I am always looking for ways to make practicing decoding skills more engaging and motivating. If your classroom has even 1 Chromebook, iPad, laptop, tablet, Promethean/SmartBoard, or anything in between, digital flashcards can be a fantastic resource. My students always ask for them, which is a quick and easy way to work on specific phonics skills! Here are some fun ways to make word reading more exciting.
Share with Parents and Families
Using digital flashcards this way has been a real game-changer for me! Families often ask me how they can support their students at home with the concepts we are working on. This is an excellent way for them to help their student practice. I typically share a set once we have reviewed it a few times and students are familiar with the vowel/consonant pattern. They can even use their phones to look at the flashcards with the google slides app.
Warm Up
A good warm-up is essential to a small group reading lesson. Using digital flashcards is a great way to get your group engaged and motivated. If you have multiple iPads, students can each have their own device. You can have each student start on a different slide so they are not reading the same word simultaneously!
Whole Group
These flashcards can be projected onto a Promethean Board or SmartBoard during whole group lessons! You can have students raise their hand if they know the word, have them chorally read it together, all the girls read one word, and then boys read the next, or any other way to mix it up!
Make it a Game
I love this strategy so much that I wrote a blog post about it! In summary: You keep track of points. If the student or group gets the word right, they get the point; if they get it wrong, the teacher (or another group) gets it. Whoever gets the most points after x amount of time or x amount of words wins! Spoiler alert: I never win and often give second chances to read a word.
This can be done with a small group or whole class, teacher vs. student, group vs. group - whatever works for you!
Literacy Centers
Digital flashcards can also be used as a center throughout the day. If you have multiple devices, students can each have their own, or they can share one. Once students are done reading the words, phrases, or sentences, they could use your paper/pencil to:
- Sort the words by vowel/consonant pattern.
- Rainbow write
- Use a word to write a sentence.
- Rewrite and then illustrate one of the phrases or sentences.
Intervention/RtI Time
This is the primary way that I use digital flashcards. They are an essential component of my intervention lessons with students. The flashcards with words only are a great way to reinforce decoding the vowel or consonant pattern that we have been focusing on. Then we apply those decoding skills to longer phrases and sentences.
Where do I get Digital Flashcards?
The digital flashcard sets I use each focus on a specific vowel or consonant pattern. Within each set are:
- Phonetically Regular Words (words that students could stretch out) within that specific vowel or consonant pattern.
- There are also 4 sets of mixed review words with different patterns. For example, the CVC mixed set would include a mix of all short vowels.
- Phrases and Sentences that include words students have been exposed to in the previous sets!
I have an extensive selection of Digital Flashcard sets just for you! Click on the picture below to check out the section. Do you need something specific to your school’s reading series? I can make you a custom set!
Check out this video for a closer look at Digital Flashcards.
What do I need to use Digital Flashcards?
Each flashcard set is in Google Slides, so you need any device to access that. This includes a(n) iPad, iPod, tablet, Chromebook, laptop, Promethean/SmartBoard, or anything that can be used to access Google! The sets can also be assigned through Google Classroom.
Thank you so much for stopping by and checking how you can integrate digital flashcards into your classroom! Can you think of another way to use them? Let me know in the comments!
Thank you so much for stopping by and checking how you can integrate digital flashcards into your classroom! Can you think of another way to use them? Let me know in the comments!
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