Student buy-in and engagement is the KEY to getting your students to practice what they need to practice. Giving students a CHOICE in what they practice is the key to success!
The problem? Students either do sloppy work or wonโt do their work at all. They are either just trying to get it done or avoiding the work altogether.
Imagine if your students WANTED to do the work they needed to do to practice and be successful!
Your students choose the activities they would like to do. You can choose the word list, spelling list, or book selections for students OR you can let your students choose the word list, spelling list, or books. Giving your students the choice will make practicing a whole lot more engaging and fun for all of your students.
Your students choose the activities they want to do. Giving students a range of options immediately boosts engagement and successful practice of necessary skills. My students love choosing among all of the options I give them for practicing their spelling words. They WANT to complete the assignments and that’s a win-win situation!
Variety
You can use an infinite variety of word lists, texts, and activities. Choice Boards can be used for any subject, book, words, assessment, homework, morning work, projects – the list can go on forever. You can also create a choice board option with as few as two to three choices to as many as you feel comfortable offering. I’ve even had my students work together to create their own choice board to use for project-based learning.
What Choice Boards Look Like In My Classroom
I use Choice Boards in my classroom for independent reading, spelling, and ELA. Using Choice Boards in my classroom has greatly impacted students practicing the skills they need to practice on their level.
I meet with all of my students each week for individual reading conferences and I also meet with them daily in small groups. I allow my students to choose 1 activity per week for their Reading Response Choice Board and 3 activities per week for their Spelling Choice Board. I use my ELA Choice Board as an Early Finisher activity during the week. I expect all students to complete at least ONE ELA Choice activity every week.
Would you like to try Choice Boards in your classroom? Click the image or link below to get a copy of my ELA Choice Board.
If you need some Choice Boards all ready to go for Reading and Spelling, check out my listings in my TPT store: Reading & Spelling Choice Boards
Need another engaging idea for your classroom? Learn all about how I use Book Talks to get my students excited to share their favorite books with their classmates.
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