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https://www.kodable.com/learn/choice-board-examples-for-remote-learning/

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Check out the 7 choice board examples for remote learning that you'll be rushing to try with your students!

Choice boards give students the freedom to decide on learning activities that interest them and they're perfect for learning in-class or at a distance. Let's get started with the choice board examples for remote learning below!

"When remote learning started, I began making choice boards every week around a certain topic of a book, or tying into what they were doing in class or in the community," says Librarian, Shannon McClintock Miller about using choice boards for remote learning.

There are a lot of ways to set up a choice board for remote learning, depending on how creative you want to be and how much time you have.

Below are 7 choice board examples ranging from short and simple to ultimate creativity.

Bitmoji Virtual Classroom

"Most teachers I know use Google Slides to make choice boards. There are lots of fun templates out there", says Carrie Willis, Technology/STEAM Director from Redlands, CA., "plus, it is fun to add bitmojis to the boards!"

Google Slides are a great option for choice board examples when you want to get creative. If you're not familiar with Google Slides, they work just like Powerpoint, but are all online, so you can easily share it with your class. Google Slides allow complete freedom to get creative with your theme and add your own backgrounds, images, and add links to anywhere.

Virtual Makerspace Choice Board

"I like Google Slides because it's directed while also giving students freedom. It's very contained and students can't click out to something else," said Ms. Miller. Read Ms. Miller's tips for creating a virtual makerspace choice board here.

Tic Tac Toe Choice Board

How to make a choice board with Google Slides

Step 1. Outline your ideas

Get started by mapping your ideas on paper. Think about what theme or learning goals you want your board to center on.

Step 2. Decide what activities you want to include.

Try to include a mix of activities that your kids are familiar with, but also some new items too. You can always change it up later.

Step 3. Sketch it on paper

Think about the way you want to organize information. The way your board is organized helps students find an activity to meet their learning goals quickly. Here are some ideas:

Activity type - robotics, coding, drawing, building

Learning concept - counting, reading, science

Theme - outside, animals, oceans, space, family

"Virtual classroom" with activities are organized like they would be in a real room

Step 4. Make the Choice Board Slide

When you're ready, set up a slide with the same layout that you sketched on paper. Add text boxes to label each of the areas or activities. To add a text box, go to "Insert" then "Text box". I used a table to make my tic-tac-toe board.

Give your students direction by adding images they're used to seeing. They'll know what to expect when they click on the activity if they see the app icon, character, or book cover they already know.

PRO TIP! You can search for images to add to your choice board directly inside Google Slides.

Finally, add links to each of your activities by selecting the images, then clicking the insert link button on the menu.

When you're finished, you can share the link to your slides with your class, or you can save the slide as a PDF and all the links will be clickable.

All About Dinosaurs Seesaw Choice Board

Seesaw is a great place to add your choice board so that you can easily collect student responses and your kids can easily interact with the activities.

Seesaw's Community library has tons of choice board examples for you to choose from. The example above focuses on dinosaurs and allows students to decide what part of the dinosaur they want to learn about, as well as what activity they want to do. Then, students are required to label each part of the dinosaur to demonstrate their knowledge, all within the Seesaw activity.

How to embed links in a Seesaw activity

In my tic-tac-toe example from Google Slides, I could export the final design as a PDF, then upload it to Seesaw and all the links would still work for my students to click on. See how here. See more Seesaw choice bard examples that include links here.

Kodable Bingo Seesaw Choice Board

Bingo is another style of choice board that is easy to use with your students. Samantha Selikoff, technology teacher in New Jersey shared her design for Kodable Bingo earlier this summer. Using the Seesaw activity creator, it is easy to create the bingo design for kids to complete on their own.

Step 1. Create the bingo board in Word, Google Docs, or any editing tool you're comfortable with. Perhaps give Google Slides a try!

Step 2 Take a screenshot and add it to your Seesaw activity using the image upload option.

Step 3 Add dauber shapes for students to add to their completed board.

Change the color and transparency by using the styling tools below the shape. Duplicate the shape 10-15 times.

Symbaloo Choice Board

If you're looking for a simple solution to direct student learning. Symbaloo is a fast and easy way to set up choice boards for remote learning this school year.

The no-frills interface uses a simple grid, but also allows customizations like backgrounds and custom colors. You can add links to all your relevant activities as bookmarks or shortcuts for your class.

It is important to think about how you want to organize the information on your choice board so that it is easy for a student to figure out where to go. Both teachers chose to include sections for each of their classes in the above examples, while also including a section that links to the "approved" activities directly.

Learn more about using Symbaloo for your remote learning choice boards in their instructional video here.

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7 Choice Board Examples for Remote Learning | Kodable

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Check out the 7 choice board examples for remote learning that you'll be rushing to try with your students! Choice boards give students the freedom to decide on learning activities that interest them and they're perfect for learning in-class or at a distance. Let's get started with the choice board examples for remote learning below!

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https://www.smore.com/epxnd-digital-choice-boards

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https://www.smore.com/epxnd-digital-choice-boards

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https://www.smore.com/epxnd-digital-choice-boards

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https://www.fttechtips.com/blog/student-choice-boards-for-dok

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Make a copy/ save as to edit
https://leonschools-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/westm1_leonschools_net/EUl-F5ZzId1Gi3rcArih-U4By2vJGBM3oiMfWR3hoD7KFg

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Middle School Digital Choice Board by Slidesgo .pptx

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Free Templates for Google Slides or Powerpoint

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Free Templates for Google Slides or Powerpoint

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https://slidesmania.com/tag/choice-boards/

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Free Choice Boards templates for Google Slides or PowerPoint - SlidesMania

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Editable Digital Choice Boards for Google Drive or PowerPoint. Choice boards are a great way to allow student choice during classroom activities and you can use them for any subject.

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Provide rigorous instruction
https://www.winstonk12.org/10/Content2/834

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75 Digital Tools and Apps Teachers Can Use to Support Formative Assessment in the Classroom

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75 Digital Tools and Apps Teachers Can Use to Support Formative Assessment in the Classroom

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https://www.nwea.org/blog/2021/75-digital-tools-apps-teachers-use-to-support-classroom-formative-assessment/

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There is no shortage of formative assessment strategies, techniques, and tools available to teachers who use formative instructional practice in their classrooms. Here is an extensive list of 75 digital tools, apps, and platforms that can help you and your students use formative assessment to elicit evidence of learning. We didn't just add any old tool to this list. Here are the criteria we used for those that made the cut:

Supports formative instructional strategies and ways to activate learners to be resources for themselves and peers

Is free or awful close to it (under $10 per year, where possible)

Allows both students and teachers to take the activator role when possible (sometimes teachers need to get things started)

Before you dig into the tools, I encourage you to spend some time thinking about exactly what you want to accomplish with your students. "How to pick the right digital tool: Start with your learning goal" by Erin Beard can help you wrap your head around goals and guide you in choosing the best tool for the task. "27 easy formative assessment strategies for gathering evidence of student learning" can help you decide what strategies work best for you and your students.

Record audio and video

Create quizzes, polls, and surveys

1. Crowdsignal Lets you create online polls, quizzes, and questions. Students can use smartphones, tablets, and computers to provide their answers, and information can be culled for reports.

2. Edulastic Allows you to make standards-aligned assessments and get instant feedback.

3. FreeOnlineSurveys Helps you create surveys, quizzes, forms, and polls.

4. Gimkit Lets you write real-time quizzes. And it was designed by a high school student!

5. Kahoot! A game-based classroom response system that lets you create quizzes using internet content.

6. MicroPoll Helps you create polls, embed them into websites, and analyze responses.

7. Naiku Lets you write quizzes students can answer using their mobile devices.

8. Obsurvey Designed to make surveys, polls, and questionnaires.

9. Poll Everywhere Lets you create a feedback poll or ask questions and see results in real time. Allows students to respond in various ways. With open-ended questions, you can capture data and spin up tag clouds to aggregate responses.

10. Poll Maker Offers unique features, like allowing multiple answers to one question.

11. ProProfs Helps you make quizzes, polls, and surveys.

12. Quia Lets you create games, quizzes, surveys, and more. Access a database of existing quizzes from other educators.

13. Quizalize Helps you create quizzes and homework.

14. Quizizz Guides you through designing quizzes and lets you include students in the quiz-writing process.

15. Quizlet Lets you make flashcards, tests, quizzes, and study games that are mobile friendly.

16. Survey Hero Designed to build questionnaires and surveys.

17. SurveyMonkey Helpful for online polls and surveys.

18. SurveyPlanet Also helpful for online polls and surveys.

19. Triventy Lets you create quizzes students take in real time using individual devices.

20. Yacapaca Helps you write and assign quizzes.

21. Zoho Survey Allows you to make mobile-friendly surveys and see results in real time.

Brainstorm, mind map, and collaborate

Present, engage, and inspire

Generate word or tag clouds

1. EdWordle Generates word clouds from any entered text to help aggregate responses and facilitate discussion. Word clouds are pictures composed of a cloud of smaller words that form a clue to the topic.

2. Tagxedo Allows you to examine student consensus and facilitate dialogues.

3. Wordables Helps you elicit evidence of learning or determine background knowledge about a topic.

4. WordArt Includes a feature that allows the user to make each word an active link to connect to websites, including YouTube.

Get real-time feedback

Foster family communication

1. Remind Lets you text students and stay in touch with families.

2. Seesaw Helps you improve family communication and makes formative assessment easy, while students can use the platform to document their learning.

3. Voxer Lets you send recordings so families can hear how their students are doing, students can chat about their work, and you can provide feedback.

Strengthen teacher-to-student or student-to-student communication

Keep the conversation going with live chats

1. Yo Teach A backchannel site great for keeping the conversation going with students.

2. Chatzy Supports live, online chats in a private setting.

Create and store documents or assignments

1. Google Forms A Google Drive app that allows you to create documents students can collaborate on in real time using smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

2. Piazza Lets you upload lectures, assignments, and homework; pose and respond to student questions; and poll students about class content. This tool is better suited for older students as it mimics post-secondary class instructional formats.

Learn more

There are several resources for learning more about formative assessment and responsive instruction strategies. Consider our formative practices workshops, where school and district teams can gain a better understanding of the role formative practice plays in instruction and the four foundational practices to use in the classroom. Or for a quick start, download our eBook "Making it work: How formative assessment can supercharge your practice."

Jump in, try new tools and methods, and have fun!

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75 digital tools and apps teachers can use to support formative assessment in the classroom

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We've compiled an extensive list of 75 digital tools that can help teachers use formative assessment to elicit evidence of student learning.

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Could be used for a variety of topics/subjects
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Bt77nPHwM2jD6Jbq0Tcopjd4lE_6-pBXziW0-pKAYbU/edit?usp=sharing

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Could be used for a variety of subjects/topics
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Bt77nPHwM2jD6Jbq0Tcopjd4lE_6-pBXziW0-pKAYbU/edit?usp=sharing

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https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Format/All-Google,All-Easel,Internet-Activities/Search:free%20digital%20math%20choice%20boards

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Free Digital Math Choice Boards Teaching Resources | TPT

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Browse free digital math choice boards resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources.

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https://theartofeducation.edu/2013/01/14/how-to-use-choice-boards-in-the-elementary-art-room/

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I recently wrote an article about how to use a choice board with middle school students. I'm here today to show you an elementary art history choice board. This art history choice board was created for students to use if they finish an art project before the class is ready to start the next project.

The choice board is attached to a bulletin board in the back of the classroom. Use a Rubbermaid container for each activity. Label each one with the image that matches the multiple intelligences and the name of the activity inside. Students can go over to the choice board and pick an activity and a Rubbermaid. Since there are two activities for each square, you have the option to put one or two activities in each container. These activities are intended to be independent, additional activities for students to work on once they complete their art projects.
Have you ever used a choice board in your classroom? What other topics would you like to see in a choice board? I love to hear your ideas!
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

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A Choice Board for the Elementary Art Room - The Art of Education University

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I recently wrote an article about how to use a choice board with middle school students. I'm here today to show you an elementary art history choice board. This art history choice board was created for students to use if they finish an art project before the class is ready to start the next project.

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Could be used for practically any subject/topic
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Bt77nPHwM2jD6Jbq0Tcopjd4lE_6-pBXziW0-pKAYbU/edit?usp=sharing

# data[].attributes.body
Could be used for a variety of topics/subjects
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1Bt77nPHwM2jD6Jbq0Tcopjd4lE_6-pBXziW0-pKAYbU/edit?usp=sharing

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Create Digital Choice Boards Using the Platform of your Choice 

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Create Digital Choice Boards Using the Platform of your Choice 

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Google Slides
PowerPoint
Slidesgo
Jamboard
Padlet

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Digital Choice Boards allow you to:

vary the length or quantity of the assignment.

extend or curtail the duration of the assignment.

change the language of the assignment.

scaffold the learning activity from hard to medium to easy.

compact the activity and teach only what they don't know.

give them learning activities that let them perform the same learning objective with multiple mediums like summarizing a story they have read through narrative, drama, song, poetry, art, or design.

