The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA

292: Try the Sesame Street Quiz (5 Different Ways)

Apr 25, 2024

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Today, I want to highlight a useful tool Amanda Cardenas shared earlier this year on the show called The Sesame Street Quiz. It’s so versatile, so fun, and so helpful that I feel it deserves a show of its own, so here we go.

Amanda has already shared with us how these work, back in episode 267.

Here’s a quick review:

A Sesame Street Quiz gives students four items. Three are connected and one is an outlier. For example, if you’re reading Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby, you might give students the options: Daisy, Jordan, floating, red. Which three are connected and why? Which one is the outlier and why? Amanda lets kids use their book and notes as they respond.

Now, think about this idea of a Sesame Street Quiz. It’s a great way to check in and see which kids are doing the reading, and understanding the reading. But how else might you use it?

It could make a great bellringer or discussion warm-up. Have students make their decisions alone or with a partner, justifying their choices.

It could make for an intriguing way to review before a final exam. Invite students to consider the key texts of the term, and choose which ones go together and which is an outlier.

It could lead into a fascinating one-pager assessment, with kids creating a visual representation of the three that group together and integrating quotations and analysis in their own words of why those three link.

It could be a helpful exit ticket, to see how well students digested the material from the lesson if you’ve been deep diving into a text.

I bet you can think of lots more uses as well! But however you use it, this week I just want to highly recommend that you give a Sesame Street question a try ASAP.