Jeff Buckner

I frequently use Two Truths and a Lie sets for Do Now retrieval practice. I like the structure because it requires students to do considerably more than simply recall an isolated fact. Students must evaluate all three statements using what they have stored in long-term memory, determine which statement is inaccurate, and then retrieve the relevant knowledge needed to correct the lie. All of that happens within one relatively simple set of questions. I find this structure more efficient than relying exclusively on fill-in-the-blank, true-or-false, or straightforward open-ended recall questions because each set creates multiple opportunities for retrieval. Students aren’t just retrieving information to answer a question. They’re retrieving knowledge to verify three separate claims, discriminate between accurate and inaccurate information, and then reconstruct the correct understanding. Another advantage is how easily this structure lends itself to spaced retrieval practice. I can include sets from different topics and revisit them at increasingly spaced intervals: something from yesterday, three days ago, a week ago, and so on. This allows me to continually bring previously taught knowledge back into working memory while working to secure new information, all within a short Do Now activity. It’s a simple structure, but it packs quite a bit of retrieval into a relatively small amount of instructional time.