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What criteria did you use to decide whether each activity, resource or app was academically viable? 

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What criteria did you use to decide whether each activity, resource or app was academically viable? 

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When choosing the following links, I stuck to finding ones connected to resources shared with me by previous professor at NU. All of these sites have been suggested by professors or pulled from the National University library and course resources tab.

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IXL is a personalized learning app I have the students at my day care use daily. Students pay use this app to focus on building foundational skills in language arts and math. What I love most about IXL is that it first assesses the child then it recommends skill builders based on the child’s areas of weakness. As a teacher, you can make your own recommendations for your students as well, and it will show up on their end. The app breaks down language arts from pre-school to 12th grade and then further breaks down concepts for each grade. The skill builders are also broken down in a coherent and logical manner.

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The exact skills you need

Planning a lesson or prepping for an exam?
We've custom-built IXL skills to reinforce each topic within your:

State standards

Virginia Standards of Learning (2016)

Textbooks

See skills that match every chapter of 80+ popular textbooks

Assessments

Use IXL for the NWEA MAP, ACT, SAT, and more

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IXL | Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish

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IXL is the world's most popular subscription-based learning site for K-12. Used by over 15 million students, IXL provides personalized learning in more than 10,000 topics, covering math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. Interactive questions, awards, and certificates keep kids motivated as they master skills.

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I chose to link this activity because I think it is perfect for early elementary school-aged children. Word families charts benefit both students who are mastering and have yet to master phonemic awareness. For students who have yet to master phonemic awareness they serve aanchor charts for remebering their word families. For students who have mastered phonemic awareness, teachers can have them recreate the family charts from memory. This activity serves many types of learners and can be hands-on art project or a simple list-making activity.

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Creating a word family chart with the whole class or a small group builds phonemic awareness, a key to success in reading. Students will see how words look alike at the end if they sound alike at the end - a valuable discovery about our alphabetic writing system.

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In my previous ITL class I took a deeper dive into assessments and their importance in the classroom. As a student, I thought assessments were scary, unfair, and an isolating experience. I believed they were made to make less academic students feel inferior so I hated them. However, as an aspiring teacher, I recognize their importance in the classroom and how to alleviate the fear associated with them. I will definitely be using assessments in my future classrooms and think phonemic awareness assessments will be an especially important tool for me. Using assessments, I can better get to know my students and, in turn, create a better relationship with them because I’ll be better able to help. Phonemic awareness assessments can be created in a way to support every type of learner. As a teacher I can create or find multiple assessments to help my students best express their knowledge.

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All assessments should be given one-on-one.

When should it be assessed?

Phonemic awareness assessments should be done three times during the kindergarten and first grade years to help guide instruction.

Examples of assessment questions

* Remember, when a letter appears between slash marks, you should say the letter sound, and not the letter name.

Phoneme matching

Which words sound alike? man, sat, sip (Correct response: sat, sip)

Phoneme isolation – Initial (first) sound:

What's the first sound in "sat?" (Correct response: /s/)

Phoneme isolation – Final (last) sound:

What's the last sound in "sat?" (Correct response: /t/)

Phoneme isolation – Medial (middle) sound:

What's the middle sound in "sat?" (Correct response: /a/)

Phoneme blending:

What word do these sounds make? /h/ – /o/ – /t/ (Correct response: hot)

Phoneme segmentation:

What sounds do you hear in "hot?" (Correct response: /h/ – /o/ – /t/)

Phoneme manipulation – Initial (first) sound:

Say "mat" without the /m/ sound. (Correct response: at)

Phoneme manipulation – Final (last) sound:

Say "mat" without the /t/ sound. (Correct response: ma)

Phoneme manipulation – Substitution:

Say "pig." (Correct response: pig)

Now change the /p/ in "pig" to /f/. (Correct response: fig)

Age or grade typically mastered

Phoneme matching: The middle of kindergarten

Phoneme isolation – Initial (first) sound: The middle of kindergarten

Phoneme isolation – Final (last) sound: Late kindergarten or early first grade

Phoneme isolation – Medial (middle) sound: Late kindergarten or early first grade

Phoneme blending: Late kindergarten or early first grade

Phoneme segmentation: First grade

Phoneme manipulation – Initial (first) sound: First grade

Phoneme manipulation – Final (last) sound: First grade

Phoneme manipulation – Substitution: Middle to end of first grade or early second grade

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An informal assessment of phonemic awareness, including what the assessment measures, when is should be assessed, examples of questions, and the age or grade at which the assessment should be mastered.

