Sunday, August 21, 2016

Fluency Clip Cards


If you haven't used clip cards as a center activity for your students, you need to start this fall!  They engage student learning for hours and can be used with any subject area.

Clip cards have several design styles but the basic principle is to find the correct answer to a question when given two or more options.  In this manner, they are like multiple choice questions on a worksheet except there are no worksheets involved.



Clothespins are used to "clip" the correct answer.  (I doubt the inventor of clothespins ever imagined that they would make their way from households to classrooms but what a great way to repurpose these little gadgets!)

Preparing clip cards for a center is very simple.  Here are the basic steps:

1.  Buy a package of clothespins.  (Read this post HERE and become a savvy "clothespin-purchaser"!)  They can be wooden or plastic.  It doesn't matter if they're large or small. 

2.  Print the clip cards on cardstock paper and cut them out.  

3.  Program the correct answers to make the center self-checking.  Flip the cards over to the back sides and find the location where the correct answer should be clipped.  Mark this area with a light colored highlighter or adhere small circular stickers.  Note:  A self-checking center is a powerful tool because students get instant feedback on their responses.

4.  Laminate the clip cards for long lasting use.  Program the backs of the clip cards before laminating!

These Fluency Clip Cards are available at my shop.  There are 100 clip cards included!  I've printed the black and white cards on bright colored cardstock paper.



Four clip cards print on one sheet of paper.  You'll need 25 pieces of paper to print all 100 clip cards.  Students read a sentence with a missing word.  They find the omitted word which is located to the right of the sentence.  Each sentence has three word choices.  One word will fit in the blank.  The other two words will not make sense in the sentence.  Pictures are included to support the reader.  Below is a photo of the clip cards that require color ink.  They are also included in the file.  There are 100 black and white clip cards and 100 color clip cards.
  
These clip cards are for ADVANCED readers in first grade.  These are the students that come to you on the first day of school reading well above grade level.  They're itching to be challenged with reading sentences that are beyond basic 4-word and 5-word sentences.  Most of the sentences in this file are a minimum of five words.  Some of the sentences that are nine words in length.  They're designed to improve smooth reading which sounds the same as talking.
Lessons by Molly