What is the purpose?

Exit tickets in the classroom can serve several purposes. First, they provide immediate feedback on student understanding. By asking students to complete a short activity or answer a question at the end of a lesson, teachers can quickly gauge whether the material was effectively communicated. This feedback is crucial for informing future instruction, enabling educators to identify and address any misconceptions or areas of difficulty before moving on to new content.

For example, an 8th grade science question for an exit slip might be:

Draw a sketch of the water cycle. Label the terms evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Using those last few minutes in a valuable way

So….let’s be honest. I understand the importance of using all your instructional time. Sometimes, no matter how much you plan, the timing just doesn’t work out. Sometimes I had a great exit slip–but never got to it. (I learned those were great “bell work” starters for the next day.) But even more of a problem for me, was when we had just a few minutes left–you know the timing–too much time to do nothing and not enough time to start something new. In that case, I had generic exit tickets copied and ready to hand out. Here are some ideas to get you started, that can be used in most any situation.

1. What is one key conept you learned today?
2. Summarize today’s lesson in a few sentences.
3. List one question you still have after the lesson today. If you do not have a question, create a test question you think would be good to see if students understood the lesson today.
4. How do you think today’s lesson connects to what we learned yesterday. What do you think we wil learn next?
5. What part of the lesson did you feel was most interesting and why?
6. How can you apply what you learned today to a real-world situation?

Using exit slips to differentiate

Differentiation through exit slips allows teachers to address varying levels of readiness or interests, so each student is engaged and challenged appropriately.

Examples based on readiness:

Student instructions:

Choose the set of questions that best matches your comfort level with the topic.

Basic: Tell one action or decision of the character in the story today.

Intermediate: Tell how an action or decision the character made affected the story.

Advanced: Explain how an action or decision the character made in the story today impacted the other characters.

Basic: Simplify the fraction 6/8.

Intermediate: Determine if the fractions 3/9 and 1/3 are equivalent. Show your work.

Advanced: Simplify the fraction 45/60 and explain each step of your process.

Basic: List the main stages of the water cycle.

Intermediate: Explain how evaporation and condensation contribute to the water cycle.

Advanced: Analyze how human activities might impact the water cycle and suggest possible solutions.

Exit tickets for interest

Recognizing and addressing the varied ways in which students learn and express themselves helps to ensure students feel empowered with a choice in how they fulfill the requirement. It can help to give everyone a chance to succeed. This approach can also help teachers identify unique strengths and talents in their students, which can be nurtured and developed. Display the choices, and let the students select their own.

Example of an exit ticket based on interest from a lesson on characterization:

In a few sentences describe how the main character’s actions reveal their personality. Use specific examples.

Construct a graphic organizer. Write the character’s name in the center, and in the surrounding bubbles list their traits and an example.

Draw a scene from today’s reading that shows an important moment in character development. Add a sentence explaining how this moment reveals something significant about the character.

Write a short paragraph comparing a character from today’s reading to someone you know in real life or from another book or movie.

Imagine a conversation from two characters from today’s reading that didn’t actually happen. Jot down what they say to each other. The dialogue should show their personality.

In my opinion, every teacher should use this one weekly

On Friday, I used an exit ticket that was very open-ended. I found out a great deal about my students. EVERYONE must turn one in. This is KEY. Students with a need are not going to share if they think other students may see them handing the teacher a note. This exit ticket needs instructions before it is used. It is important for students to know you will maintain their confidentiality UNLESS it is something that you must report for their own safety or the safety of others. Examples should be given and discussed. The teacher should also include both academic and non-academic examples. Questions could be related to content (How is theme different than a topic?) or unrelated (If all meat comes from the same chicken why is some white meat and some dark meat?) The expectation is each student must turn in a slip. I’ve learned extremely powerful information about my students and their lives by using this exit slip. The three prompts I use are:

I want my teacher to know

My question is

I want to share