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 Spelling Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

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

Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.A, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.2.D, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.2.A

To use a choice board in your 1st Grade Classroom during Spelling you will need to create the Spellingchoices (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 Spelling 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 Spelling Choices

Spell with Snacks

Use yummy treats like raisins or cereal to make letters on a plate. Spell words you know, then eat your snack-words!

Draw & Spell in Sand

Draw a word in sand with your finger. Say each letter out loud as you write. Shake to erase and try a new word! It’s fun like beach drawing.

Spell & Sing with Music

Spell & Sing with Music is fun! We learn new words by spelling them out and singing songs. Like a game, we match letters to sounds and make music with words!

Spell with Clay Shapes

Make letters with clay to spell words. Roll, bend, and press the clay to shape it. Have fun making your word art!

Spell with Stickers

Pick a word card, find the matching stickers, and stick them in order to spell the word on your sheet. It’s like a fun puzzle with letters!

Spell with Finger Paints

Dip fingers in paint. Write words on paper. Have fun making letters with colors. Clean hands after!

Spell with Body Letters

Make letters with your body! Stand up, bend, or twist to look like an A, B, or C. Have fun being a letter detective and find all the letters in your name!

Spell with Alphabet Pasta

Make words with noodle letters. Pick pasta, put on paper to spell. It’s like a puzzle with food! Fun and yummy!

Spell with Sidewalk Chalk

Draw letters with chalk on the ground to spell words. Have fun making big, colorful words outside! If you don’t know a letter, ask for help or look at a book.

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Spelling 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 Spelling (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?