Kahoot! What a Hoot!

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever, this is tough to keep up with! School is in full swing, and all my extra time is spent making lessons, games, handouts, and GRADING! Ugh.... I totally dislike having to grade so much.

That is why I LOVE sites that grade things for you. I am obsessed with Socrative and use it weekly for all types of quizzes. We use it for math, vocabulary, reading, and science. Most recently I took screenshots of the science test from the unit PDF online and inserted them into Socrative. This way the students can still see and get used to the layout of a paper exam, while taking the test online. They see feedback and can use their books to find the answers. Socrative allows for differentiation. I read the test aloud to my lowest group, while the other students work at their own pace. Socrative has been a lifesaver and the kids and I couldn't be the 1:1 classroom we are without it.

While we love Socrative, the students and I can't get enough of an online game site which is OOOOO so much fun! Kahoot is such a fun site where teachers can create a quiz or survey and the students respond on a device to answer.  The teachers go to https://getkahoot.com and make up a test.  There are many(553,000 to be correct) public quizzes you can search for and use also! Once you have made up a test you can share it with your grade level partners or anyone else with an account.  In order to use Kahoot, the quiz needs to be projected onto a screen so all the players can see it. This is a MUST because the questions and answer choices do not appear on their devices. Each student needs a device also. Unless you are having them work in groups, partners, etc... I think group quizzes would be great to encourage participation and teamwork! The students can use a laptop, tablet, desktop, smartphone... That's what's so great! Kahoot works on any device!

This is what I did. 5th grade classes had read The Phantom Tollbooth. Each chapter, or part of chapter, or every other chapter... you get the idea, I created a Socrative quiz to gauge comprehension. These quizzes were open book and students worked alone. To finish the whole book, I created a Kahoot! Most of these questions were recalling details, since the students can only select a multiple choice answer.  If you have a Kahoot account, you can play my game here: Ms Klinsky's Phantom Tollbooth Kahoot .



The kids were quite excited to begin to play, only a handful had played Kahoot before with me in the summer.  Kahoot is not a hard site to explain.  The students will pick it up quite quickly. The students need to login at https://kahoot.it/#/ and enter your game pin. This is created when you select PLAY on your game. They enter in a "nickname". It asks for nickname, I tell them I want their name. I don't know all their nicknames.... This part wouldn't be helpful for grading.

Game Pin the Students Need. This changes each time you play.

Then the fun begins! Once the class is all entered in, it's time to start the first question.  The first question is the hardest, and I suggest making the time limit longer than any other question. When you first start, the students have to realize that while on their screen the answer choices are there, they are only the colors and shapes. In order to read the question and answer choices, they have to be able to see your screen.  If you keep the time limit too short on the first question, they will miss it because they don't know what to expect. I would do between 30-60 seconds for the first question, and 20-30 after that. Once all players have answered, the correct answer shows up on the screen.  This is when my students would cheer. Then came the BEST part (to them). Kahoot tells them something about their score and placement in the class. It will say something like "You are tied with Anna". Then, of course, the students start sharing and comparing and seeing who's in first place.

But, this is when being the teacher is so great... You decide when the next question starts! So while they are getting so excited to see who they are beating, I begin the question to keep the flow and keep feelings under control. 

As you see from the pictures, the kids are soooooooo engaged. My principal came in the room to see and couldn't believe how the kids were so excited to be taking a test. She asked me to present to the teachers at our staff meeting. I provided the teachers with ways they could use Kahoot in their classroom by making them play! I had questions with math facts, spelling patterns, state/continent outlines, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and our PBIS rules. When I made a Kahoot for the teacher to play, even they were yelling about who was cheating and who they were beating! It was so funny! 

After the quiz is all over, you can download results or view them. This is a much more fun way of taking, and giving, a test. The students were engaged and I know they will be excited any time I mention playing Kahoot! 

Have you ever used Kahoot? What other ways have you used it? I would love to hear your ideas! And maybe share around the games to save us all some time! We have other things to do too! We aren't "just" teachers.