Plickers ... Oh what fun!!!

Have you tried Plickers yet in your classroom?

Plickers is the best thing since sliced bread!

Not only is it oh so EASY to use BUT the kids loooooove it! No, really they do. They actually beg for it.

I use it a few times per quarter in my 6th grade ELA classes. I take their answers and either use them as a quiz grade or class grade, depending on the skill and how long we've been studying.

Here's how it works:

Go to Plickers.com

1. Sign up - It's free, FREE!!!

2. Click "classes" along the top bar, then click "add new class". Here is where you will name your class/classes. For me, I teach three ELA blocks, so mine are named Morrison Block1, Morrison Block3, Morrison Block5. Next, you will select the grade and subject (elementary teachers can select General) and a class color. Click save.

3. Enter your students. I entered my students in alphabetical order following my roster. Enter their name in the box and click enter. It will assign them a card number. So if you assign students numbers in your classroom, be sure to type their names in the order you have them numbered beginning with one. (If you have multiple classes like I do - My student assigned card number 1 in my Block 1 will be assigned the same card number 1 as my first student in my Block 3 and Block 5).

4. Once you've entered all of your students and classes you are ready to print your Plicker cards and begin the fun!

5. Click "Cards" along the top bar. On this page you have several options. If you teach younger kids, you may want to print the "Large Print" cards. If you teach upper grades, the standard will work just fine. If you teach multiple classes, print multiple copies. It is recommend that you print on card stock and laminate. I did not. There is also the option to buy durable, laminated cards from amazon.



Here is the link:
Plickers

In my classroom, each student taped their card to the inside back cover of their Reading Comprehension Notebooks.

Each card has a unique visual code. Each of the four sides of the card are lettered either A, B, C, or D. Students hold the card so the letter corresponding to their answer choice is facing up (is at the top of the card).

6. Now it is time to create your questions. Click "Library" along the top bar. On the left hand side click "New Folder" and re-name. I usually use the activity name, such as, "Fact vs. Opinion."

7. Once you have a folder named and open, you can begin creating questions. Click "New Question." The questions can be either presented as multiple choice or true/false. Images can also be added here as well. Note: You should also mark the correct answer to the side for easy grading.

8. After you create your question and click save, you have the option to add it to the queue. Here is where I add each class I want to assign this Plickers question. **Differentiating can be done with this step if you teach, for example, advance classes and standard classes. Not all questions have to go to all the same classes.**


9. Download Plickers onto a mobile device such as an iPad or phone. (again it's FREE!!)

10. You are almost finished... when you are ready for the activity, log into Plickers on your computer and pull it up on your phone/iPad. Click "Live View" along the top bar on your computer. Project this screen in your classroom. Now on your mobile device, click the class, click library, click the folder (example Fact vs. Opinion), click on the question and click scan now. The question should now pop up on the screen you've projected in the class.

11. The students will silently read the question and hold up their cards with the answer they choose. Once every student has their card held up, scan the room with your mobile device. As you scan each card, the screen with alert you.

12. Continue through the questions.

13. Once finished, click "Reports" along the top bar and click "scorescheet." Select the class and date you gave the questions and click apply. Here you can collect data and grades on each student.


Once you have your classes set up, the rest really is easy and quick. It saves a lot of time - No More Grading to Lug Home -
And best of all the kids really have fun!!

Here are some videos to help you as you get started:

Video1

Video2



Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear how you use Plickers in your classroom!

Differentiated Instruction

Wowzer!!! What a week!!! I had a substitute in my room 2 1/2 out of the 5 days - and I wasn't even sick. Monday, I had training on Differentiated Instruction presented by LeAnn Nickelsen (more on that in a sec.), Thursday I had a full day of 3rd grade staff development on the Common Core, and Friday morning, well I had to go watch the MOST precious preschool program in the whole world featuring my very own star 5 year old!

Okay, back to the part on the Differentiated Instruction. At one time I was so scared of the word "differentiated".
I didn't quite understand stand it. And it seemed so difficult and complicated. Then, along comes an opportunity for me to attend a workshop on the very subject, that at the thought or mention of, would make me cringe. So what do I do? I volunteer.

Well, it turned out to be one of the very best things I have done in my career! This workshop was presented by a fabulous lady, LeAnn Nickelsen. She is so enthusiastic and passionate. I was immediately drawn to her warmth and love of teaching! I came away from these two days with a wealth of information. Ideas and tips that weren't scary or complicated after all. I couldn't wait to get back into my classroom and begin implementing everything she had taught us. I jumped right in transforming my room and ways of teaching to include differentiation.

One item on my agenda, making sure I was meeting the different learning styles among my students. LeAnn calls this teaching the V-A-K (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) way. And she taught us that all three should be in "EVERY lesson, EVERY day." Now naturally I was (somewhat) doing this. But I wanted to have a way to keep myself in check. So, I changed the way I wrote my lesson plans. At the bottom of my lesson plans I have created a key.

A- Auditory V- Visual K- Kinesthetic P- Priming F- Formative Assessment S- Summative Assessment

And in each lesson plan, I code what I am doing for each learning style in that lesson. This system makes me pause and contemplate how I am going to meet the needs of diverse learners. This has transformed my idea of differentiated instruction. Just this simple idea of meeting three different learning styles in each lesson is one way of making a difference in someone's learning.

So... Monday, I had another day (day # 3) of training with LeAnn. I came away with even more knowledge than before and soon I will be implementing these into my classroom as well. This time we focused on anchor activities and tiered lessons. We were also told that in the fall LeAnn would be back for more training and support! Whoopee!!

The most exciting part of my week though - wait for it, wait for it!!!

LeAnn came to MY classroom on Wednesday for a visit. YEAH!! I was so excited to have her come in and see all the ways I was using differentiated instruction in my classroom. She was so sweet and complimentary. She loved my Homeworkopoly board (check out my previous post on it) and was going to google it when she got home. She also LOVED my stop sign exit ticket strategy and the I can statement sheet (also in previous posts). Needless to say, it was a very exciting, learning-filled week for me!