Save Time in the Classroom (and Deepen Learning Too)
As I write this post, winter break is coming to an end all across the country. Teachers everywhere are thinking about jumping back into the schedule…the workload…and the stress. The reminder that it can feel impossible to get it all done can spike anyone’s stress level. Whether returning from winter break, summer break, or even just the weekend, these are the thoughts at the root of the “Sunday Scaries.” One way to combat this feeling of dread? Keeping efficiency at the forefront to save time in the classroom. One of the most efficient teaching strategies that I can recommend for doing just that is to reduce the amount of “stuff” in our day to day routines.
Teachers are always looking for ideas and resources. It’s the entire reason TPT exists, and it’s why curriculum companies bloat their products with so many things.
Some of the most common kinds of “stuff” teachers look for?
- Morning work
- Review packets
But here’s the thing. No one needs more stuff.
What we actually need is to carefully use what we already have.
There are many ways this small shift saves loads of time in the classroom.
First, the time it takes to search for, modify (because nothing is ever exactly right), and print these things can be enormous. AI can be a super helpful tool for creating things, but even that can take more time than it should. Let’s face it, even just trying to remember where a document is saved in your Google drive can take too much time! This beginning, “search and find” step can wreak havoc on teacher productivity.
Then there’s the issue of if, when, and how you’ll look through all students’ work.
If you don’t do anything with it, then there’s already no point.
As well, if you only plan to look through it for completion, it’s a waste of your time and students’. Compliance and busywork isn’t purposeful. Our time with students is short. They are there to learn. There’s just no time to waste. That’s why making the most of every minute matters. It’s one of the biggest reasons I’m not a fan of reading logs.
When morning work and “spiral review” packets are outsourced, it can lead to even more time wasted. Why? Because what’s in them isn’t necessarily what you’ve even actually taught, or how you’ve taught it, so this can lead to a lot of confusion and questions from kids. So, more wasted time.
Review should actually be review. Meaning, review of what you’ve taught. That’s a different thing than a review of what we expect has been previously taught in other grades or classes. That, we have no way of knowing for sure. Although important, morning work shouldn’t only be a time for kids to settle in. Morning work time is the perfect time for this kind of purposeful review. Kids’ brains should be working!
Which brings me to the topic of retrieval practice, a highly effective move that leads to much deeper learning.
It’s the whole idea behind the excellent book, Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Asking students to recall prior learning–whether that be from last week, two weeks ago, last month, or several months ago–especially if this is done over and over and over–leads to learning (and teaching) that really sticks. Kinda like lots of little low or no-stakes quizzes, again and again.
“[I]nstead of just reviewing the content, we’re much better off giving something like a quiz instead. In other words, if we do more asking students to pull concepts out of their brains, rather than continually trying to put concepts in, students will actually learn those concepts better.”
Jennifer Gonzalez, Cult of Pedagogy
If the idea of retrieval practice is new, I highly recommend this episode of The Cult of Pedagogy podcast, where host Jennifer Gonzalez and cognitive scientist Dr. Pooja Agarwal talk more in-depth about it. Or this Science of Reading podcast episode with Dr. Nathaniel Swain, where it’s discussed in the context of the science of learning in general.
How can we leverage retrieval practice and save time in the classroom all at once?
Let’s go back to the most common things teachers search for: morning work and review packets.
Morning work
I get it. You need to get attendance and lunch submitted, perhaps collect homework, read through notes from home, etc. All while the clock is ticking before the day officially starts. It’s all too easy to just give students something to keep them busy while you tackle these daily tasks. But retrieval practice is the perfect way to keep them busy!
For morning work, ditch the coloring pages, word finds, and outsourced spiral review packets. If you prefer a very soft start where students play games or build things, add in a quick retrieval practice opportunity first, before students go off to create. If you love a theme, you can get creative with days like Math Monday, where students solve or explain a previously learned type of problem. Talk about it Tuesday could be a partner talk or quick write about what was learned yesterday or last week during a science experiment, or what the conflict between the British and the Colonists was all about. You get the idea.
Prefer something more game-like?
Create sets of vocabulary/definition cards, math problem/answer cards, number/word form match, or even who/what cards, as in inventors and their creations or Revolutionary war leaders and their contributions. There are countless ways to do this.
Easiest of all? Instead of a joke or fun fact of the day, commonly found on morning slides, ask a question about something learned last week, last month, or even last quarter. Students answer the question on an index card, which you can collect to check for understanding. Kids could also jot their answer, compare with a friend, and talk about any differences in their responses. They might even modify their response on the reverse side of the index card in a different color so you can see how their thinking has changed.
Review packets
Keep it simple! All those exit tickets you’ve used over the course of a unit? Bring them back! It’s easy to make one extra copy of them (or some of them), or keep a running document of them as you use them in class, then bring them back as review at any point in the year.
Create mini quizzes, with just 3–5 questions about previous learning. This could absolutely be a mix of different concepts, too. Remember, the goal is retrieval. We want students to have to call things up from their memory.
Another very simple idea is a sort of timeline recall, where students write (or just place) historical events, events from a story, steps in any kind of cycle, or even the steps to solving a particular kind of math problem in the right order.
Because of the time it can take, I don’t do cutesy things, but you certainly could if you’re so inclined. With the plethora of TPT templates, Canva, and AI, Instagram (or whatever kids these days are using) templates are very easy to create. Using a tight character limit, students can summarize yesterday’s learning about anything you choose.
Similarly, older students could write out a 90-second script that summarizes something. That’s where I’d end it, but this could go a step further and be made into an actual video in Canva, Padlet, Seesaw, or any other video platform your kids use, or just performed in small groups or for the whole class. Voilà–unedited video shorts. Kids will think they’re doing arts and crafts, but they’re actually doing high-level thinking in disguise.
These are just a few of ideas…the possibilities are truly endless.
The point is that they review what has truly been taught. These are purposeful, don’t take much effort on your part, but put the idea of retrieval practice front and center. Reviewing what you’ve already taught, many times over the course of the year and in different ways, will go a long way to making your teaching really stick!
“To be most effective, retrieval must be repeated again and again, in spaced out sessions so that the recall, rather than becoming mindless recitation, requires some cognitive effort.”
Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, 2014
So if you’re heading back into the classroom already feeling behind, consider this is your permission slip to do less—but do it better. You don’t need more packets, more printables, or more “things” to manage. You already have what you need.
Start small. Replace one morning activity. Reuse one set of exit tickets. Ask one intentional question that asks students to reach back into their memory. That’s not cutting corners. It’s teaching with intention for deeper learning—and protecting your time and energy in the process.
Time very well spent.
Could you use some help coming up with retrieval practice ideas to deepen the learning in your classroom? I’m here for support! Email me anytime so we can put a plan in place!
Who is Coach from the Couch?? I’m Michelle Ruhe, a 25+ year veteran educator, currently a K-5 literacy coach. I continue to learn alongside teachers in classrooms each and every day, and it’s my mission to support as many teachers as I can. Because no one can do this work alone. I’m available to you, too, through virtual coaching calls!
And, be sure to join my Facebook community–a safe, supportive environment where you can safely ask questions, gain ideas, and share your thoughts among other literacy-loving educators!
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