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!

3rd Grade Art Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Art Choice Board for 3rd Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates

Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.5, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3, CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.G.A.1

To use a choice board in your 3rd 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 3rd Grade Art choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your3rd Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 3rd Grade Art Choices

Create Your Dream Playground

Draw your dream playground with all your favorite things to play on! Use colors and shapes to make slides, swings, or anything fun! Be creative!

Design a Superhero Cape

Draw your dream superhero cape on paper. Use bold colors, shapes, and symbols that show its powers. Think about what makes your hero special and add that to your design!

Draw Your Favorite Animal

Draw your favorite animal on paper using pencils, crayons, or markers. Think about its colors, shapes, and where it lives. Have fun making it unique, just like you!

Make a Paper Collage Garden

Cut out colorful paper shapes for flowers, leaves, and stems. Glue them on a big paper to make your garden. Add details with markers. Have fun creating!

Craft a Clay Critter

Mold soft clay into your fav animal shape. Add eyes, mouth, & details. Let it dry & paint it. Create your own tiny pet!

Paint with Cotton Swabs

Dip a cotton swab in paint and dot it on paper to make cool pictures! It’s like tiny brushes for spots and lines. Have fun mixing colors and creating art!

Create a Storybook Character

Draw your dream friend! Think of their look, what they wear, and if they have special powers or a cool job. Use bright colors and make them fun!

Sketch a Silly Monster

Draw a big, funny shape for the body. Add googly eyes, zigzag teeth, wiggly arms, and squiggly legs. Color it with wild colors! Make it as wacky as you want!

Fashion a Nature Mobile

Gather sticks, leaves, feathers, & stones. Tie them with string to a hanger. Make it balance. Hang it up to see your nature mobile dance in the air!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Art in a 3rd 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 3rd 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?