By Barbara R. Blackburn
Prior to teaching your lesson, it’s important to gauge where students are in their knowledge of the topic. You may discover that students already know all or part of what you are planning to teach, and that may mean adjustments.
Although there are many formal diagnostic tools, such as pre-tests, we are going to look at four simple strategies you can use to assess students as you prepare to teach your lesson. Each is designed to encourage rigor through higher order thinking.
3 Alike/Red Herring
I have sometimes wondered what my students would learn if I didn’t package everything together for them. One day, instead of telling them the objective for the day, I decided to let them figure it out. I named multiple cities, such as Raleigh, North Carolina, Sacramento, California, and Albany, New York. After a few seconds, one student shouted, “Hey, I know – those are all state capitals!”
This is an easy way to determine what students already know, and it can be used at any grade level. A pre-kindergarten teacher can use it to introduce the color of the day, pulling items out of a box. A science teacher can use this strategy to introduce elements or subatomic particles. It can be used in elementary, middle or high school, with any subject, and it’s easy to create in the spur of the moment.
To increase the rigor, a colleague of mine, Lindsay Yearta, used the “Red Herring” game with her students. She gave multiple examples that appear to be linked, but students must identify the red herring – the one that does NOT belong in the group you have in mind. They must also justify their choice.
For example, you may provide the following states: Virginia, Florida, Arizona, and California. Students would need to point out that Arizona does not belong because it does not have a coastline. Again, based on their responses to sets you choose from your content, you can see how much they know, and by shifting the focus and have students generating information, it is more rigorous.
If/Then Statements
Jayne Bartlett, author of Outstanding Assessment for Learning in the Classroom, describes another rigorous method, which can be used to assess prior knowledge. Using if/then statements, students identify a connection and apply it.
Sample Math If/Then Statements
on Multiplication and Division
She explains, “to extend this, you can ask pupils to determine a simple rule, ‘If: taste –> tasting, heat –> heating, place –> placing, time –> timing, meet –> meeting. What is the rule?”
Once again, by requiring students to analyze the information on their own before you step in, you have increased the rigor.
Word Sorts
Word sorts also allow you to see how much students know. In small groups give students a set of word cards. Ask them to discuss the words and group them based on whether or not they fit in with the topic. Then, after reading a text, students revisit their word groupings and sort them again. To up the rigor even more, preview the topic and have students generate related words on their own before reading the text.
Analyzing Web Content
A final way to assess prior knowledge is through the analysis of web content. Choose a sample article on a topic. Recreate it but make several changes to add errors to the page. Ask students to evaluate the page you created to identify the mistakes. You’ll be able to see what they know about the content.
What quick ways do you use to assess prior knowledge or readiness to learn? Share one in the comments!
Dr. Barbara R. Blackburn, a “Top 10 Global Guru in Education,” is a bestselling author of over 30 books and a sought-after consultant. She was an award-winning professor at Winthrop University and has taught students of all ages. In addition to speaking at conferences worldwide, she regularly presents virtual and on-site workshops for teachers and administrators.
Barbara is the author of the second edition of Rigor and Assessment in the Classroom: Strategies and Tools (Routledge/Eye On Education, 2025) and many other books and articles about teaching and leadership. Visit her website and see some of her most popular MiddleWeb articles about effective teaching and support for new teachers here.
