The Twirly Little Unicorn
Students move the unicorn to the right spot on each page, then answer WH-questions at the end.
Adapted Books vs Boom Cards
Which one fits your students, your devices and your budget.
The short answer
Choose Boom Cards when you want digital activities that you assign to a class roster, track student by student, or build yourself on any topic, and choose adapted books when you want a story-shaped activity students answer by matching pieces, on paper or on a device, for one flat membership price.
They are different tools more than rivals. Boom Cards are a platform for digital task decks. An adapted book is a book. If your students need to hold and move pieces, or you do not want to depend on a screen, a printed adapted book does something Boom Cards do not. If you want per-student records or you want to build your own cards, Boom does something we do not.
Side by side
| Adapted books | Boom Cards | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A book with pieces students match to the pages. Printable, with a digital edition of many titles. | Interactive activities (decks of cards) on the Boom Learning platform. |
| On paper | Yes. Print, laminate and add Velcro for hands-on matching. | No. Boom Cards are played on a screen. |
| On a screen | Digital books play in a browser on an iPad, iPhone or computer. Nothing to install. | Browser, plus apps that Boom lists for Apple, Google Play and Amazon devices. |
| Make your own | No. You use the books in the library. | Yes. Boom lets you customize cards and make your own. |
| Student records | A one-page, anonymous report for each digital session. No student name is collected and nothing is saved on our servers. | Assigned decks give each student a saved report in your Boom account. Boom says its link-based FastPlay does not collect individual student data. |
| Student accounts | No student accounts. Students just play the book. | Optional. Students can have accounts for assigned decks, or play by link or PIN without logging in. |
| How you pay | $10 a month (40 printable downloads a month) or $99 a year (no monthly download limit). The digital library is unlimited on both. | Boom has its own plans for educators, and ready-made decks are bought from the Boom Store. Check Boom's pricing page for current plans. |
| Built for | Special education, autism and speech therapy, with books around WH-questions, core words, prepositions and following directions. | Not limited to special education. You can make your own cards or buy ready-made decks. |
Boom details come from Boom Learning's own pages, listed at the bottom of this page. We have not tested Boom Cards ourselves, so we have kept to what Boom says about itself.
When Boom Cards are the better pick
- You need a saved record for each student. Assigned Boom decks track progress in your account over time. Our digital books give a one-page report for a single sitting and then it is gone.
- You want to make your own activities. Boom lets you build cards for the exact vocabulary or skill in front of you. We do not offer that.
- Your students use Android or Amazon tablets. Boom lists apps for Google Play and Amazon as well as Apple. Our digital books are built for iPad, iPhone and computer browsers, and we have not claimed anything beyond that.
- The skill is outside our library. Our books focus on early language and literacy for special education. If you need, say, an upper-grade subject deck, a platform where you can make your own cards or buy ready-made ones is the wider net.
When adapted books are the better pick
- Your students need something to hold. Moving a laminated piece onto a page is a different motor and attention task than touching a screen. Some students do better with the physical version, and some do better with the screen. Having both lets you choose by student.
- You want a story, not a drill. An adapted book reads like a short book, with the same simple page layout every time and a response on each page. The skills worth practicing, such as WH-questions, prepositions and following directions, sit inside a story.
- You want one price for everything. A membership covers the whole library, printable and digital, with no monthly download limit on the annual plan. You do not add up single decks.
- You do not want student accounts or stored data. Our digital books never ask for a student's name, and the session report stays on your device. That is a limit if you want records, and a plus if you want no student data stored.
- You want to print a lot. Print as many copies as you need for a classroom or caseload.
Try an adapted book before you decide
Two books are free, each as a printable PDF and as a digital book. Run one on paper and one on a screen with the same student, and see which one holds attention.
What Do You See At School?
A peek-and-guess book with real photos and the core words what, you, I and see.
See the free adapted books for what each download contains, browse the digital adapted books, or read about membership. The evidence guide explains what research does and does not say about the format.
Sources for the Boom Cards details
- Boom Learning, Boom Cards by Boom Learning (home page, lists apps for Apple, Google Play and Amazon). boomlearning.com
- Boom Learning, pricing page (Boom Cards bought ready-made from the Boom Store or made yourself; individual plans licensed to one educator). boomlearning.com/pricing
- Boom Learning Help Center, FastPlay For Boom Card Decks. helpcenter.boomlearning.com
- Boom Learning Help Center, Assigning, Un-Assigning, and Playing Boom Cards. helpcenter.boomlearning.com
- Boom Learning Help Center, Getting Students Off to the Right Start. helpcenter.boomlearning.com
Boom Cards is a trademark of Boom Learning. AdaptedBooks is not affiliated with Boom Learning. Plans and features can change, so check Boom's pages for the latest.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between adapted books and Boom Cards?
Boom Cards are interactive digital activities that you assign to students or share by link on the Boom Learning platform. An adapted book is a book students answer by matching pieces, as a printable you laminate or as a digital adapted book on a device.
Can I use both?
Yes, and many teachers do. Nothing about one rules out the other. A common split is paper books for hands-on small-group work and a digital option for independent device time.
Do I need to print anything for the digital adapted books?
No. The digital edition plays in a browser on an iPad, iPhone or computer, with nothing to print, cut or laminate. The printable edition is the one that needs printing.
Do adapted books track each student's progress over time?
Not across sessions. The digital books print a one-page, anonymous report for each session, and no student names or responses are stored on our servers. If you need a saved record for each student on a roster, Boom's assigned decks offer that and this does not.
Is there a free way to try adapted books?
Yes. Two books are free, The Twirly Little Unicorn and What Do You See At School?, each as a printable PDF and as a digital book. See the free adapted books.
How much do adapted books cost compared with buying single decks?
A membership covers 800+ printable books and over 300 digital books for $10 a month (40 printable downloads a month) or $99 a year (no monthly download limit), with unlimited use of the digital library on both. For Boom Cards, check Boom's own pricing page for current plans, because they differ by account type.