Campfire

Description:

This formative assessment technique allows students to comprehend a fact or concept and teaches them how to put it into their own words. In a simple format it encourages critical and creative thinking and allows students to teach peers what they have understood and remembered. It then provides the format to quickly see what students have learnt.

Implementation:

• Students are given a fact or concept on a card. Students are asked to read the information and remember what it says, then the fact/concept is removed.
• Students are then taken outside and given a piece of chalk. (This part can also be done in class on paper) They are given a short time to draw their fact/concept. (This will quickly allow the teacher to gauge understanding)
• In 2 halves the class then wanders around the ‘gallery’ and asks the artist questions about the meaning of their picture.
• After both groups have been artist and viewer bring the class together around a pretend campfire and share some of the new facts they learnt.