Task cards are a great teaching tool for all sorts of topics – including the important social skill of thinking flexibility. Task cards bring an engaging element to any lesson. Here are some different ways they can be used to keep things fun while helping students learn thinking flexibly habits of mind.
Begin With The Basics: Thinking Flexibility Meaning
Start by defining the term so everyone is on the same page before going into the flexible thinking examples.
In its simplest term, flexible thinking is when you change how you think when things are different or when you learn something new.
It helps someone solve problems and try new ideas.
If you are looking for more on what is flexible thinking, check out this post for more.
A helpful idea is to make a visual of what the definitions of the terms ‘flexible’ and ‘rigid’ are to display. This helps both during the teaching process and during practice. Having a visual like the one below will keep everyone on the right track.
If you are looking for something like these definition cards, click here. You’ll also find 30+ scenarios and student recording pages for an engaging, low-prep activity.
Thinking Flexibly Pictures on Task Cards
Using pictures is always a great visual to help young students.
Pictures help students learn because human brains remember images better than just words. When they see something, it’s easier to remember later.
It also makes learning more interesting and helps kids understand things better. It’s like making a memory map in their brain.
You can make thinking flexibly pictures in two different ways.
The first way is to take pictures of situations showing flexible thinking happening. Try to get the thinking flexibly images in settings that the student is familiar with or could relate to. Think classroom space, playground area, or even in the hallway outside a classroom.
The second way is to use clipart to make situations. The nice thing about this method is that you can add speech bubbles or thought bubbles. This can give students a better idea of what is happening in the scenario. It can also be easier to make scenarios in which students can relate to better generalizing the thinking flexibility concept.
Here is an example of social skills task cards with heavy visuals.
Write the Room Flexible Thinking for Kids Movement Activity
Using a write-the-room strategy is something many teachers find helpful and fun.
If you aren’t sure what a write-the-room activity is, it is where you put task cards around the room. Then students need to get up and find them throughout the lesson.
This is a great activity for students to stay engaged in because they are moving. It is also helpful for students who have extra wiggles because it gives them a way to get those wiggles out while still learning.
When you do a write-the-room activity, it is helpful to have a student response sheet. A response sheet is just that, where students put down their thinking. For this topic, have students put down if the situation shows flexible or rigid thinking. Or you could extend the activity for older students by having them also put in why they thought this.
To make this work best, you will need to number your task cards. Then the response sheet should have a box for each task card number.
You can get as basic or elaborate as your students need and you want. Keep it simple and make it a blank box. Or just write the number in the box. If you have students who don’t like to write, consider adding pictures for them to circle their answer.
If you aren’t sure how to do this, or just don’t have the time, check out this flexible thinking for children resource. It has 32 situations depicting thinking flexibly or rigid during the winter season plus blank task cards to customize. Also included are 2 recording sheets – one where the student circles the answer and the other where the student writes the answer. This will give your students the option of what kind they need to be successful.
Task Card Flexible Thinking Online Games
So many students love using technology these days. So why not use it in way to get them hooked into learning?
Plus students usually see this as a type of game. Which only gets them even more engaged in the learning. Win-win!
Digital task cards can easily be done online these days. There are a few different platforms for this.
The first of these is Google using Slides. Here, set your presentation to the size you want each card to be. Then add text and/or pictures. You can even add pre-recorded audio clips of you reading the text on each slide to help non-readers. An important thing to note is that students will need to stay in editing mode to move any objects or make any marks to indicate their response.
Another great platform is Boom Learning. This platform is entirely for digital task cards. You can make a free starter account. Boom Learning is a fun site to use because there are so many features. There are voice options to have things read. Self-checking where you pick the answer ahead of time. And the site even provides you with feedback on how a student did with a specific deck. But on the downside, Boom Learning can be tricky to learn all the different publisher functions until you get used to it.
Not sure you are ready to commit time to figuring out Boom Learning but looking for some digital task cards? Then check out this resource. There are actually 2 decks of digital task cards. One for Boom Learning and the other to use in Google Slides. It features definition slides as well as 32 scenarios that happen during the season of spring. Simply download and click on the version you want to try. Or try them both and see which you and your students like best. Find these digital flexible thinking online games resources here.
Want More Creative Thinking Flexibility Ideas?
Check out these posts for more ideas for even more on this important social skills topic.
This post features 3 Helpful Flexible Thinking Exercises for Children including some book ideas.
Not sure how to help children who show stuck thinking? Then click on this post for 3 Steps to Help a Child Become a Flexible Thinker for some actionable ideas.
Games are a great way to keep kids engaged in learning. This post features some flexible thinking games to get your students learning while having fun.
Use one of these fun ways in your next social skills group to work on critical thinking flexibility skills today.
Happy Teaching!
