Responding to Literature....using Task Cards!

I don't know about you, but I am always looking for different ways to get my students to respond to their in-class reading.  I like things where the kids can show what they know, but will also double as a bulletin board (because it is always nice to get a standards-based, rigorous bulletin board up there!)  But what I always end up doing is so story specific that I find I can't really use it with everything we read.

So, with this last response to literature, I set out to change that.  And what did I do?  I made some really cool task cards for the kids to use!

Since I wanted the students to think about the story elements that we have been studying (using my in 5 Days series....that, on a side note, have been crazy helpful in getting my students to really understand fictional text) I made 7 different sets of cards, each with 4 prompts that deal with the various story elements.  The students then choose one of the cards, read the prompt, and respond to it using the story we are reading.

When I wrote the cards, I made sure to number them.  For each story element, there is a 1, 2, 3, and 4.  All of the 1s are the easiest.  All of the 4s include a picture.  The 3s all call for text evidence.  The 2s are text-based as well.  This is so I know that no matter what element the kids picked, they would have to dig into the text at least twice, draw a picture at least once, and have a basic review of the element once.

I also was able to differentiate a bit too.  For my lower students, I was able to modify the task and have them pick only 1s.  Or for my students who aren't so great at finding textual evidence independently, they could pick two 2s, instead of a 2 and 3.

Then, when all was said and done, my students had a completed response to literature, with textual evidence, that had them digging into the text to show their learning.  Made for one nice bulletin board that was clearly standards-based and had quite a bit of rigor there.

All from task cards.....which students love.

What is even better is that this is now a part of my reading rotations, so the kids will be using them over and over again!  Win-win for everyone!

If you would like to pick up a set of these reusable, can work with any piece of fiction that the students read task cards, head on over to my TpT store.

What is one way that you have your students respond to literature?