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!

1st Grade Reading Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Reading Choice Board for 1st Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates

Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3

To use a choice board in your 1st Grade Classroom during Reading you will need to create the Readingchoices (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 1st Grade Reading choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your1st Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 1st Grade Reading Choices

Draw Your Favorite Story Scene

Pick a part of a book you love, draw it with colors, and show us your favorite moment! Use your crayons to make the picture fun and bright.

Read to a Stuffed Friend

Pick your favorite stuffed animal and read a story to it. Pretend it’s listening and learning from you!

Make a Story Bookmark

Make a Story Bookmark: Draw your favorite part of a book on a strip of paper. Add colors! Write your name. Use it to mark where you stop reading.

Rhyme Time with Clay Play

Make rhymes & shapes with clay! I say a word, you make a rhyme, then create it with clay. Like “cat” & “hat” – mold a hat for the cat! Fun!

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Find things that start with each letter of the alphabet! Write them down or draw a picture. A is for apple, B is for ball. Can you find all 26? Let’s go!

Create a Comic Strip Summary

Draw a fun story with pictures in boxes! Start with a hero, add a problem, show how it’s fixed, and end with a happy hero. Use 4 boxes!

Puppet Show Retell

Make little puppets and act out a story you read. Use a box for a stage. Have fun telling the story with your puppets!

Whisper Read to a Mirror

Whisper Read to a Mirror means you say the words in your book very softly to your reflection, like telling a secret to yourself in the mirror!

Sound Out and Spell Game

Listen to sounds, find letters that match, and put them together to make words. It’s like a fun puzzle with letters!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Reading in a 1st 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 1st Grade Classroom During Reading (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?