Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Teacher Tuesday (on a Wednesday): Kahoot Edition

With exams and tests and end of the year craziness happening I thought I'd share my students VERY FAVORITE way to review.  I can cram a lot of information and cover a lot of review material into  a game where they get excited about participating and completing the problems.  I may be the very last person to discover this, so humor me if you already know about it.

The game is called Kahoot and I liken it to those trivia games you play at some restaurants where you use your phone as a buzzer.  Start off by going to www.getkahoot.com .  You'll have to create an account , but it's free and takes about 20 seconds to do.

Once you have an account, click "Create a Quiz" and then start adding in questions. You can write them in the blank and then upload a picture to go along with it. Put your answer choices in the boxes at the bottom and continue adding questions until you've covered all your material.


Once you're done adding questions you can review what you've made and then hit save and/or play.



This is where it gets super fun.  The kids all get out their phones or a laptop (either their own or one off our laptop cart)and I pull up my quiz on the SmartBoard and hit play.  They follow the directions on the screen and go to kahoot.it and then enter our unique game pin (it's generated when you hit play) to join in the game


As students join, they get to pick their username and then they show up on the screen as a player. Sometimes I make them use their actual name, but most days I let them pick their own.  I always crack up at seeing the names they pick :)

Yes.... when we played yeterday one of my students picked "Asian Guy" as his username... and I died laughing because he's actually Asian. ;) 


Once your class has joined, you hit start and the questions will pop up on the screen with a timer and your answer choices.  I forgot to take a picture, but the kids screens (laptop and phone are the same), just have the four colored sections for them to tap.  Once they select their answer they're "locked in" and the question stays on the board until either everyone has answered or time runs out.


If you have less than three answer choices, that's fine.


I really like that after each question it pops up and displays how many (not who!) students selected each answer.  This allows me the opportunity to pull up a Notebook slide and review information before we move on and/or make note of what I need to re-teach or review either at the end of class or the next day.  My 7th graders have been working on permutations versus combinations and it ALWAYS trips them up.  I knew that this particular question was going to catch a lot of them and after they answered it and I got the results we paused, went over the concept again, and then moved on.


ENGAGED in learning!


I like to mix in fun and random questions about them or about me.  Adding pictures in always makes them giggle as well.

 

The game keeps track of the scores (based on the correct answer and how quickly you got it) and displays the scoreboard after every question.  On their phones/laptops they can see exactly where they fall in the class even if they're not part of the top 5 leader board that's displayed.



My second period is a fan of emojis ;) And the Searching.... username may have been my favorite.


My students ALWAYS ask to do this type of review and every single student gets involved.  Today's review was basic, but I've used this with solving quadratics, and other higher level problem solving as well (I just increase the time allowed per question).  If I'm doing longer problems, I try to mix them in with fun/funny and easier problems so the "pace" of the game stays pretty quick.

If you're not a teacher, but have access to a projector screen, this would be a fun game for a party or an easy ice breaker for a meeting.  

So teacher friends, do you have a fun review method that your students love?  I have a couple more that I'll share next Tuesday as well, but I'd love for you to leave your best practices in the comments if you have one (or five!) to share!

62 comments :

  1. I love Kahoot! I'm a teacher in an adult ed program and my students always have fun playing. Great for all ages.

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    1. I played it in an AP training I went to this summer (with a bunch of other math teachers) and had the best time! :) We're NEVER too old for a game! :)

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  2. Ooh what a fun idea, I've never heard of this site. I used to make my own jeopardy game (from jeopardy labs) to review and then play the theme song on spotify- the kids loved it!

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    1. LOVE me some Jeopardy! The only issue I've come across is keeping the students who aren't answering the questions actively engaged in the game. And yes... the music is the best part :) hahaha

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  3. What a great way to review!!! I wish I could go back to middle school math so I could have you as my teacher!! When I was in school we played a lot of "school bus". Where two kids stood beside each other, teacher asked the question. Student who answered correctly goes to the next kid.

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    1. I forgot about that one!!!! Going to use it when we do our geometry formula review next week. Thanks, girly! And yes... I would LOVE to have Middle School Erika in my class :) #stoptalking #stopgiggling hehehe

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  4. The teachers at my school played this a few months ago on a PD day and it was super fun!

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  5. Love!! My students run out if data so fast and our school has a no cell phone policy, but I HAVE to figure out how to make this work!!!! They'd love this!!!

