Visual Direction Cards for Kindergarten
Are you looking for a way to help your classroom run more smoothly? Do you hear a chorus of “What do I do next?” every time your students are supposed to be working independently? Visual Direction Cards can be a total game-changer for you and your students!
The Benefits of Visuals in Classroom Management
One of my favorite strategies for kindergarten classroom management is to use visuals whenever possible! It can truly make the classroom run more smoothly all day long. Young kindergarten students thrive on visuals for several reasons:
- Remember Multi-Step Directions: It can be challenging for young kindergarteners to remember directions with multiple steps. Visuals can help with this!
- Support English Learners: Visuals can be very helpful for students who are learning English. It’s helpful for them to see pictures that correspond to the English words they are hearing.
- Build Independence: One of the most important jobs we have as teachers is to help our students become more independent learners. Visuals can help our young students build independence, especially since they are in the early stages of learning to read.
- Reduce Classroom Noise: We know how chatty kindergarten students can be! Visuals can go a long way in reducing the amount of extra chatter in the classroom, since they can reduce the number of clarifying questions that students need to ask. You can also use visuals to save your own voice since visuals reduce the number of times you will need to repeat yourself.
One of the best places to start using visuals is with picture direction cards! These allow you to save your voice, help students remember multi-step directions, and encourage your class to build independence throughout the daily routine.
5 Ways to Use Visual Direction Cards
One of my favorite things abbout picture direction cards is how versatile they can be! Here are five ways that you can use visual direction cards to help your daily routine run more smoothly:
1. Whole Group Activities
One of the challenges of whole-class instruction is when you have all of your students working on a task at the same time. Even after going over the directions multiple times with your students and answering follow-up questions, there will likely be students who need more reminders about which step comes next.
Instead, as you explain the directions for the activity, you can place the corresponding picture direction on the whiteboard. Students will then be more likely to navigate the steps of the task independently.
2. Early Finishers
Visual direction cards are such an easy way to ensure that your students know what to do when they’re finished with a task. When you are displaying visual direction cards for a task, be sure to include an additional picture for what the students should do when they’re finished. It might even be a stop sign! This small adjustment makes such a big difference in the classroom. Students are able to independently transition to a meaningful task or wait quietly until the next classroom activity begins.
3. Daily Routines
You can also use picture direction cards to help your daily routines run more smoothly. For example, it is easy for young students to forget certain steps of the morning work routine, particularly when they are excited to see their friends first thing in the morning. By displaying the steps of the routine using visual direction cards, you can encourage students to remember what they need to do when they start their morning work.
This is especially helpful when you have so many things that need your attention as students come in the door. You can “outsource” the reminders to your picture direction cards! Over time, students will grow accustomed to looking for the cards instead of relying on verbal reminders from you.
4. Centers
Visual direction cards can also be a big help at independent work stations during centers time. After introducing centers activities to your students, you can include picture direction cards at each station as a reminder of what they should do first, second, and so on.
This is when it can be especially helpful to use the ordinal number cards! Students can walk through each step of the activity by following along with the picture cards. This can really cut down on interruptions of “What do I do next?” as you’re trying to work with small groups during centers.
5. Small Groups
Speaking of interruptions during small groups, picture direction cards can be helpful in moments when you get pulled away from your table. You can start the small group time by reviewing the tasks that you’ll complete at the table that day. You can then display the cards in a pocket chart where students can see them.
Not only does this help to communicate your goal to the students, but it also helps to set expectations for your time together. It also makes it more likely that students will continue to work quietly without you if you get called away for a moment. This can keep your group’s important practice time from coming to a screeching halt with every interruption.
Printable Picture Direction Cards
Would you like to incorporate picture direction cards into your classroom? I can save you some prep time! I have put together a set of visual direction cards that includes the numbers 1-10 as well as 20 picture direction cards. These cards are easy to read and include kindergartener-friendly illustrations.
This set of picture directions cards comes with four color options so you can choose the one that best fits your classroom. If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this set of picture directions cards, just click below to find this resource in my shop.
Picture Directions Visual Cue Cards
Save These Tips for Using Visual Direction Cards
Be sure to save this post so you can come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite board of classroom ideas on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find this post when you’re looking for visual direction cards for kindergarten.