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I love the idea of sound walls and believe it will help my students conquer those tricky high frequency words! Sound walls are organized by speech sounds, are from the students POV, focus on phonemes and articulation, independent, and focus on transfer of skills to multiple words. I think word walls are awesome, but sound walls help students recognize how their mouths feel and look when producing sounds, which in turn helps them connect speech to print.

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You are welcome to print copies for non-commercial use, or a limited number for educational purposes, as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact the author or publisher listed.

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Transitioning from Word Walls to Sound Walls

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Sound walls support students with learning those tricky high-frequency words. They also support students in retaining and learning to read unfamiliar words on their own. A sound wall does the work of matching our articulation of speech sounds/phonemes to the letters/graphemes that represent those sounds.

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On this site, one can find 12 activities to promote mind development and thinking in young scholars. While the activities may seem like mere child’s play, the activities can be used to create some exciting learning games to help master phonemic awareness. For example, one of the listed activities is blocks, which, with a little creativity, can be used to master breaking down words into their smallest units of sound. During a center's activity, a teacher can use masking tape to break words down and scramble them on blocks, and then have the student rebuild them. I believe this link will serve my grade range appropriately.

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12 Mind-Boggling Brain Games To Activate Thinking In Kids

It's 6 o'clock in the evening, your little one wants to watch that cartoon that they just love (and you dread). You just want them to do something a little more productive. What is Doraemon or Peppa Pig going to teach them in the grand scheme of things?
RELATED: Rising Screen Time In Children - How It Affects Them And Ways To Reduce It
So, to keep them distracted, you attempt a "Hey, why don't we read this book?" that results in an utter look of disgust on your child's face and undue defeat on yours.

Well, what if there is a way to fix this problem? What is the solution to make learning and brain development fun?

We have the answers to help you!

There are a variety of games and activities that will keep them away from screens, help develop their thinking, all while keeping them entertained and their minds stimulated: brain games!

Child's play is an integral part of development. Children do not play just to entertain themselves. From the time they are born, they are constantly learning.

When your infant reaches out to you to get the soft toy, they are learning.

They just learned that they can stretch their arm out to touch the toy. They learned that they reach out with their arms to get that toy.

Learning and development are constantly happening, but it's our duty to enable that learning with positive reinforcements.

RELATED: The Simple Technique That Will Make Learning Fun For Your Child

There are various skills acquired while playing brain games for kids.

Analytical Thinking

Comprehension

Spatial Awareness

Conceptual Learning

Lateral and Critical Thinking

Creativity

Problem-Solving

Linguistic enhancement and so much more!

1) Blocks - Build it up!

Best suited for 2-4 year olds

Blocks have been the most basic brain games for kids since the beginning of time and have remained a constant in the 'toy-sphere' - and there's a good reason why.

How To Play:

Expose your child to blocks of different colours and sizes - and that's it! Let your child explore the blocks and let their imagination run wild.

All aspects of your child's development are exposed including shape/colour recognition, creativity, spatial awareness, and so much more.

RELATED: 11 Tips To Foster Creative Thinking In Your Child

You can start off with basic colour and shape blocks for younger children and then upgrade to Lego's or abstract building blocks for older children.

Create simple patterns with blocks, have your toddler try to copy the patterns. This is a simple way to help your child observe patterns.

2) I spy games - I spy... brain games for kids

Best suited for 5-12 year olds

Classic games such as 'I spy with my little eye...', 'Simon Says' and scavenger hunts are fun brain sharpening games.

These types of games help your children to follow instructions, enhance attention, develop language and increases their spatial awareness. Books like "Where's Waldo?" are great for children (and adults!), finding a targeted item in a cluttered environment helps enhance your child's cognitive systems.

