Seven Ways to Use Flash Cards

Purpose: Flashcards can be used to provide students with additional practice or additional challenge. They can be used individually or in groups. Please see the list below for more ideas on how to use them for varied purposes.

Prep Time: 0-25 minutes, depending on whether you need to make your own flashcards.

Materials: Flashcards that ask students to practice knowledge or skills they’ve been learning in class. The number of copies needed varies by activity. Free citizenship flashcards. Free money flashcards. To make your own flashcards, use a worksheet and write one question from the worksheet per card. This allows you to do all the following activities in addition to using the worksheet.

Prep: Obtain or make copies of the flashcards.

Activity Ideas:

1. Supplemental Practice: If a student needs additional practice, pick out the flashcards about the topics to focus on and the student can use them in a pull-out lesson, during down time, or for homework.
2. Group Work: Give a small group of students a small set of flashcards and assign a leader to hold them up and quiz the group. The leader can then review any missed cards. Students can take turns being the leader.
3. Challenge Cards: Prepare some flashcards with challenging items on them to give to students who are ready to go deeper with the topic. Give them to students who finish a whole-class assignment quickly.
4. Pass It On: Give each student one flashcard to study and answer. When a suitable amount of time has passed, each student passes their card to another and they study the new cards. Repeat as long as there is need and/or interest.
5. Back to Back: Two students sit back to back at the front of the room and each student has a mini-white board. Hold up a flashcard and the students write their answers and then hold them up for the class to see. Show the class the flashcard and ask for more input about the written answers before revealing the correct answer.
6. Around the Room: Place the cards around the room and have students stand up and search for them. As they find cards, they quiz themselves on the answers.
7. Matching Mingle: Give half the class just the answer side of the cards and the other half just the question side of the cards and they mingle and find the matching questions and answers. Mix the cards up and repeat several times.