Exit Tickets. I seriously love them. They have seriously shaped the style and format of my classroom over the last two years. Rather than write paragraphs about my infatuation with Exit Tickets, below are four advantages that I have discovered through using Exit Tickets.
In my heart, I believe that part of making all of ^^^^ happen, is properly sorting Exit Tickets and quickly addressing the needs of my students. Last year and earlier this school year, I did all of the Exit Ticket sorting in my classroom myself. In my efforts to create a more student-led classroom, I am working to shift this responsibility to my students.
I found this amazing anchor chart and this bulletin board on Pinterest, and it inspired me to create my own system for my classroom.
Hanging on my wall are four “folders” that I made using black construction paper. Two of the four folders will likely be the same all year long. They read “Got it!” and “No Clue!” After students complete their Exit Ticket each day, they place their Exit Ticket in the folder in which they feel their Exit Ticket best fits.
The other two folders change depending on the skill that we are working on. The posters included say:
*Silly Mistake (inspired from the anchor chart above)
*Math Mistake (inspired from the anchor chart above)
*Math Mistake (inspired from the anchor chart above)
*Mistake #1
*Mistake #2
While working on rounding earlier this year, I knew the two mistakes that most students typically make when rounding. They either incorrectly identify the place value, or they do not follow the standard “4 or less, 5 and above” rule of rounding. In my opinion, you also address those mistakes in very different ways. By sorting the students by their mistake, I was able to quickly tailor my instruction and activities to target each of these errors.
However, when we moved on to multiplication of larger numbers a few weeks later, the mistakes are much different. They could be making silly mistakes, such as being sloppy or carrying a number, but forgetting to add it. While other students are making math mistakes. In fifth grade, these are typically the students who have yet to master their math facts. 😉
I use paper clips to allow me to change out these signs on a weekly or daily basis. These are also laminated so I can write on them with a dry erase marker and my students can easily tell where their Exit Ticket belongs.
My teaching partner and I typically do the same things and collaborate on small group lessons. I easily made her a set of these to match her classroom by simply changing the color of the paper! 🙂
I’d love to share these printables with you! Click the picture above to grab this freebie, and put them to use in your classroom! 🙂
Need the Exit Tickets too? I have them for every skill I cover in fifth, as well as MANY others! 🙂
This is a terrific post. I love using exit tickets! I'm noticing that the pictures show the students placing a graded/checked exit slip into the folder. Would you typically grade it first and then have the child place it in the correct folder? That would make sense since I often find that my students are not very good at rating themselves. We use a Marzano scale on our tickets but many will rate themselves a 3 or 4 and be WAY off! I'm just interested in how you handle that. Thanks a bunch! 🙂
Yes, we grade them together. That is when we take the time to walk through each problem. I often discuss common mistakes as well as how to avoid them.
Thank you! 🙂
You're welcome! I hope you can put them to good use!!! 🙂
This was a great post! I love how you are encouraging students to be held accountable for their own work. I am putting these on my list of things to print off tomorrow! Thanks so much for offering these!
I am excited I found your blog…I also teach fifth (and sixth) special education students. I see you are joining us for our 12 Days of December Blog Hop! Wahoo! Looking forward to following you. 🙂
Angela
The Organized Plan Book
Hey Angela! I am planning to participate! I'll be following you as well. 🙂
I hope you and your students love this addition to your classroom!!!
How long do you spend on exit slips (from handing them out to students completing them, then the class going over them, and the students rating themselves)?
Ashley Lafleur
teacherashley[at]gmail.com
It honestly depends on the skill, but on average 5-8 minutes. I also have a flipped classroom, where my students watch videos of math instruction for homework. While they complete their Exit Ticket, I walk around the room and check their notes. For me, it provides a time where I can kill two birds with one stone. 🙂
For more difficult skills, such as multiplying a four-digit number by a three-digit number, it obviously takes a little longer.
I really like this idea. Thank you so much for sharing.
Fantastic idea to take Exit Tickets to the next level. I'm going to use this idea for the new year. Thank you for sharing!
You're welcome! I hope you love it!!! 🙂
Do you grade them together right away in whole group or is this something done in small group? Are the students honest when grading their own exit tickets? I love the anchor chart!
We grade them together. That is literally the only whole group instruction I do during my math block.
My kids are honest, because I really stress that they aren't for a grade. I also believe that they really make my students more reflective. They WANT to be in small groups because they know they made a mistake on a given topic.