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20 Digital Tools for Classroom for Innovative Teachers and Students

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20 Digital Tools for Classroom for Innovative Teachers and Students

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https://graphicmama.com/blog/digital-tools-for-classroom/

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20 Digital Tools for Classroom for Innovative Teachers & Students

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A selection of digital tools for classroom for making infographics, presentations, videos, animations, as well as tools for assessments, quizzes, and more!

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Engaging and Empowering Students Through Choice

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Engaging and Empowering Students Through Choice

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Interdisciplinary ideas

Engaging and Empowering Students Through Choice

Student voice and choice is a term that emphasizes the value of personalized learning. According to Herold ( 2019), when it comes to personalized learning, "the idea is to customize the learning experience for each student according to his or her unique skills, abilities, preferences, background, and experiences." Anstee's 2011 book Differentiation Pocketbook focuses on choice enhancing the trust and respect between student and teacher while creating student ownership and engagement, which leads to increased motivation and success when clear parameters are established.

Background on choice boards

Choice boards are one of the simplest ways to implement voice and choice in the classroom by exposing students to a range of topics that extend their learning or provide various performance task options for the same concept or standard. In my sixth-grade science classroom, I provide all students with the common knowledge of a unit; then students have three options of how they'd like to apply and extend their learning. Over the year, some options connect to nonfiction reading, informative writing, creative writing, application to science-themed fiction books, data analysis, connection to a historical event, engineering, and art (see Figure 1; see also Intro to Newton's Science Laws and The Ecology Choice Board in Supplemental Materials). For example, to start the year, we learned about the metric system. Students then apply their knowledge by either learning about echolocation or about the metric system in various Olympic sports, or collecting data on the distance that paper airplanes fly. Students have two weeks to complete the assignment and are required to complete at least one option. Many students choose more than one to complete.

Some of the options also do pre-teaching for upcoming units, such as the topic of echolocation, which comes up in our plate tectonics unit when they learn about Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen's mapping of the Atlantic Ocean's seafloor. This approach of connecting current units to future units has the added benefit of providing students with opportunities to be leaders. For example, one of the choice board options in the geology unit was to learn about glaciers. Later on, in a plate tectonics unit, those students provided the class with an overview of glaciers, which helped when we discussed how glacial striations across continents serve as evidence for the theory of continental drift.

Introducing a choice board to students

At the start of any given unit, I show the choice board as a long-term assignment (which we call the unit's "Challenge by Choice"), and I share the link to each assignment option in Google Classroom. I then explain which choices students could begin now and which ones they need to wait for as they acquire more background knowledge. Having the extension work during the unit, rather than at the end, has enhanced students' engagement, our discussions, and student understanding of the unit. Students also enjoy sharing their learning experiences with others who choose the same topic. For example, for those who chose to learn about Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii in the plate tectonics unit by watching a documentary and exploring an interactive website, I heard chatter at the start of class between students about one of the dramatic parts of the documentary. There's always a buzz about the choices, which is enhanced by beginning class with a quick check-in about progress on their work. This also becomes a time for students to offer suggestions for others who chose the same topic.

In the 2020-2021 school year, when I taught much of the year as a mix of in-person and virtual learning, choice boards were particularly effective. Choice boards allowed students much-needed flexibility, individuality, and an opportunity to extend their learning in various directions. Choice boards could be an in-class activity, homework assignment, or long-term assignment throughout a unit. I used one choice board, the environmental issue action project, as a combination of all three. Students researched an environmental problem of choice, then chose to show what they learned through an informative art project that would be displayed, to write about the problem and their action ideas to stakeholders, or to do direct action about the issue. Choice was already built into which environmental topic they chose, but the choice board reflected various approaches to the final product of the unit. See the universal rubric for the choice board, which emphasizes the depth of knowledge and connecting concepts to our unit of study, in Supplemental Materials.

Enhancing student engagement

Anstee ( 2011) emphasized avoiding extensions that are more of the same, or MOTS as he calls them, and instead focuses on HOTS, or higher order thinking skills. To improve engagement and ownership, it's vital that students feel these assignments are a valuable use of their time. Research by Thibodeaux, Harapnuik, and Cummings ( 2019) found that perceived ownership from choice, especially when seen as authentic learning, is an indicator of students' engagement with their learning environment. In a survey of my 92 sixth-grade students about the use of choice boards in science class, 96% reported positive experiences with choice boards. Overall, the options create excitement about learning, and students voiced that they felt empowered by having a choice. These quotes from my student survey reflect the majority of students' answers:

"I like that I could choose what I wanted to do. I also liked learning something that went beyond class, like learning about glaciers-which are cool."

In this crazy world right now and with many things that I do not have my say in, this gave me a chance to make my decision."

"I like the variety, and how it has the major idea of what we are mainly learning about, but it also has an interesting alternative topic."

"It made me feel independent. I liked that when I finished one, I could do another."

Although students were only required to do one of the options, many students did more than one assignment. Out of the three choices for our Earth's history unit, 55% of the students completed one option, 32% completed two options, and 13% completed all three options. Although most students liked the independent pacing of two weeks to complete the choice-board assignment, a few students struggled with time management. For students who struggled, I chunked the assignment into smaller due dates. I also helped struggling students reflect on their interests and strengths before choosing a topic.

When designing the choice board for each unit, I worked with the other sixth-grade science teacher to develop ideas, which led to a variety of approaches to assignments. Because we collaborated on the choice boards, all students in the grade were working on the same assignments, which added to the conversations students were having gradewide about what they were learning in science. Using the same choice boards also created continuity across our classrooms in terms of learning experiences and unit organization.

Out of all the benefits, the most significant is that voice and choice sets a positive tone in the classroom that embraces the endless application of learning and students feeling valued as individuals. For example, one of the Earth's history unit options was making a visual timeline of Earth's past. Figure 2 shows how an art-loving student visualized the sequence of events. Figure 3 depicts Earth's history as a road trip that begins at Santa Monica Pier in California (when Earth formed) and ends at our middle school in Maine (current day). Each student conceptualized the events but did it in their own way after reflecting on their strengths. There is no presentation for most choice boards, but when students create something like a model, story, or song, I like to give them the option to show the class. When the student presented her map, she talked about how much math this took to complete and pointed out how crowded her road trip became around New York. When presenting, students become the teachers, and you can see their pride in how their work reflects their strengths, individuality, and knowledge of the topic. *

Figure 2

A student's visual of Earth's history through art integration.

Figure 3

A student's visual of the Earth's history through math integration.

Katie Coppens ( contactkatiecoppens@gmail.com ) is a science teacher at Falmouth Middle School in Falmouth, Maine. She is the author of NSTA's Creative Writing in Science: Activities that Inspire and various science-themed books for children including The Acadia Files chapter book series, Geology Is a Piece of Cake , and Earth Will Survive, but We May Not.

References

Anstee, P. 2011. Differentiation pocketbook. Hampshire, England: Teachers' Pocketbooks.

Herold, B. 2019, November 5. What is personalized learning? (Special Report). Education Week. www.edweek.org/technology/what-is-personalized-learning/2019/11

Thibodeaux, T., D. Harapnuik, and C. Cummings. 2019. Student perceptions of the influence of choice, ownership, and voice in learning and the learning environment. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 31 (1): 50-62.

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Engaging and Empowering Students Through Choice

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Interdisciplinary ideas Student voice and choice is a term that emphasizes the value of personalized learning. According to Herold ( 2019), when it comes to personalized learning, "the idea is to customize the learning experience for each student according to his or her unique skills, abilities, preferences, background, and experiences."

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https://www.lee.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001912/Centricity/Domain/2042/ScienceChoiceBoards.pdf

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As many schools are experiencing closings due to the COVID-19 virus, distance and digital learning is going to be the way some schools are going to continue learning. Although this is great, it is not feasible for every student, family, or situation. There have been so many educators who have banded together and shared resources for free to help with these difficult and unprecedented times, and it is a blessing for teachers and parents. I always share all of my resources for free on my blog, but thought I would put together a couple of simple choice boards for students to have at home. One is a "plugged" version using different technology resources and the other is an "unplugged" version that is technology free.

If you end of completing any of the activities, I would love to see what you, your students, or your own kids created! Simply share in the comments at the bottom of this post.

The bonus third version is titled "Every Parent's Dream" because it contains cleaning tasks that I would love for my own children to tackle because they are some of my least favorite chores. I always tell my kids they are part of this family and live in this house, so they must contribute by helping with things around the house. So why not present it in the same fun way as the other activities so they think they are fun as well?! I am hoping to have my own kiddos do at least one of these things weekly. Maybe daily to curb any fighting. We will see where the wind blows us each day. :)

As I stated above, I would love to see what you did/created! Specifically, I am interested in everyone's leas desirable chore. This could be entertaining!

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As many schools are experiencing closings due to the COVID-19 virus, distance and digital learning is going to be the way some schools are going to continue learning. Although this is great, it is not feasible for every student, family, or situation.

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https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Choice-Boards-with-Google-Slides-for-Distance-Learning-1560547#:~:text=About%20the%20Writing%20Choice%20Boards,and%20without%20a%20colored%20background.

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Need a new writing center for your writing workshop time? This resource contains 7 writing choice boards that can be used in grades 3-5 and are perfect for writing centers.
Note: This resource now includes digital choice boards for Google Slides. See page 3 for the details and link to access the digital choice boards. About the Writing Choice Boards
Each choice board contains 15 prompts per genre for the students to complete independently or with groups. That is a total of 105 writing prompts in a variety of genres!

The writing choice boards are available in two formats: with and without a colored background.
The writing genres are:
Personal Narrative

Fictional Narrative

Opinion/Persuasive

Informational

Finish it! Finishing story starters or titles in all genres.

Response to Literature

Response to Informational

I have also included two different rubrics if you wish to score your students' writing.
****Want more digital choice boards? Click the links below to see math digital choice boards! - 3rd Grade Math Choice Boards with Google Slides Version - 4th Grade Math Choice Boards with Google Slides Version - 5th Grade Math Choice Boards with Google Slides Version Using the Writing Choice Boards
The choice boards could be used for

Independent work

Literacy centers

Writing workshop time

Early Finishers

Homework

Related Products
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* QR Codes Math Task Cards: Writing Decimals

* Writing Paragraphs Practice Book {Differentiated}

* Writing Prompts {Seasonal Bundle}

* Writing Test Prep {Preparation for State Writing Assessments}

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Writing Choice Boards *with Google Slides for Distance Learning

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Need a new writing center for your writing workshop time? This resource contains 7 writing choice boards that can be used in grades 3-5 and are perfect for writing centers.Note: This resource now includes digital choice boards for Google Slides. See page 3 for the details and link to access the digi...

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https://www.fttechtips.com/blog/student-choice-boards-for-dok

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https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:google+slide+choice+board/Price-Range/Free/Type-of-Resource/Activities?ref=filter/resourcetype/top

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Google Slide Choice Board Teaching Resources | TPT

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Browse google slide choice board resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources.

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5 Reasons to Use Digital Choice Boards in the Classroom

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5 Reasons to Use Digital Choice Boards in the Classroom

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https://www.thetechieteacher.net/2017/10/5-reasons-to-use-digital-choice-boards.html

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5 Reasons to Use DIGITAL Choice Boards in the Classroom

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5 Reasons to Use Digital Choice Boards in the Classroom: Personalize learning with digital choice boards and activities. Great way to integrate technology into the classroom while providing a rich learning experience for a variety of learners. Digital differentiation! Think of it like a hyperdoc or…

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Essential Apps for the Physical and Digital Classroom

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Essential Apps for the Physical and Digital Classroom

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https://www.edutopia.org/article/essential-apps-physical-and-digital-classroom

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Essential Apps for the Physical and Digital Classroom

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Teacher-recommended tools for promoting collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and equity whether students are in school or at home.

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Engaging and Empowering Students Through Choice

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Engaging and Empowering Students Through Choice

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https://www.nsta.org/science-scope/science-scope-septemberoctober-2021/engaging-and-empowering-students-through-choice

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Interdisciplinary ideas

Engaging and Empowering Students Through Choice

Student voice and choice is a term that emphasizes the value of personalized learning. According to Herold ( 2019), when it comes to personalized learning, "the idea is to customize the learning experience for each student according to his or her unique skills, abilities, preferences, background, and experiences." Anstee's 2011 book Differentiation Pocketbook focuses on choice enhancing the trust and respect between student and teacher while creating student ownership and engagement, which leads to increased motivation and success when clear parameters are established.

Background on choice boards

Choice boards are one of the simplest ways to implement voice and choice in the classroom by exposing students to a range of topics that extend their learning or provide various performance task options for the same concept or standard. In my sixth-grade science classroom, I provide all students with the common knowledge of a unit; then students have three options of how they'd like to apply and extend their learning. Over the year, some options connect to nonfiction reading, informative writing, creative writing, application to science-themed fiction books, data analysis, connection to a historical event, engineering, and art (see Figure 1; see also Intro to Newton's Science Laws and The Ecology Choice Board in Supplemental Materials). For example, to start the year, we learned about the metric system. Students then apply their knowledge by either learning about echolocation or about the metric system in various Olympic sports, or collecting data on the distance that paper airplanes fly. Students have two weeks to complete the assignment and are required to complete at least one option. Many students choose more than one to complete.

