The first time I discovered Boom Cards, I was in utter shock. I had never seen anything like them before. I was giddy with excitement as I worked through a few preview cards. Digital resources that were meaningful and graded themselves? Sign me up!! However, I didn’t jump on board right away because I wasn’t exactly sure how to use them. If you’ve ever felt that way about Boom Cards, keep reading to discover 4 reasons why you need these digital resources, and most importantly, how to use them in your classroom.

1. Students Love Digital Activities

Years ago, I attended a conference that referred to this generation of students as the “Nintendo Generation.” I tend to think of myself as the “Nintendo Generation” having grown up in the 80s, but I understood their point. It’s true, our students have grown up with technology and can’t imagine life without it. Therefore, they love digital resources and are comfortable using them. So, right away, you have their buy-in.

What exactly are Boom Cards? In a nutshell, they are digital task cards. With features like drag and drop, multiple select, and fill-in-the-blank, students interact with a variety of question types when working through a set. I’ve found that students connect much more to the content and questions within Boom Cards than regular task cards or a workbook page. It’s a win-win situation!

2. Digital Means No Prep

Have you ever checked off an entire to-do list? I know I haven’t. As a teacher, it’s nearly impossible. Once you get your head above water, you start thinking ahead and begin to feel like you’re drowning again. There is always something to do.

Boom Cards, however, have made planning and preparing activities SO MUCH EASIER. There’s no printing, laminating, or cutting, and I don’t have to use my beloved card stock. All I have to do is send students a link! I can do that in less than 10 seconds. Printable task cards would take me a minimum of 20 minutes to prepare from start to finish. (45 minutes if the laminator hasn’t been turned on, arghhh!!!) Plus, students have access to these decks outside of the classroom, and they can review them anytime or anywhere. Another teacher win!

How to Assign Boom Cards to Your Students

There are a variety of actions you can take with each deck of Boom Cards. To keep things simple, I assign Boom Cards by sending my students the hyperplay link. It will prompt them to log in to Boom Learning to access the deck. This does require you to have a paid subscription, but it is SO worth it because of all the valuable feedback you get!

If you are wanting to use the free version of Boom Learning, you can send students the fast pin link. Both of these options require a simple copy and paste into Google Classroom, Schoology, or whatever online platform you use. Students immediately have access to the deck!

3. Data Collection

Boom Cards provide instant feedback to students and beneficial data for teachers. Yes, paper-pencil assessments can provide this data as well. But this is immediate. There are times I don’t look over paper-pencil assessments for days, and sometimes I’m too late to intervene. With Boom Learning, I can quickly glance through student scores and intervene on the spot. It has made my life so much easier!

Here is an example of what students would see:

Here is what teachers would see. Of course, I would never use actual student data, so Jake is a sample account I created.

I find it helpful to see how long it takes students to complete each deck. Even better, I have immediate item analysis. The red questions would be the ones I would revisit with that student.

4. Versatility

Not only can you assign Boom Cards as a math center, but you can also use them for whole group lessons. For instance, I will often use a few cards for a quick spiral review or include them in my lesson. One feature in particular I love is the ability to assign a certain number of cards to students. Many of my decks have 20 cards, but depending on the skill, 20 questions could take a really long time to complete. Therefore, I may assign only 7-10 cards for the math center (you can hide certain cards so they don’t show up) and use the other cards in my whole group lesson.

Boom Cards also come in handy when preparing for state testing. Instead of searching endlessly for review materials, you can simply reassign previous decks to students. For a quick spiral review of several skills, consider assigning 3-5 cards of multiple decks instead of 1 deck at a time. It’s amazing how Boom Cards can actually teach and reinforce skills as students work through them. They are called Boom LEARNING Cards for a reason!

You can also use Boom Cards for your own test prep. I’ve created Chapter Review decks for all 13 chapters of the 4th Grade Go Math curriculum. I assign these 2 days before a test. With instant data collection, I’m able to plan my small group instruction effectively the day before a test.

Do yourself a favor and try a set of Boom Cards in some way, shape, or form. You will be happy you did. 🙂

• TPT Store Boom Cards
• Boom Learning Store Boom Cards

Until next time,

Happy Teaching!

P.S. For even more tips and ideas, read this blog post where I explain how I use Boom Cards to review for chapter tests!