Where have you been my whole life?!? You are low-prep, hands-on, easily differentiated, and great for scaffolding. You are everything I need.
Sincerely,
All the Teachers
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But seriously, these cards are such an excellent scaffolding tool to use for students learning a new topic or skill or for when students are ready to increase difficulty! Use these cards after a student has been presented with a lesson. These cards are intended for independent work time, but can also be used with a partner. 3 Part Cards provide hands on learning while giving you the time to observe and know your students.
At the time I began creating self-correcting work, my then 3 year old son just started to attend a Montessori preschool. I didn't really know anything about Montessori methods, but he could be rather wild, and when he met the teacher he was instantly calm. Done. Sold. We are going here now.
I learned (and am still learning) the basic principles of Montessori. We decided to incorporate them into our home as best as possible. My wild child is no longer... or, well, at least he is less wild. So, as he found an interest in a topic, I created a material to correspond. Something that he could do on his own. Something that built his self-confidence and independence. And most importantly, something that allowed me 5 minutes to drink coffee!
Checkout how to use effectively use these materials in your classroom, and try it out with this FREEBIE!
Presentation
To use the cards, a student will need a designated work space, like a desk, a rug, or a work mat. This helps to define a student's work space, easily reminding others not to disturb the work.
Part 1 - Simple Matching: The teacher will lay the control cards in a vertical row starting on the left side of the space, creating two columns if needed. Then the teacher will demonstrate how to match the picture and the label to the control card. Students should then be permitted to complete as many cards as he/she wants, repeating the activity as many times as he/she wants for the allotted time.
Part 2 - Check Your Work : The teacher will lay the picture-only cards in a vertical row on the left side of the space, creating two columns if needed. Then the teacher will demonstrate how to match the label to the picture. Finally, the teacher will show how to check for accuracy with the control card. Students should then be permitted to complete as many cards as he/she wants, repeating the activity as many times as he/she wants for the allotted time.
Optional add-on: If available to you, provide students with a tangible representation of the picture on the card. For example, if the cards are pictures of clocks for telling time, provide students with a manipulative clock. If the pictures are naming parts of an animal, provide a small plastic figure of that animal.
Correcting Student Errors
The work is self-correcting, meaning you can simply observe. No need to intervene when students make mistakes. And yes, I'm saying let the child be wrong. This was the hardest change for me as a parent and as an educator. How do I let a child think that the penguin's arm is a head when it's CLEARLY an arm!?!?! Or that 2 + 2 = 7??
Well, trust that with time and repetition with a material, a student will discover the corrections needed, and will therefore gain even more confidence during the independent discovery. The student will not be 30 years old still confusing heads and arms. Mastering the material will come with practice.
Instead, take note of students who struggle with matching correctly. During the next work time, correctly present the material to the student again, without pointing out the student's mistakes. Just present it as you did the first time. Teach the student how to check for accuracy independently, and you will get those "Ha! I did it! I matched it!" moments!
Blue Mountain Thrive has a great instagram post about this! Check it out here!
Important Notes
After the work has been presented to the students, make the work available for the student to choose during appropriate times.
When presenting the work, it is best to present it from left to right. This reinforces basic reading concepts.
During the presentation, use as few words and movements as possible, allowing the student to simply view the work.
Rationale
Multi-Sensory Learning
Research has shown that multi-sensory learning is beneficial to students mastering material. When students manipulate their learning tools repeatedly, the information becomes known and mastered. The scaffolding used in this material allows students to gain confidence with the material by using Part 1 - Matching at the beginning stages and Part 2 - Check Your Work as the student gains the confidence to match the cards with no control card needed.
Confidence and Independence
Students thrive when they are confident in their work and can do their work independently. Providing a self-correcting method for learning is an excellent and easy way to provide independent practice for students in a way that they can gain confidence. It also allows students to work at their own pace, freeing up the teacher to work with struggling students, take data, and monitor the classroom.
Increased Focus
Allowing students to continue working as long as the time permits helps to increase focus. If you can see that a student is concentrating, do not disturb him/her unless necessary. Broken concentration is difficult to regain.
And finally...
I hope you find these materials as helpful as I have. Here are links to my shop where you can purchase these 3-part cards.
Telling Time to the Nearest Hour
Telling Time to the Nearest Half Hour
Tally Marks Numbers 1-10
Also, enjoy this FREEBIE!!
- The Differentiation Shop