Some of the options also do pre-teaching for upcoming units, such as the topic of echolocation, which comes up in our plate tectonics unit when they learn about Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen's mapping of the Atlantic Ocean's seafloor. This approach of connecting current units to future units has the added benefit of providing students with opportunities to be leaders. For example, one of the choice board options in the geology unit was to learn about glaciers. Later on, in a plate tectonics unit, those students provided the class with an overview of glaciers, which helped when we discussed how glacial striations across continents serve as evidence for the theory of continental drift.

Introducing a choice board to students

At the start of any given unit, I show the choice board as a long-term assignment (which we call the unit's "Challenge by Choice"), and I share the link to each assignment option in Google Classroom. I then explain which choices students could begin now and which ones they need to wait for as they acquire more background knowledge. Having the extension work during the unit, rather than at the end, has enhanced students' engagement, our discussions, and student understanding of the unit. Students also enjoy sharing their learning experiences with others who choose the same topic. For example, for those who chose to learn about Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii in the plate tectonics unit by watching a documentary and exploring an interactive website, I heard chatter at the start of class between students about one of the dramatic parts of the documentary. There's always a buzz about the choices, which is enhanced by beginning class with a quick check-in about progress on their work. This also becomes a time for students to offer suggestions for others who chose the same topic.

In the 2020-2021 school year, when I taught much of the year as a mix of in-person and virtual learning, choice boards were particularly effective. Choice boards allowed students much-needed flexibility, individuality, and an opportunity to extend their learning in various directions. Choice boards could be an in-class activity, homework assignment, or long-term assignment throughout a unit. I used one choice board, the environmental issue action project, as a combination of all three. Students researched an environmental problem of choice, then chose to show what they learned through an informative art project that would be displayed, to write about the problem and their action ideas to stakeholders, or to do direct action about the issue. Choice was already built into which environmental topic they chose, but the choice board reflected various approaches to the final product of the unit. See the universal rubric for the choice board, which emphasizes the depth of knowledge and connecting concepts to our unit of study, in Supplemental Materials.

Enhancing student engagement

Anstee ( 2011) emphasized avoiding extensions that are more of the same, or MOTS as he calls them, and instead focuses on HOTS, or higher order thinking skills. To improve engagement and ownership, it's vital that students feel these assignments are a valuable use of their time. Research by Thibodeaux, Harapnuik, and Cummings ( 2019) found that perceived ownership from choice, especially when seen as authentic learning, is an indicator of students' engagement with their learning environment. In a survey of my 92 sixth-grade students about the use of choice boards in science class, 96% reported positive experiences with choice boards. Overall, the options create excitement about learning, and students voiced that they felt empowered by having a choice. These quotes from my student survey reflect the majority of students' answers:

"I like that I could choose what I wanted to do. I also liked learning something that went beyond class, like learning about glaciers-which are cool."

In this crazy world right now and with many things that I do not have my say in, this gave me a chance to make my decision."

"I like the variety, and how it has the major idea of what we are mainly learning about, but it also has an interesting alternative topic."

"It made me feel independent. I liked that when I finished one, I could do another."

Although students were only required to do one of the options, many students did more than one assignment. Out of the three choices for our Earth's history unit, 55% of the students completed one option, 32% completed two options, and 13% completed all three options. Although most students liked the independent pacing of two weeks to complete the choice-board assignment, a few students struggled with time management. For students who struggled, I chunked the assignment into smaller due dates. I also helped struggling students reflect on their interests and strengths before choosing a topic.

When designing the choice board for each unit, I worked with the other sixth-grade science teacher to develop ideas, which led to a variety of approaches to assignments. Because we collaborated on the choice boards, all students in the grade were working on the same assignments, which added to the conversations students were having gradewide about what they were learning in science. Using the same choice boards also created continuity across our classrooms in terms of learning experiences and unit organization.

Out of all the benefits, the most significant is that voice and choice sets a positive tone in the classroom that embraces the endless application of learning and students feeling valued as individuals. For example, one of the Earth's history unit options was making a visual timeline of Earth's past. Figure 2 shows how an art-loving student visualized the sequence of events. Figure 3 depicts Earth's history as a road trip that begins at Santa Monica Pier in California (when Earth formed) and ends at our middle school in Maine (current day). Each student conceptualized the events but did it in their own way after reflecting on their strengths. There is no presentation for most choice boards, but when students create something like a model, story, or song, I like to give them the option to show the class. When the student presented her map, she talked about how much math this took to complete and pointed out how crowded her road trip became around New York. When presenting, students become the teachers, and you can see their pride in how their work reflects their strengths, individuality, and knowledge of the topic. *

Figure 2

A student's visual of Earth's history through art integration.

Figure 3

A student's visual of the Earth's history through math integration.

Katie Coppens ( contactkatiecoppens@gmail.com ) is a science teacher at Falmouth Middle School in Falmouth, Maine. She is the author of NSTA's Creative Writing in Science: Activities that Inspire and various science-themed books for children including The Acadia Files chapter book series, Geology Is a Piece of Cake , and Earth Will Survive, but We May Not.

References

Anstee, P. 2011. Differentiation pocketbook. Hampshire, England: Teachers' Pocketbooks.

Herold, B. 2019, November 5. What is personalized learning? (Special Report). Education Week. www.edweek.org/technology/what-is-personalized-learning/2019/11

Thibodeaux, T., D. Harapnuik, and C. Cummings. 2019. Student perceptions of the influence of choice, ownership, and voice in learning and the learning environment. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 31 (1): 50-62.

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Engaging and Empowering Students Through Choice

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Interdisciplinary ideas Student voice and choice is a term that emphasizes the value of personalized learning. According to Herold ( 2019), when it comes to personalized learning, "the idea is to customize the learning experience for each student according to his or her unique skills, abilities, preferences, background, and experiences."

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https://www.nfschools.net/Page/10469

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https://www.northernpolarbears.com/cms/lib/PA09000074/Centricity/Domain/1727/GR5%20Writing%20Choice%20Boards.pdf

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https://lessonsbysandy.com/2020/07/choice-boards-for-the-upper-grades.html

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I previously posted about using Choice Boards to introduce the Texas 2×2 books to my Kinder, 1st, and 2nd graders. You can read more about that here. I had such fun creating those choice boards with my fellow librarians that I decided to use the same idea to create Choice Boards for the Upper Grades too. I thought my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders would be able to handle the independent nature of the activities and I could weave in a review of the skills they are doing in their classroom as well.

As I started to plan things out, I had a few features that I knew I wanted to be consistent with all the Choice Boards for the Upper Grades. First of all, each board would start with a book (of course, right?!) That could be a book you read in real time if you are able to have a synchronous learning time. It could be an asynchronous, pre-recorded version of you reading the book (depending upon what publishers do in the fall in regards to allowing recorded read-alouds.) It could also be linking to a video that's already out there by the author, illustrator, or publisher. Even though I put a book on each of the Choice Boards, you can really switch it out with any book that you have that works with the skills on the board. This makes each board very editable to fit your students and resources that you have.

I also knew that I wanted each Choice Board to have a STEAM activity, drawing and/or arts-n-crafts activity, some sort of typing practice, and a coding option. The other boxes would be used to review specific lessons or skills that the students were already covering in their classroom. My thinking is that if I could show the same information in a different way, it might help them remember and if nothing else, give them additional practice on those skills.

Now, we are going to be starting this year virtually for the first 3 weeks (at least), but these Choice Boards can be used for in person learning as well. I am a part of the Special's rotation, and have 50-minute classes, and see each group of kids every six days. I realize that I packed WAY more than I will have time for when we do go back to in-person teaching, but I figure the kids could continue to work on the Choice Boards throughout the week on their own time. 🙂

So here are the Choice Boards for the Upper Grades that I have created so far.

First I knew I needed to do one on Digital Citizenship. This is always important to teach, but even more so during this crazy distance learning time! (If you would like a copy of the Digital Citizenship Choice Board, click here.) In my board, I did use the wonderful Digital Citizenship Trivia Game by The Techie Teacher. I made some tweaks to the questions to match the topics I covered in my classroom.

I also wanted to introduce this year's Texas Bluebonnet books and encourage them to participate in our Virtual Bluebonnet Wall of Fame. You can read more about that on my next blog post! (If you would like a copy of the Texas Bluebonnet Choice Board, click here.)

One additional lesson I do pretty early on in the "normal" school year is on eBooks. I am planning on recording videos to show students the steps on how to navigate to, log in, and read the ebooks on each of the sites. I don't have them done just yet as we are in the middle of changing our library websites to google sites. I want to be able to record the "new look" of the steps in the videos so I will be doing those in the next few weeks. (If you would like a copy of the eBooks Choice Board, click here.)

I also always do an introduction/review of the fiction genres in our chapter book area. I give them time to explore each genre and give the a bookmark to write down the titles & call numbers of books that look interesting within each genre. This helps to build their "I want to read next" list. I usually follow this up with a lesson on Goal Setting, and encourage them to try and read different genres throughout the year. You can read more about Goal Setting here. (If you would like a copy of the Fiction Genres Choice Board, click here.)

I also do a fun investigation of the Non-Fiction section and introduce/review the Dewey Decimal System in a game format. I give them time to explore the section and write notes on the types of books they found in each area. Then we play a Dewey game I created on Factile.com. ( If you don't know about PlayFactile.com you totally need to check it out! You can create your own Jeopardy game with any type of skill you want to review.) (If you would like a copy of the Non-Fiction Genres Choice Board, click here.)

In October, I usually do a Storybook Pumpkin or Potato Patch activity with the kids. You can read more about that here. I'm not too sure what we will be doing in October, whether we will still be virtual, in person, or some hybrid of the two. Regardless of how we are teaching, I do plan on encouraging kids to participate in this super fun activity. (If you would like a copy of the Storybook Pumpkin Patch Choice Board, click here.)

Well, that's all I've created so far. I am currently still working on finishing Choice Boards for Databases, Elements of a Story, and Elements of Poetry. I will post those as well as any others I create as an updated blog. I would love to hear your ideas or suggestions for other Choice Boards for the upper grades. What other lessons do you plan on doing with 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

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Choice Boards for the Upper Grades - Lessons by Sandy

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I previously posted about using Choice Boards to introduce the Texas 2×2 books to my Kinder, 1st, and 2nd graders. You can read more about that here. I had such fun creating those choice boards with my fellow librarians that I decided to use the same idea to create Choice Boards for the Upper Grades...

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Save a copy to edit
https://leonschools-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/westm1_leonschools_net/EUl-F5ZzId1Gi3rcArih-U4By2vJGBM3oiMfWR3hoD7KFg

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Middle School Digital Choice Board by Slidesgo .pptx

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Read about Multiple Intelligences
https://www.cornerstone.edu/blog-post/what-are-multiple-intelligences-and-how-do-they-affect-learning/

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Gone are the days when teachers could rely on an IQ test to measure a student's intelligence. A recent study involving over 100,000 participants found that no one test can measure how well a person would perform cognitive tasks.[8] Because most intelligence tests give only a two-dimensional picture of a person's mental abilities, they don't always capture a student's full potential.

Based on research from psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and other cognitive disciplines, Dr. Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences was created to better represent the diversity in human intelligence.[4] This theory not only considers traditional learning abilities like math and science skills as markers of intelligence, but it also includes more diverse abilities, such as musical, social, and nature-based skills.

If you want to help students develop cognitive skills in a way that meets them at their strengths and shores up their weaknesses, one of the best ways to do so is through Gardner's multiple intelligence theory. Read on to discover the definition of multiple intelligences and how you can use multiple intelligences in the classroom.

What are Gardner's Multiple Intelligences?

In the past, many held up the IQ test as the "golden standard" for measuring intelligence; however, it does not fully capture all of the ways a child can succeed. Just because a child has poor mathematical skills, for example, doesn't mean that they have impaired artistic or social skills.[5] For this reason, it's long been important for educational researchers to find better ways to measure a person's potential beyond the reading and logical skills that IQ tests measure.[9]

The multiple intelligences theory was created by Dr. Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard University, in 1983. It challenges the then-dominant (and still sometimes prevalent) belief that only linguistic and mathematical skills can define a person's intelligence.[2] Instead, Dr. Gardner proposed eight different skill sets that better grasp the full scope of a child's abilities.[2]

It's important to note, however, that Gardner's multiple intelligences constitute an educational theory and not scientific fact. While many teachers find the theory to be a helpful framework for their curriculum, few studies have been done on whether it is the most accurate model of human intelligence or on its success rate in schools.[15] But from a professional development standpoint, the theory of multiple intelligences is a great reminder for teachers that all students have different strengths and the potential for academic achievement.

The list of Gardner's multiple intelligences includes:

Linguistic intelligence

Logical-mathematical intelligence

Spatial intelligence

Musical intelligence

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence

Naturalistic intelligence

Interpersonal intelligence

Intrapersonal intelligence

Each of these intelligences are relatively independent of one another.[1] This means that a child can be highly proficient in one intelligence and struggle with another. An athlete, for example, could have strong bodily-kinesthetic and spatial intelligence but poor musical intelligence. That's why it's so important to use instructional strategies that involve a variety of these multiple intelligences so every child has the opportunity to learn in a way that works best for them.

