Contents
- One question, one next-lesson decision
- Before the lesson: prepare the prompt and possible next steps
- Run the final five minutes
- After collection: separate evidence from uncertainty
- Worked example: interpreting a subtraction ticket
- Worked example: distinguishing equal-group quantities
- Copyable pupil ticket and teacher response-sort sheet
- Turn the sort into tomorrow’s first teaching move
- Resources and a final preparation check
- Related resources
One question, one next-lesson decision
Choose one lesson objective, ask pupils one short question in the final five minutes, then use their responses to plan tomorrow’s opening. Prepare the prompt and answer guide beforehand; sort the tickets and plan your response afterwards.
Use five minutes as your proposed pupil-completion window, not as a claim about the best assessment length. Keep the decision provisional: use the ticket alongside classroom work and a follow-up check, rather than declaring mastery from one response.
The materials below include a timed routine, hypothetical subtraction and equal-group examples, a blank pupil ticket and a teacher response-sort sheet. Choose one example that matches what you have taught; do not give both simply to fill the time.
Before the lesson: prepare the prompt and possible next steps
Write one objective and the decision it will inform. For example: “Pupils subtract a two-digit number from another two-digit number. Tomorrow, should I revisit subtracting across a ten, clarify an explanation, or offer another application?” Avoid trying to review the whole lesson.
Write a short prompt that asks pupils to demonstrate that objective. Ask for an answer plus a drawing, calculation or brief explanation when the method matters. Complete the task yourself and note what would count as evidence, what would remain uncertain and what you might ask next.
The Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance for mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3 recommends using knowledge of pupils’ specific strengths and weaknesses to inform future lessons and targeted support. It includes low-stakes assessments, observation and mathematical discussion as possible sources of assessment evidence. Education Endowment Foundation: Improving Mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3 — Email 1
Prepare the response method before the lesson: paper slips, cards or a short digital form. Reduce unnecessary copying. Where appropriate, arrange for pupils to draw, point, type or dictate their own reasoning. Record any support given, and avoid supplying the mathematical step you want to check.
For a wider choice of classroom checks, use Formative Assessment Strategies for the Classroom.
Run the final five minutes
Minute 0–1: Stop the main activity, distribute or display the ticket and read the instructions. Say: “Answer this by yourself. Show your thinking in the space provided. I will use your response to choose what we work on next.”
Minutes 1–4: Let pupils respond independently, using the access arrangements you prepared. Clarify task wording if necessary, but do not demonstrate the solution. Note any clarification or mathematical help you give.
Minute 4–5: Give a short finishing signal and collect every response, including unfinished or blank tickets. Use one tray or a single digital submission point. Wait until after collection to discuss answers.
If pupils need more response time, record that and arrange another opportunity. Do not turn an unfinished ticket into an automatic judgement about the mathematics. Keep teacher sorting and next-lesson planning outside this five-minute window.
After collection: separate evidence from uncertainty
Sort against the objective, not against neatness or the amount written. Use three provisional teaching routes, plus a separate “not enough evidence yet” space. Do not assign scores or fixed percentages to decide the routes.
Possible next application: the response answers the question and shows reasoning consistent with the objective.
Targeted reminder or clarification: the response gives a specific detail to revisit, such as an omitted final step or an unclear explanation.
Revised model or supported practice: the response gives a specific mathematical idea to explore and model differently.
Not enough evidence yet: the response is blank, incomplete or ambiguous in a way that prevents a defensible interpretation.
ACARA’s formative assessment guidance recommends reviewing evidence against the intended learning, considering barriers to accessing the task or expressing learning, and checking learning another way where needed. It also recommends using that interpretation to adjust teaching, pacing and scaffolding. Australian Curriculum: Embedding formative assessment
For a blank ticket, record “no written response”, not “does not understand”. For incomplete work, record exactly which steps are present. For ambiguous work, retain the pupil’s wording or sketch and write a question to clarify it. If the final answer and working conflict, record both rather than choosing one as the definitive evidence.
Treat these as temporary planning routes, not pupil labels. Before deciding on reteaching, ask whether you need a short conversation, a fresh problem or a different response method. Look for shared details across tickets, but do not let group size replace examination of the actual work.
Worked example: interpreting a subtraction ticket
The classroom examples and pupil responses below are hypothetical. Hypothetical classroom example — subtraction
Objective: subtract a two-digit number across a ten and show the method.
Pupil ticket:
Work out 52 − 28.
Show how you worked it out using numbers, a drawing or words.
Worked answer guide:
52 − 20 = 32
32 − 8 = 24
So 52 − 28 = 24.
Another valid approach is to count up from 28 to 52: 28 to 30 is 2, 30 to 50 is 20, and 50 to 52 is 2; the difference is 24. Accept other mathematically valid methods. Do not classify counting as a misconception or require your own method unless that method is the stated objective.
Sample response: “52 − 20 = 32; 32 − 8 = 24.”
What this might show: the written steps support this calculation.
Possible next move: offer a fresh application.
Follow-up question: “Work out 43 − 17 and show your method.”
Sample response: “34”, with no working.
What this might show: the answer is incorrect, but the method is unknown. Do not assume a particular subtraction error from this number alone.
Follow-up question: “Show me how you started 52 − 28.”
Possible next move: use the explanation to decide which step to model, rather than preparing a correction based on a guessed method.
