NOTE: The following strategies can be used alone or as engagement pieces in a remote classroom setting.
| Name of Tool | Description | Link to Site | How can I use this in my class? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakelet | Basically an "educational pinterest" - Wakelet allows its users to curate all media types: videos, links, tweets, Instagram posts, pictures, text, PDF's, and student/teacher commentary. | Wakelet | Create a "board" that has all of your online resources in one spot. Share the Wakelet link with your class. Students can create and add also! |
| Jamboard | Jamboard is an interactive whiteboard allows students to collaboarate in mutliple ways in real time | Jamboard | Click here for 20 ways you can use Jamboard in your class. You can have multiple whiteboards at once, sticky notes, writing etc. |
| 3-2-1 Summary | A 3-2-1 prompt helps students structure their responses to content by asking them to describe three takeaways, two questions, and one thing they enjoyed. It provides an easy way for teachers to check for understanding and to gauge students’ interest in a topic. Sharing 3-2-1 responses is also an effective way to prompt a class discussion or to review material from the previous lesson. | 3-2-1 Summary | 3-2-1 can be done in a google form. These are a great way to wrap up class, recall knowledge and check for understanding. |
| Hooks | The purpose of a “hook” is to help students frame their thinking focus on the concept at hand. This is an easy way to do something fun to get them excited about the content. | Hooks | See the attached link for ideas. Start your class with a misconception, a crazy picture, a quote, something funny, a false statement, a prop, current events, etc. to get the students "hooked" and ready for what is ahead. |
| Quick-writes | Quick-writes a an easy way for students to recall what was learned, recap recent information, and summarize. These also help the instructor know where the students are in their learning. | Quick-writes | Use as a recap of yesterday's content at the beginning of class, use as a brain dump at the end of a chunk of content, use as the "thinking" part of the think-pair-share, use as an exit ticket or closure to recap content at the end of class. |
| K-W-L (A) | K-W-L charts are graphic organizers that help students organize information before, during, and after a unit or a lesson. They can be used to engage students in a new topic, activate prior knowledge, share unit objectives, and monitor students’ learning. | K-W-L-A | This strategy is used all throughout the class/content. "K" is the background probe for what they already know, "W" is what they want to know, "L" is what they learned in the lesson and "A" is how they can actually apply the new knowledge. |
| Exit Ticket (Digital) | Teachers typically use exit tickets to assess what students have understood from the day's lesson. Exit tickets allow teachers to see where the gaps in knowledge are, what they need to fix, what students have mastered, and what can be enriched in the classroom. | Exit Ticket (Digital) | Exit tickets can be a Google form. A combination of a graphic organizer, open-ended question, or multiple choice over the lesson’s content can be used. The google form will populate the answers so that you can have a starting point for the next lesson and catch misconceptions right away. |
| Concept Maps | Creating concept maps helps reinforce the connections among ideas you’re studying. | Concept Maps | Click here for 25 templates. Graphic organizers can be done throughout the lesson. They can be filled out in one lesson of over a whole concept. These are great tools to help students |
| Jigsaw | Jigsaw is an interactive and collaborative strategy to use with reading passages. It allows every student to become an expert in a smaller section of reading. | Jigsaw | Use this strategy to divide and conquer large or content dense reading passages. Use this Jigsaw form for each student. Consider using Perusall where students can highlight key points and collaborate in live time on an online document. |
| Vocab/concept awareness chart | A Vocabulary Awareness Chart is a strategy to raise students' awareness of their knowledge of the vocabulary contained in a text or unit | Vocab/concept awareness chart | Use this with the intro of new content. This list can be built throughout the unit. Students will define words and gauge their understanding of important terms. |
| Four corners | The Four Corners strategy is an approach that asks students to make a decision about a problem or question. Students move to the corner that best aligns with their thinking | Four corners | Students will choose the answer choice or debate side they think is correct and go to that breakout room and meet with others who have the same thought |
