What are Boom Cards?

So you have heard about Boom Learning Cards but you really don't know what Boom Cards are are or why you would want to use them. Would you like to know why they have quickly become one of my favorite tools to use in my classroom? Keep on reading to learn about my favorite features that Boom Cards offer and I think you will see exactly why I just can’t imagine teaching without them.

What Are Boom Cards?

Essentially, Boom Cards are digital, self-checking, interactive activities that you can use on any internet-connected device. They provide students with a “gamified” way to practice a skill that you are teaching or reviewing in class.   Boom Cards are hosted online, on the Boom Learning website. The Boom Learning website allows teachers to purchase and/or create digital activities for students.

 

The Top 7 Reasons Why I Love Using Boom Cards

1. They are Interactive

Boom cards are created using game features that students love.  My students will literally beg for time to use Boom.  They love earning coins and badges which can be used to “buy” new avatars.  Even the simple sound effect features are a hit with my students- they get so excited when they hear the “ding” sound meaning they have gotten the answer correct.

2. They are Self-checking

Students are shown one question at a time.  When students enter their answers, they get instant feedback. Similar to the “ding” sound they hear when they get an answer correct, they will hear a “whoops” sound if they are incorrect.  If a student gets a question wrong, they can try again and submit a new answer.  If they are really stuck, they can  "give up" the card, and they will be prompted to review the answer.

A quick tip:  When you click on the Action button on a deck in your library, you can create "Custom Play Settings."  These settings allow you to choose if you want students to see the correct answer after giving up a card, if you want them to be allowed to play a deck multiple times, and you can also adjust the number of cards from the deck you want them to see per play.  

These are great options to customize a deck to meet your students' needs.  *Students DO need an account for you to access these settings as they will not work with Fast Pins.

Custom Play Settings 

 

                                    3. They Allow for Differentiation

Many of the decks I make for my store are bundled to include several different options of activities for you to assign to your students.  This gives you the option to assign different decks to different students.  With this feature, you can provide a review for the students who need it or you can challenge those who are ready to move on.  

Most of my decks also include an AUDIO feature- students can easily have the text portion of each deck read to them by simply clicking on the audio button. The audio feature has been a real game-changer for many of my students. By having the option to include audio, you are really able to give those students who are struggling with reading or still working on learning English a chance to show their skills.

 

4. They are a Time Saver

Gone are the days of spending your prep time laminating, cutting, and making copies. Since Boom Cards are digital, there is literally zero prep work for you.  Not only are Boom Cards super easy to assign but they are also going to save you time with grading.

5. You get access to Instant Data

Have you ever been guilty of taking student work home to grade, just to bring it back the very next day ungraded? Yep! Me too. As I have mentioned, Boom cards are self-checking.  This means each card is automatically graded for you so you have access to instant data every time your students work on a deck that you have assigned them.  This instant data is INVALUABLE for helping you with planning, creating intervention groups, and assessing your students’ knowledge on a topic.  Please note to access data, you do need to upgrade from the free “starter” membership to the "basic" membership.  With the basic membership, you will get access to student data for up to 50 students for only $15 a year.

 

6. Kids love them

Boom decks are so much more interactive than a worksheet.  Students feel like they are playing a game, they don’t realize they are actually working hard to practice a skill.   I PROMISE, your students will love learning and practicing using Boom Cards! Check out this FREE Multiplication Deck to see for yourself.

7. You can use them in many different ways

Boom decks can be used for review, as a whole class activity, test prep, or assessment.  You have the option of assigning decks to be completed independently, as a whole class, or in small groups.  This flexibility is perfect for distance learning! I like to work on a deck together during a web meeting and then assign the deck for independent practice. Want to see how I use them to incorporate fact fluency? You can read about that here.

 

Are you ready to give Boom Cards a try?

Want to test out a set of Boom Cards? Grab my FREE set of Prime and Composite Numbers.

 

Looking for other math or language arts Boom Cards? You can find a wide range of topics for grades 2-4 here. I hope you will give them a try and see just how much BOTH you and your students can’t live without them!

