5 Creative Ways to Use and Repurpose Task Cards (EP 14)

5 Creative Ways to Use and Repurpose Task Cards

Hey there, and welcome to another episode of Elementary Math Chat!

Today we’re going to talk about one of my favorite math resources, and that is task cards. I know a lot of people associate them with small group instruction, and they can be used with small groups. I talked about that last week. But there are so many other ways that you can use them in your classroom. So, today I’ll be sharing five of my favorite ways to use task cards in the classroom.

For my first idea, I’ll go ahead and start with small groups just because I’ve talked about this before. So, some of this might sound familiar to you. There are two different ways I used task cards in small groups.

If the skill was new to them, I typically put the task cards in different groups or levels. For example, if we were doing long division, and I had a set of task cards on long division, my level one questions would be simpler problems, maybe two-by-one-digit problems. My level two questions might be three-by-one-digit problems, and my level three problems still might be a three-digit by one-digit problem, but they would have more challenging division facts to work with.

So again, if this was a new skill they were working on and they were struggling, they would work on that first level, and if they needed more of a challenge, they would work on the second or third level.

But if it was a review skill that they had quite a bit of practice with, and I wanted them to have a variety of question types, then I would mix the cards up and give them each three to five cards, depending on the complexity of this skill. For example, I’d only have them complete three long division problems because they take a little bit longer, but then maybe five rounding problems. So, it all depended on the skill. 

I didn’t mention this last week, but if you are putting them in different groups, make sure you label the backside with the level or the group that they’re in. So, if they’re in level one, put a one on the back of the task card. If they’re in level two, put a two. If they’re in level three, put a three. You might also put them in group A, group B, or group C.

However you group them, just make sure you label the backside, and then the following year, you’ll know exactly where they go. Or if one falls on the ground, you’ll know which group it belongs to.

Also, with task cards, make sure you have an answer key to refer to at your teacher table. That makes such a difference when it comes to checking their work, and they can also check their own answers if you’re not able to for some reason. Maybe you had to get up and check on a student, or you’re helping someone else. They can check their own answers.

What works well for me is to put the task cards inside a large manila envelope, and on the front of the envelope, I put the cover of the product from the TPT download. On the back, I put the answer key, and I laminated this to keep it nice and durable. So, I definitely recommend laminating your envelopes and putting that answer key on the back.

Another option for task cards is to label the backside of them with their answer, and they can flip the cards over and check their answer, and that way you would need an answer key. So, those are my tips for using them in small group instruction.

The second way you can use task cards is to hang them around the room for a gallery walk. This can be a great opportunity to repurpose a set of task cards that you’ve already used in small groups, or maybe you have a set that you just didn’t have time to use in small groups. So, you can pull them out and put them up for a gallery walk.

I put up a gallery walk for every single choice board, and I would put a copy of the recording sheet within their choice board packet, and that’s where they would show their work. Sometimes the task cards I used for the gallery walk were related to the unit we were in. But then other times they were review skills. So, I used it more as a spiral review.

This was always the first activity they chose. They loved getting up and walking around the room. So, it’s a really great way to repurpose those task cards that you’ve either already used or ones that you don’t use anymore and want to put to use.

The thing is when you use them in your small groups, they’re only solving four to five task cards. But in a gallery walk, you can put the whole set of task cards up. They don’t necessarily have to solve all of them. You know, if you put 30 cards around the room, you can just have them pick 10, or you can have them do all 30. It’s up to you. They obviously have a lot more time for a choice board activity than they would at your small group table.

Now you can put the task cards up individually, and if you do this, make sure they are laminated so you can put them up with tape. By the way, this is something really easy that your students can help you with. I always had my late bus riders help me with this, and they also helped me take them down, because it can take a few minutes if you do this on your own. This is something really easy that they can help you with.

I also recommend putting them up in consecutive order, and that will make it easier for them to record their answers.

Another option for your gallery walk is to print the task cards four to a page, and then put them inside of a sheet protector and hang them up this way. This will save you probably 20 to 30 minutes of time because you won’t need to laminate the task cards. You won’t have to cut them out. You just have to print them, put them inside of a sheet protector, and hang them up. So, that’s a nice option for gallery walks if you don’t have a lot of time.