| TPS-Think, Pair, Share | Think-Pair-Share activities pose a question to students that they must consider alone and then discuss with a neighbor before settling on a final answer. This is a great way to motivate students and promote higher-level thinking. | TPS-Think, Pair, Share | After a concept is introduced or as a wrap-up, phrase a question of some type, give individual students 2 minutes to think or quick-write, then 3 minutes to share their ideas with a partner or group, then share out ideas as a class. |
| Exam Wrappers | Most often, when students receive back a graded exam, they focus on one thing - the grade. While this focus on “the grade” is understandable, it can lead students to miss out on several learning opportunities that such assessment can provide | Exam Wrappers | Give students an "exam wrapper" form back with their graded test. Allow students to reflect on their exam score and effort. This will create buy in and ownership of assessments. Could be modified to be used with projects, labs, etc. |
| Flipgrid | Flipgrid is a video response platform where educators can have online video discussions with students or other educators. Teachers can provide feedback to students AND better yet students can provide feedback to one another. | Flipgrid | Click here and login with google to see an example. Click here for 50 ways to use it in your class!! |
| Gallery "walk" | This discussion technique allows students to be actively engaged as they “walk” throughout breakout rooms, slides or jamboards. They work together in small groups to share ideas and respond to meaningful questions, documents, images, problem-solving situations or texts. | Gallery "Walk" | The artifacts of a gallery walk can be anything from open-ended questions about the content being taught, to photographs related to the content, or even to demonstrations or finished projects.. Each group visits each display station or “room”, taking notes on what they learn, then talking afterward to reflect upon their learning. |
| Google Forms | Google Forms is a free online tool from Google which allows users to create forms, surveys, and quizzes as well as to collaboratively edit and share the forms with other people. Educators can use Google forms to assess their students at the beginning of the class and gauge pre-existing knowledge. Furthermore, Google forms can be used to give feedback to and receive feedback from students | Google Forms | Click here for 20 ways to use forms in your class. Most of the strategies on this page can be converted to forms! |
| RSQC2 | This activity will help you look back over the lesson or reflect on the course, identify the four or five most important points you have learned, and tie them together | RSQC2 | Use this at the end of a lesson or concept to “recall, summarize, question, connect and comment” on the learning. Can be put in a google form for immediate instructor feedback. |
| Frayer Model | Helps students identify, connect and define unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary. | Frayer Model | Students define a concept/word/term, describe its essential characteristics, provide examples of the idea and suggest non examples of the idea (knowing what a concept isn’t helps define what it is). Click here for template. |
| Check for prior knowledge | The purpose of assessing background knowledge is not to get everyone on the “same page,” but rather to make visible the nature of what a student knows. This makes it possible to create personalized learning pathways for students as each learner approaches new–or familiar–thinking on their own terms. | Check for prior knowledge | Click here for 27 ways to allow teachers to identify knowledge gaps, prioritize standards, and revise imminent lessons and units in response. |
| Hyperdocs | A HyperDoc is a digital document—such as a Google Doc—where all components of a learning cycle have been pulled together into one central hub. Within a single document, students are provided with hyperlinks to all of the resources they need to complete that learning cycle. | Hyperdocs | Click here for 25 ways to use hyperdocs in your class. |
| Pro and Con Grid | This technique helps students develop analytical and evaluative skills, and encourages them to go beyond initial reactions to complex issues. It can be used in any discipline: students can evaluate the pros and cons of a procedure, technique, conclusion, action of a fictional character, political decision, etc. | Pro and Con Grid | Click here for instructions - Consider using the pros and cons as the basis for a debate, or for a discussion/lecture structured around the evaluation of course material. |
| Guided Analysis | Modeling - This technique helps students develop their analytical skills in any field by observing your analytical skills of content in action. | Guided Analysis | Click here for an example. This tool is great for modeling how to read text, instructions or test questions. Guided analysis allows the instructor to “think aloud” and model to the students their thought process. Students will then mimic the instructor. |
