Game Changer: Self-Checking Poke Cards

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My life has forever been changed by using self-checking poke cards in my classroom!  They are an engaging, independent, self-checking activity for students. Poke cards can be used in a variety of ways and can cover a wide range of skills.

What are poke cards?

Poke cards are easy to use and self-checking! Students look at the front of the card and determine their answer.  They use a tool to poke their answer (coffee stirrers are our favorites) and then turn over to check.  A colored circle on the back will tell the students if they are right or wrong.

When do you use poke cards?

Poke cards are a really versatile activity for students.  As a Reading Specialist, I sometimes use them as a quick warm-up to practice a certain spelling pattern and/or vowel sounds. They also come in handy when I need to give a quick assessment and students have to be engaged in an independent activity. 

I have poke cards covering such a variety of skills that I have an entire storage bin dedicated to them! Now that they are organized, I am able to set them out and the students can easily choose the set they want to do and put things back in the right place.

Some ways to use poke cards in the classroom are: 

• morning work
• seat work
• centers
• partner work
• small group warm-up
• and more

Getting Started

Poke cards are an easy activity to prep. Once you have printed them you can quickly cut them. My favorite tool for cutting is my Fiskars cutter . I have one of these at home and at school and it is a lifesaver!  The cutter has a wire line that shows you exactly where you are cutting!  It is so much more precise than using a big paper cutter and so much faster than using scissors.

It is easy to spot the right answer when you are poking the holes because it is marked in red!  To indicate the correct answer for the students, simply flip the card and mark the correct hole punch.  You can do this with a sharpie or a marker, but my personal favorite are these colored hole reinforcers

When you have cut and punched the poke cards, it is time to find something to poke the card with.  My students love Starbucks coffee stirrers.  You can most likely get a bunch for free if you tell the barista that you are a teacher and need them for an activity!  Some other favorites are pipe cleaners and party straws.

I love to store mine in my rainbow storage bins to give myself and my student's easy access to them. You can purchase them separately or in the storage container from amazon!

What next?

Sometimes I give students these cards with a smiley and unsure face.  Once students have checked their answers, they put it into the appropriate pile!  They can also be used for flashcards.  You can grab these cards for free with this link.

I currently have 14 sets of poke cards that are available individually or discounted as a bundle.  They cover:

● rhyming ● segmenting words ● syllables ● short vowels ● long vowels ● blends ● digraphs ● bossy r ● diphthongs ● hard/soft g and c ● homophones ● plural words ● parts of speech ●

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