Teachers use task cards at all grade levels and subjects. They have become a very useful tool for all sorts of classroom settings and types of lessons. Today we’ll focus on Math Center Addition and Subtraction Practice.
Why Use Task Cards?
For struggling students, seeing an entire worksheet full of math problems that they know they’ll have trouble with can be overwhelming. Task cards present one problem or question at a time, allowing students to focus on that one problem without seeing all of the rest of the work they need to do.
They’re great to get students up and moving around the classroom. Whether you have the cards in stations for kids to move around or simply have students get up to retrieve another card, movement will give them a short brain break.
One set of task cards can provide review or practice on many types of skills, making them perfect for differentiating your math lessons.
There is a fair amount of work at the front end to print them all out, laminate them, and then cut them apart. But the good news is that once you’ve done that, you’re set for the next several years! Laminating the cards will help preserve them. And since students typically write their answers on a separate answer sheet, they can last a long time.
Math center practice
Task cards are a versatile tool for math centers. They naturally lend themselves to multiple uses and they can be used even for very young students. So let’s look at some ideas for using task cards in your classroom.
Ideas for Using Math Task Cards
- Leave a few cards at various stations around the room. Students can work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete them. Or you could time them at each station and direct them to change stations after a certain amount of time. You could even do this as an assessment.
- Have a scavenger hunt! Have some task cards with questions or problems on them, and then separate cards with the correct answers. Place them around the room and have students match up the question cards with the answer cards.
- Use 1 or 2 task cards as a quick exit ticket.
- Project a single card on a screen with either a document camera or computer. Use it as a bell ringer or warm up for when kids enter in the morning, or from class to class. They can keep a math journal or interactive notebook where they record their answer.
- Another idea for whole class use is to project the cards, one at a time, on the screen. Give your students individual white boards, or have them work in pairs or teams. As they finish the problem, they hold up their boards and you can give them immediate feedback on their answers!
- Task cards make great options for early finishers. Have some sets of cards in a bin somewhere in the room where students can access them, along with some copies of the answer sheets.
- Task cards have gone digital! See this earlier post on using digital math task cards.
Addition and Subtraction Task Cards
I’ve put together a set of 200 task cards focused on addition and subtraction.
These write on/wipe off addition and subtraction {with QR codes} task cards will provide your students with extra practice in addition and subtraction skills. They can practice both skills using double and triple digits, as well as grouping and regrouping.
Laminate the cards for durability and place in a Math Center. Students can write on the laminate using a dry-wipe marker. They (or a buddy) can check their answers on a mobile device using the QR Codes – makes it more engaging for your students!
These cards are perfect for your next math center!
Do you have other fun ways of using task cards? We’d love to hear!