Scavenger hunts can be easily customized and can keep your children occupied for hours!

Here's an example of a themed scavenger hunt:

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Find the following items!

3) Tease Your Brain With Puzzles!

Best suited for 2-8 year olds

Puzzles can be fun for the whole family! They are a great way to develop your child's spatial perception, coordination, problem-solving, cognitive skills and fine motor skills- proving puzzles to be an awesome brain development activity.

There are many different kinds of puzzles to choose from: tangrams and board puzzles for younger children, and older children (and adults) can indulge in Scrabble, Sudoku, crosswords, logic puzzles and even Rubik's cubes! At any age, puzzles are sure-fire brain teasers!

DIY puzzle idea: Line up popsicle sticks in a row, stick a copy of a family photograph on the popsicle sticks. Using a cutter, cut between the popsicle sticks. Help your child line the popsicles and recreate the photograph.

RELATED: 18 Essential Life Skills To Equip Your Child For The Real World

4) Obstacle Courses - Jump, skip, run and hop!

Best suited for 2-5 year olds

Obstacle courses are easy to set up brain games for kids. You can set one up right in your living room.

Create simple obstacle courses using household supplies, increase the complexity with creative obstacles for older kids.

Obstacle courses help enhance your child's gross motor, visual perception, motor planning, coordination, problem-solving, critical thinking and language skills.

There are so many versions of obstacle courses! Here are some items you can use to create an obstacle course indoors: pillows, chairs, tables, cushions, sofa, tables, storage boxes, string, paper, balls, hula hoops.

A typical obstacle course would include for you to do the following: something to walk on, crawl under, crawl through, jump, throw, hop, solve a riddle, the possibilities are endless!

You can adapt a simple obstacle course for older children by including puzzles and riddles as obstacles to pass through!

5) Nesting and Stacking Toys - How high can you stack?

Best suited for 2-4 year olds

Don't be fooled by the deceiving simplicity of nesting and stacking toys. These toys are pivotal to early learning development for toddlers.

Nesting toys, albeit very simple, pack a punch as great brain boosters for toddlers.

The motion of stacking and nesting helps your little one's fine motor, spatial and visual perception, balance, sequencing, pre-math skills, and coordination. Who would have thought something so simple could be so beneficial?

Tip: Start off with some basic ring stacking toys and upgrade to stacking toys which include textures, prints or sizes.

Nesting toys are the close cousin of stacking toys. It's important to keep a conversation going while your children play.

"What goes next?" "Does this fit into this cup?" "Why do you think that doesn't fit there?"

6) Removing Tape Game - Brain Booster!

Best suited for 2-4 year olds

Concentration is key while playing most games. It's an important brain building activity to develop on. But, children are so easily distracted. Here's a fun brain sharpening game for the little ones.

All it takes is some masking tape and a flat surface. Use this brain game to help enhance your toddler's concentration. Toddlers love feeling, scratching and pulling, and this activity uses all of those actions!

Tip: On a flat surface, table or notebook, stick strips of masking tape. Make sure the tapes overlap. Demonstrate to your toddler how to remove the tape one at a time by scraping the ends with your fingernails.

Allow your toddler to explore and remove the tape themselves. You can add different coloured tapes (insulation tapes) or textured craft tapes to add more elements to the activity.

7) Pretend Play Kits - Doctor, doctor!

Best suited for 2-6 year olds

Pretend play, role play or make-believe play is a great brain development activity as it plays a critical role in a child's cognitive and social development.

Pretend play helps develop a child's language skills, social and emotional skills, nurtures their imagination and improves understanding of the world around them.

Pretend play is a great time to put out some open-ended questions to your child and stimulate their thought process.

DIY idea: Repurpose some old shelves to create a 'market' area, upcycle cardboard boxes to create washing machines, houses, forts, stove top, anything that your child fancies. Don't forget, it's all pretend - so anything's possible!

8) Improvisation Games - Improv this!

Best suited for 6-12 year olds

Improv games are the most fun brain-boosting games! The benefits of improv games are aplenty!

