Whiteboard Wipe-Out

Whiteboard wipe-out is a great way for the teacher to gain immediate responses from students in
order to complete an authentic assessment. The students use white-boards, markers, and erasers
to write their responses down to quickly present to the teacher or their peers.

How to use
1. Materials

Teacher will create class sets of whiteboards, markers, and erasers. If on a budget, a white piece
of paper inside of a sheet protector will work in the same way. The teacher will need to go over
whiteboard etiquette, how to close the markers completely, and set rules for the use of the
materials.

2. Question

The teacher will ask students questions, before, throughout, or after a lesson. The questions can
be multiple choice, open-ended, true or false, or yes or no. After the question is asked, the
students will write the answer to the question on their whiteboard and cover their whiteboard so
that other students can not see their answers.

3. Evaluate

When all of the students have written an answer on their whiteboards, then the teacher will
instruct the students to hold their whiteboards up in the ari, displaying their answers. The teacher
will view the whiteboards and assess each student’s answer.

When to use
● To solve math problems
● As a closing task as a check for understanding
● To review for an assessment
● To access prior knowledge about a topic
● Throughout a lesson to ensure student engagement

Variations
Be the Teacher

Students can use their whiteboards, markers, and erasers to reteach a concept to their peers. They
will use the whiteboards to draw and explain the concept better. The teacher will monitor to
ensure students are working and reteaching accurately.

Group Wipe-Out

This is similar to whiteboard wipe-out, except students will be placed into groups with one
whiteboard, one marker, and one eraser per group. After the teacher asks the question, the groups
will collaborate with each other to come to an agreement. The group will write their answers on
their board, the first group to hold up their board and get the question correct receives a point.

Partner Practice

Whiteboards can be used to allow students to practice answering problems with each other. One
partner will start by providing the student with the whiteboard with the question the student will
need to answer. The student will answer the question and show it to the student asking the
question. If the student gets the answer correct, the partner celebrates the success of their partner
and then the partners switch roles. If the student answering gets the problem incorrect, it is the
responsibility of their partner to coach them through how to solve the problem before switching.