Choice Boards-The Who, What, Where, When and Why

Have ever wondered how to keep your students engaged while reviewing skills and solidifying learning?! Then choice boards are for you! My goal in this post is to breakdown choice boards and tell you why they are so effective to use in the classroom, at home during distance learning and even for homework. I will explain these strategies by using who, what, where, when and why.

The WHO of Choice Boards

Choice boards are for students as well as teachers.  Choice boards allow students to complete certain tasks at their own level, practice specific skills and to show you, their teacher, what they know.  They are for teachers because they will make your day easier by being able to assign students activities throughout the day.  

The WHAT of Choice Boards

You may be asking yourself, what exactly is a choice board? Well, let me answer that question for you. It is a board that has a varied amount of activities that students can choose from. The choice boards that I have created are differentiated at three different levels to best accommodate your students. My choice boards are geared towards Kindergarten and First Grade students. The activities that are included on most choice boards are a variety of Math and ELA skills such as reading, writing and language skills. You can choose between the 3 differentiated levels of choice boards based on your students needs. All activities that are on the choice board have recording sheets/worksheets as needed. You may even find that you want to give students all three choice boards and sets of activities to have them review various skills at different levels. 

The WHERE of Choice Boards

Many teachers who are unfamiliar with choice boards often wonder where these boards can be used and that is a perfect question! These choice boards are perfect for distance learning activities that can be done at home or for use within the classroom.  

The WHEN of Choice Boards

Choice boards can be done at anytime throughout the school day or even as a homework activity.  The choice boards are also perfect for classroom use for early finisher work as well as independent center work. You can simply tell the students to pick a specific number of boxes and complete those activities.  Choice boards are also perfect for students to complete at home during distant or virtual learning.  This will allow students different activities to complete and keep them engaged while showing you their knowledge of specific skills.  

And finally, WHY you should use Choice Boards

If you have read this far, I hope that you have a better understanding of what a choice board is and how it can help make your life easier whether you are in the classroom setting or teaching virtual. There are a lot of good reasons to use Choice Boards.  Choice Boards will help you, the teacher, to see exactly what skills your students know.  It will give your students the opportunity to practice skills at their own levels because the choice boards that I have created are at various levels.  Choice Boards will give your students activities to complete while you are testing, working with other students, or for activities to complete for homework.  My hope in creating these is that your life will be made easier because the boards and activities are completely prepared for you, all you have to do is make copies for students.  

You can view my January Choice Boards on TpT.  

You can also get a free copy of differentiated boards here.