20 Exit Ticket Ideas to Check Learning in 5 Minutes

An exit ticket is one of the simplest and most useful habits in teaching. In the last five minutes, every pupil answers a question or two on a slip of paper and hands it in. In two minutes of reading afterwards, you know who understood the lesson and what to do next.

Here is how to write exit tickets that tell you something useful, followed by 20 ideas for any subject.

Why exit tickets work

Questions to the whole class tell you about the pupils who answer. An exit ticket tells you about every pupil, including the quiet ones and the ones who looked busy. Because it is individual and written, you see the actual misunderstanding, not just a raised hand.

Exit tickets are a form of formative assessment: their job is to shape your next lesson, not to produce a grade. Our guide to formative assessment strategies shows how they fit with other checks during the lesson.

How to write a good exit ticket

Tie it to the objective. Ask about the one thing pupils most needed to learn today. If you wrote clear success criteria, the exit ticket checks one of them.
Keep it short. One to three questions. Pupils should finish in about five minutes.
Ask for thinking, not feelings. "Did you enjoy the lesson?" tells you little. "Which fraction is bigger, ⅗ or ⅔? Explain how you know" tells you a lot.
Include a question that reveals misconceptions. A multiple-choice question where each wrong answer points to a specific mistake is especially powerful.
Make it quick to read. Short answers, numbered boxes or multiple choice help when you have thirty to sort.

20 exit ticket ideas

Questions that check knowledge and skills

One question, one answer. A single question that shows whether the objective was met. Simple and effective.
Easy, medium, hard. Three questions that build in difficulty. Where pupils stop tells you where they are.
Hinge question. One multiple-choice question with distractors based on common mistakes, such as: "Which of these is a solid? A) water B) steam C) ice D) all of them."
Solve and explain. One problem plus "How do you know your answer is right?"
Spot the mistake. Show a worked answer with an error. Pupils find and fix it.
Label it. A diagram with three labels missing.
Use the word. Write one sentence using today's key word correctly.
Fill the gaps. A short summary paragraph with three missing words.
True or false, and why. One statement; pupils decide and give a reason.
Apply it. Use today's idea in a new example, such as "Give an example of a lever you have used at home."

Reflections that still show learning

3-2-1. Three things I learned, two questions I have, one thing I found tricky.
The muddiest point. "What is still unclear about today's lesson?" Very useful for planning, as long as pupils know it's safe to admit confusion.
Explain it to a friend who was absent. Two or three sentences.
Headline. Sum up the lesson as a newspaper headline, then one sentence explaining it.
Rate and prove. Rate your confidence from 1 to 3, then answer one question that proves your rating.

Quick formats for young children or busy days

Circle the picture. Choose the correct picture, for example the animal that is a mammal.
Draw it. Draw one thing you learned today, with a label.
Traffic light plus question. Colour a circle green, amber or red to show confidence, then answer one short question.
Sticky note on the door. Pupils write their answer on a sticky note and stick it in the "yes", "nearly" or "not yet" column on the way out.
Tell me at the door. For very young children: each child tells you one answer as they line up. You note who struggled.

What to do with the answers

Reading thirty exit tickets doesn't have to take long. Sort them into three piles as you read:

Pile	What it means	What to do next lesson
Got it	Answer correct with good reasoning	Move on; give a challenge task
Nearly	Mostly right, small error or weak reasoning	Quick reminder and a worked example in the starter
Not yet	Misconception or no real answer	Reteach the key step, in a different way, to a small group or the class

If most of the class is in "not yet", the lesson needs reteaching. If it is a handful, plan a short group while others start the next task. Either way, the next lesson's starter is the natural place to respond.

Paper or digital?

Paper slips are quick, need no devices and are easy to sort into piles. Digital forms or quizzes can save time on marking multiple-choice questions and keep a record over time. Use whichever you'll actually look at the same day.

Common pitfalls

Asking only about feelings. "I understood the lesson" doesn't show whether they did.
Too many questions. Pupils rush, and you won't have time to read them.
Collecting but not reading. If pupils notice that answers never change anything, the habit loses its value.
Running out of time. Plan the exit ticket first and protect the last five minutes, as our plenary guide explains.

Every lesson plan Lesson Dino makes ends with an exit ticket matched to the lesson's objective, so this step is built in from the start.

Questions teachers ask

What is an exit ticket?

An exit ticket is a short task, usually one to three questions, that every pupil completes at the end of a lesson and hands in. It shows the teacher who has understood the lesson and who needs more help.

How many questions should an exit ticket have?

One to three. Enough to show whether the objective was met, short enough to finish in about five minutes and to read through quickly afterwards.

Should exit tickets be marked?

They don't need marks or grades. Read them, sort them into groups and use them to plan the next lesson. Pupils should see that their answers change what happens next.

Do exit tickets work with young children?

Yes, with simpler formats: circling a picture, drawing an answer, choosing between two options or telling you one thing at the door. Keep reading and writing to a minimum.