Check out the 14 exciting ways to use task cards with your students that create a fun and engaging learning environment in your classroom. Kiddos love when assignments are fun and engaging, so make the most of your time by using task cards with your students.
14 Exciting Ways to Use Task Cards
Are you looking for exciting ways to use task cards with your students? There are so many great ways to use task cards in your classroom, but I will highlight my top 14 ways to use task cards with students to make learning not only fun and engaging but also meaningful.
1. Peer to peer learning
One of the best ways to use task cards with your students to promote learning on on a particular level is pairing students with partners. Students can partner up with a classmate who may be on or above his or her learning level to solve each task card. Sometimes learning information from a peer helps the it click better for students. They speak each other’s learning language.
To use task cards with a partner, both student must work on the problem and decide whether they agree or disagree. If they disagree, they must work through the problem together to find the correct answer. Working together with a partner is a great problem-solving strategy that helps students expand their thinking. Plus, they get peer-to-peer thinking.
2. Work Stations or Centers
Creating work stations or centers is one of the ways to use task cards that support differentiation among your students. Give each student a “Take 2 Learning” ticket that details information tailored to their specific needs. Each student will know what task cards need to be completed for skill mastery.
Students work through the different stations and complete task cards for the specific skills that they need for better understanding.
3. on the move with a Gallery Walk
This is one of my students’ favorite ways to use task cards. I put on some quiet instrumental music, and they work independently on solving each task card.
I tape the task cards around the room, and they walk around completing each one. After students have completed all the task cards, we go over the answers together as a class and discuss any misconceptions.
My rules for this activity are simple. There must be no more than 2 students working on a task card at the same time. If a student needs a particular task card, they must wait patiently until the task card is open.
- They can not run around the room.
- They must work quietly to ensure others are learning.
4. Early Finishers Need something to do!
When students finish an assignment, they grab a set of task cards to work on independently at their desks.
Again, you can have a “Take 2 Learning” ticket filled out for each child so they know what task cards to complete for additional help. Learn more about “Take 2 Learning” and grab a freebie below to get started using this tool in your class.
5. Test Prep can be daunting
Test prep can be extremely daunting. One of the ways to use task cards with your students is to use them as a test prep for a major test. Test prepping with task cards can make reviewing skills fun for the kiddos.
Students can complete targeted skills as a refresher before a big test. I love using task cards for test prep because they are short and to the point, which makes skill review easier for kids who struggle with information overload.
Simply pull out all of your targeted skills, and create easy access for the kiddos. Students can grab a set of task cards to review when they have an opportunity of down time.
6. Get cozy with Small Group
Because task cards are short and to the point, they are easy to use in small groups with students who need additional help. I give each student a task card to complete. Once the kiddos in the group complete the task card, they slide it to the next person on the right.
When all students in the small group have completed the task cards, we go over them in our small group. I tend to have only 4-5 students in a small group at a time, so this is very beneficial with being able to target specific skills. This method is one of the easiest ways to use task cards to differentiate student learning.
7. Whole Class Review = Great Discussions
Display task cards on your smart board or put them under your document camera to discuss with your students. This is one of many great ways to use task cards to facilitate class discussion among the students.
If you have task cards that cover types of sentences, you can take it further and have students not only identify the sentence type but also have them identify the subject, verb, and other parts of speech with just one task card. Find a way to hit multiple skills with just one task card.
8. Scoot from desk to desk
Of all the ways to use task cards, this is probably the funnest for kiddos. Scoot is similar to the gallery walk. Instead of posting task cards around the room, students scoot from desk to desk, answering various task cards.
When I have students complete a scoot, I typically set a timer and give them a short amount of time before they have to scoot to another desk. I typically use multiple choice task cards, so students can quickly answer before moving to the next card.
9. The Great Outdoors
This is another class favorite. On a beautiful day, you can take learning outside. At our school, we have a common area with benches and tables where I would set up something similar to a scoot and have students complete the task cards outside. This is a great way to give students a change of scenery especially on a beautiful day.
The kiddos also know in advance that if they abuse this privilege by not following directions, they will lose the opportunity to take learning to the great outdoors in the future.
10. make it visual with Anchor Charts
Have students create an anchor chart that explains the skill on the task card. Give out large pieces of anchor chart with a single task card in the middle or top of the anchor chart. Have students write out the steps and explain the skill and how to complete it. This is a great way for students to learn how to complete skills in various ways because not all students think alike. This is also great for peer-to-peer discussion.
11. Differentiation is important
Need to differentiate skills based on student understanding? Differentiating is not an easy task for teachers to do on a daily basis. Because of the difficulty and time needed for differentiation, task cards are a great way to make sure skills are being varied for students. This is also an easy way to reach all learning abilities in one class. Learn more about using task cards to differentiate below.
Related: Benefits of Using Task Cards
12. Interactive Notebooks can be fun
Task cards can be a great way to spice up your interactive notebook flow! Using task cards in combination with interactive notebooks is a great way to maximize student engagement and learning for skill review.
Ways to use task cards include introducing new concepts at the start of a lesson, providing depth of instruction or reinforcement by having students find relevant information in their notebooks, or by organizing and being responsible for information from past lessons.
Task cards are an excellent complement to interactive notebooks because they can help to develop organizational skills while giving students the flexibility to create individualized ways to engage with their learning.
13. kickstart learning with Morning Work
Task cards are a great way to engage your students in meaningful morning work! After students unpack in the morning, the first task is to complete the task cards of the day.
Some of the ways to use task cards in the morning include assigning 3-4 task cards per student, giving out task cards at random to each student, or complete skills that progressively get harder throughout the week as you work through the deck.
Using task cards for morning work is a great way to get students ready for the day ahead.
14. Electronics are cool
One of the coolest ways to use task cards in your classroom is to incorporate digital learning. If you have access to digital task cards, you can assign them electronically through Google Classroom or another program for students to complete them on iPads, computers, or other devices.
This takes learning up a notch because students love anything that includes an electronic device.
Final Thoughts on Ways to Use Task cards with your students
There are so many different ways to use task cards in the classroom. I hope the ideas outlined here give you and your students a jumpstart to creating a fun and engaging way to incorporate different ways of learning various skills.
Bottom line: with all the ways to use task cards, it’s no surprise that they have quickly become one of the most versatile teaching tools available.