They help increase confidence, refine brainstorming abilities, improve learning and observation, improve decision-making and spontaneity.
Here's a simple improv game you can play with the whole family:
Improv games are great for the whole family, you can play them anywhere and at any time.

'One-word story'
Each person in the room helps narrate a story but one word at a time! Come up with a quirky story title or theme and let the fun begin! Simplify the game by narrating the story one sentence at a time instead of one word at a time.

9) Storytelling - Once upon a time...

Best suited for 6-12 year olds

Storytelling helps prompt a different brain development compared to what children gain when listening to a story or reading a picture book.

Storytelling requires for your child to pay attention and focus for a long period of time.

They also help their memory, as they have to keep track of the story characters, the sequence of events and what's going to happen next.

Storytelling also helps develop your child's language, vocabulary and confidence! Each story requires for them to make connections and articulate them.

Children at the age of six are developing self-confidence and independence; stories are a great way for them to express their feelings and emotions in a positive manner.

Tip: Use a magazine as a story prompt. Pick a page with lots of elements, your child will have to make up a story using the elements on that page.

Another fun prompt idea is to fill a jar with one-liners: "the green monster in the castle", "the lost astronaut in the rocket", "the ladybird with green spots". The more creative the prompts, the funnier the story!

RELATED: Storytelling - Incredible Ways To Tell Great Stories To Your Child

10) Phonic Fun - Imaginary Traveller

Best suited for 6-12 year olds

This game is simple but so much fun! A simple brain exercising game that you can play in the car, in the supermarket line or just when they are bored.

This activity helps your child (and you) to think quickly, develops communication, improves decision-making skills and builds confidence.

Tip: Everyone playing takes turns to continue with consecutive letters of the alphabet, and fill in the following I am going (blank) and I'm taking (blank).

For example, I am going to Aunt Anita's house and I'm taking my apple. I am going to Bombay and I'm taking the boat. I am going to the Circus and I'm taking the clown. Make them as silly as you can to ensure maximum fun!

11) Memory Game - Elephants never forget!

Best suited for 5-12 year olds

Brain boosting memory games help improve memory in a fun and entertaining way. Memory games help exercise your child's brain, improve concentration, enhance cognitive functionality, trains visual memory, boost focus and attention.

There are many variations of memory games you can play at home: simple matching activity for younger children, increase or decrease complexity by changing the number of elements.

Get the picture is a fun game to play right at home! You start the game by saying, "When we go to the beach we take..." "On the table there is..." all the participants of the game take turns adding an element.

When one person says an object, the next person repeats that object and adds another object. The idea is to repeat all the elements the person before you has said. Keep the chain going till someone breaks the chain!

RELATED: 10 Quick And Proven Techniques To Boost Your Child's Memory

12) Math Game: Mathematics + Brain Games = Fun!

Best suited for 5-12 year olds

A simple math game is great for helping children with their numeracy skills. Card games are great for enhancing consolidated math skills.

Math brain games help your child with number identification, counting, addition/subtraction, greater than/lesser than and other basics of mathematics.

So, here are two simple math brain games for kids:

Dice Wars

You will need dice and some counting elements (pebbles, buttons, seeds, etc).
You play the game by taking turns rolling dice and you count the number on the dice.

The player with a higher number gets to steal a pebble or button from the other player. The player who steals all the elements is the winner!

I spy cards!

You will need a deck of cards with picture cards removed. Deal all the cards in an array with number side up.

One player says "I spy with my little eye two cards that add up to make ___", and the other player must find the two cards.

Once the cards are found, remove from the set. Continue till all the cards are cleared. Apart from all of these games, you can use riddles and classic card games like Uno, Go Fish or even crosswords to get some brain juices churning.
Do try these games and tell us which ones you loved the most. Don't forget to share your experiences and suggestions about other fun brain games that we might've missed.
Also, children enjoy creating games of their own. Maybe they'd like to play 'Imaginary Traveller' with a twist, so allow your child to explore and express themselves freely.

So, the next time your child says they're bored- just play a game! You have 12 awesome brain games and ideas to chose from.

