Tuesday, March 17, 2015

7 Terrific Uses for Task Cards

Hey everyone! It's Aimee from Primarily Speaking! I'm popping in today to share with you my favorite ways to use task cards in the classroom.


Task cards are such a versatile resource to have!  Here are seven different ways that I use task cards in my classroom.


Use them as a fast finisher activity.  I always have several activities available for my students to use when they finish an assignment early.  I typically rotate these activities, and several times a year, task cards make an appearance.  I simply place the cards on a ring, and put them into a gallon size zip top bag with a stack of recording sheets.




Use them in your small groups.  When working with my small group of math students (six kiddos total), I use the task cards during our time together.  I can place a ring of cards in the center of the group and everyone can respond on their own recording page.


Use them as a cooperative learning tool.  Pair students up and let them share the task cards. They can help one another solve the problem/answer the question on the cards, or they can solve the problems independently and discuss how they arrived at their answers.




Use them as a center!  Once again, you can place the task cards on a ring and inside a zip top bag with a stack of recording sheets and students can use those materials during your centers time.


Use them as a whole group teaching tool.  I often project one card at a time via my classroom projector.  The students use their mini whiteboard, or a piece of paper that they fold into fourths, to solve the problems on the cards that I project.  It's a great way to check for understanding on the spot, when you use the whiteboards.



Use them to play Scoot!  Scoot is a well loved game in my classroom.  It has been for years!  Simply place a task card at each desk and have your students scoot from desk to desk, on your cue, to respond to each task card.  Don't forget to establish a path of rotation prior to scooting!



Use them to play a game of I Spy.  I Spy is another huge deal in my classroom.  The kids looooove it!  I Spy is also commonly called Around the Room.  I place the task cards around the room, and the students go from card to card and respond to each one.  It isn't necessary that they visit the cards in order, they just have to make sure that they visit all of the cards.  As you can see, I place the cards on the floor.  Sometimes, I just don't have it in me to tape the cards to the walls, cabinets, etc.


Well, there you have it, seven different ways that I use task cards in my classroom.  Who knew that one little stack of cards could be so very, very useful?  The task cards shown in this post can be found in my TPT store.

I hope you were able to take a new idea or two away from this post! 


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