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!

8th Grade Art Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Art Choice Board for 8th Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates

Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.7, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.5, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.3

To use a choice board in your 8th 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 8th Grade Art choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your8th Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 8th Grade Art Choices

Create Your Own Comic Strip

Create a comic strip with a hero you invent. Draw 4 panels, add dialogue, and show a mini adventure. Use speech bubbles for words and action lines for movement!

Design a Dream Bedroom Collage

Create a collage of your ideal bedroom using magazine cutouts, drawings, and text. Include furniture, colors, and decorations. Be creative and have fun!

Sketch Your Favorite Character

Sketch your fave character from any book, show, or game. Use pencil first, then outline in pen. Add shading for a 3D effect. Have fun with it!

Clay Mythical Creature Sculpture

Create a small clay creature from myths (like a dragon or unicorn). Shape basic body parts, add details, and use tools to texture. Air-dry and paint it!

Fantasy Landscape Drawing

Create an imaginary world with mountains, castles, or creatures. Use bright colors, bold shapes, and your wildest dreams to make it unique. Have fun exploring!

Create a Recycled Material Mask

Craft a mask using only recycled items like cardboard, plastic bottles, or old fabric. Cut and shape materials to fit your face, then decorate! Be creative!

Abstract Self-Portrait Collage

Create a collage showing your feelings, interests, and dreams using shapes, colors, and textures instead of realistic images. No rules, just express yourself!

Pop Art Inspired Selfie Painting

Create a bold self-portrait using bright colors and everyday images, like a comic or ad. Think Andy Warhol’s style! Capture your personality with fun, pop culture vibes.

DIY Cardboard Loom Weaving

Create a loom from cardboard by cutting slits on the top and bottom. Thread yarn vertically for the warp. Weave horizontal yarn (weft) over and under the warp.

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Art in a 8th 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 8th 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?