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 Writing Choice Board Tutorial for Teachers

Build your own Writing Choice Board for 5th Grade in minutes! Keep kids engaged & learning using these tactics & templates

Common Core Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.5

To use a choice board in your 5th Grade Classroom during Writing you will need to create the Writingchoices (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 Writing 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 Writing Choices

Create Your Own Comic Strip

Draw a fun story in panels, add speech bubbles for characters’ words, and show action with lines and expressions! Be creative!

Write a Diary Entry as a Pioneer

Imagine you’re a pioneer in the 1800s. Write a diary entry about your day traveling west in a covered wagon. Include the landscape, challenges, and feelings.

Craft a Mythical Creature Tale

Write a story about a unique creature with special powers. Imagine its world, how it looks, and the adventures it has. Be creative and have fun!

Compose a Poem About Your Hero

Write a short poem about someone you admire. It can be anyone! Describe what they do that makes them your hero and how they make you feel. Use rhymes if you can!

Design a Travel Brochure for a Fantasy Land

Create a colorful brochure for a magical land! Include pictures, fun facts, and must-see spots. Use bright colors and big, clear words to describe your fantasy world.

Invent a Secret Code & Write a Message

Create a code by replacing each letter with a symbol or number. Write a secret message using your code. Share it with a friend to decode! Example: A=��, B=🚀

Pen a Letter to a Future Self

Write a letter to yourself in the future! Imagine what you want to be, have, or do. Ask future you questions. Will you have a pet? What’s your favorite book? Save it and open it in years to see what’s changed!

Script a Short Play for Puppets

Write a short puppet play about two animals learning to share a treehouse. Include funny dialogue, a problem they solve together, and a happy ending. Make it simple and fun!

Illustrate a Scene from Your Favorite Book

Draw a picture of a part you love from a book you’ve read. Show the characters, where they are, and what’s happening. Use colors and details to make it come alive!

Using a Choice Board to Differentiate Writing 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 Writing (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?