Sample response: “52 − 20 = 32”, then nothing more.
What this might show: subtracting the tens is visible; the remaining subtraction is not.
Follow-up question: “What remains to be subtracted? Show me your next step.”
Sample response: “24”, with no working.
What this might show: the answer is correct, but the method is not visible.
Follow-up question: “How did you work it out?”
Follow-up answer guide:
For 43 − 17: 43 − 10 = 33, then 33 − 7 = 26.
For the unfinished original calculation: 8 remains to be subtracted from 32, giving 24.
For explanation questions, listen for a mathematically valid account and check that it matches the work; there is no required script.
Worked example: distinguishing equal-group quantities
NCETM’s primary materials on multiplication as equal groups distinguish the number of groups from the size of each group. They also connect equal groups with repeated addition and multiplication expressions. NCETM: Structures — multiplication representing equal groups
Hypothetical classroom example — equal groups
Objective: represent a situation showing both the number of groups and the number in each group.
Pupil ticket:
There are 4 bags. Each bag contains 3 counters.
Draw the bags and counters. How many counters are there altogether?
Worked answer guide:
Draw four groups with three counters in each.
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12, so there are 12 counters altogether.
Counting every counter accurately is a valid way to find the total. If your objective is representing the groups, inspect the drawing as well as the total; do not require multiplication notation unless you asked for it.
Sample response: four bags containing three counters each, with “12”.
What this might show: both requested group quantities and the total are represented.
Sample response: three bags containing four counters each, with “12”.
What this might show: the total is correct, but the drawing does not match the story.
Follow-up question: “Point to the bags in your drawing. How many bags does the story describe, and how many counters belong in each?”
Sample response: “4 + 3 = 7”, with no drawing.
What this might show: the written addition does not represent the stated equal groups. Ask how the pupil interpreted the quantities before choosing a teaching action.
Follow-up question: “Use counters to show one bag first. Now show all four bags. What does each number in your calculation represent?”
Next-lesson check:
There are 3 trays with 5 counters on each tray.
Draw the trays and counters. How many counters are there altogether?
Answer guide: three groups of five; 5 + 5 + 5 = 15. In the original task, the story specifies four bags and three counters per bag, giving 12. Use these quantities to check explanations without insisting on one calculation method.
Copyable pupil ticket and teacher response-sort sheet
Copy this pupil ticket onto a card or into your usual digital tool. Insert one prompt and leave enough space for the response method you have chosen.
PUPIL EXIT TICKET
Name: ____________________
Date: ____________________
Today’s learning focus: ____________________
Question: ____________________
________________________________________
My answer and thinking — numbers, drawing or words:
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
Something I would like to ask or finish, if needed:
________________________________________
TEACHER RESPONSE-SORT SHEET
Lesson/date: ____________________
Objective: ____________________
Prompt: ____________________
Expected evidence: ____________________
Repeat this record for a pupil or a shared response pattern:
Pupil(s): ____________________
Evidence — exact answer, words or drawing detail:
________________________________________
Uncertainty — what the ticket does not establish:
________________________________________
Support given or possible access issue to check:
________________________________________
Provisional route — next application / reminder / revised model / not enough evidence:
________________________________________
Proposed teaching action:
________________________________________
Follow-up check — exact question or task:
________________________________________
What I will look or listen for:
________________________________________
Follow-up evidence and revised decision:
________________________________________
Turn the sort into tomorrow’s first teaching move
Before putting the tickets away, write tomorrow’s opening task and its answer guide. If the working supports the objective, try a new application. If a specific step needs attention, prepare a brief reminder. If an explanation reveals an idea to revisit, choose a revised model using counters, a drawing or smaller steps. Where evidence is missing, plan a check before assigning a teaching route.
Hypothetical planning note: “Several tickets show 52 − 20 = 32 but no next step. Tomorrow, ask those pupils what remains to subtract. If they identify and subtract 8, use 43 − 17 as a fresh check. If not, model subtracting the remaining 8 from 32 with a familiar representation, then ask for another independent response.”
Keep the same narrow cycle in other subjects. For fractions, ask for a comparison and justification using fractions already taught. For reading, ask for an inference supported by one detail from the class text. For science, ask pupils to classify a taught example and explain their choice. Prepare a matching answer guide, including acceptable alternatives, before using each prompt.
Record what pupils do in the follow-up and revise your plan accordingly. Keep tomorrow’s decision specific: which idea, which teaching action and which check? Follow your school’s arrangements for retaining pupil work rather than setting a separate disposal rule for tickets.
Resources and a final preparation check
For further planning, consult Australian Curriculum: Embedding formative assessment for the interpretation-to-response cycle, and the Education Endowment Foundation’s Improving Mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3 — Email 1 for responding to mathematics assessment. Keep the EEF resource’s stated stage range in mind rather than treating it as an age assignment for these examples.
NCETM’s Structures — multiplication representing equal groups page includes Teacher Guide and Representations downloads. These are part of its Primary KS1 Year 2 materials; they are separate from the original copyable ticket and sort sheet above. NCETM: Structures — multiplication representing equal groups
For tomorrow, prepare just one prompt, its worked answer, a collection method and a possible follow-up question. Complete the cycle after collection: record the evidence, name the uncertainty, choose a teaching action and check again.
For checks you can adapt during teaching, see Formative Assessment During Lessons Ages 7 to 11.