Linguistic Intelligence

Linguistic intelligence involves the ability to comprehend words while reading, writing, or speaking. This can include reading and writing in a person's native tongue, but it also involves the ability to learn new languages.

A few activities and skills related to linguistic intelligence include:

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

Logical-mathematical intelligence refers to the ability to use reason and analysis to solve problems. Children with strong logical-mathematical skills are also often skilled at identifying patterns to develop answers to a question.

A few logical-mathematical intelligence skills and activities include:

Spatial Intelligence

Spatial intelligence involves the ability to visualize and manipulate environments. Children with strong spatial intelligence are aware of the space around them and skilled at manipulating it in creative or innovative ways.

Spatial intelligence skills or activities you could use in class include:

Musical Intelligence

Musical intelligence is defined as the ability to appreciate, create, and perform music. It involves not only does sensory musical activities, but also the theoretical side of music, such as composition.

A few musical intelligence skills or activities can include:

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence involves skillfully moving and controlling your body. Children with a strong sense of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence often succeed in hands-on activities rather than theoretical assignments.

If you want to try bodily-kinesthetic intelligence activities in class, a few ideas can include:

Interpersonal Intelligence

Interpersonal intelligence refers to the ability to interact with others in a healthy and meaningful way. Students skilled in interpersonal intelligence can be introverted or extroverted, but they are often good at making and maintaining friendships.

Activities and skills related to interpersonal intelligence include:

Intrapersonal Intelligence

Coinciding in some ways with interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence is defined as the ability to understand and analyze your own emotions, actions, and beliefs. It is closely linked to the social-emotional skill of self-awareness, or developing an understanding of yourself and how others perceive you.

Skills and activities that involve interpersonal intelligence include:

Naturalistic Intelligence

The eighth type of intelligence, naturalistic intelligence, refers to a person's sensitivity to and appreciation for the natural world. Students with naturalistic intelligence often have an affinity for recognizing and interacting with plants and animals.

A few activities or skills related to naturalistic intelligence include:

In addition to these eight types of intelligences, Dr. Gardner considered adding existential intelligence. This would involve a person's ability to understand themselves and the world around them with a philosophical mindset.[10] At this time, however, it is not one of the official intelligences in his theory.

How the Multiple Intelligence Theory Can Help You Reach Struggling Learners

One of the main reasons that Gardner's learning styles can lead to more effective teaching strategies than IQ-based strategies is because the approach is better at reaching children with disabilities. Traditional intelligence tests simplify the complexity of the human brain and can be biased against certain demographics. People with anxiety, for example, generally do poorly on these tests but may otherwise be intelligent.[7]

Using multiple intelligences in the classroom, on the other hand, is proven to help students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.[11] Not all students' strengths are within traditionally valued types of intelligence like reading or math skills. By discovering the intellectual gifts a child already possesses, you can find ways to work with their existing strengths and help slow learners in the classroom.

Additionally, multiple intelligences theory can help teachers see cognitive abilities in a way that better aligns with science than traditional intelligence tests. Even four- and five-year-olds display strengths and weaknesses within different types of intelligence that function independently.[1] When a student struggles with one skill, keeping the multiple intelligences theory in mind can help teachers see a student's potential instead of just their weaknesses.

5 Multiple Intelligence Activities and Tips for Reaching Different Types of Learners

When you use multiple intelligences theory in your school, you can provide every student with differentiated instruction strategies that work with their strengths and weaknesses.[4] Not only can this approach help students improve, but it can also help teachers change their perspective towards slow learners or students with disabilities.

Use these five multiple intelligence activities and strategies to help all children in your class reach their potential:

Try to link all instructional objectives to at least two types of intelligences. If you're teaching students about multiplication tables, for example, you could add visual references or teach children a song about multiplying.[3]

The multiple intelligences theory is connected to multisensory learning, which teaches that children learn better with activities that involve more than one sense.[14] Engage your students' visual, tactile, auditory, and other senses to reach more students.

Incorporate all of the different multiple intelligences at least once a week. Create a weekly checklist with all eight intelligences so you make sure you're using a comprehensive multiple intelligence strategy in class.

When planning interventions for struggling students, discover what their strengths are as connected to the multiple intelligences theory. If a child has strong spatial intelligence but poor linguistic skills, for example, you may be able to use their strengths to teach difficult concepts.

Use multiple intelligence strategies with ELL students, as this can be particularly helpful for teaching concepts in a language other than their native tongue.[13]

Sources:

1. Gardner, H., and Hatch, T. Multiple Intelligences Go to School: Educational Implications of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Educational Researcher, November 1989, 18(8), pp. 4-10.

2. Silver, H., Strong, R., and Perini, M. Integrating Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences. Educational Leadership, September 1997, 55(1), pp. 22-27.

3. Armstrong, T. Multiple Intelligences: Seven Ways to Approach Curriculum. Educational Leadership, November 1994, 52(3), pp. 26-28.

4. Gardner, H. Multiple Intelligences as a Partner in School Improvement. Educational Leadership, September 1997, 55(1), pp. 20-21.

5. Davis, K., Christodoulou, J., Seider, S., and Gardner, H. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence, 2011, New York: Cambridge University Press.

6. Huntsmann, P.R., and O'Loughlin, V.D. Another Nail in the Coffin for Learning Styles? Disparities among Undergraduate Anatomy Students' Study Strategies, Class Performance, and Reported VARK Learning Styles. Anatomical Sciences Education, 2019, 12(1), pp. 6-19.

7. Oostdam, R., and Meijer, J. Influence of test anxiety on measurement of intelligence. Psychology Rep, February 2003, 92(1), pp. 3-20.

8. Hampshire, A., Highfield, R.R., Parkin, B.L., and Owen, A.M. Fractionating Human Intelligence. Neuron, December 2012, 76(6), pp. 1225-1237.

9. Harvard Graduate School of Education. Multiple Intelligences: Challenging the Standard View of Intelligence. Retrieved from harvard.edu: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/projects/multiple-intelligences.

10. Smith, M. Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved from smcdsb.on.ca: https://sts.schools.smcdsb.on.ca/UserFiles/Servers/Server_97729/File/St.Thomas%20Aquinas%20Catholic%20Secondary%20School/Staff%20Links/Ms.Whelton/Gardners%20MI%20by%20Smith.pdf.

11. Gardner, H. The theory of multiple intelligences. Annals of Dyslexia, January 1987, 37(1), pp. 19-35.

12. Denig, S.J. Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles: Two Complementary Dimensions. Retrieved from cbe.ab.ca: http://projects.cbe.ab.ca/central/altudl/FILES/Multiple_Intellegences_Learning_styles.pdf.

13. Beare, K. Multiple Intelligence Activities. Retrieved from thoughtco.com: https://www.thoughtco.com/multiple-intelligence-activities-1211779.

14. Kallenbach, S., and Viens, S. Multiple Intelligences in Practice: Teacher Research Reports from the Adult Multiple Intelligences Study. Retrieved from worlded.org: https://www.worlded.org/WEIInternet/inc/common/_download_pub.cfm?id=16687&lid=3.

15. Waterhouse, L. Multiple Intelligences, the Mozart Effect, and Emotional Intelligence: A Critical Review. Educational Psychologist, 2006, 41(4), pp. 207-225.

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How to Use Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory to Help Struggling Students - Waterford.org

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Gone are the days when teachers could rely on an IQ test to measure a student's intelligence. A recent study involving over 100,000 participants found that no one test can measure how well a person would perform cognitive tasks.[8] Because most intelligence tests give only a two-dimensional picture of a person's mental abilities, they don't always capture a student's full potential.

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Top Ten Learning Tools for the Digital Classroom

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Top Ten Learning Tools for the Digital Classroom

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https://medium.com/teachers-on-fire/top-ten-learning-tools-for-the-digital-classroom-5b3fefc861b3

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These powerful programs support communication, collaboration, creation, curation, and curiosity for learners in any context.

Back to school has never looked like this. Teachers, students, parents, and districts across the globe face an uncertain future as they navigate the experience of learning through a pandemic. Thankfully, schools with a baseline of internet access and...

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Top Ten Learning Tools for the Digital Classroom

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These powerful programs support communication, collaboration, creation, curation, and curiosity for learners in any context. Back to school has never looked like this. Teachers, students, parents, and districts across the globe face an uncertain future as they navigate the experience of learning through a pandemic. Thankfully, schools with a baseline of internet access and...

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https://www.sciencelessonsthatrock.com/blog/digital-choice-boards-for-science

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Have you ever tried out choice boards with your students? I love them because they give students some voice and choice in their learning. Choice boards provide a variety of ways for students to demonstrate they have mastered a concept. Your students that love to write can choose to answer writing prompts, your students that are artistic may choose to create an animated cartoon, and your talkative students may choose to use an online voice recorder to explain what they learned. The possibilities are endless.

If you make your own, here are some options you could include:

Virtual labs

Website review games

YouTube video clips

Listen to a podcast episode

Answer a writing prompt

Fill out a crossword puzzle or concept map

Create a cartoon

Answer a question in an online voice recorder (such as vocaroo)

Take a photograph that represents a science concept

How to grade choice boards:
It is up to you on how many tasks you want students to complete on the choice board and how you will assess them. Grading ideas could include:

Grade for completion

Create a rubric

For virtual labs or online games, you can have students screenshot their high score

Type up questions that go along with videos or podcast episodes

Insert their answers into a Google form

Here is a preview of a choice board I created for cell organelles to give you an idea of how they work:

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Digital Choice Boards for Science - Science Lessons That Rock

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Have you ever tried out choice boards with your students? I love them because they give students some voice and choice in their learning. Choice boards provide a variety of ways for students to demonstrate they have mastered a concept. Your students that love to write can choose to answer writing prompts, your students that ...

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https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Elementary-PE-Choice-Board-EDITABLE-Distance-Learning-5472292

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Wanting an engaging, relevant, and easy to implement routines that promote student choice? Looking for a routine that students can do independently that directly correlates to Alberta's Programs of Study? Want simple one pagers that are ready to print or digitally share AND the option to tailor it to your students?

If you answered yes, then like me you were (a) searching for a way to make distance learning work for you, your students, and their families or (b) looking for engaging, purposeful, and independent tasks for your early finishers.

There are many ways to use choice boards such as for distance learning, early finishers, homework, and centres. I like to use these 3x3 format choice boards to encourage students to accomplish more tasks by playing Tic-Tac-Toe with the choice board. I further motivate students by rewarding them for getting multiple Tic-Tac-Toes. Tic-Tac-Toe works great for in-person and distance learning.
*EDITABLE!
**NO PREP! One pagers make it easy to share digital or hard copies with students and parents.
WHAT'S INCLUDED:

4 Tic-Tac-Toe choice boards

Aligned to the Alberta Program of Study

Elementary Physical Education/Gym concepts and skills

36 total tasks

4 tasks each for (Physical) Activity, Benefits (of physical activity), Cooperation (during physical activity), Doing it (physical activity) daily

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Other Elementary Choice Boards K-3 Choice Board: Kindergarten Choice Boards Grade 1 Choice Boards Grade 2 Choice Boards Grade 3 Choice Boards Template for Choice Boards

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Elementary PE Choice Board EDITABLE | Distance Learning

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Wanting an engaging, relevant, and easy to implement routines that promote student choice? Looking for a routine that students can do independently that directly correlates to Alberta's Programs of Study? Want simple one pagers that are ready to print or digitally share AND the option to tailor it t...

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http://thriveingradefive.com/weekly-writing-choice-boards-the-why-and-how/

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What are Weekly Writing Choice Boards and how will they boost your students' writing skills? Read on to find out!

Do you dread giving your students a writing assignment because you don't want to hear the whining? I've been where you are!

Students become top-notch writers by writing in a wide variety of genres, about many different topics, and this is important... writing all.the.time.

So, my goal in this blog post is to give you practical ideas to help you get those pencils moving in your classroom!

I'd love to send you a sample of my Weekly Writing Choice Boards. Enter your first name and email address below. You'll also become a member of my upper elementary teacher email club!

Why are many students reluctant writers?

There are a million reasons for this but one thing I've noticed over the years is that some students tend to see writing as a chore... a boring academic chore.

I've always worked in lower-income schools and it's the same thing every year. Lower grade teachers are required to push reading and math, so when students come to my 5th grade classroom, they haven't had much experience with writing and it's usually something they don't want to do.

How do I make my students fall in love with writing?

I do this in two ways: Giving Choices and Providing Structure!

We don't jump right into heavy-duty writing at the beginning of the school year. Instead, I assign lots of choice-based writing, i.e. Weekly Writing Choice Boards.

Further into the school year, we move to more structured writing, specifically Five Paragraph Essays.

But I do keep the Weekly Writing Choice Boards going all year for consistency and because students truly enjoy the boards.

Let's Talk About Giving CHOICES...

Engagement is EVERYTHING.

A student who is interested in the lesson is bound to be a better learner than a student who doesn't care.

So, how can we increase engagement in our students? CHOICE

When given options, students immediately have some agency over what they're learning.

They're not being told what to do, they get to decide what to do - this is critical with upper elementary students.

Learners are more excited about learning when they have some decision-making power.

However, giving options doesn't mean saying "do whatever you like," because our students need structure, too.

