In this blog post today I’m sharing 5 ways to motivate students to use Boom Cards.
It’s no secret that our students hate change. And I don’t blame them – I hate it too! Change is terrifying to me. So when it comes to trying something new, I can really bury my head in the sand and not want to try it. And so when I see my students struggling with change, I try to remember how I feel regarding change too.
Introducing something new, like Boom Cards, can feel pretty scary. And you want your students to have a positive experience from the start – so you want to get them motivated to using Boom Cards. But how?
Worry no more! Today I’m sharing 5 tips to help your students be more motivated to try using Boom Cards.
1. Visuals
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know how much I love to use a visual. And just because Boom Cards are on a screen, doesn’t mean visuals won’t work! Whether you use a physical ‘First and Then‘ board or you put the first and then work board on the screen for students to see when they start working on the Boom Cards. Having those visuals can really help students understand what is expected of them and what is happening.
2. Use Interests!
I use my students’ interests in pretty much everything that I do in my classroom. We are naturally more motivated by our hobbies and interests. And the same is true for our students. So try to find Boom Cards that are in a theme of something that your students really enjoy. If you have a student who loves cars, try to find some car themed Boom decks.
This will instantly make your student more interested in the activity. And once they get started working on it – it builds a positive relationship with the new style of activity. You can then transition into using non high interest Boom cards – but you can use those interest ones as a motivator/reward too!
3. Errorless
Some students might find new things really scary. Maybe they’re scared of making a mistake or not knowing what to do. By working on some errorless learning Boom Cards first of all you’re going to set your students up for success. And when students are successful right from the beginning, they’re going to have a better relationship with the Boom Cards and they’re going to be more motivated to work on them.
4. Ask for Help!
If you have a student who’s resistant to wanting to try Boom Cards, you could always ask for their help. Some of our students really enjoy being able to help us – and so this can be a motivator! Ask your student to help you work out how to do the Boom deck. Say that you’re confused and you’ve never done this before and you really need their help. This can motivate some students to complete the activity because they believe they’re helping you.
5. Rewards and Positive Reinforcement
Remember to use lots of positive reinforcement with your students. Remind them how well they are doing, how proud you are of them and really start to paint this as a positive experience. If you use rewards, factor this into using Boom Cards too. Maybe they get a sticker for completing one Boom deck. Or maybe they get one step closer on their reward chart for each deck they complete. Rewards and positive reinforcement are a huge part of keeping students motivated and wanting to complete activities.
Do you use Boom Cards with your students? Or do you have any questions about wanting to start using them? Leave a comment below. You can find all of my Boom Card activities here.
Nikki
IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BOOM CARDS, CHECK OUT MY BLOG POSTS ON;
- Using Boom Cards after Distance Learning
- Setting Up Boom Cards and Google Classroom
- How to Use Boom Cards With Your Autistic Learners
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