As a teacher I am always looking for ways to keep my students actively involved in my lessons. One of my favorite active learning activities is to simply have students use Response Cards. The reason why this is one of my favorite active learning activities is that it is easy to set up and gets ALL the students involved in the lesson rather than just the usual few.
Response Cards are simply sheets of paper or card stock that students simultaneously hold up to indicate their response to a question or prompt asked by the teacher. Response Cards can be blank with the student then writing in the answer or the teacher can provide pre-printed responses with words or pictures that the students choose from. Another option is to simply make the Response Cards different colors with each color representing a different answer.
For example, the teacher gives each student a blank laminated Response Card and a dry erase marker. The teacher then poses a question about the previous day’s content. Students are given a minute or two to think about their answer and write it on their card. The teacher then signals the students to ALL raise their cards at the same time showing their answers.
Here’s another example…To review the three branches of the federal government I give each student three cards each pre-printed with either Legislative, Judicial, or Executive. I then ask a question about one of the branches and signal the students hold up their card to show which branch they think has the particular power. For example, I may say, “Which branch has the power to veto laws?”
What’s great about using Response Cards for active learning activities is not only does this get all student actively involved, but the teacher can also quickly determine which students comprehend the material and can then plan lessons accordingly.
