Admit Slips
What are Admit Slips?
Admit slips are teacher created prompts or questions that are given on a slip of paper or index card which are completed by the student before the class or lesson begins. Admit slips are generally used in two ways.
The first way includes using teacher created prompts or questions that can be answered at home after reading a homework assignment. For example after reading a passage at home, the student will predict what the class will be learning about the next day or the student will be answering some questions to help foster discussion in class the next day. Students may keep their individual admit slips throughout class to refer to what they wrote at home and add to it as they learn and read the new material in class or the admit slips can be collected as a source of formative assessment.
The second way that it can be used is as a motivational activity that leads into a specific lesson, in other words an admit slip may be used to establish a purpose for student learning. The students work individually or in small groups to answer the prompts or questions prior to learning about a new topic in class. For example, each student will have about five minutes to study the information or text before them and then follow the teacher prompt individually. Then the students can work in small groups to discuss the prompt. The groups can also compile everything they discussed (questions, predictions etc.) into a group list and decide on three to five most important points to be shared with the whole class. This variation of the motivational activity is a great way to get the class seated, on task and engaged in the lesson, especially in the secondary grades.
How would I use admit slips in my classroom?
In the past I have seen admit slips used prior to each math lesson as a warm up activity or spiral review. I really liked the idea of having students complete a compiled set of math problems that review previous topics throughout the year. Students continuously get to revisit topics to have continuous practice so that the concept is not forgotten when needed on a test (especially the state tests!).
1. Each morning students will pick up an admit slip as they walk into the classroom.
2. Each slip contains about three practice problems for students to complete independently. Students will be encouraged to use their notes to help answer questions because each question will be from a lesson given at another point in the year.
3. After students have completed the problems, students will place their admit slip into their pocket on the pocket chart that correlates to their class number.
4. At any point in the day, the teacher will check the admit slips prior to the next math lesson. Based upon the results, the teacher may pull small groups to help students with problems or go over the questions as a whole group.
Admit slips can be modified to use in all content areas and is a great way to assess students quickly!
Admit slips are teacher created prompts or questions that are given on a slip of paper or index card which are completed by the student before the class or lesson begins. Admit slips are generally used in two ways.
The first way includes using teacher created prompts or questions that can be answered at home after reading a homework assignment. For example after reading a passage at home, the student will predict what the class will be learning about the next day or the student will be answering some questions to help foster discussion in class the next day. Students may keep their individual admit slips throughout class to refer to what they wrote at home and add to it as they learn and read the new material in class or the admit slips can be collected as a source of formative assessment.
The second way that it can be used is as a motivational activity that leads into a specific lesson, in other words an admit slip may be used to establish a purpose for student learning. The students work individually or in small groups to answer the prompts or questions prior to learning about a new topic in class. For example, each student will have about five minutes to study the information or text before them and then follow the teacher prompt individually. Then the students can work in small groups to discuss the prompt. The groups can also compile everything they discussed (questions, predictions etc.) into a group list and decide on three to five most important points to be shared with the whole class. This variation of the motivational activity is a great way to get the class seated, on task and engaged in the lesson, especially in the secondary grades.
How would I use admit slips in my classroom?
In the past I have seen admit slips used prior to each math lesson as a warm up activity or spiral review. I really liked the idea of having students complete a compiled set of math problems that review previous topics throughout the year. Students continuously get to revisit topics to have continuous practice so that the concept is not forgotten when needed on a test (especially the state tests!).
1. Each morning students will pick up an admit slip as they walk into the classroom.
2. Each slip contains about three practice problems for students to complete independently. Students will be encouraged to use their notes to help answer questions because each question will be from a lesson given at another point in the year.
3. After students have completed the problems, students will place their admit slip into their pocket on the pocket chart that correlates to their class number.
4. At any point in the day, the teacher will check the admit slips prior to the next math lesson. Based upon the results, the teacher may pull small groups to help students with problems or go over the questions as a whole group.
Admit slips can be modified to use in all content areas and is a great way to assess students quickly!