Better Than BingoActivity slides
Better Than Bingo · Classroom Edition
Claim It or Leave It
Read anonymous class answers and let each writer decide whether to reveal themselves.
15–20 min8–36 peopleIndividual
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Teacher prep · Do not project yet
Set the room up for success.
Materials
- Identical slips and pens
- Container
Before you begin
- Choose one harmless prompt
- Create an optional mark authors can add if they permit one identity guess
- Screen every response before reading
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Teacher language · Do not project yet
What to say
“Your answer can stay anonymous forever. If you add the opt-in mark, the class gets one respectful guess; otherwise we only notice the answer and move on.”
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Teacher notes · Do not project yet
Keep it comfortable and useful.
Make room for everyone
- Allow typing, dictation, or teacher scribing.
- Make anonymous participation the default.
- Avoid prompts involving home, family, money, bodies, identity, food access, or devices.
Watch out for
- Do not let the class launch extra guesses.
- Remove responses that target people or expose private information before reading.
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For students
Here’s what to do.
- 1
Display the prompt and explain the opt-in mark.
- 2
Students write without names and fold slips the same way.
- 3
Collect, shuffle, and privately screen responses.
- 4
Read each safe response aloud.
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For students
Keep going.
- 5
For unmarked slips, invite only a general reaction or pattern noticing.
- 6
For opt-in slips, allow one guess before the author may claim it or remain silent.
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Prompt 01
A harmless opinion you will defend
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Prompt 02
The most useful object in a classroom
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Prompt 03
A tiny skill you are oddly confident about
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Prompt 04
A better mascot for this school
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Prompt 05
Your ideal way to spend a completely free ten minutes
Take a moment to think. Passing or writing instead is always okay.
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Wrap it up
One last thought.
- What did the answers reveal about the class as a group?
- How did having control over the reveal affect participation?