What are Boom Cards?
The first time I heard about Boom Cards I thought they sounded amazing! I was excited to learn about them and try them out. Unfortunately, it was one more thing to add to a very busy teacher’s plate and well…I never made it a priority to learn about them. Now that I am a stay at home mom with my girls, I decided to take my time to learn about Boom Cards. Oh, boy! I wish had taken the 5-10 minutes to break away from my busy teacher schedule, because Boom Cards are a game changer! Those 5-10 minutes would have made an amazing exchange in time with what I could have implemented in the classroom. Are you ready to get excited about Boom Cards as much as I am?
What are Boom Cards?
Boom cards are very similar to task cards, except they are digital! They do not require printing, laminating, and cutting. I love task cards, but Boom Cards are definitely a time saver. Boom Cards have interactive features such as multiple choice answers, fill-in-the-blank, type in the answer, or drag and drop feature for a sorting activity. A deck of cards is called a “Boom Deck.” Multiple cards make a Boom deck.
- Boom Cards are digital, interactive task cards.
- They are hosted on the Boom Learning platform.
- Interactive and Engaging
- Self-Checking Feature: The self-checking feature provides positive feedback to continue on to the next question. If a child is incorrect, the student must try again before continuing on to the next question.
- Provides multiple uses for the classroom such as whole group, small group, or reading and math centers.
How to use Boom Cards in the Classroom
The possibilities are endless when using Boom Cards in the classroom! Here are several ways to incorporate Boom Cards in the classroom.
- Whole Group Instruction
- Small Group Instruction
- Reading and Math Centers
- Assessments
- Reviews
What is needed to use Boom Cards in the classroom?
- Technology is needed. The student must have access to an ipad, computer, tablet, or iphone device. I prefer ipads because kids are more familiar with ipads verse a computer.
- Internet Access is needed to play Boom Cards. Boom Cards are hosted on the Boom Learning platform, therefore internet access is required to play a deck of boom cards.
- A Boom Learning Account is needed in order to access Boom Cards. There are two options to choose from: Free Account or Paid Account. The free account allows the teacher to hold all the purchased deck of Boom Cards in their library. The teacher can assign a “Fast Pin” for students to play. The free account does not save the student’s answers choices. There are several paid accounts to choose from. A paid Boom Learning account allows the teacher to assign a deck of Boom Cards to the class. The student’s answers are saved and the teacher is able to check the child’s progress on each specific deck played.
What do I need to do to get started?
You will need an ipad, computer, or iphone along with a Boom Learning account. A free account is available, but a paid account has additional options and a couple of perks to it.
- Create a teacher account.
- Create a student login and password for each child.
- Assign multiple decks to each child.
- Get student progress with each deck played.
- Assign individual decks to individual students. This makes a great way to review specific skills or concepts that a student has not yet mastered.
Setting up your classroom account is fairly easy. Boom Learning has an easy to follow step by step video to show you exactly how!
What is a Boom Card Fast Play?
- Fast Play can be used with free accounts and paid accounts.
- Simply login to your Boom teacher account.
- Click on library. Your library will have the deck of Boom Cards you have purchased or downloaded for free.
- Choose the deck you want to assign.
- Click on “Fast Pin.”
- Choose “Generate New Pin.”
- The fast play pin number is good for 14 days on a free account.
- The students go to the Boom Learning App and click on Fast Play on the homepage. Then the student will type in the Fast Pin to access the Boom deck.
Where can I purchase Boom Cards?
Boom cards can be purchased on Boom Learning with a points system or purchased on Teachers Pay Teachers. Click on this link to check out the Boom Cards from my store. Try downloading a deck for free to give it a try!