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    1. Laptops??? WiFi??? I don't know your technology circumstances... but yes! It's so fun!!! Do you have a tech/computer lab you could take them to? They coudl all log in on desktops and play as well!

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  6. Oh how I wish my school had a laptop/iPad cart!!! My kids would love this! Thank you for sharing!!

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    1. If you have a tech/computer lab they could log in on desktops and play as well! Good luck!!!

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  7. And this is just one of the many, many, many reasons why you're the best teacher EVER. xoxo

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    1. Next time we have dinner at my house I may make a "McAnally trivia" kahoot.... study up, homegirl! :)

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  8. Awesome! So playing this for finals review in two weeks! My kids always like trashcan basketball, Jeopardy, the line dot game, and making their own questions to stump the others. We're also going to try a variation of trashcan basketball called grudgeball in a few weeks.

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    1. TRASHKETBALL!!! Love me some trashketball :) And I love the idea of stumping eachother with questions. GREAT idea!

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  9. Searching...middle schoolers are so funny. I love it. Also, I totally want to come and play that game! Sounds like fun!! Great job, girl!

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    1. Middle schoolers are the best :) Ask Jackson what his username would be. hehehe

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  10. Technology these days. ...! :)

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  11. Hi Andrea!
    My students and I love Kahoot! too. (And my 7 yo son also loves doing it in his class and making some for his friends at school.) I work with elementary students, so sometimes having enough devices for each student is a challenge. We discovered Plickers (think paper clickers) this spring, which is really fun too.

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    1. OOOH! I'll have to look into plickers. Thanks, girl!

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  12. So your whole class can play at the same time? I'm definitely going to use this next week for exam review if that's the case! Thanks for the suggestion!

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    1. Yes ma'am! The main reason I love it is that EVERYONE is thinking, working them out and answering them individually. It also gives you a report at the end with stats on each question and each player so you know who struggled with what. It's fun, but is also a great way to gauge progress and understanding.

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  13. THANK YOU for posting this! I'll definitely be utilizing this for review. I've always reviewed for quizzes/tests/exams by a homemade Jeopardy game using Power Point, tables, and hyperlinks. The kids (and by kids I mean giant 10th graders...) beg to play! This seems a little (a lot!) more user friendly and interactive. Thanks much!

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    1. 10th graders would FLIP OUT over this! Try it and let me know what you think!

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  14. My students love Kahoot as well! I teach 5th grade but my students always enjoy a few days before a math test doing a scoot as a review. I post questions all around the classroom and give them a clipboard and a recording sheet. They get to choose what order they want to solve in and get to be up and moving. The students are always so engaged and appreciate the time to get out of their seat. I have students bring me their recording sheet after each question to ensure they are doing it right and if not then I can do individual help with a student. It's easy to put together and a way to quick check who still needs help and who is ready for the test!

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    1. LOVE Scoot! I have a fun variation on it that I'm going to share next week that the kids LOVE! Thanks for sharing!

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  15. We have something similar for our smart boards, but our school actually has remote devices for the kids, so they don't use their own electronic devices (they look like remote controls with just numbers on them). We use it all the time, for review type games and the kids love it!! I love that it's exciting and the competitiveness keeps students engaged. They forget they're learning!

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    1. Is it called Bravo? We have that as well... but I've never been great at creating the actual games. hahaha Maybe I should work on that. And yes! Making them forget that they're studying is the best.

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  16. My kiddos are obsessed with this game! I love hearing them yell n get so excited over simple review!

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    1. We have to have the "inside voice" conversation multiple times and I try to be "firm"... but I love how excited and "into it" they are. hahaha Thanks so much for reading!

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  17. You are a fantastic teacher! What a great way to review.

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  18. This SAVED me! I am a school counselor and ironically I dread classroom guidance! I am just so much better with small groups or one to one. I'm having a particularly hard time at my new school in the inner city. I'm teaching about domestic violence which is so important for them but it's been such a struggle to keep them from getting silly and off topic.
    THANK YOU!

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    1. Let me know if you try this and how it goes! I think the more "engaged" they can be in a structured way the better. Have you ever tried the post-it question game? They read something and then have to write at least one question on a post-it... then you collect the post-its and talk about the questions in a "round-table" discussion. Good luck at your new school!

