Structured Success: Visual Schedule Cards for Elementary Learners

Decorating and setting up your classroom as you get ready for going back to school is always exciting! It is so easy to get caught up in refreshing bulletin boards with cute new borders or decorating your classroom according to your theme. 

While decorating the classroom is much more exciting than lesson planning, I am a big believer that our classrooms can be cute and practical. 😍

In addition, setting up your classroom schedule will save you time from having to write up your schedule each day as well as provide students with ownership over the schedule, which means fewer questions for you about what is coming next! 

This image shows visual classroom schedule cards showing the order of subjects for the day. The cards have bright, solid-colored backgrounds. The words at the bottom of the picture say "Structured Success: Visual Schedule Cards for Elementary Learners".

Benefits of Displaying the Daily Schedule

Daily schedule cards might just seem like another decoration, but it actually goes far beyond that! We all know teachers’ mornings (and afternoons) are far busier than we would like. 

Schedule cards will allow you to take one thing off of your To-Do list and save yourself those extra 10 minutes. Instead of writing your schedule on the board each day, all you need to do is select and arrange the schedule cards.

In addition, students will be able to trust the routine you establish. It will allow for more structure reinforced with the schedule posted in the classroom. This will decrease the constant “When do we go to lunch?” question or “What special do we have today?”.

The visual aspect of these schedule cards makes it perfect for younger students who may not be able to read yet or tell time.

Additionally, the images provide great access for students who are learning a second language, still working on mastering reading, and visual learners at all levels. 

How to Create your Personalized Daily Schedule Cards

So, how can you create a visual classroom schedule? I highly recommend using printable schedule cards to create a visual schedule for your classroom. 

This method provides you with the ability to edit the cards to customize them for your classroom, and also add clocks to match!

This image shows bright rainbow daily schedule cards with pictures for the elementary classroom.

To start, decide which cards you want to use. I made these Editable Happy Hues Schedule Cards. If the bright colors aren’t your style, I have calm colors and neutral style schedule cards in my TpT shop too! Or there are tons of other options if you search schedule cards on TpT. 🙂

I like these ones because they are easy to read and editable (in PowerPoint), so you can alter them as needed to fit your unique classroom’s needs.

These schedule cards come in a plain and simple version for older students, and a primary version with pictures for preschool – 2nd-grade students.

Feel free to edit the template and add your own visuals too!

Next, decide if you want to use digital or analog clocks. I like using the digital clocks with my students, but I’ve also included analog clocks with these schedule cards to help your students learn to tell time. You can print the pre-made cards or customize the clocks to fit your schedule with the editable Powerpoint versions.

This image shows clocks to do with schedule cards in the classroom.

Printing and Setting up your Daily Schedule Cards

Then, print the schedule cards on cardstock or premium paper. I also recommend laminating them to keep them clean and durable. 

Lastly, add magnetic tape or velcro dots to the back of the cards. This small step will turn your schedule cards into a visual classroom schedule that is easy to manipulate and move at a moment’s notice (to reflect the reality of all schedules!). The cards can be placed on your whiteboard or a bulletin board, whatever works best for your classroom!

There are lots of styles of schedule cards on TpT, but if you are interested in these exact ones, you can find my Editable Happy Hues Schedule Cards here! This resource includes 28 ready-to-print cards in fun fonts and 33 ready-to-print cards in primary fonts. The primary cards also include clipart images! Digital and analog clock images are included as well.

As a bonus, this resource also includes a text-editable version of the schedule cards and editable clocks so that the cards will work for your unique school and classroom schedule. 

I would love to see the visual classroom schedules you create for your students! Find me on Instagram @shaynavohstpt and share your favorite part of your day with me!

Also, are you interested in more bright classroom decor? Click here to see my full happy hues classroom decor line!

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