Fun With Flashcards

Keep it fun with using flashcards for any skill, during any part of the day!

9/4/20242 min read

Many of you walked back into your classrooms in the heat of August... and your students followed you only a few days behind. Now you are all into the swing of things... you've got the daily schedule and routines in place and are already deep into your curriculum for the year. I know that your day is driven by scope and sequences, curriculum maps from districts, with required learning goals and targets... but don't forget to have fun! Find creative ways for the kids to partner up, take time for brain breaks, and let review and practice times be in a game format. Cards/flashcards for any subject can be used to quiz a partner, play Memory or Go Fish, or even play Around the World as a whole group. It does take time to make sets of game/flashcards, but if you do it right you can use them over and over again, year after year. Print multiple copies for several groups to be able to play at the same time, but be sure to print each set on a different color of paper for easy sorting when a card is found on the floor. I highly recommend laminating as well. Yes, this does add additional prep time and cost... but in the long run it is well worth it. Flashcards can be used for any math skill or concept, many different literacy concepts, and even social studies or science concepts. In my last few years of teaching 1st grade we had a science unit that covered animals and their babies. I purchased a ready-to-print resource from Teachers Pay Teachers, printed it out, laminted the copies, and cut out the cards. The kids loved to try and match the adult animals with the baby animal pictures. They could also match the pictures with their names. We used them for lesson review, sub days, and even at student-led activities for Parent Night. Card/flashcard activities can be put out for Soft Start activities or inside recess. Once you have them prepared, their uses are numerous. If your time is limited or you just aren't in the creative mode, there are so many ready-to-print activities out there for you to choose from at Teachers Pay Teachers. Check out this FREE resource and visit Lollipops Learning Place regularly to see current and new resources made for classrooms just like yours.  I hope everyone has a GREAT year!