Does this look familiar?
Stack after stack of papers to be graded.
I have had many of these stacks. So many in fact that I have felt like I’m drowning in papers. Uggg…..not fun at all!
About four years ago, I found a solution to this problem. No more stacks for me!
My solution was this: A composition notebook and quick formative assessments.
The 3-2-1 Strategy is one example of many formative assessments that I use in my classroom.
The poster is pretty self explanatory. After a lesson have students list 3 things they remember, 2 examples of what they learned, and 1 question they have or something they were confused about.
If students have practiced the skill you have taught using cooperative learning strategies, this strategy will tell you a lot. By looking at each student’s response, you can tell whether a student has grasped the skill, is progressing, or still needs help.
At the end of the lesson as students finish, I look at each student’s response to the 3-2-1 strategy. The strategy is Brief, Reflective, Accurate, Immediate, No Sweat, AND it guides my instruction for the next day. Do I move on or reteach?
You can download this poster here.
To learn more about how I went from stacks and stacks of grading to less grading and less stress using a composition notebook and formative assessments, click the image below!
