4 Different Ways to Use Task Cards You May Not Have Thought Of!
Teachers are constantly looking for ways to engage students in reinforcing new or old skills within the classroom! Task cards have always been a popular option for independent but engaging activities students can use without teacher support. Task cards are sets of cards with questions aligned to classroom lessons. They can be used in any subject and can support new learning and reinforcing old skills as well.
Organization
When I was in the classroom, I always used scrapbook photo boxes to organize task cards. For larger cards, I used or binders with page protectors for larger pages. This made it easy to swap out new task cards when I began a new unit.
I always love to have skills from previous units available for practice. This allows students to review skills we have moved past. I am currently growing a year-long bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers that will include 12 months of task cards that students can engage with throughout the year. Check it out here! I believe having at least one set of task cards from each previous math unit available to students helps them review old skills.
The Most Common Way Teachers Use Task Cards
The most common way I have seen task cards used in the classroom setting is as a choice center. When students complete their assigned work, they are able to then select an activity to engage in either independently or with a partner. This is a perfect way for students to practice skills they are familiar with (or challenge skills!) without needing teacher support. Keeping these cards in a math center that is easily accessible to students is extremely helpful so that students have the autonomy to make a choice without asking questions.
5 Ways to Use Task Cards That Can Mix Up Your Math Routines!
1. Write the Room
Tape cards around the classroom and have students travel around to answer questions instead of keeping them in a set box altogether. I typically would allow students to work independently or with a partner. Sometimes this was an independent choice while I worked with students in small groups and sometimes this was an activity we could use as a whole group. If you run this activity with your whole class, allow them to come together and check answers at the end.
2. Student Led Mini Lessons
There is something powerful that happens when we give students the autonomy to teach their peers. Often, I would pass out a card to either partners or groups of students and allow them to solve the task shown. When they were finished, their job was to present their work to the class and teach or lead a review for their peers on the skill completed. While you can give all groups the same skill, if you have a various types of task cards, your students can each cover different skills as well.
For example, if I am finishing up a unit on 2 Digit Subtraction, I may pass out 6 different task cards with different equations for students to solve so they can teach and lead a review on different strategies they could use to solve. Yes, young students can do this too, especially when they’re working with another classmate!
3. Student Created Posters
This one is my absolute favorite. If you print out task cards and allow students to glue them to butcher or construction paper, you can then have them create posters to share with their class. When I have students create posters on a math skill, I like to have them explain in depth how they solved the problem seen. Some prompts you can have students use as they are creating their solutions posters:
– Explain the steps you took to solve the problem.
– How did you check your work after solving this problem?
– Explain how you know your answer is correct.
– What are some common mistakes you have made on problems like this?
4. Create Your Own!
After students have used task cards in the classroom with consistency, why not support them in making their own? They can easy do this using paper/pencil or designing their own using technology (think Google Slides). Every task card I create is accessible through print and digital forms, so if students feel familiar with how to use these cards, they can find ways to design their own too. When they finish, add them to your collection (after checking that they provide meaningful practice, of course) and allow the class to use them throughout the year!
5. Math and Movement Activity
I’m a teacher who loves a good brain break. Why not have students combine their skill practice with movement? Similarly to write the room, have task cards taped up around the classroom. Make it so that the task card can be lifted up and a movement example can be taped behind it. Once students finish the task shown, they will lift the card to reveal the moment behind (ie- 10 jumping jacks, give 7 friends a high five, downward dog for 20 seconds). This adds a movement piece to a seemingly simple classroom activity.
There are so many brilliant ways to use simple tools in the classroom. Task cards as a math center are great. They provide independent practice for students. But you can use these tools to create new engaging activities too!
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