5 Ways to Ditch the Worksheet (Or Spice it Up!)

I remember being in school and absolutely hating worksheets. Then I became a teacher and lo and behold, worksheets were still a big part of the practice of many of my colleagues and a huge integration in the textbooks I was told to use. Sure, they were easy to assign and quick to grade, but student engagement was not always there. I decided it was time to find some ways to make worksheets a little more engaging so that I could mix things up a bit.

Believe it or not, some students liked worksheets - likely because they were used to them and the predictable was comforting to them. I did keep worksheets in the mix, but started changing them up so that engagement culture started becoming the norm in the classroom. Here are some ways you can easily ditch (or spice up) your worksheets! Though I specifically have math in mind (can’t help it - I’m a math teacher!), these activities are easily adapted to fit any subject!

Snowball Fight

This one is great if your class is a little antsy because it adds some movement to the room! There are several ways to use the snowball fight method, and I’m sure you can come up with one that will fit your class the best. Here is one way

Prep the “snowballs.” Put individual questions on each snowball. You can do this easily by cutting up your worksheet questions and taping them on individual pages if the worksheet isn’t available digitally.
Pair up students
Set a timer for students to be able to throw the “snowballs” (this is important! Equally important is to set ground rules for the “snowball" fight”).
After the timer is up, students pick up the wad closest to them, open it up, and solve the question on a separate piece of paper or answer recording sheet.

After the class is finished, go through the answers as a class. Encourage students to share their reasoning along with their answers.

Task Cards

Task cards are a great way to look at questions without having to use a worksheet. There are many ways to use task cards in your classroom, including SCOOT games, relay races, and just assigning them as is.

I love using task cards, especially during math centers. Students can choose to work on task cards individually, but I also utilize them at the teacher's station! It’s a quick and easy way to gauge where students are and to check their understanding. It’s also easy to differentiate without students feeling self-conscious about it. They probably won’t even notice - especially if you give each student a different card.

Scavenger Hunt

You can find task cards that are specifically scavenger hunt cards, or just use task cards you already own to create a scavenger hunt. There are also ways to jazz this up.

With task cards or scavenger hunt cards:

Scatter the cards (not in numerical order) around the room and give each group or pair an answer recording sheet.
Assign each pair/group of students a number to start on.
Students will be timed. Even if they are not able to complete a question, have them move on.
Students will have to find the next consecutive number (this is where the “hunt” comes in)
Repeat the steps until all cards have been completed.

I have also had success with seasonal scavenger hunts. In the winter, I’ve found plastic snowballs that can be opened and questions placed inside that I’ve hidden around the room. The same works with plastic easter eggs (though you may want to be careful/mindful of your class with this one!).

Digital Activities

It’s actually quite easy to convert worksheets into digital activities and not scary or too time-consuming at all! All you need is PowerPoint and your worksheet.

Alternatively, you can find digital activities already completed online.

Jigsaw

This is an oldie but a goodie!

Section your class into groups.
You can either give a worksheet to each group or cut up your worksheet into individual questions for a more focused view.
Assign each group one question.
Set a timer and have the students work on their assigned questions.
At the end of the timer, the expectation will be that each group explains to the class how they did the question. It will be even better if you have each group divvy up their answer so that each group member is forced to be a part of each presentation. Be sure to set this expectation before having them do their question.