Have you ever counted how many times a day you hear this question, “What do I do next?” Whatever just popped into your head is probably a conservative number. And I bet you hear, “I don’t remember,” almost as often. Visual cue cards are one way to solve this problem. Actually, one of the easiest ways.
Most of us are very visual. It’s why the billboards with the best images get us to exit the interstate. They get our attention, we want what they have, and we follow the directions to get there.
And how about cookbooks? I just watched Julie & Julia for the third time last night (the chopping onions scene 😂), and I was reminded how important step by step directions are… even better when they include photos. Visual cue cards are the classroom version of this.
ESTABLISHING CLASSROOM ROUTINES
Back to school season is right around the corner. As you’re planning on how you want to introduce new classroom routines and procedures, add visual directions to the list.
During the first week of school, I recommend starting with a simple workflow… maybe a task that only includes 2-3 steps. This way, your students can get used to looking at the picture cards as they’re working. Over time, they’ll begin to refer to the cards as a tool for building independence and improving productivity.
The simplest way to display the cards is by using a pocket chart, but you could just as easily use magnets and post them on your board. Sometimes we have classroom routines and workflows that we use over and over. For those, we glue the cards to chart paper to make posters we can use repeatedly.
These visual cue cards have been a really supportive tool for our students with language development goals. English language learners and children with receptive language goals find it easier to stay on task when they can see the directions. And for tasks that include multiple steps, the cue cards are helpful to everyone… sometimes including me!
IMPROVING INDEPENDENCE AND PRODUCTIVITY
A less frequent question, but one we still hear, is “What was I supposed to get?” This is usually reserved for our forgetful, less-than-organized friends, but we have a simple system to help manage this as well… supply cards. Show them what they need. It’s that easy.
This isn’t as crucial during the ELA block because they typically have reading and writing tools readily available. We tend to use these cards more during math and science instruction. Because those lessons include more variety and novelty, the kids need a visual reminder of what to grab. This set includes 30 supply cards, many of which support instruction across the day. For example:
- counters
- ruler
- snap cubes
- dice
- clock
- ruler
- stopwatch
- balance
- scale
- magnifying glass
To see more about the complete set of visual cue cards, 👉CLICK HERE. As you use them throughout the year, let me know if there are more cards you need. Every classroom is different, and although these are the ones we use, you may have other ideas. If I have the clip art to match the request, I’m happy to update the resource.
Happy teaching!
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