I am a huge fan of Plickers and the ease they bring to classroom assessments! However, I also like using Plickers in other ways, such as for surveys. Student choice can be a great factor of student achievement. Plickers can add to the fun of student choice in a whole group setting. This post will show you another option for using Plickers in your classroom.
You Plick the Story is a Friday activity in which students get to choose the book for the next week's shared reading experience. This is appropriate for grades K-2 during whole group instruction. Plan your shared reading books one month at a time (1 book a week).
1. Choose 8 books, poems, or reading passages you would like to use for your shared reading activities. You will only use 4 of these books for the month.
2. Pair the books by your focus skill for each week. I always find it difficult to choose between some of my favorite stories. With Plickers and this activity, the students can pick for you! This gives them both ownership and excitement over their reading.
3. Create 4 true/false Plickers questions with the paired book titles as your true/false responses. Make sure to leave the "correct" boxes empty. This is a survey as opposed to an assessment. Add them to your Queue for use with the kids.
4. Make You Plick the Story a Friday activity to set up your shared reading for the next week. This allows you the weekend to prepare your activities based on the story that received the most votes. Begin with a brief introduction or book walk of the 2 stories you selected. Then use Plickers for students to Plick the Story. In the Live View of Plickers, make sure to keep it on the Student tab so the results are secret.
5. On Monday, have the "Big Reveal" of which story was chosen by the majority of the students. Children love the idea that they are owners of their learning. The combined use of Plickers and the big reveal add excitement to your room and set the tone for a positive reading experience. Using the Plickers cards allows your students to have an individual voice and not be swayed by what their friends vote on.
I hope you find this activity enjoyable and would love to hear how you make it work in your classroom!
Click here for a PDF of this activity: You Plick the Story!
