Megan Reynolds

Megan Reynolds

I am a teacher & designer. Connecting with students & seeing them enjoy learning is my favorite feeling on earth! I hope you enjoy this article!

2nd Grade Art Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Art Choice Board for 2nd Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your 2nd Grade Classroom during Art you will need to create the Artchoices (there are lots of examples), organize the classroom, and have a goal;

Time-saving, differentiation, and dynamic classroom management are my favorite reasons to use a choice board!

Integrating choices every day you will need to hone in on the best way to apply 2nd Grade Art choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your2nd Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 2nd Grade Art Choices

Create Your Dream Garden with Crayons
Draw your dream garden with crayons! Think of your favorite flowers, trees, and animals. Add a sun, clouds, and maybe a rainbow. Have fun coloring!
Design a Silly Monster with Paper Collage
Create a fun monster! Rip colorful paper into pieces, glue them onto another sheet to make a wacky shape. Add eyes, mouths, or horns. Be creative!
Make a Superhero Cape with Fabric Scraps
Make a hero cape! Get old cloth, cut a big triangle, tie ribbon on top corners, wear it, and fly like a superhero! Use safe scissors and ask for help if needed.
Draw Your Favorite Animal with Pencil Shading
Draw your best-loved animal using a pencil. Make some parts darker by rubbing softly for shadows and lighter parts by pressing gently. Have fun making it look real!
Craft a Clay Pinch Pot
Roll clay into a ball. Push your thumb in the middle. Pinch around the edges to make a pot. Smooth the sides. Let it dry. Paint it if you like!
Paint a Rock to Look Like an Insect
Find a smooth rock. Paint it to look like your favorite bug. Add eyes, wings, and spots. Let it dry and show your friends your cool rock insect!
Create a Paper Plate Mask
Grab a paper plate & draw your favorite animal face on it. Cut out eyes so you can see. Decorate with crayons, feathers, & glitter. Attach a stick to hold it up!
Finger Paint a Rainbow
Dip fingers in paint to make a colorful arc. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet – like a rainbow! Let each color touch the next one. Dry and show!
Self-Portrait with Magazine Cut-Outs
Draw your face on paper. Cut out eyes, nose, mouth, hair from magazines. Glue them to your drawing to create a fun mixed-up portrait!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Art in a 2nd Grade Classroom

Keep It Simple

Everyone “teacher & student” should know exactly what they are doing. If you don’t make it even easier! 

Differential Instruction vs Saving time?

There is nothing more irritating than “Saving Time” with a Choice Board & ending up with “More work!”.  Are you using this to hit standards or save time or both? 

"Self Guided" or "instruction-based"?

If you giving out work, should they do it on their own or are these more instructions for each choice?

General rule, if the grade is > 3 there is more work per choice.

FREE Blank Fillable & Custom Choice Board

All ages, all grades where you need 9 grid choice board. Start loving learning again! 

How To Manage Your 2nd Grade Classroom During Art (With a Choice Board)

I find its easiest to use a big board at the front of the classroom where all students can see the choices  then decide what they want to do

This often will be coming in from a break or transition between subjects. 

If you can get all students to know whats expected during a choice activity it becomes one-hundred times easier to manage the class & have everyone know what choices they have!  

There are three core steps you have to hit when using a Choice Board; 

1) The Set Up
2) 
The Instruction 
3) The Q+A 

1) The Set Up

Select your choices, decide on how you are going to use this time in your classroom. Build the choice board

1) The Instruction

Tell the students what they are going to be doing (this becomes easier over time) Simply start with 3 options & move from there. 

1) The Q & A

Does anyone have questions? This will help you or the next time. Remember the goal is to make this easier each time! 

Why Use A Choice Board?

So, let’s chat about choiceboards and why they’re like the coolest thing ever in your classroom. 

Picture this: kiddos bouncing into the room, eyes lighting up because they get to pick their own adventure in learning new words.

 It’s like a mini vocab party, and everyone’s invited!

We all have our own jam, right? Some of us are little artists, others are born performers, and some love to get lost in stories. Choice boards are like a buffet of fun learning snacks, so every munchkin finds something tasty that helps the vocab stick!

And here’s the kicker – when the little ones get to steer the ship, they turn into these mini captains of learning. They’re making the calls, and with every choice, they puff up a bit more with confidence. It’s a win-win – they’re learning and feeling like the boss at the same time.

Plus, for us teachers, it’s like having a secret helper in the room. We get to sprinkle in all sorts of activities that match our students’ levels and what makes their hearts tick. It’s like custom-making a learning playlist that gets every kid grooving to the vocab beat. How cool is that?