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!

1st Grade Transition Time Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Transition Time Choice Board for 1st Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your 1st Grade Classroom during Transition Time you will need to create the Transition Time choices (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 Transition Time 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 Transition Time Choices

Story Corner: Pick a Book!
Sit cozy in Story Corner. Choose a book you love, flip pages, and picture the tale in your head. Enjoy the adventure with every word you read!
Puzzle Fun: Match Shapes!
Hey kids! Find the shapes and put them with their twins! Circles, squares, and more—see if you can match them all. It’s like a game of memory with shapes!
Drawing Adventure: Create a Story!
Draw a picture of a hero on an adventure, then tell me their story! Who do they meet? What places do they go? Have fun creating!
Quiet Time: Breathe & Relax!
Sit criss-cross, hands on knees. Close your eyes, breathe in slow through your nose, and out through your mouth. Imagine floating on a cloud. Feel calm and happy.
Music Moves: Dance & Freeze!
Dance when music plays. When it stops, freeze like a statue! Listen for the music to start again, then dance! It’s like musical chairs without the chairs.
Nature Explorer: Leaf Patterns!
Find different leaves outside. Look at their shapes and lines. Draw them in your book. See how they’re all special, like nature’s art!
Coloring Quest: Fill the Shapes!
Coloring Quest: Fill the Shapes! – Use your favorite crayons to color inside each shape. Make sure to stay in the lines and fill every shape with beautiful colors! Have fun!
Letter Treasure Hunt: Find ABCs!
Search for letters A to Z hidden around the room! When you find one, draw it on your paper. Have fun being a letter detective!
Crafty Story: Fold Paper Animals!
Make cool animals with paper! Fold it like this: 📄➡️🐰. Just bend and match corners to make your own pet. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how! 🦊🐘🐢

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Transition Time 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 Transition Time (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?