Basic Kit: printable material for cooperative learning structures
The Basic Kit is all the reusable material for cooperative learning structures in one place: group cards, letter cards, role cards, corner posters, whiteboard sheets and a placemat sheet. You print it once, sized to your largest class, laminate it, and reach for it in every structure — without searching, printing or cutting all over again.
Print (double-sided where needed), laminate, cut — done. Every cut line runs straight edge to edge, so a paper trimmer gets through a sheet in a few strokes.
- 1Print on heavy paper (120–160 g/m²)
- 2Laminate the sheets
- 3Cut along the through lines
- 4Keep everything in one box on your desk
Double-sided printing: in the print dialog choose "two-sided — flip on long edge" (the default). Each number then lands exactly behind its colour. Applies to the group cards and the role cards.
🔒 Printing needs a free account. It takes a minute to create, and the basic kit stays available to you from then on — like every structure.
Create a free account →Materials
Group cards
4 pages (backs included)Group cards to split your class into groups fast: students draw a card and know their colour and their number straight away.
- Front = group colour with its name
- Back = colour + number
Letter cards A–D
1 sheet = 8 studentsLetter cards A–D for dividing students up or forming expert groups — one sheet covers eight students.
- Eight cards per sheet: two of each letter
- Print enough for your whole class
Role cards
2 sheets · double-sidedRole cards for dividing the work inside a group, with ready-made cooperation roles and STEM roles. Draw a card, get a role.
- Front = role with icon, back = an explanation of the role
- One double-sided sheet per set = two groups
- Colours match the letter cards, so the letter decides the role
Corner posters
4 × A4 · ✓✗Corner posters A–D and ✓/✗ voting cards for structures where students physically take a position or vote.
- Four A4 posters: A, B, C and D for the corners — one set is enough
- ✓/✗ voting cards separately: wordless, four per sheet
- A ✓/✗ pair per student: one sheet = two students
Whiteboard sheets
A4 or 2 × A5Whiteboard sheets as a mini whiteboard: write with a whiteboard marker, wipe it off, use it again — without buying separate boards.
- A laminated A4 or A5 sheet with a writing frame
- Name line at the top; two A5 boards on one sheet
Placemat sheet A3
1 × A3An A3 placemat sheet for the placemat structure.
- Four personal fields around one shared centre field
- Laminated = reusable with a whiteboard marker
- No A3 printer? The A4 button prints the same sheet smaller
Blank cards
2 × A4Empty cards with a front and a back: the students write the question and the answer themselves.
- Thinking up the question is the task — the layout around it is not
- Colour on the front, the same colour as a frame on the back, so a pair stays together
- Eight per sheet, cut lines already printed
Your own cards
Need cards with your own questions or statements on them? Make them in a minute with the card generator.
Open the card generator →- Collects and manages the materials
- Watches for careful and safe use
- Makes sure everything is tidied away
- Makes sure everyone joins in and gets a say
- Keeps the group on task
- Is the only one who asks the teacher questions
- Writes down agreements and answers
- Sums up what the group decides
- Presents on behalf of the group
- Watches the time and the pace
- Warns halfway and just before the end
- Helps the group decide when time is short
- Collects and manages the materials
- Watches for careful and safe use
- Makes sure everything is tidied away
- Makes sure everyone joins in and gets a say
- Keeps the group on task
- Is the only one who asks the teacher questions
- Writes down agreements and answers
- Sums up what the group decides
- Presents on behalf of the group
- Watches the time and the pace
- Warns halfway and just before the end
- Helps the group decide when time is short
- Builds according to the design
- Works neatly and safely
- Checks with the designer when problems come up
- Sketches a plan before the group builds
- Guards the requirements of the task
- Adapts the design when something fails
- Presents the result to the class
- Explains what the group has learned
- Answers questions
- Tests whether it works
- Notes what goes well and what could improve
- Suggests improvements
- Builds according to the design
- Works neatly and safely
- Checks with the designer when problems come up
- Sketches a plan before the group builds
- Guards the requirements of the task
- Adapts the design when something fails
- Presents the result to the class
- Explains what the group has learned
- Answers questions
- Tests whether it works
- Notes what goes well and what could improve
- Suggests improvements
Why this works
Why colour names instead of solid fills? Three reasons. It saves ink and toner, so reprinting the set stays easy. It creates less waste. And students who find colours hard to tell apart simply read the name and join in just as fast as everyone else.
Why laminate? Printing and laminating once means the set lasts a whole school year. On the whiteboard sheets and the placemat sheet you write with a whiteboard marker, wipe it off and use them again — no copying for every lesson.
Why size it to your class? You set the number of groups and the cards per group yourself. You print exactly as many cards as you need, with the numbers already behind the right colour. No pile of loose sheets to sort out afterwards.
The materials print in this page's language — switch to NL, UA or EN at the top for another version.
Compiled by Oksana Oliinyk ·