I've had Multiple Response Strategies on my mind lately since our school was challenged to stop calling on students with their hand raised. Multiple Response Strategies are great because they allow teachers to get as many answers as they can from as many different students as they can. I wrote a blog post a few years ago for another blog on this very topic, so I thought it would be fun to revisit all of my personal favorites!
I had a large A, B, C, and D posted in different spots in the room. Usually after writing answers on their whiteboards, students would then have to move to the corner that showed their answer. The whiteboard piece kept them accountable for *their* answer, so there was no switching corners just because more people were at another. It was great for a quick reteaching or correcting a misunderstanding.
I made these clip cards when I was struggling with some *peeking eyes* in my class. It didn't matter how many times I told them I would be happier with an incorrect answer than a dishonest one, it still happened. This was my solution. Everyone got a card. There were 4 different colors and 4 different answer sequences. They held the card in their laps, clipped, an answer, and then revealed on my call. They loved the clipping, I loved the honest answers.
I got this idea from my former assistant principal. My students sat in pods of 4, so every so often I would stick a little note under 1 chair at each pod that said "HOT SEAT". After a table discussion, I would ask for my friends in the "Hot Seat". Everyone would get excited (okay, some were terrified they were in the Hot Seat!) and quickly look under their chairs. (And yes, the first time we did it was CRAZY and CHAOTIC, but they got better.) Whoever was in the Hot Seat had to report out for their group. Pretty simple.
Pretty self-explanatory. Each student at the table had a push light. They had to explain how they knew their push light was the correct answer or why it was not the correct answer. Then, they would push the light if they thought they were correct. Sometimes 2 lights were pushed and more in-depth discussion occurred, which was awesome!
Table talks enable all the students to share their answers with someone else. I would pair up colors for think, pair, share or have them work in a situation similar to the Hot Seat, having a specific color being responsible for the group's answer.
Ahhh, Plickers. If you haven't tried it out, you must. I made this image extra big so you could see the screenshots. Basically, it works like this: It syncs a computer and your device (I used an iPhone). You generate your own questions into a bank, which will show on your computer screen, which I then projected for kids to see. Kids have cards with varying QR-type codes. Depending on which way they hold the card, it represents a certain answer, like A, B, C, or D. (Picture on right) You then scan the room with your device, and it registers each student's card. You can actually see their names pop up on the camera screen as it registers the specific card. Students name turn green on the device and are checked off on the computer screen when their answers have been registered, and you can see a bar graph showing the class's answers as a whole. (Picture on left) You can also change screens on your device and see which answers students picked. My kids LOVED these cards. Instant data, guaranteed engagement.
Of course the list could go on and on, but these are some of my old and new favorites! In fact, I want to share with you the updated clip cards I made for this year. Click HERE to download the template for free! Simply print on colored card stock, laminate for stability, grab some clothespins, and you're set!