 

How would you like to use Boom Cards with your students? I would love to share your ideas in the comments! :)

 

Boom Cards Making Fact Fluency Easy!

Multiplication fact fluency is a HUGE part of 3rd-grade math!  This is because math fact fluency is an ESSENTIAL building block to many math tasks. Third graders are usually expected to master all the facts within 100 with FLUENCY by the end of the school year.   If you are like I was, wondering how in the world you are going to have time to teach multiplication fluency in ADDITION to all the other math standards, let me share my favorite way to practice multiplication facts! 

Repetition is Boring!

We know that to get better at a skill, we need to practice.  Practice means repetition and repetition of multiplication facts can be soooo boring. Let's face it- kids lose interest very quickly in activities that bore them.  And this my friends, is the EXACT reason I decided to give Boom Cards a try in my classroom for building math fact fluency. 

Why are Boom Cards perfect for practicing fluency?

Boom Cards are digital, interactive task cards that students play on the Boom Learning website.  Not only are they highly engaging- students LOVE to hear the “ding” sound when they get an answer correct, they are also self-checking, which is perfect for building math fact fluency. The self-checking feature incorporated into Boom Cards is a game-changer! If a student enters an incorrect answer, they will hear a “whoops” sound and they must enter the correct answer before moving on. Students are no longer practicing the wrong answer!

To top it off, you are going to get instant access to your students' scores every time they practice a deck (a set of cards).  This means you are no longer spending your time grading fluency practice AND you can see where students are struggling which enables you to intervene and offer support quickly. This report shows you the accuracy rate, the time spent on each card, and the multiplication fact each student is struggling with. If you would like to read about more reasons why I love using Boom Cards, you can read about them here.

 

Example Report

How can my students get MEANINGFUL fluency done in under 10 minutes?

Let’s talk about how easy it is to incorporate Boom cards for fact fluency into your daily schedule. It truly only takes about 5-10 minutes of practice each day for you to see an increase in fluency.  The first step is determining when you would like to incorporate fact fluency in your math block.  Will it work best in your schedule as a bell ringer activity, after your daily lesson, as an exit ticket, or even as part of your math center time?

Once you have established when you want to incorporate fluency, you will want to make sure you have assigned each student a fact fluency deck to practice.  I always start by assigning the deck that includes the factor of  0.  Students are instantly “hooked” because they are successful with this deck.   

In my class, I challenge my students to finish each deck of 20 math equations in under 2 minutes.  If students need accommodations/modifications, this time limit is flexible.  Once a student has passed a deck with at least 18/20 correct responses (90% accuracy), they move on to the next fact.  If you do not like the idea of timing your students' fluency, no problem! Boom decks are not timed, and students can complete a deck an infinite number of times, at a pace that feels comfortable to them. 

I like to complete two to three rounds of fluency each day. The first round of fluency is like a warm-up for my students.  By the second round, students often complete more facts within the 2-minute time range.  Believe it or not, they BEG for a third round.  Crazy right? 

Once students are logged into their accounts, they find the fact they are working on.  I only assign the next fact fluency deck AFTER the student has mastered the deck that comes before.  For example, once a student shows mastery of the factors of 3, they are assigned the factors of 4.  I like to use an old fashioned sticker chart to help keep track of what fact each student is on.  Once students master a deck, they show me their score, and then go put a sticker on the sticker chart.  This is an additional motivator, students love to add a sticker to the chart.  

That is all there is to it my friends- pretty simple right?  Are you ready to get started?

Are you ready to try Boom Cards in your classroom?

Are you ready to get started? Check out this review deck FREEBIE!

You can find the whole set of fact fluency boom cards here. This set contains 17 decks full of multiplication fact fluency practice. It includes a deck for each multiplication factor 0-12 AND several review decks- which is over 400 boom cards for your students to use as review or practice.

I hope you get the chance to try Boom Cards and help your students build their fact fluency!! I'd love to hear how YOU practice fact fluency in your classroom- tell me about it in the comments! :)