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What is a choice board?
What is a choice board?
A choice board, in simple terms, is a graphic organizer. A standard choice board has nine squares, and inside each square is an activity for students to complete. The projects help students learn or practice a concept. Students can be instructed to choose one or more of these activities to complete. They can progress from one activity to another either in an organized or random order. There is no required number of squares for a choice board though nine seems to be most standard.
A choice board empowers your students with choice (whether they pick the topic, the activities, or how they interact with content) and voice (how students present learned information). Students also choose to move at their own pace and decide which activity they start with first. If your goal is to provide students with agency and ownership of their learning, choice boards are essential to use with your students.
Why should you use choice boards?
Why should you use choice boards?
Having a choice is an effective motivator for students. Students do not have to complete the same tasks as they choose which tasks are most interesting to them.
Students have more control over the pace at which they navigate the tasks. e.g. if students have three weeks to complete a task, they could potentially complete one task in three days, one task in two days, and then have the remaining ten days to complete the third task.
Teachers do not spend their time in front of the classroom. Instead, their class time is available to conference with students about their progress and provide feedback on work in progress.
Students have the opportunity to collaborate with others in the classroom. If two students choose the same activity, the teacher can have students conference with each other and brainstorm ideas.
If you have limited access to technology in the classroom, your students will not need access at the same time.
Choice Board Templates (Click on the image/title to make a copy of the choice board)
Choice Board Templates (Click on the image/title to make a copy of the choice board)
These boards provide students with various opportunities to engage with unit standards. Each column is focused on a specific standard, objective, or skill. The learning activity under each column allows students to engage, in their own way, with the standard, objective, or skill. [Example Link]
These boards provide students with various strategies to choose from. e.g. a board can focus on presenting reading strategies so that students can select a focus strategy each time they read a text. Similarly, you can create a vocabulary review board with activities students can choose from to practice and play with their new subject-specific or academic vocabulary. [Example Link]
These boards focus on a particular theme or topic. Teachers may use their board to encourage a deep dive into a standard, topic, holiday, or weather pattern. Thematic choice boards can also place importance on a topic students care about or value that does not appear in our standards. e.g. teachers may want to create a self-care board to engage students in mindfulness activities or create a brain break board to provide “fast finishers” with activities to work on while other students finish a task. [Example Link]
These boards are an alternative to a typical end-of-unit study guide. As students study for their assessment, they can use this choice board, with activities that focus on fundamental vocabulary terms, concepts, and skills. Students decide which item from each column they want to use to help them study. Students ultimately determine which activities would be most valuable. [Example Link]
This board allows students to select the project(s) or task(s) they want to work on to demonstrate their learning. As a result, the project variety provided can translate into higher completion rates and better final products because not all students communicate their understanding in the same way. [Example Link]
*It is crucial to identify the purpose of a choice board prior to creation. This ensures your board aligns with your learning objectives.*
How can I differentiate a choice board?
How can I differentiate a choice board?
Option one is to create three versions of the same choice board (advanced, regular, supported) to ensure the level of rigor and academic complexity is appropriate for your learners. If you create your choice boards using a digital document or slide deck, you can “make a copy” of your regular choice board and adjust them for other levels.
Alternatively, you could create a single choice board and color-code the squares to denote more challenging activities and tasks. Include “stretch” squares that are more challenging for gifted students. These squares can be optional, or you can ask students who you think are ready for a stretch square to complete at least one activity or task.
What activities can I include in a choice board?
What activities can I include in a choice board?
Analyze a primary document
Annotate an illustration
Answer a writing prompt
Build a model
Collect data in Google Sheets
Create an acrostic or biographical poem
Create an advertisement
Create a board game
Create a caricature
Create a cartoon
Create a character scrapbook
Create a "cheat sheet"
Create an invention that solves a problem
Create a map using Google Maps
Create a newsletter
Create a Padlet
Create a personification story
Create a perspective piece
Create a photo essay
Create a political cartoon
Create a recipe
Create a sensory figure
Create a song or rap
Design a crossword puzzle
Design a eulogy
Design a mosaic
Design a Jeopardy board
Design a Kahoot/Quizizz quiz
Design a poster
Design trading cards
Design a website
Explain what you learned using Explain Everything
Fill out a concept map
Illustrate a dictionary entry
Listen to a podcast
Make a Google Slides presentation
Make an iMovie Trailer
Participate in a virtual lab
Read an article on Newsela
Record a podcast
Write a blog post
Write an invitation
Write a myth
Write a postcard
Watch a YouTube video
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