The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA
Education:How To
Today, I want to highlight a useful tool Amanda Cardenas shared earlier this year on the show called The Sesame Street Quiz. It’s so versatile, so fun, and so helpful that I feel it deserves a show of its own, so here we go.
Amanda has already shared with us how these work, back in episode 267.
Here’s a quick review:
A Sesame Street Quiz gives students four items. Three are connected and one is an outlier. For example, if you’re reading Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby, you might give students the options: Daisy, Jordan, floating, red. Which three are connected and why? Which one is the outlier and why? Amanda lets kids use their book and notes as they respond.
Now, think about this idea of a Sesame Street Quiz. It’s a great way to check in and see which kids are doing the reading, and understanding the reading. But how else might you use it?
It could make a great bellringer or discussion warm-up. Have students make their decisions alone or with a partner, justifying their choices.
It could make for an intriguing way to review before a final exam. Invite students to consider the key texts of the term, and choose which ones go together and which is an outlier.
It could lead into a fascinating one-pager assessment, with kids creating a visual representation of the three that group together and integrating quotations and analysis in their own words of why those three link.
It could be a helpful exit ticket, to see how well students digested the material from the lesson if you’ve been deep diving into a text.
I bet you can think of lots more uses as well! But however you use it, this week I just want to highly recommend that you give a Sesame Street question a try ASAP.
Related Links:
Episode 267, with Amanda Cardenas: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2024/03/so-your-students-arent-doing-the-reading-heres-help.html
Explore more of Amanda's work: https://www.mudandinkteaching.org/
Go Further:
Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast.
Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook.
Come hang out on Instagram.
Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!
063: Using Stations Creatively in ELA
062: When Students Choose their Own Assessments, with David Rickert
061: Using Podcasts as Texts in ELA
060: Students won't read? Don't care? One Year to Change That
059: Maybe Teaching doesn't have to be so Lonely
058: How to Match Student Readers with Books they'll Love
057: Creative Tech Tools for ELA Teachers, with Jennifer Gonzalez
056: Get Funding with Donors Choose (Dos and Don'ts)
055: Hyperdocs, Authentic Audience, and Screencastify with Kristy Louden
054: Winter Holiday Activities for ELA
053: How to Plan a Unit in 30 Minutes
052: The Easy Guide to Blackout Poetry
051: Mock Trials and E-mail Etiquette with The Daring English Teacher
050: The Power of Imperfect Action
049: Get Creative with Google Classroom, with Matt Miller
048: Reading Program Accountability that doesn't Ruin Everything
047: The Power of the Writing Makerspace, with Angela Stockman
046: Sketchnotes are Awesome, with Mike Rohde
045: Classroom Memes and Interactive Notebooks
044: 25 Creative Assessments for Any Novel (Whoa)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Navigating Life After 40
Science of Reading: The Podcast
The Minimal Mom
Old Fashioned On Purpose
Financial Coaching for Women: How To Budget, Manage Money, Pay Off Debt, Save Money, Paycheck Plans