Engaging students in a classroom setting can often be challenging, especially when it comes to encouraging equal participation. Randomly calling on students can increase participation. It keeps students on their toes. One effective strategy to ensure that every student gets an opportunity to contribute is to use various random selection methods. These techniques not only make the process fair but also add an element of fun and unpredictability.
Below is my tried and trusted favorite way I have used for randomly calling on students and increasing participation in my classroom. I find when I pull out my calling cards, my students are much more engaged and listening for the questions I am asking.
Create the Calling Cards on the first days of school as a fun activity
This is my favorite way for randomly calling on students because I get to learn more about them as I do! One the first few days of school (or if I get a new student later on in the year), I have them fill out an index card with fun information about them to create a “calling card”.
Side 1
Students write their name and pictures that represent their interests. This usually keeps them busy for about five to ten minutes as they decorate these cards.
EXPERT TIP: Do not tell students that they are making a calling card or your will be randomly calling on students! Some students naturally resist participation and will not want to complete the activity if they know ahead of time. After I collect the cards, I move on to another activity and use the cards to call on students. They really love the element of surprise!
Side 2
Students list some of their favorite things or facts about themselves. You can choose whatever questions you’d like. I simply just write what I want listed on the cards on my whiteboard for students to reference.
Collect and store the Calling cards
Keep it simple!
I like to place a rubber band around each individual class’s set of calling cards. I then store them in a index card filing box or just leave them in a small bin in front of my room. It makes randomly calling on students so simple!
How to Use the Calling CardS
When I have an activity where I will be asking lots of questions and calling on more than a couple students I whip out the class set of the calling cards. When students see this, they immediately begin paying more attention!
- First, pose the question before pulling any card and wait a moment for the question to sink into all students. Then pull the card and call on the student whose card was pulled! If the student does not know the correct answer or if you want a more comprehensive answer from your students, pull another card to build on the discussion at hand.
- Next, return the card(s) you recently pulled immediately back into the stack after the question or task has been completed. This way students know that they can randomly be chosen again!
Repeat this two steps above and you have a fun and random way to increase participation throughout your entire classroom!
Tips and Tricks for randomly calling on students
- Keep a few pre-formatted (just the prompts) calling cards in you desk drawer for whenever you get a surprise new student. I don’t know about you, but several times throughout the year, a new kid unexpectedly joins our class and I am caught off guard. By having this activity for the new student to complete while I get the rest of my students on track with the day’s agenda, the new student has something to do that they find fun and I get a glimpse of what their interests are and things we can discuss while we get acquainted.
- Count your cards! Make sure when you collect all their newly completed cards, you have all of them. You may get a sneaky student or two who didn’t complete the assignment or handed in blank cards.
- Choose different colored cards for each class period. For example, blue index cards for first period, yellow for second period, white for third, and so on. This will help you keep all your classes straight.
- Get kids involved in the calling process! This really gets fun! I have students pull a card out of the deck and read the name of who is to be called. When that person answers the question correctly, I let them draw a new card. Kids love this one!
- Allow students the opportunity to pass. They may not know the answer or they may not be feeling emotionally up to it. Make it clear to all students that they have this opportunity for these reasons and you want nothing more than a safe place for them to learn and feel respected.
- Encourage hand-raising. Calling cards do not need to always be used. I sometime use good old-fashioned hand-raising for class periods that are avid participants. When the sea of hands is dry, that’s when I like to pull out my calling card deck.
- Set up a digital randomized name picker for online classes. Here is a great site to help you with this!
Building Relationships with Calling Cards
Get to know your students first! I tend to do the following AFTER I get to know my kids a little bit, because some kids are very shy and would not like the attention and some kids love all the attention they can get!
Kids Who Are Not Shy: Consider the prompt “my favorite food”. When you randomly call on a student with a card (and that student is not very shy), mention to the class their favorite food.
- For example, you pull a card with the name Tony and you have learned that Tony is very outgoing. Announce you have Tony’s card and share with the class that Tony’s favorite food is tacos. Ask students to raise their hands if tacos are also their favorite food. Be careful here, because if you do not control the conversation, students will be chatting about favorite foods for longer than you hoped for.
Shy Kids: For the shyer students, you can still use the information on the card, but in a much more respectful way to build rapport. Before or after class, as you are greeting them individually, or at another opportune moment, you can mention something you learned about them from their card.
- For example, you notice that Julianna’s card mentions that she loves to play the violin. You can mention to her that you love the violin and ask her question about how long she has played the instrument, if she is in the school band, or if she plays any other instruments. This is a great way to get to know your quieter kids!
Why Calling Cards work best for me
Let’s face it, we want total participation from our students, and they don’t alway know or want to give it! Creating call cards for my classroom was a simple solution to increasing participation, getting to know my kids, and creating a safe family-like and fun atmosphere in my classroom. I hope these tips and tricks help you this school year!
