Lesson Closure Strategies

BY B R U C E D U P L A N T Y ON J A N 1 4 , 2 0 1 3

Lesson closure is so important for learning and is a cognitive process that each student
must "go through" to wrap up learning. As teachers sometimes we forget that when
students leave our room they step out into another world - sometimes of chaos. They
instantly switch wondering what's for lunch, who are they going to meet up with in
passing period, how long will practice go tonight, what's for dinner, etc. Teachers may
be reflecting on how the lesson went or what they're going to take home to grade, but
students are not. The following is a compilation of different closure activities, some of
which are short - less than a minute - and some a little longer.

Journal Entry
Write about 2 things they learned
One new learning and a lingering question
Next steps in a project (to help link day to day of project/studio work)
Math Journaling

Ticket Out The Door

Can be used as formative assessment to guide future (next day's) instruction.
Student answers in writing a question or questions posed or reflects about the
learning
Work a question/problem from the material being covered
Plus/Delta
Used with other closure ideas here

Whip Around/ 3-2-1

Students quickly and verbally share one thing they learned in the class today. You have
them toss a ball from one to another or just have volunteers .3 things they learned, 2
things they have a question about, 1 thing they want the instructor to know. Journal,
post-its, index cards, ticket out the door, etc.

Fishbowl
Students write one question they have about the topic of the current lesson. This can be
something for which they know the answer or for which they want the answer. Form an
inner and out circle. Share question with the person in front of them to see if they know
the answer, switch who is asking the questions, if time rotate to new partner.

Summary Paragraph
What was learned today, specifically and with examples. Use via journal or ticket out the
door, etc.

Explain a Procedure
Write to an absent student and explain how to
-Or-
Students write a detailed explanation of a procedure - with an example to demonstrate
their understanding of the concept. They give their partner the un-worked example and
the detailed instruction. The partner works the examples from the directions which is
followed by the pair peer editing for clarity.

Three W's
Students discuss or write

What did we learn today?

So What? (relevancy, importance, usefulness)
Now What? (how does this fit into what we are learning, does it affect our thinking,
can we predict where we are going)

The Five W's

Students explain the who, what, where, when, why and how of the lesson.

Pair-Share
Tell the person next you you 2 (3,4,5) things you have learned today, then the groups
report out.
Variation - Think/Write/Pair/Share

Daily Dozen
Each student chooses two questions from a generic list to respond to about the day's
lesson.

Gallery Walk
Students prepare representations of their learning and post them around the room or
otherwise display them. Students can either share out or move from station to station
and write questions or comments, noting similarities and differences, and/or reflect on
what they might do differently if they were to repeat the process.

Quiz
Daily or intermittently, 2-4 questions to show what student have learned. Via exit
slips/ticket out the door or whiteboards work well for formative assessment. Don't forget
to ask conceptual questions.

Quiz Master
Students prepare a short quiz (+/- 5 questions with answers). At least 2 of the questions
must start with How? or Why? Collect via exit slips/ticket out the door or have written in
journal. It can serve as a warm-up for the next day just pass them out randomly.

Quiz a Partner
Students each create 1 or 2 questions based on the lesson. Combine with Pair-share to
process questions and responses.

Thumbs Up - Thumbs Down

Post questions where all students respond with thumbs up, down or sideways, ask for
explanation of the decisions.

Quick Doodles
Draw two or three concepts presented in the lesson - may include words or numbers.

Key Ideas
Students list the key ideas from the lesson and why they were important.

What Am I?
(Riddles for key terms) Students each construct clues (riddles) about the key terms and
quiz partners or the room.

Jeopardy
Teacher gives answer, students create the question. Use with dry erase boards. (Google
to find jeopardy templates for Power Point and Smart Notebook, etc.)

Be The Teacher
Students present three key ideas they think everyone should have learned. Could be done
with a group/s, or individually. Responses can be either oral or written.
Credit Cards
Students are given in index card and required to state the lesson's objective and if they
feel that the objective was met. Credit is given for participating.

Postcard
Students are given an index card and they write a postcard to their parents explaining
the day's lesson.

Pros and Cons

Students list pros and cons of the issue discussed in class (via exit slip, ticket out the
door, journal, etc.)

So What's Up With...?
Students raise questions about something they either were unsure about or need
clarification. Can be done orally or written. Combine with Pair-share or other small
group for immediate processing or with exit slips/ticket out the door.

I Care Why?
Students explain relevancy of the concept to their life or how the might use it.

It Fits Where?
Students create a time line of the concepts taught (sequence the concepts) or explain a
connection to something else they know.

Element of Surprise
Students receive an envelope containing a card with a word or phrase selected by the
teacher. Students discuss the concepts and list the content-specific vocabulary necessary
to discuss it.

Numbered Heads Together

Students in groups of up to five are numbered sequentially. As a group, they create a list
of 3-5 things learned in the lesson and then the teacher calls one number for each group
to report to the class something they learned.

We Learned What?
Students write open ended questions index cards. Two students are selected to come
forward. The first student draws a question card and poses the question to the class.
After the class discusses the question and answers with their partner - the second
student draws a student name card to respond to the questions. (these questions could
also be used to launch - or in SET - the next day's lesson)

We're Going Where?

Students predict the topic of tomorrow's lesson - be sure to refer to the predictions the
next day as either an opener/SET or in closure.

It looks Like This

An actual object or model that directly relates to the lesson is show to students. Students
explain in small groups or exit slips/ticket out the door how it connects to the day's
concept.

Sell It To Us
Write a jingle (or rap) that explains the main idea of the lesson.

Commercial
Students write a 1-2 minute commercial to use at home when asked, What happened in
math class today?

4 Box Synectics
Synectics connect unrelated ideas through metaphor. Students are given a sheet with
four boxes, in each box is a stem. Examples:

Solving equations is like eating an orange because

Solving equations is like driving a car because

KWL Chart
(What do you Know? What do you Want to know? What did you Learn?)
At the beginning of a lesson, introduce students to a concept such as fractions or adverbs
by asking them what they already know about it and what they want to learn. Then, as
the closing activity, have students fill out the What did you learn? column.