6 Check-In Activity Ideas for Your Next Online Class
Check-ins are a type of activity in which students are told to pause, examine, and appreciate their feelings. It normalises talking about feelings and allows students to know they are safe to express their emotions. This activity is also part of the process to build good rapport between a teacher and the students as well as between students and their peers. It usually takes about 5 minutes.
While teachers usually conduct check-in activity for attendance taking, they can make use of it to really get to know more about the students. It is also useful when teachers notice something is amidst or the session is just too quiet after a period of time. So teachers, here are 6 check-in activity ideas that you could try in your next online class.
Idea 1: I like, I wish, I wonder…
Design thinkers usually use this “I like, I wish, I wonder…” activity in gathering feedback during testing of their prototypes. Teachers can use the same approach as a pre-class activity to quickly gather students’ views and emotional state. Doing this in written forms tend to gather more responses as some students may not like to speak directly in a open class.
I like… focuses on what they like about the previous lesson or the upcoming topic or how they feel at that moment.
I wish… is what they wish to know more or learn more about or even things that can be done to make them comprehend the topic/lesson better.
I wonder… is more radical in which students can express their feelings on issues not related to the topic (e.g. change to class duration, or even change the use of certain apps).
To do this, you can use tools like Padlet, Miro, Google Slides with tables to fill, or as simple as a chat response.
Idea 2: Rapid-Fire Questions
Create 5 questions that require only short answers and let students answer in 10–15 seconds. The questions can be like:
- What made you smile in the last week?
- What is one thing you learned that really amazed you?
- What the thing that gives you the most joy?
- What do you do to calm yourself?
- What is the food you eat most when you’re stressed?
Or it could also be a set of binary with a starting stem. For example: Which one would you choose:
- 1 million followers or 1 million dollars?
- Playing games or listening to music?
- A day at Disneyland or A day at the Zoo
The whole point of this activity is to let students take a break while also give some hints on their emotional state. Some might choose not to respond, this is when you know who needs more help.
Idea 3: An Object for My Feeling
This is a popular check-in activity in which students are told to find ONE object around them that represents their feeling at that point in time. Students are told to share why do they pick that object by relating it to their feelings.
This task is usually more suitable for younger adults, but can also be used for children. They too, can be very expressive when it comes to the object that they like as more often that not, it’s close to them (even during online class).
Idea 4: 3 Songs, 3 Emojis
Randomly choose 3 songs (or you can select based on your students’ interest) that highlight different emotions. Play it partially (about 1 minute) and ask students to give a Emoji for that song. Ask students why they relate the song to the emoji. Then out of those 3 songs pick 1 to sing a long (could be based on popular vote).
It’s not about “singing it right”, but rather letting everyone to relax by singing it together as it also reduces individual anxiety.
Note: Can increase the number of songs if time permits. 3 seems about right.
Idea 5: The Water Bucket
Using tools like Mentimenter, Sli.do or WooClap, you can use the water bucket metaphor to check on student’s emotional state. Ask them what’s filling the bucket (doing something kind), and what’s draining it. Acknowledge the good acts, and of course do not condemn the bad ones. Give appropriate suggestions for things that they can do to keep filling the bucket, from as simple as giving a smile to helping neighbours.
Idea 6: The Stress Check
This is pretty straightforward, whereby students are told to rate their stress level. To spice it up, you can ask everyone to draw a picture to represent their stress level or write a six-word story (a story told in only 6 words). An example of six-word story would be “My cat meowed one last time” (signifying a sad feeling of losing a pet). This can also be modified by asking students to pick lines from lyrics that match their feelings.
Important Tips for Check-in Activities
- It’s good to diversify the activities but consistently do it in every class. Once students notice the consistency, they are more adaptable to it.
- Never judge and never bring the issues shared by students out of the class context (e.g. share it openly with others). If the students notice you breach their trust, they will no longer be open to sharing their emotions. Respect them the same way you want to be respected.
- Cultivate a learning environment which is safe for students to express their feelings or make their voices heard. It is also not advisable to be defensive.
Hope this helps! Happy Teaching!
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