Post-it Notes are a great way to add engagement to formative
assessments that are used in classrooms. The best part is that they are super
affordable and are always available. They serve a variety of uses for students
and teachers and the following five Post-it strategies are aimed at adding engagement
to assessment techniques that are already used in classrooms today.
#1. Post Up (exit slip): Pictured below is a dry erase board
with two questions listed at the top. The two questions were aligned to the
target and were referred to throughout the lesson as to what the students would
need to be able to do in order to reach the desired daily target (I can
statement). At the end of the lesson, all students were given a stack of
Post-it Notes. They each took a note and wrote their name very small on the
bottom (or back). They then answered both questions just like they would on a
normal sheet of paper. Following this, they then posted their notes on the
board under the two questions, and went to lunch. While the students were at
lunch I took my anecdotal notes to the board and quickly recorded the data from
the assessment. Why Post-it Notes here? It takes a normal pencil-paper type
assessment and adds a little engagement through change and movement for the
students.
#3. Activity with Creativity: The title of this one says it
all. Giving students the ability to create will basically add an unlimited
amount of engagement to any activity. Materials needed on this one are yarn and
Post-it Notes (different colors are ideal). Last year, while working with lines
of symmetry students were given the chance to create their own shapes out of
Post-it Notes. They could also create any design with their notes. Once
finished with a design they could use a straight line of yearn to see if the
shape/design was symmetrical. Check out the pictures below for an example or
two.
#4. Close Reading: The picture below pretty much says it
all. I used to let students write these symbols on printed off passages. That
was about as far as I had ever taken it. Now, with the Post-it Notes I can
apply these symbols to any text that we read. As an added bonus, these bright
colors and a hands on approach do apply a little more engagement to the text.
#5. Classroom Graphing: Different colors of Post-it Notes
can really add some “pop and pow” to a visual. By applying this to a graph, it
can grab the attention of the students fairly easily as compared to other
methods. It is also something you can leave up as a visual for the rest of the
day or week. Below is an example that you can twist and turn into several
different types of graphing strategies.
Have you used these Post-it note strategies before? Did I
leave a good one out? Let me know in the comments below!
Check back soon for Post-it Notes and.... Coding!
