How to run your first week with the deck

You've got the deck. Here's how to get the most out of your first week, without overthinking it.

Day one: start with one Spark card

Don't introduce the whole system. Pull a single Spark card at the start of a lesson, run it for five minutes, then carry on as normal. The Imposter and Two Truths & A Lie are good openers because they need no materials and the rules explain themselves.

Introduce the card by its te reo Māori name first. Put the term on the board and ask students what they think it means before you explain the activity. That 30-second move is itself a retrieval moment.

Day two to three: add the debrief

The debrief is where the learning gets consolidated. After the activity, spend 60 seconds on one question: what did that show us about what we know? Without it, a card is just an activity. With it, the card does its job.

Day four: close a lesson with a Shift card

Once the Spark routine feels natural, add a Shift card at the end of a lesson. The Teach-Back and the Cheerleader are gentle entry points. Notice the difference: Spark shows you what students can retrieve, Shift shows you what they understand about what they retrieved.

Day five: let them choose

By the end of the first week, students will start to have preferences. Hold up two cards and let the class pick. The buy-in that comes from choice is worth more than the marginal difference between the two activities.

The one rule

Choose cards on purpose. An unplanned card produces less benefit than a card chosen to retrieve something specific. Pick the card for the job: the topic that keeps slipping, the concept you need secure before next week, the gap you saw in the last assessment.

That's it. One card, one debrief, repeat. The research behind the deck goes deeper if you want it, but you don't need it to start.