I teach 7th and 8th grade English, which means I want my students writing all the time. I use a Ticket Out the Door (TOTD) at the end of every class period as a way to have students write to expand their thinking on the day's lesson.
How it works: Stop students working about three minutes before the bell (or before the segment ends) and ask them to take out a 3x5 notecard. Post on the board a question for their ticket and ask them to answer it thoughtfully. Give them a some guidelines for length, usually about 2 sentences will do, and remind them to write their name on it. Have them hand you the ticket as they leave the room. It's that simple! I require my students to always have note cards with them in their binder, and I have established the regular use of the tickets, so students come to expect a TOTD. This method has been an amazing help to me as a teacher and has transformed my classroom in exciting ways. Try it out and see if it helps you! Six Reasons to Use the Ticket Out The Door/Exit Ticket method. 1) Formative Assessment: Easily check to see how your students are doing with a concept you have just taught. Ask them questions like: What did you learn today about paragraph structures? Or What do you need to work on when it comes to the comma rules covered today? 2) Immediate Feedback: I can immediately getting a sense of the mood of the classroom and reactions from students about an activity or lesson. Often, I ask students for feedback about my lesson so I can see how they liked the methods I used. This provides me with confidence as a teacher when I see them saying that they liked or learned from a teaching strategy. 3) Know Where to Start Class Tomorrow: Having them give me feedback about the lesson helps me to know what information to review in more detail the next day. It also lets me know when they are ready to move on to a new idea because they understand what covered today. 4) Differentiate Instruction: The feedback at the end of class helps me to differentiate instruction easily for each student and tailor to their specific needs. 5) All Students Have a Voice: The quiet students in class can communicate with me directly at the end of each class period. Without these cards, I may never really hear their thoughts and opinions about a topic or a lesson. This allows them to have a voice. I have found that they have plenty to say when they write their tickets. 6) Structured Class Endings: This works as a classroom management technique too! It takes about 2 minutes for students to write a card at the end of class, and they know that it is coming since I am consistent about asking them to write the tickets. They never leave their seats before the bell rings and often write past the bell to finish their thoughts. I also sometimes use it as a start of class activity to get them working quickly when they come into the classroom, especially if I want them to think about an idea we will discuss that day in class. For even more thoughts about Tickets Out the Door, read this post on ASCD by Robert Marzano: The Many Uses of Exit Slips --- Allison Petersen @alcp
3 Comments
7/14/2013 11:34:00 pm
Great ideas here - easy way to allow students to reflect on learning and process information as well!
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I love TOTD, but I do them digitally. Students respond to a question using a web-based app called Infuse Learning. I post the question there, they type in their answer, and only I can see their responses in a spreadsheet format :) I enjoy reading your blog! It always has great suggestions.
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8/23/2013 11:41:07 pm
I've been using the itslearning survey tool to do tickets out the door when I do PD as well. See video link for more info!
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About AllisonAllison is an K-12 Instructional Coach. Her goal is to empower educators to grow continually. Recent Posts#5Tips4LMS Series
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