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12 Mind-Boggling Brain Games To Activate Thinking In Kids

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https://flintobox.com/blog/child-development/12-brain-games-for-kids It's 6 o'clock in the evening, your little one wants to watch that cartoon that they just love (and you dread). You just want them to do something a little more productive. What is Doraemon or Peppa Pig going to teach them in the grand scheme of things?

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I found this site particularly useful and aesthetically pleasing to navigate through. The site is run by Harvard University and lays out the key concepts of the fundamentals of child development: brain architecture, serve and return, toxic stress, executive function and self-regulation, and resilience. The home page graphics lead to separate videos and resources about the 5 core building blocks of child development. After spending time navigating the different areas of the site, I found useful information about child development that I want to consider when lesson planning. For this reason, I've decided to link this into my tool kit. I believe this site will help me better understand how to motivate and support my students while catering to their emotional needs, such as, safety and inclusion. Then, after I've established a positive relationships with my class, my students will feel confident enough in themselves to tackle difficult phonemic awareness challenges.

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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Serve and return interactions shape brain architecture. When an infant or young child babbles, gestures, or cries, and an adult responds appropriately with eye contact, words, or a hug, neural connections are built and strengthened in the child's brain that support the development of communication and social skills.

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Key Concepts - Science of Child Development

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These key concepts are the scientific building blocks of the core story of child development.

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7.. National University Sanford College of Education’s Playbook 6, Card 1: Cognition and learning card

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7.. National University Sanford College of Education’s Playbook 6, Card 1: Cognition and learning card

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This Playbook I found especially helpful for remembering that while reading intervention and reading strategies are of the upmost importance to incorporate into my instruction, we must also remember to make space for relationship building. I am saving this in my toolkit because I believe all the content on it will come in handy when teaching my future 1st-3rd graders.

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The Harmony Online Learning Portal provides PreK-6th grade teachers with everything they need to successfully integrate Harmonys' social and emotional learning program into the classroom, including training, lessons, activities, videos, stories, games, and songs.

The Inspire Online Learning Portal provides free, on-demand professional development modules and resources to help teachers improve their practice and encourage Pre-K through 12th grade students to become enthusiastic, engaged learners.

The Sanford College of Education's professional development website will guide you as an educator in understanding and providing Social and Emotional Learning. You will see SEL in action and get practical suggestions for immediate implementation.

The Fundraising Academy provides free, on-demand training for nonprofits and fundraising professionals on the cause selling approach to building and retaining donor relationships.

The Harmony Online Learning Portal provides PreK-6th grade teachers with everything they need to successfully integrate Harmonys' social-emotional learning program into the classroom, including training, lessons, activities, videos, stories, games, and songs.

The Inspire Online Learning Portal provides free, on-demand professional development modules and resources to help teachers improve their practice and encourage Pre-K through 12th grade students to become enthusiastic, engaged learners.

The Sanford College of Education's professional development website will guide you as an educator in understanding and providing Social Emotional Learning. You will see SEL in action and get practical suggestions for immediate implementation.

The Fundraising Academy Learning Portal provides free, on-demand training for nonprofits and fundraising professionals on the cause selling approach to building and retaining donor relationships.

Register Now for free!

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Register and Create Your FREE Profile SINGLE SIGN-ON: Once registered, use your login to access of our Online Learning Portals. Already Registered? SIGN IN SIGNED IN The Harmony Online Learning Portal provides PreK-6th grade teachers with everything they need to successfully integrate Harmonys' social and emotional learning program into the classroom, including training, lessons, activities, videos, stories, games, and songs.

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8. National University Sanford College of Education’s Playbook 6 Cognition and Learning Card 5: Cognitive Teaching and Learning Strategies

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8. National University Sanford College of Education’s Playbook 6 Cognition and Learning Card 5: Cognitive Teaching and Learning Strategies

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I found this playbook card beneficial for understanding how cognitive skills develop in youth, and how authentic assessment can be used in place of traditional testing. With learning to read being such a daunting task, I think it's important I find ways to assess my students in a way that won't hinder their spirits or scare them out of trying to express their though process when learning. This card is a viable resource for teachers teaching all grades as it pertains to how all students develop cognitive skills.