How can we give them choices while retaining some structure? After all, we have a curriculum to follow, schedules to keep, and administrators to whom we answer.

It can be overwhelming. Still, there are ways to integrate choice into writing curriculum while continuing to meet state standards. If this sounds like too daunting a task, you're in luck, because it's all been done for you here.

What other benefit does choice bring to learning? Higher engagement leads to deeper learning, and more on-task behavior. That means fewer classroom management issues. BOOM.

A writing choice board with relevant, well-thought-out prompts like these will help your students grow as writers and learners.

Incorporate a choice board into your academic day - you'll see the benefits - and so will your students!

How to Create Weekly Writing Choice Boards

All you have to do is create a list format or a grid format, add the writing choices, and make it clear how many assignments you expect from students per week.

The image below shows the Weekly Writing Choice Boards that I create for my students:

Be sure to include a variety of writing choices on your weekly boards, including lists, letters, fiction, nonfiction, opinion, narrative, informative, sequential order writing, and etc.

I would love to share a set of six free Writing Choice Boards with you! Enter your first name and email address below to have the file sent to you right away.

How to Assess Weekly Writing Choice Boards

Once I've given students writing choices and collected their weekly assignments, then I have to assess.

If you are imagining yourself sitting on the couch all weekend grading your students' writing, you can put that out of your mind right now!

Contrary to what our teachers did when we were in school ourselves, you don't need to make a million marks all over your students' papers and correct every single spelling and grammar mistake.

Seriously, when teachers do that, they are spinning their wheels.

Students take one look at their marked up papers and immediately think, "I am a terrible writer. I give up."

If you'd like to read more about how I grade my students' writing, you'll want to visit this post: Tips for Teaching and Grading Five Paragraph Essays.

I grade my students' weekly writing using more of a holistic approach.

First of all, did they complete the required number of writing assignments?

Second, I look at the content of students' writing. Did they stay on topic? Does their writing make sense? Is it engaging? Is it easy to read?

Finally, I assign a grade of 100, 90, 80, 70, or 60. This is quite subjective but I can always back up my grades with why I felt that a particular assignment deserved the grade it received.

This will become second nature to you because you'll be completing this same assessment process every week.

That's all for now, teacher friends! I would love to see your comment below telling us how you use weekly writing choices in your classroom!

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Weekly Writing Choice Boards: The Why and How - Thrive in Grade Five

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What are Weekly Writing Choice Boards and how will they boost your students' writing skills? Read on to find out! Do you dread giving your students a writing assignment because you don't want to hear the whining? I've been where you are!

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16 Strategies for Using Choice Boards in The Classroom

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16 Strategies for Using Choice Boards in The Classroom

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https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/digital-choice-boards/

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contributed by Genially
This is sponsored content
Choice boards are a powerful tool for engaging different kinds of learners and keeping students engaged with lesson content-which means strategies for creating digital choice boards might be useful?

For those just now joining the bandwagon, a choice board is a grid of activities that students can choose from. They are exceptional at promoting active learning and allow teachers to cater to different learning styles and needs at the same time.

How Can I Use Digital Choice Boards Online For Remote Learning and In-Person Classes?

With many classes now given online, many teachers are looking for ways to bring their favorite tool with them by sharing them in class websites, LMSs and video calls. This list of 16 strategies for using choice boards in the classroom also includes ways to use them effectively in the digital classroom for those using a distance learning model.

Click on each number in the infographic here for an explanation of each strategy.

16 Strategies For Using Digital Choice Boards In The Classroom

1. Start Small

You can always add rows or columns for next year's class or the following unit. A 3×1 choice board is better than not having choices!

2. Consider Learning Style Variations

Make sure you have options for visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners whenever possible. All learners will benefit from interacting with lesson materials in different ways.

3. Add Audio Explanations

Adding audio to your choice boards, especially for those shared on online platforms, is a nice way to help students feel you close to them.

4. Choose A Point System (Or Grading/Feedback Approach)

If your activities vary in the amount of effort and time they require, you may wish to assign different point values to each one and have students complete enough activities to reach a determined point value. If all your activities are similarly demanding, you can simply ask students to choose a certain number of total activities to complete.

5. Try Tic-Tac-Toe

One fun way to set up your choice board is as a 3×3 grid where students must perform a set of activities to 'get' Tic-Tac-Toe. You can add a 'Free choice square' in the middle so that students can choose from all the squares for that activity.

6. Keep Everything In The Same Place

You'll reduce clutter and confusion by inserting videos, images, and other resources within your board instead of sending students to external sites. These windows that open up are an example of how to do so.

7. Use Breakout Rooms

Use breakout rooms to guide students through a choice board activity during a live video call class. If working with a standard 3×3 grid, break your activities into 3 groups of three (by rows on the board) and have students choose 1 activity from each group.

Start with row one and write the first activity in the chat before asking students to leave a comment if they want to be in that room. Do this for the first 3 activity options and break students into rooms by looking at their comments. Then, repeat this for the 2nd and 3rd groups of activities. It's a good idea to visit each group and post their task there as a reminder when they're starting.

For additional reading, see What Are Zoom Breakout Rooms?

8. Let Students Create Their Own Choice Boards

Have students create their own: Divide your students into groups of 3-5 students, and have each group create a review activity for your lesson. Then combine their activities into a template like this one to create a choice board that the class can use.

9. Make It A Team-Building Activity

Place students into pairs and ask that they complete the entire board between the two of them. Make sure there's no bullying here! Each student must take on both difficult and easy activities. In a 3×3 board, have each student choose 4 activities and leave out the one they like least.

Read Team-Building Games That Promote Critical Thinking

When creating your lesson plan, reserve 10-15 minutes for students to share their favorite activity when they finish.

11. Get Feedback From Students

In share time have each student tell you which activity they liked the most and which seemed the least interesting to them. Use this feedback to improve your board for coming years or units.

12. Keep It Compelling And Creative

Get creative! Consider assigning social media formats in the board with prompts such as "choose two characters from this book and write 3 tweets for each with responses in the comments from the other character" or "create a 3 square Instagram feed for this historical event." If you're not social media savvy run your idea by a friend or coworker who is!

Teachers who swear by choice boards keep inventing new ways to use them to teach new materials as well as to review lessons. The more you know about how to put together a choice board and how to use them in the classroom, the more return you'll get from your time investment.

You may want to start with a choice board template to save time if you're looking to make a digital choice board. Here's an example of a choice board made from a Genially template, for example:

Other Quick Strategies For Using Digital Choice Boards In The Classroom

13. Organize your content

Keep a list of tasks grouped by theme, topic, standard, or any other concept you'd like. Maybe even tag your curriculum. Then, when you want to create a digital choice board, you already have the ingredients ready. It's like prepping for a meal ahead of time. : )

14. Use Learning Taxonomies

Use each quadrant to represent a level of complexity or Bloom's Taxonomy or by using Bloom's Taxonomy Questions.

15. Use a Google Docs

With more time, you can create beautiful and personalized choice boards with audio, video, unique scoring systems, and more. But in a pinch, a simple Google Doc with a basic table 2 x 2 table is technically a digital choice board and, with the right options given, work well.

You can also fill your choice boards with learning blends-combinations of 'ingredients' designed to promote mastery of content while letting students have agency, choice, and open-ended opportunity for sustained creativity.

A Last Word Regarding Digital Choice Boards In Your Classroom

While it's sometimes said that failing to plan is planning to fail, using digital choice boards in the classroom doesn't have to be perfect. Don't overthink it! Choose your favorite strategies and get started making your choice board! Your students will thank you for giving them creative opportunities to choose how they want to learn.

Teachers who swear by them are inventing new ways to use them to teach new materials as well as to review lessons. The more you know about how to put together a choice board and how to use them in the classroom, the more return you'll get from your time investment.
This is sponsored content. Regardless of sponsorship, it is TeachThought editorial policy to never share content that isn't useful or compelling for educators. You can read more about sponsored content policy here.

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16 Strategies For Using Digital Choice Boards In The Classroom

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contributed by Genially This is sponsored content Choice boards are a powerful tool for engaging different kinds of learners and keeping students engaged with lesson content-which means strategies for creating digital choice boards might be useful? For those just now joining the bandwagon, a choice board is a grid of activities that students can choose from.

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4 Free Digital Choice Boards to Engage, Differentiate, and Empower Your Students

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4 Free Digital Choice Boards to Engage, Differentiate, and Empower Your Students

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https://drjocelynmcdonald.com/2020/12/28/4-free-digital-choice-boards-to-engage-differentiate-and-empower-your-students/

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Implementing student choice is a great way to differentiate your instruction and empower your students to be agents of their learning. One fun way to achieve this goal is through the use of digital choice boards. A digital choice boards is a great instructional strategy to support learning objectives and incorporate student choice. However, many educators may be challenged with instructional design and the creative aspect to bring the "Joy Factor" to the learning activity. Well look no further, SlidesMania is a digital resource available to your rescue!

SlidesMania provides FREE, aesthetically appealing templates that goes beyond presentation use in which they will inspire and spark creativity into your instructional practice. It does not matter if you prefer Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides, SlidesMania templates will make your digital instruction more fun and look like an award winning lesson with these fabulous digital choice board templates:

Planning for Choice

For any learning activity to be effective, the planning process is essential to support positive student outcomes. Consider the following:

Align Activities to Learning Goals & Lesson Objectives

Consider Student Learning Styles

Tier activities for complexity

Allow product options for different digital platforms

Organize Accessible Resources and URL Links

Use this planning template to help you plan your choice activities:

During the planning process be sure to be explicit with instructions or expectations for the activities. You can design the slides to insert images, audio, videos, or link resources. Also, think about how you would like your student to submit evidence of their work. Although the activities may be given on one slide, consider linking to other third party tools to check for understanding. This could be a link to a Google Form, Padlet, Jamboard, or maybe it can direct your student back your learning management system or application you may be using to manage your digital classroom (ie. Schoology, Google Classroom, itsLearning, Microsoft Teams, or Canvas).

Bring the "Show" to your instruction with this movie cinema template. With this digital choice board, you can insert 6 activities as choice options. Each ticket is connected to a different slide that is designed for students to access the different activities. Students can click on the ticket booth to return back to the main ticket menu.

Click the Ticket Booth to Access

Available as PowerPoint and Google Slides

This digital choice board will make your choice lesson look like a gem. Similar to the template above, the design is setup for 6 activities. The main menu of the board is organized by numbers. Each number will lead you a different activity. Each activity slide has a home button that your students can click to return back to the main menu.

Click the Start Button to Access

Available as PowerPoint and Google Slides

This multimedia design choice board will spark ideas on how you can incorporate video and voice narration to support student learning. In addition, the design has an optional component to include student reflection.
Watch the video to learn more about this template or scroll down below the video to explore the interactive digital choice board.
Click the Start Button to Access

Available as PowerPoint and Google Slides

#4: The Elevator Choice Board by SlidesMania

This last digital choice board is probably one of my favorite designs and it it super cool too. With this digital choice board, your students can level up their learning on an elevator ride to different floors in a tower. The elevator has 10 floors and each floor has 2 optional doors for student to choose. To access the activities, your student would need to select a door to enter the activity room. Because the slide design is interactive, students would need to select the door to exit the room and then select the elevator to access another floor.
Watch the video to learn more about this template or scroll down below the video to explore the interactive digital choice board.
Click the Elevator to Access

Available as PowerPoint and Google Slides

Dr. Jocelyn McDonald is an educational technologist, podcaster, blogger, and founder of #TechItUp, LLC. #TechItUp, LLC is a professional learning and technology solutions company dedicated to supporting educators and educational leaders with the implementation of technology to create meaningful student learning experiences. She has trained and developed thousands of teachers, school administrators, instructional specialists and various educators on effective practices to integrate technology, instructional design, efficient and sustainable systems, as well as change management and strategic planning. She is a proud advocate for social change in education and is dedicated to making a positive impact. She was featured, as a contributing author, in the book Women Who Lead in Technology and continues to create meaningful learning experiences for students in underrepresented communities through hosting Digital Skills Camps and STEM events. She holds a Bachelors in Chemistry, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction in Instructional Technology, and a Ph.D. in Educational Technology. With 16+ years in education, she is passionate about supporting the transformation of education through technology for equitable access to 21st-century education while also serving as a Program Director for Technology Applications, Computer Science, and STEM for an urban school district in Houston, Texas. She makes strong efforts to use her influence to impact achievement in schools by building relationships with various stakeholders and looks forward to closing equity and diversity gaps in education. View all posts by Dr. Jocelyn McDonald

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4 Free Digital Choice Boards to Engage, Differentiate, and Empower Your Students

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Implementing student choice is a great way to differentiate your instruction and empower your students to be agents of their learning. One fun way to achieve this goal is through the use of digital choice boards. A digital choice boards is a great instructional strategy to support learning objectives and incorporate student choice.

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https://www.helloteacherlady.com/blog/digital-choice-board-free-google-templates

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The Google Slides templates are set up with internal linking - meaning the top slides you see below act as a "hub" for the content, and each link takes students to another slide within the same slideshow. Those extra slides are great for adding directions or more information about the task at hand. You could even use it as a space for students to type their responses or add photos of work completion.

