Do you want to use Boom Cards but don’t know the basics? Let’s talk about some Boom Card basics and how beneficial Boom Cards can be to your speech and language therapy sessions. Boom Cards can be used for teletherapy or in-person learning and are very engaging for children, especially children who love technology. Boom Cards are interactive lessons created by teachers like you. You can easily create your own, buy ones already created or even sell Boom Cards on their marketplace if you would want to. Parents can also easily access and use Boom Cards at home, which is why they are especially great for teletherapy. Boom Cards are self-checking, interactive digital task cards.
Why Use Boom Cards?
Well the most obvious reason is that Boom Cards are just plain FUN! Once you start using them, you will see why your students love them so much! Here are a few other reasons that make Boom Cards so great:
- They are paperless-which means no printing, copying or laminating! (This is every educator’s dream!)
- They are interactive and self-checking. Students get IMMEDIATE feedback on whether their answer was right or wrong.
- Students can complete Boom Cards anywhere that they have access to a computer, phone or tablet. This means you could even assign Boom Cards for speech therapy homework if you wanted to!
- Boom Cards can be easily differentiated depending on your student’s skills.
- You can assign these on so many different learning platforms such as Google Classroom, Seesaw, Microsoft Teams, Canvas, Class Dojo and Remind.
- You could use Boom Cards together as a group on the Smartboard.
Where do I Purchase Boom Cards?
To purchase or download free Boom decks (this is a term you need to make yourself familiar with from Boom Learning. A deck is simply a group of Boom Cards.) You can purchase Boom Cards from Teachers Pay Teachers or directly from the Boom Learning website. If you purchase from Boom Learning, then the decks will automatically be added to your Boom Card Library on your Boom Learning account. If you purchase from Teachers Pay Teachers, then you will need to download the PDF like you typically would and then click the link to add the deck to your Boom Card Library.
How to Begin Using Boom Cards
To start using Boom Cards, you first need to go to Boom Learning and create an account. You can sign up for a free account, which has limited access or choose to pay for an account. WIth the free membership, you can assign Boom Cards for up to 5 students. There are other paid memberships in which you can purchase and assign Boom Cards from 50-200 students! You don’t necessarily need a paid membership because you can assign Boom Cards to your students using the FastPlay option.
If you are only using FastPlay, a free account will work for you. If you are wanting to set up classes and log-ins, easily assign multiple decks to students, and monitor student data, you will need the $15 per year account.
How to Assign Decks to Students
There are several ways you can assign decks to students. If you have created a class, you can assign the decks through the Classes tab. Or you can assign decks through your Boom library. You can create a password for students or have them create their own.
To assign a deck via the Classes tab, click on the classes tab from the blue menu at the top of the Boom Learning site. Select the class on the left column. You can have all of your students grouped in one class or you can create multiple classes allowing you to differentiate the decks you assign.
- Click on “Assignments”. It’s located in the white bar above where you see your students in that class.
- Click the blue button that says “Assign More Decks”.
- The decks that you have in your Boom library are here. Click the blue box on the right of the deck(s) that you want to assign. You can assign multiple decks at once.
*You can view student reports in the Reports tab.
How to Use the FastPlay Option
The other SIMPLE way to assign Boom Cards to students without having them sign in is through the FastPlay option. Search for the deck you want to assign in the search bar by typing in the name or skill that you want them to practice. For example, you could search for articulation /s/. Then click Fast Pin to generate a custom URL that you can give to students (via e-mail, Google Classroom, Seesaw, etc) or put the code up on the Smartboard if they have their own devices. You would not be able to progress monitor with the Fast PIn option but it is a simple way to get started with Boom Cards and start using it easily in your speech sessions!
Check out these BOOM Learning Decks for Fall:
Count & Say Articulation for CVC Sound: Fall Themed
Have you tried BOOM Cards yet?! Which ones are your favorite for speech therapy?!
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