Are you familiar with the game of Scoot? It is such a fun way to use task cards in the classroom. Scoot is easy to set up and it gets students moving around while they work. Keep reading to learn how to play scoot in the classroom PLUS get a free set of fiction vs. nonfiction task cards.

How to play scoot

• Place the task cards around the room in numerical order.
• Give each student or pair of students a recording sheet.
• Assign each pair a starting card. They will write their answer in the blank on their recording sheet that corresponds to the number on the task card. It is important that they understand that the number on the card and the space on the recording sheet must match.
• When you feel that students have had enough time to answer, give a signal that it’s time to scoot to the next card. Sometimes it’s fun to play music as students work on the task cards. Stopping the music could be the signal to scoot. They should leave the card on the table and take the recording sheet with them. For example, if they begin on #5, they’ll move to #6 at the signal.
• The game continues until all cards are finished or time is up.
• After everyone returns to their seat, take up the cards and put them back in numerical order.
• Use a document camera or projector to display the cards one at a time as students check their answers. This makes a perfect re-teaching opportunity!

fiction vs. nonfiction + Scoot = fun

In a previous post, I wrote about several fun ways to teach fiction vs. nonfiction. I talked about playing a game of Scoot with actual books, but I also know that’s not always convenient, so I created some free task cards that each have a book mockup. Students think about the title of the book and the cover image to determine its genre and write their answers on a recording sheet.

Sometimes librarians have the library confiscated for other events and must “travel” to classrooms for library time. This fun game of Scoot is always a hit and very easy to implement. Just print, laminate, and cut the cards apart. Print lots of copies of the recording sheet and you’ll be ready to grab and go! Of course, you can use these task cards to play in any classroom after a fiction vs. nonfiction lesson. It turns a somewhat boring skills review into a fun game!

FREE Scoot task cards

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