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Register and Create Your FREE Profile

SINGLE SIGN-ON: Once registered, use your login to access of our Online Learning Portals.

Already Registered?

SIGN IN

SIGNED IN

The Harmony Online Learning Portal provides PreK-6th grade teachers with everything they need to successfully integrate Harmonys' social and emotional learning program into the classroom, including training, lessons, activities, videos, stories, games, and songs.

The Inspire Online Learning Portal provides free, on-demand professional development modules and resources to help teachers improve their practice and encourage Pre-K through 12th grade students to become enthusiastic, engaged learners.

The Sanford College of Education's professional development website will guide you as an educator in understanding and providing Social and Emotional Learning. You will see SEL in action and get practical suggestions for immediate implementation.

The Fundraising Academy provides free, on-demand training for nonprofits and fundraising professionals on the cause selling approach to building and retaining donor relationships.

The Harmony Online Learning Portal provides PreK-6th grade teachers with everything they need to successfully integrate Harmonys' social-emotional learning program into the classroom, including training, lessons, activities, videos, stories, games, and songs.

The Inspire Online Learning Portal provides free, on-demand professional development modules and resources to help teachers improve their practice and encourage Pre-K through 12th grade students to become enthusiastic, engaged learners.

The Sanford College of Education's professional development website will guide you as an educator in understanding and providing Social Emotional Learning. You will see SEL in action and get practical suggestions for immediate implementation.

The Fundraising Academy Learning Portal provides free, on-demand training for nonprofits and fundraising professionals on the cause selling approach to building and retaining donor relationships.

Register Now for free!

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Register and Create Your FREE Profile SINGLE SIGN-ON: Once registered, use your login to access of our Online Learning Portals. Already Registered? SIGN IN SIGNED IN The Harmony Online Learning Portal provides PreK-6th grade teachers with everything they need to successfully integrate Harmonys' social and emotional learning program into the classroom, including training, lessons, activities, videos, stories, games, and songs.

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9. Master Short Vowels and Reading Whole Words

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9. Master Short Vowels and Reading Whole Words

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I think that as a teacher, it is important we add intervention centers into our weekly schedules, instead of leaving it all up to specialist and interventionists. That said, it is important I find solid ideas for helping my students master phonemic awareness. After reviewing this reading rockets lesson, I felt excited to find new ways to help students master short vowels and read whole words. I believe this specific lesson is perfect for 1st grade students and can benefit both the visual and auditorial learner.

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I decided to link this article because, at times, I get lost in the difference between phonological and phonemic awareness, and this page illustrates the differences and connections between the two. The page also provides access to various video series that capture what both these concepts look like in the classroom. I know this site will benefit me as a teacher because I am a visual learner, and get much more out of watching educators teach, then I do trying to visualize the theories they are using. I believe that the more digging I do on teaching phonemic awareness, the more I'll be able to differentiate and individualize instruction for my students. I can save this site and reference it in the future to support my students during their literacy quest. This page is appropriate for elementary school teaching strategies, as well as middle school students.

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Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken parts of words. The levels of phonological awareness are, from simplest to most complex: syllables, onset-rime, and phonemes. Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. We know that a student's skill in phonological awareness is a good predictor of later reading success or difficulty. Find out what parents and teachers can do to help children develop this critical literacy skill.

Refresh your classroom instruction! Try the Phonological and Phonemic Awareness module in our free, self-paced online course, Reading 101: A Guide to Teaching Reading and Writing.

Featured partner: National Association for the Education of Young Children

Watch a reading expert work one-on-one with K-3 students, helping them master basic reading skills.

Find out about the early building blocks of learning to read and the importance of reading aloud.

Professional Development Webcasts

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Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken parts of words. The levels of phonological awareness are, from simplest to most complex: syllables, onset-rime, and phonemes. Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.

