Task cards are nothing new, but they are a classroom resource that has stuck – and for good reasons! It’s common to see teachers use task cards in math and reading, but there is a place I love to use them the most: science! Science task cards have many possibilities, and they make teaching, reviewing, and prepping simple.
If you’re feeling a bit skeptical about the power of science task cards, let me convince you how awesome they can be!
#1 You can use them over and over again.
In the science classroom, many activities and resources that take lots of planning and preparation to get ready. Labs have to reset for each class and materials bought each year. With task cards, however, you can prepare them once and use them over and over again!
Print the task cards on sturdy cardstock or laminate them to make the task cards durable. Then, make sure to store them somewhere safe. I like to keep them in the photo storage boxes you can find at Michael’s or Amazon.
If you ever need a quick activity, you can pull out the ready-made task cards, and you are good to go!
#2 They can be used in a wide variety of formats.
While science task cards may not be the most inventive educational resource, the activities you can use them with makes up for it! You can have students simply select task cards and answer them, but you can also make it interactive. Here are a few ideas –
- Science stations
- Gallery Walk
- Group discussion
- Review or spiral material
- Warm-ups and morning work
- Enrichment and early finishers
- Games, such as relay races, four corners, and team games
With just one deck of task cards, you can use it 12+ ways! That is certainly worth any time you spend preparing the cards.
#3 You can ask students various questions.
There are no restrictions on the types of questions you can have on science task cards. From multiple choice, short response, true/false, multiple choice, and more. Plus, you can include charts and graphics on task cards as well. With these various question types, you can assess students’ knowledge, challenge students, and present information in different ways.
The question type also impacts how you use the cards. Multiple choice is great for classroom games, while short answers can make for good stations or extension activities.
Want science task cards for your middle school classroom? This Physical Science Task Card Bundle includes both digital and print task cards.
The task cards cover topics from physical and chemical changes, forces and motion, scientific investigations, energy forms, and many more! There are 13 topics, each with 24 task cards.
This task card bundle is minimal prep. Simply upload the Google Slide digital task cards, or print and prepare the paper task cards. Either way, you’ll have task cards to review and use all year long!
Get the Physical Science Task Card Bundle
Want to get a free sample of my physical science task cards? Sign up below!
Want more activity ideas for your science classroom? Check out this blog on using warm-ups in science.
[…] Photo storage containers are the task card storage solution of my dreams. I keep exit tickets in here, plus I sort all my task cards by unit with these. It makes it really easy to grab a set later. For example, when reviewing physical science I easily whipped out my physical science task cards for stations and handed out the physical science warm-up task cards as students walked in the room. Read about how you use task cards in your classroom here! […]