With the increased number of students now learning through digital learning and distance learning, teachers continue to search for engaging ways to teach them. Choice boards are excellent resources to use in remote learning! Here are 5 tips to get started.
Tip #1: Assign Choice Boards that Correlate to the Standards You're Teaching
Use choice boards to help you teach your state's standards. For example, if you're teaching about moon phases in science, use a digital choice board that has activities about moon phases, like this one.
The great thing about choice boards is they allow students to choose how they'd like to demonstrate their understanding of a subject.
With digital learning, students can independently complete choice boards at home, then upload the activities to your school's digital learning platform.
Tip #2: Include Activities for Multiple Learning Styles
Just as not all students learn the same, they also have different preferences about activities.
Some students are auditory learners, so they may prefer creating poems, songs, or interviews.
Other students are visual learners, and they typically prefer creating posters, brochures, and digital presentations.
Many students are tactile-kinesthetic learners, who prefer creating dioramas, games, and skits.
Here is an example of how I create my choice boards to support a variety of learning styles:
Tip #3: Set Clear Expectations to Students and Families
As with any assignment, teachers need to set clear expectations to students and families when assigning a choice board. Here are some questions to answer for students and families:
- When is the choice board due?
- Can parents assist their children, or should it be completed independently?
- How many activities need to be completed?
- What are the directions for the activities? (Here are some free choice board posters I created that you can print for your classroom or post on your school's digital learning platform.)
- How should the students submit their assignments?
Tip #4: Consider Students Who Need Supplies
Not all students have access to common choice board supplies, such as paper, markers, colored pencils, and glue. You may want to ask families or business partners to donate extra supplies, such as in the beginning of the school year or after Winter Break.
If your students come to the classroom, it’s helpful to have an area set up for them to access any materials they need to complete their choice boards.
You can keep the supplies organized in plastic drawers or bins with labels. From my experience, most students are able to keep classroom supplies fairly organized as long as everything is labeled and expectations have been clearly set.
Tip #5: Use High-Quality Digital Choice Boards
The choice boards you use should be aligned to your state's standards and include research-based activities.
I have many digital choice boards in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and I'm continuing to add more! Click here to see them.
-Janelle