The third way you can use task cards is with a Kagan strategy called Quiz-Quiz-Trade. I will put a link in the show notes to a video that shows Quiz-Quiz-Trade in action. But it is a fairly simple activity, and it works really well with task cards.

Something fun I liked to do was I would have them put their heads down, and then I would toss the cards all around the room, like I would scatter them everywhere. And then when they put their heads up, they had to pick a card close to them, and then they would start the Quiz-Quiz-Trade.

It was honestly fun for me too because I liked just throwing the cards around and making a mess. Sometimes I had them keep their heads up and watch me toss them around the room, and they enjoyed that as well.

So, going back to Quiz-Quiz-Trade, you’ll need to write the answers on the back of each task card, and then give each student one task card. Once they have their task card, I would say, “Hand up, pair up”. They would find a partner, and one at a time they would say the answer to each other’s task card. And remember the answers are written on the back of the task cards. So, their partners each know what the correct answer is.

If they are both correct, then they trade cards and find a new partner to Quiz-Quiz-Trade. So that’s why it’s called Quiz-Quiz-Trade They quiz each other, and then they trade, and then they find a new partner and they repeat.

Sometimes the student will answer incorrectly, and in that case, their partner will help coach them through the problem until they get it right. So, I think this is a great way to build relationships within your classroom.

Since I had the answers on the back of these task cards, I didn’t find it necessary to store them in the envelopes that I mentioned earlier. I just put a rubber band around these sets, and I kept them in a hanging shoe organizer that I hung over my large file cabinet. I mentioned that back in episode five, I believe, but I wanted to mention that just in case you missed that episode.

Another version of task cards that work well for Quiz-Quiz-Trade, are those clip cards because the answer is already on the back of those. Usually, students use a clip or a paperclip or something like that to clip their answers. But instead of using a clip, they can just use their fingers to grab their answer choice, and you can see the answers from the back if they are correct or not. So, those also work well for Quiz-Quiz-Trade.

As far as when I would do Quiz-Quiz-Trade, I would often do it as a warm-up activity while I checked their homework or as a way to wrap up the lesson. Whenever I used it as a lesson wrap-up, I would also grab a card and play along with them.

They always thought that was fun, and they always wanted to be my partner. So, it was fun for me as well. It also helped me see how they were understanding the lesson. I could tell who was answering the questions quickly and who needed more support.

I will warn you that students can get a little crazy with Quiz-Quiz-Trade. So, make sure you model the appropriate way to behave. They do not need to be stomping around and yelling like animals. I am not joking. Sometimes they act like this. So, make sure they know that they are just walking around and answering in a normal indoor voice.

The final thing I’ll mention about Quiz-Quiz-Trade is that you want to make sure you pick the right skill. It needs to be something that can be answered using mental math since they don’t have anything to write with when they’re doing this. So, you obviously don’t want to pick something like long division or two-digit multiplication or any other multi-step skill where they can’t solve it mentally.

Here are a few that I would recommend. Comparing numbers is pretty easy to do. Basic multiplication or division facts. You can even use flashcards for this because the answers are on the back. Place value works well, multiplying or dividing multiples of 10, identifying prime and composite numbers, as well as adding and subtracting fractions because those can also be done mentally.

So, there are a lot of different skills that you can pair with Quiz-Quiz-Trade. I will link some of my task card sets in the show notes, I’ve got a couple for third grade and fifth grade that work well, and I have a lot for fourth grade. So, if you need some resources for Quiz-Quiz-Trade, definitely check those out.

The fourth way to use task cards is to use them as questions for a game, and you can even pair these task cards with an actual Connect 4 game. I did this as a center rotation just because I only had three Connect 4 games, and that meant only six of them were playing the game at a time. So, I only needed three Connect 4 games.

How this worked was they had to answer a task card before they were able to take their turn, and the answers were on the back so they could easily check their work. If they were correct, they took their turn on the game, and that was it. Pretty simple.

