In my previous post, I confessed that I NEVER take home math papers to grade anymore. The reason is that I have, over time, worked hard to develop ways for all of my math practice work to be self-checked by the students.
#1 Coded Joke Worksheets or Task Cards
#2 Crossword Coded Task Cards
My wife and I love to do puzzles, especially when we travel. One of our favorites is the 4 by 4 crossword puzzle found in the USA Today. I had the idea to create some task cards that could be filled out in a similar way. Once my students figured out how these puzzles worked they really liked them and asked me to make more! When they are completed they look something like this:
#3 QR Coded task cards
I was amazed at how much my students enjoyed practicing problems like this! I have recently started including not just text based answers, but images showing the correct work. This helped students spot their errors more quickly. Try out the QR code below to see what I mean.
#6 Interactive Google Slideshows
This is something new that I started doing just last year and it has worked really well. Most of these slideshows that I have made have focused mainly on problem solving. My reasoning for doing this with math word problems was simple. It was one of the hardest assignments to give to students and have them complete with independence. After a math period of students doing math word problems I was typically exhausted from providing help and answering student questions. (Often the same question 15 times!)
These activities allow students to click for a hint (or two) and then click to check their answer.
See below for examples:
Unfortunately, I haven’t posted many of these activities to Teacher Pay Teachers yet. Be sure to follow me there as I’ll probably post them for free or half off when I post them sometime this year.
#7 Put the answers on the back of task/scoot cards.
This is obvious, I know. But a lot of times I need to create an activity to practice a specific skill and I just don’t have time to add QR codes or add a secret code or whatever. I need it ready to go now.
Sometimes, once I’m done making and printing the task cards, I then print the slides 9 or 16 to a page. (see below how this looks with Keynote on a Mac)
After they are printed I put the answer on each “mini” task card. Then I cut them out and slide these into the back of the sheet protectors. It’s fast and easy and it just get the job done.
After students scan their card, they get a report that shows what was answered right or wrong. It also gives a breakdown of how they did on each skill.
Students who get 100% get a sticker or star on their paper and it goes in their take home folder. Students who miss any questions do corrections, hence the CAR (correct and return). During work time the students and I go over anything they are unclear about from the assignment and go over what was missed.
No more waiting until the next day or after the weekend for students (and me) to get feedback on how they did. And for me, no more lugging home stacks of papers to grade each night. A win-win.
#9 Post the answer key
Again, this is almost so obvious I didn’t include it. A lot of times I’ll have the students do the work at their seats and just look up at the answers posted on the smartboard when they are done. If you want the students to move around a little, you can also post the answers around the classroom.
#10 Play a game where students must check each other
Here’s one I designed for reviewing algebra expressions. Get it for free here.
To further gamify this activity, I set out timers for each group of 4 or 5 and have them race to complete the game as fast as possible. Each day, they can try to beat their best time. I also like to post a leaderboard of fastest times in each of my classes. This really gets their competitive juices flowing!
