Folder activities are one of my absolute favorite strategies for teaching children at a wide range of ages and levels! Although many people think folder activities are only for basic skills (such as matching or spelling), in reality they can be used for children at any age or developmental level. File folder activities work well for even very complex skills (such as algebra, geography, or vocabulary for any type of class). File folder activities are easy to make and can be re-used by children indefinitely! In addition to being a great way to learn content, folder activities are a wonderful way to teach children how to be more independent. I’ll explain how to use folder activities for independence below!

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What is a Folder Activity?

A folder activity is, very simply, a work activity that is self-contained in a simple folder. All the materials are kept in the folder, making it easy to store and access when needed. Folder activities are generally very hands-on in nature, with materials that are attached with Velcro and moved around to complete the task. Because children complete the work by manipulating pictures rather than by writing answers with pencils, they tend to be more engaging. Children often prefer completing folder activities to completing worksheets, which not only makes them more willing to do the work, but also more likely to learn the material. Children learn best when they’re engaged and having fun, so any task that capitalizes on child engagement is going to be a more effective approach than having kids do another worksheet!

Why use File Folder Activities?

File folder activities are a great way to teach a huge variety of skills because they separate out the child’s knowledge from the child’s skills. Some children have fine motor issues that may make writing answers difficult. When a child is using file folder activities, the child simply has to move the answer to the right spot – eliminating the battle over writing. Some children struggle with putting their thoughts into words. By having them select from a variety of choices, instead of having to think of the right answer, you can eliminate any struggles stemming from language difficulties as well. Because the tasks have all the components in one place, students can easily identify how much work they have to do, and can see that they’re nearing the end as they fill up the left side of the folder with answers. This structure can eliminate battles over homework because the child better understands their expectations. Additionally, because answers are attached with Velcro, their answers will stay in place until moved and reset by the adult. That means, students can complete file folder activities and turn them in for adults to check when they have time. 

Planning your File Folder Activity

Before beginning to plan your file folder activities, it’s important to have a sense of how file folder activities are designed. The basic idea of a file folder activity is to have every component of the work in one place: the instructions, the questions, and the answers. For a lot of file tasks, instructions aren’t even necessary because the task should be pretty self-explanatory. In the example on this side, the left side has the task expectations laid out for the child (sorting animals into farm animals versus jungle animals) and the right side has the potential answers. 

When making a task the obvious first step is to determine what your goal will be. You then need to decide whether you are going to start from scratch or modify a worksheet you may already have on the topic. You can make an incredible folder activity from either starting point, and I’ll clarify exactly how to do so below.

In general, my folder activities follow the same system – on the left side I have the questions or task and on the right side I have the potential answers. This set-up isn’t essential, and as you make more tasks you may find that you prefer other organizational systems, but this is a great way to start your folder activities.

Creating your File Folder Activities

Whenever you build a task, keep in mind that on one side you have the questions, and on the other side you need to create visual answers. If you are using a worksheet, you may be lucky enough to have the visual answers there, but most of the time they are designed for students to write the answers so you’ll have to create the answers yourself. Create an “answer bank” of choices on the right side of the folder. Depending on the skill level of your student, these can be written words or pictures. Attach all the choices to the folder using Velcro. If possible, I highly recommend laminating the choices (and the folder, too, if possible) to help the task last as long as possible!

If you’re making the task from a worksheet, identify which part you could cut out and use on the left as your question. For example, if it’s a map worksheet – you could cut out the map and place it on the left. You could then put a piece of Velcro on each spot you want the child to identify. On the right side, you would create a list of all the potential locations so the child would simply take a location name and place it on the correct spot on the map. If it’s a map task you’re creating from scratch, you would need to create the map (either by printing one out or drawing one), and then create the list of location names as described above.

If you’re making a time telling task from a worksheet, you could cut out the clocks on the worksheet page and place them on the left. You would then put a list of times on the right side, so the child simply has to match the clock to the time. If you’re creating the task from scratch, you would set it up the same way but have to print out or draw clock faces for the left side of the folder.

For a spelling task, you could place pictures of spelling words on the left with strips of Velcro underneath. On the right side, you could place lots of letters so the child could select the necessary letters and spell the words on the left side.

You could make math tasks the same way. Put a problem on the left side and possible solutions on the right. You could use this approach to address basic math skills such as counting or simple one-digit addition, but you could also use folder activities to teach high school math by putting math vocabulary on the left and definitions on the right or by putting math questions on the left and possible solutions on the right.

Ideas for Additional Uses

That’s it – you have a task ready to go! Samples of tasks are available here and here. You can also visit my store and either download ready to use file folder activities, or simply check out the preview pages in the store for more ideas here.

As I mentioned above, once you get the hang of making the tasks, you’ll find you can change up the rules. I’ve made some folders where they are turned 90 degrees so the work is set up on the top and bottom rather than the left and right. I’ve also made some file tasks where I have Velcro questions on both sides with an additional page that holds all the potential answers. For example, I’ve done a letter matching task where children have to match lower case and upper case letters (see picture). To fit in all 26 letters at a reasonable size and still have space for children to attach answers, there wasn’t enough room to store the potential answers in the folder. I then took a piece of another folder and placed all the potential answers on that. The answer sheet is stored in the folder between uses. I’ve also stored answers in a zip-up plastic bag that is stored in the folder between uses.

Teaching independence through File Folder Activities

Often children require a great deal of support to complete their work. With folder activities, however, you can often fade out adult support and build independence.

If you have a child who struggles with doing anything on his or her own, you can use file folder tasks specifically to teach independence. Create a folder activity at or just below the child’s skill level. Support the child while he or she does the activity the first few times. Once the child knows how to use the folder, begin to fade out the prompting and support (learn more about how to fade prompts here). Over time, you can provide the child with the folder activity not to teach a new skill, but simply to teach them to work without direct support

With file folder activities, the options are really limitless. Once you start making file folder activities you’ll wish you’d started sooner!