Reinforce Lessons with Daily Reviews

At the end of the day or class, have students fill out a “Daily Review” sheet you’ve created.At the top after the title, leave a blank space for the student to fill in his name and today’s date. Then create boxed areas where students respond to prompts like:

• The best thing I did today was ... .

• Today I practiced ... .

• Today I read ... .

• Today I wrote about ... .

• I learned these new words:

• I’d rate my day as: (4 stars=outstanding; 3 stars=great; 2 stars=so-so; 1 star=not so great).

• Tomorrow I’m looking forward to ... .

Filling out the form reinforces the day’s learning. It enhances long-term memory and can be

motivating.Also ask students to share their filled-out forms with parents. Then parents can review—and ask relevant questions about—their children’s learning each day.

Modular (Block) Schedules: Teaching Under the Block Schedule

By Melissa Kelly, About.com Guide

  1. Try to engage as many of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences as you can.

Visual-Spatial - think in terms of physical space

Tools include models, graphics, charts, photographs, drawings, 3-D modeling, video, videoconferencing, television, multimedia, texts with pictures/charts/graphs.

Bodily-kinesthetic - use the body effectively, like a dancer or a surgeon.

They can be taught through physical activity, hands-on learning, acting out, role playing. Tools include equipment and real objects.

Musical - show sensitivity to rhythm and sound.

They may study better with music in the background. They can be taught by turning lessons into lyrics, speaking rhythmically, tapping out time. Tools include musical instruments, music, radio, stereo, CD, media.

Interpersonal - understanding, interacting with others.

They can be taught through group activities, seminars, dialogues. Tools include the phone, audio and video conferencing, time and attention from the instructor, writing, computer conferencing, E-mail.

Intrapersonal - understanding one's own interests, goals.

They can be taught through independent study and introspection. Tools include books, creative materials, diaries, privacy and time. They are the most independent of the learners.

Linguistic - using words effectively.

They can be taught by encouraging them to say and see words, read books together. Tools include computers, games, multimedia, books, tape recorders, and lecture.

Logical -Mathematical - reasoning, calculating.

They can be taught through logic games, investigations, mysteries. They need to learn and form concepts before they can deal with details.

  1. Vary the learning modalities: Kinesthetic, visual, or auditory. Similar to Multiple Intelligences, this ensures that you keep the attention of all the students.

Incorporating Daily Review

I have found, that end of class review combined with a similar review the next day is so reinforcing that students’ test scores have gone up. I can't believe that something so simple makes such a difference, but it does. The kids have to remember the beginning of class at the end, and the whole class the next day. So what advice can I give to someone who is going to try daily reviews?

  1. Ask simple direct questions to test the basic knowledge of the students.
  2. Provide hints for upcoming tests to keep students interested.
  3. Give participation points for those students who answer questions during reviews.
  4. Don't kill yourself over this one, just keep it short and sweet--pick the most salient points.

Keeping a Journal

by Melissa Kelly

Some teachers find that journal writing is a good way to keep students occupied and to help set the tone for instruction. Students keep a notebook that they pull out and write in during the first five minutes of class. Teachers might choose to guide their students' journals to follow the curriculum of the course and review previous topics and concepts, but then allow them a day of freedom every once in a while where they can just share their thoughts.

Interactive Activities to Assess and Reinforce Learning

Copyright, 1998 Susan Boyd

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Review activities also provide a means for the trainer to assess the learners' grasp of the material and spot mistakes that can be corrected before moving on to the next topic.

  1. Independent Practice Exercises
    These are hands-on practice exercises that are designed to allow the learner to use the skills and concepts presented in the preceding lesson.
  2. Stump the Class:
    Assign teams of 3-4 people per team and give each team 3 index cards. They are to write a review question and answer on each card that would test the class's knowledge of the topic(s) covered. They have 10 minutes to review their materials and come up with the questions. Collect the cards and toss a ball randomly to ask a question. The person who catches the ball may answer the question or confer with the team. Once the question has been answered correctly, the person who has the ball tosses it to someone else and the process continues until all the questions have been answered.
  3. What Have You Learned So Far:
    Teams list all they have learned about a topic. Learners are encouraged to go back to their notes. Give a 5-10 minute timeframe so they have to work quickly. Reward the team with the most items and then have everyone stand. Do a ball toss and ask each person 1 thing they now know. As each person answers, have he/she throw the ball, then sit down. The only rule is that you cannot repeat what someone else has already stated.
  4. Pictionary
    Make a list of key concepts or functions covered so far and print these on separate index cards. Ask for volunteers to illustrate these using pictures only, and the rest of the team guesses.
  5. Homemade Reference Cards:
    Have students make their own reference or study cards.
  6. But, what I really want to know:
    Before teaching a new topic, ask teams to write 3 questions they have about the topic. After the topic has been presented, teams review their cards and see what questions are still unanswered.
  7. Game Show Review:
    Using a format like Jeopardy or Concentration, create a game made up of questions that review a section of the course and have individuals or teams compete to answer the questions. There are several game show software programs that can be used to create the game electronically or they can be created using poster board.
  8. Relay Race
    List a key word or phrase vertically on flipchart paper in the 4 corners of the room and divide the class into 4 teams. Each team lines up in a single file and the first person is given a marker to fill in a concept learned for any letter in the word. As soon as the first person is finished, he/she must run back and hand over the marker to the next person in line, and go to the end of the line. If a person is stumped, they can just pass on the marker and go to the back of the line. Repeat until all letters are completed. The team who finishes first wins a small prize. This is a fun way to energize as it gets everyone up moving and thinking.