Ways to Effectively Use Task Cards
Aug 07, 2023
Have you ever sat down after an amazing lesson and considered how you could give your students a chance to practice that material? Or have you tried to think of creative ways to check their understanding? If you answered yes to either of those questions, then you are in the right place. Task cards can help you achieve that and so much more.
What Are Task Cards?
Well, I am so glad you asked. Task cards are exactly as the name suggests; a task on a card. These cards usually come in a set and are typically skill-based activities that help keep your students engaged.
No worries, I am already two steps ahead of you. Mathagram Task Cards have been designed with you and your students in mind. You will be able to implement these activities in your classroom without greatly modifying your learning schedule, or taking away too much time from much-needed instruction.
What Makes Mathagram Task Cards So Unique?
With these cards you will be able to:
- Provide your students with extra practice.
- Assess their understanding of a variety of skills.
- Remediate and support struggling students.
- Enrich students who are ready to be pushed to the next level.
Are you ready to take the learning experience in your classroom to the next level? If so, let’s explore 11 ways that task cards can help you achieve that goal.
Eleven Ways To Effectively Use Task Cards In Your Classroom
- Problem-of-the-Day — This strategy can also be referred to as a Bell Ringer, Do Now, or even Morning Math! These quick and on-the-spot problems only take a few minutes of your daily routine and are a fantastic way to get your students thinking and pumped and ready for math.
- Exit Slips — I must admit that I am a little biased with this one because it is a favorite of mine. To implement this strategy, you would give one card to each student to complete at the end of your lesson, quickly check them at the end of the day, and then use the data to form your small groups for remediation or enrichment for the next class meeting.
- Remediation — Task cards are an amazing tool for remediation because they let you reach the individual needs of every student. These cards will allow you to meet your students where they are by targeting their specific areas of weakness.
- Bonus Tip — Are you searching for a way to effortlessly store your students’ exit slips and/or task cards? An easy fix is to use a mini-sized composition book. They are half the size of the standard composition books. Initially, I would have the original books cut down to size. However, imagine my surprise when I found pre-cut mini composition books on Amazon! They are inexpensive and will be a game-changer in your classroom.
- Take me to Amazon for these!
- Enrichment — Task cards normally come in varying levels for a specific skill. For students who have shown mastery, or for your high achievers, you can provide them with more challenging problems as an enrichment opportunity.
- Early Finishers — Do you have students who always seem to finish first? Task cards will give those students a meaningful activity to work on. Just place the cards in a Ziplock bag, an envelope, or a folder that students can quickly access upon completion of their in-class assignments.
- Scoot — There is much research surrounding the benefits of movement in the classroom. Scoot is a whole group activity that allows the entire class to get up out of their seats to participate. Just place one card on each student’s desk and have students rotate to answer the cards. The amount of time for each card is up to you, but my maximum allotted time is typically three minutes. When it is time to move to the next card, you would yell out “1-2-3 scoot!”, or use another signal for students to move to the next desk.
- Write the Room (Math Edition) — If getting your students moving in your class throughout the day was a winner, then Write the Room may also be for you. All you have to do is post the task cards around your classroom and have your students circle the room to respond to them. The spin to this activity is that students have to describe their mathematical thinking. So, not only would students complete a math problem, but they would also explain how they solved the problem. The benefit here is that your students will also get practice with their writing.
- Math Centers — This is one of my go-to activities. Task cards are easy to set up in math centers and it is low prep for you.
- Easy To Assemble + Engaging Activity = One Great Math Center
- Small Groups — Using task cards for small group instruction provides the perfect opportunity to scaffold instruction. A small group setting also allows you to model solving the math problems and invite your students in while you think aloud.
- Bonus Tips — Students can have a healthy debate about the correct and/ or wrong answer(s). They can also discuss misconceptions and have the opportunity to clear up any identified misconceptions. Students can also defend their answers by providing reasoning and examples to justify their responses.
- Spiral Review — Using task cards for spiral review is a fabulous spin on reviewing content already taught. Instead of using a worksheet, you will use task cards to offer students an engaging review activity. With spiral review, students can also review skills that they have previously learned throughout the school year.
- Recess Fun — This final strategy is an excellent way to infuse math and recess! Do you remember hopscotch as a kid? Allow me a moment to refresh your memory. First, you would draw a traditional hopscotch diagram on the ground (generally numbered rectangles, or a pattern of triangles). Then, you would throw a stone, a small beanbag, or another marker (similar to those mentioned) into the design. Finally, you would hop through the squares while picking up the object on the way back to the start.
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- Math Spin — It is best to use laminated task cards for this activity to ensure they last. To begin, you would place cards randomly throughout the hopscotch design. Then, each student would take a turn throwing their marker onto the design. As they hop through, they will pick up the task card that their marker lands on and complete the task. If students answer the math problem correctly, they will proceed and keep the card. The student or group with the most cards at the end is the winner. Of course, this strategy should only be used if you believe your class is up for a little competition. Usually, they all are! This method is best used with math fluency and mental math problems so that pencil and paper are not needed during outside recess.
There you have it! Eleven ways to incorporate fun, engaging, and meaningful learning with task cards in your classroom! Please take a moment to comment below and share which method you would prefer to use, or have used, within your classroom. Brownie points if you have other methods not listed here that you would be willing to share with me and our fellow teacher friends. I am sure we are all always looking to add to the learning experience in our classrooms.
If you are looking for some task cards to get you started, head over to Strutting Through Third TPT Store. Finally, don’t forget to visit me on social media by clicking here!
Happy Learning and Happy Sharing!
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