Benefits of using task cards help provide a foundation of learning for all students by providing an engaging way for teachers to target specific skills.
You have tons of standards to teach but not enough hours in a day! You’d be golden if there were enough time to teach, review, and take a deep breath. In the words of Townie from the Waterboy, “You can do it…” The benefits of using task cards are highly effective in helping you do it all.
First Things First: What are Task Cards?
Task cards are small cards of varying sizes and shapes used to teach various skills. Different shapes and sizes of task cards can be used to suit the needs of any student or classroom.
For example, teachers can use smaller task cards with multiple choice questions for their students who need an introduction or review of a particular skill, while larger task cards may contain fill-in-the-blank type questions for more advanced learners.
The benefits of using task cards in the classroom are a great way to help students learn and practice different skills for subjects such as grammar, math, reading, writing, and more. Task cards also provide a great review for progressively advancing skills, making them an invaluable and beneficial tool to have in the classroom.
While the primary focus may be to review a skill and get the answers correct quickly, task cards can also serve as an opportunity that allows the teacher to take a step back, reflect on the student learning process, and get creative with challenging students in a new way based on their knowledge of the targeted skill.
Easy to Target Specific Skills
For teachers and students, using task cards are beneficial because they can simplify learning when quick review, mini-lessons, and spiral reviewing are easily accessible in the classroom.
Using task cards as quick reviews can be helpful in targeting specific skills to enhance student mastery. Students can use task cards to quickly review a skill they may be struggling with or a skill that needs a refresher.
Task cards are also extremely beneficial for those skills that do not require in-depth teaching. Not that the target skill isn’t important, but it’s a skill that most students with all levels of understanding easily understand.
Take article adjectives, for example, this is a skill that your students likely learned in early in education, but a quick review may be needed to help them understand the breakdown of a sentence a little better.
Another benefit of using task cards is to provide an effective spiral review because the target skill is revisited frequently through short and specific tasks. Spiral Reviews are effective ways to ensure a strong foundational understanding because of repetition.
Think of how often it takes you to see, do, or hear something to better understand and develop a deeper connection. It’s the same for students….they need repetition to help with skill mastery. We can’t expect them to see multiplication facts once and master them.
Students need continuous exposure for mastery. This is where task cards come into play. You can set them up as early finishers, in a small group, or as a station for students to complete throughout the month.
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Task Card provide Short texts
Because task cards are small cards with limited text, they are an incredibly useful tool for those with a short attention span!
Let’s face it…kids don’t have the attention span that we need for them to absorb the information fully.
The short text used in task cards is concise and easy to understand without it being overwhelming.
Task cards also provide an easy way to digest information more easily. With task cards, the provided text is short yet effective.
Not only does it limit overwhelming amounts of information, but the short text encourages students to focus on the task at hand instead of getting distracted by any superfluous information which may not be needed. It’s a win, win!
Helps with differentiation
Differentiating between the different learning levels in one classroom can be a challenge teachers must take head-on to support all students. Task cards provide differentiation that is essential for teachers to tailor instructional content best.
This is not always easy to do, especially with the many tasks that teachers already have to do on a daily basis.
This is where task cards are beneficial to meet the learning needs of all students. They offer the opportunity for differentiation by allowing teachers to modify skills based on levels – providing simplified tasks for below-level students, more challenging tasks for above-level students, and suitable tasks for those who are on-level.
By providing resources specifically designed to meet each student’s learning ability or learning style, task cards can help foster an inclusive classroom where differentiation is key to engaging various learners.
With these task cards, teachers can provide the tools needed to differentiate instruction no matter what subject or content area they are teaching successfully.
Final Thoughts on the Benefits of Using Task Cards
The benefits of using task cards in the classroom provide a foundation of learning for all students. Task cards are helpful in providing a way for teachers to target specific skills which make them easy to use for differentiation.
They are versatile and provide a fun way for student engagement. As you can see, they are the perfect solution for busy classrooms that require detailed yet simplified instruction to reach all participants.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to make your grammar block more fun and engaging, check out the post below.
Related: Make Learning Grammar Fun