If you don’t have any Connect 4 games, make sure you reach out to your parent group. They may be able to donate them to your classroom, or just let you borrow them for the week that you need them.

And don’t forget about your teacher wish list. This would be a great one to put on your wish list during your Meet the Teacher night if that’s when you do your wish list, or if it’s something you send in an email. I always put indoor recess games on my teacher wish list, and Connect 4 was one they always wanted to play.

Now as far as the task cards that you use with Connect 4, there are a couple of different ways you can do this. You can either give each pair of students the same set of task cards and make several copies and you probably only need two sets to split between the three groups. Or you can combine a few different sets of task cards together so they have a mixed review of questions.

Like maybe you take some factors and multiples task cards, two-digit multiplication, and area and perimeter task cards and you put them all together, and they have a mixed review of questions. I believe that’s what I did, because these were stations I did for state testing, and I wanted them to review a couple of different skills. So, that’s another option that you could do.

My fifth and final idea for how to use task cards is to use them in your whole group lesson. If you have a doc camera, you can show one card at a time and use these questions either for a spiral review or as an exit ticket.

If you don’t have a doc camera, you can just take a snippet of a few questions from the digital file, and then put them in your slides. That’s what I did. Because I actually gave my doc camera away. I never used it, and other people were needing one, and I preferred putting them in my slides anyway, because then the next year I had the questions, and I didn’t have to worry about finding the actual paper copy.

If you want to use these questions as an exit ticket, you can again take a snippet of one or two questions however many you prefer, and then you can create a short Google Form for the exit ticket, and this doesn’t have to be an exit ticket. You could repurpose task cards into an independent activity with five to ten questions, and this is pretty simple to do.

You will need to save each task card snippet to your computer and then upload it within each Google Form question. So, if you want to create a five-question Google form, you’ll need to take five individual snippets of the task card questions, save them individually, and then upload them to each question on the Google Form.

What I love about Google Forms is that once you make them, you have them forever. So, it’s worth the five to ten minutes that it will take to create them.

So, those are my five favorite ways to use task cards in the classroom. Let’s do a quick recap of all five ways before I move on to today’s teaching tip of the week.

The first way is to use them in small groups to practice either a new skill or a review skill.

The second way is to hang them around the room either individually or four to a page for a gallery walk.

The third way is to write the answers on the back and use them for Quiz-Quiz-Trade.

The fourth way is to use them as questions for a game and students get to take a turn after answering each question.

And the fifth way is to use them in your whole group lesson as either a spiral review, an exit ticket, or add them to a Google Form for an independent activity.

So, now what you have to do is you need to go find some of those old task cards that you never thought you’d use again, wipe the dust off, and put them to use now that you have five new ideas.

And that’s going to take us to today’s teaching tip of the week. This teaching tip is a bonus idea from Episode 12 where I gave you differentiated ideas for third, fourth and fifth grade small groups. I had a request through my Instagram Stories for ideas on multiplying decimals from my friend Kassie. So, Kassie, this one is for you.

For your first level, which remember I called those my red questions, have them solve the problem within a place value chart to help them line up their digits, and keep the digits below six. I would also have the problem already written vertically for them since that’s a little bit easier.

Then for your middle level, which I called my yellow questions, you won’t need a place value chart, and you want to include examples that are written both horizontally and vertically. You’ll also want your digits to go all the way up to nine for a little more challenge.

For your highest level, which I called my green questions, add a digit or two to the original problem. Let’s say it’s 4.5 times 9.2. Change the problem to 3.45 times 9.2. Or give them a problem that is missing certain digits. That can be a little more challenging as well.

One final idea for your high level is to give them an example like this. Start with the decimal 3.7, and multiply 3.7 by another decimal that will give you a product as close to 10 as possible. This will require them to estimate first and then multiply their decimals to see how close they get. They can even repeat this several times to see how close they can get.

Thank you, Kassie, for this question, and hopefully that gives you some ideas that you can do in small groups when it comes to multiplying decimals. Have a great week everyone and I will see you next Tuesday!