Exit Ticket Ideas That Work in Any Subject

The best exit ticket ideas are short, open, and easy to read in a stack. These work in any subject, any grade from 6 to 12, and any day of the year. Swap in your topic and go.

Summary exit tickets

• One sentence: Sum up today in one sentence a younger student would understand.
• Headline: Write a newspaper headline for today’s lesson in 10 words or fewer.
• Text message: Explain today’s big idea in a text of 25 words or fewer.
• Most important word: Pick one word that captures today and tell why.

Self-check exit tickets

• Fist to five: Rate your understanding 0 to 5 and explain your number.
• Traffic light: Green, yellow, or red? What would move you up one color?
• Confidence meter: How ready are you for a quiz on this, 1 to 10?
• Goal for tomorrow: Name one thing you will do to understand this better.

Thinking exit tickets

• Muddiest point: What is still the most confusing part?
• Before and after: Before today I thought ___. Now I think ___.
• Test question: Write one question that could be on the test, then answer it.
• Real world: Where would someone use this outside school?
• Teach a friend: A friend missed class. Explain what they missed in two sentences.

Fun exit tickets

• Emoji summary: Sum up today in three emojis, then explain them.
• Movie trailer: Write the one-line voiceover for a trailer about today.
• Star review: Rate the lesson 1 to 5 stars with a one-sentence review.
• Would you rather: Explain today to kindergartners or to a panel of experts?

How to pick the right one

Ask yourself what you need to know tonight. If you need to know whether they can do the skill, give them one problem to solve. If you need to know how they feel about it, use a self-check. If you want to see their thinking, use the muddiest point or before and after.

Mix them up. The same exit ticket every day turns into a habit students rush through. A new format keeps them thinking.

Change the format, keep the goal

You can use the same idea in different ways. A summary can be a sentence, a headline, a tweet, or a drawing. Rotating the format keeps it new while you still get the same kind of information. Try a different one each day for two weeks, then keep the ones your class answers best.

Let a game choose

Students pay more attention when they do not know what is coming. Our exit ticket tool has a spinner, dice, and mystery cards that pick the prompt for you. See more in exit ticket games.

Every idea on this page is in the free library, ready to show on the board with a timer or print as slips.