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  19. Kahoot is great! My 5th graders LOVE it! They also really like NearPod. It's an app that lets you build interactive presentations. You can even drag and drop already made PowerPoint slides right onto the website! Then, you just create questions/activities (multiple choice, written response, questions where you want them to draw a picture, etc.) wherever you want to get some individual feedback from the students. Super easy to use and it provides great data and feedback!

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    1. I'm going to have to check out NearPod ASAP! It sounds fantastic. Thanks so much for the recommendation!

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  20. I love reading your blog! I'm a teacher and my students like Kahoot, too. But recently, we've been using Quizizz. For my third graders, it was easier if they could read the question on their own device. It gives them immediate feedback (using memes) to tell them if their answer is correct or incorrect. I like that I can print out a report at the end to see how each student did. :)

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    1. Oooooh! that sounds awesome! Checking it out this weekend!

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  21. I LOVE KAHOOT!! It's actually my favorite, and I'm a junior in high school :) Have a great week Andrea!!

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    1. Right?!?! I love when I find something fun that the kids love but that's really beneficial to them as well :)

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    1. Next time I host dinner at my house I'll make a trivia one :) hahaha

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  24. BEST TEACHER EVER!!!!!!! I'm so impressed by how much effort you put in to make your class fun and engage your students! My math teachers never did anything fun! You go girl!

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    1. You're too sweet! I like to have fun and get "bored" with normal bookwork, so I like to mix it up for them as much as I do for myself :) hahaha

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  25. I love this idea! But does it allow you to input equation editor characters? That's the problem with teaching math. Many of these games don't allow for that, and in high school, there aren't many math problems that don't include an exponent, radical, or some kind of math symbol! I have used Ellen's app/game (Head's Up) to review in my geometry class. It's great! I'ts always a little scary handing over my personal cell phone, but I give them some pretty strict stipulations beforehand! (But I run into the same problem I mentioned above, so I can only use it for vocab-type review...)

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    1. What I've done for this is I've written the equations/formulas/etc. on note card, taken a picture of it and then uploaded the pic to the photo spot.... you can even write the answer choices on the card if your answer has characters that aren't available and label them ABCD and put those as the answers.... It's late... I'm hoping that made sense. :)

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    2. Great idea! I will try this next year! Thanks!

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    3. For math teachers, you can use symbols in the question. But, you may find it easier to utilize an image to ask your question. You can create your own very detailed mathematical equations and then show them in Kahoot.
      Source: https://www.udemy.com/intuitive-interactive-kahoot-quiz-design-for-teachers/

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  26. I have been using Kahoot with my 7th graders in Language Arts this year and they love it!!!! I love it too because it's easy to create. You may already know this, but at the end when the students are done with the review, from your screen you can lick a link of see data and it will show you each student's data. It shows each question and each student's answer. This has helped me a lot with assessment to see what I need to reteach or who needs extra practice.

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  27. Speaking of school... Where'd you go to college? :)

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  28. When you are gifted an item, why do you write about it in such tiny font at the end of your post? It makes you seem so shady! What are you trying to hide?

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    1. I'm not trying to hide anything.... I consider it like a "footnote". I don't think there's anything "shady" in disclosing a gifted item in a different sized font. I'm super appreciative when I receive an item to review and never try to hide a "thank you" to the company who sent it my way. Hope this answers your question!

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  29. YES! My fifth graders LOVE LOVE LOVE Kahoot! They seriously request it every day. I need to spend some time this summer binge creating Kahoots like a mad woman :) They go crazy for Kahoot and don't realize it's learning- the best kind of teaching, right? Love that you also love this great review tool!

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  30. I read your blog daily - one of the first things I do daily - LOVE it! I had to write - I told my nephew, who teaches middle school in Cleveland area about your post; he also teaches Math. He played today in his class and the kids loved it! He is going to use again. What a fun way to learn for them, sure is different from when I was in school!

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  31. I love Kahoot - I use it with my adult ESL class and they LOVE it. And they come up with some crazy usernames, too. :) I have also found some good quizzes on there that others have made. Comes in handy since we cover such a variety of topics! You seem like such a fun teacher!

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  32. I stumbled upon your blog from Mix and Match Mama. I teach foreign language and just started using Kahoot as a review tool this year. They seriously LOVE it! Everyday I am asked "Are we playing kahoot?" If you're ever pressed for time, you can search the public kahoots for ones others have made. And it allows you to see the questions/answers that person made.

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