Exit Slips

What it is…

The exit-slip strategy requires students to write responses to questions you pose at the end of class. Exit slips help students reflect on what they have learned and express what or how they are thinking about the new information. Exit slips easily incorporate writing into your content area classroom and require students to think critically.

There are three categories of exit slips (Fisher & Frey, 2004):

• Prompts that document learning,
  • Ex. Write one thing you learned today.
  • Ex. Discuss how today's lesson could be used in the real world.
• Prompts that emphasize the process of learning,
  • Ex. I didn't understand…
  • Ex. Write one question you have about today's lesson.
• Prompts to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction
  • Ex. Did you enjoy working in small groups today?

Other exit prompts include:

• I would like to learn more about…
• Please explain more about…
• The most important thing I learned today is…
• The thing that surprised me the most today was…
• I wish…

Why it's so great…

Exit slips are great because they take just a few minutes and provide you with an informal measure of how well your students have understood a topic or lesson.

How to create them…

• At the end of your lesson or five minutes before the end of class, ask students to respond to a prompt you pose to the class.
• You may state the prompt orally to your students or project it visually on an overhead ro blackboard.
• You may want to distribute 3X5 cards for students to write their responses on or allow students to write on loose-leaf paper.
• As students leave your room they should turn in their exit slips.

How to use it…

• Review the exit slips to determine how you may need to alter your instruction to better meet the needs of all your students.
• Collect the exit slips as a part of an assessment portfolio for each student.

What it looks like…

Download Exit Slips here

The most exciting thing I learned today was…

I really liked learning more about Napoleon and French history. I didn't know that Napoleon helped to end the revolution in France. I only knew that he was a great French ruler and soldier. I wonder why he didn't give women the right to vote but wrote the new French constitution to allow men to vote.