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!

4th Grade Transition Time Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Transition Time Choice Board for 4th Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your 4th 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 4th 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 your4th Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 4th Grade Transition Time Choices

Create a Comic Strip Story
Draw a comic strip with 4 panels. Pick characters and a simple plot. Start with a problem, add funny twists, and end with a solution. Use speech bubbles for dialogue!
Nature Poetry Creation
Create a short poem about nature. Look outside, pick a plant, animal, or weather you see. Describe it with words that rhyme, like “sky” and “fly.” Have fun!
Math Fact Bingo Game
Play Bingo with math! Solve problems on your card to mark spots. 5 in a row wins! Use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Fun and easy!
Create Your Own Word Search
Make a word puzzle! Choose 10 words you love, arrange them in a grid, mix with random letters, and see if a friend can find your words!
Design a Dream Playground
Imagine & draw your perfect playground! Include slides, swings, or anything fun. Add colors & label parts. Be creative!
Plan a Healthy Snack Menu
Choose yummy, good-for-you snacks! Mix nuts, chop fruits, and scoop yogurt. Make veggie sticks with dip or blend a fruit smoothie. Pick whole grains like popcorn. Have fun eating healthy!
Draw Your Future Self Portrait
Imagine what you want to be when you grow up. Now, draw a picture of you in the future doing that job. Use colors and details to show what you’ll be like!
Make an Origami Animal
Fold a square paper in half to make a triangle. Fold corners to top. Flip, fold ends to middle. Unfold, tuck into pocket. Origami animal ready!
Storytelling with Shadow Puppets
Make cool shapes with your hands or paper cut-outs between a light and wall to tell a fun story with shadows! It’s like a mini movie you create.

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Transition Time in a 4th 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 4th 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?