Ah, the dreaded Pop Quiz. There's a reason that this old-style teaching method hasn't been thrown out: it's super effective. This evil-sounding tool can be used by the wise teacher to help cover a lot of material very quickly, review previously studied material, or to determine how well students are understanding material. Plus, it takes very little preparation time by the teacher.
Write your questions. Your questions should be of a type that can be answered in a few words. They can be based on last night's reading, reading done during class, or even on material students have never before seen. 10 questions is a good starting place. Be sure to number your questions.
Quiz. Have students number their papers before the quiz begins. Quickly ask your questions, repeating each only once for speed.
Review Responses. Ask the questions again, while giving students a chance to give their answers. Here's where the actual learning takes place. Based on the number of correct responses or discussion, you'll know whether to delve into a topic more deeply or move on.
I like to give students a few minutes to review material -- after all, it's church. I also provide prizes for the winners of pop quizzes.
This is a great way to cover a lot of material or to review something you covered in class. My students are competitive enough that they like to compete for prizes. Today's prizes were a Mockingjay necklace, a My Little Pony slap bracelet, a giant Chick-o-Stick, 3 Airheads candies, or 4 candy sticks.
Great for: Asking questions, Covering a lot of material, Determining student level of understanding, Helping students find meaning in the scriptures, Reviewing a scripture story, When you're running out of time
Class size: Any class size
Helps Students: SEARCH the scriptures or text, SHARE feelings, thoughts, or personal experiences
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Student Age: Any age
Equipment needed: paper, pen for each student
