Teaching Strategy

Exit Tickets

Use exit tickets to assess students’ understanding, monitor their questions, or gather feedback on your teaching.

Published: February 24, 2008

Last Updated: September 25, 2023

Teaching Strategy

Language

English — US

Subject

Advisory
English & Language Arts
History
Social Studies

Grade

6–12

Overview

What Is an Exit Ticket?

Exit tickets (also called "exit cards") require students to respond to questions or prompts on a piece of paper that they will pass in to you before they leave class. These tickets provide you with immediate information that you can use to assess students’ understanding, monitor their questions, or gather feedback on your teaching. For students, exit tickets serve as a content review at the end of a daily lesson and enhance their metacognitive skills.

Procedure

Step 1

Students should have a pencil and paper. Teachers can prepare half-slips of paper with typed questions or write questions on the board for students to answer.

Since exit tickets must be turned in before students leave class, it is best if the prompts are specific and brief. They typically refer directly to the content that was studied, but they can also be general in nature.

Exit Ticket Ideas

List three things you learned in class today.
What questions, ideas, and feelings did this lesson raise for you?
What was your favorite moment of class? Why? What was your least favorite part of class? Why?
Evaluate your participation in class today. What did you do well? What would you like to do differently next time?
What do you need?
- What is something I can do as your teacher to support you in this class?
- What is something other students can do to support you in this class?
Don’t misunderstand me:
- One misunderstanding someone might have about me is . . .
- But really, the truth about me is . . .

Exit tickets can be structured using the 3-2-1 format and S-I-T: Surprising, Interesting, Troubling teaching strategies as well.

Step 2

Often, teachers have students complete exit tickets during the final five minutes of the class period. Depending on the purpose for having students complete exit tickets, teachers may have students complete them anonymously.

Step 3

Students may leave class when they turn in an exit ticket to the teacher.

It is often appropriate to share your findings from the exit tickets with students at the beginning of the next lesson. For example, you could mention that many students asked similar questions, so you will make sure to address these questions in subsequent lessons. Sometimes teachers type up the results of the exit tickets (without names) and have students respond to these comments as a warm-up during the next lesson. Letting students know that you have read their ideas and have used them to inform your teaching decisions helps build a classroom culture of respect and trust.

Handout

Have students complete this exit ticket handout to assess their understanding at the end of a lesson.

Preview Image of the How Many Bars? Exit Ticket Template.

Handout

Use this Exit Ticket Template to give students an opportunity to tell you about themselves at the start of the school year.

Preview Image of the Teach the Teacher Exit Ticket Template.

Handout

Students use this exit ticket handout to reflect on ways they'd like to "be seen.”

Preview Image of the I Feel Seen When... Exit Ticket Template.

Activity

Students explore the relationship between our names, identities, and the societies in which we live.

A pile of "Hello my name is" nametags and sharpie markers sit on top of a desk.

Activity

Students identify an object that holds special meaning and learn about each other by sharing the stories of these special items.

A person holding a rectangular white photo frame near a body of water.

Activity

Students analyze a poem in order to determine the qualities of a classroom community where members are seen, valued, and heard.

Two students look at each other in conversation. One student is also taking notes.

Teaching Strategy

This teaching strategy invites students to think about the “tools” they have access to that can help them take care of themselves and their community in the wake of traumatic news.

A student in a grey sweatshirt looks down at a paper with a pencil in hand.

Teaching Strategy

This strategy helps students engage with oral histories in order to deepen their understanding of how past events impacted individuals and communities, and to gain new perspectives on the present.

Activity

This mood meter activity develops students’ vocabulary for describing their feelings and their empathy muscles.

Activity

Students consider what parts of our identities we choose for ourselves and what parts are chosen for us, as well as the impact our names can have on our identities.

A student in conversation with a peer outside of the photograph is in the center of the photo. Another student looks at a laptop.

Activity

Students explore the idea of “community” in order to identify its key aspects and deeper meaning.

Activity

Students explore the factors that make up a community.

A silhouette of the Chicago City Skyline at sunrise.

Activity

Students use emojis to practice sharing what they are feeling while building empathy for their classmates.

A student looks down at their paper with a pen in hand. A smiling emoji is in the foreground.

Activity

Students engage with an intriguing image that lacks context or a title, drawing on their close viewing and analysis skills.

Assorted images of the outdoors organized in a grid on a beige wooden table.

Activity

Students practice gratitude by naming and recording three good things that have happened that day.

Two students look to the front of the classroom with smiles on their faces.

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Exit Tickets