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!

2nd Grade Science Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Science Choice Board for 2nd Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your 2nd Grade Classroom during Science you will need to create the Sciencechoices (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 2nd Grade Science choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your2nd Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 2nd Grade Science Choices

Plant Life Cycle Diary
Draw and write about your plant growing! Start with seeds, show roots, then a sprout, leaves, flower, and new seeds. Check and draw every day!
Bug Habitat Explorer
Make a Bug Hotel! Find sticks, leaves, and grass. Stack them in a box. Watch bugs move in. Be a bug detective and see who lives there!
Cloud Watcher Journal
A Cloud Watcher Journal is your special book where you draw the fluffy clouds you see in the sky and write about their shapes. Happy cloud spotting!
Seed Germination Experiment
Plant a bean in a cup with soil, water it, and put it in sunlight. Watch it grow roots and a stem. Keep it moist. It’s like a baby plant waking up!
Animal Homes Quest
Go on a fun quest to find where animals live! Draw or write about a bird’s nest, a rabbit’s burrow, and a bee’s hive. Share cool facts you learn! 🐦🐰🐝
Weather Pattern Poster
Draw & color pictures of sunny, rainy, snowy, & windy days. Label each & show us what you wear or do in that weather. Use arrows to show if it gets warmer or colder.
Magnetic Attraction Adventure
Explore magnets! Find small objects, see which stick to a magnet. Metals like iron are magnetic buddies. Have fun seeing what’s attracted!
Simple Machines Scavenger Hunt
Find items at home/school: 1) Something you push down to lift something up (lever), 2) A wheel with a rod through it (wheel and axle), 3) Slope to slide things (inclined plane).
Shadow Play Experiment
Make animal shapes with your hands in front of a lamp. See how shadows change on the wall when you move closer or farther. It’s like a puppet show!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Science in a 2nd 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 2nd Grade Classroom During Science (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?