routine that runs itself by October.

Share your tip and swap ideas! Bonus points for photos or examples we can try out tomorrow Rocket

  •  one of the activities I use to boost students' engagement is Four Corners—students physically move based on their level of agreement with a statement. It energizes the room and makes thinking visible. 

    A variation I love is the Human Continuum. Instead of four options, students position themselves along a spectrum of agreement (I display a string with a degree of positions and ask students to move to the section they agree with). I use Gallery Walks and Silent Conversations, where students respond with a post-it note to promps I display around the classroom. To quickly take the temperature of the room, I use tools like Mentimeter for live polls and Padlet for short written responses everyone can see.

  • We're returning from a weeklong winter break today, so I'll be opening class with a partner reteach. It's very low prep - I just post slides with lists of terms/concepts from the unit - but it gives students a chance to chat and get reacquainted with classmates while getting ready to jump back into content. 

  • I love doing a verbal pre-reading quiz in class once a week. Students have an article (with four questions) to read and understand before they come to class. In class, students are quizzed on the answers. Students love the verbal quizzes, because we put their names on a spinner wheel and the student chosen answers the question! The energy levels really go up as the quiz becomes a game! Saves me time on reading and grading a bunch of quizzes, and helps me by having students build the content before they come to class!

  • in reply to Laura Massa

    Laura - fantastic idea with the continuum. Materials: One String! Ready to reuse throught the year. I can apply this to multiple topics in my Biology and Environmental Science classes. And thank you for introducing me to Mentimeter : )  

  • Student-Made Word Walls! Take a class period (great for a SUB day) and ask students to help create a vocabulary slide/printable to hang up in the room for their peers to reference throught the current Unit. Must include the term in huge font, a definition in their own words, an image, and the term translated into two other languages. I ask them to sign their name as well and choose a spot in the room. I receive a pleathera of strong, student-owned, free posters that I can laminate and reuse in future years. It is about atonomy, creativity, student created