Enter the 2020 Pearson National Teaching Awards now! The National Teaching Awards
The Places I’ve Cried in Public – YA fiction with accompanying lesson plans Usborne
5 Reasons to try…Nulogic Nulogic
Skills Builder Hub review The Skills Builder Partnership
Master maths with Maths Progress (Second Edition) for KS3 from Pearson Pearson UK
Teach Early Years Magazine Subscribe today!
Teach Primary Magazine Subscribe today!
Teach Secondary Magazine Subscribe today!
Technology and Innovation Magazine Order now!
Teach Reading and Writing Magazine Order now!
Oxford University Press Courses
Make sure you’re teaching the right content at the appropriate time, with Claire Gadsby’s quick ideas to assess prior knowledge...
Enter the 2020 Pearson National Teaching Awards now!
Calculating voucher discounts – KS3 maths lesson plan and resources
D&T – Change how design and technology is taught in your school
What Makes Great Analytical Writing? Poster for KS3/4 English
Teachers are talented people: this we know. However, one of the skills we lack is telepathy, and I suspect that we may sometimes make the job more difficult by ‘working blind’ and relying too much on instinct and habit when it comes to determining exactly where to pitch the learning.
It’s clear that a responsive classroom lies at the very heart of successful formative assessment, and is characterised by what Dylan Wiliam describes as a pedagogy of ‘engagement and contingency’.
So, here are four highly effective methods for ascertaining what students already know, and having some fun along the way…
Give each student a sheet of paper and ask them to write, or draw, anything they may know about the topic you are about to teach. This works best when done as a quick activity.
Next, invite them to screw up their work to form a snowball and to mark the outside with a symbol rather than their name. At your command, invite pupils to throw their anonymous snowballs towards a particular target.
Finally, invite learners to interact with the snowballs either individually or as a group, for example to discuss/ summarise, compare or group ideas.
Whilst this is a highly engaging activity that can be easily adapted to suit particular ages and subjects, its primary benefit is to provide teachers with a feel for students’ existing knowledge so they can tailor the teaching more precisely.
Instead of the teacher providing input in the early stages, begin by drawing out what pupils already know by getting them to seek out information from each other. This marketplace style of activity is also fantastic for developing interpersonal and communication skills.
Give each student a sheet of paper and challenge them to speak to as many people as possible during a set period of time.
As they share, and record, what they know already, we as teachers can circulate and get a feel for both the accuracy of the information being exchanged and the confidence amongst the students.
A nice follow on group activity would be for students to explore their findings and categorise whether they feel the information is correct, incorrect or if they are unsure. Where there is uncertainty, these questions can be used to shape the subsequent learning.
This is a very useful way of organising ongoing ideas and research. It is also extremely handy for demonstrating pupil progress as a class. Start by generating a large scale, three-column KWL grid, and then use careful questioning to complete it as far as possible, ensuring that all students are able to contribute.
Place items, questions, images, problems or artefacts in the corners of the room and ask pupils to stand next to the one which they:
This strategy is about choice: committing to a position and ‘owning’ it. Ensure that you invite students to explain or justify their choice. The key advantage here is the diagnostic element for the teacher as it can be used at strategic moments to shape future learning.
You can be even more strategic by planting incorrect answers of different type in three of the corners, so you can literally see which students have aligned themselves to which misconception.
Claire Gadsby is a freelance education consultant, trainer and keynote speaker. For a wealth of practical and innovative ways to develop formative assessment further, see her book, Perfect Assessment for Learning (Independent Thinking Press), or visit clairegadsby.com.
Looking for smarter ways to assess primary English?
Teachwire
The 2020 Teaching Awards are now open, so it’s time to celebrate everyday excellence in your...
The 2020 Teaching Awards are now open, so it’s time to celebrate everyday excellence in your school. The Pearson National Teaching Awards are the ‘Oscars’ of the teaching world, highlighting skill and dedication and...
The 2020 Teaching Awards are now open, so it’s time to celebrate everyday excellence in your school.
The Pearson National Teaching Awards are the ‘Oscars’ of the teaching world, highlighting skill and dedication and...
Read this description from Nrich of how to play the Factors and Multiple game. The Factors and Multiples grids can be used to play: there are 1-24, 1-40 and 1-50 grids. Use...
Read this description from Nrich of how to play the Factors and Multiple game.
The Factors and Multiples grids can be used to play: there are 1-24, 1-40 and 1-50 grids.
Use...
These bordering 10 cards help children to see how single-digit numbers are broken down for addition calculations that border 10. This resource is part of a pack of four maths games...
These bordering 10 cards help children to see how single-digit numbers are broken down for addition calculations that border 10.
This resource is part of a pack of four maths games...
Make a date in your diary for February for Michael Morpurgo Month 2020, and start...
Use these practical tools and approaches from Alexandra Riley to help tackle anxiety and build...
Emily Campbell describes how a focus on concept, rather than product, underpins a powerful new...
What happens when we mix fluids of different densities? Emily Hunt has the answers...