It’s amazing how quiet and engaged students are when working on this task card activity. They are up and down, out of their seats, and you’d think they’d be very distracted…but no matter what the grade level (I’ve used it with 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades), students stay focused and work hard to complete the questions!ย ย
1. There are 30 cards, with a question on each card. Each card is numbered, from 1-30. I do laminate the cards so that they don’t get ruined after one use:)
2. Students receive a Footloose grid (there’s one on the desk in the picture).
3. Each student is given a card to start with, and theย extras are placed around the room.
- I typically putย them on the chalk/whiteboards ledges (cards are on the ledge in the picture).
- Sometimes I tape them up around the entire room
4. Students find the answer to each question, writing their work on the grid or on separate paper. Thenย they record the answer to each question on the grid, in the box with the corresponding number.
5. When students finish with a card, they put it back on the chalk ledge and get a new card.
6. This continues until students have answered all questions.
- Remind students to walk away from the whiteboard when they’re working on a card – sometimes they like to hang out and do their work at the board, and that blocks other students from finding the cards they need.
- Remind students that they can only have ONE card at a time – some of them like to grab a couple so they don’t have to get up for a new one as often, and then other students can’t find the cards they need.
- Instead of using the ledges, sometimes I tape the cards all around the room,ย ย because when students are looking for the last couple of cards, they have trouble finding them. When they’re posted in numerical order, it’s easier to find them all.ย
- Play the song ‘Footloose’ during the activity!
Ways to Use Footloose Task Cards
- Footloose can be used as a math center – I’ve found it to be a great center activity!
- Sometimes I make Footlooseย a game/competition, and the studentsย who finish first (with the most answers correct) areย the winners.
- Many times I use the activity as a graded review before a test.
- Footloose can be a great partner activity, allowing students to discuss a bit and come to agreement on the answers.
- You can provide students with a copy of the answer key and allow them to self-check when they finish all the cards.โโ
I hope you get a chance to use this activity! If you haven’t tried Footloose before, you can download the FREE Order of Operations Footloose task cards pictured above.
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