How to Use Choice Boards in the Upper Elementary Classroom

Kirsten 0:00

Choice boards are a powerful teaching tool that can help upper elementary students stay engaged motivated and maximize their learning potential. By giving students choices in how they complete their assignments, teachers can make sure that each student's individual needs are met. This episode will give you information on what choice boards are and the best ways to use them in the classroom.

Kirsten 1:11

So let's talk about what choice boards are. A choice board is an educational tool that gives students a variety of options for completing tasks or assignments. The goal of choice boards is to provide students with opportunities to show their understanding of the concept in different ways that fit their learning styles and interests. It's unique to each individual.

Kirsten 1:35

So let's also talk about the types of activities that can be included on a choice board. The sky is the limit. That's the great part about it. You can offer multiple activities from which the student can choose from, including, but not limited to written assignments, creative projects, videos, presentations, research investigations, or some hands on activities. I'm going to share with you just a couple of examples. One idea is for students to create a newsletter include pictures, important headlines and other text features to describe what you've learned. Another idea would be for students to write a journal or diary entry, write a journal or diary with at least five entries showcasing what you have learned about your topic. Another idea is for students to create a podcast episode. Record a podcast episode on four key points that you have learned from your topic. Include an introduction, your key points and a conclusion. These are all three ideas that you can do for a variety of projects on a variety of topics. So you can reuse those same prompts on a board in addition to other choices that they could choose from, and reuse it throughout the year. It's great for them to refer to, and they might even think of something new, and you can always have them suggest that, and you can add that to the choice board menu. Another type of menu that you can use is in the response area. So for reading or ELA, combining that with social studies, a few ideas for this include what is the central or main idea of the text, and how do you know? So we're thinking a main idea response. You could also have them answer a plot question, what is your favorite plot of the text so far, and why? And another response idea is making connections. What connections can you make from the text to your own life, another text or in the world? So those three responses pair well with ELA and can be really used with any book or text.

Kirsten 3:55

Now let's talk about some best practices when using choice boards. When you're using choice boards in the classroom, there are several key practices to keep in mind. First, it's important to make sure that all activities on the board align with grade level expectations and standards while still giving students some autonomy over what they're working on. Don't make it too hard. Don't make it too easy. Additionally, you'll want to make sure that you provide enough guidance and support so that students know how to approach each activity on the board correctly. Finally, it's important that you give enough time for students to complete each activity, otherwise they might be overwhelmed or rushed when trying to finish all the tasks before the due date. Do you want to give them one week to complete the activity, it's a project or two weeks. If it's just a reading response, where they're responding to the book, you can give them maybe a day or two or more.

Kirsten 4:51

The great part about using choice boards is that it's a great way to differentiate instruction, but I know that maybe some students might need more support. And others when utilizing choice boards. So when you're picking activities for your choice boards, be sure to include a range of options from which students can choose from, so as not to limit their possibilities. For example, if you have a writing assignment on your choice board, consider including both short answer questions as well as essay prompts, so that each student has something appropriate for them, regardless of their strengths and preferences. Also remember to include various levels of difficulty. This will allow you to challenge advanced learners while also still accommodating those who need more support with specific concepts or skills. Another option is to have different choice boards at maybe three levels. So you've got three different choice boards. One might be like a circle for easy, square for medium or on level, and then a triangle for a little bit more advanced. But if you want to be more efficient, you can always just combine it on one choice board, and so everybody in the class gets the same one.

Kirsten 6:04

In conclusion, choice boards are an effective way for upper elementary teachers to engage and motivate their students while promoting autonomous learning and personalized instruction that is tailored specifically for each child's needs and interests. When you follow best practices, such as providing enough guidance and support and scaffolding, while also offering a variety of activities with different levels of difficulty, teachers can always ensure maximum success when using this powerful teaching tool in their classrooms.

Kirsten 6:39

I do have some already done for you, choice boards perfect for learning styles and personality types, as well as reading response menus for grades three through five. So the multiple intelligences choice board is great for if students have different learning styles. The Enneagram choice board relates to personality types and Enneagram types, and then the monthly reading and genre response menus are a great way to utilize throughout the year. You can either do it by the month with the monthly menus, or you can do it by genre, where it's mainly talking and focusing on fiction, poetry, drama, informational text and argumentative or persuasive text. So hopefully you can check that out if you're interested, or you get inspired to create your own choice boards. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day, and I will talk to you again next week.