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I believe Jack Hartmann’s music channel is a viable teaching tool for pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade teachers! His music is research-based, and teacher approved to help students conquer early childhood national and state standards. His songs range from simple ABCs ones to more complex ones about vowel teams, phonemes, and common endings. On top of being educational, his videos are also physical! His songs teach students important content all while getting them a chance to dance or exercise. I believe his music channel will engage the visual and kinesthetic learners

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Jack’s music is research-based and teacher-approved to focus on helping children learn important state, national, and early childhood standards. All of Jack’s songs and videos engage children with not only great educational content, but with cool beats kids love and fun movements.

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12. 10 Ways to Incorporate Student Choice in Your Classroom 

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12. 10 Ways to Incorporate Student Choice in Your Classroom 

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When I think about my strengths as an educator, one of the first things that comes to mind is my ability to connect with students and participate in positive relationship building with each student. Due to my interpersonal skills, I've been able to motivate kids into taking ownership of their learning, and loving it. I use to think it was the fun, garden lessons that excited them, but then I realized a lot of it had to do with how much I wanted to empower them during lessons. I did this by adding choices into many parts of my lessons. I had ideas about what I we could do, but I would ultimately let them run with it. I am a big believer of trusting your students and creating a bond that inspires them to want to learn by giving them choices everyday. I think this article is a great resource for teachers to use when lesson planning so that hard literacy or phonemic awareness concepts become less scary and more fun because of autonomy and choice!

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My kids participate in an amazing hands-on learning experience every summer. It's called home. It's where they write stories, paint pictures, go on expeditions, visit parks, read books, and build things with duct tape and cardboard.

For the entire summer, they own the learning process. There are no tests, no benchmarks, no curriculum maps, and no bell schedules. It is an educational anarchy, where they tear down the walls between ideas and subject areas as they make and tinker and explore and curate the learning on their own terms.

Don't get m wrong. It's not perfect. Just yesterday they were at each other's throats over "creative differences." They have had moments where they complained about boredom, only to discover, minutes later, that boredom actually leads to creative breakthroughs. They have had days where they walked away from a project in frustration and binge-watched Netflix.

And yet . . .

They are developing into life-long learners. They already view themselves as geeks who can figure out anything over time. They pursue creative work with passion. Yes, that passion sometimes leads to arguments. Our home vacillates between looking like Phineas and Ferband VH1 Behind the Music. But most of the time, it leads to a state of flow, where they are lost in their work. Most of the time, it looks more like Phineas and Ferb.

In a little over a month, they will return to school with the bell schedule and the benchmark tests and the prep packets. While I realize that schools cannot operate under the educational anarchy of summer, I can't help but wonder what it would look like to empower students with more choice and agency in their learning.

Student choice is more than simply choosing a topic. It is about empowering students through the entire learning process. This is especially true in classrooms that embrace creativity, design thinking, and project-based learning. Here are a few of the ways we can incorporate student choice:

1. Let students choose the topic. When I first had students blog, I would post a writing prompt on the projector. However, when I had students explore real blogs, they pointed out that outside of school, bloggers write about topics they care about. So, I told them to choose a topic or theme. They could create foodie blogs, sports blogs, gamer blogs, etc.

2. Let students ask the questions. I believe students should question answers as often as they answer questions. This is why inquiry is such a critical component of design thinking. Students need to move from awareness to curiosity in a way that will fuel their creative thinking.

3. Let students decide the content. I love sustained silent reading. I get it. It's old school. It won't make the list of trendy new maker space learning. However, it works. A few years ago, I taught 8th grade self-contained. The school librarian and the upper grade teachers had cultivated this love of silent reading. So, when we went to the library, it was like going to a candy store.

4. Let students pick the materials and resources. In design thinking, students work through an ideation phase and then begin building a prototype. I love the idea that they guide not only the concept of what they will create but they also figure out what materials they will use in order to build their prototype. This goes beyond physical products. In digital content, they can choose what applications they will use and what type of media they will work with. When designing an event or a service project, they can determine the venue, the materials, and the resources.

5. Let students choose the strategies. When I think of the most tedious things kids experience in school, there is a high likelihood that they don't get a chance to choose the strategies. Take close reading. The rigid approach says, "use these symbols and follow this recipe." Students focus on doing things the "right way" and they fail to make sense out of the actual text.

