Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Teacher Tuesday - Bonus Questions

 It's been a looooong time since I've shared a Teacher Tuesday post and so today I thought I'd share a little bit about how I handle "bonus" points on tests.

I will pretty much always offer 3-5 points of "bonus" on tests as I feel like that helps compensate for any careless errors students make and/or reward students for being diligent about checking for those careless mistakes. 

Sometimes I'll do a couple of critical thinking/challenge questions that relate to the material or a few questions from the previous test to spiral back in previous learning.  



Other times I'll make the test have 104 possible points but their grade will be out of 100 so essentially they have a "cushion" (this is what I always do on exams).  Students LOVE this because the "room for error" eases a lot of anxieties.

My FAVORITE way to give a bonus question though is a funny drawing prompt.  Kids look forward to them, they're a stress and test anxiety reliever and I have a blast grading them.  Here are a few ideas of what I'm talking about...

- Draw a robot with fabulous hair

- Draw a pet in a petty dress

- Draw a butterfly telling a joke

- Draw a caterpillar in sunglasses

- Draw a dinosaur wearing glasses 

- Draw a picture - if it makes me smile or laugh you get 3 points ;)

- Draw yourself with a super power

- Draw your teacher as a zombie

- Draw a bird eating a cheeseburger

... it's hilarious and I love adding onto their pictures when grading :) 

I also pull this bonus on my honors classes once a year (I got it from a co-worker years ago)...


Here's hoping you found this helpful!  If you're a teacher I'd love to know how you handle bonuses on tests.  HAPPY Tuesday, friends!


6 comments :

  1. I love these so much. I’m a kindergarten teacher in hopes that one day my 10 year old son will have a middle school teacher like you. Thank you for your daily postings. I appreciate them more than you know.

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  2. SO FUN!!!!! Carter would love the opportunity for bonus points on all tests. His history teacher usually gives a writing response for bonus points as the final question, but none of the other teachers do. It really does relax him a little and he totally appreciates the cushion!

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  3. Your creativity is on point lady!! I love your teacher tuesday's :)

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  4. That is so fun! Most of my son's teachers offer bonus points too and he just loves that; even though the grading program we use doesn't allow teachers to actually give the 105 points that he often earns.

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  5. As a retired teacher of 30 years, I love to read your teacher posts. You are just the BEST...oh, how I wish my own children could have had you for their math teacher! Keep up the excellent work!!!

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