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 Spelling Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Spelling Choice Board for 2nd Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates

Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.2.D, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.2.4

To use a choice board in your 2nd 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 2nd Grade Spelling 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 Spelling Choices

Spell with Clay

Make words with clay! Roll pieces to form letters, then put them together to spell. It’s like playing with dough to create your spelling words. Fun!

Rhyme Time Match-Up

Rhyme Time Match-Up is a fun game where you find words that sound the same at the end, like ‘cat’ and ‘hat’, and draw lines to connect them!

Word Detective Hunt

Find hidden words around the room. Use clues to spot them, like a detective! Write each word you find. Have fun being a Word Detective!

Silly Sentence Creator

Silly Sentence Creator is a fun game where you pick words to make funny sentences. Just choose a person, action, and place, then read your goofy story!

Picture Word Puzzles

Picture Word Puzzles are fun games where you look at a picture and spell the word it shows. Like seeing an apple and writing A-P-P-L-E. Try it and learn new words!

Storybook Spelling Bee

A Storybook Spelling Bee is a fun game where you spell words from stories. You hear a word, think of its letters, and write it down. If it’s correct, you get a point!

Spell & Sing Along

Spell & Sing Along is a fun game where you spell words and sing songs. Like a musical spelling bee, you learn new words with cool tunes! 🎶✏️

Rainbow Writing Words

Rainbow writing is fun! You write a word with one color, then trace it with more colors to make a rainbow. It helps you remember how to spell by drawing and seeing it in pretty colors!

Spell with Sign Language

Use your hands to make letters like in a secret code! Watch and copy me to spell words without talking. It’s fun like playing silent charades!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Spelling 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 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?