Mnemonics for Exams

As the school year winds down, most students will take exams requiring them to write succinct responses to in-depth questions.  As an “in-class prep, consider inviting them to a M.E.A.L. review.  This is simply a mnemonic for organizing written work.

Project a question from an online exam in your content areas.  Set a timer for ten minutes for students to draft a response. When the buzzer rings, distribute wrapped hard candy and have students “analyze” their own answers based on the M.E.A.L. pattern.  Key, they can suck the candy as they work.  When the candy is gone, the time for revision is up!

For the next five minutes or so, invite students to reflect and talk about writing and reviewing in a short time slot.  That’s what exams are.  SHOW what you KNOW, then GO!  (See recipe for P.I.E. below.)

The students may chuckle, but they’ll remember.  And, you’ll have better-structured answers to read on the exams they write for your course.  These 30-minute activities can serve as a formative assessment for both you and the class.  Practice in a timed setting lets the students know how valuable it will be to come to the exam prepared with an M.E.A.L. for more extended responses and the P.I.E. for shorter ones.

And, for dessert?
Check out this link
for the recipe for P.I.E.