I use check lists ALL the time. Even before students enter the room, they know what they’ll need for class. I put this check list (pictured below) outside my room and use a dry erase marker every day to mark off which materials students will need to be successful class participants. This not only drastically cuts down on the questions of “what do I need for class today?” question but it also quells student anxiety. To a degree, they know a little bit of what we’ll be doing in class even before we get to the agenda.
I also use check lists throughout class instruction. Before assignments begin, I ask students to access certain resources so they don’t have to go digging for them later, and at the end of assignments, I ask students to check off what resources they used to complete an assignment. I don’t always expect students to check off every box, but I have noticed students go back and review their work when they learn that haven’t checked any boxes. Adding check lists to the beginning and end of assignments has helped students become more independent learners, which is ultimately the goal. Before adding check lists to my classroom routines, students repeatedly asked me: “did I do this right?” and “will this get me an A?” It’s not that I never hear these questions anymore, but I hear them far less than I did before I used check lists. Now, I hear much more confident, positive feedback from students.
Check lists are also hugely beneficial when assigning longer project-based assignments. I still present students with rubrics, but many students seem to get lost in the ad nauseam language that describes what they need to do to earn certain grades. What students crave (well, at least my students do) is a specific list of things they need to have in their assignment in order for it to be turned in and earn a successful grade. My students recently finished Lance Piantaggini’s Agrippina Auriga and had a significant choice board assignment to complete. For every assignment they could complete, I included individual check lists, which looked something like the image below. Students were much more responsive to this than the large, detailed rubric I tried to explain to them.
Check lists have changed my instructional routines for the better and have helped my students become more independent learners. How do you use check lists in your class? Please email widernetlang@gmail.com and let us know!