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!

3rd Grade Spelling Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Spelling Choice Board for 3rd Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your 3rd 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 3rd Grade Spelling choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your3rd Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 3rd Grade Spelling Choices

Spell & Mime Game
Pick a card, spell the word out loud, then act it out silently. Your friends guess the word! If they’re right, you both earn a point. Have fun miming!
Story Time Spelling
Story Time Spelling is fun! You read a story and find special words. Write them down, learn how they sound, and spell them right. It’s like a word treasure hunt!
Spelling Treasure Hunt
Find hidden words around the room! Each clue leads to the next. Spell them right to find a prize. Look, think, and have fun!
Spelling Bee Skit
A short play where you pretend to be in a spelling bee. You act out getting a word, thinking hard, spelling it correctly, and celebrating your win! 🐝✨🏆
Spell & Draw Challenge
Draw a picture of a word, then write the word correctly under it. Make sure the word matches the picture! Try to do your best spelling!
Magic Word Wizardry
Magic Word Wizardry: Use letters like puzzle pieces to create words. Mix them, match them, and spell new ones. It’s like magic how words form!
Spell & Sculpt with Clay
Make words with clay! Roll pieces to form letters, spell out your spelling words, and show your creations. It’s like playing and learning at the same time!
Spell & Cook: Recipe Fun
Spell & Cook: Recipe Fun is a game where you spell words to collect ingredients. Then, you follow easy steps to ‘cook’ a fun pretend dish. It’s like magic with words!
Spelling Song Creation
Pick a tune you like, then make up fun lines with your spelling words. Sing it loud to remember them better!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Spelling in a 3rd 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 3rd 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?