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!

5th Grade Vocabulary Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Vocabulary Choice Board for 5th Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates
To use a choice board in your 5th Grade Classroom during Vocabulary you will need to create the Vocabularychoices (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 5th Grade Vocabulary choice boards to your classroom style!

Here are a few ideas and instructions on choices, classroom management and getting buy-in from your5th Graders

Ideas & Examples of Great 5th Grade Vocabulary Choices

Synonym Story Swap
Synonym Story Swap: Write a short story, then swap words with synonyms. Example: change ‘happy’ to ‘joyful.’ Share and see how the stories change!
Word Wizard Challenge
The “Word Wizard Challenge” is a fun game where you learn new words, spell them, use them in sentences, and earn points to become a Word Wizard! 🧙‍♂️✨📚
Vocab Detective Hunt
Join the Vocab Detective Hunt! Find hidden words around class, use clues to guess their meanings, and write them in your detective notebook. Be a word sleuth!
Create-a-Comic: Vocabulary Edition
Draw a fun comic strip using our vocab words! Each word is a character’s line or action. Be creative and show what the words mean!
Pictionary with Prefixes
Pictionary with Prefixes is a drawing game. You pick a card with a prefix (like ‘un-‘ or ‘re-‘), then draw something that shows its meaning. Guess the word!
Vocab Charades Showdown
Vocab Charades Showdown: Act out a word without speaking, while friends guess. Each right guess scores a point. Most points win. Fun way to learn new words!
Vocabulary Skit Theater
Vocabulary Skit Theater is a fun play where you act out words to show their meaning. Pick a word, make a short scene, and perform it to the class!
Vocab Garden: Plant a Word
“Vocab Garden: Plant a Word” is a fun activity where you “grow” your vocabulary by writing new words on paper leaves and sticking them on a drawn tree, learning as they bloom!
Crossword Puzzle Creators
Crossword puzzle creators make fun word games. You fill in squares with letters to form words that fit given clues. It’s like a word treasure hunt!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Vocabulary in a 5th 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 5th Grade Classroom During Vocabulary (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?