Flashcards to help your students practice the symbols for their conditional statements - conditional, converse, inverse, and contrapositive.

Students may use "p" and "q" or use "1" and "2." I find many students are more successful with the numbers, but I always let them pick what works best for them. I ask them to either use all letters or all numbers so they don't confuse themselves. Sometimes, a student will commit to one, and then switch to the other option and I think that's great! =)

In my class, I have several laminated sets. I put students in groups with a maximum size of four. They start our activity time by creating a chart of all of the statements and symbols. I go around and check how successful they were with it and encourage discussion. Then each student takes one of each symbol, plus a second not "~" symbol. They should have just enough cards to make any conditional I call for. Then we do practice rounds of me calling for one of the conditionals with them trying to arrange their cards correctly as quickly as possible. When they finish, I have them throw their hands up so I can easily check and see who is done and then check their cards. While they are waiting for me to call out a conditional, they have to shuffle their cards back and forth on their desk. Eventually, we build it into a race and I give candy to the winners, but I make sure everyone gets each answer right before we move on to the next one. It's important to call for the conditionals in random order once you get going, so they aren't just memorizing them in a certain order. I watch for frustration, and try to call a statement or two that I think that frustrated student will be successful with. A lot of times, they will win a round and then get excited about it again! =) Be ready to watch closely and have a tie breaker ready! =)

Hint - Print each set on a different color. If a card ends up on the floor you'll know exactly which set it goes in based on the paper color. I keep each set in it's own envelope which is labeled with the title of the activity and number of cards that should be in it - students can check that they get all the cards back in there on their own. All the smaller envelopes fit in one large envelope that is also labeled and has the unit/section number on it. I have a basket I keep all of my activities like this in, so it's easy to look at the tops of my big envelopes to find the activity that I want. =)

This is great for hands-on learners! It's also a really fun activity for the whole class, including the teacher! =)