Exit Tickets for Middle School: Ideas That Keep Grades 6–8 Engaged

Middle schoolers have a lot of energy at the end of class. A good exit ticket uses that energy instead of fighting it. These ideas are built for grades 6 through 8.

Keep it short and clear

Sixth graders and eighth graders read at very different levels. Write the question in plain words. One question. Short sentences. If you can read it out loud in one breath, it is the right length.

Exit tickets middle schoolers like

• Emoji summary: Three emojis for today, then explain each one.
• Text message: Explain today in a text to a friend, 25 words or fewer.
• Fist to five: Hold up fingers, then write why you picked that number.
• Would you rather: Teach today’s lesson to a first grader or to the principal?
• Superpower: If today’s lesson gave you a superpower, what would it be?

Exit tickets that check the skill

• Solve one problem just like the ones we did today.
• Write one sentence using today’s vocabulary word correctly.
• Put these three events in the right order.
• Circle the mistake in this answer and fix it.

Make it a game

Middle schoolers love chance. Spin a wheel or roll a die to choose the exit ticket. Flip a mystery card that a student picks by number. The question is the same kind of thinking, but the room wakes up. Our free exit ticket tool has all three built in.

Managing the last five minutes

• Put a timer on the board so everyone sees the clock.
• Collect at the door so no one leaves without turning one in.
• Let early finishers draw a picture of the lesson on the back.
• Use a name picker to choose two students to share out loud.

Build the habit early

Start exit tickets in the first week of school, before students settle into other habits. Use the same signal every day, like a chime or the timer appearing on the board. By October, most middle schoolers will start writing before you even give directions. That saves time you can use for teaching. It also gives you weeks of answers to look back on when you write report card comments or meet with families about how a student is doing.

Use what you learn

Sort the stack into got it, almost, and not yet. Tomorrow, start with a quick fix for the most common mistake. Middle schoolers notice when you use their answers, and it makes them take the next exit ticket more seriously.

Pair it with a start-of-class routine from our bell ringers for middle school, and you have a strong open and a strong close. Teaching older students too? See exit tickets for high school.