6. Let students choose the scaffolding. I remember requiring students to use a set of scaffolding for the research process. A handful of students loved it because they needed it. The rest of the students viewed the scaffolding like a cage. I should have treated the scaffolding as an optional resource that they could access when they found it necessary.

7. Let students choose the format. When possible, allow students to choose the format for their creative work. It might be a video, a podcast, or a blog post.

8. Let students choose the audience. When students define the audience, they are able to clarify what they are doing and how they are going to do it. This honors student agency.

9. Let students choose the groups. This is the most controversial. People will often point out that in the real world, you don't always get to choose your groups. I get that. But when you work on a cool, voluntary collaboration, you often get to choose your groups. In my experience, our most functional groups were the ones where students worked with their friends. At first, they were too social. But then the challenge and the excitement of the tasks kicked in and they were able to tap into their mutual trust and go deeper in their work. While this might not be necessary for every project, it is something teachers can try out.

10. Let students manage the projects. This was the hardest thing for me to let go of. However, I believe that project management is a powerful, transferrable skill. Students need to learn the art of project management. Over time, I have learned to allow students to own the project management and to build their own systems to monitor their progress.

For all the talk of the "guide on the side," the truth is that guides are still guides. Even in a student-centered classroom, the teacher is still the expert. There are times when limiting choices actually increases creative thinking. Students work within the constraints to find solutions that push divergent thinking. Moreover, there are times when students don't have as much prior knowledge in an area and you, as the teacher, will expose them to new ideas, approaches, and content that they might have otherwise ignored.

However, when we incorporate choice, students own the learning process. We honor their agency and empower them to become the life-long learners we want them to be. At some point, they will leave the classroom and they won't have a guide right there by their side. They will have to take charge and make decisions about their own learning. This is why student choice is so critical.

When I embraced the idea of student choice, I had a ton of questions:

What about the standards? What about the curriculum map? What about the test?

Do I have permission to do this? What will my principal think?

What are the dangers in student choice? What about the whole idea of the "paradox of choice?"

If I embrace student choice, won't things get crazy? How do I manage all of this chaos?

How do I assess the learning if students are choosing to do such different things?

Should I try something like a Genius Hour?

Over a decade later, I am still thinking through those ideas. I don't pretend to have all the answers. However, I plan to share what I've learned along the way in a series on student choice.
Here are some resources I've developed that you might find helpful:

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10 Ways to Incorporate Student Choice in Your Classroom

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My kids participate in an amazing hands-on learning experience every summer. It's called home. It's where they write stories, paint pictures, go on expeditions, visit parks, read books, and build things with duct tape and cardboard. For the entire summer, they own the learning process.

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13. IDEAL's Phonological/ Phonemic Awareness Activity Packet

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13. IDEAL's Phonological/ Phonemic Awareness Activity Packet

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IDEAL Education and Consulting, Inc. is an organization focused on global education for inclusion, diversity and equity through accountable leadership in physical therapy and allied healthcare. On their site they have many useful link to activities, ideas, and resources for teachers. One resource I found particularly useful is their educational packet of activities to promote phonemic awareness. It lists such handy ideas for incorporating phonemic awareness opportunities into every aspect of the day from lining up to snack time.

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Reading Rockets is my FAVORITE online resource as I believe it does an excellent job of organizing the world reading. On their site one can find lesson plans, activity lists, videos, presentations, and articles surrounding how to best support the developing mind. On this site, teachers can find resources for many types of learners of varying ages.

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Explore reading basics as well as the key role of background knowledge and motivation in becoming a lifelong reader and learner. Watch our PBS Launching Young Readers series and try our self-paced Reading 101 course to deepen your understanding.

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Epic is another great technological tool and app my day care students use daily. The world of Epic does an excellent job of intriguing students with its plethora of book choices. I especially love this app because it also has a read-aloud option which helps my struggling readers. I believe that when students are read to and hear how other’s express the words they read, they gain skills needed to master phonemic awareness and reading those big words on their own. I think that this app is also great for elementary aged school children and auditorial as well as visual learners.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.