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Session 4. Pre-Class Tasks Pupils Will Do
Objective. Write pre-class tasks that pupils will really do, check them in five minutes at the start of the lesson, and respond to non-completion without punishment.
A pre-class task only helps if pupils do it. Most failures come from small frictions: it is long, nobody is sure what it is for, it is hard to start, and the teacher never looks at it. Fix those four, and many more pupils will prepare. This session shows how to write a task that a tired pupil can start in a minute, how to check it in five minutes without turning it into a punishment, and how to read the results as information about your design.
Key ideas
Why pupils skip pre-class tasks
- Common reasons: too long, no clear purpose ('learn chapter 6'), hard to start, no way to get the input, and no one looks at it in class.
- Five features of a task pupils do: SHORT (10 to 15 minutes), ONE purpose, LOW ENTRY (no new tool), ONE question to bring, and USED in class at once.
- When fewer than one third do the task, treat it as a design problem, not a discipline problem.
A menu of task types
- READ AND MARK: read the page and underline three new words. LISTEN AND ANSWER: listen to a 3-minute audio and write answers to two questions.
- TRY ONE: solve one worked-example-like problem. COLLECT: bring an example from home, such as a cotton boll, a price from a shop or a family recipe measure.
- Write the task as an 'I can' line: 'I can name two reasons merchants met in Samarkand.' Use the same wording on every route (print, audio, school time).
Checking pre-work in five minutes
- ENTRY TICKET: 3 short questions on a slip, pairs swap and tick, you count by hand. COLOUR CARDS: pupils show green (I understood), yellow (partly) or red (not yet).
- PILE OF QUESTIONS: read five bring-back questions aloud (no names). SPOT CHECK: look at five notebooks while pupils do the ticket. Use any result to form groups for practice.
- The check gives you information about what to teach. Do not turn every check into a mark; it only has to be quick and visible that you use it.
When the task was not done
- Offer a 5-minute catch-up corner with the printed page at the start of class. Pair the pupil with a prepared friend for the first practice task.
- Ask privately why it was not done: no phone, no time, did not understand? The answer tells you which route to fix. Never shame or punish in front of the class.
- Reward the pupils who did the task by using their questions in class. Keep the weekly rhythm the same (same day, same place) so it becomes a habit.
The pre-class task cycle
Reduce friction and show the value
Pupils decide quickly whether a task is worth the effort. Lower the effort: tell them exactly what to do in one line ('read page 58 and underline three words'), make it possible to start in under a minute, and offer two equal versions when you can (read the page or listen to the audio). Choice and a clear first success support the feeling of competence and control that motivation researchers such as Deci and Ryan describe.
Raise the value: use the task in class within a day. Read two of the bring-back questions aloud, or start the lesson with the entry ticket on the same content. Pupils quickly learn whether the task is used; when it is, they do it.
Check, do not grade
Short, low-stakes questions at the start of a lesson make pupils recall what they met before, and that recall itself helps learning. A good entry ticket has three questions: one recall (name it), one application (use it), and one for pupils' own question. It takes five minutes, and pairs can swap and tick, so you are not marking 35 papers.
Read the tally as feedback on your design. If fewer than one third of the class did the task, the task or the route needs changing. If a few pupils never do it, ask each privately about access and time before assuming anything. Keep a simple log of completion by route; it will show patterns that single lessons hide.
Examples from the classroom
Aziz rewrites 'read chapter 6'
Scene. Aziz teaches Grade 7 geography in Fergana. 'Read chapter 6 and learn it' was done by about a third of the class. He rewrites it as 'Read page 58 (10 minutes), underline three words you did not know, write one question.' He gives the page on paper. Most pupils bring a question, and he opens the lesson with four of them.
Insight. A small, clear task with one question and a visible use in class gets most pupils to prepare.
Dilnoza offers two equal versions
Scene. Dilnoza teaches Grade 5 natural science in Samarkand. Version A is a printed half page about a cotton plant; version B is a 3-minute audio. Both end with the same question: 'Which part of the plant did you find hardest to picture?' Pupils choose, and in class nobody asks who used which.
Insight. Equal versions with one shared question give choice without creating levels of pupils.
Jasur reads the tally
Scene. Jasur gives a 3-question entry ticket in Grade 6 mathematics in Bukhara: name a fraction, add two fractions, write your own question. Pairs swap and tick; he tallies on a slip. Question 2 is wrong for most pupils, so he spends six minutes on unlike denominators before practice instead of repeating the whole input.
Insight. A five-minute check tells the teacher exactly what to clarify, which is its main purpose.
Common pitfalls
- Setting 'read the chapter' with no purpose, length or question.
- Marking every pre-class task, so pupils fear mistakes and the teacher spends nights marking.
- Lowering marks of pupils who did not prepare when the real barrier was access.
- Treating a low completion rate as a pupil problem before checking the task and the route.
Fix the Pre-Class Task
- Read the four SAMPLE pre-class tasks in the Kit (A to D), each with the share of pupils who did it.
- Pairs (10 min): rate each task against the five features (short, one purpose, low entry, one question, used in class) with ticks, and name the main reason it failed.
- Pairs (15 min): rewrite two of the tasks as 'I can' tasks with one bring-back question and a printed or audio route. Then write a 3-question entry ticket for one of them.
- Groups (10 min): swap with another pair. Check: could a pupil start in under a minute and finish in 15? Could you check it in 5 minutes? One comment each way.
- Alone (5 min): write your classroom action task from the Kit.
Your facilitator will guide you through this activity in the session.
Questions to discuss
- Which task failed for a reason you had not thought of before?
- What could you stop checking, and what would you check instead?
- How will your pupils know that you really use their bring-back questions?
Reflect
- Think of the last homework few pupils did. Which of the five features was missing?
- What do you do now when a pupil has not prepared?
- Which colleague could share a catch-up page with you?
Try it tomorrow
- Rewrite one task as an 'I can' line of 10 to 15 minutes with one bring-back question.
- Give a 3-question entry ticket at the start of the next lesson; pairs swap and tick; tally right, partly, wrong.
- Keep a simple log for four weeks: task, number who did it, route used.
Further reading and links
A pre-class task pupils do is short, has one purpose, is easy to start, ends with one question and is used at once in class; check it in five minutes and never punish.