My students LOVE the green highlighter activity. I LOVE the green highlighter activity.
This idea was completely stolen from Square Root of Negative One.
My students are already familiar with the color green. I grade by color rather than numbers (more on that later). So when a student sees green, he automatically feels good about his work.
The first time I did this activity I had a little discussion with my students. I told them that I didn't want them to solely rely on me to be the source of all information. They were responsible for their own education (which is something we talk about a lot), but the new part was that they were also responsible for their classmates' education. Wha?!?! I told them that I wasn't going to provide much feedback or instruction that day, it was up to them.
I had the problems all ready for class and handed out a few at a time. When I saw that a student was correct I drew a green checkmark on their paper (the way I usually grade) then handed them the highlighter. This meant they were correct and free to walk around the room and assist other students. Once everyone had a green checkmark, the class answered any lingering questions and the process was repeated.
- To determine how many highlighters I need per class, I divide the number of students by 5.
- I don't allow anyone else to be standing/walking except the highlighter people.
- I don't answer any questions. As I'm walking around the room and notice a student is wrong, I keep walking, looking for a student who is correct.
- If there are questions at the end of a problem, I don't answer them. It's up to the students to help each other out. Honestly, I have yet to get a question after everyone has a green check.
- I try to find a way to give my "weak" students a green highlighter.