| Chunk, Chew, Check | Students retain much more of what they learn from talking things through, but there is little planned time for talking in an average classroom. Give all of your students an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the topics learned in class by incorporating more time to chew on the subjects with their classmates. | Chunk, Chew, Check | This is a great 20 minute mentor that touches on key tips that will make a huge difference in your remote classroom. Showcases, 10/2 lecture time, how to use videos and hook them. “Chunk” your content into 10 minute sections, then use one of the strategies on this page for students to “chew” on the information, then “check” for understanding by sharing out, conversations, quickwrites etc. Repeat the process throughout the class |
| Ungraded Quiz Question | An ungraded quiz encourages students to pay attention during lectures by presenting them with a short-term, non-threatening learning objective. It can be done very quickly, and also provides you with a source of candid feedback on students’ knowledge level. | Ungraded Quiz Question | Click here for an example of an “ungraded quiz” using Jamboard. Use ungraded quizzes at the beginning of a lecture to determine the level of knowledge, or at the end of a lecture as a review and incentive for students to retain and comprehend information. Alternatively, use an ungraded quiz at the end of a lecture to gauge how successful you’ve been in teaching the material. |
| One Minute Paper | The one-minute paper is a flexible way to acquire candid feedback on the course material.. The one-minute paper can be done quickly and shows students that they can write quickly and spontaneously, and enhances general writing ability. | One Minute Paper | Click here for an example. Assign one-minute papers at the end of a class or after a concept is taught to gauge comprehension, provide general writing practice, and give students an incentive to absorb and comprehend course material. |
| student written test questions | Student-Written Exam method is an open book and notes take-home exam in which each student writes and answers his or her own multiple-choice and short essay questions. | student written test questions | At the end of lesson or concept, have students write one or multiple test questions. Have them prove why their answer choice is right and why the other choices are wrong. |
| muddiest point | Muddiest Point is a quick monitoring technique in which students are asked to take a few minutes to write down the most difficult or confusing part of a lesson, lecture, or reading. | muddiest point | After a new concept or idea, or at the end of class ask students to reflect and write down their muddiest point or something they are not clear on and need more input. |
| Guided (skeleton) notes | Guided notes can be used to help your students focus on the most important aspects of your lecture or reading. | Guided (skeleton) notes | You can use a broad guided outline or a more specific. Guided notes help students stay focused on the content, seek the main idea and organize their thoughts. |
| CLOZEit | Google add on that can make any of your google documents a fill in the blank worksheet with a word bank. | CLOZEit | A short fill in the blank paragraph can be used at the beginning of class to restart student minds on the concept or as an exit at the end of class to tie the concept together. |
| Sentence Stems | Help students deepen their thought process by starting the sentences for them. | Sentence Stems | Use this Bloom's sheet to match the level of thinking to your objective. Consider giving the students options (EX. respond to two the sentence stems below etc.) |
| Stop and Jot | Stop and Jot is a small strategy with a large impact. It is basically a "brain dump" where students write everything they already know (activating prior knowledge), or everything they have learned (connecting the concept dots) in a minute or less. | Stop and Jot | Stop and Jot can easily be incorporated to a google doc or a jamboard. It can be used at the beginning of class to see what students already know, in the middle of class to check for understanding and aid comprehension, or as an exit at the end of class. |
| Google Meet: Change Background | Google Meet now allows you to change the background now in a Meet session. At this time it is from a list of preset backgrounds with no ability to upload your own, but it is a fun and engaging option. You can also just blur the existing background. Please watch this video for instructions: | Google Meet | |
| Google Meet Breakout Rooms | There is now a Chrome Extension for creating breakout rooms in Google Meet. This is not an official tool from Google but is a great workaround until one is created. The presentation in the far right column gives step-by-step instructions and a link to the tool. | Presentation with instructions for Google Meet Breakout Rooms |