Common Core Science Informational Text Task Cards

These task cards can be used with ANY science reading passage.

In my school, every teacher is required to teach subject area lessons that emphasize or reinforce Common Core standards. One day each week, we run a special schedule in order to accomplish this. During this time, I meet with a small group of my students to apply the Common Core standards to a science-related lesson. It is my responsibility to provide my students with a science reading passage and to use this passage to practice one or more of the Common Core standards. I have used the following:

Students read a passage from the textbook on a topic we are currently studying.
Students read science-related current events articles.
I write my own passages that describe a particular lab experiment. I include charts and graphs and tables that require analyzing.
Students read science-reasoning passages from ACT Prep books.
Students read chapters from science-themed books, such as The Double Helix, The Hot Zone, Your Inner Fish, etc.

As a result, I developed a set of “Common Core Science Task Cards” to use with my students each week. Different task cards are used each week depending on the type of informational text I present to them.

This has very much simplified my weekly lesson planning. All I have to do is choose a reading passage, and select the task cards to use with it. Not every card is used every time, and not all cards will be applicable to every reading passage. Certain task cards are more applicable to a particular passage than others. I try to vary the passages each week so that different Common Core standards are being reinforced.

These common core science task cards are incredibly easy to use! Print them out, laminate them, cut them apart, and you are ready to go.

I like to punch a hole in the corner and place all of the cards on a ring. I found the rings at my local Wal Mart. They were very cheap and they came in a package containing quite a few rings.