Cooperative Learning with Task Cards #2

I will begin by saying.....I'm severely behind and my blog is suffering!  The sickness bug has hit me hard, two weeks tomorrow hard to be exact.  Fortunately it hasn't been the flu, but it has been enough to say I'm sick of being sick!  Sorry, I just realized I played the excuse card that my students try to use on a daily basis.

Now that I have pleaded my case, I have what I promised to share with you.  Another cooperative learning strategy that can be used with the ever so popular task cards.  This is by far one of my favorites.  There are so many ways that this strategy can be used and task cards is just one of them.

To sum up the strategy, each student begins with a card.  With hands up, students find a partner, quiz each other with the card in their hand, check answers, then switch cards.  The process continues until time is up.  You will find complete directions to the strategy below.

Here are other ways that I have used this strategy with my students.

Impromtu Review

Cutting Practice Test to Pieces

Valentine's Theme Cooperative Learning Strategies

If you are looking for task cards aligned to Common Core Math, you can find my 32 sets HERE in my TpT store. 

Do you have a favorite way to use task cards?

Impromptu Review

Today I was in need of a quick filler activity.  We are ending a unit in Social Studies and had a little bit of extra time.  Today was one of those days, a typical Monday I should say, that I didn't have something extra hanging around.  So, I decided on a quick impromptu review with the whole class game Ask-n-Switch.

I gave each student an index card, and they wrote a question of their choice that related to our topic.  They were told to treat this as if they were writing a question that would be found on the test.  On the back of the index card they then wrote the answer to their question.

Before we started Ask-n-Switch, they traded cards with a partner to check that the question was relevant,could be understood, and that the answer was correct.  After the quick check, students stood to signal they were ready to go.

The index cards that contained their own questions and answers became our set of review cards.  The preparation took approximately 3-4 minutes.  In order to come up with a question, they had to reflect on their learning which required them to think deeper.  ALSO, we have a set of review cards that we can use again tomorrow!

Cutting Practice Tests to Pieces

In about three weeks we will have tested and it will all be behind us, temporarily anyway.  Lately, my post have been consumed by all the test preparation, so I apologize up front if I seem to be redundant.  The thing is, and this too I have said, I have refused to get in the redundancy of review by completing worksheets and fill in the bubble practice.  So, I have a lot to share.  It's all hands-on, engaging, and my students are enjoying it.

Today, I took a practice test and cut it to pieces!  Yes, you read it right, I cut it to pieces!

 The thing I haven't told you yet, is that I cut the pieces so that we could use them for Ask-n-Switch.  It took me a total of about five minutes to make our review interactive.  Once I cut the practice test into pieces, I wrote the answer on the back.  I then had an instant class set of Geometry task cards!  We used this set of hodge-podge and not so pretty strips of paper to do Ask-n-Switch (see below for directions).

Guess what?  My students reviewed test-like questions and thought we were playing a game.  Can't get much better than that!

Valentine's Theme Cooperative Learning Strategies

Kids are always excited about the upcoming holidays, and as teachers we look for ways to incorporate holidays into our curriculum. Here are a few ways to incorporate Valentine's Day, the curriculum, and cooperative learning. To find directions for the strategies listed below, visit these links within my blog.

  

Cooperative learning possibilities for the holidays are endless!

Another Go Green Strategy

Do you have a set of flashcards laying around?  Maybe a set of play money or mini Judy clocks?  How about a set of reading response cards?  Ask 'n' Switch is a great strategy to use with these items.  Simply whip out a set, and you instantly have an activity for reviewing or closure of a lesson. 

We always have scratch paper available from our recycle box.  Have students make their own card to quiz each other.  For example, in Social Studies we study Missouri History.  After studying the regions of our state, I had my students write one fact from any region they chose.  On the backside, they wrote the region associated with the fact.  We created an instant set of Ask 'n' Switch cards, learning was differentiated, and a fun interactive activity was put into motion.

I love this strategy!  It is definitely one of my favorites!  What other ways could you use this in your classroom?

Number Sentence Card Pack

I have just completed a cooperative learning card pack for number sentences.  The pack is aligned to Common Core Standards and a list is provided.  There are two versions of the set that can be used in many ways.  There are three cooperative learning strategies provided with detailed directions. 

The card pack is available to purchase in my TpT store.

Rounding Whole Numbers-Card Set

These card sets can be used a number of different ways. They can be used for Pick a Card, Ask-n-Switch, and even Show-It. After copying the card set simply cut the question out with the answer still attached. Fold the answer to the back of the question and glue.

Rounding Card Set

Polygon Card Set

Using Pick a Card, Ask-n-Switch, and even Show-It. The cards can be used for a review of polygons.

Polygon Cards