Mug Shots Explained!

There has been a lot of feedback about my blog titled “Here We Go!” I’ll start with Mug Shots because they are easier to explain. Mug Shots are D.O.L.’s or Daily Oral Language (sentences with punctuation and grammar errors.) I use these “Mug Shots” at the beginning and end of my Communications classes to ensure my students are using and understanding the correct, complex usage for punctuation and grammar. When my students walk into my classroom, they see a Mug Shot on the board; it is their job to write it down in their notebooks and correct it. After students have had time to ponder and correct the sentence, and I’ve had time to take attendance, we discuss the corrections and students volunteer to correct the sentence on the SmartBoard. Then, a mini lesson regarding the specific skill is addressed.

As an exit slip out, or a monitoring note, my students are responsible for correcting additional sentences with mistakes that were addressed in the mini lesson. For example, we are working with homophones right now. I gave my students a sentence (found in the 7th grade Write Source). They corrected the sentence by choosing the best homophone. They left their Mug Shot Exit Slip with me and I was able to quickly go through all of the papers to determine who understood the concept and who didn’t and what needs to be re-taught.

Stay tuned for more about monitoring notes!