If that seems like too much right now, you could also delete the extra slides and use the main slide as a choice board by itself.

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Using Digital Choice Boards + Interactive Slides for Distance Learning (+ FREE Google Drive Templates!) - Hello, Teacher Lady

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The Google Slides templates are set up with internal linking - meaning the top slides you see below act as a "hub" for the content, and each link takes students to another slide within the same slideshow. Those extra slides are great for adding directions or more information about the task at hand.

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10 Favorite Online Teaching Tools Used by Educators This Year

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10 Favorite Online Teaching Tools Used by Educators This Year

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https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-10-favorite-online-teaching-tools-used-by-educators-this-year/2020/11

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The new question of the week is:
What are your up to three "go-to" online tools this year? Please explain in detail how you use each one, including linked examples.
Most of us have been teaching in environments where we have been online more than ever before, whether we're doing full-time distance learning (as I am-for now, at least) or if you're in a hybrid situation.

This two-part series will share a number of recommendations, including many from readers.

Today, Theresa Wills, Ph.D., Laurie Manville, andCristiane Galvão, Ed.D., "kick off" the series.

Before we get to their contributions, though, I'd like to briefly share my favorites (apart from all things Google and Zoom, of course):

Now, it's time to move on to responses from today's guests....
Online math tools
Theresa Wills, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of mathematics education in the School of Education at George Mason University, where she works with in-service mathematics specialists and preservice elementary and secondary teachers. Theresa has taught synchronous online classes and webinars since 2010 and researches teaching practices that are adaptable to the online environment. She is a former classroom teacher and math coach who still volunteers weekly in K-12 classrooms. She is the author of the forthcoming book Teaching Math at a Distance, Grades K-12: A Practical Guide to Rich Remote Instruction.

My go-to tools this year are grounded in collaboration, interaction, and student voice. They provide equitable opportunities for students' access to the same kinds of mathematical reasoning, thinking, and discourse while learning remotely that they would if they were learning face to face. Here are three examples.

Google Slides - This quintessential, simple, and free tool gives teachers the security and flexibility to create interactive activities while releasing ownership to the students. By inviting students to the shared slide in edit mode, and practicing netiquette norms, students can type ideas into text boxes, paste images that express their opinions, manipulate game pieces, and insert screen shots of their work from third-party apps. The pedagogical magic is revealed when teachers and students can observe and modify each other's responses, in real time.

This slide shows the work of four students in a small breakout room as they used models to describe a growing pattern.

Math Learning Center - This virtual manipulative website is a staple in mathematics classrooms where students interact with familiar manipulatives such as base 10 blocks. Teachers can customize the site by creating problems, saving templates, and sharing private links with students. The best part is that the tools encourage flexible thinking as students explore multiple ways to model their understanding.
Image by Theresa Wills Image by Theresa Wills
Student work #2 Peardeck Laurie Manville is an ELD/AVID Excel teacher and ed- tech virtual tech-team coach at Brookhurst Junior High, as well as a 7th grade ELA teacher with Cambridge Virtual Academy, both in the Anaheim Union High School district in California. She enjoys helping her students figure out what they are meant to do in life and guiding teachers in lesson-design creation. In her free time, you will usually find her backstage (or near a stage) assisting with line memorization, costumes, or concessions; analyzing a screenplay; or at home journaling or mastering PiYo. Laurie Manville blogs with Dr. Alva Lefevre atL&M Educational Consulting on their Facebook page and their new website Educators in the Know:
FlipGrid - You might be familiar with this website's ability to capture short videos of students' responses, but what puts it in another league is the ability for back and forth video dialogue between students.

This gives access to more students and opens possibilities for collaboration. A kindergarten student can count toys over video, and their friends can ask follow-up questions such as, "How many are pink?" and then upload a video response. English- and world-language learners can practice new speaking skills while previewing and editing their video responses as they master pronunciation. This tool gives students the ability to engage in rich peer-to-peer collaboration.

One of my top "go-to" online tools would have to be Peardeck.

-- is one of the mainstays of my synchronous classes. Engagement is in real time and responses from all students are immediately visible. The add-on tool is available in Google Slides, and Peardeck tools may be added to individual Slides. Another great feature is that the Peardeck platform saves class sessions. Teachers may revisit student responses and use them as formative assessments.
"Keeping things simple" Dr. Cristiane Galvão holds a master's degree in applied linguistics from the University of Taubaté, Brazil, and a doctorate in higher education leadership from California Lutheran University, in Thousand Oaks, Calilf. She has taught ESL for 20 years and has offered professional-development courses to language teachers from all over the world:
If you are new to Peardeck, students log in through joinpd.com and with a code created for each deck. After all students have logged in, the teacher clicks "start lesson." The students respond using various tools like polls, drawing tools for matching, multiple-choice answers, and free response fill-in-the-blank. Students' names are anonymous, but teachers may check student names later in the saved Peardeck session on the Peardeck site. (In a synchronous lesson, the Peardeck is screen-shared.)

(Included in the Peardeck link above (please make a copy) is my entire slide deck with the Peardeck Bubba word bank, which includes the slides I use to intro each synchronous class and a follow-up Peardeck slide of student-generated Bubba sentences. We corrected those the next day.)

Back in March, when the pandemic closed the schools, I had to learn about so many websites and online tools for "remote learning" that it felt overwhelming. A simple lesson plan became a one-thousand-piece puzzle. So, to make life a little easier, it became important to rethink how I would plan my lessons and make better use of my time.

Keeping things simple, I decided first to use whatever material I already had available, such as flashcards and books. Second, I limited the number of websites and online tools that I would use, creating a special bookmark in my computer with all the websites that I could access to teach ESL anytime and for different levels. Then, I created another bookmark section just with the "go-to" resources that I would definitely be using to teach my students. I knew that using familiar tools and resources would streamline my organization and facilitate my students' learning process.

After careful evaluation of the available resources and how they applied to my students' needs, I opted for three online tools: Kahoot, Wordwall, and Padlet. These platforms share features that allow me to use them in the classroom as well as for teacher training. They are adaptable for fun and interactive learning for both students and teachers. I do not need to use them for every class, but if I need to complement my lessons with the school's adopted material or to the material that I create, these websites are my support.

Padlet allows users to collaborate, create, and learn from each other. Padlet also allows the teacher to upload content and give feedback to the students, all on one platform. It can be used for vocabulary practice, reading, and listening. One of the features that the students like on Padlet is the image search option. It is a great tool to create a visual dictionary.

During live sessions on Zoom, students can work on Padlet during breakout-room sessions. I like giving students time to discuss a topic in breakout rooms, so Padlet is great because students can create a visual board highlighting the topic of their discussions. They can also write sentences and include images using new words they have learned. Teachers can post images and ask students to write sentences about the images, which is a great activity for beginner ESL students.

Kahoot can be used to wrap up a session of teacher development or an ESL lesson. When I use Kahoot during teacher-development courses, I am also demonstrating the platform in a practical way. Teachers become familiar with Kahoot and are ready to use it in their classes. I think it is important that teachers experience the tools that students will use to gain familiarity and anticipate anything that can be added to their lesson plans. ESL students like Kahoot because it is fun and competitive. Students also like its sounds, which give movement to the activity.

Wordwall, just like Kahoot, is loaded with content, which can be used anytime by the teacher and the students. I like using both platforms during live sessions with the students. They can also be used as reinforcement activities or homework. English-language learners (ELLs) can benefit from interactive activities within Wordwall. My ESL students always enjoy the Random Wheel game, but I believe that for teachers, the great feature of the platform is its flexibility. It allows teachers to use the same content in different ways. Teachers can click on the options, accessing different types of language games using common content. Teachers can also create their own activities and share with the students. As practical tools for remote language teaching, Kahoot, Wordwall, and Padlet are the three resources that provide the extra material that I can apply to my lessons.
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader. And if you missed any of the highlights from the first eight years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. The list doesn't include ones from this current year, but you can find those by clicking on the "answers" category found in the sidebar. I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column
Thanks to Theresa, Laurie, and Cristiane for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

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10 Favorite Online Teaching Tools Used by Educators This Year (Opinion)

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The new question of the week is: What are your up to three "go-to" online tools this year? Please explain in detail how you use each one, including linked examples. Most of us have been teaching in environments where we have been online more than ever before, whether we're doing full-time distance learning (as I am-for now, at least) or if you're in a hybrid situation.

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Using Digital Choice Boards to Engage and Empower

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Using Digital Choice Boards to Engage and Empower

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https://blog.elkhart.k12.in.us/2020/05/using-choice-board-to-engage-and-empower/

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Does it feel like you are pulling teeth trying to get students to complete work? Do you feel like you spend all day working on planning the next assignment instead of spending your precious time giving students feedback and building relationships? I did, too. I started investing a little bit of time into building distance learning choice boards that have really helped me to increase my productivity through the week while also giving my students more ownership over their learning.

What are choice boards, anyways?

A choice board is a broad term for a method of allowing students to choose assignments to work on throughout the week. It is generally formatted in some type of graphic organizer, like a tic-tac-toe or bingo board. Students spend their school time choosing which assignments to complete based off the teachers criteria.

But why should I use choice boards?

Choice boards are:

easily adaptable across grade levels and subjects

allow students to showcase different skills that they have mastered, learn new skills, and even extend their learning

give students ownership and flexibility over their learning while allowing the teacher to still being in control of overall learning outcomes

they help teachers to do weekly planning, instead of daily planning, allowing for weekday school time to be spent giving feedback to students, making connections, and building relationships.

How do you make a choice board?

I create my choice boards on Google Slides. This allows for anyone to access the choice board, regardless of their device, email, etc. This is important if you want parents to be able to access student assignments.

There are two very important slides to include in a choice board: the instructions and the activity choices.

I always make my instructions the first slide that students see. I include very clear written instructions, along with either video or audio instructions. This is where you can choose your criteria for students. Do you want students to complete one assignment per column? Complete any 4 assignments a day? Make sure your instructions are clear and direct.

The second slide is where students will see their choices for learning opportunities. In this example, the activities are broken down by subject for a self-contained 6th grade classroom. Students will use this same board all week to make their choices on how they want to learn.

Each activity is linked to a future slide with more detailed instructions and expectations so students know exactly what is expected of them.
Need help adding a link to a future slide? Watch this tutorial.

What types of assignments should I include?

An effective choice board has a healthy mix of passive and active learning opportunities.

Passive learning is very teacher directed, in both method and outcomes. It is important to include passive learning for days when kids are just feeling a bit "meh" about learning, but allow students to disclude it if they want. Too much passive learning often causes disengaged, disempowered, and bored students.

Active learning opportunities fill the rest of my choice board. These activities allow for multiple learning styles to flourish. They get students up and moving around their environment and interacting with each other. Active learning often helps create more motivated and empowered students.

Need to meet accommodations?

Choice boards are an excellent way to differentiate for your students. Not only can you include a variety of learning styles, but you can include a variety of instructional levels, as well.

Other students might need a daily choice board. The example below shows how I might differentiate for my select students that may need more structure for their day.

You can also adjust your criteria for select students to make it more manageable. For example, a student that may not be able to manage a four assignment workload each day, could be asked to submit two or three assignments instead.

How do students access this?

I share my choice boards weekly with students on Seesaw! Every Monday, I share my choice board through a sharable link with students.

Make sure to update your sharing settings so that anyone with the link can view. This allows parents to be able to see the work your students are doing. You do this by selecting Share, select Advanced, select Change, and update your settings to "On - Anyone with the link".

Once you have access to this link, you can share this with students through an announcement, a post, or an activity. When doing so, you need to decide if you want students to leave Seesaw to access this document. I always add it as a link, but do not integrate it with Google Drive, so that the link takes my students right into Google Slides. This allows each link to be clickable, and my video to be easily playable.

Can I have some examples to work with?

Yes.

Here you can find choice board templates in a shared google drive folder. There are both templates and examples to use, share, or modify.

Are you using more choice with your students? What methods or mechanisms work well for you? Share some ideas, questions, or even your own examples in the comments!

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Using Choice Board to Engage and Empower

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Does it feel like you are pulling teeth trying to get students to complete work? Do you feel like you spend all day working on planning the next assignment instead of spending your precious time giving students feedback and building relationships? I did, too.

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1332BH72OPk5NInbB56criloTvul3DTGmEYRz5OH84oA/edit?usp=sharing

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 FORTNITE Digital Menu [Season 9] (by @tommyspall)

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Using Choice Boards to Engage and Empower

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Using Choice Boards to Engage and Empower

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https://blog.elkhart.k12.in.us/2020/05/using-choice-board-to-engage-and-empower/

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Does it feel like you are pulling teeth trying to get students to complete work? Do you feel like you spend all day working on planning the next assignment instead of spending your precious time giving students feedback and building relationships? I did, too. I started investing a little bit of time into building distance learning choice boards that have really helped me to increase my productivity through the week while also giving my students more ownership over their learning.

What are choice boards, anyways?

A choice board is a broad term for a method of allowing students to choose assignments to work on throughout the week. It is generally formatted in some type of graphic organizer, like a tic-tac-toe or bingo board. Students spend their school time choosing which assignments to complete based off the teachers criteria.

