At the most basic level, task cards are small cards with an activity or question on them. Many teachers (myself included!) find these index-card sized bits of information to be an effective way for reinforcing and assessing curriculum content. Students love them, too! Task cards provide an engaging alternative to the traditional (read: boring) worksheet. Here are four ways I utilize task cards in the classroom:
1. Whole Class Instruction
With a document camera or smartboard, enlarge and project your task cards as a do now, exit ticket, or board work. My printable task cards come four to a page and serve nicely as a quick warm-up while I take care of housekeeping duties (attendance, homework, etc.). At the conclusion of a lesson, I can also distribute one task card to each student as a snapshot assessment to guide future instruction, depending on the class’s level of understanding.
2. Small Group Instruction
After delivering the whole group lesson, my students break out into small group station rotations. I use task cards for center work to reinforce content objectives. Students can pick one card from the pile at a time and work through them with a friend. My task cards all come with recording sheets for accountability and QR answer codes for maximum independence. I’ve also used the cards in my teacher-led small group to reteach struggling learners.
3. Early Finishers
Have students that need a challenge after their regularly scheduled work? Place task cards in a designated area they can go to and avoid the โI’m done!โ chant. My students eventually turned this into a competition and would try and collect the most cards by the end of the week. Whatever works, right?
4. Minds in Motion – SCOOT!
Unless you’re in the upper grades switching classes every 40 or so minutes, sitting at the same desk in the same seat most of the school day is THE worst. To break up our day and get the blood pumping, I’d place task cards around the room for an organized activity I called SCOOT. Using a clipboard or notebook as a hard writing surface, each student would start standing in front of a task card with their recording sheet. After a minute or two, I would yell SCOOT! and have them move to the next available card to solve. For a less structured approach, send students on a scavenger hunt! Encourage kids to find them all! Either way gets your class up and moving.
ACTIONABLE STEPS: Pick one of the ways mentioned above and try it with your own students! What other versatile ways have you utilized task cards in the classroom? Share below.