But why should I use choice boards?

Choice boards are:

easily adaptable across grade levels and subjects

allow students to showcase different skills that they have mastered, learn new skills, and even extend their learning

give students ownership and flexibility over their learning while allowing the teacher to still being in control of overall learning outcomes

they help teachers to do weekly planning, instead of daily planning, allowing for weekday school time to be spent giving feedback to students, making connections, and building relationships.

How do you make a choice board?

I create my choice boards on Google Slides. This allows for anyone to access the choice board, regardless of their device, email, etc. This is important if you want parents to be able to access student assignments.

There are two very important slides to include in a choice board: the instructions and the activity choices.

I always make my instructions the first slide that students see. I include very clear written instructions, along with either video or audio instructions. This is where you can choose your criteria for students. Do you want students to complete one assignment per column? Complete any 4 assignments a day? Make sure your instructions are clear and direct.

The second slide is where students will see their choices for learning opportunities. In this example, the activities are broken down by subject for a self-contained 6th grade classroom. Students will use this same board all week to make their choices on how they want to learn.

Each activity is linked to a future slide with more detailed instructions and expectations so students know exactly what is expected of them.
Need help adding a link to a future slide? Watch this tutorial.

What types of assignments should I include?

An effective choice board has a healthy mix of passive and active learning opportunities.

Passive learning is very teacher directed, in both method and outcomes. It is important to include passive learning for days when kids are just feeling a bit "meh" about learning, but allow students to disclude it if they want. Too much passive learning often causes disengaged, disempowered, and bored students.

Active learning opportunities fill the rest of my choice board. These activities allow for multiple learning styles to flourish. They get students up and moving around their environment and interacting with each other. Active learning often helps create more motivated and empowered students.

Need to meet accommodations?

Choice boards are an excellent way to differentiate for your students. Not only can you include a variety of learning styles, but you can include a variety of instructional levels, as well.

Other students might need a daily choice board. The example below shows how I might differentiate for my select students that may need more structure for their day.

You can also adjust your criteria for select students to make it more manageable. For example, a student that may not be able to manage a four assignment workload each day, could be asked to submit two or three assignments instead.

How do students access this?

I share my choice boards weekly with students on Seesaw! Every Monday, I share my choice board through a sharable link with students.

Make sure to update your sharing settings so that anyone with the link can view. This allows parents to be able to see the work your students are doing. You do this by selecting Share, select Advanced, select Change, and update your settings to "On - Anyone with the link".

Once you have access to this link, you can share this with students through an announcement, a post, or an activity. When doing so, you need to decide if you want students to leave Seesaw to access this document. I always add it as a link, but do not integrate it with Google Drive, so that the link takes my students right into Google Slides. This allows each link to be clickable, and my video to be easily playable.

Can I have some examples to work with?

Yes.

Here you can find choice board templates in a shared google drive folder. There are both templates and examples to use, share, or modify.

Are you using more choice with your students? What methods or mechanisms work well for you? Share some ideas, questions, or even your own examples in the comments!

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Using Choice Board to Engage and Empower

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Does it feel like you are pulling teeth trying to get students to complete work? Do you feel like you spend all day working on planning the next assignment instead of spending your precious time giving students feedback and building relationships? I did, too.

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Interactive Learning Menus Free Templates

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Interactive Learning Menus Free Templates

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Shake Up Learning Free Templates
https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/interactive-learning-menus-choice-boards-using-google-docs/?epik=dj0yJnU9LVFOOGpuZjFOUUk2SVI4dEQtdTJXby1wdjVNaU1NcTkmcD0wJm49WVpJOGNMOEZJc0dXWVIzMXpXZnctQSZ0PUFBQUFBR0lLb3Q4

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Differentiate with Learning Menus and Choice Boards

"...at its core, differentiated instruction means addressing ways in which students vary as learners." - Carol Ann Tomlinson

[Tweet "Interactive Learning Menus with @GoogleforEdu #edtech#gsuiteedu"]

What Are Learning Menus?

IT'S ALL ABOUT CHOICE! Learning menus (aka choice boards) are a form of differentiated learning that gives students a menu or choice of learning activities. Learning menus and choice boards can be created in a variety of styles and mediums. They've been around for a long time and originated in a static, paper format. But with digital tools, we can bring the menus to life with interactivity and creation. Menus can be a simple list, a tic-tac-toe or bingo-style game, or get as creative and intricate as you like. Check out my Pinterest board for ideas.

Learning Menus Can Be Used with Any Age Group

I have found that menus and choice boards tend to be more popular among elementary teachers, but I used them in my middle school classroom, and now I use them in professional learning workshops with adults. Any grade level can use learning menus!

Learning Menus Can Be Used in Any Subject Area

Since learning menus are so flexible, they can easily be created and adapted for just about any subject area. So no excuses! Any teacher who is willing to try can make use of this student-centered strategy.

[Tweet "Any teacher who is willing to try can make use of this student-centered strategy. #edtech"]

Are Learning Menus Hyperdocs the Same Thing?

No, but they could be part of a Hyperdoc assignment. I love Hyperdocs! But these two are not one in the same. Keep in mind the definition of learning menus stated above. It is simply a menu of choices from which students can choose. Student choice is the big idea behind learning menus and choice boards.

A Hyperdoc is a complete packaged assignment that also meets some additional criteria. A Hyperdoc doesn't have to include choice, but it could. To learn more about Hyperdocs, visit their site or read the AMAZING book by Lisa Highfill, Sarah Landis, and Kelly Hilton.

Creating a Tic-Tac-Toe Learning Menu in Google Docs

One easy way to dip your toes into the learning menu water is a Tic-Tac-Toe menu. A Tic-Tac-Toe can be used for anything from short activities to more long-term projects, both assessment FOR learning (formative) and assessment OF learning (summative).

Below is an example of a Novel Unit Tic-Tac-Toe menu that I created as a summative project. It was created in Google Docs, nothing fancy, just a table and some color. Depending on how you want to use, you can add links, rubrics, images, video and more. (Click here to use my blank tic-tac-toe template.)
CLICK HERE to use the Novel Study Tic-Tac-Toe template. On mobile? CLICK HERE to make a copy.
Learning Menu Design

Remember when you are creating a learning menu to align it with your learning goals! First, I use the middle square as my non-negotiable, the one activity that I want every student to complete. This could be reading an article, watching a video, or in this case; every student will write a summary and add it to a collaborative Google Slide deck where they will also add links to their other projects. Everything in one place!

Some teachers also make the middle square a free space where students can propose their own ideas to demonstrate their learning. LOVE THIS IDEA!

I had some students who would try to find the easiest or fastest way to complete the tasks. But if you pay attention to the learning design, you can design it so that it gives choice and flexible learning paths, not just an easy completion grade.

I use the color to guide the learning design. Because I use the middle square as a non-negotiable, I control how they make the tic-tac-toe just a little bit more. Every student will do the middle square and one from the blue and one from the yellow. In this summative example, students are mostly creating, but in the example below, you will see how it can also work for activities that guide the learning.

Below is a professional learning example that I designed for teaching Google Chrome. As a trainer, I typically have very mixed groups in my training sessions (multiple grade levels, subject areas, and tech savviness). I usually address general skills, and apps and extensions that are applicable across all grade levels and subject areas as a whole group.

Then I move into an activity like the Chrome PD Tic-Tac-Toe learning menu to allow teachers to dig deeper into their own subject areas and grade levels AND move at a pace that is comfortable for their level and learning style.
CLICK HERE to use my Chrome PD Tic-Tac-Toe template. On mobile? CLICK HERE to make a copy of the template.
Other Types of Learning Menus

As I said, a tic-tac-toe is just one type of menu. It happens to be a favorite of mine because they are easy to design and are not too overwhelming. But I have used many other types of menus, and I have been curating ideas on this Learning Menu Pinterest Board.

Digital Menu for Student Creation with Google Slides by Tommy Spall

Below is a Google Slide example of a learning menu that takes on the look of a restaurant menu from my friend, Tommy Spall. Follow him @TommySpall. (You can thank me later!) Click here to make a copy of Tommy's template that includes linked slides to lots of Googley projects and room for you to make it your own. (If you are on mobile and having trouble with the template link, try this make a copy link.)

Professional Development BINGO Board by Amber Teamann and Melinda Miller

Another option is to make it a full out BINGO board, like in this example from my friend Amber Teamann and her collaborator Melinda Miller. (Follow them at @8Amber8 and @MMiller7571, and yes, you will thank me for this one, too!)

Amber and Melinda are both elementary school principals. They issued this BINGO PD Challenge to her teachers over the summer, and I thought it might inspire you with some other options for choice and challenges in your classroom or professional learning. You can learn more details about PD Bingo in Amber's blog post.

Using G Suite to Create Learning Menus

The possibilities are truly endless! Consider all the ways you could use G Suite to create learning menus and the extended activities and links. Try thinking of the ways you could create menus using these G Suite tools:

Google Docs

Google Slides

Google Drawings

Google Sheets

Google My Maps

Google Sites

How to Use Google Templates and Assign in Google Classroom

If you enjoyed this post, you will love the more in-depth look at the power of choice boards and more examples in this post and podcast episode.

© Shake Up Learning 2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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Interactive Learning Menus (Choice Boards) Using Google Docs

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I love learning menus, and it is one of my favorite ways to incorporate student choice and to differentiate learning. And with digital tools like G Suite for Education, it's super easy to make menus interactive, digital, and more dynamic! Digital Differentiation offers teachers and students many ways to reach all learners.

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Choice Boards Benefits, Design Tips & Differentiation

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Choice Boards Benefits, Design Tips & Differentiation

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https://catlintucker.com/2021/08/choice-boards101/

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Creating, sharing and monitoring your links shouldn't be a drag. Bitly helps you work faster and more intelligently-with features like branded links, campaigns and QR codes-so you can relish the sweet taste of hitting your performance goals. - Kate Myers, Director of Marketing Change the destination URL for any short link, including QR Codes.

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https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/empower-students-4-cs-learning-menu/?epik=dj0yJnU9VEpnYWt6NGdJZE9DWTNnN3lmRzZVOV9IbG00SXl6THUmcD0wJm49bkotUHRybEtVMDFGRVp5RFFET0pRUSZ0PUFBQUFBR0lLcHJR

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Empower Your Students with The 4 C's Learning Menu

YOU can empower your students with this 4 C's learning menu! If you've followed this blog for very long, you've probably noticed I'm a big fan of learning menus aka choice boards.

Student choice is empowering. Combine that with the power of the 4 C's, and you've got a supercharged lesson!
Student Choice + 4 C's = Supercharged Learning!
What is a Learning Menu?

Learning Menus are a form of differentiated learning that gives students a menu or choice of learning activities.

Want more examples? Check out my blog post: Interactive Learning Menus with G Suite and my Learning Menu Pinterest Board.

The 4 C's

The 4 C's are integral to dynamic learning, and every dynamic learning experience should include at least one of the 4 Cs.

Creativity: The use of imagination and original ideas to solve problems and create.

(Examples: Cultivate creativity and innovation with projects that require students to design original solutions, invent something new to solve a problem, or integrate art and design with room to fail.)

Communication: The ability to effectively and clearly communicate for a variety of audiences and using a variety of tools and mediums.

(Examples: Give students opportunities to interact with adult experts, authors, and real-world audiences. Let them experience speaking and presenting.)

Collaboration: Learning and working in groups or teams, locally and/or globally, to achieve a goal.

(Examples: Ensure there is a purpose to the collaboration and not just group work. Form partners and teams strategically with assigned leadership roles, include team-building exercises, establish collaboration guidelines and shared decision-making.)

Critical Thinking: The ability to conceptualize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information for the purpose of deeper understanding, problem solving, and guiding action.

(Examples: Create learning experiences, such as mock trials or debates, scientific investigations, interpreting events in history or literature, or design challenges.)

As you integrate the 4 C's in your classroom, you will easily see how they overlap and support each other.
In what ways are you already integrating the 4 Cs into your curriculum?
[Tweet "Student Choice + 4 C's = Supercharged Learning! #edtech #gsuiteedu #shakeuplearning"]

The 4 C's Learning Menu

This learning menu was openly designed using Google Slides so that it can easily be adapted for just about any grade level or subject area.

You can control and align this with your content, topics, and units of study.

The Teacher's Guide

I have also included a Teacher's Guide (slide 2 of the template) with tips to revise for your classroom needs. Use one idea or use them all. Totally up to you!

Download The 4 C's Learning Menu

Below are two choices to download. The template link allows you to preview and click the "use template" button, but these do not work as well on mobile devices. The "make a copy" link will prompt you to make a copy and add to your Google Drive. (Please do not request access.)

Catch the Podcast Episode on the 4 C's!

Listen to episode 2!

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Check out my new book, Shake Up Learning: Practical Ideas to Move Learning From Static to Dynamic.

About the Shake Up Learning Book

Technology is not a magic solution for education. It is an opportunity! An opportunity to shake things up, to connect and grow, and to create dynamic learning experiences for our students!

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Shake Up Learning is a powerful guide and planning tool to help educators at all grade levels make the most of technology. Educator and blogger Kasey Bell guides you through the process of using technology and proven techniques to make learning dynamic.

You'll discover . . .

Practical strategies to help move from static teaching to dynamic learning

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With this book, I have also created several interactive resources, templates, and downloads, all available on ShakeUpLearningBook.com.

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Tons of free resources, videos, templates, and downloads, all available on the website: ShakeUpLearningBook.com.

© Shake Up Learning 2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

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Empower Your Students with The 4 C's Learning Menu

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YOU can empower your students with this 4 C's learning menu! If you've followed this blog for very long, you've probably noticed I'm a big fan of learning menus aka choice boards. Student choice is empowering. Combine that with the power of the 4 C's, and you've got a supercharged lesson!

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Complete Beginner's Guide to Choice Boards

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Complete Beginner's Guide to Choice Boards

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http://edtechpicks.org/2018/02/choice-boards/

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The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Choice Boards

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Choice boards are an easy way to provide students with a variety of ways to practice a skill, learn a concept, or demonstrate understanding.

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https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/?ut_source=google_c&ut_medium=cpc&ut_campaign=&ut_content=&ut_term=qr%20code%20generator_e&gclid=Cj0KCQiAu62QBhC7ARIsALXijXQ2BMwMNynx6fYGUpEV115XqKFQdnhMlAxYNRlaSM1QNV_W9o2TEdAaAgBVEALw_wcB

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AoBjL6elr35djbBiWTMCOTl0BD0m2EGjvs8LQ_eUK-8/edit?usp=sharing

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Novel Study Tic-Tac-Toe Menu Choice Board by Kasey Bell

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https://sphero.com/blogs/news/learning-styles-for-kids

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If you have a kid or student that's being educated in a blended classroom or hybrid learning environment for the first time, chances are they could be feeling a bit lost.

From adapting to digital coursework to staying disciplined with minimal face-to-face interactions, getting used to this new type of education may cause them to struggle - especially if their individual learning style isn't being addressed.

Gaining momentum in the 1960s through tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the learning style theory posits that different students learn best when information is presented to them in a particular way. The learning style theory was popularized in 1992 when Fleming and Mills suggested a new model of learning. The is used to explain the different ways that students learn. For example, if a student is a "visual learner," a verbal lecture alone might leave them feeling unengaged, confused, and frustrated.

While some critics doubt the efficacy of the learning style theory, its popularity in schools today makes it a topic well-worth paying attention to - specifically if some of your students are having a tough go at retaining information while learning remotely.

At Sphero, we believe that understanding individual learning styles are important for both parents and teachers to consider, as your struggling students might need coursework uniquely presented to them to effectively absorb the material. However, we recognize there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to education. Students may benefit from one or all of these learning styles depending on the subject or information being presented, for example.

With this guide, we will help you identify the four core learning styles among your students, as well as provide you with helpful resources to easily implement changes in your curriculum to meet the needs of all.

What are the four learning styles?

The four core learning styles in the VARK model include visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic. Here's an overview of all four learning style types.

1. Visual - Visual learners are better able to retain information when it's presented to them in a graphic depiction, such as arrows, charts, diagrams, symbols, and more. Similar to how designers use visual hierarchy to emphasize specific design elements, visual learners thrive with clear pictures of information hierarchy.

2. Auditory - Sometimes referred to as "aural" learners, auditory learners prefer listening to information that is presented to them vocally. These learners work well in group settings where vocal collaboration is present and may enjoy reading aloud to themselves, too.

3. Reading & Writing - Focusing on the written word, reading and writing learners succeed with written information on worksheets, presentations, and other text-heavy resources. These learners are note-takers and perform strongly when they can reference written text.

4. Kinesthetic - Taking a physically active role, kinesthetic learners are hands-on and thrive when engaging all of their senses during course work. These learners tend to work well in scientific studies due to the hands-on lab component of the course.

The VARK Model: Four Types of Learning Styles

Successfully implementing the VARK model into your classroom means recognizing your students' unique educational needs on a fundamental level.

Learning Style Type #1: Visual Learners

How to Identify This Learning Style Type: Visual Learners

Visual learners enjoy analyzing and observing things like pictures, diagrams, and charts that showcase clear information in order of importance. You can oftentimes find visual learners by paying attention to students who are doodling, list-making, or note-taking.

How to Teach This Learning Style Type: Visual Learners

Whether you're using a whiteboard, smartboard, or giving a presentation, make sure visual learners have enough time to process and absorb visual cues. When possible, visual learners should have access to supplementary handouts that detail subject matter through clear visuals whenever possible. Additionally, allow these learners to draw pictures, diagrams, or doodles of what they are learning to reinforce retention.

Sphero and littleBits Activities Visual Learners Will Love

Draw 1: Shapes

With this visual learning activity, your child will be introduced to Sphero's Draw canvas by drawing shapes that represent code. Then, they can execute that code with a Sphero robot. Perfect for visual learners, your students will be able to hand-draw their very own robot to showcase their programming skills.

BOLT: Light Sensor

With flashlights or other portable light sources (cell phones work well), this activity for visual learners allows your students to discover BOLT's ambient light sensor . The light sensor allows BOLT to sense the amount of light it is exposed to during a program, which means your students will be able to see light act as a trigger for conditionals or dynamic functions.

Learning Style Type #2: Auditory Learners

How to Identify This Type of Learning Style: Auditory Learners

Auditory learners prefer learning subject matter that is presented through sound. You can find auditory learners by paying attention to students who are actively engaging with a lecture. You may find them nodding along or asking frequent questions rather than taking written notes. Additionally, these learners might read slowly, read aloud to themselves, or repeat things you tell them to help with retention.

How to Teach This Type of Learning Style: Auditory Learners

If you're giving a lecture, make sure you are addressing your auditory learners directly to get them involved in the conversation. Have them do things like verbally detailing a new concept they just learned, and ask them follow-up questions while giving them the time they need to respond. Group discussions, engaging videos, and audio recordings are other great ways to engage auditory learners in your classroom.

Sphero and littleBits Activities Auditory Learners Will Love

Back to the Future

In this exciting activity for auditory learners, your students will r ecreate the Delorean time machine from the "Back to the Future" movies. First, they will program RVR to accelerate to a speed of 88 to time travel. Then, they will build their very own invention with the littleBits RVR Topper Kit, which triggers a buzzer when RVR is safely back to the future. If your students have never seen the "Back to the Future" movies, you can show them short scenes to help orient this activity.

Bubble Flute

With a few simple materials and a littleBits STEAM Kit , your auditory learner can use the sound of their voice to create bubbles . This challenge allows your students to experiment with sound waves and learn how common items interact with each other to make something new.

Learning Style Type #3: Reading & Writing Learners

How to Identify This Learning Style in the Classroom: Reading & Writing Learners

Preferring written word, reading, and writing learners are drawn to textbooks, novels, articles, journals, and anything that is text-heavy. Similar to visual learners, you can find reading and writing learners by paying attention to students who take elaborate notes, reference the dictionary to learn new words, or use online search engines to find answers to their questions.

How to Teach This Learning Style Type: Reading & Writing Learners

Writing essays, performing in-depth research, reading textbooks, and more, reading, and writing learners prefer more traditional methods of subject matter delivery. However, make sure these learners have ample time to absorb written course material and give them every opportunity to get their ideas down on paper or a digital device.

Sphero and littleBits Activities Reading & Writing Learners Will Love

Bridge Challenge

The Bridge Challenge starts with your students researching and learning about different types of bridges used in architecture, which is perfect for reading and writing learners. Then, using common household belongings or craft supplies - such as tape, string, glue, and popsicle sticks - they can use their newfound knowledge to build a bridge that a Sphero robot can drive across.

The Masked Sphero

In this activity, you can have your reading and writing learners research the history and importance of cloth face coverings. Then, they can write a short essay on how wearing a mask can help protect others by minimizing airborne bacteria. Afterward, your class can create a mask out of tissue paper for their Sphero BOLT to protect its sensor against incoming light. This activity provides a direct representation of how germs can spread more easily without face coverings.

Learning Style Type #4: Kinesthetic Learners

How to Identify This Type of Learning Style: Kinesthetic Learners

Kinesthetic learners are "tactile" learners, meaning they prefer to physically act out events or use all of their senses while learning. These types of learners are easy to find, as they likely have a difficult time sitting still and might need frequent breaks during heavy studying periods.

How to Teach This Type of Learning Style: Kinesthetic Learners

When possible, get kinesthetic learners up and moving. If you're teaching Shakespeare, for example, have them act out a scene with a few of their kinesthetic-focused peers. You can also create learning games that encourage these types of learners to move about the classroom at different points in the lesson.

Sphero and littleBits Activities Kinesthetic Learners Will Love

Sphero Long Jump

Sphero Long Jump is the perfect challenge for kinesthetic learners, as you can easily get your students up and moving. During this activity, have your students learn about what the long jump is and how science can be used to maximize jumping distance. With supervision, students could even try their own long jump in a safe area and measure their distance! Afterward, with just a few craft supplies, they can create an adjustable, homemade ramp and DIY long jump pit for their Sphero.

Animal Imitation

With this hands-on activity, your kinesthetic learners can become ethologists and technologists at the same time. To start, your students will study the movements of their favorite animal (including how the animal sees, smells, and interacts with other animals) and program RVR to mimic how it navigates in the wild . Plus , your students will be able to utilize littleBits inventions to mimic this animal's behavior. To go one step further, your class could even act out their chosen animal's behaviors!

Implement the Right Learning Style for Your Remote Students

If you have a student that's struggling, uncovering their unique learning style could help you get them back on track. Whether they are a visual, auditory, reading and writing, or kinesthetic learner, you can implement a plethora of activities in your curriculum that facilitate subject matter retention, course engagement, and an enjoyable educational experience.

To learn more about how to programmable robots and STEM kits appeal to all learning styles, and for more information on how to integrate Sphero and littleBits in the classroom, check out our getting started resources page for educators.

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4 Types of Learning Styles | The VARK Model | Sphero

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Find out about the different learning styles of the VARK Model in the classroom & how to begin using them from the learning experts at Sphero. Read on now!

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https://leonschools-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/westm1_leonschools_net/EfL12tJSofNFqob2d6mUXDgBldO6fC1a36VsSaEZiJzmVg?e=mnyJZs

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Tic-Tac-Toe Menu Choice Board Template ShakeUpLearning.com

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Tic-Tac-Toe Menu Choice Board Template ShakeUpLearning.com

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ArIPxwOaFvixYjQAwMklsCl_g4zx0C1wkgs_xBR-oDQ/edit?usp=sharing

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Tic-Tac-Toe Menu Choice Board Template from ShakeUpLearning.com

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Eje6CMvYvFpBrenHS_OuaSbh9XAIl_LU5u6NJ9lzq5I/edit?usp=sharing

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Create Interactive Learning with Digital Choice Boards

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Create Interactive Learning with Digital Choice Boards

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Bhttps://blog.tcea.org/choice-boards-2/

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Ready to create interactive learning opportunities for students? Take advantage of choice boards. In this blog entry, we'll explore a few reasons why they are powerful and provide examples you can adapt. First, let's answer a simple question.

What are Choice Boards?

"Teachers will plan in a whole new way," says Kathi Kerznowski (). Wondering what choice boards are? Some define them as graphic organizers that provide students choices about how they learn. "Choice boards are awesome," tweets Stacey Noonan (@snoonan44)

"Choice boards are set up in a grid, generally with 9 squares," says Cassidy Reinken. She says, "You can require that students complete items from the choice board in a specific way." This can involve expecting students to choose choices in a row, one activity from every colored section or choose at random. You can vary level of difficulty. Cassidy makes four suggestions about choice boards:

1. Focus on a single concept or learning expectation.

2. Each activity square should relate to a different multiple intelligence.

3. Encourage students to complete three activities in a row.

4. Each square, with the exception of the interpersonal square, are individual activities.

Watch this short video how to teach with choice boards(updated video):

Why Choice Boards?

Here are ten reasons why choice boards engage learners. Choice boards:

1. Facilitate differentiated learning opportunities.

2. Can be used in any subject.

3. Provide different contexts for students and engage a variety of their senses. These approaches are supported by research (Source).

4. Offer learners of all ages choices in how they learn about a new topic or understand a familiar one.

5. Provide tiered levels of learning opportunities.

6. Serve as a contract between student and teacher.

7. Can be adapted for special education or individualized education plans (IEPs).

8. Increase student ownership.

9. Focus students on essential knowledge, skills, and strategies aligned to curricular goals.

10. Make it easy to manage "a single lesson, a week-long lesson, or even a month-long period of study" (Source).

Want to see some examples of choice boards or learning menus?

Where Can I Find Choice Board Examples?

Looking to get started with designing choice boards? Some choice board sources include:

Wondering how to design your own digital choice board? Read Caitlin Tucker's instructions.

Create Interactive Learning with Choice Boards

Begin with digital choice boards. Use tech tools like Google Docs, Microsoft Word Online, or Microsoft OneNote. Adapt these tools to create choice boards. All of them support tables, image insertion, and sharing with students. Make a digital choice board to facilitate access to activities, and be sure to include multimedia.

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Create Interactive Learning with a Choice Board

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Innovative teachers empower students through the use of the choice board, either in paper or digital format. Learn how and see examples in this blog.